Introduction
An information system is inevitable in schools for effective and resourceful learning. The very foundation of the administration of schools depends on the information system in the same. An effective information system keeps the students as well as the management perfect and updated. It can meet the administrative and the instructional needs of the institution effectively. For the smooth running of any organization a powerful technology foundation is required.
Main text
The software applications that manage everything from admission to the final certificate at times can not perform their whole work together. But many researchers in the field concerned have put these drawbacks aside. Today what is found is a sudden development in almost all fields especially in the information technology field. These sophisticated changes in the field have an impact on the educational system as a whole.
Different applications have been introduced to cope with the existing situation. The adaptation of software to suit the needs and to meet the demands has had its desired results. Software engineers are in search of new and sophisticated applications to meet the possible demand that may arise at any point of time in the near future. In the paper what is intended to do is to bring out the salient features of an effective information system and its elements and functions related to the advancement in the field.
The information system which helps in every field to gather knowledge has gained prominence over the years. An effective information system is needed for the smooth running of any kind of organization in the modern world. The specialty of the period is that the information system plays a crucial role in every aspect of life. “Information systems are the software and hardware systems that support data-intensive applications. Information Systems publishes articles concerning the design and implementation of languages, data models, algorithms, software and hardware for information systems.” (Shasha & Vossen, 2007).
Any date from any source can not be used in decision-making. In the process of decision making due care should be paid at the sources of the data. The source of the data is that from where the data is obtained. Only those dates from the reliable source can be used for decision-making. Otherwise the decision taken will go wrong. The potential problem encountered while using any data for decision-making is that the decision taken depending on the date will not produce the desired effect. In order to be infallible in decision making the date used for decision making should be free from any possible ambiguities.
Decision-making is a process to be carried out with due care and attention. The entire performance will certainly depend on the decision taken using the available data. If the data is perfect the decision taken depending on the same would also be perfect.
The data provided may have a number of limitations and errors and it will not be adequate to make a decision. The figures in the data may be ambiguous and may not be obtained by following correct method. The errors in the data can produce bad results as it tempts to make wrong decisions. For a perfect decision the collected should be from reliable sources. “Managers see information as a critical resource and require systems that let them exploit it for competitive advantage.
One way to better use organizational information is via online analytical processing and multidimensional databases (MDDBs). OLAP and MDDBs present summarized information from company databases. They use multidimensional structures that let managers slice and dice views of company performance data and drill down into trouble.” (Hasan & Hyland, 2001).
As an example of information system in education there are a few reports about the salary of teachers. The survey conducted in 2005 about the salary of the teachers reveals that teachers find it difficult to pay their housing rent and tuition fee of the children. The income that teachers draw is meager when compared to the salary that people get in the various private sectors. “Teachers, especially new ones, are finding it increasingly difficult to find affordable housing in their communities and to pay off student loan debts. These and other factors place the teaching profession—already plagued by high turnover and recruiting challenges—in further peril”, according to the latest AFT teacher salary survey. (AFT salary surveys. 2008).
To meet the requirements of the teachers they need 30 percent hikes in their salary. There are also other surveys about the salary of the teachers.
Among them there is a report telling “It is time to develop uniform national standards for the definition and calculation of average teacher salary, average teacher compensation, and average teacher market value.” (Teacher pay review “breaking the code.” 2006).
In a different survey “it may seem logical that half of the states have average teacher salaries above the national average and half have average teacher salaries below that level. Actually, only 15 states nationwide have average teacher salaries that are above the national average. The other 35states (including 14 of the 16 SREB states) have average teacher salaries below the national average.” (Gaines, 2000, p.1). But in the same survey the salary averages do not show regional and national variations among the average salaries of the teachers of the state.
These reports about the salary of the teachers are not related to each other. Among these reports the most useful survey related to the topic is the first one. The other two reports say nothing about the pertinent topic. There is actually no connection between the reports given.
From these reports it is difficult to arrive at a conclusion. These reports are ambiguous and lack clarity. In the decision making it is essential to have a clear-cut idea because otherwise the decisions taken would not be suiting to the demands. The data has many limitations as there are no exact figures given in the survey. The main problem that is encountered when using the provided data is that the survey result lacks proper connection between each other.
Summary
The information system helps in decision making, progress reporting and planning. But the information provided should have relevance and connection to the pertinent topic. Then only the use of the information system will be useful and helpful. The information system is “an organized collection, storage, and presentation system of data and other knowledge for decision making, progress reporting, and for planning. (Definitions of information system on the web. 2008).
The information system is very useful and quite convenient if it is used properly.
References
Shasha, Dennis., & Vossen, Gottfried. (2007). Information systems. Elsevier. Web.
Hasan, H., & Hyland, P. (2001). Article information: Using OLAP and multidimensional data for decision making. IEEE Xplore. Vol. 3(4). Web.
AFT salary surveys: 2005 Survey & analysis of teacher salary. (2008). A Union of Professionals. Web.
Teacher pay review “breaking the code.” (2006). Florida Department of Education. Web.
Gaines, Gale. (2000). Focus on teacher salaries: What teacher salary averages don’t show. SREB. p. 1. Web.
Definitions of information system on the web. (2008). Google. Web.