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Q1. Explain Knowledge based system? Explain DSS and OLAP withexample.Ans:Knowledge Based System (KBS)KBS is the information system based on knowledge base. The KBS

generates knowledge from the stored data, information, and knowledge.These systems can make decisions as they understand the knowledgebeing processed. The KBS makes the organisation more efficient andsupports consistency of operation. It also aids in managing the knowledgewithin the knowledge base. The components of KBS are:

Knowledge base: Knowledge base is a collection of business unitknowledge, best practices, experts knowledge, enterprise levelknowledge, business solutions for previous problems andpolicies/Knowledge base is of two types:o Machine readable knowledge base

o Human readable knowledge base

Under machine readable knowledge base, a computer readable code is

generated to help the computer in processing the data. One suchexample is the semantic web. "Semantic web is a web promotedcollectively by W3C (an international consortium of www) to promotecommon formats for data on www.

Examples of KBS are intelligent systems, robotics, and neural networks.

Online Analytical Processing (OLAP)OLAP refers to a system in which there are predefined multiple instances ofvarious modules used in business applications. OLAP is also referred to asa multi-dimensional analytical model. OLAP tools are user driven anddeploy a user friendly application to access information.This enables the users to issue a query to easily extract and view the datathey are interested in from the analytical database.Ex: It helps the management to perform the analysis on their own without depending on ITspecialists Examples are the month in which you can launch a product in themarket, estimating optimum production quantity to increase returns and theanalysis of stocking policy to decrease the wastage.Decision Support System (DSS)DSS is an interactive computer based system designed to help decision makers use all theavailable resources for decision making. In management, problems may not have simplesolutions. To solve such problems, you may have to use complex models. DSS supportssuch models to solve these problems. DSS depends on models, databases, computers and

managerial insights and judgement to provide information for semi structured decisionmaking.Example multiple regression forecasting model, linear programmingmodel and capital budgeting present value model.

Legacy software: Legacy software is outdated software used currentlyas it serves the users needs.

Relational data sources: It is a database in which information is storedin a number of database tables.

Cubes: It is a set of data, organized in a way that facilitates nonpredeterminedqueries for aggregated information.

Data warehouse: a database used for reporting and analysis. The datastored in the warehouse is uploaded from the operational systems.

Data Marts: It is a simple form of a data warehouse that is focused on asingle subject (or functional area) such as sales, finance, or marketing.

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Q2. What do you understand by service level Agreements (SLAs)? Whyare they needed? What is the role of CIO in drafting these? Explainthe various security hazards faced by an IS?Ans: A service-level agreement (SLA) is a part of a service contract where a service isformally defined. In practice, the term SLA is sometimes used to refer to the contracted

delivery time (of the service or performance). As an example, internet service providers willcommonly include service level agreements within the terms of their contracts withcustomers to define the level(s) of service being sold in plain language terms. In this casethe SLA will typically have a technical definition in terms ofmean time betweenfailures (MTBF), mean time to repairormean time to recovery(MTTR); various data rates;throughput;jitter; or similar measurable details.

Need of SLA: A service-level agreement is a negotiated agreement between two parties,where one is the customer and the other is the service provider. This can be a legallybinding formal or an informal "contract" (for example, internal department relationships).Contracts between the service provider and other third parties are often (incorrectly) calledSLAs because the level of service has been set by the (principal) customer, there can be

no "agreement" between third parties; these agreements are simply a"contract." Operational-level agreements or OLAs, however, may be used by internal groupsto support SLAs.

Role of CIO: A CIO should explore running their area more like a service operation ratherthan a cost centre and develop metrics that track the performance of theinformation systems staff as well as the equipment comprising theapplications, infrastructure and networks under the CIO's control. The firststep is to implement Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with business units.It sets the expectation on the technical areas of the CIO's operations. At aminimum, they should set up what is expected and what levels of servicethe equipment will provide.

Security hazard by IS:Malfunctions: In this type of security hazard, all the components of asystem are involved. People, software and hardware errors cause thebiggest problem.Fraud and unauthorised access: This hazard is due to dishonesty,cheating or deceit.Power and communication failure: In some locations this is the mostfrequent hazard due to its unavailability.Fire hazard: It occurs due to electrical short circuits, flammable liquids,etc.

Sabotage and riots: Sometimes, employees destroy the computercentre in case of strike, lockout or there may be chances of riots in thearea.

Natural disasters: Natural disasters are not controllable. They are notfrequent hazards but if they happen, they destroy the things or ruinthem.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_contracthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_service_providerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTBFhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTBFhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mean_time_to_repairhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mean_time_to_recoveryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mean_time_to_recoveryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jitterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operational-level_agreementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_contracthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_service_providerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTBFhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTBFhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mean_time_to_repairhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mean_time_to_recoveryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jitterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operational-level_agreement

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Q3. Explain DFD & Data Dictionary? Explain in detail how the informationrequirement is determined for an organization?Ans:Data Flow Diagrams (DFD)Data flow diagrams represent the logical flow of data within the system

DFD use few symbols, such as circles and rectangles connected by arrows,to represent data flows. DFD can easily illustrate relationships among data,flows, external entities and stores. DFD can also be drawn in increasinglevels of detail, starting with a summary high level view and proceeding tomore detailed lower level views.Rounded rectangle represents processes that transform flow ofdata or work to be done.Rectangle represents external agentsthe boundary of thesystem. It is the source or the destination of data.The open-ended boxes represent data stores, sometimescalled files or databases. These data stores correspond to allinstances of a single entity in a data model.

Arrow represents data flows, inputs and outputs to end fromthe processes.A number of guidelines should be used in constructing DFD:

Choose meaningful names for the symbols on the diagram.

Number the processes consistently. The numbers do not imply thesequence.

Avoid very complex DFD.

Make sure that the diagrams are balanced.Data dictionaryThe data dictionary is used to create and store definitions of data, location,format for storage and other characteristics. The data dictionary can be

used to retrieve the definition of data that has already been used in anapplication. The data dictionary also stores some of the description of datastructures, such as entities, attributes, and relationships. It can also havesoftware to update itself, to produce reports on its contents, and to answersome of the queries.

Determining IS: information systemsMIS planning guidelines help MIS executives to:

Make provisions in the systems.

Carry out alternative plans as recognised in the objectives.

Compare the systems plan with the organisations plan and ensurechanges accordingly.

Format the plans of the system, document them, and present to topmanagement.

Construct a tool or technique for reviewing or altering if required.

Formulate a system for processing the collected data.

Allot the responsibility and authority for planning.

Allot finance for this purpose.

Formulate a team of technical personnel to compare the effectiveness ofthe system

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Q4. Distinguish between closed decision making system & open decisionmaking system? What is What if analysis? Why is more time spendin problem analysis & problem definition as compared to the timespends on decision analysis?

Ans: Closed decision making system and the conditions of this system are:a) The manager has a known set of decision alternatives and knows theiroutcomes fully in terms of value, if implemented.b) The manager has a model, a method or a rule whereby the alternativesdecisions can be generated, tested and ranked for selection.c) The manager can choose one of them, based on some goal or objectivecriterion.Few examples are a product mix problem, an examination system to declarepass or fail, or an acceptance of the fixed deposits.

Open decision making systemIf the manager operates in an environment not known to him, then the

decision making system is termed as an open decision making system. Theconditions of this system in contrast to closed decision making system are:a) The manager does not know all the alternative decisions.b) The outcome of the decision is also not fully known. The knowledge ofthe outcome may be a probabilistic one.c) No single method, rule or model is available to study and finalise onedecision among the set of alternative decisions.d) It is difficult to decide an objective or a goal and therefore, the managerresorts to that decision, where his aspirations or desires are best met.Deciding on the possible product diversification lines, the pricing of a newproduct and the plant location are some decision making situations whichfall in the category of the open decision making systems.The MIS tries to convert every open system to a closed decision makingsystem by providing information support for the best decision. The MISgives the information support whereby the manager knows more and moreabout environment and the outcomes he is able to generate the alternativedecisions, test them and select one of them. A good MIS achieves this.

What If Analysis: Observing how changes to selected variables affectother variables in the model.What if analysis: Decisions are made using a model of the problem for developing varioussolution alternatives and testing them for best choice. The model is built withsome variables and relationship between variables. In reality, the considered values of

variables or relationship in the model may not hold good and therefore, the solution needs tobe tested for an outcome, if the considered values of variables or relationship change. Thismethod of analysis is called 'what if analysis.'Problems needs to understand, analyse, define and fix where as decision is taken on

the past experiences: more time spend in problem analysis & problem definition ascompared to the time spends on decision analysis because In a decision makingproblem about determining inventory control parameters (EOQ, safety stock, maximumstock, minimum stock, reorder level) lead time is assumed fairly constant and stable for aplanning period. Based on this, the inventory parameters are calculated. Inventory managerwants to know how the cost of holding inventory will be affected if lead time is reduced byone week or increased by one week. The model with changed lead time would compute thecost of holding inventory under

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new conditions. Such type of analysis can be done for purchase price change, demandforecast variations and so on. Such analysis helps a manager to take more learneddecisions.

Q5. How hardware & software support in various MIS activities of theorganization? Explain the transaction stages from manual system to

automated systems?Ans: Hardware in the form of personal computers and peripherals likeprinters, fax machines, copier, and scanners are used in organisations tosupport various MIS activities.Advantages of personal computersA personal computer offers the following advantage

Speed A Personal computer (PC) is capable of processing data at avery high speed. It can also process millions of instructions withinfraction of a second.

Storage A PC can store huge quantity of data in its hard disk. It getsrid of the conventional office flat files and box files by storing informationdigitally. This information can be transferred from one place to another

place in electronic form via the internet, pen drive and CD. Communication A PC on the network can offer great support incommunicating information in the form of text and images. Today a PCwith Internet connectivity is a powerful support tool for communicatingevery business activity.

Accuracy A PC is highly reliable and is used to compute datacontinuously with more accuracy than humans.

Conferencing A PC with Internet access offers worldwide videoconferencing opportunity. Thus, it saves traveling across the globe forbusiness people to meet their business partners, colleagues, andcustomers. Through video conferencing, cost and time can be saved.

The processor gets inputs from the input unit such as keyboard, scanner,mouse or bar code reader.The processor refers to the unit which processes the input received as perthe instructions given. In a computer, the processor is the CPU (CentralProcessing Unit). It takes care of all arithmetic calculations, logical tasks andstorage of details in the memory.The output unit displays the output from the computer. Monitor, printer,speakers etc. are output units.

Transaction stages from manual system to automated systems done by usingComputers.Classification of computers

Computers are classified as follows1. Depending upon the processor used e.g., Pentium Dual Core, IntelPI, PII, PIII, PIV, AMD, Celerons, etc.2. Depending upon the purpose for which it is used A computer may bea general purpose computer or a specific purpose computer. Generalpurpose computers are the ones used for general tasks such asbusiness analysis, typing letter, generating reports for managementdecisions, scheduling activities, preparing balance sheets and invoices.Specific purpose computers are custom-built for specific tasks likespace research, weather forecasting, satellite sensing. Specific purposecomputers are designed to perform tasks for which they are intendedfor. For example, the systems used in pathology labs.3. Depending upon the size: A computer may be classified based upon itssize and speed of computing as microcomputers, mini computers,

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mainframes, and supercomputers. Super computer is the largest in sizeand the fastest in computing speed.

Q6. Compare & Contrast E-enterprise business model with traditionalbusiness organization model? Explain how in E-enterprise manager

role & responsibilities are changed? Explain how manager is aknowledge worker in E-enterprise?Ans:

Managing the E-enterprise by manager

The definition of business organisation has changed with the introduction ofinternet and web technology. The effect of internet and web technology onbusiness is so vast that the enterprise is able to reach a large numbercustomers and vendors. Hence, a business enterprise has no economic orgeographic boundaries. The area of operation is wide open dependingavailability of internet. This type of business is termed E-business.E-business organisation moves the traditional paper driven organisation toinformation driven, Internet enabled, e-business enterprise. E-businessenterprise is open 24X7 and allows managers, vendors and customers totransact business from anywhere.Internet capabilities increased the business value of organisations. Internetand web technology offer new channels of business opportunities. For

example, buying and selling of goods can be done on the Internet. Internethas enabled customers and vendors/suppliers to have a secured access toinformation on products, wherever necessary. Due to this, the cost ofbusiness operations has come down appreciably and has eliminated most ofthe paper-driven processes. The effect of these radical changes resulted inthe reduction in administrative and management overheads, reduction ininventory, faster delivery of goods and better services to the customers.To achieve the said benefits of an e-business organisation, it is necessary toredesign the organisation to realise the benefits of the digital firm.The benefits start from the organisation structure. As e-commerce can coverwide area of operation and can be operated from anywhere, the firm cantrim its established infrastructure such as branch office or zonal office when

they are not effectively required. (Allows people to work from anywhere) Itautomates the process after re-engineering and reduces process cycle time.

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It makes use of groupware technology on Internet platform for fasterresponse processing.The image of e-enterprise has changed and brought about fourtransformations, namely

Domestic business to global business.

Industrial manufacturing economy to knowledge-based serviceeconomy.

Enterprise resource management to enterprise network management.

Manual, document driven business process to paperless, automated,electronically transacted and transmitted business process.

An important challenge in e-commerce is implementing software accordingto domestic process or international process, using different communicationstandards and country-specific accounting practices.

Manager is Knowledge worker in an E-enterprise:Internet technology is creating a universal platform for buyingand selling of goods, commodities and services.

Essentially Internet and networks enable integration of information, facilitatecommunication and provide ubiquitous access to everybody from anywhere.And the software solutions are robust (serve multiple users withoutcrashing) and reliable (accurate and up to date information is displayed).

These enabling capabilities of technology have given rise to four businessmodels that together work in an e-enterprise organisation. They are

e-business

e-commerce

e-Communication

e-collaboration

These models work successfully because Internet technology provides theinfrastructure for running the entire business process of any length. Lowcost connectivity, physical, virtual and universal standards of Internettechnology is the driving force to convert the conventional business model toan e.business enterprise model.