Guru Nanak College

MBA Model Examination – Nov 2020

Management Information System

PART – A (10 x2 = 20)

Answer any FIVE questions

1. What do you mean by the term “Data”?

2. What is TPS?
3. State the purpose of Decision Table.
4. Mention any two cyber crimes.
5. What is RDBMS ?
6. What is e-governance ?
7. List the uses of prototyping.
8. Define ERP.
9. What is an Intranet ?
10. Give meaning of Query Processing.
11. What is Data Warehousing ?
12. What is SDLC?

PART-B (5 x 8 = 40)

Answer any FOUR questions

13. Enumerate the importance of Information System.

14. What is DSS ? Examine the benefits of DSS.
15. Analyse the characteristics of DBMS.
16. Explain RDMS.
17. Examine the steps in implementing Data Mart.
18. Define Information Security. Point out the basic principles in Information Security.
19. Briefly explain about the different types of wireless network.
20. Dicuss the foundations of Data Mining.

PART –C ( 2 x 20 = 40 )

Answer TWO of the following questions

Question No.21 is compulsory

21. The SPARKLE is a newly established company and the owner is looking for an efficient method of
collecting, storing, and manipulating data. The corporation offers a variety of groceries supplies and a
retailer that is currently selling products only online.
Examine the benefits of implementing a database management system

22. Examine the role of Information Management in ERP.

23. Discuss the various steps involved in SDLC.
24. What are the different types of risks ? Suggest methods to overcome the risks.
MIS NOTES
1.Types of Information System: TPS, DSS & Pyramid Diagram

A typical organization is divided into operational, middle, and upper level. The information requirements
for users at each level differ. Towards that end, there are number of information systems that support
each level in an organization.

Pyramid Diagram of Organizational levels and information requirements

Transaction Processing System (TPS)
Management Information System (MIS)
Decision Support System (DSS)
The following diagram illustrates the various levels of a typical organization.

Types of Information System: TPS, DSS & Pyramid Diagram

Operational management level

The operational level is concerned with performing day to day business transactions of the organization.

Examples of users at this level of management include cashiers at a point of sale, bank tellers, nurses in a
hospital, customer care staff, etc.

Users at this level use make structured decisions. This means that they have defined rules that guides
them while making decisions.

For example, if a store sells items on credit and they have a credit policy that has some set limit on the
borrowing. All the sales person needs to decide whether to give credit to a customer or not is based on
the current credit information from the system.

Tactical Management Level

This organization level is dominated by middle-level managers, heads of departments, supervisors, etc.
The users at this level usually oversee the activities of the users at the operational management level.

Tactical users make semi-structured decisions. The decisions are partly based on set guidelines and
judgmental calls. As an example, a tactical manager can check the credit limit and payments history of a
customer and decide to make an exception to raise the credit limit for a particular customer. The decision
is partly structured in the sense that the tactical manager has to use existing information to identify a
payments history that benefits the organization and an allowed increase percentage.

Strategic Management Level

This is the most senior level in an organization. The users at this level make unstructured decisions. Senior
level managers are concerned with the long-term planning of the organization. They use information from
tactical managers and external data to guide them when making unstructured decisions.

Transaction Processing System (TPS)

Transaction processing systems are used to record day to day business transactions of the organization.
They are used by users at the operational management level. The main objective of a transaction
processing system is to answer routine questions such as;

How printers were sold today?

How much inventory do we have at hand?
What is the outstanding due ?
By recording the day to day business transactions, TPS system provides answers to the above questions in
a timely manner.

The decisions made by operational managers are routine and highly structured.
The information produced from the transaction processing system is very detailed.
For example, banks that give out loans require that the company that a person works for should have a
memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the bank. If a person whose employer has a MoU with the
bank applies for a loan, all that the operational staff has to do is verify the submitted documents. If they
meet the requirements, then the loan application documents are processed. If they do not meet the
requirements, then the client is advised to see tactical management staff to see the possibility of signing a
MoU.

Examples of transaction processing systems include;

Point of Sale Systems – records daily sales

Payroll systems – processing employees salary, loans management, etc.
Stock Control systems – keeping track of inventory levels
Airline booking systems – flights booking management

Management Information System (MIS)

Management Information Systems (MIS) are used by tactical managers to monitor the organization's
current performance status. The output from a transaction processing system is used as input to a
management information system.

The MIS system analyzes the input with routine algorithms i.e. aggregate, compare and summarizes the
results to produced reports that tactical managers use to monitor, control and predict future
performance.

For example, input from a point of sale system can be used to analyze trends of products that are
performing well and those that are not performing well. This information can be used to make future
inventory orders i.e. increasing orders for well-performing products and reduce the orders of products
that are not performing well.

Examples of management information systems include;

Sales management systems – they get input from the point of sale system
Budgeting systems – gives an overview of how much money is spent within the organization for the short
and long terms.
Human resource management system – overall welfare of the employees, staff turnover, etc.
Tactical managers are responsible for the semi-structured decision. MIS systems provide the information
needed to make the structured decision and based on the experience of the tactical managers, they make
judgement calls i.e. predict how much of goods or inventory should be ordered for the second quarter
based on the sales of the first quarter.
 Decision Support System (DSS)

Decision support systems are used by senior management to make non-routine decisions. Decision
support systems use input from internal systems (transaction processing systems and management
information systems) and external systems.

The main objective of decision support systems is to provide solutions to problems that are unique and
change frequently. Decision support systems answer questions such as;

What would be the impact of employees' performance if we double the production lot at the factory?
What would happen to our sales if a new competitor entered the market?
Decision support systems use sophisticated mathematical models, and statistical techniques (probability,
predictive modeling, etc.) to provide solutions, and they are very interactive.

2.Importance of Information System

To gain the maximum benefits from your company's information system, you have to exploit all its capacities.
Information systems gain their importance by processing the data from company inputs to generate information
that is useful for managing your operations. To increase the information system's effectiveness, you can either add
more data to make the information more accurate or use the information in new ways.

Business Communication Systems

Part of management is gathering and distributing information, and information systems can make this process
more efficient by allowing managers to communicate rapidly. Email is quick and effective, but managers can use
information systems even more efficiently by storing documents in folders that they share with the employees
who need the information. This type of communication lets employees collaborate in a systematic way.

Each employee can communicate additional information by making changes that the system tracks. The manager
collects the inputs and sends the newly revised document to his target audience.

Business Operations Management

How you manage your company's operations depends on the information you have. Information systems can offer
more complete and more recent information, allowing you to operate your company more efficiently. You can use
information systems to gain a cost advantage over competitors or to differentiate yourself by offering better
customer service. Sales data give you insights about what customers are buying and let you stock or produce items
that are selling well. With guidance from the information system, you can streamline your operations.
Company Decision-Making

The company information system can help you make better decisions by delivering all the information you need
and by modeling the results of your decisions. A decision involves choosing a course of action from several
alternatives and carrying out the corresponding tasks. When you have accurate, up-to-date information, you can
make the choice with confidence.

If more than one choice looks appealing, you can use the information system to run different scenarios. For each
possibility, the system can calculate key indicators such as sales, costs and profits to help you determine which
alternative gives the most beneficial result.

Company Record-Keeping

Your company needs records of its activities for financial and regulatory purposes as well as for finding the causes
of problems and taking corrective action. The information system stores documents and revision histories,
communication records and operational data. The trick to exploiting this recording capability is organizing the data
and using the system to process and present it as useful historical information. You can use such information to
prepare cost estimates and forecasts and to analyze how your actions affected the key company indicators.

3. DSS and its types

Decision Support Systems (DSS) are a class of computerized information system that support decision-making
activities. DSS are interactive computer-based systems and subsystems intended to help decision makers use
communications technologies, data, documents, knowledge and/or models to complete decision process tasks.

A decision support system may present information graphically and may include an expert system or artificial
intelligence (AI). It may be aimed at business executives or some other group of knowledge workers.

Typical information that a decision support application might gather and present would be, (a) Accessing all
information assets, including legacy and relational data sources; (b) Comparative data figures; (c) Projected figures
based on new data or assumptions; (d) Consequences of different decision alternatives, given past experience in a
specific context.

There are a number of Decision Support Systems. These can be categorized into five types:

Communication-driven DSS

Most communications-driven DSSs are targetted at internal teams, including partners. Its purpose are to help
conduct a meeting, or for users to collaborate. The most common technology used to deploy the DSS is a web or
client server. Examples: chats and instant messaging softwares, online collaboration and net-meeting systems.
Data-driven DSS

Most data-driven DSSs are targeted at managers, staff and also product/service suppliers. It is used to query a
database or data warehouse to seek specific answers for specific purposes. It is deployed via a main frame system,
client/server link, or via the web. Examples: computer-based databases that have a query system to check
(including the incorporation of data to add value to existing databases.

Document-driven DSS

Document-driven DSSs are more common, targeted at a broad base of user groups. The purpose of such a DSS is to
search web pages and find documents on a specific set of keywords or search terms. The usual technology used to
set up such DSSs are via the web or a client/server system. Examples:

Knowledge-driven DSS:

Knowledge-driven DSSs or 'knowledgebase' are they are known, are a catch-all category covering a broad range of
systems covering users within the organization seting it up, but may also include others interacting with the
organization - for example, consumers of a business. It is essentially used to provide management advice or to
choose products/services. The typical deployment technology used to set up such systems could be slient/server
systems, the web, or software runnung on stand-alone PCs.

Model-driven DSS

Model-driven DSSs are complex systems that help analyse decisions or choose between different options. These
are used by managers and staff members of a business, or people who interact with the organization, for a number
of purposes depending on how the model is set up - scheduling, decision analyses etc. These DSSs can be deployed
via software/hardware in stand-alone PCs, client/server systems, or the web.

4. Benefits of DBMS

Database Management System (DBMS) is defined as the software system that allows users to define, create,
maintain and control access to the database. DBMS makes it possible for end users to create, read, update and
delete data in database. It is a layer between programs and data.

Compared to the File Based Data Management System, Database Management System has many advantages.
Some of these advantages are given below −

Reducing Data Redundancy

The file based data management systems contained multiple files that were stored in many different locations in a
system or even across multiple systems. Because of this, there were sometimes multiple copies of the same file
which lead to data redundancy.

This is prevented in a database as there is a single database and any change in it is reflected immediately. Because
of this, there is no chance of encountering duplicate data.

Sharing of Data
In a database, the users of the database can share the data among themselves. There are various levels of
authorisation to access the data, and consequently the data can only be shared based on the correct authorisation
protocols being followed.

Many remote users can also access the database simultaneously and share the data between themselves.

Data Integrity

Data integrity means that the data is accurate and consistent in the database. Data Integrity is very important as
there are multiple databases in a DBMS. All of these databases contain data that is visible to multiple users. So it is
necessary to ensure that the data is correct and consistent in all the databases and for all the users.

Data Security

Data Security is vital concept in a database. Only authorised users should be allowed to access the database and
their identity should be authenticated using a username and password. Unauthorised users should not be allowed
to access the database under any circumstances as it violates the integrity constraints.

Privacy

The privacy rule in a database means only the authorized users can access a database according to its privacy
constraints. There are levels of database access and a user can only view the data he is allowed to. For example - In
social networking sites, access constraints are different for different accounts a user may want to access.

Backup and Recovery

Database Management System automatically takes care of backup and recovery. The users don't need to backup
data periodically because this is taken care of by the DBMS. Moreover, it also restores the database after a crash or
system failure to its previous condition.

Data Consistency

Data consistency is ensured in a database because there is no data redundancy. All data appears consistently
across the database and the data is same for all the users viewing the database. Moreover, any changes made to
the database are immediately reflected to all the users and there is no data inconsistency.
5. Types of Wireless Networks

A network is a group of devices connected to one another. In the case of wireless networks, radio communication
is usually the medium of choice. However, even within the radio-powered subset, there are dozens of different
technologies designed for use at different scales, topologies, and for dramatically different use cases. One way to
illustrate this difference is to partition the use cases based on their "geographic range":

Personal area network (PAN) Within reach of a person Cable replacement for peripherals

Local area network (LAN) Within a building or campus Wireless extension of wired network

Metropolitan area network (MAN) Within a city Wireless inter-network connectivity

Wide area network (WAN) Worldwide Wireless network access Cellular

6. Role of Information Management in ERP

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is business management software usually a suite of integrated applications that
a company can use to collect, store, manage and interpret data from many business activities, including:

 Product planning, cost

 Manufacturing or service delivery
 Marketing and sales
 Inventory management
 Shipping and payment

ERP provides an integrated view of core business processes, often in real-time, using common databases
maintained by a database management system. ERP systems track business resources cash, raw materials,
production capacity and the status of business commitments: orders, purchase orders, and payroll. The
applications that make up the system share data across the various departments (manufacturing, purchasing,
sales, accounting, etc.) that provide the data. ERP facilitates information flow between all business functions, and
manages connections to outside stakeholders.[

Functional areas

An ERP system covers the following common functional areas. In many ERP systems these are called and grouped
together as ERP modules:

Financial accounting: General ledger, fixed asset, payables including vouchering, matching and payment,
receivables cash application and collections, cash management, financial consolidation
 Management accounting: Budgeting, costing, cost management, activity based costing

Human resources: Recruiting, training, fostering, payroll, benefits, 401K, diversity management, retirement,
separation

Manufacturing: Engineering, bill of materials, work orders, scheduling, capacity, workflow management,
quality control, manufacturing process, manufacturing projects, manufacturing flow, product life cycle
management

Order Processing: Order to cash, order entry, credit checking, pricing, available to promise, inventory,
shipping, sales analysis and reporting, sales commissioning.

Supply chain management: Supply chain planning, supplier scheduling, product configuration, order to cash,
purchasing, inventory, claim processing, warehousing (receiving, put away, picking and packing).

Project management: Project planning, resource planning, project costing, work breakdown structure, billing,
time and expense, performance units, activity management

Customer relationship management: Sales and marketing, commissions, service, customer contact, call
center support - CRM systems are not always considered part of ERP systems but rather Business Support systems
(BSS).

Data services : Various "self–service" interfaces for customers, suppliers and/or employees

7.SDLC

Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is a process used by the software industry to design, develop and test high
quality softwares. The SDLC aims to produce a high-quality software that meets or exceeds customer expectations,
reaches completion within times and cost estimates.

SDLC is the acronym of Software Development Life Cycle.

It is also called as Software Development Process.

SDLC is a framework defining tasks performed at each step in the software development process.

ISO/IEC 12207 is an international standard for software life-cycle processes. It aims to be the standard that defines
all the tasks required for developing and maintaining software.

What is SDLC?
SDLC is a process followed for a software project, within a software organization. It consists of a detailed plan
describing how to develop, maintain, replace and alter or enhance specific software. The life cycle defines a
methodology for improving the quality of software and the overall development process.

The following figure is a graphical representation of the various stages of a typical SDLC.

Stages of SDLC
A typical Software Development Life Cycle consists of the following stages −

Stage 1: Planning and Requirement Analysis

Requirement analysis is the most important and fundamental stage in SDLC. It is performed by the senior members
of the team with inputs from the customer, the sales department, market surveys and domain experts in the
industry. This information is then used to plan the basic project approach and to conduct product feasibility study
in the economical, operational and technical areas.

Planning for the quality assurance requirements and identification of the risks associated with the project is also
done in the planning stage. The outcome of the technical feasibility study is to define the various technical
approaches that can be followed to implement the project successfully with minimum risks.

Stage 2: Defining Requirements

Once the requirement analysis is done the next step is to clearly define and document the product requirements
and get them approved from the customer or the market analysts. This is done through an SRS (Software
Requirement Specification) document which consists of all the product requirements to be designed and
developed during the project life cycle.

Stage 3: Designing the Product Architecture

SRS is the reference for product architects to come out with the best architecture for the product to be developed.
Based on the requirements specified in SRS, usually more than one design approach for the product architecture is
proposed and documented in a DDS - Design Document Specification.

This DDS is reviewed by all the important stakeholders and based on various parameters as risk assessment,
product robustness, design modularity, budget and time constraints, the best design approach is selected for the
product.

A design approach clearly defines all the architectural modules of the product along with its communication and
data flow representation with the external and third party modules (if any). The internal design of all the modules
of the proposed architecture should be clearly defined with the minutest of the details in DDS.

Stage 4: Building or Developing the Product

In this stage of SDLC the actual development starts and the product is built. The programming code is generated as
per DDS during this stage. If the design is performed in a detailed and organized manner, code generation can be
accomplished without much hassle.

Developers must follow the coding guidelines defined by their organization and programming tools like compilers,
interpreters, debuggers, etc. are used to generate the code. Different high level programming languages such as C,
C++, Pascal, Java and PHP are used for coding. The programming language is chosen with respect to the type of
software being developed.

Stage 5: Testing the Product

This stage is usually a subset of all the stages as in the modern SDLC models, the testing activities are mostly
involved in all the stages of SDLC. However, this stage refers to the testing only stage of the product where product
defects are reported, tracked, fixed and retested, until the product reaches the quality standards defined in the
SRS.

Stage 6: Deployment in the Market and Maintenance

Once the product is tested and ready to be deployed it is released formally in the appropriate market. Sometimes
product deployment happens in stages as per the business strategy of that organization. The product may first be
released in a limited segment and tested in the real business environment (UAT- User acceptance testing).

Then based on the feedback, the product may be released as it is or with suggested enhancements in the targeting
market segment. After the product is released in the market, its maintenance is done for the existing customer
base.

8. Online risks

1. Online Security
There is a whole range of security threats out there to beware of, including malware, phishing attacks, hacking and
spam mail.

To defend against these threats, make sure that you update your platform’s operating system regularly, and use a
strong SSL (Secure Sockets Layer).

2. System Reliability
The Internet service provider (ISP) server could crash, your online payment system could show errors and the
ecommerce plugin could have bugs.

Except keeping all operating systems and APIs updated, these are just some things that may happen outside of our
control.

3. Privacy Issues
Customers’ personal data could be compromised and used for spamming, identity theft and unsolicited marketing.

In addition to the online security measures previously mentioned, make sure to require customers to use strong
passwords.

4. Customer Disputes
A customer might not have received their order, their credit card was charged twice, or the product their received
didn’t fit the online description.

Whether the customer is right or not, it’s important to always have great customer service and to rectify all
possible mistakes that were made.

5. Credit Card Fraud

Someone could use a stolen credit card to make an online purchase, or a hacker could use stolen credit data from
other customers in your system.

No matter how good your online security measures are, always watch out for any suspicious transactions.

6. Intellectual Property Issues

Your website images, product descriptions, logos, videos, music, as well as your products, could be copied by
others, or violate someone else’s intellectual property.

7. SEO
Google or other platforms could do a complete makeover of their algorithm at any time, and make your website
traffic drop significantly overnight.

8. Taxation
You might not be including the appropriate sales tax in your sales, or you are not paying fair shipping and/or
import taxes depending on your shipping destination.

9. Return of Goods and Warranty

Common headaches when dealing with product returns: Increase in supply chain costs and not being able to resell
the items at their original price.

10. Warehousing and Logistics Issues

You could run out of stocks while orders are coming in, a product shipment might be delayed, or a parcel could be
delivered to the wrong recipient.

These are risks that come with the territory when running an ecommerce business.

9.Information security principle

Information security is a set of practices designed to keep personal data secure from unauthorized access and
alteration during storing or transmitting from one place to another.
Information security is designed and implemented to protect the print, electronic and other private, sensitive and
personal data from unauthorized persons. It is used to protect data from being misused, disclosure, destruction,
modification, and disruption.
There are some basic components of information security which are discussed below.

Confidentiality is one of the basic elements of information security. Data is confidential when only authorized
people access it. To ensure confidentiality one needs to use all the techniques designed for security like strong
password, encryption, authentication and defense against penetration attacks.

Integrity refers to maintaining data and preventing it from modifications either accidentally or maliciously.
Techniques used for confidentiality may protect data integrity as a cybercriminal can’t change data when they
can’t get access to it. To ensure integrity in-depth few tools help in improving it.

Availability is another basic element in information security. It is vital to make sure that your data is not accessed
by unauthorized persons but only those who have permission can access it. Availability in information security
means matching network and computing resources to compute data access and implement a better policy for
disaster recovery purposes.