It 205 Week 1 Checkpoint

1. What are the three dimensions to business problems? Provide examples of each.

The three dimensions to business problems are organizations, people, and technology. Organizational issues can consist of outdated business procedures, unsupportive culture and attitudes, political conflicts, major changes in the business, tasks that are too complex, and inadequate resources. The fact that I was hired right before the beginning of the busiest time of year is a major problem because I got swamped with a whole lot of stuff that I didn’t know at all. Examples of people issues can be lack of training, difficulties evaluating performance, legal compliance, work environment, lack of employee support, along with poor management. A good example of this is just a recent event where a co-worker complained to a manager that I burped in her face. I was about six feet away and facing the opposite direction when one slipped out, to which I immediately said excuse me. That is crap. Technology dimensions would consist of insufficient or aging hardware, outdated software, inadequate database capacity, insufficient communications, incompatibilities with old and new technology, and rapid changes in technology. A good example of this would be the inability to choose quantities of recyclables at my work. Today I had to go to the “Add more items” page and back for five printers, instead of having a quantity box to the side that would have made life so much easier.

2. What is the difference between IT and information systems? Describe some functions of information systems.

The difference between IT and information systems is that one falls under the other. The information system is the system and tools that make the technology work together, and the information technology is more of the individual components that actually do the work. In my workplace, a good example of the information system would be the Best Buy POS, and the information technology would be each register that...