Book excerpt: "Human-Computer Interaction and Management Information Systems: Foundations" offers state-of-the-art research by a distinguished set of authors who span the MIS and HCI fields. The original chapters provide authoritative commentaries and in-depth descriptions of research programs that will guide 21st century scholars, graduate students, and industry professionals. Human-Computer Interaction (or Human Factors) in MIS is concerned with the ways humans interact with information, technologies, and tasks, especially in business, managerial, organizational, and cultural contexts. It is distinctive in many ways when compared with HCI studies in other disciplines. The MIS perspective affords special importance to managerial and organizational contexts by focusing on analysis of tasks and outcomes at a level that considers organizational effectiveness. With the recent advancement of technologies and development of many sophisticated applications, human-centeredness in MIS has become more critical than ever before. This book focuses on the basics of HCI, with emphasis on concepts, issues, theories, and models that are related to understanding human tasks, and the interactions among humans, tasks, information, and technologies in organizational contexts in general.