Information Systems: An Introduction to Informatics in Organisations

Citation

Geddes, G. (2003), "Information Systems: An Introduction to Informatics in Organisations", Library Review, Vol. 52 No. 6, pp. 278-278. https://doi.org/10.1108/00242530310482051

This is the third book on systems by Benyon‐Davis, who is Reader in Information Systems in the European Business School at the University of Wales, Swansea, and can be seen as an introduction to many of the topics covered in the other two texts. The author’s aims are set out in the preface, and can be paraphrased as providing core information of the topic of information systems with clear definition of terminology, a theoretical basis but a practical emphasis, and a holistic approach to what is often seen as a range of subjects rather than a single field.

After an introductory section on “the information domain”, the author considers information and systems. He adopts a logical approach by dealing with information, then systems, information systems and business information systems before concluding the section with chapters on management and decision making, and information systems modelling. The second major part of the text is devoted to information technology. Again, the author sets the chapters out in a sensible fashion, treating hardware, software, data, communications, finishing with IT systems. Having thus laid the foundations, the author builds on these in a section entitled “Use and impact”. Within this section the author also considers failure and success, using the problems encountered by the London Ambulance Service Computer Aided Despatch System in 1992 as an example of the former. While he does suggest strategies for avoidance of failure, the author does not offer a corresponding success story. The logical layout of the book continues with a section on organisations, followed by a consideration of the economic, social and political environments in which systems operate. Returning from the general to the particular, Benyon‐Davis offers sections on development, planning and management. The penultimate section of the book is devoted to e‐business. Finally, the author attempts to draw some conclusions as to the nature of informatics, as a career, profession, academic field or basis for academic research. There is a four‐page bibliography and a combined glossary and index which looks a bit odd at first but is straightforward to use.

As a text for a newcomer to the subject, the book benefits from the author’s chosen style of breaking information into manageable chunks. Use is made of Buzan‐style mindmaps to set out the learning outcomes for each chapter, text examples are in highlighted blocks, as are appropriate diagrams. Apart from confusingly having two sections labelled “part 2” in the contents, the book is well laid out, and the text is clear and readable. Although the author set himself a substantial task to synthesise the theoretical and practical aspects of a wide‐ranging subject field, he has succeeded in providing a useful addition to the literature.