BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION BBA Semester IV BB0020 (Book ID B0099) Managing Information 4 Credits Assignment Set- 1 (60 Marks)

Answer the Following (10 * 6 = 60 marks) 1. Discuss in brief the types of data. Ans: In computer programming, a data type (or datatype) is a classification identifying one of various types of data, such as floating-point, integer, or Boolean, stating the possible values for that type, the operations that can be done on that type, and the way the values of that type are stored. Almost all programming languages explicitly include the notion of data type, though different languages may use different terminology. Common data types may include: Integers, Booleans, Characters, Floating-point numbers (decimals), and Alphanumeric strings.

For example, in the Java programming language, the "int" type represents the set of 32bit integers ranging in value from -2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647, as well as the operations that can be performed on integers, such as addition, subtraction, and multiplication. Colors, on the other hand, are represented by three bytes denoting the amounts each of red, green, and blue, and one string representing that color's name; allowable operations include addition and subtraction, but not multiplication.

Most programming languages also allow the programmer to define additional data types, usually by combining multiple elements of other types and defining the valid operations of the new data type. For example, a programmer might create a new data type named "complex number" that would include real and imaginary parts. A data type also represents a constraint placed upon the interpretation of data in a type system, describing representation, interpretation and structure of values or objects stored in computer memory. The type system uses data type information to check correctness of computer programs that access or manipulate the data.

Classes of data types Algebraic data types Function types Machine data types All data in computers based on digital electronics is represented as bits (alternatives 0 and 1) on the lowest level. The smallest addressable unit of data is usually a group of bits called a byte (usually an octet, which is 8 bits). The unit processed by machine code instructions is called a word (as of 2008, typically 32 or 64 bits). Most instructions interpret the word as a binary number, such that a 32-bit word can represent unsigned integer values from 0 to 232 1 or signed integer values from 231 to 231 1. Because of two's complement, the machine language and machine don't need to distinguish between these unsigned and signed data types for the most part. There is a specific set of arithmetic instructions that use a different interpretation of the bits in word as a floating-point number. Object types Pointer and reference data types Primitive data types

Types of Data The two main types of data are explained below. Quantitative Data Quantitative data is that which can be easily measured and recorded in numerical form. This is used extensively in education in forms such as exam results, SATs results, absence and truancy figures etc. Quantitative data is collected by testing to an agreed criteria as in exams or by measuring as in height, age etc. Often this data is expressed using percentages rather than the actual numbers themselves. Qualitative Data Qualitative data is information that is represented by means other than numbers. This could be data on gender, place of birth, school attended etc. Data from questionnaires or forms is often of a qualitative nature and categories are often used to group the data together such as questions on racial origin. Qualitative data is often presented in numbers or percentages such as in the statement, ' 23% of Maytown College students are of Afro Caribbean origin '.

2. How can you classify the Information Center? Ans:

3. Explain and three Sources of information. Ans: "Source" means the origin of something. An information source is a source of information for somebody, i.e. anything that might inform a person about something or provide knowledge to somebody. Information sources may be observations, people, speeches, documents, pictures, organizations etc. They may be primary sources, secondary sources, tertiary sources and so on. Primary Sources Primary source is a term used in a number of disciplines to describe source material that is closest to the person, information, period, or idea being studied. In the study of history as an academic discipline, a primary source (also called original source or evidence) is an artifact, a document, a recording, or other source of information that was created at the time under study. If created by a human source, then a source with direct personal knowledge of the events being described. It serves as an original source of information about the topic. Similar definitions are used in library science, and other areas of scholarship. In journalism, a primary source can be a person with direct knowledge of a situation, or a document created by such a person. Secondary Sources Secondary source is a document or recording that relates or discusses information originally presented elsewhere. A secondary source contrasts with a primary source, which is an original source of the information being discussed; a primary source can be a person with direct knowledge of a situation, or a document created by such a person. Secondary sources involve generalization, analysis, synthesis, interpretation, or evaluation of the original information. Primary and secondary are relative terms, and some sources may be classified as primary or secondary, depending on how it is used. An even higher level, the tertiary source, resembles a secondary source in that it contains analysis, but attempts to provide a broad overview of a topic that is accessible to newcomers.

Tertiary Sources In research, the term tertiary source is a relative term. What is considered tertiary depends on what is considered primary and secondary. A tertiary source may thus be understood as a selection, distillation, summary or compilation of primary sources, secondary sources, or both. The distinction between primary source and secondary source is standard in historiography, while the distinction between these sources and tertiary sources is more peripheral, and is more relevant to the scholarly research work than to the published content itself. In some contexts typical instances of tertiary sources are bibliographies, library catalogs, directories, reading lists and survey articles. Encyclopedias and textbooks are examples of written materials that typically embrace both secondary and tertiary sources, presenting on the one hand commentary and analysis, while on the other attempting to provide a synoptic overview of the material available on the topic. The classification of a given source is subjective and contextual. For example, a modern encyclopedia might be generally considered a tertiary source, but an ancient encyclopedia is generally considered a primary source. The difference is because the modern encyclopedia is used as a source for information about a topic, and the ancient encyclopedia is understood as a source of information about the state of knowledge in the time period when the encyclopedia was written. However, even a modern encyclopedia is a primary source for some facts, such as the name of its publisher.

4. Draw and Explain the Communication System. Ans: Communication system In telecommunication, a communications system is a collection of individual communications networks, transmission systems, relay stations, tributary stations, and data terminal equipment (DTE) usually capable of interconnection and interoperation to form an integrated whole. The components of a communications system serve a common purpose, are technically compatible, use common procedures, respond to controls, and operate in unison. Telecommunications is a method of communication (e.g., for sports broadcasting, mass media, journalism, etc.). A communications subsystem is a functional unit or operational assembly that is smaller than the larger assembly under consideration. Examples of communications subsystems in the Defense Communications System (DCS) are (a) a satellite link with one Earth terminal in CONUS and one in Europe, (b) the interconnect facilities at each Earth terminal of the satellite link, and (c) an optical fiber cable with its driver and receiver in either of the interconnect facilities. Communication subsystem (b) basically consists of a receiver, frequency translator and a transmitter. It also contains transponders and other transponders in it and communication satellite communication system receives signals from the antenna subsystem. Examples An optical communication system is any form of telecommunication that uses light as the transmission medium. Optical communications consists of a transmitter, which encodes a message into an optical signal, a channel, which carries the signal to its destination, and a receiver, which reproduces the message from the received optical signal. Fiber-optic communication systems transmit information from one place to another by sending light through an optical fiber. The light forms an electromagnetic carrier wave that is modulated to carry information. A radio communication system is composed of several communications subsystems that give exterior communications capabilities. A radio communication system comprises a transmitting conductor in which electrical oscillations or currents are manz produced and

which is arranged to cause such currents or oscillations to be propagated through the free space medium from one point to another remote therefrom and a receiving conductor at such distant point adapted to be excited by the oscillations or currents propagated from the transmitter. Power line communications systems operate by impressing a modulated carrier signal on the wiring system. Different types of powerline communications use different frequency bands, depending on the signal transmission characteristics of the power wiring used. Since the power wiring system was originally intended for transmission of AC power, the power wire circuits have only a limited ability to carry higher frequencies. The propagation problem is a limiting factor for each type of power line communications. A duplex communication system is a system composed of two connected parties or devices which can communicate with one another in both directions. The term duplex is used when describing communication between more than two parties or devices. Duplex systems are employed in nearly all communications networks, either to allow for a communication "two-way street" between two connected parties or to provide a "reverse path" for the monitoring and remote adjustment of equipment in the field. A tactical communications system is a communications system that (a) is used within, or in direct support of, tactical forces, (b) is designed to meet the requirements of changing tactical situations and varying environmental conditions, (c) provides securable communications, such as voice, data, and video, among mobile users to facilitate command and control within, and in support of, tactical forces, and (d) usually requires extremely short installation times, usually on the order of hours, in order to meet the requirements of frequent relocation

5. Write Short note on Record Management. Ans: Records management, or RM, is the practice of maintaining the records of an organization from the time they are created up to their eventual disposal. This may include classifying, storing, securing, and destruction (or in some cases, archival preservation) of records. A record can be either a tangible object or digital information: for example, birth certificates, medical x-rays, office documents, databases, application data, and e-mail. Records management is primarily concerned with the evidence of an organization's activities, and is usually applied according to the value of the records rather than their physical format. Definitions of records management In the past, 'records management' was sometimes used to refer only to the management of records which were no longer in everyday use but still needed to be kept - 'semicurrent' or 'inactive' records, often stored in basements or offsite. More modern usage tends to refer to the entire 'lifecycle' of records - from the point of creation right through until their eventual disposal. The ISO 15489: 2001 standard defines records management as "The field of management responsible for the efficient and systematic control of the creation, receipt, maintenance, use and disposition of records, including the processes for capturing and maintaining evidence of and information about business activities and transactions in the form of records". The ISO defines records as "information created, received, and maintained as evidence and information by an organization or person, in pursuance of legal obligations or in the transaction of business". The International Council on Archives (ICA) Committee on Electronic Records defines a record as "a recorded information produced or received in the initiation, conduct or completion of an institutional or individual activity and that comprises content, context and structure sufficient to provide evidence of the activity." The key word in these definitions is evidence. Put simply, a record can be defined as "evidence of an event".

Elements of a records management system A record is a document or other electronic or physical entity in an organization that serves as evidence of an activity or transaction performed by the organization and that requires retention for some time period. Records management is the process by which an organization:

Determines what kinds of information should be considered records. Determines how active documents that will become records should be handled while they are being used, and determines how they should be collected after they are declared to be records.

Determines in what manner and for how long each record type should be retained to meet legal, business, or regulatory requirements.

Researches and implements technological solutions and business processes to help ensure that the organization complies with its records management obligations in a cost-effective and non-intrusive way.

Performs records-related tasks such as disposing of expired records or locating and protecting records that are related to external events such as lawsuits.

Determining which documents and other physical or electronic items in your organization are records is the responsibility of corporate compliance officers, records managers, and lawyers. By carefully categorizing all enterprise content in your organization, these people can help you ensure that documents are retained for the appropriate period of time. A well-designed records management system helps protect an organization legally, helps the organization demonstrate compliance with regulatory obligations, and increases organizational efficiency by promoting the disposition of out-of-date items that are not records.

A records management system includes the following elements:

A content analysis that describes and categorizes content in the enterprise that can become records, that provides source locations, and that describes how the content will move to the records management application.

A file plan that indicates, for each kind of record in the enterprise, where they should be retained as records, the policies that apply to them, how long they must be retained, how they should be disposed of, and who is responsible for managing them.

A compliance requirements document that defines the rules that the organization's IT systems must follow to ensure compliance and the methods that are used to ensure the participation of enterprise team members.

A method for collecting records that are no longer active from all record sources, such as collaboration servers, file servers, and e-mail systems.

A method for auditing records while they are active. A method for capturing records' metadata and audit histories and for maintaining them.

A process for holding records (suspending their disposition) when events such as litigations occur.

A system for monitoring and reporting on the handling of records to ensure that employees are filing, accessing, and managing them according to defined policies and processes.

Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 includes features that can help organizations implement integrated records management systems and processes. Overview of records management planning This topic describes the planning steps that you should take to help ensure that the records management system that you implement based on SharePoint Server 2010 will achieve your organization's records management goals. The following is a preview of the records management planning process: 1. Identify records management roles Successful records management requires specialized roles, including the following:

Records managers and compliance officers to categorize the records in the organization and to run the records management process.

IT personnel to implement the systems that efficiently support records management.

Content managers to find where organizational information is kept and to ensure that their teams follow records management practices.

2. Analyze organizational content Before creating a file plan, records managers and content managers survey document usage in the organization to determine which documents and other items can become records. 3. Develop a file plan After you have analyzed your organizational content and determined retention schedules, fill in the rest of the file plan. File plans differ from organization to organization, but generally they describe the kinds of items the enterprise acknowledges to be records, indicate where they are stored, describe their retention periods, and provide other information, such as who is responsible for managing them and which broader category of records they belong to. 4. Develop retention schedules For each record type, determine when it is no longer active (being used), how long it should be retained after that, and how it should ultimately be disposed of. 5. Evaluate and improve document management practices Make sure that required policies are being applied in document repositories. For example, ensure that content is being appropriately audited so that suitable audits are retained together with records. 6. Design the records management solution Determine whether to create a records archive, to manage records in place, or to use a combination of the two approaches. Based on your file plan, design the record archive, or determine how to use existing sites to contain records. Define content types, libraries, policies, and, when it is required, metadata that determines the location to route a document to.

7. Plan how content becomes records If you are using SharePoint Server 2010 for both active document management and records management, you can create custom workflows to move documents to a records archive. If you are using either SharePoint Server 2010 or an external document management system, you can plan and develop interfaces that move content from those systems to the records archive, or that declare a document to be a record but do not move the document. You also create a training plan to teach users how to create and work with records. 8. Plan e-mail integration Determine whether you will manage e-mail records within SharePoint Server 2010, or whether you will manage e-mail records within the e-mail application itself. 9. Plan compliance for social content If your organization uses social media such as blogs, wikis, or My Site Web sites, determine how this content will become records. 10. Plan compliance reporting and documentation To verify that your organization is performing its required records management practices, and to communicate these practices, you should document your records management plans and processes. If your enterprise becomes engaged in records-related litigation, you might have to produce these records management guidelines, implementation plans, and metrics on effectiveness.

6. Discuss any one Experimental Method of Data Collection. Ans: There are four main methods of data collection:

Census. A census is a study that obtains data from every member of a population. In most studies, a census is not practical, because of the cost and/or time required.

Sample survey. A sample survey is a study that obtains data from a subset of a population, in order to estimate population attributes.

Experiment. An experiment is a controlled study in which the researcher attempts to understand cause-and-effect relationships. The study is "controlled" in the sense that the researcher controls (1) how subjects are assigned to groups and (2) which treatments each group receives. In the analysis phase, the researcher compares group scores on some dependent variable. Based on the analysis, the researcher draws a conclusion about whether the treatment ( independent variable) had a causal effect on the dependent variable.

Observational study. Like experiments, observational studies attempt to understand cause-and-effect relationships. However, unlike experiments, the researcher is not able to control (1) how subjects are assigned to groups and/or (2) which treatments each group receives.

Experimental design The paradigm for scientific method in research is the true experiment or randomised control trial (RCT). Typical examples of RCT's include drug trials. Experimental designs are set up to allow the greatest amount of control possible so that causality may be examined closely.

The three essential elements (OHP) of experimental design are:

Manipulation : The researcher does something to at least some of the participants in the research

Control : The experimenter introduces one or more controls over the experimental situation.

Randomisation : The experimenter assigns participants to different groups on a random basis.

The classic example is the before-after design or pre-test post-test design. This is perhaps of the the most sample commonly is in used providing experimental equivalent design. groups. Comparison of pre-test scores allows the researcher to evaluate how effective the randomisation The treatment is fully under control of the researcher. The dependent variable is measured twice during the study (before and after the manipulation of the independent variable).

Example: Drug trials

In some studies the dependent variable cannot be measured before the treatment. For example we cannot effectively measure the response to interventions designed to control nausea from chemotherapy prior to the beginning of treatment.

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We may also wish to use this approach where pre-test sensitisation may occur. Subjects post-test response may be partly due to learning from, or as a reaction to, the pre-test. In these instances the pre-test phase can be eliminated, however doing so removes the possibility of applying some very powerful statistical analyses.

A development of the pre-test post-test design is known as the Solomon 4-group design. Although somewhat cumbersome this design effectively measures the influence pretesting has on post-test scores. It is a stronger tool than the pre-test post-test design but requires more complicated statistical analysis of the data obtained.

Factorial designs are a further development of the experimental technique which allow for two or more different characteristics, treatments, or events to be independently varied within a single study. This is a logical approach to examining multiple causality.

BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION BBA Semester IV BB0020 Managing Information 4 Credits Assignment Set- 2 (60 Marks) Answer the Following (10 * 6 = 60 marks) 1. Discuss the Charter tics of Information & Process of Conversion of Information into Knowledge. 2. What criteria should be considered for setting up an information center. 3. What do you understand by Electronic Resources of information.

4. Explain the Informal Communication System.

5. Explain what is BPR. Ans: Business process reengineering The analysis and design of workflows and processes within an organization. A business process is a set of logically related tasks performed to achieve a defined business outcome. Re-engineering is the basis for many recent developments in management. The cross-functional team, for example, has become popular because of the desire to reengineer separate functional tasks into complete cross-functional processes. Also, many recent management information systems developments aim to integrate a wide number of business functions. Enterprise resource planning, supply chain management,

knowledge management systems, groupware and collaborative systems, Human Resource Management Systems and customer relationship management. Business Process Reengineering is also known as Business Process Redesign, Business Transformation, or Business Process Change Management. Business Process Reengineering Cycle

Business process reengineering (BPR) began as a private sector technique to help organizations fundamentally rethink how they do their work in order to dramatically improve customer service, cut operational costs, and become world-class competitors. A key stimulus for reengineering has been the continuing development and deployment of sophisticated information systems and networks. Leading organizations are becoming bolder in using this technology to support innovative business processes, rather than refining current ways of doing work.

Reengineering guidance and relationship of Mission and Work Processes to Information Technology. Business process reengineering is one approach for redesigning the way work is done to better support the organization's mission and reduce costs. Reengineering starts with a high-level assessment of the organization's mission, strategic goals, and customer needs. Basic questions are asked, such as "Does our mission need to be redefined? Are our strategic goals aligned with our mission? Who are our customers?" An organization may find that it is operating on questionable assumptions, particularly in terms of the wants and needs of its customers. Only after the organization rethinks what it should be doing, does it go on to decide how best to do it. Within the framework of this basic assessment of mission and goals, reengineering focuses on the organization's business processesthe steps and procedures that govern how resources are used to create products and services that meet the needs of particular customers or markets. As a structured ordering of work steps across time and place, a business process can be decomposed into specific activities, measured, modeled, and improved. It can also be completely redesigned or eliminated altogether. Reengineering identifies, analyzes, and redesigns an organization's core business processes with the aim

of achieving dramatic improvements in critical performance measures, such as cost, quality, service, and speed. Reengineering recognizes that an organization's business processes are usually fragmented into subprocesses and tasks that are carried out by several specialized functional areas within the organization. Often, no one is responsible for the overall performance of the entire process. Reengineering maintains that optimizing the performance of subprocesses can result in some benefits, but cannot yield dramatic improvements if the process itself is fundamentally inefficient and outmoded. For that reason, reengineering focuses on redesigning the process as a whole in order to achieve the greatest possible benefits to the organization and their customers. This drive for realizing dramatic improvements by fundamentally rethinking how the organization's work should be done distinguishes reengineering from process improvement efforts that focus on functional or incremental improvement.

Business process reengineering topics Definition Different definitions can be found. This section contains the definition provided in notable publications in the field:

"... the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical contemporary measures of performance, such as cost, quality, service, and speed."

"encompasses the envisioning of new work strategies, the actual process design activity, and the implementation of the change in all its complex technological, human, and organizational dimensions."

Additionally, Davenport (ibid.) points out the major difference between BPR and other approaches to organization development (OD), especially the continuous improvement or TQM movement, when he states: "Today firms must seek not fractional, but multiplicative levels of improvement 10x rather than 10%." Finally, Johanssonprovide

a description of BPR relative to other process-oriented views, such as Total Quality Management (TQM) and Just-in-time (JIT), and state:

"Business Process Reengineering, although a close relative, seeks radical rather than merely continuous improvement. It escalates the efforts of JIT and TQM to make process orientation a strategic tool and a core competence of the organization. BPR concentrates on core business processes, and uses the specific techniques within the JIT and TQM toolboxes as enablers, while broadening the process vision."

In order to achieve the major improvements BPR is seeking for, the change of structural organizational variables, and other ways of managing and performing work is often considered as being insufficient. For being able to reap the achievable benefits fully, the use of information technology (IT) is conceived as a major contributing factor. While IT traditionally has been used for supporting the existing business functions, i.e. it was used for increasing organizational efficiency, it now plays a role as enabler of new organizational forms, and patterns of collaboration within and between organizations. BPR derives its existence from different disciplines, and four major areas can be identified as being subjected to change in BPR - organization, technology, strategy, and people - where a process view is used as common framework for considering these dimensions. The approach can be graphically depicted by a modification of "Leavitts diamond". Business strategy is the primary driver of BPR initiatives and the other dimensions are governed by strategy's encompassing role. The organization dimension reflects the structural elements of the company, such as hierarchical levels, the composition of organizational units, and the distribution of work between them. Technology is concerned with the use of computer systems and other forms of communication technology in the business. In BPR, information technology is generally considered as playing a role as enabler of new forms of organizing and collaborating, rather than supporting existing business functions. The people / human resources dimension deals with aspects such as education, training, motivation and reward systems. The concept of

business processes - interrelated activities aiming at creating a value added output to a customer - is the basic underlying idea of BPR. These processes are characterized by a number of attributes: Process ownership, customer focus, value adding, and crossfunctionality. The role of information technology Information technology (IT) has historically played an important role in the reengineering concept. It is considered by some as a major enabler for new forms of working and collaborating within an organization and across organizational borders. Early BPR literature identified several so called disruptive technologies that were

supposed to challenge traditional wisdom about how work should be performed.

Shared databases, making information available at many places Expert systems, allowing generalists to perform specialist tasks Telecommunication networks, allowing organizations to be centralized and decentralized at the same time Decision-support tools, allowing decision-making to be a part of everybody's job Wireless data communication and portable computers, allowing field personnel to work office independent Interactive videodisk, to get in immediate contact with potential buyers Automatic identification and tracking, allowing things to tell where they are, instead of requiring to be found High performance computing, allowing on-the-fly planning and revisioning

In the mid 1990s, especially workflow management systems were considered as a significant contributor to improved process efficiency. Also ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) vendors, such as SAP, JD Edwards, Oracle, PeopleSoft, positioned their solutions as vehicles for business process redesign and improvement. Research & Methodology Although the labels and steps differ slightly, the early methodologies that were rooted in IT-centric BPR solutions share many of the same basic principles and elements. The

following outline is one such model, based on the PRLC (Process Reengineering Life Cycle) approach developed by Guha.

Simplified schematic outline of using a business process approach, examplified for pharmceutical R&D: 1. Structural organization with functional units 2. Introduction of New Product Development as cross-functional process 3. Re-structuring and streamlining activities, removal of non-value adding tasks

6. What do understand by Browsing & Exhaustive Approach. Ans: