Information Systems

Running Head: Information Systems

Information Systems

Derek Smith

University Of Phoenix

CIS/205

Steven Schulman

September 27, 2010

Information Systems

Businesses today need information systems to support the functions of their company. Whether it is a Fortune 500 company or a small mom and pop, having the proper information systems for a particular business can make or break a company. This paper will examine information systems and how they impact companies. Modern companies need information systems to track profit and loss, control inventory, and track accounts payables and receivables as well as human resources. Information systems also store customer information and talk to websites and track advertisement dollars. It is also important to include social networking in marketing and advertisement systems. If information systems did not exist to take care of these various tasks of an organization, the business operations would not be as effective. The hardware or physical components of a computer are the monitor (output), motherboard, CPU, RAM, expansion cords, power supply, optical disc drive, hard disk drive, keyboard (input), and the mouse (input) (Rainer & Cegielski, 2007). Without each of these components the computer system will not work properly. Computer software is another important part of information systems because these programs provide the instructions telling the computer what to accomplish. Some examples of computer software include word processors, accounting programs, operating systems, testware, firmware, device drivers, and programming tools (Rainer & Cegielski, 2007). All of these different types of software are designed to coordinate functions and activities of the hardware and other various programs throughout the computer. It is important that they can “talk” to each other to appropriately reflect the information such as inventory and availability. It is also...