Knowledge Worker and Knowledge Society, Types of Information Systems, Data Warehouses, and Data Marts - Coursework Example

Foundation of business computing Name Subject Instructor Institution Date Table of contents Table of contents 3 7.2Free and open source software license 7 8.2Monitoring-and-surveillance agents 8 8.3Data mining agents 8 8.4How can they be used to benefit organizations? 8 11Conclusion 10 1Define the term “information systems” (IS) and explain its data, technology, people and organizational components. Information Systems (IS) refers to an integrated set of components in the field of computer science whose, main purpose is to perform management of information as suggested by (Gallaugher, 2010). It is a scientific field that handles and manages information. Moreover, it is an integration of algorithmic operations and technology and their interactions. Its functions are collection, storage, processing and communication of information. In the contemporary society, information systems are used in management of operations, accounts, municipal governments among others. Information system comprises of hardware and software that enhance data-intensive interactions (Gallaugher, 2010). People who are related with information system include; computer software engineers and programmers, analysts and support specialists and, they are involved in the analysis, planning, upkeep, maintenance, review of work done by other subordinates as well as, setting up security setting and features in the information system. Information technologies are very critical in an information system as they help users to perform tasks that the human brain is not capable of handling. Therefore, this makes it easier to store and handle large amounts of data, carry out complex calculations and also help in the control of simultaneous operations. These technologies are vital and have led to emergence of executives like; information officer, operating director, information security director among others 2List and define five types of information systems used in organizations. The various types of the information system are as a result of the diversity of tasks that require use of an information system (Gallaugher, 2010). It is a concept created to simplify tasks through identification of commonality between different tasks. These include: 2.1An office information system; it enhances work flow and communication in a work environment, and facilitates electronic performance of tasks rather than manual type (Gibb, 2007). The software used includes word processors, databases, spreadsheets among others and hardware include; computers, modems, scanners among others. Communication technologies include voicemail, facsimile and video conferencing. 2.2Transaction processing systems (TPS) are used in capturing and processing of data to give out information during business activities, and apply batch processing techniques. Transaction processing systems provide a very fast and accurate processing of data to give out information and differ depending on the type of the organization. As noted by Gallaugher (2010), they replace the manual operating systems and have a well defined process including applications for keeping records. They are normally operated by trusted staff and, give out data supporting basic normal operation like, payroll system and reservation systems. Supports structured managerial operations also allows the evaluation of performance of a particular system. Example is the management reporting systems. 2.3Management Information Systems (MIS) used to generate information used by management to perform various tasks. It has the ability to give accurate and up-to date information that can be detailed, exceptional or summarized on regular basis (Gibb, 2007). It aids the managers to come to a conclusion, within the shortest time possible. 2.4Decision Support Systems (DSS) used to enable users make a decision and the sources for the data that are either internal such as financial information, sales and the inventories. The external data may include; external information such as the population trends and interest rates. Gibbs (2007), notes that the application of DSS requires the use of software programs such as, the, spreadsheets. It gives information that is used to make a decision based on a particular situation depending on the modeling results. 2.5Expert Systems; is part of artificial intelligence that captures and hold the human expertise after which it behave like a human in decision making. Gibb (2007) asserts that, this system uses the inference rules and the knowledge based principle in arriving at a particular decision. Examples include, speech recognition, reasoning devices, and diagnosing equipments. 3 Peter Drucker has defined the knowledge worker and knowledge society. What are his definitions? Do you agree with them? What examples can you give to support or disprove these concepts? Peter Drucker was an author, a thinker, a consultant and a social ecologist. He gave out explanations on human organization, government and non-profit sectors of the society. He believed that, conspicuous changes would be as a result of information, with knowledge being the central key, and the greatest number of working people will be “knowledge workers” (Drucker, 2003). The determinant characteristic of a knowledge worker was the level of formal education; making education, development as well as, training takes the central position in a knowledge society. Drucker (2003) showed that, workers are great assets in any organization. For any organization to be ahead in development it should tap the information from its people. In 1959, he gave the definition of a “knowledge worker” as a person who uses the mind to work as opposed to just use of hands and advocated for employees using the ideas they have for the benefit of the organization rather than keeping quiet and yet they have what it takes to bring positive change. He further argued that, information is data full of power and reason and that conversion of data to information required specialized knowledge. On the other hand, he defined “Knowledge society” as people with knowledge and who contribution in maximizing productivity by giving out the ideas and knowledge (Drucker, 2003). I tend to agree with him in that, in today’s society there is continuous developments and new technologies and the need for people with knowledge is vital in that a “knowledge worker” should be ready to share ideas and raise challenges on how to make improvements in any field or organization without the fear of the management, which should embrace individuals with knowledge in the operations of day to day activities. Learning is a continuous process and, it paves way for a “knowledge society” that constantly embraces use of knowledge to enhance productivity 4 Compare and contrast data warehouses and data marts. A lot of conflicting definitions of data mart and data warehouse have been known to exist. Data warehouse is type of a database and allows retrieval/ extraction of data from the company’s databases (Holman, 2008). All data from the company’s system, is kept in the prevailing data warehouse from which it can be retrieved when needed hence, continuous refreshing of warehouse for every database modification done is vital. Creation and maintenance of data warehouses is therefore proving to be very expensive making companies to turn to data marts as alternative solution. On the other hand, a Data Mart refers to an index as well as an extraction system. It identifies data in each database and is capable of extracting data from many databases instead of saving all the databases into a single warehouse as noted by (Holman, 2008). It contains three layers which include staging, access and integration. Staging holds data for use by analysts integration layer is used to create abstraction of data from user while access layer avails data to the users. It is used mainly for data storage which is thereafter made available to users by professionals. It expands to include business intelligence tools to manage and make data retrieval easy and faster. Its creation is quick. When comparing the two; data mart and data warehouse, data warehouses are usually expensive and very difficult to build than a data mart, data warehouses are believed to take long to design and build and the general management of massive volume of data is very costly, users of data warehouse are not clearly defined (Holman, 2008). The data mart on the other hand can be created at a relatively faster rate and are cheaper to maintain since the data volume is not large. They are also faster to design and build and it also improves the response time of the end-users. Though the data marts are viewed as being more efficient than data warehouse, architecture build of data marts has poor organization; hence, warehouse is advocated for use in DSS. Advantages of a data mart are that it enhances fast access to data that is used often, give a clear visual impression of data and enhances a quick creation since it is smaller but data warehouses do not. Apart from the contrasts above, the two offer a more precise way of data extraction and allow retrieval of data when needed. 5. List and explain three benefits of using extranets. An extranet refers to an external business network that facilitates sharing of information within the organization premises according to (Raikes, 1999). It enables collaborate sharing between other business partners, suppliers and customers. It is cost effective and highly efficient. Some of the benefits are; It enhances increased productivity where, the previous processes that were done manually are automated. It is possible to master the performance of all the activities from a centralized position and take corresponding action in the same position, and consequently the activity is executed very faster (Padmavathi, L., 2008). It facilitates flexibility where important information is readily available to all people within an organization hence no need of having to enquire from other users. This reduces disturbance through phone calls and meetings and, it also reduces inventory like in the supply chain management where, it easy to monitor a particular system and, make prior arrangements before things get out of hand (Raikes, 1999). Information on the intranet is available to all users regardless of the time of the day and provides a single user interface. It enhances timely and accurate information since it is possible to change or edit and even update important information instantly. This promotes efficiency in administration of services. 6. List and describe three emerging topics in consumer-to-consumer e-commerce. Due to the emerging global economy, e-commerce has become very vital in the economic development according to (Padmavathi, 2008). This is due to the integration of information communication technology (ICT) in the business field, enhancing productivity and improved customer participation and mass customization. The developments in internet sector and availability of web technologies have made the global market to narrow down, turning the whole world into a single market. Electronic commerce/ e-commerce refer to online business that involves exchange of goods and services by use of electronic and digital information processing system (Padmavathi, 2008). The parties involved interact electronically as opposed to physical meeting between them. Various technologies in consumer to consumer include EBay that enhances rating between buyers and the sellers where they gauge a person as either excellent or poor depending on the performance reports (Holman, 2008). The higher the number of buyers a particular seller has, the more excellent he becomes. Another technology is the payment intermediary; Pay Pal where a buyer purchases goods only from a trusted seller. Pay Pal withholds money from the seller until the transactions have been completed and the buyer has accepted the goods. The seller cannot have access to money until the buyer has proved that what he needed was actually what was delivered. Others include; Taobao where sellers sell their goods through Taobao market place at fixed prices or through auction. This is mostly effective in China (Padmavathi, 2008). Taobao gives a virtual market where transactions are made and delivered to the buyers online. 7. List and describe the two main types of software licenses 7.1Proprietary software In proprietary software licenses, the software publisher grants the user the authority to use one or more copies of the software under end-user license agreement. The software publisher retains the right to own the copies of the. This means that, certain rights in regards to the software are withheld and reserved by the software publisher. Thus, it is the duty of End User License agreement (EULAs) to set terms defining the use of software, the term of the distribution or the number of installations allowed on a system as noted by (Bonnabeau, 2001). The major effect of this kind of licensing is that if the right to own the software is withheld by the software publisher, then the user has no option but to accept the software license. Thus, without the acceptance of the license it means that the end user may not be given rights to use the software at all. Example of propriety software license is license used for Microsoft windows. The Microsoft Windows software license contain an extensive list of various activities which are not allowed for example; publication of benchmarks, reverse engineering, performance tests or simultaneous use of their software by more than one user. 7.2Free and open source software license The acceptance of the license is basically optional in of software license. The end user can use the software without acceptance to the licensing agreement (Holman, 2008). However, limitation exist when the end user wish to exercise additional rights that are granted by a free software license for example; the right to redistribute the software. If the end user wishes to have more rights on the software, then he must accept and be bound by the publisher software license agreement. Some of software license that fall under Free and open source software category are Open source licenses, and GNU General Public License (GPL). Bonnabeau (2001) suggests that, open source licenses aim at preserving the openness of the software itself and give maximum freedoms to the users of a software i.e. permissive license. GNU General Public License is an example of copy-left free license software. This license aim is to give the end-user rights and permission to redistribute, modify, reverse engineer under the terms of the license. The permission granted is not entirely free of end user obligation. The end-users have to comply with certain terms and conditions if by any means they wish to exercise extra permissions granted by GNU General Public License. Permissive free software licenses include BSD license and the MIT license (Bonnabeau, 2001). 8. Describe four types of intelligent agents. How can they be used to benefit organizations? Software intelligent agents are computer programs that have capability of flexible and autonomous action as suggested by (Yang, 2010). They include; 8.1Buyer agents (shopping bots) This agent travel around a network for example; on the internet doing the task of extracting information about different goods and services. They are also known as shopping bots because they work very efficiently and effectively for commodity products like electronic components, Compact Disks, books, and other products (Nishida, et al., 2003). User agents (personal agents) These are intelligent agents that take a specific task on behalf of someone. They task they perform include; Checking e-mail, alerting someone when important emails arrive and also sorting the e-mail according user's order of preference. They can also play computer games as opponent. They assemble customized news reports. They find information on the subject of someone choice. They automatically fill web form and store information for future reference. They scan Web pages looking and highlighting text that are important and required part of the information. 8.2Monitoring-and-surveillance agents According to Yang (2010), these agents are used to observe and report on equipment and mostly computer systems. They also keep track of company inventory levels, watch stock manipulation by an insider trading and observe competitors' prices and report them to the company. 8.3Data mining agents These kinds of agents use information technology in tracking trends and patterns in information from different sources. Users can sort through tracked information to find the information they are seeking easily. They operate in data warehouse where they discover information. 8.4How can they be used to benefit organizations? Intelligent agents can be used by organizations to emulate the Human Decision Making process in times of tactical operations. These agents may be used to monitor the status of assets and to pursue the Goals with the Assets, minimizing expenditure while maximizing Goal Attainment (Yang, 2010). The agents are also useful in detecting shift in trends for example decline in sales and the way an organization will be able to make an intelligent decision in regards to this. Intelligent agents are capable of timely reaction to sensed events, initiate and plan unique series of actions to achieve stated goals. 9. Describe risk analysis as it relates to information systems security and explain three ways to approach systems security risk. Risk Analysis is a formal process by which risk is determined and different plans are developed to fight with them as noted by (Pipkin, 2000). Risk arises due threats and vulnerabilities. Pipkin (2000) note that, the threats include; Impersonation of a legitimate user, manipulation of information, and untrained or poorly trained staff. Vulnerabilities include; Poor recruitment procedures and poor website or network design, To address risks one need to carry out a risk analysis. Three approaches have to be followed i. Understanding different risk and the threat they pose to the business- this minimize the likelihood of risk occurrence and help a business to fight with different threats (Yang, 2010). ii. Understanding potential cost of risk in case of occurrence- a business need to focus on risks that have the greatest potential of paralyzing the operation of the business and those which are costly. iii. Identifying effective and suitable measures and policies. This will help in the detection and prevention of risk, minimize the likelihood of threat occurrence and enable recovery action plan 10. Compare and contrast information accuracy, information privacy, and information property Information accuracy means that the information is free of Corruption i.e. no modification of data whether intentional or accidental as noted by (Youness, 2000). It also means that the information has not been tampered with. Information privacy aims at keeping the contents of communication or data on storage secret. It is accomplished using Encryption techniques i.e. symmetric and asymmetric key, limiting place where the communication appears and restricting access to the storage area of the information (Youness, 2000). Information property aims at imposing restrictions and granting rights on the use of property. They contain provisions allocating liability and responsibility between parties entering into an agreement. Comparison Information accuracy, information privacy, and information property aim at protecting information from modification, disclosure, or disruption, unauthorized access and ensuring that information integrity is enhanced. The three aim at limiting access to physical space to prevent asset theft and unauthorized entry and thus protecting information against leakage and theft. Contrast As e-business and Internet applications continue to grow, imbalance is growing on information accuracy, information privacy, and information property (Pipkin, 2000). People may look more on the information accuracy failing to consider information privacy and property. Information property may be enhanced but the information accuracy and privacy can be threatened when there is; Malicious Code Attacks, Worms that executes code multiply itself infecting the information, Viruses which may be attached to another program for the function of executing a particular unwanted function, Trojans. 11Conclusion Information is a powerful tool which is used to deliver ideas and contributes to the knowledge of an individual. Integration of hardware and software components of a computer forms an information system. Information systems have thus contributed to the development in individual basis as well as in organization. Emerging developments in the field of information system has seen development of extranets. Peter Drucker’s argument is that information is an investment and knowledge forms the centre key in the success of every organization. References Bonnabeau, R., 2001. Software licensing agreements. St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Continuing Legal Education. Drucker, F., 2003. A functioning society: Selections from Sixty-five years of writing on community, society, and polity. New Brunswick, U.S.A.: Transaction. Gallaugher, J., 2010. Information systems. Nyack, NY: Flat world knowledge. Gibb, F., 2007. Information systems. Glasgow: Graduate school of business, university of Strathclyde. Holman, F., 2008. Managing information risk: A guide for accounting officers, board members and senior information risk owners. Richmond: Office of public sector Information. Nishida, S., Mie, N. and Takashi K., 2003. "Information filtering for emergency management." Cybernetics & systems, 34(3), pp. 193-206. Padmavathi, L., 2008. E-commerce: Consumer protection. Hyderabad, India: Icfai UP. Pipkin, L., 2000. Information security: Protecting the global enterprise. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall PTR. Raikes, T., 1999. A study of extranets in a supply chain. New York: Wiley. Yang, X., 2010. Real-time optimization of an integrated production-inventory-distribution Problem. New York: Wiley. Youness, S., 2000. Professional data warehousing with SQL Server 7.0 and OLAP Services. Birmingham, UK: Wrox. Read More