Mgmt 3830
Final Exam
April 19, 2001
All questions must be answered in the exam booklets, not on this copy. If you write rough drafts
of answers, or decide to rewrite an answer, be sure you clearly indicate which answer you wish
to have marked. Please note that for all questions, full marks will only be given to answers that
are correct, complete, and clearly written.
1. Alberta Vegetable Producers Cooperative Data Model (40 marks)
The Alberta Vegetable Producers Cooperative (AVPC) functions as a marketing board, selling
produce from farmers to grocery stores, restaurants, and other customers. Alberta vegetable
producers own the AVPC. Each producer makes regular deliveries of produce to the distribution
centre during the normal growing season. This can include tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, lettuce,
spinach and many other vegetables. The AVPC then delivers the produce to its customers. They
have an Accounting System in place, but it does not record the operational details of the
business. You have been asked to prepare a data model for a new operations system, but you can
ignore the Accounting System. While the basic business is simple, there are some complications
that must be considered.
The first problem is ensuring the right quantities of each crop. If there are too many tomatoes, for
example, prices will fall and all producers suffer. If there are shortages, the AVPC will receive a
higher price but less total revenue than if demand could be met. To help resolve this problem,
each producer is assigned a quota for each crop before planting begins. These quotas are part of a
signed contract between each producer and the AVPC. Producers may fall short, and often do,
due to unforeseeable circumstances. Some also produce surpluses. But the AVPC is only
committed to purchasing the quota amount and the producer is not allowed to compete and sell
any crop (particularly surpluses) privately. Of course, sometimes the AVPC is more than willing
to purchase the surplus if others have fallen short or demand is higher than expected.
The quotas are determined by the AVPC, based on a past history of quotas and amounts
produced. A producer cannot simply sign a contract for very large amounts and thus be
guaranteed a market. Increases over previous years’ quotas are only granted when either an
increase in demand is expected or other producers are reducing their quota of the crop. A
producer may be forced to accept a decreased quota after falling short for several years in a row.
Each crop has a weekly price, usually high initially, dropping to its lowest point when the crop is
plentiful, and then rising as the season ends. Quality is also a factor in the price, but to simplify
the model you can assume that all produce has identical quality. The customers receive a bill
with the delivery that shows the current price of each item. There is no GST on food shipments.
Payments are due within 30 days and are usually paid by cheque. Some customers bring cash to
the office. Payments often cover multiple shipments and sometimes don’t even identify the
shipments. Direct deposit payments through banks are being considered but are not yet
supported. Payments are recorded in this operational system, and then again in their Accounting
System. The operations system should know if customers are overdue in making payments.
The system generates a receipt for the producer showing what was received and the amount
owing for the delivery. Producers receive an advance of half the selling price at the time of
delivery. This amount is then transferred automatically to the Accounting System, which prints a
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Mgmt 3830
Final Exam
April 19, 2001
cheque for that amount. At the end of the season, when all accounts receivable are in and all
expenses accounted for, the AVPC determines its annual profit and distributes shares to each
producer based on their advance payments. This is also part of the Accounting System.
Customers place orders with the AVPC, sometimes daily. Orders cannot always be filled
completely due to the uncertainties of growing and harvesting. No back orders are maintained;
customers must re-order the next day. Shipments to customers are also made daily.
The AVPC has a small staff, mostly students hired for the summer months. The system must
track who handles each payment, producer delivery, customer order and customer shipment.
Employees can be producers or close family relatives and the AVPC likes to ensure that each
transaction is handled objectively, so employees cannot receive deliveries from a family member
or make a payment to a family member. Occasionally there is no choice, but the system should
be able to track when this has happened.
Build a data model that matches the description given here and what you can learn from the
pamphlet. If you happen to know something about this business, be careful to use my description
and not the way it really operates. The description in this case is hypothetical and not directly
based on a real organization.
2. Redmond Cable Reports (20 marks)
This question requests two ad hoc reports that should ideally be answered using a single Access
query, if possible. (A copy of the data model from Milestone 4 and the Access query format are
provided on the final page of the exam.) However, a correct answer using two or more queries is
better than an incorrect answer using only one. You do not need to draw the full relationship
diagram, but you should indicate which tables or queries are involved. If you are not using the
standard relationship, indicate that as well.
More importantly, there is no guarantee that both questions can even be answered. If you believe
the database cannot answer the question, explain why. This could include suggested changes to
the data model that would be needed before the question could be answered. But you should also
do the best you can to provide some useful information with the current data structure.
Therefore, both questions should have a query as part of their answer even if it does not fully
answer the question.
1. An hour after the Payments Office opened, someone found a diamond bracelet that was
apparently accidentally dropped by a customer. By the end of the day, no one had called
to inquire about it. Could you provide a list of customers who might have lost the
bracelet?
2. Mrs. Brown, who lives at 67 Cornell Blvd., has just phoned in to complain that some of
her channels are not working properly. There are no apparent problems with these
channels at the main office. Before the technician leaves, can you provide her with a list
of other customers on the same street who subscribe to the same package?
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Mgmt 3830
Final Exam
April 19, 2001
3. Delinquent Payments Report (20 marks)
The telemarketing firm employed back in Milestone 6 did a great job getting people to
resubscribe. They then suggested the same approach be used to collect outstanding payments.
You need to design a report for them to serve this purpose. You do not need to write the queries
or do anything else to show how you would create the report, although your design should be
doable in Access (but not necessarily by you!).
Draw a design of the report. Show a sample page, including possible data, which would go to the
telemarketing firm. Include some notes to indicate which Access report section should be used to
hold each part of your report. You should also explain how you intend the report to be used by
the telemarketer and by Redmond Cable when it is returned. What changes, if any, to the data
model would you recommend?
4. Database Integrity (20 marks)
The management at Redmond Cable are pleased with the start you have made on their new
system. But the CEO has asked for a report on what the system can do to help preserve data
integrity. From your discussions the CEO and other managers, it is apparent that they don’t all
understand what integrity means.
Explain what integrity means, and what referential and entity integrity mean in particular. Can
Access help ensure referential and entity integrity? If so, explain how this is done. (Remember
this is being written for managers, not a beginning Access programmer.) Describe as many other
ways as you can think of that can be used with Access to ensure integrity. Use examples based
on the Redmond Cable database to make your answer clear.
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Mgmt 3830
Final Exam
EMPLOYEE
PAYMENT
EmpID
EmpFirstName
EmpLastName
EmpStreet
EmpCity
EmpProvince
EmpPostalCode
EmpSIN
EmpHomePhone
EmpWorkPhone
EmpEMail
EmpPicture
PaymentID
PaymentDate
PaymentMethod
April 19, 2001
PAYACCOUNT
PayAccountAmount
CUSTOMER
CustID
CustPrefix
CustFirstName
CustLastName
CustHomePhone
ACCOUNT
AccountID
AccntBalance
SUBSCRIPTION
PACKAGE
PackageID
PackageName
PackageCost
PackageStartDate
PackageEndDate
SubscriptionID
SubStartDate
SubEndDate
ActiveOutlets
RESIDENCE
ResidenceID
ResStreet
ResCity
ResProvince
ResPostalCode
PACKAGECHANNEL
OUTLET
CHANNEL
OutletID
OutletLocation
OutletActive
ChannelID
ChannelName
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Mgmt 3830
Final Exam
April 19, 2001
This Access Query format is provided as a guide only. Please put any answers you want marked
into the exam booklet. Do not submit this sheet with your exam.
Field:
Table:
Total:
Sort:
Show:





Criteria:
or:
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