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IT for Management – key to Q & A
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Answers to the questions raised at the
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Management book
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18/08/2012
Version 100
Prof. Arun Kumar V Waghchoure
This book is undergoing constant revision, it is a cumulative compiled effort of
student as a part of their extra assignment, it needs cleanup the yellow highlighter
indicates that the content for topic is still awaiting. In case if any student is taking it
up for updating download the word document format of it change the version and use
version history before making changes. Once the changes are made send the new
document copy to the class professor.
Contents
Section 1 – Technology foundation for managers ......................................................... 7
Chapter 1 – What is a computer and how does it work ........................................ 7
Activity A ................................................................................................... 7
Activity B ................................................................................................... 7
Activity C ................................................................................................... 7
Activity D ................................................................................................... 7
Self-Assessment Questions ...................................................................... 7
Chapter 2 – Evolution of Computers ....................................................................... 9
Activity A ................................................................................................... 9
Activity B ................................................................................................. 10
Self Assessment Questions .................................................................... 10
Chapter 3 – Input – Output Devices ........................................................................ 13
Activity A ................................................................................................. 13
Activity B ................................................................................................. 13
Activity D ................................................................................................. 13
Activity E ................................................................................................. 13
Self Assessment questions ..................................................................... 13
Chapter - 4 Secondary Storage Devices................................................................... 16
Activity A ................................................................................................. 16
Activity B ................................................................................................. 16
Activity C ................................................................................................. 17
Activity D ................................................................................................. 17
Activity E ................................................................................................. 17
Self Assessment questions ..................................................................... 17
Chapter 5 - Networking/Internet & Web Technologies ........................................... 21
Activity A ................................................................................................. 21
Activity B ................................................................................................. 21
Activity C ................................................................................................. 23
Activity D ................................................................................................. 23
Self-Assessment Questions .................................................................... 24
Chapter 6 - Operating Systems ................................................................................ 28
Activity A ................................................................................................. 28
Activity B ................................................................................................. 28
Activity C ................................................................................................. 29
Activity D ................................................................................................. 29
Review Questions ................................................................................... 29
Chapter 7 – Other Systems and Application Software ............................................ 32
Activity A ................................................................................................. 32
Activity B ................................................................................................. 32
Activity C ................................................................................................. 33
Activity D ................................................................................................. 33
Review Questions ................................................................................... 35
Chapter 8 - Database Management System ............................................................. 36
Activity A ................................................................................................. 36
Activity B ................................................................................................. 36
Activity C ................................................................................................. 36
Review Questions ................................................................................... 36
Section 2 – Management Information Systems ........................................................... 40
Chapter 1 - Key Definition ...................................................................................... 40
Activity A ................................................................................................. 40
Activity B ................................................................................................. 40
Activity C ................................................................................................. 40
Review Questions ................................................................................... 40
Chapter 2 - The Data cycle ...................................................................................... 42
Activity A ................................................................................................. 42
Activity B ................................................................................................. 42
Activity C ................................................................................................. 42
Review Questions ................................................................................... 43
Chapter 3 - Need for Information /Information systems in organization ................ 45
Activity A ................................................................................................. 45
Activity B ................................................................................................. 45
Activity C ................................................................................................. 45
Review questions.................................................................................... 45
Chapter 4 - Types of Information Systems in an organization ................................ 45
Activity A ................................................................................................. 45
Activity B ................................................................................................. 46
Activity C ................................................................................................. 46
Activity D ................................................................................................. 46
Review Questions ................................................................................... 46
Chapter 5 - Information Reports in an organization ................................................ 46
Review Questions ................................................................................... 46
Chapter 6 - Determining Information needs ............................................................ 47
Activity A ................................................................................................. 47
Activity B ................................................................................................. 48
Activity C ................................................................................................. 48
Review Questions ................................................................................... 49
Chapter 7 Determining Information needs – CSF method ...................................... 49
Activity A ................................................................................................. 49
Activity B ................................................................................................. 50
Chapter 8 - Determining information needs – Data Flow Method .......................... 50
Activity A ................................................................................................. 50
Activity B ................................................................................................. 50
1.
Definition: ......................................................................................................... 50
2.
Purpose/Objective: ............................................................................................ 50

Description: ....................................................................................................... 51
Activity C ................................................................................................. 51
Review Questions ................................................................................... 52
Chapter 9 - Role of Information in Decision Making .............................................. 53
Activity A ................................................................................................. 53
Activity B ................................................................................................. 53
Review Questions ................................................................................... 54
Chapter 10 - Determining Information need – Object Analysis .............................. 56
Activity A ................................................................................................. 56
Activity B ................................................................................................. 56
Activity C ................................................................................................. 57
Review Questions ................................................................................... 57
Chapter 11 - Aligning Information Systems to corporate Goals ............................. 59
Activity A ................................................................................................. 59
Review questions.................................................................................... 60
Chapter 12 - Aligning Information Systems using CSF method ............................. 60
Activity A ................................................................................................. 60
Activity B ................................................................................................. 62
Activity C ................................................................................................. 63
Review Questions ................................................................................... 64
Chapter 13 - Aligning Information systems using chandlers Model ....................... 64
Activity A ................................................................................................. 64
Activity B ................................................................................................. 65
Activity C ................................................................................................. 66
Review Questions ................................................................................... 66
Chapter 14 - Role of IT in Business......................................................................... 67
Activity A ................................................................................................. 67
Activity B ................................................................................................. 68
Activity C ................................................................................................. 69
Reviews in questions .............................................................................. 70
Chapter 15 - Systems Development Cycle – SDLC ................................................ 71
Activity A ................................................................................................. 71
Activity B ................................................................................................. 72
Activity C ................................................................................................. 75
Review Questions ................................................................................... 76
Chapter 16 - Visualising a Software Solution.......................................................... 77
Activity A ................................................................................................. 77
Activity B ................................................................................................. 77
Review Questions ................................................................................... 77
Chapter 17 - Software Testing ................................................................................. 81
Activity A ................................................................................................. 81
Activity B ................................................................................................. 81
Review Questions ................................................................................... 81
Chapter 18 - Information Security ........................................................................... 81
Activity A ................................................................................................. 81
Activity B ................................................................................................. 82
Activity C ................................................................................................. 83
Review Questions ................................................................................... 84
Chapter 19 - Long Range Planning of Information Systems & Technology ........... 86
Activity A ................................................................................................. 86
Activity B ................................................................................................. 87
Activity C ................................................................................................. 88
Review Questions ................................................................................... 89
Self-Assessment Questions
Section 1 – Technology
foundation for managers
Chapter 1 – What is a computer
and how does it work
Activity A
1. Find out 5 Branded Manufactures of
Computers?
Ans:
1. Compaqu/HP
2. DELL
3. LENOVO
4. ACCER
5. ASUS
6. SONY
Activity B
2. Find out manufacture of Printers
Ans:
1. HP
2. CANON
3. TOSIBA
4. ZENIT
Activity C
3. Find out 2 different models of printer
which provide four in one options? (
Print Scan, Fax, Xerox)
Ans:
1. Epson WorkForce 310
2. Canon Pixma MX870
Activity D
4. Find out 2 different models of
Modems used for Broadband?
Ans:
1. Broadband
2. DSL Modem
3. Cable Modem
4. High Speed Broadband
5. Wireless DSL Broadband
1. Which Component of Computer is
called a “brain’ of computer & why?
Describe the function functions of
the distinct parts of this component.
Ans:
The CPU (central processing unit) is the
part of the computer that does most of
the work. It contains arithmetic and logic
parts that can do millions of calculations
per second.
The CPU is what executes program
instructions, which, at the CPU level, are
instructions that are directly to the
hardware.
It is called the brain, I suppose, because it
actually does the work that programs
require. All other parts of the computer
are controlled by the CPU and without it
the computer doesn't work (much like a
human brain).
2. Define the term Hardware.
Ans:
Hardware is the physical aspect of
computers, telecommunications and
other information technology devices. The
term distinguishes the "box", electronic
circuitry and components of a computer
from the program you put in it to make it
do things (software). Hardware is a
collective term. Hardware includes not
only the computer proper but also the
cables, connectors, power supply units
and peripheral devices such as the
keyboard, mouse, audio speakers and
printers.
3. Describe brief classification of
hardware components?
Ans:
There
have
been
made
many
classifications of computer hardware
systems along the years in order to help
the users better understand the
computers that they are working with and
also to become aware of how they might
improve their computers and the way in
which they work with them. In this
respect, one of the good classifications of
computer hardware systems having been
made includes the following: the cooling
device class, the video and monitor class,
the printing class, the networking device
class, the power class, the motherboard,
controller and port types of class, the
mass storage class and finally, but not the
least important one the input device class.
This is only one example of such a
classification of computer hardware
systems but not the only one. These
classifications are very important for the
users to be made aware of because within
them are being clarified for the users
different types of computer systems with
the included types of components that
are very important to be analysed in order
to understand the way in which the
computer functions.
4. Define the terms Software
Ans:
The terms 'software' and 'program' are
often confused, yet the distinction is not
difficult to make. Computer programs are
not mean to be changed during the
normal course of operation. Any value or
information that is changed during the
operation of a computer is data, which
read by a program, not part of it.
However, during routine maintenance a
computer program may be updated. This
is generally done to correct bugs and add
new features. Thus the stable, nonchanging software components are often
programs, whereas anything that is
updated, created, deleted, or otherwise
modified on a regular basis is not a
program
5. Describe brief Classification of
hardware components
Ans
There
have
been
made
many
classifications of computer hardware
systems along the years in order to help
the users better understand the
computers that they are working with and
also to become aware of how they might
improve their computers and the way in
which they work with them. In this
respect, one of the good classifications of
computer hardware systems having been
made includes the following: the cooling
device class, the video and monitor class,
the printing class, the networking device
class, the power class, the motherboard,
controller and port types of class, the
mass storage class and finally, but not the
least important one the input device class.
This is only one example of such a
classification of computer hardware
systems but not the only one. These
classifications are very important for the
users to be made aware of because within
them are being clarified for the users
different types of computer systems with
the included types of components that
are very important to be analysed in order
to understand the way in which the
computer functions.
Chapter 2 – Evolution of
Computers
Activity A
How the Historical Evolution of
Microcomputers occurred from years
2000 to 2006.Happened.
Ans
2000 - Jan 14
2000 - March 8
Intel releases very limited supplies of the
1GHz Pentium III chip.
2000 - June 20
US Government announce restrictions on
exporting cryptography are relaxed
(although not removed). This allows many
US companies to stop the long running,
and rather ridiculous process of having to
create US and international copies of their
software.
British Telecom (BT) claim the rights to
hyperlinks on the basis of a US patent
granted in 1989. Similar patents in the
rest of the world have now expired. Their
claim is widely believed to be absurd since
Ted Nelson wrote about hyperlinks in
1965, and this is where Tim Berners Lee
says he got the ideas for the World Wide
Web from. This is just another in the line
of similar incredible cases — for example
amazon.com's claim to have patented '1click ordering'.
2000 - Jan 19
2000 - Sept 6
Transmeta launch their new 'Crusoe'
chips. Designed for laptops these provide
comparable performance to the midrange Pentium II chips, but consume a
tiny fraction of the power. This new
competitor to Intel in the x86 market
initially appeared exciting and promising.
RSA Security Inc. released their RSA
algorithm into the public domain, in
advance of the US patent (#4,405,829)
expiring on the 20th Sept. of the same
year. Following the relaxation of the US
government restrictions earlier in the year
(Jan. 14) this removed one of the last
barriers to the world-wide distribution of
much software based on cryptographic
systems. It should be noted that the IDEA
algorithm is still under patent and also
that government restrictions still apply in
some places.
2000 - Feb 17
Official Launch of Windows 2000 Microsoft's replacement for Windows
95/98 and Windows NT. Claimed to be
faster and more reliable than previous
versions of Windows. It is actually a
descendant of the NT series, and so the
trade-off for increased reliability is that it
won't run some old DOS-based games. To
keep the home market happy Microsoft
has also released Windows ME, the
newest member of the 95/98 series.
2000 - March 4
Sony releases the PlayStation 2.
2000 - March 6
AMD release the Athlon 1GHz.
2000 - November
Intel releases the Pentium IV.
2001 - Jan 4
Linux kernel 2.4.0 released.
2001 - March 24
Apple released Mac OS X. At its heart is
Darwin, an Open Source operating system
based on BSD. Mac OS X finally gave Mac
users the stability benefits of a protected
memory architecture along many other
enhancements, such as pre-emptive
multitasking. The BSD base also makes
porting Unix applications to Mac OS easier
and gives Mac users a full-featured
command line interface alongside their
GUI.
2001 - November
Microsoft released Xbox, a games console
with a flagship title Halo, a first person
shooter. The console initially cost $299
(£209), and includes the ability to connect
to the proprietary online Xbox Live!
service for multiplayer gaming.
base class, derived class, abstract class
etc., class hierarchy, difference between
public, private and protected class,
inheritance, multiple inheritance and its
problem, public and private inheritance in
C++ and Java.
Introduction to COBOL, various divisions
and sections used in COBOL, simple type
of statements like ADD, SUBTRACT,
COMPUTE, OPEN, CLOSE, MOVE etc. in
COBOL, loop type statement like
PERFORM etc. in COBOL, table handling,
sequential file processing, file sorting and
merging in COBOL. Comparative study of
various programming, languages like C,
C++, Java, LISP, PROLOG, Ada and COBOL.
2002 - May 30
United Linux officially formed.
2003 - March 6
SCO announces it will sue IBM 1 billion US
dollars. The claim is that Linux contains
code inserted by IBM that was the
copywrited property of SCO.
Activity B
How the Historical Evolution of
Programming Languages occurred from
year 2000 to 2006 happened.
A : Evaluation, design and applications of
programming languages, aliasing, Land R
values, Von Neumann bottleneck, basics
of logic and functional programming. Data
types in Ada, parameter passingmechanism, scope of a variable, binding,
coercion,
storage
allocation
of
multidimensional arrays in a computer,
control structures like if statement, while
statement etc., data abstraction.
Data types, simple statements like
(assignment statement, if statement,
switch statement), control statement like
(for loop, while and do-while loops, break
and continue statements etc.), arrays,
functions and pointers in C, C++ and Java.
Introduction
to
object
oriented
programming, concepts of objects, classes
and instances, various types of classes like
Self Assessment Questions
1. Write a brief note on historical
evolution of microcomputers?
Ans:
A Brief History of the Microcomputer
The "Chips" That Started it All
Micro-Chip
All microcomputers use a processor
called a mirco-chip. This is typically a
small square sliver of silicon (glass)
with pathways etched on it via a
chemical process. These pathways
can be transistors or simply "wires"
that connect the transistors. If you
can pack enough of these transistors
on the silicon "die" then those
transistors can become a processing
unit, memory, and a calculator. The
entire thing is called an "integrated
circuit."
Intel
In mid 1974 Intel, a transistor and
memory chip manufacturer, came up
with the first successful "computer
on a chip" design called the 8080. It
ran at two (2Mhz) MegaHertz and
performed computing functions via
an eight (8) bit1 Central Processing
Unit (CPU). The 8080 had a forty (40)
pin design that allowed for a sixteen
(16) bit bus.
This was the improved version of the
8008 which had been designed for
Computer Terminal Corporation
(CTC). Because the 8008 did not
meet
CTCs
performance
specifications
the
8080
was
developed, but by then CTC was
using their own chip. Intel found a
home for the 8080 in the Altair (see
below).
The Birth of the PC
Up to now there was a lot of
speculation about whether or not
the major computer companies were
going to get into the act. Also, by this
time, Dan Bricklin had developed
Visicalc for the Apple II. More and
more people were seeing the power
of a "personal computer" (though
"microcomputer" was still the
common term) the units were
making their manufacturers a tidy
profit. Visicalc was so popular Briklin
"ported" the program over to the
Commodore PET and the Radio
Shack TRS-80.
On August 12, 1981 the shoe finally
dropped. IBM announced the
introduction of the Model 5150
thereby
stepping
into
the
microcomputer market and shaking
the industry to it's foundations.
Though
the
term
"personal
computer" was already in use, at the
time it was synonymous with
"microcomputer." IBM, wanting to
differentiate this microcomputer
from their larger products began
using the term personal computer in
their advertising.
The PC also convinced ever larger
numbers of consumers that the
microcomputer really was a viable
product (after all IBM wouldn't offer
one if it was a toy) and, though it was
never a big hit with the home
consumer (at $2,880 per unit), with
the advent of Lotus 1-2-3* the model
took off with business. By 1984
millions of units were being sold.
At this point there are still no
business
oriented
graphical
computers. The mouse is still an idea
relegated to the laboratory and color
has yet to reach the computer
screen.
2. Write a brief note on Machine
language Programming
Ans:
A brief history of programming
In the 17 Century, the first
calculating machines were invented
by Wilhelm Schickard and Blaise
Pascal (who created the "Pascaline"
in 1642). These mechanical devices
were remarkable creations but they
could only perform specific
calculations. Arguably the first
programmable computer was the
Analytical Engine by Charles
Babbage conceived in 1835 but
never completed
Analytical Engine - 1835
With the Analytical Engine, Babbage
conceived of a machine that could
be programmed to solve any logical
or computational problem. This
project came to the attention of
Lady Ada Lovelace (who, incidently,
was the only legitimate child of Lord
Byron). Lovelace became obsessed
with the project and wrote notes on
programming techniques, sample
programs and the potential for
programmable machines to play
chess and compose music. She is
regarded as the world?s first
computer programmer and is
credited with the invention of the
programming
loop
and
the
subroutine.
Z-3, Robinson and Mark I
During the Second World War,
British
invested
significant
resources into the ?Ultra? project
based at Bletchley Park. This topsecret project utilized machines
built by Alan Turing to decode
German military messages encoded
using the ?Enigma? enciphering
machine. One such machine, called
Robinson, was built in 1940 and is
generally regarded as the first
operational
(although
nonprogrammable) computer.
The first programmable computer
was actually built in Germany by
Konrad Zuse in 1941. In contrast to
the British, the German military
apparently
overlooked
the
significance of Zuse?s achievements
and his work only ever got minor
support and very little recognition
after the war (the original Z-3
machine was destroyed during the
war, but a replica is on display at
the Deutsches Museum in Munich).
Programming Languages
The language a computer can
understand (called "machine code")
is composed of strings of zeros and
ones. This smallest element of a
computer?s language is called "a
bit" ? 0 or 1. Four bits are a nibble.
Two nibbles (8 bits) equal a byte.
The ?words? of a computer
language are the size of a single
instruction encoded in a sequence
of bits (for example, many
computers speak a language with
words that are '32-bits' long).
As machine code is extremely difficult to
work with, a type of language called
?Assembly? was soon developed. Using
an assembly language, programmers use
series of mnemonics that are then
translated by a program into machine
code that the computer can understand.
However, assembly is very similar to
machine code in that all procedures have
to be spelt out in exact detail in a process
that is extremely difficult, slow and prone
to errors.
Chapter 3 – Input – Output Devices
Activity A
Self Assessment questions
Find 3 different manufactures of
keyboard& Mouse, keyboard Mouse
which are used for to interact with the
computer to communicate with external
world.
1. How does a keyboard works
Ans:



Creative Technology
I-ball
Logitech
Activity B
Find 3 different manufactures of Scanner
& printers
Ans :
1. HP
2. CANON
3. ESPON
4.XEROX
Find 2 Different manufactures of Bar
code Scanners
Ans:
1. Bar-Tech Systems &
Automations Pvt.Ltd. – India
2. Crown India. – India
3. 3s Industries – India
4. Uniqueid (india) Pvt. Ltd. - India
Activity D
?As a Purchase manager carry out SWOT
Analysis of all above Activities listed in A
to D
Activity E
Find 3 different manufactures of Web
Cams.
Ans:
1. HP
2. INTEX
3. IBALL
4. Logitech
As the name suggests, the keyboard
is used to key in text and other
characters in the computer, like I am
doing right now! It is similar to a
typewriter in the arrangement of the
alphabets. However, it also has
special keys. They include the
numeric keys, navigation keys
(located on the lower right side) and
the function keys (F1 - F12). The
keyboard can also be utilized to
perform functions which can be done
using the mouse. For this, you
require to be abreast of certain
keyboard shortcuts
Functioning
of
a
Computer
Keyboard
In general, there are 80-110 keys in a
computer keyboard. The keys may
vary depending upon the brand and
the type of operating system.
Nevertheless, the shape, size and
spacing of keys are almost same for
all keyboards. Also the layout or
arrangement of keys that represent
letters, signs and symbols is same,
which is referred to as QWERTY.
The working of a computer keyboard
can be compared to a miniature
computer. Inside the keyboard, there
are metallic plate, circuit board (key
matrix) and processor, which are
responsible
for
transferring
information from the keyboard to
the computer. Depending upon the
working principle, there are two
main types of keys, namely,
capacitive and hard-contact. Let's
discuss in brief about the functioning
of capacitive and hard contact key.
Capacitive Key
On the underside of a capacitive key,
a metal plunger is fixed, which helps
in activating the circuit flow. When a
capacitive key is pressed, the metal
plunger applies a gentle pressure to
the circuit board. The pressure is
identified by the computer and the
circuit flow is initiated, resulting in
the transfer of information from the
circuit to the currently installed
software.
2. What are different types of
mouse available in market.
Ans:
1. Mechanical: This is a type of
computer mouse that has a
rubber or metal ball on its
underside and it can roll in every
direction. There are sensors
within the mouse, which are
mechanical, detect the direction
in which the ball is moving and
moves the pointer on the screen
in the same direction. A mouse
pad should be used under the
mouse to run on.
2. Optomechanical: This is the same
as the mechanical mouse except
that it uses optical sensors to the
motion of the ball. Your should
use a mouse pad under the
mouse to run on.
Optical: This type uses a laser for
detecting the mouse's movement. You
don't need a
mouse pad but you can use one made for
optical mice. Optical mice do not have
any
mechanical moving parts. The optical
mouse responds more quickly and
precisely than the mechanical and
optomechanical mice and now that they
have been around awhile the price is
pretty comparable.
3. As a manager, what will you look
for purchasing a monitor &
scanner
1. Technology : LCD (Liquid Crystal
Display) monitors are similar to
what is found on portable
computers. LCD monitors
overall generally display much
sharper of an image, are lighter
and more space efficient;
however, they are much more
of an expensive solution for
desktop displays.
2. Size : When looking at LCD /
Flat Panel displays, one of the
most noticeable and
considerable reasons for
purchasing a Flat Panel is its
size. As you will see, a Flat Panel
display is generally about 1-2
foot deep.
3. Resolution : The maximum
resolution is the amount of
pixels that can be displayed
horizontally x vertically. Be
cautious when purchasing a
monitor at any size that
advertises a large resolution
size, such as 1,600 x 1,200 for a
15" monitor.
4. Price : When purchasing a Flat
panel / LCD you should expect
to pay more than a Monitor /
CRT as this is a new and
improved technology. Below is
what you should expect to pay
by size of display.
5. Dot/stripe Pitch : When
purchasing a monitor, Dot Pitch
or Stripe Pitch is a very
important consideration. Dot
Pitch measurement is found on
most monitors and defines the
amount of space (in
millimeters) that separates two
adjacent pixels that are the
same color. The smaller the Dot
Pitch, the sharper the image.
when purchasing a monitor the
Dot Pitch be no bigger than
0.25. Stripe Pitch is a
measurement used with
Trinitron or Diamondtron
monitors and is a measurement
(in millimeters) that separates
two like-colored stripes. The
lower the Stripe Pitch the
higher the quality of image.
Today's consumer scanners commonly
have optical resolutions of 2400 dots
per inch--and that's likely to remain the
maximum for a while because
manufacturers are opting to improve
ease of use rather than upgrade the
core hardware.
1.
2.
Optical Resolution : For
displaying photos on the
Web or printing snapshots,
100 dots per inch is plenty
of resolution; for capturing
text using optical character
recognition, 300 dpi is
standard; any scanner on
the market can easily
perform those But if you
want to make 8-by-10-inch
or larger prints, or enlarge
smaller images, opt for a
scanner with 1200 dpi or
2400 dpi of optical
resolution tasks.
Transperency Adapter :
Scanning slides or film
requires a transparency
adapter--a light source that
shines through the film,
which is normally
Transparency templates
come in different sizes:
Many are sized for three
slides or a 6-inch-long
filmstrip, and some are big
enough for one or more
large-format transparencies
held in place with a
template.
3.
Automatic document
feeder : An automatic
document feeder is helpful
if you need to handle highvolume optical character
recognition or scan extralong pages.
4.
Interface : Scanner makers
are currently releasing
products that come with
USB 2.0 interfaces (which
are backward-compatible
with USB 1.1 connections).
We have not seen great
speed jumps from USB 2.0
scanners so far.
Colour Depth : The amount of color (or
gray-scale) data a scanner can recognize
and save, called bit depth, is measured in
bits per pixel. For almost all forms of
general-purpose use, 24-bit external color
depth is sufficient.
4. As a manager, what will you look
for purchasing a printer & web
cam
Laser printers are relatively faster and
use a laser technology to print.
Because of their faster speed
performance, laser printers are good
for large print volumes in busy offices.
Their toner cartridges prove ultimately
cheaper for large volume jobs, than
using ink cartridges with an inkjet
printer.
1.
Resolution : The resolution
of a printer is measured in
dots-per-inch - dpi. The
higher the number, the
sharper the resulting
impression or image. A
300dpi printer is good
enough. 1200dpi would be
good for photo-printing.
2.
3.
4.
usually measured in pixels.
The higher the number of
pixels a webcam has, the
better the image quality
that it may provide.
Speed : Most printers print
at faster rate for
monochrome (black and
white) printing than for
colour printing. Laser
printers tend to deliver
faster print speed.
Printer Manufacturer : As
an intending buyer,
however, you probably
want to know a thing or two
about what each printer
manufacturer offers in the
context of the printer
technology. some of the
best-known printer makers:
Hewlett Packard (HP),
Epson, Canon, Brother,
Lexmark, Dell, Panasonic,
Toshiba, Xerox, Sharp and
Samsung.
Price :
C4340 –Rs.7,199
2.
Light sensitivity : Choosing a
webcam with the right
sensitivity to light would
depend actually on the type
of environment that you
plan to use it on.
3.
Camera speed : Webcam
speed usually refers to the
number of frames that it
can come up with per
second. A basic webcam can
only do around 15 image
frames per second.
4.
Focus : Basic webcams
usually have permanent
fixed focus features for the
most basic of needs.
5.
Price : LOGITECH S-7500
Webcam –Rs.4800
LOGITECH S-5500
Webcam –Rs.2400
LOGITECH ULTRA VISION
Webcam –Rs.7800
Chapter - 4 Secondary Storage Devices
Activity A
–Rs.8,499
–Rs.8,999
HP Photosmart C6100 –
Rs.15,999
–
Find 2 different manufactures of Floppy
disk drives and Diskettes.
Floppy Diskettes – Imation, Maxell
Floppy disk drives – IBM, Dell
Rs.12,499
Buying a Computer webcam may not
be as easy as we think. We should be
able to know what to look for in terms
of the different webcam features.
1.
Image Resolution : A
webcam’s resolution is
Activity B
Find 2 different manufactures of Hard
Disks.
Seagate, Western Digital.
Activity C
Find 2 different manufactures of Pen
drive
Transcend, Kingston.
Activity D
Find 2 different manufactures of DVD’s
Sony, HP.
Activity E
?As a purchase manager carry out SWOT
Analysis of all above activities listed in A
to D
Self Assessment questions
1. How does a Floppy Drive works?
Ans: - The first
diskettes were introduced
in 1971.
 The floppy
drive works
as follows:1. The floppy disk is
packaged in a 3.5” square
hard plastic envelope.
2. It has a long slit for
read-write head access.
3. A hole in the centre
for mounting the disk
drive hub.
4. The disk is logically
divided into Tracks and
sectors. Data is written or
read from these
sectors by a read write
head.
5. Floppy disks are made
of magnetic oxide-coated
Mylar computer tape
material.
6. These diskettes have
a thinner magnetic
coating, allowing more
tracks
On a smaller surface.
7. The track density is
measured in TPI (tracks
per inch).
8. The TPI has been
increased from 48 to 96
and now 135 in the 3.5”
Diskettes.
9. When the computer
requests the drive to be
accessed, the floppy
revolves on the central
spindle while the read
write head picks up data.
 The
advantages
of floppy disk
drive are as
follows:1. Floppies make it
possible to store an
infinite amount of
information since the
data can span multiple
floppies.
2. Requests for
information can be
answered quickly and at
random.
3. Files can be arranged
sequentially or in a
random manner.
 The
disadvantage
s of floppy
disk drive are
as follows:1. Floppy disks tend to
get corrupted very fast
either due to physical
handling or due to dirt,
moisture, radiation etc.
2. Compatibility of the
drive and alignment of
the head has often been a
cause of Problems when
using a floppy from one
machine onto another.
Floppy disks have lesser storage capacity
as compared to other devices such as CDROMS and Pen drives.
6. Response time of the
order of 20-25
milliseconds is quite
common.
2. How does a Hard Disk Drive
works?
1.
Ans: - IBM developed the
idea of a Winchester or Hard Disk.
 The Hard Disk
works as
follows:1. A hard disk works on
the same principle as
a floppy drive. The
hard disk usually has
one or more platters
each with both the
sides which are
recordable.
2. All the platters rotate
on a central spindle at
a continuous speed.
Typical speeds are of
the order of 7500rpm.
3. Several read write
heads are position on
top of each rotating
surface.
4. When the hard disk
drive receives an
instruction to read or
write information, it
uses the available
data to locate the
correct surface track
and sector and reads
or writes data on it.
5. The hard disk is fast
since it has to at most
wait for the correct
track and sector to
come below the read
write head.
2.
3.
4.
 The
advantages
of Hard Disk
Drive as
follows:A hard disk is a device
and a storage
medium which is
permanently fixed
into the computer.
Hard disks provide
on-line information
and are very fast.
Most computer
configurations allow
extra hard disks to be
added thereby
making it possible to
increase the on-line
storage
incrementally.
Hard disks are
enclosed in a
hermetically closed
container thereby
reducing the chance
of damage and are
therefore a fairly
reliable means of online storage.
 The
disadvantage
s of Hard Disk
Drive as
follows:1. The amount of
storage is restricted
by capacity of the disk
installed at that time
on the computer.
However considering
the decreasing cost of
storage it is better to
buy a Hard Disk of a
much higher capacity
than required to take
care of this issue.
Though usually Hard Disks are reliable
they can crash due to a mechanical
defects or electrical surges which may
have a damaging effect. Hence a back up
on floppies or tapes of at least the critical
data needs to be kept for such
eventualities.
3. How does a Pen Drive works?
Ans: - A pen drive is a
small removable FLASH
MEMORY DRIVE usually
connected to the USB
port of a computer. It
provides storage ranging
from 16MB, to several
Gigabytes. It is a plug and
play device.
 The Pen Drive
works as follows:1. The Pen Drive is really
a memory chip. The
computer reads or
writes to the Pen
Drive as it would to
the RAM. This is
possible since the
Flash Memory card is
directly connected to
the USB- bus just as
the memory is
connected to the CPU
on the bus.
2. The pen drive can be
connected and in an
instance a Windows
based computer
recogninses the
presence of the drive,
loads the necessary
driver and is read to
read or write.
3. The pen drive also has
a write protect tab
just like a floppy drive
has. This prevents the
computer from
writing to the drive if
the user so wishes.
 The advantages
of Pen Drive are
as follows:1. It’s having massive
storage capacity.
2. It is portable and
compact.
3. It is in Solid-State
hence less chance of
damage and
corruption.
4. It provides useful
features such as
Write-Protect switch,
LED Read or Write
indicator as well as
Password protection
software included to
protect our data.
5. It is USB Compliant
making it easy to
connect externally to
any computer making
it plug and play. So, it
doesn’t suffer from
in-compatibility issues
such as those faced in
floppy disks etc.
6. It doesn’t require an
external source of
power.
7. It provides very fast
transfer rates up to
12mbit per second at
full speed.
8. It is very affordable. It
starts at approx
Rs.800/- Rs.1000/- at
the low end.
9. In pen drive data can
be stored for as long
as required even up
to 10 years.
4. As a manger, what will look for
purchasing a DVD?
DVD is the latest mass data storage
device after floppy disk and CDs.






Types: DVD writers also
have single layer DVD writer
or Dual layer DVD writer.
The DVDs useds in a single
layer DVD drive can store
upto 4.3GB. The DVDs in a
dual layer DVD drive can
store upto 8.5GB. The Single
layer DVD drive is cheaper
than the dual layer DVD
drive.
Category : You can
categorize DVD writers into
two. The internal DVD
writer that is permanently
fitted inside the computer
or the external DVD writer
that can be carried with
your anywhere you go.
Memory : DVD drive’s
buffer memory should be
high. At least 8MB buffer
should be there.
Speed : he speed of the
DVD writer should be fast.
This will affect the reading
and writing speed.
Supports : Check the DVD
drive supports CDR, CDRW,
DVDR, DVD+R, DVD RW,
DVD +RW etc.
Price : SONY DRU-170C DVD
Writer Price – 1300/Samsung 22X DVD
Writer SATA Price – 1150/-
Liteon 20X DVD Writer SATA Price –
1250/-
Chapter 5 - Networking/Internet & Web
Technologies
o
Activity A
o
o
? Using Google search collect information
on “Protocol used in Networking”
FTAM File Transfer and
Access Management
Protocol
X.400 Mail
Common management
information protocol
(CMIP)
Activity B
Using Google search collect information
on “seven layers of Networking”

Ans:
The Open Systems Interconnection
model (OSI model) was a product of the
Open Systems Interconnection effort at
the International Organization for
Standardization. It is a way of sub-dividing
a communications system into smaller
parts called layers
Seven layers of networking are used in OSI
model. The seven layers are explained as
below:
7) Application – It deals with users
application program. The Application
Layer is the OSI layer closest to the end
user, which means that both the OSI
application layer and the user interact
directly with the software application.
This layer interacts with software
applications that implement a
communicating component. Such
application programs fall outside the
scope of the OSI model. Application layer
functions typically include identifying
communication partners, determining
resource availability, and synchronizing
communication. When identifying
communication partners, the application
layer determines the identity and
availability of communication partners for
an application with data to transmit.

On TCP/IP stack:
o Hypertext Transfer
Protocol (HTTP),
o File Transfer Protocol
(FTP),
o Simple Mail Transfer
Protocol (SMTP)
o Simple Network
Management Protocol
(SNMP).
6) Presentation – It is used for the
delivery and formatting of information to
the application layer. The Presentation
Layer establishes context between
Application Layer entities, in which the
higher-layer entities may use different
syntax and semantics if the presentation
service provides a mapping between
them. If a mapping is available,
presentation service data units are
encapsulated into session protocol data
units, and passed down the stack.
This layer provides independence from
data representation (e.g., encryption) by
translating between application and
network formats. The presentation layer
transforms data into the form that the
application accepts. This layer formats
and encrypts data to be sent across a
network. It is sometimes called the syntax
layer
On OSI stack:
5) Session – It helps start and end session
of interaction with the other computer.
The application layer uses this session.
The Session Layer controls the dialogues
(connections) between computers. It
establishes, manages and terminates the
connections between the local and
remote application. It provides for fullduplex, half-duplex, or simplex operation,
and establishes check pointing,
adjournment, termination, and restart
procedures. The OSI model made this
layer responsible for graceful close of
sessions, which is a property of the
Transmission Control Protocol, and also
for session check pointing and recovery,
which is not usually used in the Internet
Protocol Suite. The Session Layer is
commonly implemented explicitly in
application environments that use remote
procedure calls
4) Transport – It provides end to end
communication to the application.
Transport Layer is to compare it with a
Post Office, which deals with the dispatch
and classification of mail and parcels sent.
Transport Layer can keep track of the
segments and retransmit those that fail.
The Transport layer also provides the
acknowledgement of the successful data
transmission and sends the next data if no
errors occurred. Transport Layer, typical
examples of Layer 4 are the Transmission
Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram
Protocol (UDP).
transit network up to the level of
networks on either side;
3. Sub network Independent
Convergence - which handles
transfer across multiple networks.
2) Data link – It is responsible for media
access control, flow control and error
checking.
Both WAN and LAN service arranges
bits, from the Physical Layer, into logical
sequences called frames. Not all Physical
Layer bits necessarily go into frames, as
some of these bits are purely intended for
Physical Layer functions. For example,
every fifth bit of the FDDI bit stream is not
used by the Layer.
1) Physical – It consists of basic hardware
transmission technologies of a network.
The above layers use this physical layer
for actual transmission.
The major functions and services
performed by the Physical Layer are:


3) Network – It is responsible for routing
packets delivery including routing through
intermediate routers.
Careful analysis of the Network Layer
indicated that the Network Layer could
have at least three sub layers:
1. Sub network Access - that
considers protocols that deal with
the interface to networks, such as
X.25;
2. Sub network Dependent
Convergence - when it is
necessary to bring the level of a

Establishment and termination of
a connection to a
communications medium.
Participation in the process
whereby the communication
resources are effectively shared
among multiple users. For
example, contention resolution
and flow control.
Modulation, or conversion
between the representation of
digital data in user equipment and
the corresponding signals
transmitted over a
communications channel. These
are signals operating over the
physical cabling (such as copper
and optical fiber) or over a radio
link.
Activity C
Using Google search collect information
on “Network topology”
Ans:
Network topology is the layout pattern of
interconnections of the various elements
of the computer network. Network
topologies may be physical or logical.
Physical topology means the physical
design of a network including the devices,
location and cable installation. Logical
topology refers to how data is actually
transferred in a network as opposed to its
physical design. Topology can be
considered as a virtual shape or structure
of a network. This shape does not
correspond to the actual physical design
of the devices on the computer network.
The computers on a home network can be
arranged in a circle but it does not
necessarily mean that it represents a ring
topology.
A local area network (LAN) is one
example of a network that exhibits both a
physical topology and a logical topology.
Any given node in the LAN has one or
more links to one or more nodes in the
network and the mapping of these links
and nodes in a graph results in a
geometric shape that may be used to
describe the physical topology of the
network. Likewise, the mapping of the
data flow between the nodes in the
network determines the logical topology
of the network. The physical and logical
topologies may or may not be identical in
any particular network.
The 3 broad categories of network
topology are explained below:
1) Star topology – In star topology
the server is at the centre with all
the network links emanating from
it terminating at various nodes or
clients. This looks like a star hence
is called star topology.
2) Bus topology – This is the most
popular method of networking. It
has a shared cable running from
the server across all the nodes.
The cabling is much easier since
only one cable runs through the
entire floor or the entire
organization.
3) Mesh topology – In mesh
topology each computer may be
connected to the other with
separate cables. The criss-crossing
of network paths makes it look
like a mesh hence it is called mesh
topology.
Activity D
Using Google search collect information
on “Domain Names”
Ans:
A domain name is an identification
label that defines a realm of
administrative autonomy, authority or
control in the internet. Domain names
are also the hostnames that identify
Internet Protocol (IP) resources such
as web site. Domain names are also
used as simple identification labels to
indicate ownership or control of a
resource.
An important purpose of domain names is
to provide easily recognizable and
memorable names to numerically
addressed internet resources. This
abstraction allows any resource to be
moved to different physical location in the
address topology of the network, globally
or locally in the intranet. Domain names
are often referred to simply as domains
and domain name registrants are
frequently referred to as domain owners.
Domain names are often referred to
simply as domains and domain name
registrants are frequently referred to as
domain owners, although domain name
registration with a registrar does not
confer any legal ownership of the domain
name, only an exclusive right of use. The
domain name space consists of a tree of
domain names. Each node in the tree
holds information associated with the
domain name. The tree sub-divides into
zones beginning at the root zone. The
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names
and Numbers (ICANN) manages the toplevel development and architecture of the
Internet domain name space. It authorizes
domain name registrars, through which
domain names may be registered and
reassigned. The use of domain names in
commerce may subject strings in them to
trademark law. In 2010, the number of
active domains reached 196 million
Self-Assessment Questions
1. What are components of
networks?
A computer network, often simply
referred to as a network, is a collection of
computers and devices interconnected by
communications channels that facilitate
communications and allows sharing of
resources and information among
interconnected devices. Networks may be
classified according to a wide variety of
characteristics such as topology,
connection method and scale
The components of Network are:
Routers
Repeters
Bridges
Hub
Switches
Protocols
Gateway
Filters
Servers
Proxy servers
Modems
Network cards
Cables.
2. ? What are protocols used in
networking
3. ? What are seven layers of
networking?
4. What are Web browsers?
A web browser or internet browser is a
software application for retrieving,
presenting and traversing information
resources on World Wide Web. An
information system is identified by a
uniform resource identifier and may be a
web page, image, video, or other piece of
content. Hyperlink present in resources
enable other users to easily navigate
there browsers to related resources.
The primary purpose of a web browser is
to bring information resources to the
user. This process begins when the user
inputs a Uniform Resource Identifier
(URI), for example
http://en.wikipedia.org/, into the
browser. The prefix of the URI determines
how the URI will be interpreted. The most
commonly used kind of URI starts with
http: and identifies a resource to be
retrieved over the Hypertext Transfer
Protocol (HTTP). Many browsers also
support a variety of other prefixes, such
as https: for HTTPS, ftp: for the File
Transfer Protocol, and file: for local files.
Prefixes that the web browser cannot
directly handle are often handed off to
another application entirely. For example,
mailto: URIs are usually passed to the
user's default e-mail application, and
news: URIs are passed to the user's
default newsgroup reader.
Although browsers are primarily intended
to access the World Wide Web, they can
also be used to access information
provided by Web servers in private
networks or files in file systems. Some
browsers can also be used to save
information resources to file systems. The
major web browsers are Windows
Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Apple
Safari, Google Chrome, and Opera.
Below are the browsers and there release
dates.









Worldwide Web, February 26,
1991
Mosaic, April 22, 1993
Netscape Navigator and
Netscape Communicator, October
13, 1994
Internet Explorer 1, August 16,
1995
Opera, 1996,
Mozilla Navigator, June 5, 2002
Safari, January 7, 2003
Mozilla Firefox, November 9,
2004
Google Chrome, September 2,
2008
making a request for a specific resource
using HTTP and the server responds with
the content of that resource or an error
message if unable to do so. The resource
is typically a real file on the server's
secondary memory, but this is not
necessarily the case and depends on how
the web server is implemented While the
primary function is to serve content, a full
implementation of HTTP also includes
ways of receiving content from clients.
This feature is used for submitting web
forms, including uploading of files.
Web servers are not always used for
serving the world wide web. They can
also be found embedded in devices such
as printers, routers, webcams and serving
only a local network. The web server may
then be used as a part of a system for
monitoring and/or administrating the
device in question. This usually means
that no additional software has to be
installed on the client computer, since
only a web browser is required (which
now is included with most operating
systems).
Common features of web server:
5. What are Web servers?
A web server can be referred to as either
the hardware (the computer) or the
software (the computer application) that
helps to deliver content that can be
accessed through the Internet. The most
common use of Web servers is to host
Web sites but there are other uses like
data storage or for running enterprise
applications.
The primary function of a web server is to
deliver web pages on the request to
clients. This means delivery of HTML
documents and any additional content
that may be included by a document, such
as images, style sheets and Java Scripts. A
client, commonly a web browser or web
crawler, initiates communication by
1. Virtual hosting to serve many
Web sites using one IP address.
2. Large file support to be able to
serve files whose size is greater
than 2 GB on 32 bit OS.
3. Bandwidth throttling to limit the
speed of responses in order to not
saturate the network and to be
able to serve more clients.
4. Server-side scripting to generate
dynamic Web pages, still keeping
Web server and Web site
implementations separate from
each other.
satellite to the other end user's VSAT.
VSAT can handle up to 56 Kbps.
6. What do you understand by
VSAT?
VSAT stands for Very Small Aperture
Terminal. A VSAT is a small-sized
telecommunications earth station that
transmits and receives via satellite. The
terminal size is 0.75 to 3.8 meters in
diameter. VSAT systems generally connect
a large number of geographically
dispersed sites to a central location. VSAT
networks may transmit voice, data, fax, or
video conferencing.
A typical VSAT site consists of a parabolicshaped antenna mounted on the roof of a
building,
Connected by a cable to a chassis inside
the building. Operators install these
antennas at customer sites
and buy transmission capacity on
satellites. A typical VSAT unit contains a
modem for translating satellite
transmissions back into data (and vice
versa) and terrestrial interfaces for
connecting customer.
Very small aperture terminal, an
earthbound station used in satellite
communications of data, voice and video
signals, excluding broadcast television. A
VSAT consists of two parts, a transceiver
that is placed outdoors in direct line of
sight to the satellite and a device that is
placed indoors to interface the
transceiver with the end user's
communications device, such as a PC. The
transceiver receives or sends a signal to a
satellite transponder in the sky. The
satellite sends and receives signals from a
ground station computer that acts as a
hub for the system. Each end user is
interconnected with the hub station via
the satellite, forming a star topology. The
hub controls the entire operation of the
network. For one end user to
communicate with another, each
transmission has to first go to the hub
station that then retransmits it via the
VSATs are most commonly used to
transmit narrowband data (point of sale
transactions such as credit card, polling or
RFID data; or SCADA), or broadband data
(for the provision of Satellite Internet
access to remote locations, VoIP or video).
VSATs are also used for transportable, onthe-move (utilizing phased array
antennas) or mobile maritime
communications.
Most VSAT networks are configured in
one of these topologies:


A star topology, using a central
uplink site, such as a network
operations center (NOC), to
transport data back and forth to
each VSAT terminal via satellite,
A mesh topology, where each
VSAT terminal relays data via
satellite to another terminal by
acting as a hub, minimizing the
need for a centralized uplink site,
A combination of both star and mesh
topologies. Some VSAT networks are
configured by having several centralized
uplink sites (and VSAT terminals
stemming from it) connected in a multistar topology with each star (and each
terminal in each star) connected to each
other in a mesh topology. Others
configured in only a single star topology
sometimes will have each terminal
connected to each other as well, resulting
in each terminal acting as a central hub.
These configurations are utilized to
minimize the overall cost of the network,
and to alleviate the amount of data that
has to be relayed through a central uplink
site (or sites) of a star or multi-star
network.
Chapter 6 - Operating Systems
Activity A
List 5 different types of operating
systems
i) Real-time Operating System
ii) Multi-user and Single-user
Operating Systems
iii) Multi-tasking and Singletasking Operating Systems
iv) Distributed Operating System
v) Embedded System
Activity B
Using Google search collect more
information on “How memory works”.
Surf Minimum 3 different sites.
Wiki.answer.com
Computer memory consists of
rows and columns of tiny
transistors (junction nodes) where
electrical energy is at a certain
level or it's at zero - say 3v on one
transistor that is "on", 0.5v on the
next transistor that is "off".
Memory is binary - a sequence of
0's and 1' - off or on. It is broken
into bits (one 1 or 0), nibbles (4
ones or zeros), bytes (8 ones or
zeros) and so on (kilobytes,
megabytes, gigabytes, terabytes,
petabytes...)
www.ehow.com
The microcomputer has two types
of memory. The manufacturer
installs
machine-readable
instructions or programs in special
chips
on
the
computer's
motherboard.
Users
cannot
change the programs on these
chips. This type of memory is
Read Only Memory, or ROM.
These
instructions
help
your computer start up, find
drives and interpret commands
from your keyboard or other
input devices. They also help the
computer display information for
users in plain English or whatever
language the user chooses. The
memory that computer users
work with when creating, saving
and
retrieving
personal
information is Random Access
Memory, or RAM. Ram chips must
also
be
installed
in
a
microcomputer so that users have
a space in which they can load
software programs and files.
Memory Chips
Microcomputers have special
slots for RAM chips. Normally,
these
chips
work
in
pairs. Computers for sale today
have a minimum of 256
megabytes of RAM installed. Each
byte
roughly
equals
one
alphanumeric character, space or
punctuation
mark on
the
keyboard. A megabyte (MB)
equals 1,048,576 bytes. Many
newer computers and software
requires much more memory
than in the past. It is not
uncommon for microcomputers
to have 1 to 4 gigabytes of
random access memory installed
by the manufacturer. A gigabyte
(GB) of RAM equals roughly 1
billion bytes (1,073,741,824).
Some computers owners also
purchase additional RAM chips to
upgrade
their
computer's
memory, when they find that the
computer does not work quickly
enough or when they have
purchased a computer with a
small amount of RAM.
the hard drive is more efficient than
swapping them into and out of random
access memory.
All random access memory is
temporary. When users restart
the computer or turn it off, any
information in the computer's
RAM disappears. Most computer
users understand that they must
save files that are on the screen
before exiting the software
program they are using. Saving
the file makes a permanent copy
that you can load into the
computer's memory again. The
process of loading software
programs and files into a
computer's
random
access
memory is similar to removing
files from a file cabinet and
placing them on your desk. When
you have finished working with
the files, you will normally return
them to their place in the file
cabinet. This leaves your desk
clear for future tasks and lets you
easily find your files when you are
ready to work again. Just as each
file that you place on your desk
must have space, each byte of
information used on a computer
must have an assigned RAM
address.
Activity C
RAM
Virtual Memory
Microsoft Windows allows PC users to
increase the amount of memory that they
use while working with software and files
by using space on the hard drive.
Windows can extend the computer's RAM
by creating virtual memory, a special area
on the disk for swapping inactive and
active programs in and out of the
computer's memory. This additional
memory helps the computer work faster,
because processing temporary files from
List 3 different types of operating
systems used for networking
i) Windows NT Server
ii) Windows 2000 Server
iii) UNIX
Activity D
Using Internet, Surf Microsoft & Sun
Micro Systems site. Find out
Programming languages Compilers and
interprets they provide.
Microsoft:
- Visual C
- Visual C ++
- Adat
- COBOL
- Perl
- Python
- Mercury
Sun Micro System:
- Java
- Fortran
- Algol
Review Questions
1. What do you understand by
Memory Management?
A> Refers to a variety of methods used to
store data and programs in memory, keep
track of them and reclaim the memory
space when they are no longer needed. It
also includes virtual memory, bank
switching and memory protection
techniques.
Memory management is the act of
managing computer memory. In its
simpler forms, this involves providing
ways to allocate portions of memory to
programs at their request, and freeing it
for reuse when no longer needed. The
management of main memory is critical to
the computer system.
Virtual memory systems separate the
memory addresses used by a process
from actual physical addresses, allowing
separation of processes and increasing
the effectively available amount of RAM
using disk swapping. The quality of the
virtual memory manager can have a big
impact on overall system performance.
Garbage collection is the automated
allocation and deallocation of computer
memory resources for a program. This is
generally
implemented
at
the
programming language level and is in
opposition
to
manual
memory
management, the explicit allocation and
deallocation of computer memory
resources.
Region-based
memory
management is an efficient variant of
explicit memory management that can
deallocate large groups of objects
simultaneously.
2. Comment on the role of
operating system as a system
software
A> Without an operating system, a
computer is little more than a bundle of
plastic, metal, and a few bits of expensive
silicon. Whereas most software runs on a
computer, the operating system is the
software that runs the computer.
System Functions
1. An operating system is the software
that tells the computer how to work.
It handles the memory management,
file storage, and allocation of
resources for the software that runs
on the computer. It also handles all
of the software drivers for the
various bits of hardware that make
up the computer, as well as
peripherals such as printers, mice
and anything else a user might
connect.
User Functions
2. The operating system handles all of
the interactions between the user
and the computer. It presents the
file structure of a hard drive in a
manner that a user can understand,
rather than in the series of ones and
zeroes that it actually is. The
operating system also converts the
physical motions of the user--such as
moving the mouse or typing on the
keyboard--for the computer.
Framework
3. By providing a standard framework
for software development, an
operating system presents a broad
and relatively simple target for
software developers. Without this,
software development becomes very
difficult, involving attempts to
develop for every single hardware
combination. Developing for an
operating system, developers can
work secure in the knowledge that
their software will work anywhere
that the operating system will.
3. Explain the goals of operating
system
A> To Execute user program easier. To
solve the user problem easily. To make
the computer system convenient to use.
You want to be able to load applications,
provide for multitasking either through
timeslice
or
priority/interrupt
mechanisms, you want to be able to
detect a deadlock/race condition and take
an appropriate action to resolve the issue,
you want to have interprocess
communication of some kind, you want to
provide communication services for
different types of hardware and logical
communication constructs, you want to
provide "virtual memory" for applications
that are larger than physical memory, you
want to be able to send a "signal" to
process that are waiting for events such
as serial I/O and you want to provide user
security so that users can have a
workspace that cannot be "hacked".
Above all, you need to provide access
limitations so that viruses cannot gain
control. Read about UNIX/Linux. In my
opinion it's about as close to a perfect OS
as can be found.
An operating system has two goals
- efficient use of a computer system &
- user convenience
an operating system must not only ensure
efficient use of a computer system, but
also provide user convenience.
Facet of user convenience
facets
example
necessity
ability to execute programs, use the file
system
good service
speedy response to computational
requests
user friendly OS
easy-touse commands, Graphical user interface
(GUI)
new programming
concurrent programming model
features for experts
means to set up complex computational
structures
web-oriented features
means to
set up web-enabled servers
evolution
ability to add new features, use new
computers
Chapter 7 – Other Systems and
Application Software
Activity A
Explain 7 layers of conceptual model of
networking systems
i) Layer 7:Application Layer
Defines interface to user
processes for communication
and data transfer in network.
Provides
standardized
services such as virtual
terminal, file and job transfer
and operations
ii) Layer 6:Presentation Layer
Masks the differences of data
formats between dissimilar
systems.
Specifies
architectureindependent data transfer
format
Encodes and decodes data;
Encrypts and decrypts data;
Compresses
and
decompresses data
iii) Layer 5:Session Layer
Manages user sessions and
dialogues
Controls establishment and
termination of logic links
between users
Reports upper layer errors
iv) Layer 4:Transport Layer
Manages end-to-end message
delivery in network
Provides
reliable
and
sequential packet delivery
through error recovery and
flow control mechanisms
Provides
connectionless
oriented packet delivery
v) Layer 3:Network Layer
Determines how data are
transferred between network
devices
Routes packets according to
unique
network
device
addresses
Provides flow and congestion
control to prevent network
resource depletion
vi) Layer 2:Data Link Layer
Defines
procedures
for
operating the communication
links
Frames packets
Detects and corrects packets
transmit errors
vii) Layer 1:Physical Layer
Defines physical means of
sending data over network
devices
Interfaces between network
medium and devices
Defines optical, electrical and
mechanical characteristics
Activity B
List out 5 viruses commonly affect your
computer system
i) Macro virus
This type of virus usually
comes as part of a document
or spreadsheet, often in
email.
Examples: The Melissa and
ILOVEYOU.
ii) Boot sector virus
This type of virus overwrites
the boot sector on your hard
drive or floppy drive.
Examples: NYB, AntiExe, and
Unashamed
iii) File infector virus
This type of virus attaches
itself to executables, for
example .com and .exe files.
Examples: Jerusalem and
Cascade viruses
iv) Stealth virus
This type of virus tries to fool
antivirus software by catching
its requests to the operating
system (asking to open a file,
for example).
Examples: The FRODO or
4096 virus
v) Self-modifying virus
This type of virus was
designed to avoid detection
by antivirus software by
changing itself internally.
There are two types of selfmodifying viruses:
(1) Polymorphic virus - a
polymorphic virus infects
files
with
modified
(usually
encrypted)
operational versions of
itself, which it decrypts
before executing. The
"Dark Avenger's Mutation
Engine" (also known as
MTE or DAME) has been
released by virus writers
to add this capability to
any virus, but is now
detectable
by
most
antivirus tools.
(2) Metamorphic virus - a
metamorphic
virus
rewrites itself completely
each time it infects a new
executable. An example
of a metamorphic virus is
Win95.Zmist.A.
Activity C
List out 5 Anti Viruses Software popularly
used to protect computer system
i) Norton
ii) Kaspersky
iii) McAfee
iv) Trend Micro Titanium
v) Quick Heal
Activity D
Using internet search, surf for minimum
3 sites and collect information on ERP.
i)
wikipedia.org
Enterprise
Resource
Planning (ERP)
integrates
internal
and
external management
information across an entire
organization,
embracing
finance/accounting, manufact
uring, sales and service, etc.
ERP systems automate this
activity
with
an
integrated software applicatio
n. Its purpose is to facilitate
the flow of information
between
all
business
functions
inside
the
boundaries
of
the
organization and manage the
connections
to
outside
stakeholders.
www.erpwire.com
Advantages and Disadvantages of ERP
The foremost advantage of an ERP system
is bringing down the costs and saving the
valuable time which would have
otherwise been wasted in procedural
maneuvers and unwanted delays.
Different software programs maintained
in the departments were proving to be a
great hurdle. Since ERP is a uniform
platform it ensures that there is no
discrepancy in the information that is
processed.
Industry wise advantages
Manufacturing Sector Speeding up the whole
process.
Distribution and retail Stores Accessing the status of the
goods
Transport Sector - Transmit
commodities through online
transactions.
Project Service industry Fastens the compilation of
reports.
Advantages in a corporate
entity
The accounts department
personnel
can
act
independently. They don't
have to be behind the
technical persons every time
to record the financial
transactions
Ensures quicker processing of
information and reduces the
burden of paperwork.
Serving
the
customers
efficiently by way of prompt
response and follow up.
Disposing
queries
immediately and facilitating
the payments from customers
with ease and well ahead of
the stipulated deadline.
It helps in having a say over
your competitor and adapting
to the whims and fancies of
the market and business
fluctuations.
The
swift
movement of goods to rural
areas and in lesser known
places has now become a
reality with the use of ERP.
The database not only
becomes user friendly but
also helps to do away with
unwanted
ambiguity.
ERP is suitable for global
operations as it encompasses
all the domestic jargons,
currency conversions, diverse
accounting standards, and
multilingual facilities .In short
it is the perfect commercial
and scientific epitome of the
verse "Think Local. Act
Global".
ERP helps to control and data
and facilitates the necessary
contacts to acquire the same.
Disadvantages
(1) ERP calls for a voluminous
and
exorbitant
investment of time and
money. The amount of
cash required would even
be looming on the
management given the
fact that such an outlay is
not a guarantee to the
said benefits but subject
to
proper
implementation, training
and use.
(2) In the ever expanding era
of information theft ERP
is no exception.
(3) It is alarming to note the
time taken to implement
the system in the
organization.
These
means large amounts of
workers have to shun
their regular labor and
undertake training. This
not only disturbs the
regular functioning of the
organization but also runs
the organization in the
huge risk of losing
potential business in that
particular period.
(4) There are great benefits
rendered by the system.
On the other hand when
one thinks of this
information reach in the
hands of undeserving
persons who could do
more than misuse ,it is
evident that there is no
way of ensuring secrecy
of information and larger
chances of risk will be
generated as long as they
are in the public domain.
ii) www.erpsoftware360.co
m
Top
5 On-Premise
Enterprise Resource Planning
(ERP) Software Systems
(a) Epicor
(b) Infor
(c) Microsoft Dynamics
(d) Oracle
(e) SAP
Review Questions
1. Explain what are computer viruses,
illustrate your answer with types and
how they affect different areas of
computer
Meaning: Virus" is an umbrella
term used to describe malicious
programs that unwantedly install
themselves
onto
your
computer. Viruses will cause you
a range of damage, from the very
mild to the entire loss of your
computer data.
A good way to describe viruses is
to call them "malware", or
software programs that have
malicious intent.
Viruses/malware are commonly
broken down into:
Classic Viruses - rewrite existing
computer code on your computer
Trojans - are additions to your
system
Worms - they copy themselves
without your direct assistance
Adware and spyware -These
programs "lurk" on your machine
1. What do you understand by
application software? Illustrate
your answer with examples
Application software is software
which helps perform a specific
business function. It make the
computer useful to the user.
Canned Software: Application
software
like
spreadsheet
programmes can be used quite
easily as one would eat canned
food are known as canned
software
Packages Solutions: vendors who
have expertise in a specific
functional area or a specific
domain such as banking etc use
their expertise to develop
softwares which can perform one
or more functions within that
domain.
Enterprise Management Systems:
Packaged solutions which cover
the functioning of the entire
enterprise would be called as
Enterprise Management Systems
Custom Build Application: It can
be termed as in-house software
developed by MNC and big
Companies
as
per
their
requirements.
2. As a Marketing Manager What
criteria will you adopt for selecting
ERP software
A> Criteria #1–A Future Proof Decision
Criteria #2–Rock-Solid Solutions
Criteria #3–Replacement Know-How
Criteria
#4–Elimination
of
Implementation Guesswork
Criteria #5–Tailor-Made Business Fit
The Roadmap
System Settings
Tools to Customize Your System
Advanced Tools
Portals
Criteria #6–Industry Expertise
Criteria #7–Sound Financial Foundation
Criteria #8–Stacking the Technology Odds
in Your Favor
Service-Oriented Architecture
Benefits of SOA to Business
Criteria #9–A Testament to Scalability
Criteria #10–Community Collaboration:
Maximizing Customer Moments Of Truth
Remote Consulting
Client List Server and Data Access
On-Call Web Conferencing User Support
Web-Based Training and Solution
Webinars
Criteria #11–Integrity and Dedication
Criteria #12–Delivering Return on
Investment
Chapter 8 - Database Management
System
Activity A
List out 3 OEM who supply DBMS
Software (use internet search engines to
collect data)
i. Oracle
ii. IBM
iii. Symbian
Activity B
List out 3 OEM who supply SQL Software
(use internet search engines to collect
data)
i. Oracle
ii. Microsoft
iii. IBM
Activity C
Using internet browse IBM site and find
out what business strategy used for
promoting DB2 database against Oracle
RDBMS
DB2 9.7: Run Oracle applications on DB2
9.7 for Linux, Unix, and Windows
DB2 9.7 gives applications
developed on Oracle a bear hug
with PL/SQL support, and more
IBM DB2 9.7 for Linux, UNIX, and
Windows has
out-of-the-box
support for Oracle's SQL and
PL/SQL dialects. This allows many
applications
written
against
Oracle to execute against DB2
virtually unchanged. In this article,
get a high-level overview of what
Oracle compatibility means in
DB2. Whether you want to switch
your custom application to DB2 or
extend your DBMS vendor
support to DB2, now is your time.
DB2 9.7 adds Oracle compatibility
features. Enabling an Oracle
application to DB2 becomes no
more complex than enabling a CProgram written for HP-UX to run
on AIX.
Review Questions
1. As a purchase manager what
features would you look for
purchasing DBMs
- Stock management system
- Purchase order creation
-
Receipt
Issue
Rejection
Monthly ledger
Other transactions related to
store
and
purchase
department
o
o

2. How does A DBMS store information
A> Database tables/indexes are typically
stored on hard disk in one of many forms,
ordered/unordered Flat files, ISAM,
Heaps, Hash buckets or B+ Trees. These
have
various
advantages
and
disadvantages discussed in this topic. The
most commonly used are B+trees and
ISAM.
Unordered
Unordered storage typically stores the
records in the order they are inserted.
While having good insertion efficiency (),
it may seem that it would have inefficient
retrieval times (), but this is usually never
the case as most databases use indexes
on the primary keys, resulting in or for
keys that are the same as database row
offsets within the database file storage
system, efficient retrieval times.
Ordered
Ordered storage typically stores the
records in order and may have to
rearrange or increase the file size in the
case a record is inserted, this is very
inefficient. However is better for retrieval
as the records are pre-sorted, leading to a
complexity of.
Structured files
Heaps
 simplest and most basic method
o insert efficient, records
added at end of file –
‘chronological’ order
o retrieval inefficient as
searching has to be linear
o deletion – deleted records
marked
requires periodic reorganization if file is
very volatile
 advantages

good for bulk loading data
good for relatively small
relations as indexing
overheads are avoided
o good when retrievals
involve large proportion
of records
disadvantages
o not efficient for selective
retrieval using key values,
especially if large
o sorting may be timeconsuming
not suitable for ‘volatile’ tables
Hash buckets
 Hash functions calculate the
address of the page in which the
record is to be stored based on
one or more fields in the record
o Hashing functions chosen
to ensure that addresses
are spread evenly across
the address space
o ‘occupancy’ is generally
40% – 60% of total file
size
o unique
address
not
guaranteed so collision
detection and collision
resolution
mechanisms
are required
 open addressing
 chained/unchained overflow
 pros and cons
o efficient
for
exact
matches on key field
o not suitable for range
retrieval, which requires
sequential storage
o calculates
where the
record is stored based on
fields in the record
o hash functions ensure
even spread of data
o collisions are possible, so
collision detection and
restoration is required
B+ trees
These are the most used in practice.



the time taken to access any tuple
is the same because same
number of nodes searched
index is a full index so data file
does not have to be ordered
Pros and cons
o versatile data structure –
sequential as well as
random access
o access is fast
o supports exact, range,
part key and pattern
matches efficiently
o ‘volatile’ files are handled
efficiently because index
is dynamic – expands and
contracts as table grows
and shrinks
o less
well suited to
relatively stable files – in
this case, ISAM is more
efficient
ISAM
ISAM stands for Indexed Sequential
Access Method, a method for indexing
data for fast retrieval. ISAM was originally
developed by IBM for mainframe
computers. Today the term is used for
several related concepts:



Specifically, the IBM ISAM
product and the algorithm it
employs.
A database system where an
application developer directly
uses an Application Programming
Interface to search indexes in
order to locate records in data
files. In contrast, a relational
database uses a query optimizer
which
automatically
selects
indexes.
An indexing algorithm that allows
both sequential and keyed access
to data. Most databases now use
some variation of the B-Tree for
this purpose, although the original
IBM
ISAM
and
VSAM
implementations did not do so.

Most generally, any index for a
database. Indexes are used by
almost all databases, both
relational and otherwise.
How Does My Data Get Stored?
How the data is stored in a database is
probably much simpler than you might
think. Databases use a series of Tables to
store the data. A table simply refers to a
two dimensional representation of your
data using columns and rows. For
example:
Joh
Smith
n
jsmith@huh.com
Paul
McCartne
paul@beatles.com
y
Bill
Murray
gopher@caddyshack.co
m
So, then, how does the database keep
things straight? Well, first each database
table is given a unique name. Without a
unique name the DBMS (Data Base
Management System) would get very
confused. Next, each column in the table
is given a unique name. In our example
above it would be something like first
name, last name, email. This doesn't
mean each column that you name has to
be unique within the entire database. It
only has to be unique within the table you
have created. Also notice that the names
don't use any spaces. When naming tables
and columns be sure to keep it simple
with letters and numbers. Spaces and
symbols can be illegal characters that will
mess up the whole works, so if you need
to clarify a name use the "_" instead of
spaces. Let's update our table now:
Table name: contacts
first_na
last_na
email
me
me
John
Smith
Paul
McCartn
paul@beatles.com
ey
Bill
Murray
jsmith@huh.com
gopher@caddyshack.
com
3. Describe SQL with examples (refer to
internet)
SQL
was
developed
at IBM by Donald
D.
Chamberlin and Raymond
F.
Boyce in the early 1970s. This
version,
initially
called SEQUEL (Structured English
Query Language), was designed
to manipulate and retrieve data
stored in IBM's original quasirelational database management
system, System R, which a group
at IBM San Jose Research
Laboratory had developed during
the 1970s. The acronym SEQUEL
was later changed to SQL because
"SEQUEL" was a trademark of
the UK-based Hawker
Siddeley aircraft company.
Examples:
- creating a table
- creating a view
- inserting rows
- updating rows
- deleting rows
- commit -- making changes
permanent
- rollback -- undoing temporary
changes
- enforcing integrity constraints
- using an Embedded C
program
Section 2 – Management Information
Systems
over the year. Thus the conversion of raw
data to some logic/meaning is called
information.
Chapter 1 - Key Definition
Activity A
? Using internet search engine collect
definition of “Data & Information”
Activity B
? Using internet search engine collect
definition of “system concept”
Activity C
? Using internet search engine collect
definition of “Data & Information”
Review Questions
1. How do you relate data and
information? Illustrate with
examples.
Answer:
Data: is the raw form consisting of values
relating to various actions, transactions or
objects.
It may be in the form of text, images,
voice and may represent quantities or
qualities of object.
Information: is the data that has been
processed in a form that is meaningful
and is of real or perceived value in current
or prospective actions or decisions.
Illustration: Leave Records of employee in
an organization.
Data: When a report is generated for
leaves, an excel spreadsheet is produced
by the leave management system. The
leave are generated is a way wherein
month-wise data is available in
chronological order for all employees.
Information: Changing the data to
information is a process in itself. The
above data can be converted to
information by making a pivot out of the
excel spreadsheet against each employee.
In this manner, one can view how many
days of leaves has an employee taken
2. What do you understand by System
Concept?
Answer:
 System concepts provide a useful
framework for describing and
understanding
many
organizational
phenomena
including features of information
system.
 It can be abstract or physical.
Abstract system is an orderly
arrangement of interdependent
ideas or constructs. Physical
system is a set of elements which
operate together to accomplish
an objective.
 Each system is made up of
subsystems and each subsystem is
made up of other subsystems.
Each subsystem is being defined
by its boundaries. This system is
useful in analysis and designing
info systems.
 Systems are classified into
deterministic v/s probabilistic and
closed v/s open systems
 Systems have goal and there may
be various paths to reach the
goal, this is called equi-finality. A
business organization is a system
and every business organization
has a goal to serve a specific
business community or a social
cause. The business organization
can do so by selecting the target
group. Irrespective of the path
taken, it would head towards
reaching the goal.
 Hence from the above, it is clear
that subsystems must be aligned
to the organization’s goal and
from the point of view of
understanding and designing the
info systems, we must ensure that
the functional subsystem which
we are trying to understand or
design is indeed aligned with
organizational goals.
System concept makes it very clear that it
is a flow of event that leads to goal with
various paths by different ways and
means.
3. What do you understand by Value of
Information?
Answer:
 It is the value of change in
decision behavior caused by the
information minus the cost of
obtaining the information.
 In other words, given a set of
possible decisions, a decision
maker will select the one on the
basis of information at hand.
 If new information causes a
different decision to be made, the
value of the new information is
the difference between the
outcome of the old decision and
that of the new decision, minus
the cost of obtaining the new
information.
 Since information reduces a risk,
the probability of risk is multiplied
by the value of the decision would
give the expected value of the
decision.
 Any info which eliminates the risk
factor would have a value at least
equal to the expected value of the
decision.
 Utility of information and
therefore value of information
can be expressed in terms of
form, time and place.

The emphasis is on providing the
right information, to the right
person at the right time and in
right form. If any of these is
incomplete, the value of the
information supplied is diluted.
Chapter 2 - The Data cycle
Activity A
Identify 3 cases where you can apply
concept of data cycle
Activity B
Collect more information on “Data entry”
(Browse minimum 3 sites)
Ans:
The process of entering data into a
computerized database or spreadsheet.
Data entry can be performed by an
individual typing at a keyboard or by a
machine entering data electronically.
Data entry is the act of transcribing some
form of data into another form, usually a
computer program. Forms of data that
people might transcribe include
handwritten documents, information off
spreadsheets from another computer
program, sequences of numbers, letters
and symbols that build a program, or
simple data like names and addresses.
Some people perform jobs that are
exclusively data entry, while others, like
programmers, might have to occasionally
enter data.
Since the advent of computers, and since
the beginning of typing, the need to
collect and neatly present documents has
required data entry. Good typists,
especially those who are also excellent at
10-key typing often are the most qualified
for data entry positions. On the other
hand, many computer programmers are
not terrific typists but still plow their way
through inputting code into programs
when needed.
Data entry requires focus and
concentration, and some find the work
exhausting and even challenging to the
body. For any person who types all day,
paying attention to maintaining good
posture, typing in an ergonomically sound
position, and taking breaks for the eyes
and hands are all important. Most experts
in workplace ergonomics suggest that
people entering long streams of data
should take a break at least once an hour
by moving away from the computer
screen. Hand exercises and stretching
exercises for the body may also help
prevent typing related injuries like carpal
tunnel syndrome
Activity C
Collect information on Data Achieves.
Ans
Data archiving is the process of moving
data that is no longer actively used to a
separate data storage device for longterm retention. Data archives consist of
older data that is still important and
necessary for future reference, as well as
data that must be retained for regulatory
compliance. Data archives are indexed
and have search capabilities so that files
and parts of files can be easily located and
retrieved.
Data archiving is more important in some
fields than others. In a few fields, all of
the data necessary to replicate the work is
already available in the journal article. In
drug development, a great deal of data is
generated and must be archived so
researchers can verify that the reports the
drug companies publish accurately reflect
the data
The Archive provides assistance in
locating data and documentation as
needed by researcher, students, and
faculty. Users consult with Archive staff to
identify research interests and to select
data appropriate for specific projects.
Assistance is also provided in using
printed codebooks and other
documentation. When useful materials
have been identified, the staff makes data
accessible in the computing environment
and platform preferred by individual
users. Technical consulting is provided for
file transfer and access, and other
computing questions.
2. Consider yourself in the role of HR
manger, what type of data we
require to generate MIS for HR
management.
Data archives are often confused with
data backups, which are copies of data.
Data backups are used to restore data in
case it is corrupted or destroyed. In
contrast, data archives protect older
information that is not needed for
everyday operations but may occasionally
need to be accessed.
Ans:
Review Questions
1. What type of data is required in
service industry illustrate your
answer with minimum three sectors?
1. Tourism Services - Data required
like place to go & time takes to go
their. What is the medium to
travel? Which are the spots to
travel? What type of food is
available their. How many should
be their in a group.
2. Advertising Services - data
required like what is the budget.
What is the product to advertise
to which section of the society it
belongs ie its popularity. What are
the plus points of products? Who
is the brand ambassador of the
product?
3. Restaurant Services - Where it is
located ie what type of area.
What should be the food items to
keep? What is the daily
requirement of raw ingredients?
Human Resource
Management information systems are
concerned with activities related to
workers, managers, and other individuals
employed by the organization. Because
the personnel function relates to all other
areas in business, the human
resources management information
system plays a valuable role in ensuring
organizational success.
Activities performed by the human
resources management information
systems include, work-force analysis and
planning, hiring, training, and job
assignments.
The above are examples of the
major management information systems.
There may be other management
information systems if the company is
identified by different functional areas.
Functions:
Benefits administration,
Payroll,
Recruiting
Training,
Performance analysis and review into one
package…
Consider yourself in the role of finance
manager, what type of data you require
to generate MIS for top management.
Financial MIS Provides financial
information to all financial managers
within an organization. It integrates
financial & operational information from
multiple sources. Financial MIS eases
o
analysis by providing fast financial data. It
Profit/loss and cost
systems
enables financial analysis from different
o
Auditing
aspects; time, product, customer. With
o
Internal auditing
Financial MIS, one can analyze historical
o
External auditing
and current data. Also one can monitor
o
Uses and management of
use of funds. Few examples or functions
of Financial MIS are Costing, P&L
reporting, Auditing, Funds management,
etc.
Inputs to the Financial Information
System

Strategic plan or corporate
policies
o
Contains major financial
objectives and often
projects financial needs.

Transaction processing system
(TPS)
o
Important financial
information collected
from almost every TPS –
payroll, inventory control,
order processing,
accounts payable,
accounts receivable,
funds
3. ? Consider yourself in the role of
finance manager, what type of Data
you require to generate MIS for top
management
Data required like-
how much is the
production cycle
ie what time Raw
Material take to
become finished
product.
What is the Net
profit after tax &
why it is low or
high as compare
to past years?
What are the
various ratios eg Profit
earning ratio, debt-equity
ratio.
Is their any
requirement of
more capital to
expand business if
the top
management
wants to.
general ledger.
o
External sources
o
Annual reports and
financial statements of
competitors and general
news items.
Financial MIS Subsystems and Outputs

Financial subsystems
4. ? Consider yourself in the role of
Marketing Manager, what type of
data you require to generate MIS for
top management
Data required like-
The product fall
in which section
of the society &
also in which
generation it is
useful.
What are the
positive & negative points
of our product?
What are the
competitive products in
market & their positive &
negative points?
What is the
budget given by top
management & How to
utilize it?
How we can
improve our sales
eg giving bumper
offer, giving some
other product
free of cost,
reducing the
current price.
Chapter 3 - Need for Information
/Information systems in organization
Activity A
Identify need of information in transport
industry
well we need IT support in transport
industry in Airplane Railway and
Roadways
Airplane -: Systems regarding Radar
maintain air traffic
Railways-: Metro Rails
Roadways-: Maintain Signals
Activity B
? Identify need of information in tourism
Tourism need it in giving better service's
and highly equipped prompt services
Eg -: ticket booking online any where
paying through online bank a\a
Review questions
1. Explain? Why information has no
specification but it has character
& value
The information is use to come to
a conclusion. A decision that can
bring change in your company
either way. But due to the human
character everyone thinking point
of view is different. That’s why
even same information can lead
to different decisions by different
persons. eg Company offers 25%
discount on their product this is
the information, One may think
that they reduce the price I must
try it once atlaest, the other may
think that they reduce the price
means they must sacrifice with
the quality so may not buy it.
2. Can value of information be
improved?
Yes it can be improved and it is improving
also.
3. Is value of information is person
dependent
Yes it is dependent upon the person how
it is uses the information.
4. Can information have a value
which is person independent
Yes he uses the information right way and
becomes independent.
Chapter 4 - Types of Information Systems
in an organization
Activity C
Activity A
? List information needs at 3 level of
management for operations.
Collect more information on “B2B” ebusiness model” (Browse minimum 3
sites)
A business-to-business (B2B) wholesale
distributor refers to a business that
moves products through the supply
chain by purchasing from manufacturers
and
selling to retailers, other
manufacturers, or assemblers. Typically, a
B2B
wholesale distributor does not sell
to the end consumer.
Sites-: 1. wwwWorldofTrade.com
2. www.b2bbyte.com
3. www.yahoo.com
Activity B
Collect more information on “B2C e
business model” (Browse minimum 2
sites)
1. www.EBay.com
2. www.rediff.com
3. www.yahoo.com
Activity C
Collect more information on
“Components of DSS” (Browse minimum
3 sites)
Decision support systems are gaining an
increased popularity in various domains,
including business, engineering, the
military, and medicine. They are especially
valuable in situations in which the
amount of available information is
prohibitive for the
intuition of an unaided human
decision maker and in which precision and
optimality
are of importance.
Sites-:1.www.e-optimization.com
2. www.dmreview.com and
3. www.datawarehouse.com.
Activity D
Collect more information on “Expert
Systems” (Browse minimum 3 sites)
www.pcai.com
www.expss.com
www.tesl.com
Review Questions
1. Explain how a good information
system affects the following
persons in the organizations
a. Finance controller
To analysis of the charts
calculation of risk to maintain.
b. Store dispatch clerk
Maintain records of goods .
2. Explain how a good information
system affects the following
persons in the organizations
a. Materials manager
1. Quality Of product.
2. Quantity of a product.
b. Quality Control Manager
If the quality is good the product
is passed or else the quality is
failed by
system then it is rejected.
3. What type information systems
required in co-operative sectors
like sugar industry?
To operate big hi-tech machines in sugar
industry there is use of system in these
kind of industry
Chapter 5 - Information Reports in an
organization
Review Questions
1. What are structured reports?
There are reports required for internal
management needs and are of a recurring
nature. From these reports, frontline
management can monitor the business.
Reporting requirements can be classified
on the relative structure of the
information and its usage. Structured
reports are well formed and structured
with a pre determined format frequency
etc.
2. What are the characteristics of
MIS reports?
Management uses MIS to recognize,
monitor, measure, limit and manage risk
of a business. For effective management
MIS reports must contain the following
elements :Timeliness: This requires an MIS to
provide
and
distribute
current
information promptly to the appropriate
users.
Accuracy: Inaccurate data can blur the
true picture of an organization. Therefore,
information should receive appropriate
editing, balancing, and internal control
checks.
Consistency: This requires data to be
collected and reported uniformly. If data
are not collected and reported
consistently, analysis can be inaccurate.
Completeness: To make appropriate
decisions, management needs reports
that contain all pertinent information in a
summarized format.
Relevance: If a report includes
inappropriate, unnecessary information,
or if the information is too detailed,
management may have difficulty sorting
what is important from what is not,
diminishing the data’s value.
Reliability and Objectivity: This indicates
the level of trust which can be placed on
the MIS. This stems from the reliability of
the source of the data used for the MIS.
When the source of information is
authentic and they are clearly defined and
have measureable parameters the
reporting tends to be reliable and
objective.
3. What do you understand by
“Presentation Bias”?
Presentation Bias is a term which
describes how a reader of a report can be
‘influenced’ towards a specific direction of
thinking based on the manner in which
data is presented. It is important to know
that influence or bias can be used in a
positive manner to stimulate positive, just
and necessary action or it can be used
with bad intention by de- emphasising
problem areas, diverting attention to
trivial areas by highlighting them etc.
System designers must learn to use
Presentation Bias positively to enhance
the impact of the MIS reports which they
design.
Chapter 6 - Determining Information
needs
Activity A
Using internet Browse & collect on
“System analysis”
Systems analysis is "an explicit formal
inquiry carried out to help someone
(referred to as the decision maker)
identify a better course of action and
make a better decision than he might
otherwise have made." Systems analysis
is the study of sets of interacting entities,
including computer systems analysis. This
field is closely related to requirements
analysis or operations research. The
terms analysis comes from Greek where
they mean respectively "to take apart”.
Analysis is defined as the procedure by
which we break down an intellectual or
substantial whole into parts.
The characteristic attributes of a problem
situation where systems analysis is called
upon are complexity of the issue and
uncertainty of the outcome of any course
of action that might reasonably be taken.
Systems analysis usually has some
combination of the following:
identification an alternative courses of
action; examination of the probable
consequences of the alternatives in terms
of costs, benefits, and risks; presentation
of the results in a comparative framework
so that the decision maker can make an
informed choice from among the
alternatives. The typical use of systems
analysis is to guide decisions on issues
such as national or corporate plans and
programs, resource use and protection
policies, research and development in
technology, regional and urban
development, educational systems, and
health and other social services. Clearly,
the nature of these problems requires an
interdisciplinary approach. There are
several specific kinds or focuses of
systems analysis for which different terms
are used: A systems analysis related to
public decisions is often referred to as a
POLICY ANALYSIS systems analysis that
concentrates on comparison and ranking
of alternatives on basis of their known
characteristics is referred to as decision
analysis.
Activity B
Using Internet Browse & Collect
Information on “Method adopted in
system study”
There are a number of different
approaches to system analysis. When a
computer-based information system is
developed, systems analysis would
constitute the following steps:
1. The development of a feasibility
study, involving determining
whether a project is economically,
socially, technologically and
organizationally feasible.
2. Conducting fact-finding measures,
designed to ascertain the
requirements of the system's endusers. These typically span
interviews, questionnaires, or
visual observations of work on the
existing system.
3. Gauging how the end-users would
operate the system (in terms of
general experience in using
computer hardware or software),
what the system would be used
for etc.
Another view outlines a phased approach
to the process. This approach breaks
systems analysis into 5 phases:
1. Scope definition
2. Problem analysis
3. Requirements analysis
4. Logical design
5. Decision analysis
Use cases are a widely-used systems
analysis modeling tool for identifying and
expressing the functional requirements of
a system.
Activity C
Using internet browse & collect
information on “IEEE standards for SRS
documentation”
1) All documents should have a title page
(to include information such as: title of
the project, course name and number,
team members, place, date, and other
relevant information).
2 )Table of Contents so should be included
as well
3 )Number all sections in the document.
4 )Any reference should be written as
follows:
-For books, manuals etc
[number] NameOfAuthor(s), titleOfWork,
Publisher, Place, Date
-For papers/articles:
[number] NameOfAuthor(s),
TtitleOfWork, JournalName,
VolumeNumber,
IssueNumber, PageNumbers Year
-For papers in Conference Proceedings:
[number] NameOfAuthor(s),
TtitleOfWork, Phrase “Proceedings of the”
Conference
Name, Place, Date[, Publisher, Place Date]
-For websites:
[number] AuthorNames(s), TitleOfWork,
Company’s Name, Place, Date, URL
5 )Do not end section titles with
colons.
6) Every figure/diagram should have a
caption (number and titile). Place it
underneath
the figure/diagram.
7) Every table should have a number and
title, placed above the table.
3. What is the purpose DFD & how
it is different from flow diagram
The program flowchart describes boxes
that describe computations, decisions,
interactions & loops. It is an important to
keep in mind that data flow diagrams are
not program flowcharts and should not
include control elements . A good DFD
should



have no data flows that split up
into a number of other data flows
have no crossing lines
not include flowchart loops of
control elements
Review Questions
1. What tools are used for system
analysis
Tools for system analysis includea. Data flow method
b. Decision analysis
c. Object analysis.
2. What is difference between
system study & System analysis
System analysis is the process of
successively decomposing a system into
its constituent sub- systems till we gain
clarity about how each function is
performed. This can be done using data
flow, decision analysis and objective
analysis.
System study is a formal process of
gathering everything relevant from the
standpoint of gaining clarity abt the
functioning of a system.it also includes
understanding the potential users and
their expectations abt the system.This can
be done by tracking the workflow, one on
one interviews, structured questionaires
etc
not include data flows that act as signals
to activate processes.
Chapter 7 Determining Information
needs – CSF method
Activity A
Using internet surf & collect information
on “CSF”
Critical success factor (CSF) is the term for
an element that is necessary for an
organization or project to achieve its
mission. It is a critical factor or activity
required for ensuring the success of a
company or an organization. The term
was initially used in the world of data
analysis, and business analysis. For
example, a CSF for a successful
Information Technology (IT) project is
user involvement. "Critical success factors
are those few things that must go well to
ensure success for a manager or an
organization, and, therefore, they
represent those managerial or enterprise
area, that must be given special and
continual attention to bring about high
performance. CSFs include issues vital to
an organization's current operating
activities and to its future success."
Activity B
Activity B
You are working as manager in courier
service prepare CSF for your juniors
Using Internet surf & collect information
on “Levelling of DFD”

1. Definition:
Data Flow Diagramming is a means of
representing a system at any level of
detail with a graphic network of symbols
showing data flows, data stores, data
processes, and data sources/destinations.
As a manager in courier service
Critical success factor will be the type
of courier, its urgency, ensuring ways
to deliver it on time, issuing of
received signature from the recipient
and regular reporting of the staff
members.
Chapter 8 - Determining information
needs – Data Flow Method
Activity A
Using internet surf & collect information
on “DFD”
A data flow diagram (DFD) is a graphical
representation of the "flow" of data
through an information system. DFDs can
also be used for the visualization of data
processing (structured design).On a DFD,
data items flow from an external data
source or an internal data store to an
internal data store or an external data
sink, via an internal process. A DFD
provides no information about the timing
of processes, or about whether processes
will operate in sequence or in parallel. It is
therefore quite different from a
flowchart, which shows the flow of
control through an algorithm, allowing a
reader to determine what operations will
be performed, in what order, and under
what circumstances, but not what kinds of
data will be input to and output from the
system, nor where the data will come
from and go to, nor where the data will be
stored .
2. Purpose/Objective:
The purpose of data flow diagrams is to
provide a semantic bridge between users
and systems developers. The diagrams
are:




graphical, eliminating thousands
of words;
logical representations, modeling
WHAT a system does, rather than
physical models showing HOW it
does it;
hierarchical, showing systems at
any level of detail; and
jargonless, allowing user
understanding and reviewing.
The goal of data flow diagramming is to
have a commonly understood model of a
system. The diagrams are the basis of
structured systems analysis. Data flow
diagrams are supported by other
techniques of structured systems analysis
such as data structure diagrams, data
dictionaries, and procedure-representing
techniques such as decision tables,
decision trees, and structured English.
Data flow diagrams have the objective of
avoiding the cost of:


User/developer misunderstanding
of a system, resulting in a need to
redo systems or in not using the
system.
Having to start documentation
from scratch when the physical
system changes since the logical
system, WHAT gets done, often


remains the same when
technology changes.
Systems inefficiencies because a
system gets "computerized"
before it gets "systematized".
Being unable to evaluate system
project boundaries or degree of
automation, resulting in a project
of inappropriate scope.

Description:
Data Flow Diagrams are composed
of the four basic symbols shown below.
Activity C
Using internet surf & collect information
on “Physical & logical DFD”
Introduction to Logical and Physical
Data Flow Diagrams:
Data flow diagrams (DFDs) are
categorized as either logical or
physical. A logical DFD focuses on the
business and how the business
operates. It describes the business
events that take place and the data
required and produced by each event.
On the other hand, a physical DFD
shows how the system will be
implemented as we mentioned
before. Notice that the logical model
reflects the business, while the
physical model depicts the system.
Features :
The External Entity symbol represents
sources of data to the system or
destinations of data from the system.
The Data Flow symbol represents
movement of data.
The Data Store symbol represents data
that is not moving (delayed data at rest).
The Process symbol represents an activity
that transforms or manipulates the data
(combines, reorders, converts, etc.).
Any system can be represented at any
level of detail by these four symbols.
In the course of developing a set of
leveled data flow diagrams the
analyst/designers is forced to address
how the system may be decomposed into
component sub-systems, and to identify
the transaction data in the data model.
Ideally, systems are developed by
analyzing the current system (the
current logical DFD), then adding
features that the new system should
include
(the
proposed
logical
DFD).Finally the best methods to
implement the new system should be
developed (the physical DFD). After
the logical model for the new system
has been developed, it may be used
to create a
physical data flow diagram for the
new system.
The progression of models from
logical to physical :
The CUSTOMER brings the ITEMS to
the register; PRICES for all ITEMS are
LOOKED UP, and then totaled; next,
PAYMENT is given to the cashier
finally, the CUSTOMER is given a
receipt. The logical DFD illustrates the
processes involved without going into
detail about the physical
implementation of activities. The
physical DFD shows that a bar codethe UPC
PRICE code found on most grocery
store items- is used. In addition, the
physical DFD mentions manual
processes such as scanning, explains
that a temporary file is used to keep a
subtotal of items, and indicates that
the PAYMENT could be made by
CASH, CHECK, or DEBIT CARD. Finally,
it refers to the receipt by its name,
CASH REGISTER RECEIPT.
Steps of Developing DFD :
Before drawing DPI first we need to
conceptualize data flows from a topdown perspective.
To begin with we made a list of
business activities and use it to
determine various
• External entities
• Data flows
• Process
• Data stores
Review Questions
1. Draw context Diagram & first
level DFD for “Account
Receivable”
3. Draw context Diagram & first
level DFD for “Purchase order
system
2. Draw context Diagram & first
level DFD for “Stores inventory
system”
a
Supplier
Payment
Purchase
Order
Delivery
Details
e
Matched Invoice
Accounts
Invoice
ZigZag
Warehouse
System
Stock Report
P.O.Quantitie s
b
Purchaser
Chapter 9 - Role of Information in
Decision Making
Activity A
Using internet surf & collect information
on “decision Models”.
Ans.
Most of previous approaches
to deal with IS priorities have not given
adequate
importance to strategic
aspects. Shin (2001) pointed out several
reasons for
failures in IS planning. One
of these reasons is the lack in connection
between
strategic objectives and
action plans. In this paper a decision
model make
strategic and organizational
connections with the action plan. A
particular IS
planning methodology
(Zachman, 1982), named Business System
Planning
(BSP), has been applied and
adapted in previous work (Almeida el al,
1992).
The adaptation has provided
a more appropriate way for quantitative
analysis
regarding priorities
assignment of IS. A decision model is built
Delivery Note
to incorporate the
use of the ELECTRE I method.
This method allows analysis on the
dominance
d
relations amongst IS
Despatch Note
Customer
modules, based on the study of
outranking relations, using a non
compensatory
logic
(Roy, Order
1996; Vincke,
Matched C.O.
Customer
Copy #1
1992; Belton and Stewart, 2002).
Customer
Order
Activity B
c
Sales and
Marketing
Using internet surf & collect information
on “Herbert Simion Models of the
Decision”.
Ans.
The work of Herbert A. Simon
has drawn increasing attention from
modern scholars who
argue that Simon's work
changed during the Cold War. This is due
to the fact that Simon
seemingly changed the
substance of his research in the 1950s.
This paper argues that
Simon did not change in any
significant way, but was lead by his
interest in decision
making and rationality into
areas of economics, political science,
sociology, psychology,
organization theory, and
computer science. He used elements of
different disciplines to
address his overall interest
and there is therefore a considerable
continuity in Simon's
work. This papealso provides
part of a background for the recent
increase of interest in
Simon's ideas by providing
some details of the RAND Corporation and
the Ford
Foundation's support of
scientific research through the post war
years in general, and
their connections to the
behavioural science research at Carnegie
Mellon University in
particular.
Review Questions
1. Discuss the role of Information
systems in decision making.
Ans. (a) In situation where decision are to
be taken under risk or uncertainty; the
Information
system helps to migrate the risk
by tracking the trend or through analysis
of prior relevant
data.
(b) Historical data can be used in
building Business model used for decision
making processes.
(c) Decision maker cannot wait for
long to make decision even if precise or
accurate sufficient
Information is likely to be
available in future, because this would
entail losing out on
opportunity which could have
otherwise been cashed on.
(d) Information system makes sure
that right information provided at the
time in right format
to ensure quick and relatively
error free decision process.
2. Explain decision-making using
Simons model & distinguish
different type decision.
Ans. (A) The Intelligence Phase: Herbet
Simion divides into three phases :- The
Decision maker
either looks for a problem to
solve or if a problem has been identified
he works towards
defining it correctly. They needs
Information to detect problems in his
business domain
as well as for helping him define
the problem correctly.
(a) Structured MIS which provided
exception reports help a person to
identify where the
deviation are happening from
the standard. The manager can to then
focus on these area
and defing the problem to be
solved.
(b) Business Intelligence which aims
at discovering patterns in historical data
help in
identifying missed opportunities
in the past etc. BI can thus be considered
as the IT support
at the Intelligence phase.
(c) Executive Information System
(EIS) which help a manager browse to
information in variety
of may lead to discovery of
unexpected insights into what is
happening in the organisation.
EISs work as data visualisation
tools.
(B)Design phase : The design phase
Involve identification and definition of
several alternative
solutions to the problem
identified in the intelligence phase.
Various model building
software such as spreadsheet or a
simulation tool etc are way of identifying
different
scenarios and evaluating them.
(C) The Choice Phase :
(a) The Choice from among the
available alternatives depends largely on
economic
consideration. however as
explained elsewhere a decision maker is
subject to time
information constraints. As a
result They cannot evaluate an infinite
number of
alternatives. Therefore uses his
experience or heuristics to arrive at 2 or 3
alternatives and
selects based on there economic
worth. again since most decision in
organisations are
bound to affect some group of
people while some groups of people
negatively the decision
maker ends up satisfying rather
than maximising.
(b) Information systems can make
the decision very objective and provide
alternatives which
are more rational. The satisfying
behaviour will therefore have a lesser
impact on the
outcome of the decision.
(c) The same tools such as model,
simulations could be used prior to
implementation of a
choice of an alternative. Once
implemented structured MIS should
support the monitoring
of the decision. this can be done
by placing appropriate metrics as a part of
the MIS which
will track actual performance
once the decision is implemented.
3. What are the decision models ?
How they are used in
organization.
Ans. Several models of decision making
are described below:
(A) CLASSICAL ECONOMIC :
(a) All decisions and outcomes are
completely known.
(b) The model states that the
Decision maker always seeks to maximize
profit or utility.
.
(c) The decision maker is infinitely
sensitive to difference in utility among
outcomes.
USES: The classical economic model
is a prescriptive model of the decision
maker completely
rational, having complete
information about always choosing the
best alternative. But
in fact all criteria of the model
are rarely met in a decision situation.
Decision making in
the business contex is nothing
but a set of trade off. Taking any course of
action would
also have some disadvantages.
The decision maker therefore merely
evaluates a few
alternatives depending on the
time on hand and take decision in face of
risk.
(B) ADMINISTRATIVE MODEL: The
administrative model of the decision
maker is
descriptive. It assume that the
decision maker:
(a) Does not know all the
alternatives and outcomes.
(b) Makes a limited search to
discover a few satisfactory alternatives.
.
(c) Makes a decision which satisfies
his or her aspiration.
USES : Thus the decision maker
does not completely rational but display
rationality only
within limits imposed by
background, perception of alternatives,
ability to handle a
decision model etc. They
also act balancing act between conflict
tradeoffs – what is
know as “satisfying” i.e.
takes a course of action which is
acceptable / tolerable and
not
necessarily the best option.
Chapter 10 - Determining Information
need – Object Analysis
Activity A
Using internet surf & collect information
on “OOA Approach”.
Ans.
There have been basically 3
approaches in information system
development area:
to make system elements
more reusable, thus improving system
quality and the
productivity of systems
analysis and design (Hoffer et al. 2002).
Though systems
analysis is closed associated
with design, this paper tries to focus on
analysis part of
process-oriented, dataoriented and object-oriented approaches.
As information
technology (both hardware
and software) has been advancing, people
have moved
from the earliest processoriented approach to data-oriented
approach and now
begun to adopt the latest
object-oriented analysis methodology.
Unlike its two predecessors
that focus either on process or data, the
object-oriented
approach combines data
and processes (called methods) into single
entities called
objects. Objects usually
correspond to the real things an
information system deals
with, such as customers,
suppliers, contracts, and rental
agreements. Object-oriented
model is able to thoroughly
represent complex relationships and to
represent data
and data processing with a
consistent notation, which allows an
easier blending of
analysis and design in an
evolutionary process. The goal of objectoriented approach is
the methodology.
Activity B
Using internet surf & collect information
on “Database design”
Introduction :
Database design is the process of
producing a detailed data model of a
database. This logical data model
contains all the needed logical and
physical design choices and physical
storage parameters needed to generate a
design in a Data Definition Language,
which can then be used to create a
database. A fully attributed data model
contains detailed attributes for each
entity.
The term database design can be used to
describe many different parts of the
design of an overall database system.
Principally, and most correctly, it can be
thought of as the logical design of the
base data structures used to store the
data. In the relational model these are the
tables and views. In an object database
the entities and relationships map directly
to object classes and named relationships.
However, the term database design could
also be used to apply to the overall
process of designing, not just the base
data structures, but also the forms and
queries used as part of the overall
database application within the database
management system (DBMS).
Design Process :
tables are structured correctly. Make
adjustments to the tables.
Activity C
1. Determine the purpose of your
database - This helps prepare you
for the remaining steps.
2. Find and organize the
information required - Gather all
of the types of information you
might want to record in the
database, such as product name
and order number.
3. Divide the information into
tables - Divide your information
items into major entities or
subjects, such as Products or
Orders. Each subject then
becomes a table.
4. Turn information items into
columns - Decide what
information you want to store in
each table. Each item becomes a
field, and is displayed as a column
in the table. For example, an
Employees table might include
fields such as Last Name and Hire
Date.
5. Specify primary keys - Choose
each table’s primary key. The
primary key is a column that is
used to uniquely identify each
row. An example might be
Product ID or Order ID.
6. Set up the table relationships Look at each table and decide
how the data in one table is
related to the data in other
tables. Add fields to tables or
create new tables to clarify the
relationships, as necessary.
7. Refine your design - Analyze your
design for errors. Create the
tables and add a few records of
sample data. See if you can get
the results you want from your
tables. Make adjustments to the
design, as needed.
Apply the normalization rules - Apply the
data normalization rules to see if your
Using internet surf & collect information
on “Rules for using keys & attributes in
database”






Should trace all the inputs &
outputs shown on the context
diagram
Each department, person,
location, equipment should
be converted into equivalent
processes.
The name of the process
should be a verb.
There should be no hanging
links, no looping & no
crisscrossing of dataflows.
The diagram should be
leveled.
About 10-15 processes at
every level is ideal.
While drawing a DFD, the golden rule is
“think shallow”.
Review Questions
1. What is Object ? List five
tangible, intangible object.
Ans. An Object is any ‘Thing’ of interest
in the real world system which is being
modelled.
Tangible Object
(a) Desk and Chairs.
(b) White Board & maker.
(c) Computer and Projector.
(d) Notebooks.
(e) Text books.
Intangible Object
(a) Course.
(b) Batch.
(c) Lecture.
(d) Knowledge Shared.
(e) Subject.
2. What are the characteristics of
an Object?
Ans. Following characteristics of Objects
are given below:
(a) Study the system.
(b) Identify as many objects as
possible – Objects are nouns.
(c) Understand the Object
Relationships: The objects interact which
other Objects and
represents this is in the form of
an Object Relationship Diagram – The
relationship is in the
form of various roles played by
the interacting objects.
(d) Identify Business Event And
Object related Events: For each pair of
interacting Object
identify as many events as
possible. An events is by definition
something which can or has
happened. Event represent
possibilities in the real world which the
object would have to
respond to. thus a complete list
of events identified at the analysis stage
ensures the
behaviour of each object and
hence the behaviour of the system is
completely
understood. Event can be either
singleton events where in the object
generates its own
events and then responds.
3. What is difference between
entity and object.
Ans. Entity: The relationship is in the
form of various roles played by interacting
objects should be
captured.
Objects: An Object is any ‘Thing’ of
intrest in the real world system which is
being modelled.
Chapter 11 - Aligning Information
Systems to corporate Goals
Activity A
Using internet surf & collect information
on “Methods” used for aligning
information systems to corporate goals”
pinpointing them. Nevertheless, it is an
approach that should be pursued as it
provides value in giving due focus to a
limited set of factors, which are deemed
to be the most critical for an organization
or individual.
A) The Critical Success Factor
Method:
Critical Success Factor (CSF) is a
business term for an element
which is necessary for an
organization or project to achieve
its mission.
A company (or product designer) may
use the critical success factor method
as a means for identifying the important
elements of their success.
For example, a CSF for a successful POF
system design is user involvement.
The critical success factor method is a
means for identifying these important
elements of success. It was originally
developed to align information
technology planning with the strategic
direction of an organization. CSFs are used
by organization to give focus on a number
of factors that help define its success.
They help the organization and its
personnel to understand the key areas in
which to invest their resources and time.
Ideally, these CSFs are observable in
terms of the impact on the organization
to allow it to have guidance and
indications on its achievement of them.
CSFs are however broadly divided in 3
types :
 Those inherent to any business
 Those specific to the sector
 Those which are company specific
& depend upon company strategy
CSFs can be utilized in both the
organization and the individual levels.
Their identification is largely qualitative
and can result in differing opinions in
B) The Alfred Chandler’s Strategy
Trilogy :
Alfred chandler’s Strategy model
implies that in successful
organization Business strategy,
organizational strategy& System
strategy are the three sides of the
triangle each representing one of
the strategies seem to be well
balanced. A change in one impacts
one or both the other strategies.
It also means that system strategy
can be derived based on a good
understanding of the other two
strategies.
Review questions
1. Explain Role of CSF method in
deciding aligning Information
Systems to corporate
goal.
Ans. The success of every organization
depend upon a handful of factor which
may be called as
Critical success Factors. The role of
CSFs is to
(a) Step into the shoe of customer
and ask a question as to why would you
do business with
the said organization. The
customer perspectives would provide
several CSFs – Customer
service, ambience, experience
etc are example of such CSFs.
(b) Identify the key constraint in
that business. Every business has some
key constraint. For
instance the number of room in
the hotel, the number of Cars available in
the rental
service or an expensive ship, or
the Arc furnace in a steel plant. all these
constraints need
to exploited fully to get the best
out business. Hence it help to ask the
question as to what
is the key constraint.
(c) several service delivered
measures.
(d) Internal financial measures such
as operating cost etc are standard.
2. Explain Role of Alfred Chandler’s
method in deciding aligning
Information Systems to
corporate goal.
Ans. The Model implies that in successful
organisations these three sides of triangle
each
representing one of the strategies
seem to be well balanced. A change in
one impact one or
both the other strategies.
(a) The system or IT strategy can be
derived based on a good understanding of
the other two
strategies. This idea support
various previous models such as the
strategy set transform
which basically suggest that
system & IT strategy should be derived by
transforming
business strategy. This idea is
indeed provides an easy mechanism for
CIO to arrive at a
suitable IT/business strategy.
(b) Mrs Fields Cookies case
developed by the Harvard Business School
and Quoted in literature
related to IT strategy is indeed a
case in point.
(c) Mrs. Fields started the business
of making fresh cookies from her home
and selling it to
friends in the neighbourhood.
Gradually the popularity of the cookies
lead to her starting
the first stores. In a very few
years Mrs Fields owned over 400 stores
across 5 continents.
There are several themes which
run through this case.
Chapter 12 - Aligning Information
Systems using CSF method
Activity A
Using Internet surf & collect information
on 03 cases study of vertical industries
applying CSF for their business goals”.
Ans :Example 1 : Malaysian Airlines
Malaysian Airlines Triples Sales & Reduces
Call Centre Cost by 18% using CSF
Example 2
Example 3 :
State Bank of India
Opryland, always actively searching for
better ways to manage these high
volumes of guests, has implemented a
LANSA based Wireless solution that allows
hotel agents to check-in and check-out
guests, process credit cards, print receipts
and program room keys at the curbside or
anywhere else in or nearby the hotel.
The solution, LMS Wireless Express from
LANSA solution partner Agilysys, has
reduced queues at the reception desk and
allows guests to check-in and check-out
closer to where their room is.
Example 2
BAS Insurance gives travelers the All Clear
with LANSA
BAS Insurance Services Limited (BIS) is
based in Essex, U.K. and offers specialist
insurance, marketing and administrative
services. BIS is a market-leader with their
AllClear Travel insurance, which provides
cover irrespective of age, medical
condition or disability. BIS used LANSA to
take their AllClear Travel insurance
product to the Web and to develop and
run branded travel insurance sites for a
growing number of well-known insurance
companies.
Activity B
Using Internet surf & collect information
on 03 cases study of Service industries
applying CSF for their business goals”.
Example 1.
Wireless curbside check-in at Opryland
Hotel
Opryland Hotel Nashville, part of the
Gaylord Entertainment Company, is the
largest hotel-convention center under one
roof in the world with 2,883 guestrooms,
600,000 square feet of convention space,
nine acres of indoor gardens, a quartermile indoor river, retail shops and
restaurants. Over four million guests stay
in the hotel annually.
Nikki Hunt, Head of IT at BIS, says, "We
host nearly twenty branded travel
insurance sites and another ten branded
member benefit schemes. Without
LANSA's Web ability, we could not have
grown to where we are today. We were
the first to offer branded insurance and
member benefit sites. While others have
followed, no one has had the same
success."
Example 3
Royal Wagenborg manages ship and shore
with LANSA
The Royal Wagenborg
group, a global logistics
provider based in the
Netherlands, provides shipping, towage,
offshore supply services, passenger
services, stevedoring, warehousing and
dispatch, crane rental, standard and
special road transport as well as the
assembly of prefab constructions.
Wagenborg uses LANSA on its ships and
on land, for fleet management, crewing,
chartering, passenger reservations, ship
maintenance, replenishments of goods
and parts and for an XML-based supplier
portal.
Harry Meyer, IT Manager at the Royal
Wagenborg group, says, "LANSA paints
the complete picture. Windows clients
with a SQL Server database on board our
ships, Windows clients with a central
iSeries server for our offices onshore,
Web access for third parties and XML data
exchange with our suppliers. We can do it
all with our own team. This was the
deciding factor. LANSA's methodology
appeals to us and fits our pragmatic
business culture."
Activity C
Using Internet Browse Coca Cola & Pepsi
website & collect information on how
they are applying CSF for their business
goals”.
There are many factors contributing to
Coca-Cola's success, however, I believe
that their key success factors are
Marketing, Innovation, and Globalization.
Marketing: Coca-Cola is seen as one of
the founding fathers of the modern day
marketing model. They were among the
pioneers of advertising techniques and
styles used to capture an audience. They
were also one of the first companies to
offer a gimmick with their product, this
being a mini yo-yo. It was around 1900
when Coca-Cola began presenting their
signature drink as a delicious and
refreshing formula. This slogan has been
repeated for over the last 100 years
selling Coke all over the world. Through its
intense marketing campaigns, Coke has
developed an image that is reflected in
what we think of when we buy Coke and
what we associate with drinking Coke.
This image has been subconsciously
installed in our brain by the advertising
campaigns that show Coca Cola
associated with "good times."
Innovation: Coca-Cola has been able to
survive and grow in an ever-changing
market because of its ability to
systematically innovate and deliver new
products. In the late 90s the company,
typically showing earnings growth of 1520% per year, turned in three straight
years of falling profits. It was apparent
that the market was changing and in
order to keep up with these changes,
Coca-Cola had to move from a single core
product to a total beverage company.
Dynamic Marketing Strategy:- In the age
of Mass Marketing during the period 1800
to 1900, they could reach millions of
people through advertising. With the
advancement of time during the age of
Information Technology, they used
diversified tools of IT (Internet, Television
etc) to reach billions of people.
Target Market Country-wise:- They had tie
ups with different ad-agencies in different
countries wherein they used variety of
themes to showcase their advertisements.
Depending upon the variables like
Climate, Taste and Preference of the
consumer etc different products were
promoted across different nations but
they still managed to hold their Global
Branding across the globe.
Consumer Feedback:- The company
managed to take the relevant feedbacks
from the consumers in a closed loop.
After getting the relevant feedbacks from
consumers across the globe they
succeeded in taking necessary actions and
were ready to bounce back after plugging
the loopholes. In a nutshell, they left no
stone unturned.
Varied Promotional Schemes & Offers:Coca Cola keep coming up with variety of
schemes, gifts and offers for its
customers. The best part of their
promotion included Diaries, Dailies,
Calendars, Clocks for the corporate and
individuals which resulted in 24 X 7
advertising as these promotional gifts
were used by the customers in some form
or the other. In this way they were able to
make their presence felt in the mind of
the customers.
Effective Distribution System:- Coca Cola
is supposed to have one of the best
Distribution Network. They went on
making many strategic partners and
appointed Distributors, Dealers and SubDealers for various areas which made it
easy for the company to penetrate into
the markets (both Urban & Rural) at a
faster pace thereby enhancing its
Networking System.




Product Innovation
Size of Organization
Established Brand Loyalty
Price
Review Questions
1. What do you understand by CSF’s
as applied to Specific to company
strategy
Ans : CSF means critical success factor.
It means aligning the things which are
very important to star & run the business.
You have to understand the requirement
of the customer than according to that
provide the goods & services for eg. To
start the business of tour & travellers CSF
are as following
 Frequency of vehicle
 Safe & comfortable seating
arrangement
 Collaboration with good
hotels & guides
 Gives discount offer & festival
/ seasonal offers
2. what do you understand by “
Functional Adequacy” ? Illustrate
your answer with examples.
Ans : In organization all system &
strategies are functionally complete in
terms of their basic functional features as
well as technically sound. The system
should be rated in the quadrant 9.9. This
is an ideal for all kind of systems. It shows
the system is very good in aligned to the
requirement of the organization.
For eg. If company’s godown at Bhiwandi ,
sales office / head office at Andheri. End
of the month sales officer booked the
order & confirm the delivery status
request physical stock. The company
using the “ ERP” or “SAP” system he will
come to know the balance stock, rate, sr.
number, expiry date & other relevant
information with out calling godown in
charges / manager.
It shows all functions working properly &
give correct data within few minutes.
Chapter 13 - Aligning Information
systems using chandlers Model
Activity A
Using Internet Browse Macdonald site &
find what “ Business & Organizational
strategy” they followed
A key element of McDonald's strategy
since the beginning has been the policy of
the company to own all property on
which a McDonald's outlet was built,
regardless of whether that location was
franchised or company-owned. Rental
income varies from property to property,
but it has been estimated that
McDonald's generates more money from
its rent than from its franchise fees.
McDonald's real estate holdings and rent
generated from these holdings are an
important component of the company's
value and income. McDonald's is unique
in the fast-food industry in that it owns
much of its real estate. In most cases,
McDonald's restaurants are located on
prime high-traffic real estate that is highly
visible and easily accessible. McDonald's
conditions for a franchise location include
a corner lot with at least 35,000 square
feet of land whose entrance and exit were
facilitated by a traffic light. McDonald's
also earns money by marketing excess
land. The company was also testing new
methods for raising revenue, such as
selling retail merchandise in certain
stores.
In 2002 Jim Cantalupo came out of
retirement to lead McDonald's
turnaround back to profitability and
restore the image of one the world's best
known brands. The new strategy was
called the McDonald's Plan to Win and
focused on what the company identified
as its five key drivers of success: people,
products, place, price, and promotion.
The first driver of exceptional customer
experiences would focus on people, the
employees who dealt with the customers
on a daily basis. In response to a
customer service ranking that rated
McDonald's dead last in the fast-food
industry, even lower than the IRS.
McDonald's vowed to do a better job of
staffing its restaurants at busy times and
rewarding employees for delivering
outstanding customer service. An
interactive e-learning program to costeffectively train employees in customer
service attitudes and skills would be
instituted.
Activity B
Using Internet Browse Dell computer site
& find what “ systems & IT strategy’s
they followed
Dell Computer's strategy was built around
a number of core elements: build-to-order
manufacturing, mass customization,
partnerships with suppliers, just-in-time
components inventories, direct sales,
market segmentation, customer service,
and extensive data and information
sharing with both supply partners and
customers. Through this strategy, the
company hoped to achieve what Michael
Dell called "virtual integration"—a
stitching together of Dell's business with
its supply partners and customers in real
time such that all three appeared to be
part of the same organizational team
Dell built its computers, workstations, and
servers to order; none were produced for
inventory. Dell customers could order
custom-built servers and workstations
based on the needs of their applications.
Desktop and laptop customers ordered
whatever configuration of microprocessor
speed, random access memory (RAM),
hard-disk capacity, CD-ROM drive,
fax/modem, monitor size, speakers, and
other accessories they preferred. The
orders were directed to the nearest
factory. Until recently Dell had operated
its assembly lines in traditional fashion,
with workers each performing a single
operation. An order form accompanied
each metal chassis across the production
floor; drives, chips, and ancillary items
were installed to match customer
specifications. As a partly assembled PC
arrived at a new workstation, the
operator, standing beside a tall steel rack
with drawers full of components, was
instructed what to do by little red and
green lights flashing beside the drawers.
When the operator was finished, the
components were automatically
replenished from the other side of the
drawers and the PC chassis glided down
the line to the next workstation. However,
Dell reorganized its plants in 1997, shifting
to "cell manufacturing" techniques
whereby a team of workers operating at a
group workstation (or cell) assembled an
entire PC according to customer
specifications. The result had been to
reduce assembly times by 75 percent and
to double productivity per square foot of
assembly space. Assembled computers
were tested, then loaded with the desired
software, shipped, and typically delivered
within five to six business days of the
initial order.
This sell-direct strategy meant, of course,
that Dell had no in-house stock of finished
goods inventories and that, unlike
competitors using the traditional value
chain model (Exhibit 6), it did not have to
wait for resellers to clear out their own
inventories before it could push new
models into the marketplace. (Resellers
typically operated with 60-70 days'
inventory.) Equally important was the fact
that customers who bought from Dell got
the satisfaction of having their computers
customized to their particular liking and
pocketbook.
Dell had three PC assembly plants—in
Austin, Texas; Limerick, Ireland; and
Penang, Malaysia. The company was
constructing another plant in Ireland to
serve the European market as well as a
new plant in China (the company
expected the market for PCs in China to
soon be huge). Both of the new plants
were expected to come into use at the
end of 1998.
Activity C
Using Internet Browse Apple computer
site & find what “ systems & IT strategy’s
they followed
A key element of Apple's networking
strategy is Macintosh integration with
IBM systems. The goal is to provide basic
connectivity for the Macintosh, and then
provide developers and customers with a
set of protocols, interfaces, and tools that
enable the development of consistent,
integrated Macintosh applications for the
IBM environments.
Apple will implement the IBM Systems
Application Architecture technologies that
complement the Macintosh, thereby
enabling user transparent access to IBM
data and services. Apple's product
development will continue to focus on the
core
networking protocols, interfaces, and
services that enable commercial
developers and customers to create
applications for end users. This helps to
produce highly functional software in the
shortest possible time by allowing
developers to concentrate on the
application and user interface, rather than
networking.
Apple will continue to enhance the AppleIBM product line through improvements
in functionality, performance, and
usability. The commitment is to provide
customers with a common Macintosh
view of IBM data, services, and
applications through support of
Macintosh-complementary SAA
technologies
Review Questions
1. Explain what do you understand
by “Business & Organizational
strategy”
Ans : Business strategy is formula to
start & make ahead step to successes of
organization it can be replicate formula. It
is foundation of business , every
successful business should have –
 Uniqueness which is separate
from other compotators
 Unbeat culture which attract
customers & employees
 Forecasting & planning
techniques
 Maintain quality & reduce
overheads expense
An organizational strategy is support &
promotes the business strategy. Every
organization have their own different kind
of Organizational strategy like
 Vertical or horizontal or flat
structure.
 Advance technology which
supports the communication
& transitions.
 Strong back office and
analytical function
 Back up on the accounting,
MIS and decision making
processes.
 Trust on employees &
motivated them.
Neutral and it empower peoples. It must
be easy to understand & operate every
person. The IT strategy eliminated several
supervisory levels which supports the
organizational decision to have a flat
organization and reduce cost improve
direct influence which was a business
imperative. Communication technology
like – emails, voicemail, video conference
helps to save time & money. High level of
automation also reduced the head count.
Standardization of systems, processes &
software also made it easy for forecasting
& planning.
2. Explain what do you understand
by “Organizational strategy”
Ans : An organizational strategy is support
& promotes the business strategy. Every
organization have their own different kind
of Organizational strategy like
 Vertical or horizontal or flat
structure.
 Advance technology which
supports the communication
& transitions.
 Strong back office and
analytical function
 Back up on the accounting,
MIS and decision making
processes.
 Trust on employees &
motivated them.
Further, it gives empowerment,
responsibility to the manager / workers &
motivate to work as a team. Select the
right person for right job, it means
according to requirement of job / works
appoint the candidate. For running the
stable business, updated the information
than analyses & apply.
3. Explain what do you understand
by “IT & Systems strategy”
Ans : The coherence of the IT strategy
with the business & organizational
strategy is excellent. IT is organizationally
4. Using Internet Browse HCL
Computer site & find how they
adopted all above in practice
Ans : HCL have adopted the best practices
of Business & Organizational strategy by
incorporating them in various Business
Lines as listed below :
 Business Process Outsourcing
 Custom application service
 Engg and R&D services
 Enterprise application services
 Enterprise transformation
services
 IT Infrastructure management
Chapter 14 - Role of IT in Business
Activity A
Using Internet collect information on
“Dis-Intermediation”
In economics, disintermediation is the
removal of intermediaries in a supply
chain: "cutting out the middleman".
Instead of going through traditional
distribution channels, which had some
type of intermediate (such as a
distributor, wholesaler, broker, or agent),
companies may now deal with every
customer directly, for example via the
Internet. One important factor is a drop in
the cost of servicing customers directly.
Disintermediation initiated by consumers
is often the result of high market
transparency, in that buyers are aware of
supply prices direct from the
manufacturer. Buyers bypass the
middlemen (wholesalers and retailers) in
order to buy directly from the
manufacturer and thereby pay less.
Buyers can alternatively elect to purchase
from wholesalers. Often, a B2C company
functions as the bridge between buyer
and manufacturer.
To illustrate, a typical B2C supply chain is
composed of four or five entities (in
order):





Supplier
Manufacturer
Wholesaler
Retailer
Buyer
It has been argued that the Internet
modifies the supply chain due to market
transparency:





Supplier
Manufacturer
Buyer
The term was originally applied to
the banking industry in about
1967: disintermediation referred
to consumers investing directly in
securities (government and
private bonds, and stocks) rather
than leaving their money in
savings accounts, then later to
borrowers going to the capital
markets rather than to
banks.(OED, Google News
Archive) The original cause was a
US government regulation
(Regulation Q) which limited the
interest rate paid on interest
bearing accounts that were
insured by FDIC.
It was later applied more
generally to "cutting out the
middleman" in commerce, though
the financial meaning remained
predominant. Only in the late
1990s did it become widely
popularized.
A prime example of disintermediation is
Dell, Inc., which sells many of its systems
direct to the consumer — thus bypassing
traditional retail chains. In the nonInternet world, disintermediation has
been an important strategy for many big
box retailers like Walmart, which attempt
to reduce prices by reducing the number
of intermediaries between the supplier
and the buyer. Disintermediation is also
closely associated with the idea of just in
time manufacturing, as the removal of the
need for inventory removes one function
of an intermediary.
Activity B
Using Internet collect information on
“Virtual value Chain”
The virtual value chain, created by John
Sviokla and Jeffrey Rayport, is a business
model describing the dissemination of
value-generating information services
throughout an Extended Enterprise. This
value chain begins with the content
supplied by the provider, which is then
distributed and supported by the
information infrastructure; thereupon the
context provider supplies actual customer
interaction. It supports the physical value
chain of procurement, manufacturing,
distribution and sales of traditional
companies.
To illustrate the distinction between the
two value chains consider the following:
“when consumers use answering
machines to leave a message, they are
using an object that is both made and sold
in the physical world, however when they
buy electronic answering services from
the phone company they are using the
marketspace—a virtual realm where
products and services are digital
information and are delivered through
information-based channels.” (Rayport et
al. 1996) There are many businesses that
employ both value chains including banks
which provide services to customers in
the physical world at their branch offices
and virtually online. The value chain is
separated into two separate chains
because both the marketplace (physical)
and the marketspace (virtual) need to be
managed in different ways to be effective
and efficient (Samuelson 1981).
Nonetheless, the linkage between the two
is critical for effective supply chain
management.
Activity C
Using Internet collect information on
“ERP”
Enterprise resource planning (ERP)
integrates internal and external
management information across an entire
organization, embracing
finance/accounting, manufacturing, sales
and service, CRM, etc. ERP systems
automate this activity with an integrated
software application. Its purpose is to
facilitate the flow of information between
all business functions inside the
boundaries of the organization and
manage the connections to outside
stakeholders.
ERP systems can run on a variety of
hardware and network configurations,
typically employing a database to store
data.
ERP systems typically include the
following characteristics:




An integrated system that
operates in real time (or next to
real time), without relying on
periodic updates.
A common database, which
supports all applications.
A consistent look and feel
throughout each module.
Installation of the system without
elaborate application/data
integration by the Information
Technology (IT) department.
Origin of "ERP"
In 1990 Gartner Group first employed the
acronym ERPas an extension of material
requirements planning (MRP), later
manufacturing resource planning and
computer-integrated manufacturing.
Without supplanting these terms, ERP
came to represent a larger whole,
reflecting the evolution of application
integration beyond manufacturing. Not all
ERP packages were developed from a
manufacturing core. Vendors variously
began with accounting, maintenance and
human resources. By the mid–1990s ERP
systems addressed all core functions of an
enterprise. Beyond corporations,
governments and non–profit
organizations also began to employ ERP
systems.
ERP's scope usually implies significant
changes to staff work practices. Generally,
three types of services are available to
help implement such changes—
consulting, customization, and support.
Implementation time depends on
business size, number of modules,
customization, the scope of process
changes, and the readiness of the
customer to take ownership for the
project. Modular ERP systems and can be
implemented in stages. The typical project
for a large enterprise consumes about 14
months and requires around 150
consultants. Small projects can require
months; multinational and other large
implementations can take years.[
Customization can substantially increase
implementation times.
Advantages
The fundamental advantage of ERP is that
integrating the myriad processes by which
businesses operate saves time and
expense. Decisions can be made more
quickly and with fewer errors. Data
becomes visible across the organization.
Tasks that benefit from this integration
include:

Sales forecasting, which allows
inventory optimization



Order tracking, from acceptance
through fulfillment
Revenue tracking, from invoice
through cash receipt
Matching purchase orders (what
was ordered), inventory receipts
(what arrived), and costing (what
the vendor invoiced)
ERP systems centralize business data,
bringing the following benefits:




They eliminate the need to
synchronize changes between
multiple systems—consolidation
of finance, marketing and sales,
human resource, and
manufacturing applications
They enable standard product
naming/coding.
They provide a comprehensive
enterprise view (no "islands of
information"). They make real–
time information available to
management anywhere, anytime
to make proper decisions.
They protect sensitive data by
consolidating multiple security
systems into a single structure.
Disadvantages





Customization is problematic.
Re–engineering business
processes to fit the ERP system
may damage competitiveness
and/or divert focus from other
critical activities
ERP can cost more than less
integrated and/or less
comprehensive solutions.
High switching costs increase
vendor negotiating power vis a vis
support, maintenance and
upgrade expenses.
Overcoming resistance to sharing
sensitive information between
departments can divert
management attention.


Integration of truly independent
businesses can create
unnecessary dependencies.
Extensive training requirements
take resources from daily
operations.
Reviews in questions
1. Explain what do you understand
by “Business scope Transform ”
illustrate with examples.
Ans : IT help to growth in business &
innovative business ideas. IT lead to the
growth of several hitherto unheard
business and innovative business models
for even exiting established business.
The ideal example is BPO model. It is
possible only due to the convergence of
telecom and IT technologies. Imagine
serving customer in the US sitting at a
BPO in India.
2. What is impact of IT on Business
network Transform?
Ans : Business network transform is the
transformation of the network consisting
of customers, suppliers and other
business partners. It is fundamental
change in the way the organization
conducts it business with its business
partners. The close alliance, the level of
trust , the sharing of information and the
transparency helps in the network as a
whole to respond faster and better. More
over it creates a barrier for entry for
others thereby giving a competitive
advantage to the network as a whole and
the business entity which is at the center
of this network. Thus in today’s world
competition is not between singular
entities but rater between network of
organization trying to provide an efficient
value chain.
3. Explain how outsourcing is used
for Business scope Transform”
Ans : Outsourcing usually means
delivering highly customized solutions for
very specific problems. Therefore, it is in
the processes and procedures related to
the solution where the most innovative,
out-of--the-box thinking can provide the
most value. Don’t discount the value of
innovative thinking, which can be a major
discriminator in your selection and
assessment of a service provider.





Cost savings — The lowering of
the overall cost of the service to
the business. This will involve
reducing the scope, defining
quality levels, re-pricing, renegotiation, and cost restructuring. Access to lower cost
economies through offshoring
called "labor arbitrage" generated
by the wage gap between
industrialized and developing
nations.
Focus on Core Business —
Resources (for example
investment, people,
infrastructure) are focused on
developing the core business. For
example often organizations
outsource their IT support to
specialised IT services companies.
Cost restructuring — Operating
leverage is a measure that
compares fixed costs to variable
costs. Outsourcing changes the
balance of this ratio by offering a
move from fixed to variable cost
and also by making variable costs
more predictable.
Improve quality — Achieve a
steep change in quality through
contracting out the service with a
new service level agreement.
Knowledge — Access to
intellectual property and wider
experience and knowledge.
Contract — Services will be
provided to a legally binding





contract with financial penalties
and legal redress. This is not the
case with internal services.
Catalyst for change — An
organization can use an
outsourcing agreement as a
catalyst for major step change
that can not be achieved alone.
The outsourcer becomes a
Change agent in the process.
Enhance capacity for innovation
— Companies increasingly use
external knowledge service
providers to supplement limited
in-house capacity for product
innovation.
Reduce time to market — The
acceleration of the development
or production of a product
through the additional capability
brought by the supplier.
Commodification — The trend of
standardizing business processes,
IT Services, and application
services which enable to buy at
the right price, allows businesses
access to services which were
only available to large
corporations.
Creating leisure time —
Individuals may wish to outsource
their work in order to optimize
their work-leisure balance.
In short expand the business or enter in
new business and concentrate on it.
Chapter 15 - Systems Development Cycle
– SDLC
Activity A
Using internet collect information on
“Waterfall models of SLDC”
Software life cycle models describe
phases of the software cycle and the
order in which those phases are
executed. There are tons of models, and
many companies adopt their own, but all
have very similar patterns.
Each phase produces deliverables
required by the next phase in the life
cycle. Requirements are translated into
design. Code is produced during
implementation that is driven by the
design. Testing verifies the deliverable of
the implementation phase against
requirements.
Requirements:- Business requirements
are gathered in this phase. This phase is
the main focus of the project managers
and stake holders. Meetings with
managers, stake holders and users are
held in order to determine the
requirements. Who is going to use the
system? How will they use the system?
What data should be input into the
system? What data should be output by
the system? These are general questions
that get answered during a requirements
gathering phase. This produces a nice big
list of functionality that the system should
provide, which describes functions the
system
should
perform, business logic that processes
data, what data is stored and used by the
system, and how the user interface should
work. The overall result is the system as a
whole and how it performs, not how it is
actually going to do it.
Design :The software system design is
produced from the results of the
requirements phase. Architects have the
ball in their court during this phase and
this is the phase in which their focus lies.
This is where the details on how the
system
will
work
is
produced.
Architecture,
including
hardware and software, communication,
software design (UML is produced here)
are all part of the deliverables of a design
phase.
Implementation :Code is produced from
the deliverables of the design phase
during
implementation, and this is the longest
phase of the software development life
cycle. For a developer, this is the main
focus of the life cycle because this is
where
the
code
is
produced. Implementation my overlap
with both the design and testing phases.
Many tools exists (CASE tools) to actually
automate the production of code using
information gathered and produced
during the design phase.
Testing
:During
testing,
the
implementation
is
tested
against
therequirements to make sure that the
product is actually solving the needs
addressed and gathered during the
requirements phase. Unit tests and
system/acceptance tests are done during
this
phase.
Unit tests act on a specific component of
the system, while system tests act on the
system as a whole. So in a nutshell, that is
a very basic overview of the general
software development life cycle model.
Now lets delve into some of the
traditional and widely used variations.
Waterfall Model
This is the most common and classic of life
cycle models, also referred to as a linearsequential life cycle model. It is very
simple to understand and use. In a
waterfall model, each phase must be
completed in its entirety before the next
phase can begin. At the end of each
phase, a review takes place to determine
if the project is on the right path and
whether or not to continue or discard the
project. Unlike what I mentioned in the
general model, phases do not overlap in a
waterfall model.
Activity B
Using Internet collect information on
“Prototype used in SLDC “
In the traditional SDLC, software is
created on a well planned pattern. There
will be planning, consultation, creation,
testing, documentation and launching.
ultimately, the prototype model is geared
This pattern is seen in most development
to be changed constantly until it reaches
software. Since it’s planned right from the
its intended audience and function.
start, it should be efficient as planned.
When the plan is properly executed,
Prototype Models Types
everything will work as it is written.
However, it is important to note that this
There are four types of Prototype Models
type of development is all focused on the
based on their development planning: the
developers and not the consumers.
Patch-Up
Although it has its advantages, the
Prototype, First-of-a-Series Prototype and
structured creation of a program makes it
Selected Features Prototype.
Prototype,
Nonoperational
harder to create variations before the
program is launched.
Patch Up Prototype
To answer that need, another model for
developing software is created. Called the
This type of Prototype Model encourages
Prototype model, the development of the
cooperation of different developers. Each
program is not based on strict planning,
developer will work on a specific part of
but it is based on the response of the
the program. After everyone has done
users instead. The prototyping is a
their part, the program will be integrated
concept that bases its development by
with each other resulting in a whole new
creating prototypes after prototypes until
program. Since everyone is working on a
the “perfect” software is created.
different field, Patch Up Prototype is a
As a type of SDLC, the Prototype Model
fast
slowly builds from a simple concept of
developer is highly skilled, there is no
what a program is. Little by little the
need to overlap in a specific function of
software is updated and tested in a real
work. This type of software development
time environment. Users will be able to
model only needs a strong project
test and improve the software as they are
manager
created. This goes in a different pattern if
development
you compare it to the regular SDLC
manager will control the work flow and
pattern, and the feedback is only in the
ensure there is no overlapping of
later stage. If there are any changes, it has
functions among different developers.
development
who
of
model.
If
each
can
monitor
the
the
program.
The
to go back to the drawing board, wasting
more time.
Non-Operational Prototype
There are different types of a prototype
A non-operational prototype model is
model of SDLC. Each of them has their
used when only a certain part of the
own advantage and disadvantage but
program should be updated. Although it’s
not a fully operational program, the
This is another form of releasing a
specific part of the program will work or
software in beta version. However,
could be tested as planned. The main
instead of giving the public the full version
software or prototype is not affected at all
of the software in beta, only selected
as the dummy program is applied with the
features or limited access to some
application.
is
important tools in the program is
assigned with different stages will have to
introduced. Selected Features Prototype
work with the dummy prototype. This
is applied to software that are part of a
prototype is usually implemented when
bigger suite of programs. Those released
certain problems in a specific part of the
are independent of the suite but the full
program arises. Since the software could
version should integrate with other
be in a prototype mode for a very long
software. This is usually done to test the
time, changing and maintenance of
independent feature of the software.
Each
developer
who
specific parts is very important. Slowly it
has become a smart way of creating
Prototype Model Disadvantages
software by introducing small functions of
the software.
Implementing the prototype model for
creating software has disadvantages.
First of a Series Prototype
Since its being built out of concept, most
of the models presented in the early stage
Known as a beta version, this Prototype
are not complete. Usually they lack flaws
Model could be very efficient if properly
that developers still need to work on
launched. In all beta versions, the
them again and again. Since the prototype
software is launched and even introduced
changes from time to time, it’s a
to the public for testing. It’s fully
nightmare to create a document for this
functional software but the aim of being
software. There are many things that are
in beta version is to as for feedbacks,
removed, changed and added in a single
suggestions or even practicing the firewall
update of the prototype and documenting
and security of the software. It could be
each of them has been proven difficult.
very successful if the First of a Series
Prototype is properly done. But if the
There is also a great temptation for most
program is half heartedly done, only
developers to create a prototype and stick
aiming for additional concept, it will be
to it even though it has flaws. Since
susceptible to different hacks, ultimately
prototypes are not yet complete software
backfiring and destroying the prototype.
programs, there is always a possibility of a
designer flaw. When flawed software is
Selected Features Prototype
implemented, it could mean losses of
important resources.
Lastly, integration could be very difficult
for a prototype model. This often happens
their honest opinion about the software.
If something is unfavorable, it can be
changed. Slowly the program is created
with the customer in mind.
when other programs are already stable.
The prototype software is released and
Activity C
integrated to the company’s suite of
software. But if there’s something wrong
the prototype, changes are required not
only with the software. It’s also possible
that the stable software should be
changed in order for them to be
integrated properly.
Prototype Model Advantages
Creating software using the prototype
model also has its benefits. One of the key
advantages
a
prototype
modeled
software has is the time frame of
development. Instead of concentrating on
documentation, more effort is placed in
creating the actual software. This way, the
actual software could be released in
advance. The work on prototype models
could also be spread to others since there
are practically no stages of work in this
model. Everyone has to work on the same
thing and at the same time, reducing man
hours in creating a software. The work will
even be faster and efficient if developers
will collaborate more regarding the status
of a specific function and develop the
necessary adjustments in time for the
integration.
Another advantage of having a prototype
modeled software is that the software is
created using lots of user feedbacks. In
every prototype created, users could give
Using internet collect information on “
RAD method “
Rapid application development (RAD) is a
software development methodology that
uses minimal planning in favor of rapid
prototyping. The "planning" of software
developed using RAD is interleaved with
writing the software itself. The lack of
extensive pre-planning generally allows
software to be written much faster, and
makes it easier to change requirements.
Rapid application development is a
software development methodology that
involves methods like iterative
development and software prototyping.
According to Whitten (2004), it is a
merger of various structured techniques,
especially data-driven Information
Engineering, with prototyping techniques
to accelerate software systems
development.
In rapid application development,
structured techniques and prototyping
are especially used to define users'
requirements and to design the final
system. The development process starts
with the development of preliminary data
models and business process models
using structured techniques. In the next
stage, requirements are verified using
prototyping, eventually to refine the data
and process models. These stages are
repeated iteratively; further development
results in "a combined business
requirements and technical design
statement to be used for constructing
new systems".
RAD approaches may entail compromises
in functionality and performance in
exchange for enabling faster development
and facilitating application maintenance.
When organizations adopt rapid
development methodologies, care must
be taken to avoid role and responsibility
confusion and communication breakdown
within a development team, and between
team and client. In addition, especially in
cases where the client is absent or not
able to participate with authority in the
development process, the system analyst
should be endowed with this authority on
behalf of the client to ensure appropriate
prioritization of non-functional
requirements. Furthermore, no increment
of the system should be developed
without a thorough and formally
documented design phase.
Ans : The spiral model of development
combines the features of the prototyping
model and the waterfall model. The spiral
model is favored for large, expensive, and
complicated projects. The advantage of
the spiral model is also that the
requirements and risk of a the software
are revisited in every cycle and that too
for the entire software developed till that
point. This ensures the success of the
software so developed. The final system is
thoroughly evaluated and tested. Routine
maintenance is carried out on a
continuing basis to prevent large-scale
failures and to minimize downtime
Review Questions
1. What do understand by “
waterfall model of SLDC ?
Illustrate with examples
Ans : SDLC means system development
life cycle waterfall method is one of the
most commonly used lifecycles for
developing software solutions. It is
suggests that each stage much like a
waterfall. Ti therefore means we must be
able to analysis 100% if the system & its
requirements before moving to the design
phase. The model is that there is no scope
for going back from the next stage to the
previous stage. Some proponents of this
model have therefore added feedback
flows so that during design if some
problems are detected one could go back
to the analysis stage correct the analysis
and then revisit the design phase.
2. What do understand by “ Spiral
Model of SLDC ? illustrate with
examples
3. “Maintenance is important phase
of SLDC” comment
Ans : Software Development Life Cycle is a
model of a detailed plan on how to
create, develop, implement and
eventually fold the software. It’s a
complete plan outlining how the software
will be born, raised and eventually be
retired from its function. Although some
of the models don’t explicitly say how the
program will be folded, it’s already
common knowledge that software will
eventually have it’s ending in a never
ending world of change web, software
and programming technology. The
maintenance of software is an important
aspect of SDLC. The software will
definitely undergo change once it is
delivered to the customer. Change could
happen because of some unexpected
input of values into the system/software
or the changes in the system could
directly affect the software operations.
Sometimes new changes are
implemented which requires the system
updates
Chapter 16 - Visualising a Software
Solution
Activity A
Using Internet Collect information on GUI
(Graphical User Interface)
In computing a graphical user interface
(GUI, sometimes pronounced gooey) is a
type of user interface that allows users to
interact with electronic devices with
images rather than text commands. GUIs
can be used in computers, hand-held
devices such as MP3 players, portable
media players or gaming devices,
household appliances and office
equipment. A GUI represents the
information and actions available to a
user through graphical icons and visual
indicators such as secondary notation, as
opposed to text-based interfaces, typed
command labels or text navigation. The
actions are usually performed through
direct manipulation of the graphical
elements.
The term GUI is historically restricted to
the scope of two-dimensional display
screens with display resolutions capable
of describing generic information, in the
tradition of the computer science
research at the Palo Alto Research Center
(PARC). The term GUI earlier might have
been applicable to other high-resolution
types of interfaces that are non-generic,
such as videogames, or not restricted to
flat screens, like volumetric displays.
Activity B
Using Internet collect information on
Web Designing?
Web design is used as a general term to
describe any of the various tasks involved
in creating a web page. More specifically,
it refers to jobs focused on building the
front-end of a web page.
The web consists of myriad pages,
presenting information using different
technologies and linked together with
hyperlinks. There are two basic aspects to
any web page found on the Internet. The
first is a presentation that the user
interacts with, usually visually, while the
second is a back-end that includes
information for non-human browsers.
The basic markup language used to tell a
browser how to present information is
called the HyperText Markup Language
(HTML). A stricter version of HTML is also
widely used, known as eXtensible
HyperText Markup Language (XHTML).
Using HTML or XHTML, a web designer is
able to tell a browser how a web page
should appear. In the last few years there
has been a push towards separating the
underlying structure of a web-page (using
HTML) from the visual presentation of the
site (using Cascading Style Sheets or CSS).
This approach has a number of major
benefits in both the short and long term,
and is gathering popularity as time
progresses.
Review Questions
1. What do you understand by
Stakeholder Analysis?
Stakeholder management is critical to the
success of every project in every
organization I have ever worked with. By
engaging the right people in the right way
in your project, you can make a big
difference to its success... and to your
career."
Stakeholder Management is an important
discipline that successful people use to
win support from others. It helps them
ensure that their projects succeed where
others fail.
Stakeholder Analysis is the technique
used to identify the key people who have
to be won over. You then use Stakeholder
Planning to build the support that helps
you succeed.
The benefits of using a stakeholder-based
approach are that:
 You can use the opinions of the
most powerful stakeholders to
shape your projects at an early
stage. Not only does this make it
more likely that they will support
you, their input can also improve
the quality of your project

Gaining support from powerful
stakeholders can help you to win
more resources – this makes it
more likely that your projects will
be successful

By communicating with
stakeholders early and frequently,
you can ensure that they fully
understand what you are doing
and understand the benefits of
your project – this means they
can support you actively when
necessary
You can anticipate what people's reaction
to your project may be, and build into
your plan the actions that will win
people's support.
2. Write a use case for car rental.
Ans : A travel agent wants to offer to
customers the ability to book complete
packages that may consist of services
offered by various providers. The
available services may car rental.
The goal of the consumer is to get the
best combination of services and prices
suiting their needs. The travel agent tries
to maximize customer satisfaction and sell
packages. Service providers aim to sell as
many products as possible. Credit card
companies guarantee and perform
payments for purchased products.
In this scenario, service providers offer
Web Services that could be used by the
Travel agent to query their offerings and
perform various tasks such as
reservations. Credit card companies
provide services to guarantee payments
made by consumers. The client should be
able to query, reserve and purchase any
available service. The basic steps of the
interaction are listed below:
1. The client interacts with the travel
agent to request information
about various services.
2. Prices and availability matching
the client requests are returned
to the client. The client can then
perform one of the following
actions:
a. The client can refine their
request for information,
possibly selecting more
services from the provider
OR
b. The client may reserve
services based on the
response, OR
3. The client may quit the
interaction with the travel agent
4. When a customer makes a
reservation, the travel agent then
checks the availability of the
requested services with each
service provider.
5. Either - All services are available,
in which case they are reserved.
OR
- For those services that are
not available, the client is
informed.
Either -Given alternative options for those
services. OR
-Client is advised to restart the search by
going back to step 1.
- Go back to step 3.
6. For every relevant reserved
service the travel agent takes a
deposit for the reservation. A
credit card can be used as a form
of deposit
7. The client is then issued a
reservation number to confirm
the transaction.
8. Between the reservation time and
the final date for confirmation,
the client may modify the
reservation. Modifications may
include cancellation of some
services or the addition of extra
services.
a. Client is expected to fully
pay for those relevant
services that require full
payment prior to final
confirmation.
Requirements
1. Need to facilitate cancellation of
orders and exception handling.
2. Needs callbacks to be able to
express asynchronous
interactions such as credit
checking in a credit card company
or availability from an airline.
3. Needs hierarchical composition to
be able to reuse established
choreographies such as that used
by a credit card company.
4. Needs reference passing to
enable the car hire company to
interact with the credit card
company on behalf of the user.
5. Need to demarcate transactional
boundaries in order to define the
collaboration boundaries in order
to provide guidance on the
underlying infrastructure required
to implement the collaboration.
6. Need variable timeouts to model
different interactions that have a
different time-to-live. For
instance, each carrier may impose
a different limitation on the
lifetime of a pending reservation.
Need to be able to express concurrent
paths in order to check availability of
services at multiple service providers.
3. What is the importance of user
GUI?
1. One of the most important
features of a good user interface
is the practice of adding clear
navigation aids. Some websites
lack this common sense and
jumble up the local organization
of information. This makes it
frustrating for the users who vow
never to visit the website. Clear
graphics, summary screens, text
overviews and graphic identity
schemes can help users find a
particular product or service
without wasting their time.
2. Another important aspect of a
good graphic user interface is an
efficient hierarchy of information.
Users need to have information in
minimum possible steps.
Research suggests that users
prefer menus with a maximum of
five links. So, an efficient
hierarchy of information with
minimum steps throughout the
menu pages will do the trick.
3. Custom web site design in India
prefers to design websites with an
easy user interface in mind. The
firms make sure that the interface
metaphors should be logical,
familiar and simple. The same
goes ecommerce website design
in India. The websites are built
with a consistent pattern of
modular units, graphic themes,
easy shopping cart features, basic
layout grids and easy hierarchies
of organizations. A company
specializing custom ecommerce
website India ensures the
corporate identity is present on
every web page, thus creating a
consistent user interface.
Custom web site design in India always
has a consistent approach in the layout of
titles, page headers, footers, and
navigation links. Through constant
research on the needs of the target
audience, Indian website designers create
sample scenarios. This helps them to
determine whether a casual user be
intimated by a complex menu scheme or
whether an experienced user seeking a
specific information can be helped by the
design of the web page.
Chapter 17 - Software Testing
Chapter 18 - Information Security
Activity A
Activity A
Using internet collect information on
“ISO standards on software testing”
Activity B
Using internet collect information on
“User acceptance software testing”
Review Questions
1. What do you understand by
white box software testing?
White-box testing (a.k.a. clear box testing,
glass box testing, transparent box testing,
or structural testing) is a method of
testing software that tests internal
structures or workings of an application,
as opposed to its functionality. In whitebox testing an internal perspective of the
system, as well as programming skills, are
required and used to design test cases.
The tester chooses inputs to exercise
paths through the code and determine
the appropriate outputs. This is analogous
to testing nodes in a circuit.
White-box testing is usually done at the
unit level. It can test paths within a unit,
paths between units during integration,
and between subsystems during a system
level test. Though this method of test
design can uncover many errors or
problems, it might not detect
unimplemented parts of the specification
or missing requirements.
Using internet collect information on “IT
Security, control, Audit & governance”
IT Security, as a concept, is often
synonymous with Computer Security,
Information Security, Information
Assurance, or Cyber Security.
Each of these security concepts have
slight differences in meaning, but
primarily focus on the protection of
information or data, not computer
systems.
If information is so important, then what
is it?
Information could simply be data flowing
through a computer network, or the key
elements of a computer operating system,
or even a simple electronic document
stored on a hard drive.
Information can be stolen, modified,
corrupted and even used as a weapon to
deny access to information stored on
other computer systems or networks.
Today, we will look at the principle goals
in the overall concept of IT security and
take a look at some of the various
certifications available to IT security
professionals.
Control:
A control system is a device or set of
devices to manage, command, direct or
2. Why user acceptance is most
important test?(information on
user acceptance software
testing)
User Acceptance Testing (UAT) is essential
for the successful implementation of any
system and relies on the end user – often
the client – investing sufficient time into
the process. It determines the success of a
project. Completed successfully it will
remove any unintended errors before you
launch the system.
regulate the behavior of other devices or
systems. There are two common classes
of control systems, with many variations
and combinations: logic or sequential
controls, and feedback or linear controls.
There is also fuzzy logic, which attempts
to combine some of the design simplicity
of logic with the utility of linear control.
Some devices or systems are inherently
not controllable. A control system is a
device or set of devices to manage,
command, direct or regulate the behavior
of other devices or systems.
IT Audit :
An information technology (IT)
audit or information systems (IS) audit is
an examination of the controls within an
entity's information technology
infrastructure. These reviews may be
performed in conjunction with a financial
statement audit, internal audit, or other
form of attestation engagement. An IT
audit is the process of collecting and
evaluating evidence of an organization's
information systems, practices, and
operations. Obtained evidence evaluation
can ensure whether the organization's
information systems safeguard assets,
maintains data integrity, and is operating
effectively and efficiently to achieve the
organization's goals or objectives."
IT Governance:
IT Governance is "a framework for the
leadership, organizational structures and
business processes, standards and
compliance to these standards, which
ensure that the organization’s IT supports
and enables the achievement of its
strategies and objectives."
Activity B
Using internet collect Information on
“Information Security Standards BS7799
?”
Ans:
BS 7799-3:2005 is the latest iteration of
the BS7799 series, and is officially titled:
Information Security Management
Systems - Guidelines for Information
Security Risk Management
BS7799 is a very detailed security
standard. It is organized into ten major
sections, each covering a different topic
or area:
1. Business Continuity Planning
The objectives of this section are as
follows: To counteract interruptions to
business activities and to critical business
processes from the effects of major
failures or disasters.
2. System Access Control
The objectives of this section are as
follows: 1) To control access to
information 2) To prevent unauthorised
access to information systems 3) To
ensure the protection of networked
services 4) To prevent unauthorized
computer access 5) To detect
unauthorised activities. 6) To ensure
information security when using mobile
computing and tele-networking facilities
3. System Development and
Maintenance
The objectives of this section are as
follows: 1) To ensure security is built into
operational systems; 2) To prevent loss,
modification or misuse of user data in
application systems; 3) To protect the
confidentiality, authenticity and integrity
of information; 4) To ensure IT projects
and support activities are conducted in a
secure manner; 5) To maintain the
security of application system software
and data.
4. Physical and Environmental Security
The objectives of this section are as
follows: To prevent unauthorised access,
damage and interference to business
premises and information; to prevent
loss, damage or compromise of assets and
interruption to business activities; to
prevent compromise or theft of
information and information processing
facilities.
5. Compliance
The objectives of this section are as
follows: 1) To avoid breaches of any
criminal or civil law, statutory, regulatory
or contractual obligations and of any
security requirements 2) To ensure
compliance of systems with organizational
security policies and standards 3) To
maximize the effectiveness of and to
minimize interference to/from the system
audit process.
of security controls customized to the
needs of individual organizations or
parts thereof.
ISO/IEC 27001:2005 is designed to
ensure the selection of adequate
and proportionate security
controls that protect information
assets and give confidence to
interested parties.
ISO/IEC 27001:2005 is intended to
be suitable for several different
types of use, including the
following:
It covers the following:





Risk assessment
Risk treatment
Management decision making
Risk re-assessment
Monitoring and reviewing of risk
profile
 Information security risk in the
context of corporate governance
 Compliance with other risk based
standards and regulations




Activity C
Using internet collect information on
“ISO Standards on Information Security”
Ans:
ISO/IEC 27001:2005 covers all types of
organizations (e.g. commercial
enterprises, government agencies,
not-for profit organizations). ISO/IEC
27001:2005 specifies the
requirements for establishing,
implementing, operating, monitoring,
reviewing, maintaining and improving
a documented Information Security
Management System within the
context of the organization's overall
business risks. It specifies
requirements for the implementation




use within organizations to
formulate security requirements
and objectives;
use within organizations as a
way to ensure that security risks
are cost effectively managed;
use within organizations to
ensure compliance with laws
and regulations;
use within an organization as a
process framework for the
implementation and
management of controls to
ensure that the specific security
objectives of an organization are
met;
definition of new information
security management processes;
identification and clarification of
existing information security
management processes;
use by the management of
organizations to determine the
status of information security
management activities;
use by the internal and external
auditors of organizations to
determine the degree of
compliance with the policies,



directives and standards
adopted by an organization;
use by organizations to provide
relevant information about
information security policies,
directives, standards and
procedures to trading partners
and other organizations with
whom they interact for
operational or commercial
reasons;
implementation of businessenabling information security;
use by organizations to provide
relevant information about
information security to
customers.
Review Questions
1. What are the objectives of
Information Security
Management?
Ans:
Security objectives are met when:
*Information is available and usable when
required, and the systems that provide it
can appropriate resist attacks and recover
from or prevent failures (availability)
* Information is observed by or disclosed
to only those who have a right to know
(confidentiality)
* Information is complete, accurate and
protected against unauthorized
modification (integrity)
* Business transactions, as well as
information exchanges between
enterprises, or with partners,
can be
trusted (authenticity and nonrepudiation).
Information Security Management
ensures that the confidentiality, integrity
and availability of an organization’s
assets, information, data and IT services is
maintained. Information Security
Management must consider the following
four perspectives:
Organizational – Define security policies
and staff awareness of these
* Procedural – Defined procedures used
to control security
* Physical – Controls used to protect any
physical sites against security incidents
* Technical – Controls used to protect the
IT infrastructure against security
incidents.
2. What steps organization should
take to implement Information
Security Standards BS7799
Ans:
You can aspire for BS 7799 certification
with the following steps.


Step 1: Establish importance of
information security in the
organization. In the current
scenario, this should not be
difficult. However, it will help if
you identify the critical business
processes, which are dependent
on information, and what is the
business risk if any—check if the
three pillars of information
security are compromised (i.e.
confidentiality, integrity and
availability).
Step 2: Set up a Security
Organization. You will need
organizational involvement to
define and implement security
measures. A steering committee
for BS 7799 project, a security
forum with representation of key
business and technology
departments, appointment of an
Information Security Officer and
defining security responsibilities








for protection of various assets
will have to be done.
Step 3: Define the Security Policy
for the company. This should be
endorsed by top management
and should convey their concern
and commitment.
Step 4: Define the scope of
Information Security
Management System (ISMS). This
could be business specific,
location specific or function
specific.
Step 5: Undertake risk
assessment. Start with business
risk assessment. This will help you
in identifying the risk areas for
detailed risk evaluation. Identify
and prioritize all the risks.
Step 6: Identify the controls
objectives and the control
options.
Step 7: Select appropriate
controls to fulfill the control
objectives. These controls will be
in the form of security policies,
procedures and products. Prepare
guidelines on how to implement
these controls.
Step 8: Implement and monitor
the controls. You should be able
to prove adequacy of the controls
in reducing the risks.
Step 9: Make a table of all the 127
controls and map the controls
implemented by you against
relevant control objectives. One
control may address more than
one control objective. If there are
some gaps, find out, whether
these are omissions or there are
no requirements of controls. Fill
up all the gaps.
Step 10: Make statement of
applicability, which justifies the
controls in place as well as those,
which really are not required. For
all exclusions, you should have a
justification backed by risk
assessment.




Step 11: Invite a certification body
for pre-assessment. Some of the
accredited certification agencies
are DNV, BSI, STQC.
Step 12: Take appropriate
measures to comply with all
observations.
Step 13: Get the final assessment
done.
Step 14: Acquire the coveted
certificate, which is valid for three
years. An external audit will be
done once a year.
3. What do you understand by
BCP/DR ? illustrate with example
Ans:
Business continuity planning (BCP) is
“planning which identifies the
organization's exposure to internal and
external threats and synthesizes hard and
soft assets to provide effective prevention
and recovery for the organization, whilst
maintaining competitive advantage and
value system integrity”. It is also
calledBusiness continuity & Resiliency
planning (BCRP). .
In plain language, BCP is working out how
to stay in business in the event of disaster.
Typical incidents include local events like
building fires, regional incidents like
earthquakes or floods, or national
incidents like pandemic illnesses.
However, it is not limited to just that. Any
event that could cause the potential for
loss of business should be considered,
including any event that the business is
dependent on, such as loss of source of
supply, loss of critical infrastructure (a
major piece of machinery or
computing/network resource), or the
result of theft or vandalism. As such, risk
Using internet collect Information on The
cash & Mcfarlan’s strategic grid?
management must be incorporated as
The strategic grid model is an IT specific
part of BCP.
model that can be used to assess the
Disaster recovery is the process, policies
and procedures related to preparing for
recovery or continuation of technology
infrastructure critical to an organization
after a natural or human-induced disaster.
Disaster recovery is a subset of business
continuity. While business continuity
involves planning for keeping all aspects
of a business functioning in the midst of
disruptive events, disaster recovery
focuses on the IT or technology systems
that support business functions.
nature of the projects that the IT
organization has in its portfolio with the
aim of seeing how well that portfolio
supports the operational and strategic
interests of the firm.
The CIO plots projects and systems from
the IT organization’s portfolio on a two
dimensional graph. The X axis represents
As IT systems have become increasingly
critical to the smooth operation of a
company, and arguably the economy as a
whole, the importance of ensuring the
continued operation of those systems, or
the rapid recovery of the systems, has
increased.
impact of the project on IT strategy. One
way of expressing what we mean by this
is: what options does this project offer
the firm by way of affecting one of
Porter’s five forces in our favor? Does it
It is estimated that most large companies
spend between 2% and 4% of their IT
budget on disaster recovery planning,
with the aim of avoiding larger losses in
the event that the business cannot
continue to function due to loss of IT
infrastructure and data. Of companies
that had a major loss of business data,
43% never reopen, 51% close within two
years, and only 6% will survive long-term.
change the nature of competition in our
As a result, preparation for continuation
or recovery of systems needs to be taken
very seriously. This involves a significant
investment of time and money with the
aim of ensuring minimal losses in the
event of a disruptive event.
enable us to substitute one of ours for
market, affect the bargaining power of
buyers or suppliers, raise or lower the
barriers to entry into our market, or
change switching costs for our products
and services? Does it enable us to offer
completely new products and services, or
one of someone else’s in the eyes of
their customers?
The Y axis represents the impact of the
Chapter 19 - Long Range Planning of
Information Systems & Technology
project on IT operations. One way of
expressing this is to say that projects that
Activity A
are high on this axis improve the
efficiency or quality of our existing
systems and business processes, or lower
their costs.

The graph is usually drawn like so:


improvements for individual
users.
Factory: high operational impact,
low strategic impact. This
quadrant is about operational
improvements that affect large
portions of the firm, and are
aimed at improving performance
or decreasing cost.
Turnaround: low operational
impact, high strategic impact.
This quadrant is about exploiting
new technologies to provide
strategic opportunities.
Strategic: high operational
impact, high strategic impact. IT
organizations that have most
projects in this quadrant
understand that IT can both
improve core operations of the
firm while simultaneously
generating strategic options.
Activity B
Another way to think about the two axes
is in relation to Argyris’ organizational
learning styles: single loop and double
Using internet collect information on
Gartner’s group technology forecasts ?
Ans:
loop learning. Impact on operational
ability is like single loop learning:
incremental process improvements on
what we already do. Impact on strategy
is like double loop learning: look for a
completely new process.
GartnerGroup until 2001
Gartner is an information technology
research and advisory company providing
technology related insight. Research
provided by Gartner is targeted at CIOs
and senior IT leaders in industries that
include government agencies, high-tech
McFarlan divides the grid made by these
and telecom enterprises, professional
axes into four quadrants:
services firms, and technology investors.
Gartner clients include large corporations,

Support: low operational impact,
low strategic impact. This
quadrant is about local process
government agencies, technology
companies and the investment
community. The company consists of
Fleisher) who moved on to Warner Music
Research, Executive Programs, Consulting
Group in 2005.
and Events. Founded in 1979, Gartner has
over 4,300 employees, including 1,200
in R&D.
Gartner uses hype cycles and magic
quadrants for visualization of its market
Activity C
Using internet collect information on
“Gartner’s magic quadrant”
Positioning Technology Players Within a
Specific Market
analysis results.
History
The company was founded in 1979
by Gideon Gartner. Originally a private
company, the Gartner Group was
launched publicly in the 1980s, then
acquired by Saatchi & Saatchi, a Londonbased advertising agency, and then
acquired in 1990 by some of its
executives, with funding from Bain
Capital and Dun & Bradstreet. In 2001 the
name was simplified to Gartner.
In the course of its growth, Gartner has
acquired numerous companies providing
related services, including Real
Decisions (which became Gartner
Measurement, now part of Gartner's
consulting division), and Gartner
Dataquest (Gartner's market research
firm). It has also acquired a number of
direct competitors,
including NewScience in the late
1990s, Meta Group in 2005 and AMR
Research and Burton Group in early 2010.
The Chairman and CEO is Gene Hall (since
August 2004). Business performance
under Hall's management has continued
to grow since taking over from his
predecessor Michael Fleisher (Michael D.
Who are the competing players in the
major technology markets? How are they
positioned to help you over the long haul?
Gartner Magic Quadrants are a
culmination of research in a specific
market, giving you a wide-angle view of
the relative positions of the market's
competitors. By applying a graphical treatment and a uniform set of evaluation
criteria, a Gartner Magic Quadrant quickly
helps you digest how well technology
providers are executing against their
stated vision.
Magic Quadrants provide a graphical
competitive positioning of four types of
technology providers, where market
growth is high and provider differentiation
is distinct. Roll over the quadrants in the
graphic above for more information.
How Do You Use Magic Quadrants?
Clients use Magic Quadrants as a first step
to understanding the technology
providers they might consider for a
specific investment opportunity.
Keep in mind that focusing on the leaders'
quadrant isn't always the best course of
action. There are good reasons to
consider market challengers. And a niche
player may support your needs better
than a market leader. It all depends on
how the provider aligns with your
business goals.
How Do Magic Quadrants Work?
Magic Quadrants provide a graphical
competitive positioning of four types of
technology providers, where market
growth is high and provider
differentiation is distinct:
Leadersexecute well against their current
vision and are well positioned for
tomorrow.
Visionariesunderstand where the market
is going or have a vision for changing
market rules, but do not yet execute well.
Niche Playersfocus successfully on a small
segment, or are unfocused and do not
out-innovate or outperform others.
Challengersexecute well today or may
dominate a large segment, but do not
demonstrate an understanding of market
direction.
Review Questions
1. Explain Alfred Chandler’s
Business model?
Ans:
Alfred Chandler’s presented a simple
business model based on :
1. Business Strategy
2. Organizational Strategy
3. Systems & IT Strategy
Alfred Chandlers presented a simple but
very effective model which brought out
the close relationship that exist and
should exist between Business Strategy,
Organization and Processes / IT strategy,
model implies that in successful
organisations these three sides of triangle
each representing one of the strategies
seem to be well balanced.A change in one
impacts one or both other strategies.It
also means that systems or IT strategy can
be divided based on a good
understanding of the other two strategies.
This idea supports various previous
models such as the strategy set transform
which basically suggest that Systems & IT
strategy should be derived by
transforming business strategy.
One of the best cases on this subjects is
that of Mrs Fields Cookies. This case
developed by Harvard Business School
and quoted in literature related to IT
strategy is indeed a case in point.
2. Explain Cash & McFarlan’s
strategic Grid?
ANS:
The Strategic Grid for IT from McFarlan, is
a tool that can be used to assess
thecurrent operational dependence on
information systems (low, high) versus the
future potential strategic impact of
information systems (low, high).
Combining the 2 views in a matrix results
in 4 possible combinations:
1.
Support (currently low,
low in the future too). IT has little
relevance and simply supports
some processes. Firms or
systems in this quadrant will
place the least amount of
emphasis on IT (planning) in
terms of senior management
concern and involvement.
2.
Turnaround (currently
low, high in the future). IT will be
a key feature of future strategic
planning. Significant top
management involvement in IT
(planning) must be established.
3.
Factory (currently high,
low in the future). It is important
in terms of day-to-day operations
but it is not felt that there are
any major IT developments on
the horizon that will
fundamentally alter the nature of
the business. The level of senior
management involvement is
decreasing.
4.
Strategic (high, high). IT
Strategy is very important and
plays a critical role in the
formulation of the overall
business strategy. High level of
involvement of top management
in IT strategy.
One can use the McFarlan Grid to analyze
the impact of information systems as a
whole for an organization or for a division
or department of an organization. But the
strategic grid can also be used to analyze
the dependence and impact of individual
IT applications or systems.
3. Explain Nolan’s 5 Stages growth
model?
Ans:
Stage 1 – Initiation
Stage 1 key points:
user awareness "Hands Off".
IT personnel are "specialized for
technological learning".
IT planning and control is lax.
emphasis on functional applications to
reduce costs.
Stage 2 – Contagion
Stage 2 key points:
proliferation of applications.
users superficially enthusiastic about
using data processing.
management control even more lax.
rapid growth of budgets.
management regard the computer as
"just a machine".
rapid growth of computer use throughout
the organisation's functional areas.
computer use is plagued by crisis after
crisis.
Stage 3 – Admin & Integration
Stage 3 key points:
rise of control by the users.
large data processing budget growth.
demand for on-line database facilities.
data processing department operates like
a computer utility.
formal planning and control within data
processing.
users more accountable for their
applications.
use of steering committees, applications
financial planning.
data processing has better management
controls, standards, project management.
data administration is introduced.
identification of data similarities, its
usage, and its meanings within the whole
organisation.
applications portfolios are integrated into
the organisation.
data processing department serves more
as an administrator of data resources than
of machines.
use of term IT/IS rather than "data
processing".
Stage 4 – Maturity
Stage 4 key points:
systems that reflect the real information
needs of the organisation.
use of data resources to develop
competitive and opportunistic
applications.
data processing organisation viewed
solely as a data resource function.
data processing emphasis on data
resource strategic planning.
ultimately, users and DP department
jointly responsible for the use of data
resources within the organization.
manager of IT system takes on the same
importance in the organisational
hierarchy as (say) the director of finance
or director of HR.
Stage – 5 Decline
Each technology has a lifespan and unless
it is renovated and extended it may be
natural death.