The Foundation of Business Computing - Assignment Example

Foundation of Business Computing Name Institution Date Table of Contents Running Head: FOUNDATION OF BUSINES COMPUTING 1 1 FOUNDATION OF BUSINES COMPUTING 19 2 Table of Contents 2 Question 1. 3 Information Systems and its components 3 Question 2. 4 Types of information systems used in organizations 4 Question 3. 6 Peter Drucker definitions of knowledge worker and knowledge society 6 Question 4. 7 Similarities and differences between Data marts and warehouses 7 Question 5. 8 Benefits of using Extranets 8 Question 6. 9 Emerging topics in consumer-to-consumer e-commerce 9 Question 7. 11 Types of software licenses 11 Question 8. 12 Types of intelligent agents and their benefit to organizations 12 Question 9 14 (a) Risk analysis as it relates to information systems 14 (b) Ways to approach systems security risk 15 Question 10. 16 Information accuracy, information privacy, and information property Instructions 16 Question 1. Information Systems and its components Information systems are ways through which organizations and people, making use of technologies, store, process, gather, disseminate and use information. It is a set of components that are inter-related that facilitate control, planning, decision making, coordination and analysis in companies and a variety of other organizations (Rainer, 2008). Hardware and Software Hardware refers to the machine itself and all other supporting equipments. Valacich and Schneider (2010) note that it is any machine that is able to replace or supplement human work. Among the supporting equipments include both input and output devices, storage components and communication devices. Software are programs together with the manuals that support them. They are machine readable instructions that play the role of directing the circuitry within the system parts to enable it function accordingly. Useful information is produced. Data According to Nagabhushana (2006), these are facts that are utilized by programs in the production of useful information. Data are also stored in machine-readable form on a tape or disk until when they are required. Just like any program, data is stored in the machine in a readable form until it is required. People They are the builders and managers of Information Systems. Every information systems require people in order for it to be useful and it is the component that greatly influence or affect the failure or success of information systems (Snijders & Weatherill, 2003). Organizational component Varying types of systems are utilized in different organizations. Information systems are effectively and efficiently utilized in the organization under the supervision of relevant personnel. Question 2. Types of information systems used in organizations Decision support systems According to Valacich and Schneider (2010), decision support systems are particularly designed to assist the management in decision making in circumstances where there is uncertainty concerning the likely outcomes of the decisions. Decision support systems comprise techniques and tools to assist in the gathering information that is relevant and analyze the alternatives and options. It involves the incorporation of databases and spreadsheets that are complex to come up with ‘what-if’ models. Management Information Systems These are designed to help lower management in decision making and problem solving. They utilize the outcomes of transaction processing and any other information. The handle data quickly as soon as it arrives. It concentrates on sources of information that are internal. Operational supervisors and middle management use this kind of system (Cegielski & Rainer, 2009). Transaction processing system These are specifically designed to process transactions that are routine accurately and efficiently. Transactions are different from organization to organization. These could include stock controls to process all movements within, out and into the organization, purchasing and production systems to calculate requirements for raw materials, billing systems to send customer invoices, systems to calculate monthly and weekly tax payments and payroll. Executive information systems These are strategic-level information systems that are found at the top level of the organization. They assist the senior managers and executives to assess the environment in which the organization is operating, to point out long-term trends, and to appropriately plan courses of action. It is designed to help is strategic decision making process. It gathers, summarizes and analyses the key external and internal information used in the organization. Office Automation Systems These are the systems that help in the improvement of employee productivity and data processing. They include the wide range of software systems that are in place for the purpose of improving the productivity of employees working in the office. They make work easier in the office. Question 3. Peter Drucker definitions of knowledge worker and knowledge society Peter Drucker defines knowledge worker as a person who is mandated to classify tasks to be undertaken. It is believed that the knowledge worker has had a wider interaction with the task compared to the manager. The management has to treat its knowledge workers as assets and not as costs to be expensed. Concerning knowledge society executives have to integrate the different knowledge areas into an organic whole in order to fulfill the organizational mission. The knowledge worker task has to be defined by the knowledge worker whereas the executive has to integrate the work of all knowledge workers and approve the tasks’ definition. The management has to enhance the productivity of the knowledge workers. I agree with the definitions. This is because the definitions are appropriate and relevant. For example, knowledge workers may own their own capital but they need organizations to put their specialized knowledge to work in the production and design of useful products and services. The software designer, for instance, needs the operator of hardware to test and use that particular software (Valacich & Schneider, 2010). Question 4. Similarities and differences between Data marts and warehouses Data marts and data warehousing are both tools used in storage of data. With time small companies grow big and they come to realize that they have collected huge amounts of data in the different departments of the organization. Each department has its own database. Data marts and data warehouse come in play at this juncture. A data mart is an extraction and indexing system. As opposed to putting the data from the various departments of an organization into a warehouse, data mart comprises of database of separate departments and can come up with information by use of databases that are multiple when asked. A data warehousing is a place where all the data of an organization is stored. It is a kind of computer system that has a huge capacity for storage. It comprises of data from all the departments of the organization whereby it is updated constantly to delete data that is redundant. This type of tool can be used to answer all queries that are complex concerning data. Data mart comprises of data, programs, hardware and software of a specific department of the organization. An organization can have different data marts for sales, finance, marketing or production. The data marts are different but they can be coordinated. Data mart of a particular department is different from that of another department despite being indexed, is not suitable for large data base as it is designed to meet the requirements of a particular department. Data warehouse is not confined to a specific department and it represents the database of an organization that is complete. Data stored in the data warehouse is more detailed although indexing is light as it has to store large amounts of information. It is also challenging to manage and takes a long time in processing. It demonstrates that data marts are easy and quick to use, as they utilize small amounts of data. Data warehouse is also expensive as compared to the data mart for the same reason (Laban & Krnjet, 2007). Question 5. Benefits of using Extranets Reduced margin of error An extranet has the ability to reduce the margin error, especially when it is used to provide specific groups access to internal applications. This can involve something as simple as providing customers access to their order histories, or something which is complex as orders processing from suppliers and distributors (Valacich & Schneider, 2010). Increased productivity As processes get automated that were previously done manually, bottlenecks will be eliminated and the organization productivity will automatically increase. Important information can not be lost in the mail or be forgotten in an e-mail inbox, and employees who are busy would not forget or miss key events. An extranet can, for instance, track activities in the business and initiate specific actions, like placing an order automatically with a supplier when the inventory drops at below a particular level. Increased efficiency Extranet eliminates ay occurrences of inefficiency of a process. For instance, instead of maintaining a copy of a printed booklet, extranet will have the information. Information is kept current by the systems administrator and this implies that it is kept updated. There is always the availability of the information whenever it is needed by the user. Helping the clients to identify the values of the system helps them in understanding the general significance of web as an essential strategic tool (Augusto & UMG, 2008). Flexibility If an extranet is used to make information and applications available to clients, partners, and consumers, each one can operate where and when it is most convenient. The self-serve perspective frees the organization from phone tag and meetings that are unnecessary, and it cuts down on the costs related with in-person information exchanges. An extranet may permit one to provide customer-service information not in regular business hours. Question 6. Emerging topics in consumer-to-consumer e-commerce Multichannel Retailing Shopping are hopping forth and back without restrictions among catalogs, internet sites and retail stores and a seamless transition is expected. It is intriguing that many brick-and-mortar chains have not taken the Web by storm as they might have anticipated. However, with the advancement in technology, multichannel commerce will loose meaning because consumers are currently connected through a wider array of internet facilities. Customers are able to interact with the sellers through touch points such as stores, mobile sites and websites (Zhang & Nunamaker, 2003). More Satisfied Customers Researchers from the University of Michigan who track online customer satisfaction on quarterly basis are of the view that e-commerce companies made consumers happier as compared to offline retailers during the do-or-die fourth quarter. Consumers know what they are to anticipate. According to Valacich and Schneider (2010), online shoppers tend to come back despite some terrible customer service experiences, especially in the 1999 holiday season when shoppers on Tyrus.com were not attended to a few days before Christmas. Consumers do their own thing For retailers and their respective marketing departments, the Web provides a special promise. It permitted them to know where their customers came from and went online, what enticed them to buy, and what made them to desert a shopping cart and leave the store for good. Despite the large amounts of data, consumers are still not easy to predict and even harder to persuade to change. Consumer behavior in itself is very static and the Web has done nothing to change this trend. Shoppers will do whatever they think is best to themselves. Question 7. Types of software licenses Limited License (LL) It is an agreement in which the software bought has limits and/or restrictions on to all number of copies available for use or installation. According to Zhang & Nunamaker (2003), Limited Licenses are in some circumstances limited to a demarcated number of computers or as many users operating a particular program at any given time in relation to the number of Concurrent Copies bought. Particular Limited Licenses for educational institutions are confined to use in connection with on-campus computing facilities that are solely used in support of classroom research activities and instructions to students, teaching staff and faculty, and the research staff (Valacich, & Schneider, 2010). Unlimited Site License (USL) It is an agreement in which the software is bought with no restrictions concerning the number of copies which are available for installation. USL’s are in some circumstances limited to specific people, for instance, a state funded staff and faculty. The only cost that a department or an individual may have to incur is the cost for burning a CD and/or purchasing documentation. Some Unlimited Site License are available for checkout, normally for one to three days, some are downloadable through the internet. Documentation concerning some Unlimited Site License may be found on limited loan in the Reserve Book Room in Library or in PDF format on the internet. Volume Purchase Agreement (VPA) This is an agreement where software is bought in a large number at a subsidized price. VPA are in most cases, set ups having particular vendor. They have no specific quantity such as Aztec shops. They can also be carried out as a set purchase with a charge back to the institution, for instance MarketingMaker. A number of VPAs allow for a larger number of copies to be purchased at a subsidized price after the copies (initial) copies have been distributed. Question 8. Types of intelligent agents and their benefit to organizations Model-based reflex agents A model-based agent is able to handle a partially observable environment. Its prevailing state is stored inside the agent observing some kind of structure that describes the part of the world which is invisible. This knowledge concerning ‘how the world works’ is called a model of the world hence being given the name: ‘model-based agent’. A model-based reflex agent must maintain some sort of internal model that depends on the percept history and consequently reflects at least some of the unfelt aspects on the current state. It then chooses an action in the same way as reflex (Valacich & Schneider, 2010). Simple reflex agents Simple reflex agents act only on the foundation of the current percept, overlooking the rest of the percept history. The agent function is founded on the condition-action rule: a condition is followed by an action. The agent function only succeeds when the environment is completely observable. Some of reflex agents can also have information on their current state which permits them to disregard conditions whose actuators are already initiated. Infinite loops usually unavoidable for simple reflex agents operating in environment that is partially observable. Utility-based agents Goal-based agents barely distinguish between non-goal states and goal states. There is the possibility of defining a measure of how desirable a specific state is. This particular measure can be obtained through the use of a utility function which maps a state to a measure of the utility of the state. A performance that is more general should permit comparison of various world states according to exactly how happy they world make the agent. Utility can be used to define how ‘happy’ the agent is. An agent that is rationally-based chooses the action that maximizes the expected utility of the action outcomes-that is, the agent expects to derive, averagely, given the utilities and probabilities of every outcome. A utility-based agent has to model and keep track of its environment, tasks that have taken a great deal of research on representation, perception, learning and reasoning (Kennedy & Mighell, 2008). Goal-based agents Goal-based agents expand further on the capabilities of the model-based agents, by the use of ‘goal’ information. Goal information defines situations that are desirable. This permits the agent away to choose among a variety of possibilities, picking the one which reaches a goal state. Search and Planning are the components of artificial intelligence dedicated to finding action sequences that achieve the goals of the agent (Valacich, & Schneider, 2010). Each agent operates autonomously and knows its purpose and behavior. It works on the behalf of the user and it performs goal oriented tasks without involvement of human agent that is direct. Roles are tied to goals that agents are attempting to proactively achieve. Question 9 (a) Risk analysis as it relates to information systems Risks analysis is an on-going process of determining vulnerabilities and threats, and coming up with a relevant management program to eliminate potential monetary losses and harm to the reputation of an organization. A proactive and thorough risk analysis is an important step towards the establishment of a security program that is sound. Ruzic-Dimitrijevic and Nikolic (2008) argues that vulnerabilities are weaknesses that can be exploited whereas threats have the ability to harm an organization. Valacich and Schneider (2010) argue that the degree of the information security program should be commensurate with the level of risks that can be traced to the organization’s networks, systems, and assets of information. For instance, institutions providing transactional internet banking activities are faced with greater risks are compared to information-only web site. Real-time funds transfer is exposed to greater risks as compared to batch-processed or delayed transactions since the actions are immediately processed. The degree at which an institution contracts with vendors of third party will also have an impact on the nature of risk assessment program (Inmon, Strauss & Neushloss, 2008). During the assessment of information security products, the management should realize that many products offer a combination of risk analysis features, and can involve multiple or single operating systems. Some institutions or organizations avail independent certifications and assessments of the adequacy of computer security products such as firewalls (Khosrow-Pour, (2006). (b) Ways to approach systems security risk There are a number of measures that can be used to deal with systems security risk and these will include: Logical controls Logical controls are also referred to as technical controls and make use of data and software to control and monitor access to information and computing systems. These will include such things like network intrusion detection systems, network and host based firewalls, passwords, data encryption and access control lists. One significant logical control that is usually ignored is the principle of the list privilege. According to Hulett (2009), the principle requires that an individual, system process or program is not granted anymore access privileges than necessary to perform the task. An illustration of failure to observe the principle is logging into Windows as user administrator to read Email and surf the Web. Administrative controls Administrative controls are also known as procedural controls and consist of approved written procedures, policies, guidelines and standards. Administrative controls make up the foundation of management of people and running the business. They give information on how the business is to be run and how daily operations are to be carried out. Regulations and laws enacted by the government agencies are also a kind of administrative controls since they give information to the business. Examples include password policy, corporate security policy, disciplinary policies and hiring policies (Tatnall, 2007). Physical controls Physical controls control and monitor the environment of the computing facilities and work place. They also control and monitor access to and from such facilities. These could include locks, doors, heating and air conditioning, fire suppression, smoke and fire alarms, barricades, cameras, security guards, fencing, and cable locks. The separating of the network and work place into functional areas are also types of physical controls. Duties separation is also a physical control measure that ensures that an individual can not complete a critical task by himself (Valacich, & Schneider, 2010) Question 10. Information accuracy, information privacy, and information property Instructions Information privacy Information privacy is the relationship that exists between dissemination and collection of data, technology and the expectation of the public of privacy, the political and legal issues involving them. Non-existent or improper disclosure control can be a major cause for privacy concerns. Information accuracy Accuracy is the level at which data is free from errors. Data is not often free from error. Errors may occur at the initial gathering. Error can occur when entering or it may be corrupted within the information system. It is important that data emanating from various sources should be compared to detect errors. Data accuracy is the correctness or accuracy of stored data. Information accuracy is attained when it is extracted from data that is accurate (Valacich & Schneider, 2010) Information property Instructions This is the kind of information that gives guidelines or direction on the use of property. They give description on the property and they can be used for listing of property in an information system. Information property instruction will vary depending on the circumstances in which they are drafted and they are very particular. Information system is a wide field that is made up of many intricate parts that are keenly knitted together comprehensively. References Valacich, J & Schneider, C (2010) Information Systems Today, 4th Edition. Upper Saddle River: Pearson. Tatnall, A. (2007). Encyclopedia of portal technologies and applications. Pennsylvania: Idea Group Inc (IGI Hulett, D. (2009). Practical Schedule Risk Analysis. Hampshire: Gower Publishing, Ltd. Rainer, K.R. (2008). Introduction to Information Systems: Supporting and Transforming Business. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons. Jessup, L.M. (2008). Information systems today: managing in the digital world. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. Kennedy, D. & Mighell, T. (2008). The lawyer's guide to collaboration tools and technologies: smart ways to work together. New York: American Bar Association. Inmon, W.H., Strauss, D. & Neushloss, G. (2008). DW 2.0: the architecture for the next generation of data warehousing. San Francisco: Morgan Kaufmann. Ponniah, P. (2010). Data Warehousing Fundamentals for IT Professionals. London: John Wiley and Sons. Nagabhushana, S. (2006). Data Warehousing Olap and Data Mining. New Delhi: New Age International. Laban, M., Krnjet in, S., & Nikolic, B. (2007). Risk management and risk assessment in the enterprise. Symposium about Occupational Safety and Health, Novi Sad, pp. 44-57. Khosrow-Pour, M. (2006). Emerging trends and challenges in information technology management. 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