The difference between IT And IS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The difference between IT And IS - Essay Example In the contemporary environment of advancing technology and globalization, dynamic strategies and exploiting knowledge and information become major enabling elements of competitive advantage. Technology has redefined business dynamics with far reaching ramifications for businesses as well as for people at large.Balutis (2009) has emphasized that businesses need to address the challenges of technology and make them integral part of their business strategies. Indeed, technology has emerged as powerful tool of communication which must be innovatively exploited within organizations for creating a wider database of new opportunities and scope. Information system and technology are part of broader spectrum of knowledge application mechanisms that facilitate firms to explore new opportunities and maintain their niche position in the industry. The paper would therefore be discussing the role of information system and information technology in the knowledge management. Differences between Inf ormation system and information technology Cohen (1997, 2000) has contested that information system is very complex because it encompasses diversity of issues and concepts which are open to myriad interpretations. It is therefore an evolving process where environmental changes and scientific developments redefine contexts and mechanisms to give new meaning to an issue or defined paradigm. Drucker (1998) strongly asserts that access to information is the prerequisite element of success within firms. Information facilitates wide ranging knowledge about the existing and emerging paradigms of businesses which is exploited by them to gain market leverage. Most importantly, information greatly improves and improvises the work productivity of workers who are better informed and can make effective decisions (Johnson & Lederer, 2010). Thus, while information can be broadly described as collation of data into meaningful form, the information system is the mechanism of storing and manipulating the strategic business information for higher growth and efficient delivery of organizational goals and objectives (Phillip, 2007: Stonier, 1997.). Information technology, on the other hand, refers to all computing technologies that facilitate information dissemination. It encompasses collaborating tools of communication that are used by firms and people to gain knowledge and apply them within the business processes. The broader precinct of information technology facilitates selection, creation, application, integration and administration of computing technologies so as to meet the goals and objectives of businesses and provide firms with unique capabilities to meet new challenges (Melville et al., 2004)). Thus IT caters to the planning and management of various hardware and software products lifecycle so that technology can constantly meet the changing needs and requirements of the organization. Consequently, information system and information technology primarily differ in their objectives and the context of application. Information system helps develop database of information that is streamlined into defined format so as to acquire value for the user. The fundamental objective of creating information system is to ensure smooth flow of relevant information across people that would help them in making informed decisions for higher performance outcome (Reynolds, 2010). At the same time, information technology provides the facilitating platform of computing technology vis-a-vis hardware and software tools that facilitate networking and flow of information across people and places. Thus IT serves as a key mechanism to integrate various modules of information system regarding the various processes and spheres of business paradigms to produce the desired outcome of efficiency, quality, productivity and revenue or profit. Knowledge management and technology Knowledge management by organizational leadership is inherently linked to the tacit manipulation of informed choices (Bateman & Snell, 2008). The transfer of