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Over the twentieth century, the ability to process information in terms of labor units has improved by a factor in the order of 1 to 5 trillion. This improvement represents a compounded growth rate of between 30 to 35 percent per year for a century. At the turn of the twentieth century, the mechanical calculator offered a modest productivity increase but the number of workers required to maintain the accounts of a medium-sized business still remained very high. Many tasks would take a large investment in equipment and a significant number of accountants’ weeks to process. A hundred years later, the same tasks can be completed by a standard desktop computer in minutes. The challenge for management has transitioned from a simple reduction in labor requirements to leveraging the increased processing power to develop competitive, efficient, and profitable organizations.

With this example in mind, use the assigned readings for this module and respond to the following:

• Explain how information systems influence businesses to be more competitive, efficient, and profitable.
• Provide at least one example for each factor.