Business Informatics – (B.Sc.)

In Deggendorf, it is possible to study Business Informatics either as an extra-occupational program or a full time one. Extra-occupational takes 9 semesters and the classes take place on Friday afternoon and Saturday. The rest is taught as self-study. The fee per year is 1000 euros.

The full time study takes 7 semesters including one practical semester.

Business Informatics can be seen to be a subset of organisational informatics. Organisational informatics is fundamentally interested in the application of information, information systems and ICT within organisations of various forms including the private sector, public sector and voluntary sector organisations [1].

Organisational informatics is interested not only in ICT, information systems, information and organisations in isolation but in their interaction and the effects that emerge from such interaction. As such, the area draws much of its analytical focus from the concept of systems and the application of systemics. Three types of organisational systems and their interaction are considered: activity systems, information systems and ICT systems.

Organisational informatics also builds its conception of the relationship between three types of organisational systems around a detailed consideration of the concept of information. Hence the concept of information system is central to the area.

Business organisations are considered as systems of activity which rely on systems of information. Within the modern business, information systems, in turn, rely on systems of technology, particularly systems of information and communication technology (ICT). The distinctions between these three types of business system are as follows:

An activity system is a logical collection of activities performed by some group of people in pursuit of some goal. The key output of an organisational activity system is therefore activity or action. Another term now used as a synonym for an activity system is organisational or business process.

An information system is a system of communication between people. Information systems are systems involved in the gathering, processing, distribution and use of information. The key output of an information system is clearly information which is used to support activity systems in organisations.

An ICT system is an organised collection of hardware, software, data and communication technology designed to support aspects of some information system. An ICT system outputs data for interpretation as information within some activity system.