Customer Reviews

Introduction to Information Systems

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(20)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is just what it claims to be--an introduction to information systems. There is not a tremendous amount of detail here, but I believe there is enough to give the reader a good idea of the concepts involved. At times, the author does seem to carry on more than is needed, and often you can understand the concept of a chapter very well just by reading the sentences containing the bold words. The best part of the book, in my opinion, is the use of real-world examples, to show how the concepts discussed are being put into use, and how they have benefited real-life companies.

Chances are, if you're buying this book, it's for a college level course. I am a non-business major, and this book was part of a class I took as a general education credit. For this, I think the book is adequate, because it gives a decent introductions into IS without a lot of details. BIS majors, however, will not benefit a great deal from this book, as everything is so basic that it will be of little benefit to someone serious about working with information systems.

The organization of this book is very good, and very understandable. The way the author organized the main concepts and backed them up with real-world examples is commendable. However, there is a problem with the book's content. The main concepts are presented in such a way as to assume the reader had previously been taught what they were. I am presently taking a class with this textbook, and it took three chapters before I finally grasped the idea of what an information system really was! The definitions are sparse, and the language too haughty and technical for students whose main focus is not business management or computers.

Introduction to Information Systems is the book that we are using in my 300 level Business Class in college. I found this book to be well illustrated and informative. It has some information that I have covered in earlier computer classes, but with a litter more in depth knowledge. I have found that the Summary at the end of each Chapter covers the main points, but leaves out some important information. I have found the Review Quiz at the end of each Chapter to be most helpful study tool. The book is well illustrated and contains alot of business examples. I think this is a good book for upper level information systems classes.

in this book every single sentence is a long,I mean very long, definition.The amount of information pressed into each single chapter is amazing. THis book claims to be an introduction to information systems, I have some backround information and still have trouble to understand this text. I would definitely not recomend this book. Please pick something else, and there are many better books out there.

For my Business Information Systems class, the required textbook was Introduction to Information Systems by James O'Brien. When I was evaluating this textbook, I considered several different aspects. First of all, I looked at whether or not it was very easy to read and understand. The reading was not too difficult, but sometimes it could be confusing. I found myself re-reading a passage several times trying to make sense of it. With regard to the figures, illustrations, and tables my opinon is not very high. I found the charts and tables to be somewhat confusing at times. When I look at the illustrations I expect to be able to understand the material better. But instead, I found myself having difficulty figuring them out. Overall, I did not like this textbook as much as other books I have used in the past. It wasn't a horrible failure, but I think there could be some definite improvements made in the next edition.

The Introduction to Information Systems textbook was used in my 300 level Business Information Systems class. The text, with it's 13 chapters, has an abundance of information, some of which I have learned in basic computer courses at the freshman level and there are things mentioned that I never knew existed. The key terms are highlighted and easily understood in the context they were written. While studying for tests I found it useful taking the Review Quiz at the end of each chapter. i also like the Real World Case Studies throughout each chapter in the textbook. When you can associate related information to real companies and the similiar problems they face you gain more than reading a textbook solution. The items I found of little interest or use were the list of selected references at the end of each chapter and some of the figures used in the chapters. The figures used sometimes made understanding the material a little harder. The two suggestions I would like to mention for improving this textbook are the use of more real-life situations throughout each chapter when talking about the complicated terms. Secondly by adding a compact disc (CD) along with the book that would have interactive learning tools and sample test questions. Overall, this book has been a satisfactory learning tool although I would not retain the textbook. With the fast pace of computers and Information Technology (IT) changing so shall the terminology and concepts this textbook now offers. In comparsion to other business related courses and the textbooks they use, also published ny McGraw-Hill, this one is easier to follow and understand.

As a student trying to come to grips with what Informations Systems are I found this book very hard to get into. The author seems to constantly make a series of statements(which go on for ever) rather than discuss the basic concepts involved.
It is grossly over schematic, and the reader could be forgiven for thinking that O'Brian could write ten chapters on how the corner store should be run !

Introduction to Information Systems 9/E is a traditional book because of the organization of the table of contents and the five-level framework that is used to describe the stages of Information Systems development. This text provides brief but complete coverage of the major topics covered in a first course and has been thoroughly revised to reflect the movement toward enterprise-wide business applications. All case studies and real-world problems have been updated to correspond with this movement as well. The 9E is the "Essentials" version of O'Brien's books. The text's focus is on teaching the general business manager how to use and manage the most current IT technologies like the Internet, Intranets, and Extranets for electronic commerce and enterprise collaboration, and how IT contributes to competitive advantage, reengineering business processes, and decision making.

Book was easy enough to read and understand with lots of Real World scenerios to help bring in the point. Unfortunately with all loose leaf books...pages are not that sturdy.

I have no complaints about this book it is in great condition for the class I am in only thing I am missing is the CD but we aren't using it for class anyway