1. Define the Internet, Intranet and E-Commerce.

Discuss the advantage of

E-commerce over conventional business. Briefly describe the different
generation of E-business.
INTERNET
The Internet is a new world. The Internet is not only "The Big Picture," it also
offers a global perspective. By providing connectivity to anyone with a computer
and a telephone line, the Internet is the networking breakthrough of our lifetime. It
includes everything from universal e-mail to transactions between individuals and
between companies. Of course, this now includes commerce as well as
information exchanges and new directories (such as search engines) that provide
phone book-style accessibility for digital communications.Some of the most
important results of this networking revolution are new forms of marketing and
outreach, new connections between customers and collaborators, new sources
for news and research, and opportunities for new kinds of distribution of products
(as well as of information). But because the Internet is the broadest information
super-highway, it lacks some of the security and privacy that's needed for the
internal workings of business organizations. Advanced features like multimedia
are also more likely to be limited because most individuals are still using dial-up
connections and, as a result, have very limited data bandwidth.

INTRANETS
Intranets are new kinds of internal networks. Think of "Intra" as it is used in
Intramural sports. Intranets tend to resemble the architecture of a closed-circuit
video network as opposed to the Internet which is more like broadcasting in
terms of its reach. Intranets are used for more private communications,
connectivity among work groups and larger organizations. For example, some
companies use Intranets to offer corporate services such as benefits programs
and other kinds of corporate communications. Also, Intranets enable information
sharing that empowers employees who might otherwise be left "out of the loop."
(See "Groupware" below.) Because of their limited geographic range, Intranets
offer more bandwidth, frequently Ethernet's 10Kbps or better. As a result of this
bandwidth and the "closed loop" structure, more advanced networking features
such as video and multimedia, as well as more technological control, are
possible. For example, a company can specify that a specific web browser and
even a specific version of that browser (licensed by the company) be used on its
network. This enables a consistent and more dependable user experience than is
possible on the Internet. Even Internet related services such as Pointcast can be
customized for a particular company and its Intranet.

E-COMMERCE:
Conducting business online. Selling goods is possible to do electronically
because of certain software programs that run the main functions of an e-
commerce Web site, including product display, online ordering, and inventory
management. The software resides on a commerce server and works in
conjunction with online payment systems to process payments. Since these
servers and data lines make up the backbone of the Internet, in a broad sense,
e-commerce means doing business over interconnected networks.

The definition of e-commerce includes business activities that are business-to-

business (B2B), business-to-consumer (B2C), extended enterprise computing
(also known as "newly emerging value chains"), d-commerce, and m-commerce.
E-commerce is a major factor in the U.S. economy because it assists companies
with many levels of current business transactions, as well as creating new online
business opportunities that are global in nature.

Here are a few examples of e-commerce

accepting credit cards for commercial online sales
generating online advertising revenue
trading stock in an online brokerage account
driving information through a company via its intranet
driving manufacturing and distribution through a value chain with partners on an
extranet
selling to consumers on a pay-per-download basis, through a Web site
Advantages of Electronic Commerce over conventional Business:
The greatest and the most important advantage of e-commerce, is that it enables
a business concern or individual to reach the global market. It caters to the
demands of both the national and the international market, as your business
activities are no longer restricted by geographical boundaries compare to
convention business. With the help of electronic commerce, even small
enterprises can access the global market for selling and purchasing products and
services. Even time restrictions are nonexistent while conducting businesses, as
e-commerce empowers one to execute business transactions 24 hours a day
and even on holidays and weekends in convention business this is not possible.
This in turn significantly increases sales and profit. Electronic commerce gives
the customers the opportunity to look for cheaper and quality products. With the
help of e-commerce, consumers can easily research on a specific product and
sometimes even find out the original manufacturer to purchase a product at a
much cheaper price than that charged by the wholesaler. Shopping online is
usually more convenient and time saving than conventional shopping. Besides
these, people also come across reviews posted by other customers, about the
products purchased from a particular e-commerce site, which can help make
purchasing decisions. For business concerns, e-commerce significantly cuts
down the cost associated with marketing, customer care, processing, information
storage and inventory management. It reduces the time period involved with
business process re-engineering, customization of products to meet the demand
of particular customers, increasing productivity and customer care services.
Electronic commerce reduces the burden of infrastructure to conduct businesses
and thereby raises the amount of funds available for profitable investment. It also
enables efficient customer care services. On the other hand, It collects and
manages information related to customer behavior, which in turn helps develop
and adopt an efficient marketing and promotional strategy.

Different generation of E-business.

1.B2B commerce – it is that business activity in which 2 firm or business units
make electronic transaction in which 1 can be a producer firm and other are raw
material supplier firm.
2. B2C commerce – in B2C commerce, 1 party is the firm and other party is a
customer. on the one hand, customer can seek info. , can place an order, get
some items on the Internet and can also make the payment. on the other hand, a
firm can make a survey to know, who buying what and can also know satisfaction
level of customer. a firm can also make delivery of goods like air and train tickets
etc.
3. Intra B commerce – under this, the parties involved are 2 persons or
departments of some business unit. use of computer network makes it possible
for the marketing department to interact constantly with the production. a firms
transactions or interactions with its employees are some time refer to as B to E
commerce. employees can use electronic catalogue and ordering forms.
4. C to C commerce- under C to C commerce, both the parties involved are
customers. it is required for buying and selling of those goods for which there is
no established markets are available.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
INTRANET
An intranet is a private computer network that uses Internet Protocol
technologies to securely share any part of an organization's information or
network operating system within that organization. The term is used in contrast to
internet, a network between organizations, and instead refers to a network within
an organization. Sometimes the term refers only to the organization's internal
website, but may be a more extensive part of the organization's information
technology infrastructure. It may host multiple private websites and constitute an
important component and focal point of internal communication and
collaboration.
An intranet is built from the same concepts and technologies used for the
Internet, such as client–server computing and the Internet Protocol Suite
(TCP/IP). Any of the well known Internet protocols may be found in an intranet,
such as HTTP (web services), SMTP (e-mail), and FTP (file transfer). Internet
technologies are often deployed to provide modern interfaces to legacy
information systems hosting corporate data.

An intranet can be understood as a private analog of the Internet, or as a private

extension of the Internet confined to an organization. The first intranet websites
and home pages began to appear in organizations in 1990-1991. Although not
officially noted, the term intranet first became common-place among early
adopters, such as universities and technology corporations, in 1992.[dubious –
discuss]
Intranets are also contrasted with extranets. While intranets are generally
restricted to employees of the organization, extranets may also be accessed by
customers, suppliers, or other approved parties.[1] Extranets extend a private
network onto the Internet with special provisions for access, authorization, and
authentication (AAA protocol).

Intranets may provide a gateway to the Internet by means of a network gateway

with a firewall, shielding the intranet from unauthorized external access. The
gateway often also implements user authentication, encryption of messages, and
often virtual private network (VPN) connectivity for off-site employees to access
company information, computing resources and internal communications.

e-commerce

Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce or eCommerce, or e-

business consists of the buying and selling of products or services over
electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. The
amount of trade conducted electronically has grown extraordinarily with
widespread Internet usage. The use of commerce is conducted in this way,
spurring and drawing on innovations in electronic funds transfer, supply chain
management, Internet marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data
interchange (EDI), inventory management systems, and automated data
collection systems. Modern electronic commerce typically uses the World Wide
Web at least at some point in the transaction's lifecycle, although it can
encompass a wider range of technologies such as e-mail as well.
A large percentage of electronic commerce is conducted entirely electronically for
virtual items such as access to premium content on a website, but most
electronic commerce involves the transportation of physical items in some way.
Online retailers are sometimes known as e-tailers and online retail is sometimes
known as e-tail. Almost all big retailers have electronic commerce presence on
the World Wide Web.
Advantages of Electronic Commerce

The greatest and the most important advantage of e-commerce, is that it enables
a business concern or individual to reach the global market. It caters to the
demands of both the national and the international market, as your business
activities are no longer restricted by geographical boundaries. With the help of
electronic commerce, even small enterprises can access the global market for
selling and purchasing products and services. Even time restrictions are
nonexistent while conducting businesses, as e-commerce empowers one to
execute business transactions 24 hours a day and even on holidays and
weekends. This in turn significantly increases sales and profit.

Electronic commerce gives the customers the opportunity to look for cheaper and
quality products. With the help of e-commerce, consumers can easily research
on a specific product and sometimes even find out the original manufacturer to
purchase a product at a much cheaper price than that charged by the wholesaler.
Shopping online is usually more convenient and time saving than conventional
shopping. Besides these, people also come across reviews posted by other
customers, about the products purchased from a particular e-commerce site,
which can help make purchasing decisions.

For business concerns, e-commerce significantly cuts down the cost associated
with marketing, customer care, processing, information storage and inventory
management. It reduces the time period involved with business process re-
engineering, customization of products to meet the demand of particular
customers, increasing productivity and customer care services. Electronic
commerce reduces the burden of infrastructure to conduct businesses and
thereby raises the amount of funds available for profitable investment. It also
enables efficient customer care services. On the other hand, It collects and
manages information related to customer behavior, which in turn helps develop
and adopt an efficient marketing and promotional strategy.

Generations of e-commerce

The Four Generations of Ecommerce

Ecommerce, like all other facets of life, has undergone many changes since its
inception as a mainstream marketing and sales medium. Its growth over the last
15 years has seen massive profits and greater opportunity for merchants and
consumers. Let’s take a look at the evolution of ecommerce broken into four
separate generations:
The first generation of ecommerce involved direct business to consumer sales
online. The trend began in 1995 and the most notable entrant to the market was
Amazon.com, the first large online retailer not to have a physical retail outlet. The
concept was simple, to sell your products online directly to the consumer.
The second generation of ecommerce, prompted by online auctions sites such as
ebay, was the introduction of consumer-to-consumer and business-to-business
commerce online. Auction sites allowed ordinary consumers to sell to others
directly, with a very simple business model. This in turn allowed businesses to
sell directly to other businesses.
The third generation of ecommerce was prompted by Yahoo, which took the
existing business to consumer and consumer to consumer model one step
further and setup a super online mall. This was a single large market online,
which sold everything you could possibly want. The sheer variety was possible
because of the combination of businesses and consumers both selling products
in one single searchable location. This generation also saw the introduction of
individual storefronts for small merchants.
The fourth generation of ecommerce saw the introduction in 2009 of business-to-
business to consumer-to-consumer commerce. The concept is simple; it allowed
consumers to sell goods and services to other consumers without actually
maintaining inventory of their own. A business would manufacture products,
which would be sold through another business to a consumer who in turn sells it
to the final consumer.

Latest generation:
As e-commerce continues to evolve at a record pace, websites must keep up
with the ever-changing demands of increasingly knowledgeable and
sophisticated online shoppers.
Companies need to enhance their online presence by applying modern
techniques and technologies -- from dynamic personalization, social shopping,
mobile sites and location-based tie-ins, to experiential commerce, contextual
visualization, liquid layouts and dynamic HTML.
Personalization and Social Sharing
A shopper's "persona" can quickly become evident after just a few interactions on
a website.
With dynamic personalization, that data can be used to enrich the online
shopping experience, serving up fresh, relevant content and functionality to
shoppers as they explore.
With social shopping imperatives constantly changing, it's important to look for
ways in which social networking facets can also be effectively integrated to
maximize sales. Here are a few simple approaches to keep in mind.
Integrating a "Share" button into your interface will allow users to share site
content to their favorite social networking destination.
Integrating Facebook "Like" button functionality can immediately popularize your
site offering.
More sophisticated levels of customization and effort include such tactics as login
integration and review/ratings integration tools, including the commonly used
Facebook Connect.
Contextual Visualization and Product Emphasis
E-commerce sites often mistakenly spend a majority of screen real estate
dedicated to navigation and ancillary functionality, while they devote relatively
little real estate to their all-important product line.
That trend needs to be reversed -- shoppers come to browse and shop for
products, and not to simply admire fancy navigation systems. A site needs to
reflect shopper demand and better showcase the items they're interested in
buying.
To that end, contextual visualization is an increasingly common Web tool,
bringing the online shopping experience to life in an engaging way. Thoughtfully
designed online features will help shoppers visualize how a product will fit into
their life and style, and offer them unexpected and imaginative ways for exploring
before they make a purchase. For example:
Prospective customers can visualize how products, such as clothing, look on
them -- essentially in a virtual dressing room.
They can then match a product with related shopping items, picking from a
selection and "trying on" accessories or different outfits.
They can drag and drop home furnishings, accents, wallpaper or paint into a pre-
set room or office setting to see how different items create a different effect.
Dynamic HTML and Instant Interactions
Dynamic HTML and AJAX technologies offer site visitors virtually instantaneous
interactions, instead of lengthy page reloads that slowly respond to every click.
Dynamic HTML allows for many innovations, for example:
Mega drop-down menus that offer large panels and are easy to access, break
navigation choices into logical groupings, and can feature dynamic or interactive
content.
Robust wizards and comparison tools that help guide shoppers to relevant
products, and suggest alternative items or complementary products, based on
their needs.
A "one-page checkout" to complete an online purchase on a single Web page.
Typography and Font-Serving Technologies
Designers have long been limited to a mere handful of "Web-safe" fonts and
forced to hardcode almost anything else into images. But the advent of HTML5
and font-serving technologies (including TypeKit), has opened up the typographic
palette in new and meaningful ways.
In fact, this trend can translate into targeted, personalized messages in
remarkably brand-consistent ways. Likewise, not having to rely on images for any
custom fonts can lead to faster page downloads and greater accessibility of type
for search engines.
Mobile Expansion
It's no secret that traffic and transactions completed on mobile sites have
increased tremendously over the past year. All predictions point to those
numbers continuously escalating in the near term. But mobile consumers have
notably different needs from those shoppers casually browsing from their
desktops. Here are some tenets to keep in mind when approaching a mobile
interface design:
A dedicated, well-designed mobile site experience is a must for progressive e-
commerce retailers.
Mobile devices have their own set of capabilities and limitations, meaning
designers must adjust their approach accordingly.
Mobile sites should offer some brand and visual continuity from their web
counterparts, but a radically lean style and streamlined content offering is a must
for most mobile sites.
Location-based tie-ins and cross-channel promotional capabilities (made
possible by the GPS capabilities of mobile devices) should be an integral
component of any online site.
Best Practices and Testing
Best practices are called "best practices" for a simple reason: They work.
Ensuring site design is based on well-articulated and understood best practices --
from a website's home page down to the final checkout receipt -- will improve the
overall site experience. Also, integrating A/B and multivariate (MVT) testing into
the design process will invariably elevate the quality of any site. Testing also
saves time and money by short-circuiting lengthy debate and review cycles.
Integrating these ideas into any e-commerce strategy will take a site to the next
level. It will also satisfy increasingly sophisticated and demanding consumers,
greatly enhancing their online experience, which in turn will result in more repeat
visitors to your company's website

2. What is computerized maintenance management? Explain the

conceptual model through which the maintenance function can s achieve
its objectives on a sustained basis.
Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS) enable the facility
manager, subordinates and customers to track the status of maintenance work
on their assets and the associated costs of that work. CMMS are utilized by
facilities maintenance organizations to record, manage and communicate their
day-to-day operations. The system can provide reports to use in managing the
organization's resources, preparing facilities key performance indicators
(KPIs)/metrics to use in evaluating the effectiveness of the current operations
and for making organizational and personnel decisions. In today's maintenance
world the CMMS is an essential tool for the modern facilities maintenance
organization.

Prior to the computer age paper records were maintained to track the work.
Reports were simple but costly to prepare. With the dawn of the computer age it
was recognized computer software could be used to record work requirements,
track the status of the work and analyze the recorded data for managing the
work, produce reports and help control costs. With time computers have become
more powerful, less costly, and easier to use and now provide tools to support
improved maintenance practices. Facility professionals now have the tools to
manage the planning and day-to-day operations and maintenance activities
required for a single facility or a large complex, providing all of the information
required to manage the work, the work force and the costs and provide
management reports and historical data.

The conceptual model through which the maintenance function can s achieve its
objectives on a sustained basis :

A. Operating Locations
The CMMS may include an application that allows an operator to enter and track
locations of equipment (locations in which equipment operates) and organize
these locations into logical hierarchies or network systems. Work orders can then
be written either against the location itself or against the equipment in the
operating location. Using operating locations allows for the tracking of the
equipment's lifecycles (history) and provides the capability to track equipments'
performance at specific sites.

B. Equipment
The CMMS may include a module that allows an operator to keep accurate and
detailed records of each piece of equipment. This module would include
equipment related data, such as bill of material, Preventive Maintenance (PM)
schedule, service contracts, safety procedures, measurement points, multiple
meters, inspection routes, specification data (name plate), equipment downtime,
and related documentation. This equipment data is used for managing day-to-
day operations and historical data that can be used to help make cost effective
replace or repair decisions. The data can also be used to develop additional
management information, such as building equipment downtime failure code
hierarchies for use in maintenance management metrics.

C. Resources
The CMMS may include a separate module to track labor resources. This module
typically includes records for all maintenance personnel, including their craft or
trade categories, such as mechanic, electrician, or plumber. Additionally, this
module may include labor rates in order to capture and track true labor costs
against any asset or piece of equipment. Some CMMS will allow maintenance
managers to also track skill levels and qualifications for each resources to help in
planning and scheduling of work. Grouping labor categories into common
associations can help a manager assign work to particular shop rather than an
individual.
D. Safety Plans
With the emphasis placed on safety throughout Government and industry a
capability for safety plans/planning may be included in a CMMS. The following
capabilities should be provided:
Manual or automatic safety plan numbering.
Building safety plans for special work.
Tracking hazards for multiple equipment and locations.
Associating multiple precautions to a hazard.
Tracking hazardous materials for multiple equipment and locations.
Once hazards and precautions are entered they should be available for reference
and data entry.
Tracking ratings for health, flammability, reactively, contact, and Material Safety
Data Sheets for hazardous materials.
Defining lock-out/tag-out procedures.
Define tag identifications for specific equipment and locations.
Defining safety plans for multiple equipment or locations.
Viewing and linking documents.
Associating safety plans to job plans, to preventative maintenance masters and
to work orders.
Printing safety plans automatically on work orders.
Allowing tag-out procedures to be associated to hazards or directly to locations,
equipment, and safety plans or work orders.
E. Inventory Control
An inventory control module may be included to allow an operator to track
inventory movement such as items being moved in or out of inventory, or from
one location to another. Stocked, non-stocked, and special order items could be
tracked. The module should also allow the tracking of item vendors, location of
items, item cost information, and the substitute or alternate items that can be
used if necessary. Some CMMS recommend and provide the ability to track tools
and provide basic tool-room management features as part of the inventory
module. This feature will allow work planners the ability to see what tools are in
stock and assign tools to various work categories to reduce research effort on the
part of mechanics and technicians working in the field.

F. Work Request
A work request module should be an integral part of a CMMS. The module could
provide the capability for a requestor to input a request, such as a trouble call, or
it could be entered by the maintenance organization's work control. The data
entry screen should be designed for minimal data entry. The work order number
could be assigned manually or automatically. A requester could enter minimal
data and work control could enter additional information as required. Data should
be entered once, and pop-up ables in the system should eliminate the need to
memorize codes.

G. Work Order Tracking

A CMMS must include work order tracking because it is the heart of a work order
system. The data should be entered once, and pop-up tables should eliminate
the need to memorize codes. The tracking system should provide instant access
to all of the information needed for detailed planning and scheduling, including
work plan operations, labor, materials, tools, costs, equipment, blueprints, related
documents, and failure analysis. Of course, this is dependent on how many
modules are installed and how much information has been entered in the system.
The manager must evaluate data requirements and the practicality of adding
modules.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Computerized Maintenance Management System

Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS) enable the facility

manager, subordinates and customers to track the status of maintenance work
on their assets and the associated costs of that work. CMMS are utilized by
facilities maintenance organizations to record, manage and communicate their
day-to-day operations. The system can provide reports to use in managing the
organization's resources, preparing facilities key performance indicators
(KPIs)/metrics to use in evaluating the effectiveness of the current operations
and for making organizational and personnel decisions. In today's maintenance
world the CMMS is an essential tool for the modern facilities maintenance
organization.
Prior to the computer age paper records were maintained to track the work.
Reports were simple but costly to prepare. With the dawn of the computer age it
was recognized computer software could be used to record work requirements,
track the status of the work and analyze the recorded data for managing the
work, produce reports and help control costs. With time computers have become
more powerful, less costly, and easier to use and now provide tools to support
improved maintenance practices. Facility professionals now have the tools to
manage the planning and day-to-day operations and maintenance activities
required for a single facility or a large complex, providing all of the information
required to manage the work, the work force and the costs and provide
management reports and historical data.
Back to Top
Description
The goal of a maintenance manager is to employ a management system that
optimizes the use of scarce resources (manpower, equipment, material, and
funds) to maintain the facilities and equipment that are the responsibility of the
maintenance organization. The system should provide for integrated processes
giving the manager control over the maintenance of all facilities and maintainable
equipment from acquisition to disposal. The following lists what the system
should do:
Address all resources involved,
Maintain maintenance inventory,
Record and maintain work history,
Include work tasks and frequencies,
Accommodate all methods of work accomplishment,
Effectively interface and communicate with related and supporting systems
ranging from work generation through work performance and evaluation,
Support each customer's mission,
Ensure communication with each customer,
Provide feedback information for analysis, and
Reduce costs through effective maintenance planning.
A modern CMMS meets these requirements and assists the facilities
maintenance manager with work reception, planning, control, performance,
evaluation, and reporting. Such a system will also maintain historical information
for management use. The manager should evaluate management data
requirements and establish electronic data needs prior to acquiring a system or
additions to, or replacement of, an existing system. The evaluation should
include a return on investment (ROI) analysis before investing in additional or
new CMMS capabilities. The manager should only acquire what is necessary to
accomplish the maintenance organization's goals. The following paragraphs
include details of capabilities that may be included in a modern CMMS.
A. Operating Locations
The CMMS may include an application that allows an operator to enter and track
locations of equipment (locations in which equipment operates) and organize
these locations into logical hierarchies or network systems. Work orders can then
be written either against the location itself or against the equipment in the
operating location. Using operating locations allows for the tracking of the
equipment's lifecycles (history) and provides the capability to track equipments'
performance at specific sites.
B. Equipment
The CMMS may include a module that allows an operator to keep accurate and
detailed records of each piece of equipment. This module would include
equipment related data, such as bill of material, Preventive Maintenance (PM)
schedule, service contracts, safety procedures, measurement points, multiple
meters, inspection routes, specification data (name plate), equipment downtime,
and related documentation. This equipment data is used for managing day-to-
day operations and historical data that can be used to help make cost effective
replace or repair decisions. The data can also be used to develop additional
management information, such as building equipment downtime failure code
hierarchies for use in maintenance management metrics.
C. Resources
The CMMS may include a separate module to track labor resources. This module
typically includes records for all maintenance personnel, including their craft or
trade categories, such as mechanic, electrician, or plumber. Additionally, this
module may include labor rates in order to capture and track true labor costs
against any asset or piece of equipment. Some CMMS will allow maintenance
managers to also track skill levels and qualifications for each resources to help in
planning and scheduling of work. Grouping labor categories into common
associations can help a manager assign work to particular shop rather than an
individual.
D. Safety Plans
With the emphasis placed on safety throughout Government and industry a
capability for safety plans/planning may be included in a CMMS. The following
capabilities should be provided:
Manual or automatic safety plan numbering.
Building safety plans for special work.
Tracking hazards for multiple equipment and locations.
Associating multiple precautions to a hazard.
Tracking hazardous materials for multiple equipment and locations.
Once hazards and precautions are entered they should be available for reference
and data entry.
Tracking ratings for health, flammability, reactively, contact, and Material Safety
Data Sheets for hazardous materials.
Defining lock-out/tag-out procedures.
Define tag identifications for specific equipment and locations.
Defining safety plans for multiple equipment or locations.
Viewing and linking documents.
Associating safety plans to job plans, to preventative maintenance masters and
to work orders.
Printing safety plans automatically on work orders.
Allowing tag-out procedures to be associated to hazards or directly to locations,
equipment, and safety plans or work orders.
E. Inventory Control
An inventory control module may be included to allow an operator to track
inventory movement such as items being moved in or out of inventory, or from
one location to another. Stocked, non-stocked, and special order items could be
tracked. The module should also allow the tracking of item vendors, location of
items, item cost information, and the substitute or alternate items that can be
used if necessary. Some CMMS recommend and provide the ability to track tools
and provide basic tool-room management features as part of the inventory
module. This feature will allow work planners the ability to see what tools are in
stock and assign tools to various work categories to reduce research effort on the
part of mechanics and technicians working in the field.
F. Work Request
A work request module should be an integral part of a CMMS. The module could
provide the capability for a requestor to input a request, such as a trouble call, or
it could be entered by the maintenance organization's work control. The data
entry screen should be designed for minimal data entry. The work order number
could be assigned manually or automatically. A requester could enter minimal
data and work control could enter additional information as required. Data should
be entered once, and pop-up tables in the system should eliminate the need to
memorize codes.
G. Work Order Tracking
A CMMS must include work order tracking because it is the heart of a work order
system. The data should be entered once, and pop-up tables should eliminate
the need to memorize codes. The tracking system should provide instant access
to all of the information needed for detailed planning and scheduling, including
work plan operations, labor, materials, tools, costs, equipment, blueprints, related
documents, and failure analysis. Of course, this is dependent on how many
modules are installed and how much information has been entered in the system.
The manager must evaluate data requirements and the practicality of adding
modules.
H. Work Management
A work manager module may be a part of the CMMS. The module could provide
the capability that would let a planner specify which labor to apply to specific
work orders and when. The module would permit planning and dispatching.
Planning—In planning, labor assignments would be planned for future shifts.
Each person's calendar availability would be considered when the assignments
are made. The assignments would be created sequentially over the shift, filling
each person's daily schedule with priority work for the craft. It could even split
larger jobs over multiple shifts—automatically.
Dispatching—In dispatching, labor assignments would be carried out as soon as
possible. This system could begin tracking labor time from the instant the
assignment is made. The system operator could interrupt work already in
progress in order to reassign labor resources to more crucial work.
I. Quick Reporting
The CMMS could provide a rapid and easy means for opening, reporting on, and
closing work orders, and reporting work on small jobs after-the-fact. Labor,
materials, failure codes, completion date, and downtime could all be reported.
J. Preventive Maintenance
The following capabilities may be provided in a CMMS to manage a Preventive
Maintenance (PM) program:
Support multiple criteria for generating PM work orders. If a PM master has both
time-based and meter-based frequency information, the program should use
whichever becomes due first, and then update the other.
Generate time-based PM work orders based upon last generation or last
completion date. Next due date and job plans should be displayed.
Permit and track PM extensions with adjustments to next due date.
Trigger meter-based PM by two separate meters.
Print sequence job plans when wanted.
Create a PM against an item so new parts have PM automatically generated on
purchase.
Specify the number of days ahead to generate work orders from PM masters that
may not yet have met their frequency criteria.
Consolidate weekly, monthly, and quarterly job plans on a single master.
Assign sequence numbers to job plans to tell the system which job plan to use
when a PM work order is generated from a PM master.
Permit overriding frequency criteria in order to generate PM work orders
whenever plant conditions require.
Route PM with multiple equipment or locations.
Generate work orders in batch or individually for only the equipment wanted.
Should have the capability to be used with the system scheduler to forecast
resources and budgets.
K. Utilities
A utilities module may be included that contains detailed information on utilities
consumption, distribution, use, metering, allocation to users, and cost. It could
include modeling capability and linkage to utility control systems.
L. Facility/Equipment History
A history module may be included that would contain the maintenance histories
of the facilities and equipment. It would contain summaries of PM, repairs,
rehabilitation, modifications, additions, construction, and other work affecting the
configuration or condition of the items. It would include completed and canceled
work orders. The maintenance history records can be used to support proactive
maintenance techniques such as root-cause failure analysis and reliability
engineering.
M. Purchasing
A mature CMMS may also include a Purchasing module to initiate the requisition
of material against a work order and track the delivery and cost data of the item
when the material arrives. This capability will allow the maintenance manager
improved visibility of matters that can impact work planning and efficiency.
Procuring required material outside the CMMS can often leave information gaps
that can inhibit the effectiveness of work execution and result in redundant parts
orderings and non-standard procurement practices. The purchasing module may
include many functions such as a vendor master catalog, invoicing, purchase
orders, receiving, and even request for quotations.
N. Facilities Maintenance Contracts
A CMMS may contain a contracts module that includes information on
maintenance contracts. With other database files, it provides a picture of each
contractor's past performance, current loading, and planned work. It could
include information on specifications, Government furnished property, quality
assurance, payment processing, delivery orders issued, schedules, and related
matters. It could cover both contracts for facilities maintenance and support
services.
O. Key Performance Indicators/Metrics
The CMMS can be utilized to accumulate the data for KPIs for use in evaluating
the organization's maintenance program. The maintenance management
organization must select the metrics to utilize in establishing their goals and to
measure progress in meeting those goals. The importance of Selecting the Right
Key Performance Indicators cannot be overstated. The KPIs must be based on
data that can be obtained and provide meaningful information that will be utilized
in managing the organization.
P. Specialized Features
Some CMMS providers have also developed specialized capabilities and
features for particular business sectors, functions, or requirements. Maintenance
managers today are able to use their CMMS for tracking transportation and fleet
inventory, including maintenance history, mileages, lease terms, rates, and
accounting data. Other managers are using their CMMS to track deployed assets
such as computers and other IT equipment. Through their CMMS they track
changes, additions, and movement of equipment, including software inventory on
PC. When selecting a CMMS; considering the full scope of asset management
options, with a focus on consolidated IT solutions may be a sensible course of
action.
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Application
A CMMS can be utilized in the management of a range of facilities from a single
facility to a complex/campus. They can also be used to manage the maintenance
program for a grouping of equipment such as a fleet of vehicles. The systems are
very versatile since most are in modular form for the various maintenance
functions and can be customized to fit the particular application. Whatever
system or set of modules are selected for use, careful consideration needs to be
given to Functional Requirements and a sound deployment plan. The CMMS
must meet the needs, constraints, and opportunities of the business and be
implemented in a way that users will welcome the technology and have a vision
for the benefits it brings. Proper configuration, testing, and training can not be
over emphasized when bringing a new CMMS or upgrading an exiting system to
an organization

3. Describe the functions that MIS supports in an organization. What are

the various ways of assessing the value of information? Explain each
method briefly.
Management Information Systems (MIS) is the term given to the discipline
focused on the integration of computer systems with the aims and objectives on
an organization.

The development and management of information technology tools assists

executives and the general workforce in performing any tasks related to the
processing of information. MIS and business systems are especially useful in the
collation of business data and the production of reports to be used as tools for
decision making.

Applications of MIS
With computers being as ubiquitous as they are today, there's hardly any large
business that does not rely extensively on their IT systems.

However, there are several specific fields in which MIS has become invaluable.

1. Strategy Support
While computers cannot create business strategies by themselves they can
assist management in understanding the effects of their strategies, and help
enable effective decision- making.MIS systems can be used to transform data
into information useful for decision making. Computers can provide financial
statements and performance reports to assist in the planning, monitoring and
implementation of strategy.MIS systems provide a valuable function in that they
can collate into coherent reports unmanageable volumes of data that would
otherwise be broadly useless to decision makers. By studying these reports
decision-makers can identify patterns and trends that would have remained
unseen if the raw data were consulted manually.MIS systems can also use these
raw data to run simulations – hypothetical scenarios that answer a range of ‘what
if’ questions regarding alterations in strategy. For instance, MIS systems can
provide predictions about the effect on sales that an alteration in price would
have on a product. These Decision Support Systems (DSS) enable more
informed decision making within an enterprise than would be possible without
MIS systems.

2. Data Processing
MIS Not only do MIS systems allow for the collation of vast amounts of business
data, but they also provide a valuable time saving benefit to the workforce.
Where in the past business information had to be manually processed for filing
and analysis it can now be entered quickly and easily onto a computer by a data
processor, allowing for faster decision making and quicker reflexes for the
enterprise as a whole.

3. Management by Objectives
While MIS systems are extremely useful in generating statistical reports and data
analysis they can also be of use as a Management by Objectives (MBO)
tool.MBO is a management process by which managers and subordinates agree
upon a series of objectives for the subordinate to attempt to achieve within a set
time frame. Objectives are set using the SMART ratio: that is, objectives should
be Specific, Measurable, Agreed, Realistic and Time-Specific.The aim of these
objectives is to provide a set of key performance indicators by which an
enterprise can judge the performance of an employee or project. The success of
any MBO objective depends upon the continuous tracking of progress. In
tracking this performance it can be extremely useful to make use of an MIS
system. Since all SMART objectives are by definition measurable they can be
tracked through the generation of management reports to be analysed by
decision-makers.

4. Benefits of MIS
The field of MIS can deliver a great many benefits to enterprises in every
industry. Expert organisations such as the Institute of MIS along with peer
reviewed journals such as MIS Quarterly continue to find and report new ways to
use MIS to achieve business objectives.

5. Core Competencies
Every market leading enterprise will have at least one core competency – that is,
a function they perform better than their competition. By building an exceptional
management information system into the enterprise it is possible to push out
ahead of the competition. MIS systems provide the tools necessary to gain a
better understanding of the market as well as a better understanding of the
enterprise itself.

6. Enhance Supply Chain Management

Improved reporting of business processes leads inevitably to a more streamlined
production process. With better information on the production process comes the
ability to improve the management of the supply chain, including everything from
the sourcing of materials to the manufacturing and distribution of the finished
product.

7. Quick Reflexes
As a corollary to improved supply chain management comes an improved ability
to react to changes in the market. Better MIS systems enable an enterprise to
react more quickly to their environment, enabling them to push out ahead of the
competition and produce a better service and a larger piece of the pie. Further
information about MIS can be found at the Bentley College Journal of MIS and
the US Treasury’s MIS handbook, and an example of an organisational MIS
division can be found at the Department of Social Services for the state of
Connecticut.

4.. What are integrated software applications? Discuss about their

advantages & business application. What is the most common form of IT-
enabled organizational change?
Integrated software is software that combines the most commonly used
functions of many productivity software programs into one application. The
integrated software genre has been largely overshadowed by fully functional
office suites, most notably Microsoft Office, but at one time was considered the
"killer application" type responsible for the rise and dominance of the IBM PC in
the desktop business computing world.In the early days of the PC before GUIs
became common, user interfaces were text-only and were operated mostly by
function key and modifier key sequences. Every program used a different set of
keystrokes, making it difficult for a user to master more than one or two
programs. Programs were loaded from floppy disk, making it very slow and
inconvenient to switch between programs and difficult or impossible to exchange
data between them (to transfer the results from a spreadsheet to a word
processor document for example). In response to these limitations, vendors
created multifunction "integrated" packages, eliminating the need to switch
between programs and presenting the user with a more consistent interface.

The potential for greater ease-of-use made integrated software attractive to

home markets as well as business, and packages such as the original
AppleWorks for the Apple II and Jane for the Commodore 128 were developed in
the 1980s to run on most popular home computers of the day. Context MBA was
an early example of the genre, and featured spreadsheet, database, chart-
making, word processing and terminal emulation functions. However, because it
was written in Pascal for portability, it ran slowly on the relatively underpowered
systems of the day. Lotus 1-2-3, which followed it, had fewer functions but was
written in assembler, providing it with a speed advantage that allowed it to
become the predominant business application for personal computers. The
integrated software market of today is exemplified by entry-level programs such
as Microsoft Works which are often bundled with personal computers as "starter"
productivity suites Doing business in a global economy means that more and
more businesses are adopting integrated, end-to-end processes. This includes
technology.
Integrated Software advantages & business application.

I. Cuts Business Costs: How? One reason is that it allows firms to purchase
packaged software. Because integrated software combines the most commonly
used functions of many productivity software programs into one application, it is
very practical for every size company – from micro businesses to Fortune 500
corporations. For literally a few hundred dollars, a company has access to a
whole suite of programs for its employees.

II. Ease of Installation: In IT, the costs of operations – which include installing
software – can cut deep into a budget
Using integrated software can help lower IT operations costs because there’s
only one piece of software to install. Furthermore, an IT consultant can quickly
identify and work through any bugs in a program. This means less down time,
which of course, means increased worker productivity.

III. Information Sharing: Integrated software allows the different modules to share
information seamlessly. For example, let’s say a team of three is working on a
proposal.
One member of the team may be doing the writing of the proposal in a word
processing document. The second team member may be using a graphics
program to pull together the illustrations, while the third member of the team may
be creating a spreadsheet of the statistical data for the proposal. Three different
users; three different modules used; one proposal – and one integrated software
package. This is all made possible because the various functions and commands
of integrated software packages are in the same location, ensuring that all
applications share information and work flawlessly together.

IV. Troubleshooting Made Easy: troubleshooting in integrated software packages

is easy because there’s only one user manual. Hence, solutions to problems can
be located easily. And, if there are problems beyond what’s outlined in the user
manual, it’s easy to contact the manufacturer. In short, integrated software allows
businesses to respond quickly to client demand. And, this is what IT for business
is all about.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The terms MIS and DSS stand for Management Information Systems and
Decision Support Systems respectively. There has been a lot of talk regarding
these two, whether they are actually the same thing or if there are any significant
differences between the two.

MIS is basically a kind of link to facilitate communcation between managers

across different areas in a business organization
. MIS plays a pivotal role in enabling communications across the floor of an
organization, between various entities therein.
DSS, many consider, is an advancement from the original MIS. However,this is
not the sole difference between the two. While there may not be too much
separating the two, the difference is still there,as is apparent when we say DSS
is an advancement over MIS.

The essential difference between the two is in focus. DSS, as the term indicates,
is about leadership and senior management in an organization providing good,
reliable judgment as well as vision. MIS, on the other hand, is about focusing on
the actual flow of information itself.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
What is the definition of integrated software?

The definition of integrated software is: a single application to manage your entire
business. Most business' use many different applications to run their business. This
typically includes an accounting software program for small business to keep track of
receivables, payables and general ledger. Another program is used to keep track of
customer information. Another program is used to keep track of inventory. Another
program is used for taking orders. Another for purchasing. Another for managing your web
site etc.

Many companies in trying to achieve the definition of integrated software have adopted
programs that group similar functionality together to provide improved efficiencies. This
typically would be a CRM (customer relationship management) application which includes
sales, marketing and order information. They would also use an ERP (enterprise resource
planning) application which includes accounting / financial information, inventory control,
purchasing and shipping functionality. Finally the company may be employing a web site to
provide an online catalog or e-commerce site where customers can purchase products.

This is only half the battle and still falls short of the definition of integrated software;
using a single application to manage your entire company. The downfalls include poor
communication between programs and departments, extra resources and duplicate data
entry which is prone to errors, expensive integration programming and IT staff to maintain
the multiple applications, poor reporting capabilities, etc.

Netsuite exemplifies the definition of integrated software in a web based accounting

software for smb's. NetSuite is the first and only company to give small and midsize
businesses on demand Web-based business applications that adhere to the definition of
integrated software. With thousands of customers globally, NetSuite has earned
numerous awards for market leadership and innovation from such leading publications as
eWeek, CRM Magazine, InfoWorld, PC Magazine, and The CPA Technology Advisor among
others. Customers, analysts and press recognize that NetSuite alone provides integrated
front office customer relationship management (CRM), back-office enterprise resource
planning (ERP), and ecommerce, as the definition of integrated software states, in one
powerful application with the modularity and flexibility to meet your specific business
needs.

5. Differentiate between DSS, MIS & EIS with the help of suitable example.
Discuss the various phases of System Development life cycle.
SOLUTION: The terms MIS and DSS stand for Management Information
Systems and Decision Support Systems respectively. There has been a lot of
talk regarding these two, whether they are actually the same thing or if there are
any significant differences between the two.

MIS is basically a kind of link to facilitate communication between managers

across different areas in a business organization MIS plays a pivotal role in
enabling communications across the floor of an organization, between various
entities therein.

DSS, many consider, is an advancement from the original MIS. However, this is
not the sole difference between the two. While there may not be too much
separating the two, the difference is still there,as is apparent when we say DSS
is an advancement over MIS.

The essential difference between the two is in focus. DSS, as the term indicates,
is about leadership and senior management in an organization providing good,
reliable judgment as well as vision. MIS, on the other hand, is about focusing on
the actual flow of information itself. An example of the differences between an
MIS, DSS, and EIS using sales trends:

MIS: All reports are pre-programmed. For example, the MIS might be able to
provide reports showing sales by month. The user is required only to select a
report.
EIS: Formatting is pre-programmed, but the data is not. For example, the EIS
could provide sales by day, week, month, quarter or the entire year. The user has
to select a report as well as parameters, such as the time period.
DSS: Rather than providing "reports," a DSS allows interactive analysis of data,
more like a spreadsheet. This allows you to do what-if analysis, for example,
change certain information and see what happens, such as "if sales are X in
March, what will happen to Net Income?" The user can change the data to do
forecasting or more detailed analysis. Saying a DSS is passive means that the
DSS does not help the user in their analysis, instead the user provides the
information. Saying an EIS is active means that the EIS does more for the user,
without requiring them to enter a lot of information.
EIS: The EIS is active because is gives the user all of the information when the
user requests the information, such as sales for the month.
DSS: The DSS is passive because it gives the user more freedom to enter their
own information and explore more "what if" scenarios. For example, the DSS
could show profit for March, but the user could also explore what profit would
have been if sales of widget X increased by 20%. The DSS does not suggest
these scenarios to the user (i.e. it is passive), and the EIS could not perform this
type of analysis because the reports in an EIS are pre-programmed (i.e. it is
active in helping the user because everything is pre-programmed).