ASSIGNMENT

Course Code : MS-7

Course Title : Information Systems for Managers

Assignment No. : MS-7/TMA/Sem-II/2020

Coverage : All Blocks

Note: Attempt all the questions and submit this assignment to the Coordinator of your Study
Centre on or before 31st October, 2020.

1. “The technology plays an important role in delivering timely and error free information
to its recipients” Explain the meaning of information technology and discuss types of
information system in brief.

2. “Information system are used in all functional areas and operating divisions of
business”. Comment on the statement. Also explain the framework for understanding
management information system (MIS).

3. “In Human Resource Management, the Personnel Manager has the responsibility of
executing multifarious activities pertaining to recruitment, training of the employees
etc”. Explain the various subsystems of Human Resource Management in the light of
the statement.

4. “The emergence of a global economy has stimulated worldwide interest in achieving

quality”. Explain how quality can be ensured with information system.

5. “Metadata in a data warehouse is similar to the data dictionary in the context of a

database” Comment and explain various types of metadata in brief.
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ASSIGNMENT REFERENCE MATERIAL (July20 to Dec20)

MS-07

INFORMATION SYSTEMS FOR MANAGERS

Q1. “The technology plays an important role in delivering timely and error free
information to its recipients” Explain the meaning of information technology and
discuss types of information system in brief.

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Ans:- The technology plays an important role in delivering timely and error free information
to its recipients. Technology includes hardware, software, databases, and communication
system. Hardware is a set of devices such as processor, monitors, keyboard, and printer that
accept data, process them, and display them. Software is a set of programs that enable the
hardware to process data. Database is also an integral part of IT system, which is a collection
of related files, tables, relation etc. that stores data and the association among them. Network

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connects computing resources of an organization and facilitates sharing of hardware and
software. The organization processes and people are integral part of an IT System.
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Information Technology means the collection, storage, processing, Networking Technologies
dissemination, and use of Information. It is not confined to hardware and software but
acknowledges the importance of man and the goals he sets for his technology, the values

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employed in making these choices, the assessment criteria used to decide whether he is
controlling the technology and is being enriched by it.
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Information Technology Serving Society, USA in 1979, has given the above definition. The
above definition clearly states that IT is an important tool, which must be used properly. At
one time, 60% people used to work in agriculture. Nowadays, in a developed country, about
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10% people work in agriculture and 40% people work in information related fields. In a
developed country such as US, 50% households have computers and Internet connection. In
India, only about 8 people out of every 1000 have access to computers. However, India is
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making steady progress. As far as history of computing is concerned, people tried to invent a
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computing machine as early as 800 BC. Abacus is one of the oldest computing devices that
are still in use. Every child in China learns to use abacus in school. Our ancestors had built
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various other mechanical machines using gears. All these efforts laid foundation for better
computing machines. The diode tubes, transistors, integrated circuits (ICs) and now very
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large integrated circuits (VLSI) are the electro-mechanical devices that have been invented
over a period of time. The technology has improved since World War II many folds. The
improved technology has been the key factor in making better computing devices. Along with
improvement in computing technology, the communication technology has also improved in
parallel. The software also improved and became user friendly. The spreadsheets, the word
processing packages, database packages, simulation software packages, and decision support
systems made IT popular among managers as well. The terms Information Systems (IS) and
Information Technology (IT) are used synonymously. IS has evolved considerably since
1960.

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Q2. “Information system are used in all functional areas and operating divisions of
business”. Comment on the statement. Also explain the framework for understanding
management information system (MIS).

Ans:- Information systems are used in all functional areas and operating divisions of
business. In finance and accounting, information systems are used to forecast revenue and
business activity, determine the best sources and uses of funds. Information systems have
been used for managing cash and other financial resources, and analyzing investment.
Financial health of an organization is also checked using IS. In sales and marketing,
information systems are used to develop new goods and services (product analysis),
determining the best location for production and distribution facilities (site analysis),
determine the best advertising and sales approaches (promotion analysis) and set product
prices to get the highest total revenues (price analysis).

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It is useful to classify the above definitions with some examples. The table below gives
instances of planning and control activities in different functional areas.

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Anthony’s framework enables us to understand the characteristics of information needed to

support the three types of planning and control process. The Table 2 below depicts these

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characteristics and highlights the substantial differences in information required for strategic
planning, management control, and operational control.

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Let us now look at Simon’s framework that has broken down the process of decision making
into three stages:
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1. Intelligence: This is the stage in which the decision maker recognizes that there is a
problem or opportunity that requires him to make a decision.
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2. Design: The decision maker determines the alternatives that are available to him to resolve
the problem or exploit the opportunity.
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Q3. “In Human Resource Management, the Personnel Manager has the responsibility of
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executing multifarious activities pertaining to recruitment, training of the employees

etc”. Explain the various subsystems of Human Resource Management in the light of
the statement.

Ans:- Human Resource Management, the Personnel Manager has the responsibility of
executing multifarious activities pertaining to recruitment, training of the employees,
retirement benefits of the employees etc. Planning, executing, and controlling of these
activities about the existing employees is carried out by the personnel manager through the
information system called personnel information system developed for this purpose. The
personnel information system deals with the flow of information about people working in the
organization as well as future personnel needs. In most of the organizations, the system is

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concerned primarily with five basic subsystems of the personnel function: recruiting,
placement, training, compensation, and maintenance.

Following are the subsystems available in Human Resource Management :

(1) Recruitment

(2) Retention / Service Conditions

(3) Retirement

Recruitment Human Retention

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Resource
Management

Retirement

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Output of the
Formats/
Results
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Transaction Models in Human Resource Management

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Recruitment:- If properly managed, the recruitment system forecasts personnel needs and
skills and recruits the personnel at the proper time to meet organizational needs. Personnel
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department on the basis of retirements/resignations either identifies requirements, or

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concerned department sends requirement to personnel department. Role of personnel
department starts with recruitment of personnel. On the basis of the requirements, personnel
department initiates process of recruitment, which is divided into the following steps:
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• Finalizing the requirement for various posts

• Publicity as per requirement
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• Receipt of application forms from candidates

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• Initial screening
• Interviews
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• Final selection
• Issuing appointment letters
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Retention/Service Conditions

This is an important aspect in the functioning of personnel department. Personnel department

maintains records of all the employees about the nature of the job, department etc. The major
activities undertaken and related data requirements here are:

• Training/ Seminars/Refresher courses for employees

• Job
• Promotion
• Increments

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• Leave According
• Performance Reports
• Salary/compensation
• Organisational Structure
• Job Description

Q4. “The emergence of a global economy has stimulated worldwide interest in achieving
quality”. Explain how quality can be ensured with information system.

Ans:- The emergence of a global economy has stimulated worldwide interest in achieving
quality. Companies can no longer be satisfied with producing goods and services that
compete only with goods produced within their own country – consumers can now select

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from a broad range of products and services produced anywhere in the world. Before
examining how information systems can contribute to quality throughout the organization, we
must first define the term quality.

Traditional definitions for quality have focused upon the conformance to specifications (or
the absence of variation from those specifications). With this definition, a producer can easily

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measure the quality of its products. Achieving quality under this definition requires three
steps from the manufacturer: First, establish product specifications. Second, measure
products as they are produced to determine whether or not they achieve the standards
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established in the specifications. Third, alter the manufacturing process whenever necessary
to bring the products up to standard.

However, achieving quality is not quite that simple and direct. The definition of quality has

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been changing and broadening in recent years. Defining quality as conformances to
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specifications view it from a producer’s perspective only.

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Customers have a different perspective, being more concerned with value for their Rupees.
They normally apply three criteria. First, customers are concerned with the quality of the
physical product. They want to know if the product is durable, how safe it is, its reliability, its
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ease of use and installation, its stylishness, and how well the producer supports the product.
Second, customers are concerned with the quality of service, by which they mean the
accuracy and truthfulness of the advertising, the timeliness and accuracy of the billing
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process, responsiveness to warranties (implied as well as specified), and ongoing product

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support. Finally, customer concepts of quality include the psychological aspects: how well do
the sales and support staff know their products, the courtesy and sensitivity of the staff, and
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even their neatness, the reputation of the product. For companies to compete globally, they
need to include a customer perspective in any definition of quality.
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Today more and more businesses are turning to an idea known as total quality management.
Total quality management (TQM) is a concept that makes quality the responsibility of all
people within an organization. TQM holds that the achievement of quality control is an end in
itself. Everyone is expected to contribute to the overall improvement of quality – the engineer
who avoids design errors, the production worker who spots defects, the sales representative
who presents the product properly to potential customers, and even the secretary who avoids
typing mistakes. Total quality management encompasses all of the functions within an
organization. TQM is based on quality management concepts developed by American quality
experts.

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Japanese management adopted the goal of zero defects, focusing on improving their products
or services prior to shipment rather than correcting them after they have been delivered.
Japanese companies often give the responsibility for quality consistency to the workers who
actually make the product or service, as opposed to a quality control department. Studies have
repeatedly shown that the earlier in the business cycle a problem is eliminated, the less it
costs for the company to eliminate it. Thus the Japanese quality approach not only brought a
shift in focus to the workers and an increased respect for product and service quality but also
lowered costs.

Q5. “Metadata in a data warehouse is similar to the data dictionary in the context of a
database” Comment and explain various types of metadata in brief.

Ans:- Metadata

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Metadata in a warehouse is similar to the data dictionary in the context of a database. It stores
data in the data warehouse.

Types of Metadata

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Metadata in a data warehouse fall into three major categories:

• Operational Metadata
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• Extraction and Transformation Metadata
• End-User Metadata

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Operational Metadata: Data for the data warehouse comes from several operational systems
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of the enterprise. These source systems contain different data structures. The data elements
selected for the data warehouse have various field lengths and data types. Selecting data from
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different source files, and loading it into the data warehouse, requires splitting of records,
combining parts of records from different source files, and dealing with multiple coding
schemes and field lengths. When information is delivered to the end-users, it is essential to be
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able to relate back to the original source data sets. Operational metadata contain all of this
information about the operational data sources that allow us to trace back to the original
source.
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Extraction and Transformation Metadata: Extraction and transformation metadata contain

data about the extraction of data from the source systems, namely, the extraction frequencies,
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extraction methods, and business rules for the data extraction. Also, this category of metadata
contains information about all the data transformations that take place in the data staging area
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End-User Metadata: The end-user metadata is the navigational map of the data warehouse. It
enables the end-users to find information from the data warehouse. The end-user metadata
allows the end-users to use their own business terminology and look for information in those
ways in which they normally think of the business.

First, it acts as the glue that connects all parts of the data warehouse.

Next, it provides information about the contents and structure to the developers.

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Finally, it opens the door to the end-users and makes the contents recognizable in their own
terms.

Metadata Requirements

According to Inmon, a new user approaching a data warehouse wants to know

• What tables, attributes, and keys does the data warehouse contain?

• From where did each set of data come?

• What transformation logic was applied in loading the data?

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• How has the data changed over time?

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Metadata Components
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Warehouse metadata is not very different in kind from ordinary database metadata, although
it is versioned in order to permit historical analysis. Prism gives the following breakdown of
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warehouse metadata in its Tech Topic, “Metadata in the Data Warehouse:”

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Mapping:- The mapping information records how data from operational sources is
transformed on its way into the warehouse. Typical contents are:

• Identification of source fields

• Simple attribute-to-attribute mapping

• Attribute conversions

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