Itb Data And Information

Data is unprocessed raw information. Data is normally stored in a database or a file. Information is the result of processing, manipulating and organizing data in a way that adds to the knowledge of the person receiving it.

A system is a group of interrelated components, with clearly defined boundary, working together towards a common goal by accepting inputs and producing outputs in an organized transformation process.

Input involves capturing and assembling elements that enter the system to be processed. For example raw materials, energy, data, and labour must be secured and organized for processing. Processing involves transformation processes that convert input into output. Examples are manufacturing process, mathematical calculation etc.

Output involves transferring elements that have been produced by a transformation process to their ultimate destination. For example finished products, management information transferred to the end users.

A manufacturing system accepts raw materials as input produces finished goods as output. An information system is a system that accepts resources (data) as input and processes them into products (information) as output. A business organisation is also a system where economic resources are transformed various business processes into goods and services.

Our basic IS model shows that an information system consists of five major resources: 2. People 3. Hardware 4. Software 5. Data and 6. Networks.

End users (clients) are people who use an information system or the information it produces. They can be customers, sales person, engineers etc. IS specialists are people who develop and operate information systems. They include systems analysts, software developers, system operators and other managerial, technical and clerical personnel.

Hardware resources: They include all physical devices and materials used in information processing. It includes not only machines such as computers and their peripherals but also data media such as tangible objects on which data is recorded, that is right from sheets of paper to magnetic or optical disks etc.

Software resources: The concept of software resources includes all sets of information processing instructions. It includes not only the sets of operation instructions called programs, which direct and control computer hardware, but also the sets of information processing instructions called procedures that people need.

Data can take many forms, like alphanumeric data, composed of numbers and alphabetical and other characters that describe business transactions and other events and entities. Text data, consisting of sentences and paragraphs used in written communications, image data, such as graphic shapes and figures, and photographic and video images, and audio data, the human voice and other sounds are also important forms

The data resources of information systems are typically organized, stored and accessed by variety of data resource management technologies into: Databases that hold processed and organized data  Knowledge bases that hold knowledge in a variety of forms such as facts, rules and case examples about successful business practices

Network Resources: Telecommunications technologies and networks like internet, intranets and extranets are essential for the success of electronic business and commerce. Telecommunications networks consist of computers, communication processors and other devices interconnected by communications media and controlled by communications software.

Input of Data Resources: Input typically takes the form of data entry activities such as recording and editing. Once entered, data may be transferred into a machine-readable medium such a magnetic disk until needed for processing. Processing of Data into Information: Data are subjected to processing activities such as calculating, comparing, sorting, classifying and summarizing. These activities organise, analyse, and manipulate data thus converting them into information for end users.

Output of Information products: Information in various forms is transmitted to end users and made available to them in the output activity. The goal of information systems is the production of appropriate information products for end users. Common information products include messages, reports, forms, and graphic images, which may be provided by video displays, audio responses, paper products and multimedia. Storage of Data Resources: Storage is a basic system component of information systems. Storage is the information system activity in which data and information are retained in an organised manner for later use.

Control of system performance: An important information system activity is the control of system performance. An information system should produce feedback about its input, processing, and output and storage activities. This feedback must be monitored and evaluated to determine if the system is meeting established performance standards. Then appropriate system activities must be adjusted so that proper information products are produced for end

Transaction Processing System Management Information System Decision Support Systems

A Transaction Processing System (TPS) is a type of information system that collects, stores, modifies and retrieves the data transactions of an enterprise. A transaction is any event that passes the ACID test in which data is generated or modified before storage in an information system

Rapid Processing- TPS systems are designed to process transactions virtually instantly to ensure that data is available to the processes that require it. Reliability- designed to incorporate comprehensive safeguards and disaster recovery systems. These measures keep the failure rate well within tolerance levels. Standardization- Transactions must be processed in the same way each time to maximise efficiency. To ensure this, TPS interfaces are designed to acquire identical data for each transaction, regardless of the customer. Controlled Access- TPS must be restricted to only those employees who require their use. Restricted access to the system ensures that employees who lack the skills and ability to control it cannot influence the transaction process

Batch Processing Real Time Processing

Batch processing is a resource-saving transaction type that stores data for processing at pre-defined times. Batch processing is useful for enterprises that need to process large amounts of data using limited resources.

Credit card transactions, for which the transactions are processed monthly rather than in real time. Credit card transactions need only be processed once a month in order to produce a statement for the customer, so batch processing saves IT resources from having to process each transaction individually.

In many circumstances the primary factor is speed. For example, when a bank customer withdraws a sum of money from his or her account it is vital that the transaction be processed and the account balance updated as soon as possible, allowing both the bank and customer to keep track of funds.

It is basically concerned with processing data into information, which is then communicated to the various Departments in an organization for appropriate decision-making.   Data Information Decisions

 

Communication

MIS plays a vital role in ensuring that an appropriate data is collected from various sources, processed and sent to the needy destinations, fulfills the information needs of an individual, a group and the management functionaries at all levels. MIS satisfy’s these needs through a variety of systems such as query, analysis, modeling and decision support systems. The figure given below explains the working of MIS

A business transaction can be any business event like a payment or receipt of purchase etc. When a transaction takes place it is first processed through TPS with the help of operational databases. An operational database is a database containing up-to-date modifiable data. From the TPS the transactions move to MIS, which draws inputs from internal and external sources and then stores the updated transaction (output) in application databases to be used either for internal distribution through intranet or for other systems like the Decision Support systems, Executive support

Drill down Reports Scheduled reports Key-indicator report Demand report Exception report

Drill down Reports: These are reports that move from summary information to the detailed data that created it. For example, adding totals from all the orders for a year creates gross sales for the year. Drilling down would identify the types of products that were most popular Scheduled reports: Produced periodically, or on a schedule (daily, weekly, monthly) Key-indicator report: It summarizes the previous day’s critical activities. Typically available at the beginning of each day Demand report: Gives certain information at a manager’s request Exception report:

To provide managerial end users with information products that support much of their day to day decision making needs. To provide variety of reports to the management To retrieve information about internal operations from databases that has been updated by TPS To obtain data about the business environment from external sources so as to process them to serve the managers in

A decision support system (DSS) is a computer program application that analyzes business data and presents it so that users can make business decisions more easily. Typical information that a decision support application might gather and present would be: Comparative sales figures between one week and the next Projected revenue figures based on new product sales assumptions The consequences of different decision alternatives, given past experience in a context that is described A decision support system may present

Also referred to as EIS that is Executive Information System. Executive Support System (ESS) is a reporting tool (software) that allows you to turn your organization's data into useful summarized reports. These reports are generally used by executive level managers for quick access to reports coming from all company levels and departments such as billing, cost accounting, staffing, scheduling, and more.

In addition to providing quick access to organized data from departments, some Executive Support System tools also provide analysis tools that predicts’ a series of performance outcomes over time using the input data. This type of ESS is useful to executives as it provides possible outcomes and quick reference to statistics needed for decisionmaking. Data Information Knowledge Action

It facilitates everyday information processing tasks in offices and business organizations. It provides effective ways to process personal and organizational business data, to perform calculations and to create documents.

Word processing A spreadsheet A presentation tool A database A schedule

Considering that organizations require increased communication, today, office automation is no longer limited to simply capturing handwritten notes. In particular, it also includes the following activities: Exchange of information Management of administrative documents Handling of numerical data Meeting planning and management of work schedules

INFORMATION SYSTEM LEVELS:   Top Mgmt Middle Mgmt Lower Mgmt Operational Mgmt

At the operational level, known as functional level, routine production or clerical operations are performed. Operational systems provide little feedback directly to the employees. For e.g., the materials clerk receives a material requisition, fills the requisition and files a report of action taken. The records of transactions occurring at the operational level constitute data that, when collected, organized and processed becomes the basis for higher level

Lower management performs supervisory functions. For e.g., the supervisor cross checks the material requisition form submitted by the material clerk at the operational level and takes corrective actions.

Middle management functions are known to be tactical in nature. This level is responsible for planning, allocation and control of resources necessary to accomplish the organizational goals. Authority is delegated to the supervisory level and performance is measured. Top management functions are strategic in nature. These include establishment of the goals, long range planning, product

INFORMATION GENERATORS: Information systems are developed in a company to meet not only its internal reporting needs but also the external reporting needs that arise from its general business environment. The internal information needs are represented by the nine functional business systems. Externally generated needs are represented by nine agencies.

BUSINESS INFORMATION SYSTEM: Business Information System supports the functional areas of business (marketing, production/operations, accounting, finance, and human resource management) through a wide variety of computer-based operational and management information systems.

Other wise called as Cross Functional Information systems as they are integrated combinations of business information systems, thus sharing information resources across the functional units of an organization. Let’s now briefly study the application of MIS across the functional units of an organisation.

It is an Information System that supports planning, control, and transaction processing required for the accomplishment of marketing activities, such as sales management, advertising and promotion

A dynamic collaborative process of creating, purchasing, and improving products and services that builds close relationships between business and its customers, using variety of services on the Internet, intranets and extranets. The marketing materials can be put on customers’ or prospectus’ computer screens using either Push or Pull technologies.

Pull Marketing It relies on the customer to access the services of the internet using the Web browser. For e.g., A customer would use the browser to find and read or download multimedia marketing material from a company’s web site. Push Marketing It relies primarily on software called Web broadcasters or net broadcasters. For e.g., Softwares such as PointCast, Backweb, and Castanet automatically transmits a variety of information from the web or other sources to the

Step-1

Segment and identify potential customers (Initial market research done by reaching relevant groups-WWW servers, newsgroups)

Step-2

Create promotional, advertising, and educational material (WWW page with multimedia effects-audio and video) Put the material on the customer’s computer screens Push-based marketing-direct marketing using Web broadcasters, newsgroups and E-mail Pull-based marketing- indirect marketing(static)www pages

Step-3

Step-4

Interacting with customers Dialogue with the customer, interactive discussion among customer about various features offering endorsements, testimonials, questions/answers.

Step-5

Learning from customer Incorporating feedback from customers in advertising, marketing strategy identifying new markets, using experience in new product development

Step-6

Online customer service Fast, friendly solutions to customer problems

SFA were originally meant to improve sales force productivity and encourage salespeople to document and communicate their field activities. But today they are becoming increasingly focused on cultivating customer relationships and improving customer satisfaction. Sales Force Automation Systems (SFA), typically a part of a company’s customer relationship management system, is a system that automatically records all the stages in a sales process. SFA includes a contact management system which tracks all contact that has been made with a given customer, the purpose of the contact, and any follow up that might be required. This ensures that sales efforts are not duplicated, reducing the risk of irritating customers.

SFA also includes a sales lead tracking system, which lists potential customers through paid phone lists, or customers of related products. Other elements of an SFA system can include sales forecasting, order management and product knowledge. More developed SFA systems have features where customers can actually model the product to meet their required needs through online product building systems

Marketing Managers try to maximize sales at the lowest possible costs for advertising and promotion. Marketing information systems use market research information and promotion models to help: Select media and promotional methods Allocate financial resources Control and evaluate results of various advertising and promotion campaigns Targeted marketing has become an important tool in developing advertising and promotion strategies for a company’s electronic WEB sites.

Sales manager must plan, monitor, and support the performance of the salespeople in their organizations. So in most firms, computer based systems produce sales analysis reports that analyze sales by product, product line, customer, type of customer, salesperson, and sales territory. Such reports help marketing managers monitor sales performance of products and salespeople and help them develop sales support programs to improve sales results.

Market Research information systems provide marketing intelligence to help managers make better marketing forecasts and develop more effective marketing strategies. Marketing information system help researchers to collect, analyze, and maintain an enormous amount of information on a wide variety of market variables that are subject to continual change. This includes information on customers, prospects, consumers, and competitors. Data can be gathered from many sources, including a company’s databases, data marts and data warehouse, www sites. Then a variety of statistical software tools can help managers analyze

CRM is a combination of policies, processes, and strategies implemented by an organization to unify its customer interactions and provide a means to track customer information. It involves the use of technology in attracting new and profitable customers, while forming tighter bonds with existing ones.

Front office operations — Direct interaction with customers, e.g. face to face meetings, phone calls, email, online services etc.   Back office operations — Operations that ultimately affect the activities of the front office (e.g., billing, maintenance, planning, marketing, advertising, finance, manufacturing, etc)   Business relationships — Interaction with other companies and partners, such as suppliers/vendors and retail outlets/distributors, industry networks (lobbying groups, trade associations) This external network supports front and back office activities.   Analysis — Key CRM data can be analyzed in order to plan target-marketing campaigns, conceive business strategies, and judge the success of CRM activities (e.g., market share, number and types of customers,

Product Managers need information to plan and control the performance of specific products, product lines, and brands. Computer-based models may be used to evaluate the performances of current products and the prospects for success of proposed products.

They support production/operations function of an organization. Information systems used for operations management and transaction processing, support firms in planning, monitoring, & controlling inventories, purchases & the flow of goods and services.

To simplify production processes, product designs and factory organization as a vital foundation to automation and integration To automate production processes and the business functions that support them with computers, machines and (possibly) robots To integrate all production and support processes using computer networks, cross-functional business software and other information technologies

Combines material requirement planning with other manufacturingrelated activities to plan the manufacturing process such as: Shop activity control and purchasing Source of demand Customer order entry and forecasting Support functions such as financial management, sales analysis, and data collection

Engineering System: Engineering information systems aid engineers in designing new products and simulate operations with the help of Computer aided designs, Computer aided engineering etc

Human Resource Information Systems support, Planning to meet the personnel needs of the business Development of employees to their full potential Control of personal policies and programs Recruitment Job placement Performance appraisals Employee benefits analysis Training and development Health, safety, & security HRM and the Internet

Allows companies to process most common HRM applications over their intranets Allows companies to provide aroundthe-clock services to their employees Allows companies to disseminate valuable information faster Allows employees to perform HRM tasks online

Accounting Information System: An accounting information system (AIS) is the system of records a business keeps to maintain its accounting system. This includes the purchase, sales, and other financial processes of the business. The purpose of AIS is to accumulate data and provide decision makers (investors, creditors, and managers) with information. While this was previously a paper-based process, most businesses now use accounting software. In an electronic financial accounting system, the steps in the accounting cycle are dependent upon the system itself. For example, some systems allow direct journal posting to the

Order processing: Captures & processes customer orders and produces data needed for sales analysis and inventory control Inventory Control: Helps provide high-quality service while minimizing investment in inventory & inventory carrying costs Accounts Receivable: Keeps records of amounts owed by customers from data generated by customer purchases and payments

Accounts Payable: Keeps track of data concerning purchases from, and payments to suppliers Payroll: Receives and maintains data from employee time cards and other work records General Ledger: Consolidates data received from accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll, & other accounting information systems

It is a system that accumulates and analyzes financial data in order to make good financial management decisions in running the business. The basic objective of the financial information system is to meet the firm's financial obligations as they come due, using the minimal amount of financial resources consistent with an established margin of safety. Outputs generated by the system include accounting reports, operating and capital budgets, working capital reports, cash flow forecast, and various What-If Analysis reports. The evaluation of financial data may be performed through ratio analysis, trend evaluation, and financial planning modeling.

It involves the following steps, Estimate the monthly cash outflows both operating and capital expenditures   Estimate the monthly cash inflows   Compare inflows and outflows. If surplus funds exist, then find ways to use them productively. If there is shortage, then find ways to reduce outflows and increase inflows.  Identify and compare outside funding sources   Establish a system for tracking flow of funds and measuring the return rate on

The system approach to problem solving uses a systems orientation to define problems and opportunities and develop solutions. Studying a problem and formulating a solution involve the following interrelated activities. Recognize and define a problem or opportunity using systems thinking. Develop and evaluate alternative system solutions Select the system solution that best meets your requirements Design the selected system solution to meet your requirements. Implement and evaluate the success of the designed system.

Defining Problems and Opportunities: Problems can be defined as basic condition that is causing undesirable results. Opportunity is a basic condition that presents the potential for desirable results. Symptoms are merely signals of an underlying cause or problem.

Example:

Symptom

Sales of a company’s products are declining.

Problem

Sales person are losing orders they cannot get current information on product prices and availability.

Opportun ity

We could increase sales significantly if salespersons could receive instant responses to requests for prices quotations and product availability.

Developing Alternative Solutions: There are usually several different ways to solve any problem or pursue any opportunity. Where do alternative solutions come from? Experience is a good source Past history Advice from others Recommendations of consultants Suggestions of expert Decision support software can be used to development alternative solution

Evaluating Alternative Solutions: These alternative solutions must be evaluated so that the best solution can be identified. Then evaluation criteria need to be developed in order to determine how well each alternative solution meets these criteria. Criteria may be ranked or weighted, based on their importance in meeting our requirements.

Example: Criteria

Relative Weights

Alternative A

Relative Score

Sales Data Entry by Sales Reps Using Laptop Linked to Company Intranet Web Site

• Start-up costs • Operating costs • Ease of use • Accuracy • Reliability Overall score

Advantages

Disadvantages

Alternative B

Relative Score

Sales Data Entry by Optical Scanning of Forms Mailed to the Data Center by Sales Reps

20

$1 million

12

$100,000

18

30

$100,000/year

25

$200,000/year

20

20

Good

16

Fair

12

20

Excellent Excellent

20

Fair Excellent

6

10 100

10 83

10 66

Low operating costs, easy to use, accurate, and reliable

Low start-up cost and reliable

High start-up cost

High operating costs, difficult to use, and not very accurate

Selecting the Best Solution: Once all alternative solutions have been evaluated, you can begin the process of selecting the best solution. Alternative solutions can be compared to each other because they have been evaluated using the same criteria. Therefore in the previous example, Alternative with a low accuracy evaluation should be rejected. Therefore, alternative B for sales data entry is rejected, and alternative A, the use of laptop computers by sales representatives, is selected.

Designing and Implementing a Solution: Once a solution has been selected, it must be designed and implemented. An implementation plan specifies the resources, activities, and timing needed for proper implementation. Using the above example, the following items might be included in the design specifications and implementation plan for a computer-based sales support system: Types and sources of computer hardware, and software to be acquired for the sales representatives Operating procedures for the new sales support system Training of sales reps and other personnel Conversion procedures and timetables for final implementation

Using the systems approach to develop information system solution involves a multistep process called the Information systems development cycle (ISDC) also known as the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC).

1. System Investigation- Feasibility Studies: A feasibility study is a preliminary study which investigates the information needs of prospective users and determines the resource requirements, costs, benefits and feasibility of a proposed project.

These are the questions that have to be answered in the systems investigation stage. Do we have a business problem (or opportunity)? What is causing the problem? Would a new or improved information system help solve the problem? What would be a feasible information system solution to our problem? The feasibility study of proposed system can be evaluated in terms of

Organizational feasibility: It investigates how well the proposed information system supports the strategic objectives of the organization. Economical feasibility: It is concerned with whether expected cost savings, increased revenue, increased profits, reduction in required investment, and other types of benefits will exceed the cost of developing and operating a proposed system. Technical feasibility: It is concerned with the acquisition or development of reliable hardware and software capable of meeting the needs of a proposed system for the business in the required time. Operational feasibility: It is concerned with the willingness and ability of the management,

2. System Analysis - Functional Requirements: System analysis describes what a system should do to meet the information needs of users. Functional Requirements are end user information requirements that are not tied to the hardware, software, network, data and people resources that end users presently use or might use in the new system. It includes,

User interface requirements: The input/output needs of end users that must be supported by the information system, including sources, formats, content, volume and frequency of each type of input and output Processing requirements: Activities required to convert input into output. Includes calculations, decision rules, and other processing operations, and capacity, throughput, turnaround time, and response time needed for processing activities Storage requirements: Organization, content, and size of databases, types and frequency of updating and inquiries, and the length and rationale for record retention Control requirements: Accuracy, validity, safety, security, and adaptability requirements for system input, processing, and output and

3. System Design – System specifications: System Design specifies how the system will accomplish the objective. System Design can be viewed as the design of user interfaces, data, and processes

System Design

It involves process design of, User services: Front-end software that communicates with users through a graphical user interface. Application services: Software modules that can - enforce business rule, process information and manage transactions. Application services may reside on the client and server. Data services: Data is made available to the application services software for processing. This is typically accomplished through a database management system.

It also involves Prototyping : The rapid development and testing of working models, or prototypes, of new information system applications in an interactive, iterative process involving both systems analysts and end users. Prototyping makes the development process faster and easier for system analysts, especially for projects where end user requirements are hard to define. Prototyping Process: A typical prototypingbased systems development process in business comprises of: Team, Schematic design, Prototype, Presentation, Feed back,

Team

A few end users and IS developers from a team to develop a business application

Schematic

The initial prototype schematic design is developed

Prototype

The schematic is converted into a simple point-and click prototype using prototyping tools.

Presentation Feedback

A few screens and routine linkages are presented to users. After the team gets feedback from users, the prototype is reiterated

Reiteration

Further presentations and reiterations are made

Consultation

Consultations are held with central IT developers/consultants to identify potential improvements and conformance to existing standards of the organization

Completion

The prototype is converted into finished application

Acceptance

Users review and sign off on their acceptance of the new systems

Installation

The new application software is installed on network servers