The larger and more complex an organization, the greater its need for information, and thus the greater its reliance on information systems. Access the Web sites of two of America's giant, diversified corporations, AT&T [
http://www.att.com/] and Altria [
http://www.altria.com/], the parent company of tobacco firm Philip Morris and food giant Kraft. Then answer the following questions:
- What kinds of information systems are used by these companies, including the use of a Web site?
- Based on the information available at their Web sites, what approach to managing information systems do each of these organizations employ?
Internet Exercise
One organization that makes extensive use of information technology is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) [
http://www.noaa.gov/]. Investigate the agency's Web site, with particular emphasis on its use of information technology, including satellites, undersea laboratories, and so on. Access the page titled "Storm Prediction Center" and select topics on the left-hand side of the page for more about radar, artificial intelligence, and other weather prediction tools. Then answer the following questions:
- What types of data and information are collected, analyzed, and reported by NOAA?
- What types of information systems are used by NOAA as it collects, analyzes, and reports information?
- NOAA must report information to a wide variety of end-users of that information. These include individual citizens, commercial fisheries and agribusinesses, environmental protection groups, scientists working in university and commercial research labs, weather forecasters, and disaster relief agencies. What impact might this variety of information needs have on the agency's use of information systems?
Explore Further
One technology that is employed at NOAA is artificial intelligence (AI). Search the Internet for other for-profit or not-for-profit organizations that employ AI. See how many different applications of AI you can find. Here are two examples: the IRS uses AI to choose candidates for audits by profiling taxpayers who are likely to cheat, and oil and gas exploration firms use AI to predict which fields will have the best in-ground reserves.
