Components Of An Information System Essay Example

In the early sixteenth century, computers were known as “a human who performed calculations or computations.” Before time of computers and hardware it was up to people to perform calculations or computations. People is the most important component of information systems. In the mid seventeenth century the only civilization that owned computers was businesses and the government. In those times the civilization other than the big businesses and the government could not afford computers. In today’s society there is still some low-income families that cannot afford a computer, tablet or smart phone. People are the essential part of information systems whether they have a computer in front of them or not. 

Behind the scene components of a computer is hardware. They are normally not seen by the physical eyes of humans; they are in a casing of some sort whether it be the computer’s tower or in the laptop itself. The most important component of hardware is the mother board, it is what makes the computer run. However, some hardware is physically accessible to the human’s eyes, such as keyboards, mouses, and printers. The central processing unit also known as the CPU is another behind the scenes component of hardware. Hardware is known as being a “physical entity.” Hardware and software work hand in hand with each other; if one did not have the other computers would not work. Hardware is limited to very simple tasks whereas software is more complex and can perform many tasks.

Software also known as programs and applications; instructs the hardware how to execute a task. There are two forms of software, system and application. The system software is already installed on most computers. The system software which consists of the operation components is what helps make the computer run. Application software consists of word processors, web browsers and any other application that is installed on the computer by the owner of the computer. More than one application can be opened all at once. 

Data is commonly stored in what we call databases; in which the organized data is saved into a collection that reflects on large businesses. The organized data that is saved into the databases is kept in these databases for a very long time. These databases are operated by database management systems which is located in the systems software and are collected by multiple applications.

People which consist of human resource personnel, computer maintenance and developers, programmers, analysts, operators and whoever is behind a computer is essential when it comes to information systems. Developers and programmers are who creates and programs applications onto the servers which is in the operating systems of a computer. Businesses, government offices and schools run on technology in these modern-day times. During this pandemic, schools have been going to virtual learning which means the teachers and students are behind the screen of a computer or tablet. In school systems, there are technology maintenance personnel that works on issues within the computer system if one goes down. In businesses and government offices there are certain types of software for these companies to use. People use computers whether it be for school or job, people are essential and the most important component of an information system.

Process is where a program installed on the computer is running. Processes normally can be done by different departments of a business. For example, a student registering for classes goes through the registrar office whereas on a job there is always a payroll department which handles all payroll transactions and processes. Also, there is human resources who processes all the employment and employees’ files. Every department will have a different program processing information but different organized data will be feeding off the programs that processing the information inputted into the program or application.

People are the most important component of the information systems because if it was not for the creators and developers that helped invent and make computers, we would not have any technology in the world today. In the technological world, people are what makes the computers turn on everyday in businesses around the world. If there were not developers, system analysts, maintenance technicians also known as IT personnel computers would not operate in a full operational manner. Businesses, government offices and schools which are all operated by people have a computer or tablet to work on. 

Schools are run by principals and staff members that have to input student’s data in a database about the student’s personal information as well as the school’s information (for example, teachers have to input grades into a certain software which is obtained by the office staff to maintain and report for report cards) Some businesses are owned by family, independent owners who hire people to manage their business. Different businesses have different software depending on what kind of business it is; it is up for the owners and managers to have communication about what is entered and how it is entered. Some businesses have a different company who processes all the payroll. Getting back to my point, people are essential in the information system because people are the ones that input the data into the computer which processes into an organized database which is held there for many years.

As a teacher I have to gather information about my students on a daily basis and I have to document my data into an application in a web browser. I also have to take record of each student’s attendance daily and at the end of the week my record is given to a family advocate who records into a software application installed on their computer which sends records to a database that the corporate personnel can access as well. We all have different jobs in the company I work for, each job is essential to record data whether it be a student or an employee and it is recorded into an application and saved into a database for years to come.

References

Preview of “When was the first computer invented.” (n.d.). Preview of “When the First Computer Was Invented.” Retrieved February 26, 2021, from https://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/courses/compsci111s2c/lectures/andre/computerhope_com_issues_ch000984.pdf

Introduction to Computers: Hardware and Software. (n.d.). Introduction to Computers. Retrieved February 26, 2021, from http://cs.sru.edu/%7Emullins/cpsc100book/module02_introduction/module02-03_introduction.html