Notes On Few Topics
Notes On Few Topics
· source,
· data,
Even though the broad objectives of management as an entity may be same, like
increasing shareholder value, it is by no means a monolithic entity. As has already
been discussed, there are different levels of management and each performs its
specific purpose. The top level deals with strategy, the middle level with tactical issues
and the bottom level with operational issues. The top level that deals with strategy will
be taking strategic decisions, middle level will take tactical decisions and entry level will
take operational decisions. Now in order to take such decisions, contextual information
will need to be provided.
A manager at the top level who is deciding on the location of a new factory of the
organization has strategic consideration like the labor costs of the location, proximity of
the location to the market and long-term growth prospects in mind. He/she is not
bothered about the shop floor level operational details like the reason for absence of a
worker. He/she will have a strategic view and would need only such information that
helps him to take correct decisions. Information is only a resource to him if it can help
him to improve the quality of his strategic decision-making. Similarly for other tiers,
information is only a resource if one can derive value from it.
Information Management
The business of information which is today a multibillion dollar industry first started
when a firm called Bloomberg started compiling important information about US
companies and their balance sheets and selling them to stock brokers. This was the
first open trade in information as a resource in modern times. From then on,
information (external) has been regarded as a resource that is traded10 sometimes
freely and openly as in published literature and sometimes clandestinely in the form of
corporate intelligence reports. Also, internal information is seen as equally valuable
and every effort is made to derive more value from it and to ensure that this internal
information does not find its way outside the organization.
The idea of information management is based on the fundamental premise that
information is a resource that is valuable for an organization. The entire subject of
information management is about how to derive more and more value from this
precious resource. However, unlike most other resources that have to be procured
from the outside environment, most information resource is available within the
organization if an effort has been made for its safekeeping. Detailed logs of
transactions of an organization with its external and internal customers over a period
mostly form the basic ingredient of a good quality information resource. This basic
information repository is then drilled and analyzed for actionable information, this is one
aspect of information management in which strategies are used to derive greater value
from the internal repository of data and information. The other aspect of information
management is to ensure that this internal information is not „leaked‟ to the outside
world of competitors.
There are four levels of computerised information handling. These are:
At the apex, the top level managers may need decision support system (DSS).
This would be an inter-active system that provides the user-manager with easy access to
decision models and data in order to support semi-structured and non-structured
decision-making tasks. Inputs for DSS can be some processed data, and
mostly management-originated data along with some unique models. The DSS would
involve queries and responses, operations research models, and simulation. The output
from DSS would be special reports to resolve difficult questions and replies
to management queries.
At the middle management level (if there exists one), MIS would deal with an
organised set of procedures to provide information for middle managers to support their
operations and decision-making within the organisation. At this level, inputs for MIS
would be both processed and raw-data and some management-originated data, along
with pre-programmed models. The MIS process would involve report generation
data management, simple models and statistical methods. The outputs from MIS would
be filtered and screened for semi-routine decisions and replies to
simple management queries.
At the clerical level, office and other automation control system can be in
operation. Office automation system (OAS) is simple in an automated office having
multiple functions, where the integrated and computer-aided system allows many
office activities to be performed with electronic equipment. The OAS would have inputs
such as appointments, documents, addresses, etc. The OAS processing would be
scheduling word-processor, data storage and retrieval.
The needs of each of these three levels must be met if a coordinated and effective
solution is to be maintained in the long-term. Failure to address any one of the levels
will lead to areas of the business or individuals finding their own solution, which may
not fit well within the strategic goals of the organisation.
Corporate
At the top is the corporate information that is useful for the whole organisation. This
‘global’ information is generally fairly well addressed by the corporate intranet (even
if the intranet itself needs improvement).Examples of corporate information include
policies and procedures, HR information, online forms, phone directory, etc.
Interestingly, there may be a limited amount of truly global information, and it may
not deliver the greatest (measurable) business benefits.
Individual
At the lowest level is the personal information needs of staff throughout the
organisation. Examples include correspondence (both internal and external), reports
and spreadsheets.
In most organisations, staff must struggle with using e-mail to meet their information
management needs. While staff generally recognise the inadequacy of e-mail, they
have few other approaches or technologies at their disposal.
Note that some organisations (such as consulting firms) are heavily dependent on
personal information management amongst their staff.
ADVANTAGES OF COMPUTERIZATION
2. Accuracy: The data processed by the computer are highly accurate. The
programs written on the system checks and controls data before and during
processing. It detects invalid data and ensures high degree of accuracy and
reliability of output reports.
8. Volume: Computers can store volumes of data and can retrieve the
desired information quickly. This is very useful in the areas like insurance,
bank accounts etc where large number of documents is handled every day.
10. Reduction in paper work: The use of computers for data processing has
helped the management of business organizations to cope with increasing
problem of paper handling. The computers have speeded up the process
and have eliminated the paper needs through the storage of data in
elaborately constructed data bases and files.
11. Reduced cost: Though the initial investment for installing a computer is
high, but it substantially reduces the cost of each of its transaction. Cost
reduction occurs due to processing of huge data and record keeping.
16. Diligence: Being a machine, it does not suffer from boredom, tiredness
or lack of concentration, even if millions of computations are to be
performed by a computer. It performs the calculations with same accuracy
and speed.
USE OF COMPUTERS FOR MANAGERIAL OPERATIONS
Sales and accounting systems, for example, typically capture data when a customer
places an order. Workers on the factory floor can enter manufacturing data into tablets
or PCs, or the production machines themselves can capture data automatically. These
detailed, nuts-and-bolts numbers are the raw materials that eventually become useful
management information.
For example, a monthly sales report shows customer names and what they bought.
The MIS may generate the reports on demand, on a schedule or when preset
conditions are met.
Ad Hoc Reporting
Many of the reports in an MIS system are “canned”, as software developers wrote the
specifications when the system was first created. Ad hoc (improvised) reports are also
possible. In this instance, you can use database software to create a custom report.
For example, in a certain month, an item you make may have been painted the wrong
color. An ad hoc report can pull useful information from the MIS, such as who bought
the item and when or which production machine made the item. The manager may
create the report herself from a menu-driven reporting system, or she may ask a data
technician to do it for her.
In virtually every business, a computer is an essential tool for running the day-to-day
operations, enhancing productivity and communicating with customers, suppliers and the
public. Managers use computers for a variety of reasons, including keeping their teams on
track, budgeting and planning projects, monitoring inventory and preparing documents,
proposals and presentations. Managers need to understand not only the basic functions of the
corporate software tools used in the office but also the Internet and other external computing
tools that can improve the way they manage their departments.
Business Planning
Business planning can take up a lot of a manager's time, but computer programs
make it easier. From using email programs like Outlook or Google Mail to set
appointments, tasks and deadlines to using financial tools to develop budgets and
project proposals, using computers to plan the day-to-day activities of a business is
essential. Managers also use the Internet to research their industries, the competition
and to look for ideas to help them create plans to engage customers, win more
business and succeed in the competitive world of business.
Record Keeping
Managers keep track of a lot of information that is vital to the company's success.
From customer records to financial records to employee records, the data a company
has to store are seemingly endless. Using computers to store and manage
documents, files and records reduces the amount of physical storage a company
needs and also allows managers to have easy access to their files using simple
document search methods. Additionally, by keeping records, managers can easily
share information about an employee's history and job performance with other
managers in the company.
Communication
One of the most common uses for computers in business is communication.
Communication is essential not only between employees but with customers as well.
Many customer service departments use computers to log service issues and make a
record of their resolutions. Using email and instant messaging programs allows
employees to gather information from one another that they need to complete their
jobs. It also allows managers to delegate work tasks and follow up on projects.
Document Preparation
For creating spreadsheets, presentations, memos and other corporate documents,
computers are essential in business. Managers need to have a basic understanding of
common workplace productivity software such as Microsoft Office, but specialized
industries such as advertising and marketing also require managers to work with more
advanced programs like Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator to create visual materials for
clients.
NETWORK AND VIRTUAL ORGANIZATIONS
The concept of a network means nodes and links. The nodes can be
permanence. Dalsgaard and Bendix (1998) said that within all forms of
network, people can't spare, in good or bad, mutual contact since they
Characteristics of network
organization
operation among the new associates. Within the network structure the
are numerous challenges for doing business for the management of work
and created pressures for new organizational structures and job contents.
Future mobile and wireless technologies will transform the working life
apparent that organizations in both the private and public sector have to
from different locations. Ray Grenier and George Metes argued the
period of time. Grenier and Meters also described that such coalitions
are virtual because products and services are not produced in a single
market.
perspective (1999). The term virtuality was first invented in the area of
big on the outside, while being small on the inside. This is possible with
recommended that ICT are the vital "organizational bond" that embrace
association has been developed and the opportunity has been exploited,
another than they have been in the past, demanding unparalleled levels
Challenges
follows:
asset.
overlapping.
deliverables.
become even supplier, more agile, and to bring products and services to
traditional organization forms are not suitable to retain the needs of this
persistent pace. New forms of organizing, such as the virtual
instability.
push of this effort is UK Gateway, a web portal that will permit citizens
and businesses to carry out all official transactions online. The purpose
standards and the UK will hit its target. Records indicated that in the
people have access to the Internet, and 98 percent of the country's three
Introduction
Knowledge management is an activity practised by enterprises all over the world. In the
process of knowledge management, these enterprises comprehensively gather
information using many methods and tools.
Then, gathered information is organized, stored, shared, and analyzed using defined
techniques.
The analysis of such information will be based on resources, documents, people and
their skills.
Properly analyzed information will then be stored as 'knowledge' of the enterprise. This
knowledge is later used for activities such as organizational decision making and
training new staff members.
There have been many approaches to knowledge management from early days. Most
of early approaches have been manual storing and analysis of information. With the
introduction of computers, most organizational knowledge and management processes
have been automated.
Therefore, information storing, retrieval and sharing have become convenient.
Nowadays, most enterprises have their own knowledge management framework in
place.
The framework defines the knowledge gathering points, gathering techniques, tools
used, data storing tools and techniques and analyzing mechanism.
ERP
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is a process used by companies to
manage and integrate the important parts of their businesses. Many ERP
software applications are important to companies because they help them
implement resource planning by integrating all of the processes needed to
run their companies with a single system. An ERP software system can also
integrate planning, purchasing inventory, sales, marketing, finance, human
resources, and more.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
ERP offerings have evolved over the years from traditional software models
that make use of physical client servers to cloud-based software that offers
remote, web-based access.
EGOVERNANCE
Definition: E-governance, expands to electronic governance, is the
integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in all the
processes, with the aim of enhancing government ability to address the needs
of the general public. The basic purpose of e-governance is to simplify
processes for all, i.e. government, citizens, businesses, etc. at National, State
and local levels.
Benefits of E-governance
Reduced corruption
High transparency
Increased convenience
Growth in GDP
Direct participation of constituents
Reduction in overall cost.
Expanded reach of government
Through e-governance, the government plans to raise the coverage and
quality of information and services provided to the general public, by the
use of ICT in an easy, economical and effective manner. The process is
extremely complicated which requires, the proper arrangement of hardware,
software, networking and indeed re-engineering of all the processes to
facilitate better delivery of services.
E-governance has a great role to play, that improves and supports all tasks
performed by the government department and agencies, because it
simplifies the task on the one hand and increases the quality of work on the
other.
EBUSINESS
Introduction to e-Business
E-business or Online business means business transactions that take
place online with the help of the internet. The term e-business came into
existence in the year 1996. E-business is an abbreviation for electronic
business. So the buyer and the seller don’t meet personally.
It is easy to set up
There are no geographical boundaries
Much cheaper than traditional business
There are flexible business hours
Marketing strategies cost less
Online business receive subsidies from the government
There are a few security and integrity issues
There is no personal touch
Buyer and seller don’t meet
Delivery of products takes time
There is a transaction risk
Anyone can buy anything from anywhere at anytime
The transaction risk is higher than traditional business
DSS, DATA WAREHOUSING AND DATA MINING
The model management system S=stores models that managers can use in
their decision-making. The models are used in decision-making regarding
the financial health of the organization and forecasting demand for a good
or service.
2. User Interface
The user interface includes tools that help the end-user of a DSS to navigate
through the system.
3. Knowledge Base
DATA WAREHOUSING
Data warehousing is the process of constructing and using a data warehouse. A data
warehouse is constructed by integrating data from multiple heterogeneous sources that
support analytical reporting, structured and/or ad hoc queries, and decision making.
Data warehousing involves data cleaning, data integration, and data consolidations.
Query-driven Approach
Update-driven Approach
Query-Driven Approach
This is the traditional approach to integrate heterogeneous databases. This approach
was used to build wrappers and integrators on top of multiple heterogeneous
databases. These integrators are also known as mediators.
Process of Query-Driven Approach
When a query is issued to a client side, a metadata dictionary translates the
query into an appropriate form for individual heterogeneous sites involved.
Now these queries are mapped and sent to the local query processor.
The results from heterogeneous sites are integrated into a global answer set.
Disadvantages
Query-driven approach needs complex integration and filtering processes.
This approach is very inefficient.
It is very expensive for frequent queries.
This approach is also very expensive for queries that require aggregations.
Update-Driven Approach
This is an alternative to the traditional approach. Today's data warehouse systems
follow update-driven approach rather than the traditional approach discussed earlier. In
update-driven approach, the information from multiple heterogeneous sources are
integrated in advance and are stored in a warehouse. This information is available for
direct querying and analysis.
Advantages
This approach has the following advantages −
This approach provide high performance.
The data is copied, processed, integrated, annotated, summarized and
restructured in semantic data store in advance.
Query processing does not require an interface to process data at local sources.
DATA MINING
Data mining is one of the most useful techniques that help entrepreneurs, researchers,
and individuals to extract valuable information from huge sets of data. Data mining is
also called Knowledge Discovery in Database (KDD). The knowledge discovery
process includes Data cleaning, Data integration, Data selection, Data transformation,
Data mining, Pattern evaluation, and Knowledge presentation.
The process of extracting information to identify patterns, trends, and useful data that
would allow the business to take the data-driven decision from huge sets of data is
called Data Mining.Difference between JDK, JRE, and JVM
In other words, we can say that Data Mining is the process of investigating hidden
patterns of information to various perspectives for categorization into useful data, which
is collected and assembled in particular areas such as data warehouses, efficient analysis,
data mining algorithm, helping decision making and other data requirement to
eventually cost-cutting and generating revenue.
Data mining is the act of automatically searching for large stores of information to find
trends and patterns that go beyond simple analysis procedures. Data mining utilizes
complex mathematical algorithms for data segments and evaluates the probability of
future events. Data Mining is also called Knowledge Discovery of Data (KDD).
Data Mining is a process used by organizations to extract specific data from huge
databases to solve business problems. It primarily turns raw data into useful information.
Data Mining is similar to Data Science carried out by a person, in a specific situation, on
a particular data set, with an objective. This process includes various types of services
such as text mining, web mining, audio and video mining, pictorial data mining, and
social media mining. It is done through software that is simple or highly specific. By
outsourcing data mining, all the work can be done faster with low operation costs.
Specialized firms can also use new technologies to collect data that is impossible to
locate manually. There are tonnes of information available on various platforms, but very
little knowledge is accessible. The biggest challenge is to analyze the data to extract
important information that can be used to solve a problem or for company
development. There are many powerful instruments and techniques available to mine
data and find better insight from it.
Relational Database:
Data warehouses:
A Data Warehouse is the technology that collects the data from various sources within
the organization to provide meaningful business insights. The huge amount of data
comes from multiple places such as Marketing and Finance. The extracted data is
utilized for analytical purposes and helps in decision- making for a business
organization. The data warehouse is designed for the analysis of data rather than
transaction processing.
Data Repositories:
The Data Repository generally refers to a destination for data storage. However, many IT
professionals utilize the term more clearly to refer to a specific kind of setup within an IT
structure. For example, a group of databases, where an organization has kept various
kinds of information.
Object-Relational Database:
One of the primary objectives of the Object-relational data model is to close the gap
between the Relational database and the object-oriented model practices frequently
utilized in many programming languages, for example, C++, Java, C#, and so on.
Transactional Database:
A transactional database refers to a database management system (DBMS) that has the
potential to undo a database transaction if it is not performed appropriately. Even
though this was a unique capability a very long while back, today, most of the relational
database systems support transactional database activities.
The process of extracting useful data from large volumes of data is data mining. The
data in the real-world is heterogeneous, incomplete, and noisy. Data in huge quantities
will usually be inaccurate or unreliable. These problems may occur due to data
measuring instrument or because of human errors. Suppose a retail chain collects phone
numbers of customers who spend more than $ 500, and the accounting employees put
the information into their system. The person may make a digit mistake when entering
the phone number, which results in incorrect data. Even some customers may not be
willing to disclose their phone numbers, which results in incomplete data. The data
could get changed due to human or system error. All these consequences (noisy and
incomplete data)makes data mining challenging.
Data Distribution:
Real-worlds data is usually stored on various platforms in a distributed computing
environment. It might be in a database, individual systems, or even on the internet.
Practically, It is a quite tough task to make all the data to a centralized data repository
mainly due to organizational and technical concerns. For example, various regional
offices may have their servers to store their data. It is not feasible to store, all the data
from all the offices on a central server. Therefore, data mining requires the development
of tools and algorithms that allow the mining of distributed data.
Complex Data:
Real-world data is heterogeneous, and it could be multimedia data, including audio and
video, images, complex data, spatial data, time series, and so on. Managing these
various types of data and extracting useful information is a tough task. Most of the time,
new technologies, new tools, and methodologies would have to be refined to obtain
specific information.
Performance:
The data mining system's performance relies primarily on the efficiency of algorithms
and techniques used. If the designed algorithm and techniques are not up to the mark,
then the efficiency of the data mining process will be affected adversely.
Data mining usually leads to serious issues in terms of data security, governance, and
privacy. For example, if a retailer analyzes the details of the purchased items, then it
reveals data about buying habits and preferences of the customers without their
permission.
Data Visualization:
In data mining, data visualization is a very important process because it is the primary
method that shows the output to the user in a presentable way. The extracted data
should convey the exact meaning of what it intends to express. But many times,
representing the information to the end-user in a precise and easy way is difficult. The
input data and the output information being complicated, very efficient, and successful
data visualization processes need to be implemented to make it successful.
DBMS AND RDBMS, DFD AND DATA DICTIONARY
DBMS
o Database management system is a software which is used to manage the database. For
example: MySQL, Oracle, etc are a very popular commercial database which is used in
different applications.
o DBMS provides an interface to perform various operations like database creation, storing
data in it, updating data, creating a table in the database and a lot more.
o It provides protection and security to the database. In the case of multiple users, it also
maintains data consistency.
o Data Definition: It is used for creation, modification, and removal of definition that
defines the organization of data in the database.
o Data Updation: It is used for the insertion, modification, and deletion of the actual data
in the database.
o Data Retrieval: It is used to retrieve the data from the database which can be used by
applications for various purposes.
o User Administration: It is used for registering and monitoring users, maintain data
integrity, enforcing data security, dealing with concurrency control, monitoring
performance and recovering information corrupted by unexpected failure.
Characteristics of DBMS
o It uses a digital repository established on a server to store and manage the information.
o It can provide a clear and logical view of the process that manipulates data.
o DBMS contains automatic backup and recovery procedures.
o It contains ACID properties which maintain data in a healthy state in case of failure.
o It can reduce the complex relationship between data.
o It is used to support manipulation and processing of data.
o It is used to provide security of data.
o It can view the database from different viewpoints according to the requirements of the
user.
Advantages of DBMS
o Controls database redundancy: It can control data redundancy because it stores all the
data in one single database file and that recorded data is placed in the database.
o Data sharing: In DBMS, the authorized users of an organization can share the data
among multiple users.
o Easily Maintenance: It can be easily maintainable due to the centralized nature of the
database system.
o Reduce time: It reduces development time and maintenance need.
o Backup: It provides backup and recovery subsystems which create automatic backup of
data from hardware and software failures and restores the data if required.
o multiple user interface: It provides different types of user interfaces like graphical user
interfaces, application program interfaces
Disadvantages of DBMS
o Cost of Hardware and Software: It requires a high speed of data processor and large
memory size to run DBMS software.
o Size: It occupies a large space of disks and large memory to run them efficiently.
o Complexity: Database system creates additional complexity and requirements.
o Higher impact of failure: Failure is highly impacted the database because in most of
the organization, all the data stored in a single database and if the database is damaged
due to electric failure or database corruption then the data may be lost forever.
RDBMS
All modern database management systems like SQL, MS SQL Server, IBM DB2, ORACLE,
My-SQL and Microsoft Access are based on RDBMS.
Although DBMS and RDBMS both are used to store information in physical database but
there are some remarkable differences between them.
1) DBMS applications store data as file. RDBMS applications store data in a tabular form.
2) In DBMS, data is generally stored in In RDBMS, the tables have an identifier called primary
either a hierarchical form or a key and the data values are stored in the form of
navigational form. tables.
4) DBMS does not apply any RDBMS defines the integrity constraint for the
security with regards to data purpose of ACID (Atomocity, Consistency, Isolation and
manipulation. Durability) property.
5) DBMS uses file system to store data, in RDBMS, data values are stored in the form of tables,
so there will be no relation between so a relationship between these data values will be
the tables. stored in the form of a table as well.
6) DBMS has to provide some uniform RDBMS system supports a tabular structure of the data
methods to access the stored and a relationship between them to access the stored
information. information.
8) DBMS is meant to be for small RDBMS is designed to handle large amount of data.
organization and deal with small it supports multiple users.
data. it supports single user.
9) Examples of DBMS are file Example of RDBMS are mysql, postgre, sql
systems, xml etc. server, oracle etc.
The main differences between DBMS and RDBMS are given below:
After observing the differences between DBMS and RDBMS, you can say that RDBMS is
an extension of DBMS. There are many software products in the market today who are
compatible for both DBMS and RDBMS. Means today a RDBMS application is DBMS
application and vice-versa.
DFD
DFD is the abbreviation for Data Flow Diagram. The flow of data of a system
or a process is represented by DFD. It also gives insight into the inputs and
outputs of each entity and the process itself. DFD does not have control flow
and no loops or decision rules are present. Specific operations depending on
the type of data can be explained by a flowchart. Data Flow Diagram can be
represented in several ways. The DFD belongs to structured-analysis modeling
tools. Data Flow diagrams are very popular because they help us to visualize
the major steps and data involved in software-system processes.
Components of DFD
DATA DICTIONARY
A data dictionary contains metadata i.e data about the database. The data dictionary is
very important as it contains information such as what is in the database, who is allowed
to access it, where is the database physically stored etc. The users of the database
normally don't interact with the data dictionary, it is only handled by the database
administrators.
The data dictionary in general contains information about the following −