DAT A B A S E S I N

ORGANI Z A T I O N S
E SC HOO L – 20 1 9- 2020
N ANJ ING F ORE IGN L ANGUAG
FERRY KEMPERMAN –
DATABASES IN ORGANIZATIONS
• AFTER HUMAN CAPITAL, DATA IS AN ORGANIZATION’S MOST IMPORTANT ASSET.
• ORGANIZATIONS RELY ON CORRECT INFORMATION DERIVED FROM DATA FOR
OPERATIONAL, TACTIC AND STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND DECISIONS.
• STAKEHOLDERS RELY ON THE DATA BEING INTEGER, CONSISTENT
• INFORMATION NEED BY STAKEHOLDERS HAVE THREE DIMENSIONS:
• RIGHT PERSON, RIGHT TIME, RIGHT PLACE (JIT – JUST IN TIME)
• SUCCCESFUL DECISION MAKING AT ANY LEVEL IN THE ORGANIZATION DEPENDS ON JIT.
 DECISION MAKING
OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT: (DAY-TO-DAY)

• ACTION: ACCOUNTANCY DEPARTMENT SENDS REMINDERS TO CUSTOMERS WHO HAVEN’T PAID LAST WEEK
• DECISION: ABIDE CREDIBILITY POLICIES FOR CUSTOMERS
• INFORMATION USED: PAYMENT RECORDS OF CUSTOMERS INVOLVED, SALES INVOLVED, PARTIAL PAYMENTS DONE ON ORDERS

TACTICAL MANAGEMENT: (MID TERM DECISIONS)

• ACTION: PRODUCT MANAGER CALLS SUPPLIER X TO ORDER 50 CRATES OF CABLES TO ITS WAREHOUSE.
• DECISION: KEEPING MORE STOCKS ON CABLES IN ORDER TO KEEP STOCK ALIGNED WITH DEMAND
• INFORMATION USED: STOCK FIGURES ON CABLES, TURN OVER RATES, SALES LAST FEW MONTHS

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT: (LONG TERM DECISIONS)

• ACTION: OPENING A SECOND BRANCH IN A DIFFERENT CITY TO COORDINATE SUPPLIES IN THE SHANGHAI AREA
• DECISION: EXPANDING LOGISTICS IN A PROMISING NEW SERVICE AREA (SHANGHAI)
• INFORMATION USED: SALES TRENDS OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, MIGRATION FIGURES OF TARGET GROUPS (POTENTIAL BUYERS), DISPOSABLE
INCOME OF THAT TARGET GROUP (PEOPLE MAKING MORE MONEY, HAVE MORE TO SPEND!)
DISCLOSING INFORMATION:
DASHBOARDS & REPORTS
DASHBOARDS: STRATEGIC INFORMATION
 Dashboards are used
 Senior and middle mgt

 Dashboard are
disclosing information
based on:
 Trends
 Aggregated data
 Statistical data
 Spread

 E.g. revenue in time

 Largest sales/region
 Customers with the
largest order
 Avg. order value
REPORTS: OPERATIONAL & TACTICAL
INFORMATION
• REPORTS ARE DOCUMENTS GENERATED BASED ON THE INFORMATION DISCLOSED FROM THE DATABASE
IN ORDER TO:

• MAKE DAILY DECISION (OPERATIONAL)

• MAKE MID-TERM DECISIONS (TACTICAL)
• REPORTS CAN BE: ORDER FORMS, INVOICES, PRODUCT SPECIFICATION LIST, STOCK LISTS, PAYMENT
SLIPS, INVENTORY LIST, GRADE REPORT CARD, STUDENT CLASS LIST, TEACHER TIME TABLE.

• A REPORT IS ALWAYS A CUSTOMIZED AND NICELY FORMATTED PRINT OF DATA FROM A DATABASE!
DATA FLOW DIAGRAMS (DFD)
ADVANTAGES OF DATABASES
• CENTRALIZED STORAGE AND UPDATING OF DATASET
• ALL STAKEHOLDERS USE THE SAME DATASET AND THEREFOR THERE IS NO INCONSISTENCY IN THE INFORMATION
THAT THE STAKEHOLDERS DISCLOSE FROM THE DATABASE.

• YOU MAKE A RESERVATION FOR A HOTEL ONLINE.

• YOU PRINT THE BOOKING.
• YOU SHOW UP AT THE HOTEL AT THE RIGHT DATE.
• THE HOTEL RECEPTIONIST CAN FIND YOUR BOOKING WITH THE UNIQUE BOOKING NUMBER, YOUR NAME, NUMBER OF
NIGHTS AND ROOM TYPE BY CHECKING THE SAME DATABASE.
DATA SECURITY
• DATA SECURITY IS OF THE UTMOST IMPORTANCE TO KEEP THE DATASET CONSISTENT AND INTEGER.
• THERE ARE MULTIPLE WAYS THIS CAN BE IMPLEMENTED:
• 1 DATA VERIFICATION
• 2.DATA VALIDATION
• 3.IMPLEMENTATION SECURITY ON USER LEVEL (PERMISSIONS)
• 4.SETTING UP VIEWS IN THE DATABASE
DATA VERIFICATION
• EVERY TIME DATA IS MODIFIED OR ENTERED BY:
• MANUAL INSERT-DELETE-UPDATE
• BULK IMPORT
• DATA MIGRATION (AUTOMATICALLY MOVING DATA FROM SERVER A TO B)
• YOU NEED TO VERIFY THAT THE DATA FROM THE SOURCE ENDED UP CORRECTLY IN THE DATABASE.
• EXAMPLE: DID YOU MAKE A MISTAKE IN ENTERING YOUR PHONENUMBER. VERIFY YOUR INPUT!
• COMMON EXAMPLE: ENTERING YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS TWICE? WHY?
 DATA VALIDATION

• IS THE DATA IN THE CORRECT FORMAT ?

• THIS IS CALLED DATA VALIDATION.
• DMBS SOFTWARE HAS PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITIES TO DO VALIDATION.
• INPUT VALIDATION CAN ALSO BE DONE AT DATABASE LEVEL & APPLICATION LEVEL (CLIENT & SERVER)
PERMISSIONS AT USER LEVEL

• WHICH USER HAS ACCESS TO WHICH PART OF THE DATA?

• READ / WRITE ACCESS PER TABLE OR SCHEMA.
• PARTIAL ACCESS TO THE DATABASE (CERTAIN TABLES) BASED ON YOUR ROLE.
 USE OF DATABASE VIEWS

• A VIEW IS A STORED QUERY

ACCESSIBLE BY A SPECIFIC USER OF
THE DATABASE.