CHAPTER 7 : STORING ORGANIZATIONAL INFORMATION - Databases

 Relational Database Fundamentals

Database - Maintains information about various types of objects ( intentory ), events                ( transactions ), 
people ( employees ), and places ( ware-houses ). 

Hierarchical database model - Information using parent/child relationships in such a way that it cannot have too many relationships.

Network database model - Is a flexible way of representing objects and their relationships.

Relational database model - Stores information in the form of logically related two-dimensional tables.

Entities and Attributes 

• Entity - A person, place, thing, transaction, or event about which information is stored.

                     1) The rows in each table contain the attributes.

• Attributes (fields, columns) - Characteristics or properties of an entity class.

                        1)  The columns in each table contain the attributes.


keys and Relationships

• Primary keys and foreign keys identify the various entity classes (tables) in the database.

           - Primary key - a field (or group of fields) that uniquely identifies a given entity in a table
           - Foreign key - a primary key of one table that appears an attribute in another table and                                                   acts to    provide a logical relationship among the two tables.


Relational database Advantages

• Database advantages from a business perspective include : 

              - Increase flexibility
              - Increase scalability and performance
              - Reduced information redundancy
              - Increase information integrity (quality)
              - Increase information security

•  Increase Flexibility

- A well-designed database should:
        - Handle changes quickly and easily
        - Provide user with different views
        - Have only one physical view

•  Physical view - deals with the physical storage of information on a storage device.

        - have multiple logical views

• Logical view - focuses on how users logically access information.       

• Increase Scalability and Performance

A database must scale to meet increased demand, while maintaining acceptable performance levels
      
         - Scalability - refers to how well a system can adapt to increased demands. 
         - Performance - measures how quickly a system performs a certain process or transaction

•  Reduced Information Redundancy 

1. Database reduce information redundancy

         - Redundancy - the duplication of information or storing the same information in multiple                                                   places.

- Inconsistency is one of the primary problems with redundant information.

• Increase Information Integrity ( Quality )
•  Information integrity - measures the quality of information
• Integrity constraint - rules that help ensure the quality of information

                  *Relational integrity constraint
                  *Business - critical integrity constraint 

• Increase Information security

 -Information is an organizational asset and must be protected
 - Database offer several security features including:

•   Password - provides authentication of the user
• Access level - determines who has access to the different types of information
• Access Control _ determines types of user access, such as read-only access.

Database Management Systems

• Database management systems (DBMS) - software through which users and application programs interact with a database.

 
 
    

•  Data-driven Web sites- an interactive Web site kept constantly updated and relevant to the needs of its customers through the use of a database. 

 
 

Data-Driven Web Site Business Advantages

• Development
• content Management
• F uture Expandability
• Minimizing Human Error
• Cutting Production and Updata Costs
• More Efficient
• Improved Stability

Data-Driven Business Intelligence
      - BI in a data-driven Web site 


Integrating Information among Multiple Database

• Integration - allows separate systems to communicate directly with each other

1. Forward integration - takes information entered into a given system and sends it automatically to all downstream systems and processes. 
2. Backward integration - takes information entered into a given systems and sends it automatically to all upstream systems and processes.

CHAPTER 6 : VALUING ORGANIZATIONAL INFORMATION

ORGANIZATIONAL INFORMATION
 * information granularity refers to extent of detail within information ( fine and detailed or coarse and abstract)

The Value of Transactional and Analytical Information

* Transactional information encompasses all of the information contained within a single business process or unit of work , and its primary purpose is to support the performing of daily operational tasks
* Analytical information encompasses all organizational information, and its primary purpose is to support the performing of managerial analysis tasks

THE VALUE OF TIMELY INFORMATION 

* REAL- TIME INFORMATION means immediate , up-to-date information.
* REAL- TIME SYSTEMS provide real-time information in response to query request.

THE VALUE OF QUALITY INFORMATION

UNDERSTANDING THE COSTS OF POOR INFORMATION

• Using the wrong information can lead to making the wrong decision.
• Making the wrong decision can cost time, money and even reputations.
• Bad information can cause serious business ramifications such as :

       1) Inability to accurately track customers , which directly affects strategies initiatives such as CRM and SCM

2)Difficulty identifying the organization's most valuable customers.

3) Inability to identify selling opportunities and wasted revenue from marketing to none existing customers and non deliverable mail

4) Difficulty tracking revenue because of inaccurate invoices.

5) Inability to build strong relationship with customers- which increases buyer power

UNDERSTANDING THE BENEFITS OF GOOD INFORMATION

• High quality information can significantly improve the chances of making a good decision and directly increase am organization's bottom line.

CHAPTER 5 : ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES THAT SUPPORT STRATEGIC INITIATIVES

IT Roles and Responsibilities

• Chief Information Officer (CIO) is responsible for overseeing all uses of information technology and ensuring the strategic alignment of IT with business goals and objectives.
• Chief Technology Officer (CTO) is responsible for ensuring the throughput, speed, accuracy, availability and reliability of an organization's information technology.
• Chief Security Officer (CSO) is responsible for ensuring the security of IT systems and developing strategies and IT safeguards against attack from hackers and viruses.
• Chief Privacy Officer (CPO) is responsible for ensuring the ethical and legal use of information within an organization.
• Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO) is responsible for collecting, maintaining and distributing the organization's knowledge. 

The Gap between Business Personnel and IT Personnel

IMPROVING COMMUNICATIONS

Business personnel must seek to increase their understanding of IT. Although they do not need to know every technical detail, it will benefit their careers to understand what they can and cannot accomplish using IT.

Ethics and Privacy

• The ethical issues surrounding copyright infringement and intellectual property rights are consuming the e-business world.
• Advances in technology make it easier and easier for people to copy everything from music to pictures.
• Technology poses new challenges for our ethics - the principles and standard that guide our behaviour toward other people.
• Privacy is the right to be left alone when you want to be, to have control over your own personal possessions and to not be observed without your consent

CHAPTER 4 : MEASURING THE SUCESS OF STRATEGIC INITIATIVES

Measuring Information Technology’s Success

Key performance indicator-measures that are tied to business drivers

Metrics are detailed measures that feed KPIs

Performance metrics fall into the nebulous area of business intelligence that is neither technology, nor business centred, but requires input from both IT and business professionals.

BENCHMARKING- BASELINE METRICS. 

    * Regardless of what is measured, how it is measured and whether it is for the sake of efficiency or effectiveness, there must be benchmark.

WHAT IS BENCHMARK? 

  -baseline value the system seeks to attain. 

BENCHMARKING? 

  -A process of continuously measuring system results, comparing those results to optimal system performance and identifying steps and procedures to improve system performance.

   *INFORMATION: The country that get 1st place in EFFICIENCY is United States and for EFFECTIVENESS is Canada. 

THE INTERRELATIONSHIPS OF EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS IT METRICS

* Effectiveness IT metrics are determined according to an organization's goals, strategies, and objectives.

* It is important to consider the strategy an organization is using such as a broad cost leader strategy as well as specific goals and objectives such as increasing new customers by 10% or reducing new product new- product development cycle times six months.

    -  Common types of efficiency IT metrics.

1. Throughput -the amount of information that can be saved through a system or any point. 

2.Transaction - the amount of the system takes to perform a transaction.

3.System availability - the number of hours a system as available for customer. 

4.Information accuracy - the extent to which a system generates the correct results.

-On effectiveness, we also see the USABILITY, CUSTOMER SATISFACTION, CONVERSION RATES AND FINANCIAL

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METRICS FOR STRATEGIC INITIATIVES 

        *   A standard measure to assess performance in a particular area.

-      *   There are 5 types following metrics will help managers measure and manage their strategic              initiatives.

WEBSITE METRICS 

SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT METRICS ( SCM)

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT ( CRM ) 

BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING ( BPR ) ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING ( ERP )