Office Information Systems

In the past 20 years computers have exerted a powerful effect on the office environment and the way in which offices operate. Computers and communication technology made possible the concept of office information systems (OISs).

An office information system (OIS) helps knowledge workers manage the preparation, storage, retrieval, reproduction, and communication of information within and among business offices. A knowledge worker is a person who creates, processes, and distributes information. In the Information Age these activities are the predominant tasks of most business workers, making an office information system extremely important to the efficient management of information in today’s business world. An OIS makes the production and flow of information more efficient, cheaper, and faster.

OISs incorporate a variety of technologies. Word processing is the most widely adopted of all the office technologies. Computer technology has also changed the way data are processed, stored, and retrieved in a business office. Computerized equipment automates and in many cases separates data-processing activities from general office activities. Most of a company’s records are now stored electronically in separate data-processing departments. Some records need to be stored for many years; electronic media, such as tapes and disks, take up much less space than traditional file cabinets. OISs link data-processing departments electronically to other department offices, permitting secretaries, managers, executives, and others to access relevant data and information while remaining at their desk.

Executive Support System

Executive is usually synonymous with strategic or top-level management. An executive has the responsibility of setting long-range planning goals and a strategic course for an organization for the years ahead. An information system that caters specifically to the special information needs of executives, such as managerial planning, monitoring and analysis, is called an executive support system (ESS).

An ESS incorporates large volumes of data and information gathered from the external environment of an organization, i.e., from sources outside itself. That information is used in conjunction with the information generated by management information systems (MISs) within functional areas (e.g., marketing, accounting, production, etc.) of the organization to accommodate the specialized information needs of executives. An ESS plays a vital role in summarizing and controlling the volume of information that an executive must read. An executive assigns values to the various sources of information from which data for an ESS are drawn in order to place emphasis on most important sources. Thus, ESSs can be tailored to meet the specific needs of each executive in an organization.

Vocabulary

knowledge-based system	система, що ґрунтується на знаннях	exert	виготовити
inference engine	механізм виводу	predominant	преважний
knowledge base	база знань	flow of information	інформаційний потік
body of knowledge	тіло знань	word processing	обробка текстів
performance	(робоча) характеристика	adopt	приймати
from scratch	на голому (пустому) місці	link	зв’язувати, з’єднувати
shells	оболонка	permit	дозволяти
tools	інструментальні засоби	relevant	релевантний
detection	визначення	file cabinets	картотечні ящики
oil wells	нафтові свердловини	executive	виконавець