A.1.9 The Information Society

A.1.9.1
Assess the impact of IT within society and its subsets
A.1.9.2
List the advantages and disadvantages of IT in society
A.1.9.3
Describe the digital divide

Definitions:

1. An information society is a society in which the creation, distribution, diffusion, use, integration and manipulation of information is a significant economic, political, and cultural activity. The knowledge economy is its economic counterpart whereby wealth is created through the economic exploitation of understanding.
2. Digital divide: "Refers to the gap between individuals, households, businesses and geographic areas at different socio-economic levels with regard to both their opportunities to access information and communication technologies (ICTs) and to their use of the Internet for a wide variety of activities. The digital divide reflects various differences among and within countries. [OECD] "web.worldbank.org"
3. The term digital divide refers to the gap between those people with effective access to digital and information technology and those without. It includes the imbalances in physical access to technology as well as the imbalances in resources and skills needed to effectively participate as a digital citizen. "en.wikipedia.org"

A.1.8 Computer Based Training and e-Learning

A.1.8.1

Describe computer-based training
A.1.8.2
List the technical requirements for computer-based training, multimedia, etc.
A.1.8.3
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of computer-based learning

Definitions:

1. Electronic learning (or e-Learning or eLearning) is a type of education where the medium of instruction is computer technology. In some instances, no in-person interaction takes place.
2. computer-based training or CBT is a type of education in which the student learns by executing special training programs on a computer. CBT is especially effective for training people to use computer applications because the CBT program can be integrated with the applications so that students can practice using the application as they learn.

A.1.7 Collaborative Technology

A.1.7.1

Identify the attributes of different workflow systems
A.1.7.2

Distinguish between virtual team-working and physical, co-located team-working
A.1.7.3

Describe the features of collaboration and co-operation, teams and groups
A.1.7.4

Describe the main features of collaborative technologies
A.1.7.5

List the major factors for successful implementation of collaborative technologies

Definitions:

1. Collaboration is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together toward an intersection of common goals — for example, an intellectual endeavor that is creative in nature—by sharing knowledge, learning and building consensus. Collaboration does not require leadership and can sometimes bring better results through decentralization and egalitarianism. In particular, teams that work collaboratively can obtain greater resources, recognition and reward when facing competition for finite resources.
2. A workflow is a depiction of a sequence of operations, declared as work of a person, work of a simple or complex mechanism, work of a group of persons, work of an organization of staff, or machines.
3. A team comprises a group of people or animals linked in a common purpose. Teams are especially appropriate for conducting tasks that are high in complexity and have many interdependent subtasks.
4. A Virtual Team — also known as a Geographically Dispersed Team (GDT) — is a group of individuals who work across time, space, and organizational boundaries with links strengthened by webs of communication technology. They have complementary skills and are committed to a common purpose, have interdependent performance goals, and share an approach to work for which they hold themselves mutually accountable.
5. Collaboration is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together toward an intersection of common goals
6. Cooperation, co-operation, or coöperation is the process of working or acting together, which can be accomplished by both intentional and non-intentional agents. In its simplest form it involves things working in harmony, side by side, while in its more complicated forms, it can involve something as complex as the inner workings of a human being or even the social patterns of a nation. It is the alternative to working separately in competition. Cooperation can also be accomplished by computers, which can handle shared resources simultaneously, while sharing processor time.

A.1.6 IS Support for Organisational Management

A.1.6.1
Define the role(s) and responsibilities of management
A.1.6.2
Categorise the types of computer support for management
A.1.6.3
Define organisational knowledge, memory and learning
A.1.6.4
Describe the major decision-making and problem-solving techniques
A.1.6.5
Assess the support Management Information Systems (MIS) provide

Definitions:

1. An information system (IS) is an arrangement of information technology used to capture, store, and distribute data to meet an organization's needs. This information technology includes computer hardware, operating system and application software as well as telecommunications and networking technologies. For-profit business enterprises, not-for-profit charities, social organizations and government agencies all rely on information systems to be effective.
2. Management Information System (MIS) is a subset of the overall internal controls of a business covering the application of people, documents, technologies, and procedures by management accountants to solving business problems such as costing a product, service or a business-wide strategy. Management Information Systems are distinct from regular information systems in that they are used to analyze other information systems applied in operational activities in the organization.

A.1.5 Business Processes

A.1.5.1

Define basic business processes

A.1.5.2

List major applications deployed in supporting business processes

A.1.5.3

Recognise the business processes used by organisations in different sectors

A.1.5.4

Detail the IT requirements to improve organisational competitiveness

Definitions:

1. A business process or business method is a collection of interrelated tasks, which accomplish a particular goal.


2. There are three types of business processes:

• Management processes, the processes that govern the operation of a system. Typical management processes include "Corporate Governance" and "Strategic Management".
• Operational processes, processes that constitute the core business and create the primary value stream. Typical operational processes are Purchasing, Manufacturing, Marketing, and Sales.
• Supporting processes, which support the core processes. Examples include Accounting, Recruitment, IT-support.

A.1.4 Business Plans

A.1.4.1

Define the attributes of a business plan

A.1.4.2

List the major techniques used in preparing business strategies

A.1.4.3

Detail the Information Technology that will deliver a given business plan

Definitions:

1. A business plan is a formal statement of a set of business goals, the reasons why they are believed attainable, and the plan for reaching those goals. It may also contain background information about the organization or team attempting to reach those goals.
   
2. Business plans are decision-making tools. There is no fixed content for a business plan. Rather the content and format of the business plan is determined by the goals and audience. A business plan should contain whatever information is needed to decide whether or not to pursue a goal.

A.1.3 Internal / External Environment

A.1.3.1
Show, using diagrams, the position of organisations within their environments

A.1.3.2
Define a system in terms of co-ordination, monitoring and control

A.1.3.3
Demonstrate how external and internal factors impact throughout environments

Definitions:

1. Coordination is the act of coordinating, making different people or things work together for a goal or effect.

A.1.2 The Role of IT in Information Processing within an Organisation

A.1.2.1
Differentiate between data and information

Definitions:

1. Data is a computers form of information. It is simply endless lists of information. This means it is raw and unprocessed and therfore meaningless to us.


2. Information is data that has been processed for use.

A.1.2.2

Show, using diagrams, information processing models

Definitions:

1. Information processing is the change (processing) of information in any manner detectable by an observer.

A.1.2.3

Classify the layers of information processing within an organization
A.1.2.4

Describe the decision flow within these layers
A.1.2.5

Describe the role of IT in supporting Information Systems within an organisation

A.1.1 Organisational Types and Structures

A.1.1.1
Define major organisational types, their characteristics and corresponding internal structures (e.g. hierarchical vs “flat”), addressing aspects of legal status (e.g. charity vs. partnership), size (SME vs corporation)

Definitions:

1. An organization (or organisation — see spelling differences) is a social arrangement which pursues collective goals, which controls its own performance, and which has a boundary separating it from its environment.
2. A hierarchy is an arrangement of objects, people, elements, values, grades, orders, classes, etc.
3. Flat organization (also known as horizontal organization) refers to a organizational structure with few or no levels of intervening management between staff and managers. The idea is that well-trained workers will be more productive when they are more directly involved in the decision making process, rather than closely supervised by many layers of management.
   This structure is generally possible only in smaller organizations or individual units within larger organizations. When they reach a critical size, organizations can retain a streamlined structure but cannot keep a completely flat manager-to-staff relationship without impacting productivity.
4. Charity organization, an organisation formed for charitable purposes
5. A partnership is a type of business entity in which partners (owners) share with each other the profits or losses of the business undertaking in which all have invested. Partnerships are often favored over corporations for taxation purposes, as the partnership structure does not generally incur a tax on profits before it is distributed to the partners
6. Small and medium enterprises (also SMEs, small and medium businesses, SMBs, and variations thereof) are companies whose headcount or turnover falls below certain limits.
7. A corporation is a separate legal entity, usually used to conduct business. Corporations exist as a product of corporate law, and their rules balance the interests of the shareholders that invest their capital and the employees who contribute their labor. People work together in corporations to produce. In modern times, corporations have become an increasingly dominant part of economic life. People rely on corporations for employment, for their goods and services, for the value of the pensions, for economic growth and social development.

A.1.1.2
Describe the role IT plays in an organisation

Definitions:

1. Today, the term information technology has ballooned to encompass many aspects of computing and technology, and the term is more recognizable than ever before. The information technology umbrella can be quite large, covering many fields. IT professionals perform a variety of duties that range from installing applications to designing complex computer networks and information databases. A few of the duties that IT professionals perform may include data management, networking, engineering computer hardware, database and software design, as well as the management and administration of entire systems.

A.1.1.3
Show, using diagrams, the workflow within a number of different organisational structures

A.1.1.4
Identify the purpose of IT within an organisation

Definitions:

1. A workflow is a depiction of a sequence of operations, declared as work of a person, work of a simple or complex mechanism, work of a group of persons, work of an organization of staff, or machines. Workflow may be seen as any abstraction of real work, segregated in workshare, work split or whatever types of ordering. For control purposes, workflow may be a view on real work under a chosen aspect, thus serving as a virtual representation of actual work.

A.1.1.5

Identify the impact differing structures have on the management of IT