Three questions in one document. This is an assignment at Masters level, please make good references (25 sources at least), using Harvard referencing system, no plagarism.Questions1) Explain the diffe

Enterprise Information Systems Topic 2 – Overview Topic ’s learning objectives:  Data and Knowledge Management    Telecommunications and Networking  2.1 Data and Knowledge Management In the previous section we discuss ed the relationship of Information Systems to the organizational strategy so it is good to now turn our attention to what is the foundation of IS.

This is the data, information and knowledge relevant to an organization that enables all the functionality IS can deliver. Advances in technology tend to increase the volume of data that can be captured. This is a blessing for IS although it creates challenges in the management of data and knowledge. Since the data and the database or data warehouse that hold i t are the basis of everything else it is important to make the right choices. Mistakes, or limitations, in the database are often harder to fix than mistakes in the hardware or software of IS. This is for many reasons but one example is that if some data t hat is important is not stored in the database for some years it may be hard to retrospectively add it. Figure 2.1 Data warehouse framework and views A typical Data Warehouse layout is illustrated in figure 3.9. The diag ram shows five types of sources but there are more, and each type of source may have many sources. This distinction is important because while an ERP can be considered one source it may receive data manually from thousands of staff all of which could poten tially enter the data incorrectly. The data from all the sources is integrated. It is then manipulated in order to make it more useful often by querying it with SQL. This manipulation is often specific to different department needs. It is important to reme mber that this process a with other processes of Data and Knowledge Management are continuous as illustrated in figure 2.2. Figure 2.2 The knowledge management system cycle Pause for thought The volume of data releva nt to an organization that is both internal and external is increasing. For a university, identify three advantages this increase in data creates and three disadvantages. 2.2 Telecommunications and Networking In the previous section we discussed the da ta that IS uses. The next part of the IS puzzle is the networks that connect the various systems. If you consider the ability of a computer to do more calculations that a person a network enables a system to do far more communication. If we consider the ac counting department of a supermarket one accountant would take far longer to add all the expenses using a calculator that it would for this to be done automatically in a system like Excel. In the same way it would take longer for that accountant to contact the various departments and collect records of their expense than it would take a networked system to draw that automatically. While networks internal to the organization are significant in the modern organization they are seamlessly integrated to the int ernet. The internet is by no means a new factor but its influence in our lives and organizations constantly increases. Understanding and adapting to this increasing role of the internet and the way people use it is an important on -going process for organiz ations. Figure 2.3 An enterprise network. The smallest network of two or more computers can be considered a LAN, Local Area Network. These are usually in one geographic area such as a building. Beyond sharing data the comput ers in the LAN can share resources such as storage and printers. A WAN, Wide Area Network may connect a number of LANs over a large area as illustrated in figure 2.3. In addition to being connected to the internet an organization can have an intranet, a private network that follows network protocols or an extranet where partner organizations can also access. Pause for thought One of the many ways networks and the internet are being utilized increasingly is in enabling people to work remote ly, usually from home. This is often implemented for one day a week but it may be more extensive or even permanent. This has many technical and organizational implications. Some are less obvious than others, for example some companies implement a policy of working from home some days in combination with ‘hot -seating ’ o ffices to save on office space. Can you think of three advantage and three disadvantages of working from home? How would you fully utilize the advant age or mitigate the weaknesses? Further reading Rainer R.K., Watson H.J. (2012) Management Information Systems: Moving Business Forward, Wiley. Gunasekaran, A., Shea, T. (2009) Organizational Advancements t hrough Enterprise Information Systems: Emerging Applications and Developments: IGI Global Motiwalla, L. And Thompson, J. (2012) Enterprise Systems for Management: International Version, 2/E, Pearson Higher Education Magal, S. R. and Word, J. (2012) I ntegrated Business Processes with ERP Systems, Wiley Plus course Cruz -Cunha, M. M. (2009) Social, Managerial, and Organizational Dimensions of Enterprise Information Systems, IGI Global Obrien, J. and Marakas G. (2007): ‘Enterprise Information System s’, Chapter 12: Local and International Management of Information Tec hnology, 13th ed., McGraw Hil