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Role of information analysis in enterprise framework
INTRODUCTION
Information Analysis is a key constituent of effective decisions in
any business unit. In the case of enterprises, the context becomes
that much larger with greater volumes of data to store, and with
complex transactions to process.
This Project gives an overview on the Process-People-Technology
paradigm in the context of an enterprise framework. It details the
need for information analysis and lists various techniques that are
used in enterprises to conduct information analysis. It also
provides an overview on key business processes and operations in
the Transportation and Retail Banking verticals.
INTRODUCING ENTERPRISE FRAMEWORK.
An enterprise comprises all the establishments and stakeholdersthat operate under a single entity, the organization. The
enterprise may be established at one or across multiple locations.
This includes any subsidiary organization that the parent
organization is affiliated to, and all the establishments that are
directed or managed by the parent organization or by its
subsidiary.
An enterprise includes all the elements of the supply chain that
the organization operates in, and the end customer. For example,in the case of an e-learning organization, the enterprise includes
the publishers who print the course books, the organization that
creates the course books, and the students who study these
courses. All these combined elements form an Enterprise
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Framework, which is also referred to as an Enterprise Value
Chain.
The following figure illustrates an Enterprise
Framework:
The Enterprise Framework
2
Supply Side Demand Side
Supplier
s
Custome
rs
Business
Supply
Chain
Management
Customer
Relations
hip
Managem
ent
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Components of an Enterprise
Framework.
The three basic components of any enterprise framework
are:
Process
PeopleTechnology
Process indicates the core and support processes that
provide efficiency within and lead to effectiveness outside
the organization.
People include all the key stakeholders and their set ofroles and responsibilities.
Technology is largely employed as the executor and
manager of
the processes.
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The following figure illustrates the Process-People-Technology
paradigm in the context or an enterprise framework:
4
Enterprise
Framework
Peop
le
Proc
ess
Tech
no-logy
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Consider the example of a Retail bank that has
comprehensive ATM network:
There are certain processes within the bank
that outline and sequence the procedures in which these
transactions are deployed. For example, when making a
decision about where to set up a new ATM location, the
management keeps certain factors in mind, such as:
Whether the area is convenient for their target
customers to access the machine.
Whether the location supports a good
infrastructure.
Whether the money transfer units (to replenish the
cash) are located within convenient distances.
Only after considering all these factors a decision on the most
optimum ATM location is made. All the people in the bank
involved in the operations of the ATM, from making decisions
about where the ATM is to be located to the people responsible
for updating the transactions and loading cash periodically are
key stakeholders.
Finally, the platform and application software, used to execute the
transaction, highlights the role of technology in the execution and
management of these processes. Therefore, all three components
need to operate in tandem, and as stand-alone entities.
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The Process Components of an
Enterprise Framework.
Processes are a series of sequential tasks and activities that
convert specified input into output. These inputs and outputsare necessary components of transactions. The resultant data
of these transactions forms the basis for information analysis in
any enterprise.Processes are created to focus on two
interdependent qualities, efficiency and effectiveness. Based
on their focus area, processes may be classified into two sets:
Value-adding processes.
Supporting processes.
Value-adding processes.
Value-adding processes, also known as core processes, directly
generate revenue as part of the expected output. These delineate
tasks and activities that constitute the core business of the
organization, and as a result, are customer-facing processes. Forexample, in the case of an ATM, all processes that enable the end
user to conduct transactions with the bank are value-adding
processes.
Supporting Processes .
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Processes that identify input and expected output, and measure
the efficiency of the internal functioning of the organization, are
known as supporting processes. It is necessary to identify and
outline the optimum supporting processes to ensure that an
organization does well in its core business.Supporting processesare routinely monitored by process-owners for failure, in terms of
their ability to manage and maintain internal efficiency. For
example, leave management policies for the employees of a bank
are an example of supporting processes. Examples of supporting
processes can be found in the department of human resources,
finance, and accounting.
Effective Output vs. Efficient Output .
The basic criteria that form the basis for evaluating the
performance of an organization are the effectiveness and
efficiency of the output of the processes of the organization.
Efficiency is measured across output in general. Conversely,
effectiveness is measured across only acceptable output. The
effectiveness of an organization depends on whether theorganization selects and performs correct processes. In contrast,
the efficiency of an organization is dependent on whether the
organization performs the processes correctly.
The evaluation of process effectiveness and efficiency is initiated
with the establishment of a performance measure. A performance
measure is developed based on expected outcomes. These
outcomes are evaluated against baselines, and continuously
monitored to determine whether the desired outcomes are beingachieved. Defining individual measures, quantified with targets
and thresholds, creates the performance measurement baseline.
An efficient output is one that is delivered according to the
schedule and within the estimated cost. Conversely, an effective
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output is one that demonstrates the expected results, and meets
customer satisfaction and quality by making optimum use of all
the available resources.
Effectiveness is measured based on the achievement of the goalsof the organization, quality of the end product, and satisfaction of
the end users with the products.The efficiency of an organization
can be measured in terms of the following queries:
Did the team effort complete within the stipulated time and
the expected budget?
Are the billed rates in accordance with the ones planned in
the annual budget?
How much of the product and service was produced?
How many person hours were used to complete the
processes?
The APQC Process Classification Framework
The American Productivity and quality Centre [APQC] provides a
globally adapted process classification framework, which contains13 business processes that can be applied in both manufacturing
and service industries.
The first seven processes are operating processes that companies
follow to develop and move products to the market. The
remaining six are supporting processes that enable the
organization to operate efficiently. Each process, in turn,
comprises a set of subprocesses that qualify what the process is
intended to achieve.
These processes are adaptable and applicable to any enterprise
and give an overview into its working.
The seven value-adding processes are:
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1. Understand markets and customers.
2. Develop vision and strategy.
3. Design products and services.
4. Produce and deliver for manufacturing.
5. Produce and deliver for service-oriented organization.
6. Market and sell.
7. Invoice and services customers.
The six supporting processes are:
1. Develop and manage human resources.
2. Manage information resources (across the organization).
3. Manage financial and physical resources.
4. Execute environmental management program.
5. Manage external relationships.
6. Manage improvement and change.
The following figure illustrates the APQC Process
Classification Framework:
9
Cust
ome
rs
Sup
plie
Unders
tand
market
s &
custo
Devel
op
vision
and
Desig
n
produ
cts
Mark
et
and
Invoic
e &
servic
e
Products &
deliver for
Produce &
deliver for
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The APQC Process Classification Framework
THE PEOPLE COMPONENT OF AN ENTERPRISE
FRAME WORK
All the stakeholders of processes in an enterprise from those who
create the process, monitor the processes, and support and
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Develop & Manage Human Resources
Manage Information Resources
Manage Financial & Physical Resources
Execute Environmental Management
Program
Manage External Relationship
Manage Improvement and Change
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maintain the process to the and user of the process, are
classified under the people component of an enterprise. All these
stock holders have specific roles and responsibilities within their
assigned scope.
Based on their role in handling the data generated by means of
processes, people can be classified into:
Stakeholders who provide the data.
Stakeholders who support and maintain the data.
Stakeholders who use the data.
The following figure is a visual representation of the stakeholders
based on their role with the data in an enterprise framework
Stakeholders who provide the data
Each person who plays any role in the processes in an enterprise
ultimately contributes to providing the data that will be used for
information analysis. This includes recipients of the processes
(customers), process owners, process executers, as well as
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ProvideSupport &
maintain
Use
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suppliers. Even if the process in question is manual, data that is
recorded could still be used for information analysis.
Stakeholders who support and maintain the
data
All the generated data needs to be collated, stored, and updated
in analysis-friendly formats. Key roles in the enterprise that are
responsible for making support and maintenance provisions
include:
MIS developer, creates, compiles, and maintains records
of all entries in the OLTP (online transaction processing)
transactions in the enterprise. The developer provides the
base data that is selected, extracted, and analyzed.
Pre-loaded: Extracts the data from the relevant source
systems, and transported it from the OLTP applications intoinformation analysis enabled structures.
Loader: Cleanses the extraneous fields, transforms the
data to suit the file structure in the IA-enabled application
and loads the data into the new structure. As a part of the
data transformation process, inconsistent data present in
different format is transformed into a common format, andtables and other database objects are prepared, before
finally being loaded onto the new structure. All these are the
functions of the loader.
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Data Warehouse manager: creates the actual design
of the data warehouse that includes tasks, such as data
modeling, designing the schemas, and involving the fact
tables. In addition, the DWM monitors operations and
periodically checks the state of the data in the data
warehouse. The DWM also provides access rights to MIS
specialists who need to be run a query on the warehouse.
Further, DWM has an axis to reports that are generated
listing the particular fields that were accessed.
MIS Specialist: Presents and publishes data in response
to a question from the senior management. To do this, the
MIS specialist prepares cubes to cull data from the data
warehouse, creates fact and dimension tables from the data
warehouse into data marts, identifies the type of storage
architecture, such as ROLAP or MOLAP, and runs the final
query onto the data mart.
The MIS specialist participates in the tactical decision for the
benefit of the enterprise. For e.g., if the senior management has
created a hypothesis to arrive at the management decision, the
MIS specialist is required to validate this hypothesis with therelevant data and the appropriate query information.
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Stakeholders who use the data
The data that is complied, collated and stored is then made
available for analysis to the following decision makers in the
enterprise:
Senior Managementincludes the chief executive officer
(CEO) the chief operation officer (COO), the chief information
officer (CIO) and the chief finance officer (CFO). The CEO and
COO together work towards the identification of business
change opportunities and associated risks. A CFO identifies
the financial risk associated with the enterprise, which
includes a returns-on-investment (ROI) analysis for business
process integration (BPI) strategies. A CIO provides solutions
for BPI. Additionally, CFO and CIO analyze a market and
competitive environment, define the strategic goals for the
enterprise and explore how to change help enterprise
succeed.
All process owners: Includes owner of the value-adding
and supporting processes. A processes owner executes a
particular process and works towards the health of the
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process. An organization does not have a specific role
defined for a process owner. A person who is accountable for
the activities involved in the process is the process owner of
that process.
Enterprise engineer: Identifies and integrates the
appropriate ways to improve and enterprise.
THE TECHNOLOGY COMPONENT OF AN
ENTERPRISE FRAME WORK
Technology is largely viewed as the enabler, executer, and
manager of enterprise-wide processes and as a means to store,
transfer, and process data. Therefore, an enterprise needs to
have a clear and consistent architectural framework to
incorporate the entire business process requirement. Enterprise
information architecture is a high level or macro view of
information related component for all requirements in an
organization. It conveys an overall understanding of an
component, and explains hoe this components relate to each
other. An EIA aligns processes with information technology to
create or preserve interoperability. This serves as the basis for
involving into an integrated enterprise. In the context of
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technology, the enabling information infrastructure elements of
an enterprise can be functionally divided into sub elements for
assessment and planning. The three sub elements and their
shared enablers and tools are:
Networking and computer systems: Consists of the
physical network and computing hardware infrastructure of
an enterprise, and all the activities associated with operating
this infrastructure. The scope includes the tools and
protocols to send, receive, protect, and store enterprise data
and systems, and network management mechanisms. It
does not include the equipment attached to the network but
provides the communication infrastructure upon which the
equipment and process operate.
Common information services: Consist of the basic
building blocks activities associated with data or
informations, such as tasks to store, protect, access,
transfer, search, and locate data both within the enterprise,
and to or from the enterprise and external sources. This
service also includes database management systems, and
information filtering and analysis tools.
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Knowledge repositories: Consist of all science based
and experience based information needed to support the
enterprise in all its functions. This information is extracted
from internal and external sources. The repositories include
common data dictionaries, business process models, and
other metadata needed to run businesses.
There are some shared enablers and tools for the three sub
elements of the enabling Information infrastructure. These arehigher-level generic IT tools that can be applied and combined
with domain knowledge to build application that support the
enterprise functions. These tools include electronic mail, decisions
support tools, workflow management engines, software
development and maintenance tools, mechanisms to integrate
legacy applications, and training development tools.
These tools do not include the domain-specific applications, but
provide the frame work to build such applications. for e.g., , when
multiple members of a team work on a document, there is a risk
of replication or duplication of copies of the document, which
may lead to wrong versions of the document getting updated.
Version-control software is the solution to such problems. It allowsmultiple users to make changes in the sane comments indicate
the nature of the changes made, along with the persons
identification. The software also allows for allocation of access
rights according to the users stake in the document.
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In addition to business process needs, technology components
are also incorporated based on end-user requirement. Based on
end-user requirements, technology components in an enterprise
can be classified into:
Technology components for providing data.
Technology component for supporting and maintaining
data.
Technology components for using data.
The following by illustrates an EIA from the perspective of
technology and end users:
TECHNOLOGY COMPONENTS FOR PROVIDING DATA
Certain technology components enable the transferring and
storing of all the data generated during transaction. All the
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stakeholders that provide data use these technologic to make the
data available.
There are numerous sources that provide data, such as:
Transaction processing system (TPS):Handlesmall or large volumes of transactions. The focus of TPS is to
increase the efficiency of the operations by automating the
business process.
Enterprise resource planning (ERP): automatebusiness function and offer an integrated data solution
across an organizations infrastructure. These are
configurable information systems that integrate information
and information-based processes within and across the
functional areas in an organization.
Supply chain management (SCM): improve themanner in which an organization sources raw components it
requires to make a product or service, manufacture the
product or service, and deliver it to customers. SCM software
helps improve the flow and efficiency of the supply chain and
reduce inventory.
Customer relationship management (CRM):
provide an integrated solution to plan, schedule, and controlpresales and post-sales activities in an organization. The
objective of CRM is to enable a customer to access an
organization and its services with ease.CRM utilizes the data
collected during customer interactions to record
demographics and determine future needs of customers.
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TECHNOLOGY COMPONENTS FOR SUPPORTING AND
MAINTAINING DATA
Certain technology components exist in the enterprise expressly
to preserve, maintain, and store the data in analysis-friendly
formats. Update on the data is also part of the supporting and
maintaining purview of these technology components. These
technology components are:
Data Warehouse: gather and store data from numerousinternal and external sources in a single database for the
purpose of analysis. The consistency of file structure and the
vast repository of data that it contains enable information
analysis to take place.
Network security layers:prevent unauthorizedmodification, destruction, or disclosure of the stored data. In
addition, network security layers provide data integrity
assurance that the network performs its critical functions
correctly.
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Business Intelligence (BI): Are designed to extractrelevant information from extensive data collected by
various business systems over time. BI Systems are used by
organization to provide insights that enable the decision-
making process. As a result, these are sometimesconsidered to be a subset of decision support systems.
Enterprise Information System (EIS): Are anadvanced form of DSS, where the output focuses on the
information that the senior management requires on key
factors that affect their business area. While the middle
management takes transactional decisions, the senior
management is required to take strategic decisions. As EISneed to cater to strategic decisions, they can be tailored to
suit an executives decisions-making style.
Management Information Systems (MIS): Provideinformation to carry out routine business functions across
varied periodicity. The information provided can be both
past and present, and in the form of weekly, monthly, or
quarterly reports.
Data marts:Are a customized, smaller version of a DataWarehouse. Data marts focus on the customization needs of
a particular department and the end users. These provide
input to the DSS.
The following figure illustrates the technology components in an
enterprise
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Business
Intellige
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ETL process
Technology components in an Enterprise
CLASSIFYING ENTERPRISE BUSINESS PROCESSES
IN VERTICALS
23
Data
marts
Data
wareho
useOS 1OS 2
OLTP 1 OLTP 2
Back up
OLTP 1
Back up OLTP
2
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From the business-focus perspective, enterprises are classified
as verticals.This classification aims to represent the
hierarchical dependencies that an organization experiences to
carry out its business operations. In addition, the classification
indicates the specific domain to which the organization alignsits value-adding processes. A vertical combines the scale and
magnitude of the enterprise operations with domain expertise.
Some examples of verticals include transportation, retail
banking, insurance, and retail.
An Overview of the Transportation Vertical
Based on means of passage, the transportation vertical is
classified into four components: roadways, railways, airlines,
and shipping. These components are further sub-classified on
the basis of their load. This could be either freight or
passenger.
Each component has certain common and some unique
business processes and operations. For example, the process
of route selection may be common across the components,
while the Frequent Flyer Program is a process unique only to
Passenger Airlines.
Along with internal factors, the ratio that the government and
external policies play in influencing decisions also determines
the level of information analysis that needs to be conducted.
An Overview of the Retail Banking Vertical
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Based on nature of business, the retail banking vertical is
classified into two components, credit and deposits. The credit
component includes facilities such as credit cards and loans
including personal, home, or car loans. The rate of interest that
the bank charges its customers determines its level of profit.The deposits component includes bank accounts such as
savings, current, or DMAT, deposits such as fixed or recurring,
and allied features such as ATM usage and debit cards.
Information analysis in the retail banking vertical is required to
create policies for existing and potential Account holders in t
he bank, and t o create schemes for credit card users. In the
case of fixed deposits, the policies are determined largely by
regulations formulated by the governing body.
An overview of the Insurance Vertical
The business of insurance can be defined as a mutually agreed
upon legal document that provides compensation, usually in
the form of money, for specified losses in exchange of a
periodic payment. An individual contract is referred to as ainsurance policy, and the periodic payment is known as an
insurance premium.
The major types of insurance policies include:
Life Insurance: Assigns a specific sum of money to a
designated beneficiary in the event of the death of the
poli8cy holder, or to the policy holder after a certain age.
Health Insurance: Compensates the expenses incurred as
a result of the illness of the policy holder or the
designated beneficiaries in the policy.
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Liability Insurance: Provides insurance against any valued
property, such as automobiles, property, jewelry, or evenagainst professional mishaps or natural calamities.
The insurance vertical is a largely organized sector with a vast
network of agents that sell insurance policies. Information
analysis in the insurance vertical is required largely to analyze
and create customer profiles to target sales and marketing
activities, and to create new schemes and policies to meet
changing customer tastes and trends.Another key purpose for which information analysis is required
and utilized is risk management.
An Overview of the Retail Vertical
Retail is defined as the process of selling directly to a consumer,
as opposed to going through various channels to reach the
consumer.
The key Information Systems t hat ensure that retail processes
are executed with ease include, Supply Chain Management
Systems, Customer Relationship Management Systems, Store
Systems, Point-of-sale Systems, Merchandise Management
Systems, Warehouse Management Systems, Decision Support
Systems, Finance Management Systems, and Human Resource
Systems.
Information analysis in the retail vertical is largely conducted toidentify the growth areas and challenges to the various aspects
related to vendor management and customer relationship
management.
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INFORMATION ANALYSIS REQUIREMENTS IN
VERTICALS
Due to the sheer volume and magnitude of data that needs to be
analyzed, comprehensive information analysis takes place only incertain key operational areas in all verticals. These key
operational areas are a apart of the direct business impacting
processes. This is because effective business decisions need to be
taken for a successful venture.
OBJECTIVES FOR INFORMATION ANALYSIS IN
BUSINESS/ ENTERPRISE FRAMEWORK:
The components of a business enterprise, namely people, processand technologies, work together to enable a business enterprise
to perform its activities smoothly. But all the three components
are greatly influenced by the various internal and external
information factors that have a bearing on the operation of a
business unit or firm.
Therefore the information analysis objectives vary according to
the identified information variable in the enterprise. Generally
there are two types of objectives for information analysis in an
enterprise framework. These objectives are classified into two
groups namely- internal objectives and external objectives
The following figure enlists the internal and external objectives of
information analysis in an enterprise framework.
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Objectives of information
Analysis
External objectives Internal objectives
To be update with global economy &
market
To follow government regulations
To achieve organizational goals
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THE NEED FOR ENTERPRISE INFORMATION
ANALYSIS
Effective business decisions in an enterprise are the prime reason
that information analysis is conducted. The more accurate the
decision, the better the impact on the business. Enterprise
business decisions primarily have two objectives. These are to:
Retain existing customers.
Expand customer base.
In turn, for these business objectives to be met, internal
processes in the organization need to be efficient. All these
objectives depend on effective information analysis for successful
outcomes. Effective information analysis is a necessity to enable
effective business decision, validate plans, and hypotheses for
future expansion, and use the data to monitor internal processes
in an enterprise.
For example, a retail bank needs to make decisions about its
ATM network. This may include decisions about:
The status of current ATMs that may need to relocate or
discontinue operations.
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To overcome com etitors
For customer relationship management
To adapt to seasonal trends.
To be update with technical changes &
product transitions
For effective logistical operations
To maintain financial health of the
firm
To manage Assets &
To maintain Goodwill
To manage inventory
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The following figure illustrates the components of EIA:
Components of Enterprise information Architecture
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Business goals Organization units
Information
subjects
Business
functions
Business
entities
Business
processBusiness location
DatabaseApplication
systems
Network
structure
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INFORMATION SYSTEMS FORENABLING
INFORMATION ANALYSIS IN ENTERPRISES
Information analysis requirements may vary according to the
objective of the analysis. Various sets of Information Systems
exist in the enterprise. These Provide input and data in order to
analyze information for making effective business decisions.
These information Systems include:
Decision Support Systems: Data Warehousing, business
Intelligence Systems
Management Information Systems: Enterprise Resource
Planning
Business Management Systems: CRM and SCM
Further, there exist certain tools and techniques to aid the
process of information analysis Primary among these tools are
reports generated at various levels by different systems. Such
report s are usually classified by their demand that is further
determined by the periodicity of requirement. Reports may be
classified as: scheduled, real-time, on demand and exception.
For example the area operations manager at the bank
prepares a weekly report of monetary transactions that have
taken place in the week (scheduled) this report consists of an
appendix report that includes records of each transaction made
in the ATMs, while they occur (real-time). Sometimes, the
branch head makes a request for the transaction report of a
particular day in addition to the weekly report (on demand).
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The areas of business that are impacted include the actual
product that forms the core business of the organization, in
addition to all dependents of that product in the entire supply
chain.
The data source for this would be the SCM. Based on the facts
gathered and the data analyses, the management may choose to
replace the existing vendors with a new set or set up a
comprehensive training program about requirements. In some
cases, the trigger event may arise from a routine examination of
the business management units. For example, a monthly sales
review of a particular region may indicate a consistent drop in
sales. In this case, there is direct adverse impact on the revenue
of the organization. This may lead to information being sourced
from CRM and the analysis conducted.
The Role of information analysis in
expanding business
To expand a business is a long-term goal for any enterprise. Forthis to take place, the senior management creates hypotheses,
which examines the plausible areas of expansion to venture into,
and requires information analysis in the form of validating the
same. The data for these scenarios does not exist, because these
have never taken place before.
However, data backing trends on similar lines, if available, may be
used to validate these.
For example, the management at an export house that has
regular business with Japan may create a hypothesis to expend
their reach to include Korea. The rationale for the decision being,
both nations are similar in terms of both business and culture.
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This hypothesis may be validated with
data regarding sales transactions with
Japan.
Often, the decision to expandbusiness is also often, the result of an
examination of some trends observed
by the management, witch then
conducts an analysis to validate
whether those trends hold true or not.
For example, a trend analysis conducted on all vendors
providing products and services the organization may reveal a
start-to-finish drop out rate. This may lead the management toconduct information analysis to:
a. Determine the time period of the persisting trend.
b. Create alternate long-term solutions to prevent any
problem (if existing) from recurring or to increase thescope of the current trend.
In this case, the management may choose to recruit new vendors
from remote locations review the work of the existing vendors
currently located in the same geographic area.
This will save infrastructure costs and also allow for a winder
range of candidates thereby, increase the probability of getting
the required level of quality.
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The ability to forecast trends and create hypotheses is a result of
the experience that the senior management has. Information
Systems cannot create these trends and hypotheses, but can only
validate them for efficacy. The expansion of the business of an
organization is dependent on a combination of all these factors.
THE ROLE OF INFORMATION ANALYSIS IN
OPTIMIZING THE EFFICACY OF INTERNAL
OPERATIONS
A basic prerequisite for the continual effectiveness of an
organizations business is that its internal process must continueto remain efficient. Just as information analysis provides vital
support to make decisions regarding the effectiveness of
business, it is also used to monitor and optimize the efficacy of
the internal operations.
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For example, a new technology that pertains to the business of
the organization may have emerged in the market. However, a
shift to his new technology would entail huge costs in situation
where the management needs to make a decision whether to
adapt the new technology or to continue with existing one.
In such a situation, the ERP and the MIS of the organization would
be the potential data sources for the purpose of information
analyses. The various costs that needs to be taken into
consideration include.
Cost of conformanceThe Cost of Conformance (COC) is a component of the Cost of
Quality for a work product. Expenditures include the expenses
incurred to perform quality assurance activities, such as the tasks
to determine and send standards, provide training, and
established and monitor processes. Further, expenditures include
the costs incurred due to quality control activities such as
reviews, audits, and testing.
The COC of an organization indicates the investments the
organization makes to ensure the quality of its products.
Cost of Non-Conformance
The Cost of Nonconformance (CONC) is the element of the Cost of
Quality that indicates the costs incurred by an organization for its
inability to deliver a good quality product.
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The CONC can be grouped into costs due to in-process costs such
as quality failures, particularly the cost of rework, and post-
delivery costs including further rework, recreation of lost work for
products used internally, possible loss of business, possible legal
redress, and other potential costs.
Cost of Quality
The cost of Quality (COQ) is the cost incurred in the prevention
and detection of processes. All Types of organization have to
contend with costs due to poor quality, whether it is an assembly
line defect or a malfunctioning machine. COQ comprises the costincurred when the product or service is not delivered as expected
(CONC) and the expenditures made to ensure the quality of the
(COC). In many organization, the COQ may be as high as percent
of the earnings of the organization.
Cost of Poor Quality
The expenditure made to fill the gap between the desired output
and actual output is included in the Cost of Poor Quality (COPQ).
Costs due to lost opportunity, such as the loss of resources used
in rectifying the defect are also included in COPQ. However, the
COPQ does not include detection and prevention costs.
External players, such as suppliers can also add to the costs by
producing defective material and damaging material during
delivery. The COPQ mainly includes the costs of labor to fix aproblem, the additional input used, and the extra utilities.
Cost of Lost Opportunity
The Cost of lost Opportunity (COLO) is incurred because of
opportunity losses, such as the loss of sales and revenue or profit
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margin, potential loss of market share, and lower service level to
customers.
In order to prevent incurring these costs and to maintain internal
efficiency, designated process owners within be organizationroutinely moniter processesa. In the case of a process not
meeting the required objective, it may either be modified or
reengineered. This is achived on the basis of circumstances, and
by keeping other factors, such as impact on thar processes, costs
of modifying or reengineering into consideration.
Two such techniques that enable an organization to monitor and
review existing processe are:
Continual process Improvement (CPI)
Business Process Reengineering (BPR)
The CPI model attempts to understand and measure the current
process and make performance improvements accordingly. It
works in the following stages:
1. Document the process as it is.
2. Establish a way to measure the process based on the
customers requirements.
3. Follow the existing process
4. Measure the result of the action implemented.
5. Identify the improvement opportunities based on the data
collected
6. Implement the process improvements , and measure the
performance of the process
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INFORMATION ANALYSIS: THE BASIS OF
DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS
DDS are defined as interactive applications that use large
volumes of data in information analysis enabled formats. DSS
application offer various models that include formulae,
forecasting routines, and optimization techniques specifically to
support strategic decision- making in an organization.
The Decision making process.
Three phases mark any decision- making process. These are:
1. Intelligence phase-consists of identifying problems or
recognizing triggers to a potential problem in the
environment, which requires some decision to be made. No
other phase of the decision- making process can begin with
out this being identified.
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2. Design phase- consists of inventing, developing and
analyzing possible courses of action to solve the identified
problem.
3. Choice phase- consists of making a selection based on a
number of alternate solutions that are generated. The final
decision is made based on certain considerations usually
dependent on circumstances.
The following figure illustrates a typical decision making process-
A typical decision making process
42
Inpu
t
Decision maker
Predictor
system
Filteri
ng
syste
Decisi
on
constr
Outpu
t
inform
Take
decisi
on
Imple
ment
plan
Feedback
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The following system and technology provide support to
each phase in the decision-making process:
1. Intelligence phase: support for this phase includes acomprehensive databases in turn contains data from three
distinct sources
Internal: includes the data stood from the various OLTP
systems in the organization. Manual data stored in the
form of vouchers, ledgers and registers is also included.
Competitive: includes the data that pertains to
competitors in the same market segment offeringsimilar product and services. This is usually obtained by
means of published reports or by conducting market
research.
Societal: includes the data about the social, legal, and
economic environment in which the organization
operates. This is generally obtained by means of
published information or on specific request.All this information is gathered and collated from disparate
sources and is also stored in such a manner. To conduct effective
information analysis, all this data needs to be stored in a common
format and location.
TECHNIQUES OF INFORMATION
ANALYSIS
DATA WAREHOUSING AS A TECHNIQUE IN
INFORMATION ANALYSIS
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Data warehousing is a technique that is used to support and
maintain the data require information analysis. The entire process
of gathering data from numerous internal and external sources,
storing it in a single database for the purpose of analyzing, and
help managers make better business decisions is known as datawarehousing.
The following activities are performed for creating a data
warehouse:
Data validation: validation errors and inconsistencies occur if
data is extracted heterogeneous sources. Data is validatedat the source-database level before addicting it to the
warehouse.
Data preparation: before data is loaded into a data
warehouse, table and from the database objects needed for
supporting data extraction, cleansing, and transformation
operations are prepared. It is then extracted from the source
OLTP systems.
Data cleansing and transformation: once the data has been
extracted from the OLTP system, it undergoes cleansing and
transformation. Inconsistent data that is present in different
formats is transformed into a commend format beforestoring as an the data warehouse.
Data loading: data is now ready to be loaded in the data
warehouse.
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The tables created specially and populated with this data.
These activities are collectively called the ETL process
(Extraction, transformation and loading).
The following figure illustrates the described process of datawarehousing as information analysis technique:
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Sales
Finan
ce
E
T
LEnterpris
e data
Warehou
se
Sales
Finan
ceRepo
rts
Repo
rts
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The process of data warehousing as an information
analysis technique
For example the senior management in a garment
manufacturing organization may be concerned about the stockfalling short of the amount required for supply during peak
season. As a result they may want to make a decision about
inventory levels. The senior management frame a question-how
much stock should I requisition to be able to meet the projected
supply during peak season? this question is posed to the
econometrist who needs to provide an appropriate response.
The econometrist identifies and selects the various parameters
that are required to best respond to the question. The
econometrist then passes these parameters to the
MIS developer who forms a query based on these parameters and
creates a cube with the specified dimensions.
The MIS specialist then extracts a data mart from the data
warehouse, upon which the query is to be run. Finally, the query
is run and the results are obtained. These results are published
for the econometrist to analyze and to present a suitable set ofalternatives for the senior management to opt from.
1. Design phase: support for this phase includesinteractive features that enable the decision-marker to
alter parameters and thereby, vary the weightage of
each. This allows for the generating ofa variety of possible
scenarios and solutios, the choice of which ultimately
resta with the decision- maker.
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querying, OLAP, and data visualization. Using the data
stored in data warehouses and a combination of these
tools BI system enables the information analysis process.
BI system offers a wide rage of low- end to high-end
offerings, all of which facilitate the information analysis
process for the users. For the front- end used, a used
reporting and querying interface, typically a browser-
based model is created. A high-end database platform is
available to the support and maintenance provider.
BI system support could be availed internally or it could
be outsourced. Using external BI system to perform an
information analysis on internal data is usually the
recourse for organization that does not have a full
strength IT staff, and would like to get results with in a
short duration.
Organization also widely uses both MIS and DSS to make
vital decision. Therefore, it is important to realize the role
of each in the decision- making process.
MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS AS
A TECHNIQUE IN INFORMATION ANALYSIS
As depicted in the preceding table. MIS provide information to
carry out routine business
Functions across varied periodicity. The information provided can
be both past and present, and in the form of weekly , monthly , or
quarterly reports .
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MIS reports are segregated on a functional basis, and based on
the functional focus of the information analysis , serve as input to
the process . A good MIS enables the management to become
more efficient and improve the tracking and monitoring of the
functional targets
MIS provide managers with an insight into regular operations of
an organization by aiding them with plans to organize and control
work efficiently. This helps the organization provide accurate and
timely information to the concerned decision maker and
therefore , achieve organizational targets , They further improve
the tracking and monitoring of functional targets .Managers alsouse this information to provide periodic feedback to the team.
For example, during the annual employee appraisal , the area
operations manager may want to examine a varied set of reports
to evaluate the branch heads all-round performance . The
sources that may provide information and reports to this end may
include the HR MIS, the sales and Marketing MIS, and theOperations MIS, The reports from all these sources will serves as
input to the overall evaluation , and help in providing feedback to
specific areas of development .
MIS supports employees at all levels of management in an
organization. At the top level , managers have a higher degree of
decision making authority as they plan at the strategic level and
make decision that have a direct impact on corporate direction
and goals .
The middle management is responsible for tactical planning and
associated decisions . They need to ensure that decision are
based on verified facts and that these decisions are made in
correct context .
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The operational management in responsible for operational
planning and control . Their key objective is to ensure that
operations are planned , monitored and that decisions are madeto control the operations to meet the goals .
The non- management employees use Information System to
provide accurate information to respond to any queries .
The IT department of the organization maintains and overseesoperations and transactions that take place on various MIS . It is
also responsible for the frequency of updates that are required
across the MIS . The output from MIS is sometimes used as input
for other Information Systems. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
systems are one such system , in which the information from the
MIS provide input to the ERP and vice-versa.
ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING
SYSTEMS AS A TECHNIQUE ININFORMATION ANALYSIS
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Another key Information System that serves as an integrating
platform across the enterprise is the Enterprise resource Planning
(ERP) System. ERP aims to integrate all functions and business in
the enterprise into a single database system. Each functional orbusiness unit can share their individual information on this system
, and communicate across departments , accordingly . This has
led to rise in the levels of accountability and in information
sharing across departments because there in one common source
and database of organizational information.
Enterprise wide commonality being the terminal objective , ERP
systems provide various input to the information analysis
process . To this end , ERP performs the following tasks .
Intergrating financial information across an
enterprise : Signifies that the various departments that are
sources of vital financial information have a consistent figure
to quote and to work on . For example , in the case of
revenue figures, by means of and ERP system , the sales
departments and the various business units would be in
tandem and be working with the knowledge of a common
figure . This is enabled as a results of the information shared
by both units.
Intergrating customer order information : Signifies that
a customer places an order , to the point that the products
reaches its end destination , a single information system ,
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the ERP , traces its progress and status , as opposed to a
multitude of information systems performing the same
function in parts.
Standardizing processes and automating functions:
Signifies that various departments can use a standardized
set of procedures to execute a process . This mitigates or
negates the occurrence of a multitude of processes to
achieve the same objective .This also enables the
automation or the identification of the possibility of
automation of certain processes.
Performing inventory control : Reduces the number of
inventories , especially the work in progress inventory that
needs to be assessed periodically . It is also drastically
reduces the chances of discrepancies and leakages that may
occur along the way of creation of the product .While SCM
software is more focused towards this end , ERP also plays a
role in this activity
Communicating standardized HR information: HR
Departments in enterprises are responsible for information
dissemination to a multitude of locations and business units .
To maintain a consistency and accuracy of operations , ERP
helps gather information regarding employees productivity
and time utilization , and communicate benefits and otherprograms .
Due to the level and magnitude of shared information , frequent
updates to the system are difficult. Thus , organizations assign a
specific periodicity to the business units to update their
information onto the ERP system.
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In some cases of analysis ,data is required from external sources,
such as customers suppliers , competitors, and stockholders . This
data is not available by means of any internal information
system . Companies usually have extranet links that connect
them to these sources and permit the exchange of data andinformation. CRM systems and SCM system are two system that
provide this required data to a certain extent .
BUSINESS MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AS A
TECHNIQUE IN INFORMATION ANALYSIS
Technological advancement in all avenues of business in
compelling organizations to constantly build and apply newcustomer service facilities . However , new technologies are
inevitably steeped in complexities . Overcoming these
constraints requires an understanding of customer behavior
across various channels , and a acquiring of new insights into
means to provide cost effective delivery of customer service .
To this end , organizations today are focusing on innovative
business models that will enable them to achieve sustainable long
term success . The two business objectives for this level ofsuccess are to :
Improve the efficiency of operations
Meet customer needs
The first objective entails a number of key factors, such as the
need to reduce the development cycle time, improve the product
quality , and reduce the production costs to remain competitive inthe market However , success depends on collaboration and
interdependencies among different organizations . Organizations
are increasingly inclined towards attaining high value adding
manufacturing positions to survive in the global market. This
necessities the establishment and maintenance of efficient
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materials flows along product supply
chains.
SCM system improves the way an
organization locates the materials itrequires to design a product or service,
manufactures that product or service, and
delivers it to its customers
The second objective is met by adapting a customer-centric
model that will enable the organization to develop more
meaningful and interactive relationships with their customers ,
indentify products that are suited to there tastes an thereby , gain
a competitive advantage .
CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
SYSTEMS AS A TECHNIQUE IN INFORMATION
ANALYSIS.
Organizations are focusing more in improving their efficiency and
lowering the cost of customer service while retainingprofitability . This means identify the secrets of good customer
conversations , identify the potential customers , and articulating
the steps necessary to transform customer care into a model.
CRM systems promise cost- effective delivery of customer service
to enhance the competitive advantage of an organization
The CRM model has the goal of building an integrated relationship
by linking together all the front-office operations that involve
customer care representative at a call center. In addition,customer facing operations such as sales , marketing , call
centres and online support also needs to become organizationally
integrated
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A few CRM strategies routinely adapted by organizations for
enhancing customer relationships include:
CRM blueprint : Enables customers to identify CRM business
capabilities and gaps related to the existing processes. It aimis to :
Identify potential customers , processes, and
application architectures
Prepare an implementation blueprint.
CRM value-addition : Allows customers to define and build
agreement on how CRM could create value for the
organization. It enables the organization to identify
initiatives that add value and weed out other initiatives.
CRM transformation program : Allows customers to
implement the desired CRM model through processes,
technology , and exchange programs driven by business
imperative such as customer retention.
SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AS A
TECHNIQUE IN INFORMATION ANALYSIS
The field of SCM has become tremendously important to
organizations in the competitive global market. The term supply
chain refers to the entire network of organizations that work
together to design , produce , deliver and service products .
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In the past, organizations focused primarily on manufacturing and
quality improvements within. Now, organization focuses their
efforts beyond quality improvement to encompass the entire
supply chain. The opportunities that through collaboration lead to
considerable change in the way organizations interact with theresupply chain partners.
The five basic components of SCM are:
Planning: this is a strategic component of SCM.
Organizations need to develop a strategy to manage all the
resources that go towards meeting rising customer
requirements for products or services. Planning also includes
a set of metrics tomonitor the supply
chain so that it is
efficient, costs low,
and delivers high
quality and value-
added products or
services to customers.
Procurement: it is important to select the right individuals
or firms as suppliers that would deliver error-free goods and
services that an organization requires to create the product
or the service . Organizations also need to develop a rate list
and delivery and payment processes with suppliers as well
as create metrics to monitor and improve these
relationships. This also requires managing the inventory of
goods and services received from suppliers, including
receiving shipments, validating the contents, transferringthem to the manufacturing units, and approving supplier
payments.
Production: this is a part of manufacturing. It is important
to schedule the activities necessary for production, testing,
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packaging and preparation for delivery. Being a metric-
intensive exercise, production involves measuring quality
levels, production output, and worker productivity.
Delivery: this is also referred to as logistics andnecessitates coordinating the receipt of orders from
customers, developing a network of warehouses, arranging
carriers to deliver products, and setting up an invoice system
to receive payments.
Return: this is the most critical part of the supply chain.
Organizations need to create a network to accept defective
and excess products back from customers or distributors,
and for supporting customers with grievances.
SCM is the transfer of products, information , and finances as
they move sequentially in a process from the supplier,
manufacturer, wholesaler, retailer, and customer. It involves
coordinating and integrating these flows within and among
organizations. The ultimate goal of any effective SCM system
is to reduce inventory.
SCM flows can be divided into the following three types:
The product flow: includes the movement of goods
from a supplier to a customer as well as any customer
returns or service needs
The information flow :involves transferring orders andupdating the status of delivery
The finance flow: consists of credit terms, payment
schedules, and consignment and title ownership
arrangements information provided by both CRM and
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SCM play a crucial role in the information analysis
process. Realism is lent to decisions that are
undertaken as a result of input and information
provided by these systems.
The following figure illustrates how each information
system plays a role in the information analysis process.
Security layers
Security layers
ETL process
58
Business
intelligence
system
Data
mart
s
Data
warehous
e
OLTP(internal
process)
Enterpriseresource
planning
Supply
chain
manageme
nt
Customer
relationship
manageme
nt
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The role of various information systems in the information
analysis process
Classifying information on the basis of
periodicity
The information provided by all the systems should be accurateand comprehensive. Further, it is equally important for it to be
available at the time that it is required. The requirements of
information vary in different enterprises, and on the basis of
periodicity of analysis.
Based on these criteria, reports that contain information may be
classified as :
Scheduled: are generated and made available for a specific,defined duration. These may be made available on a daily,
weekly, or monthly basis.
Scheduled reports: are used in almost every aspect of
information analysis because they contain specific
information pertaining to a particular set of parameters in a
particular time frame.
Real- time: are generated while transactions aresimultaneously begin processed
Real-time report proves useful when analyzing information to
make tactical decisions. As opposed to strategic decisions.
For example, real-time report may be used to take tactical
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action in the case of an online
newspaper, in the case of which
storied and headlines may be
adjusted as a response to audience
interest.
On Demand: are generated and
made available on the basis of
specific requests made for a
particular set of information.
On Demand reports are usually
required when information analysis
is being conducted in response to an urgent requirement, acrucial environment change, a perceived serious threat, or in
response to a complaint or statement that needs to be
validated.
Exception: identify process exceptions by using data
selected on the basis of a specific set of circumstances or
parameters.
Generating exception reports lead to crucial insights into
processes-deviants. Theses are usually created in response
to an explicitly observed deviant, to validate a perceived
cause of loss in revenue, or to examine a process that may
not be delivering desirable results.
ILLUSTRATION
The Enterprise Framework and the
Information Analysis process in the
Airline Industry.
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Here is a glimpse of some of the operational processes in
the airlines industry:
Air Traffic Management (ATM): The primary driver of
activities at airports is the flight schedule. Flights depart and
arrive in close proximity. Scheduling requires an integrand
management of air traffic controls. It involves monitoring
aircrafts on runways and in air so that they are flown on
specified routes and do not collide and cause hazards in mid
air.
Airport Ground service: Passenger service activity at the
airport is related to the flight schedule. All these activities
are controlled, coordinated, and managed by the airport
ground services, which interact with passengers and politely
respond to their queries.
The airport ground services render services, such as
assisting passengers to board flights or cancel their
bookings. Some passengers need assistance for baggage
claims or ground transport services. Other passengers need
assistance to proceed to board connecting flights. Confirmed
passengers arrive ahead of their flight for the check-in
process, which includes tagging personal handbags,
baggage check-in, collecting boarding coupons, and security
check. Simultaneously, passengers arriving y more than one
flight collect their baggage from different conveyer belts.
Airport Billing: Airport management charge a fee for the
services and facilities offered to airlines and users. This fee is
also called landing fee. It is used to generate revenue for the
airports. The fee is based on the weight of the aircraft.
Therefore, it is essential that the airport authorities have
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accurate information about the date, Time, and type of
facilities used by airlines.
Resource Management: the Resource Department
manages resources including aircrafts and handles multipleservices for employees, such as recruitment promotions,
consultancy, contracts, training, and allocation.
Business Processes
Business processes exist to run enterprises efficiently byincreasing performance levels to maximize revenues. Business
processes in the airline industry revolve around planning, selling,
and operating. Planning process involves scheduling and long-
term services of the fleets. Selling involves setting fares of tickets
and travel packages, and operating involves managing the fleet.
Here is a glimpse of some of the business processes of the airline
industry:
Financial Services: Handle revenue or yield management,
accounting, and statutory services. There are three
strategies used in yield management: different fares,
overbooking, and loyalty programs.
Sales and Marketing:Tracks competitors fares and is
always on the lookout to increase the revenue of the
airlines. The process makes fare-pricing strategies. For
example, if some major airlines lower their ticket fares, the
other major airlines immediately follow.
The fares of tickets are subject to fluctuations in supply and
demand, which are mostly based on the type of passengers,
such as business and leisure. In addition, ticket fares are
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automates tasks that were previously performed manually. The
transaction system processes and records business activities and
the management information system supplies information to
managers. The DSS support the implementation of strategies of
an organization and it is most useful in flight operation in theairline industry. For example, a major airline generates extensive
data for more than 300 daily flights. Data features details, such as
the flight route, fuel costs, and weather changes. This data is
necessary in terms of weather dynamics for scheduling flights.
Otherwise, fights may be delayed or even cancelled. The data is
also critical to make decisions on fuel volumes to be loaded
according to expected weather conditions, and determine flight
routes according to expected weather conditions, and determineflight routes according to expected weather conditions. To
manage this data, a flight management system is required to
enable efficient operation of lights.
A simple process, such as handling baggage of passengers is also
an information systems, called the baggage management system,
it ensures that the baggage is not mishandled so that passengers
are satisfied with the airlines service. In addition, new
technologies such as the radio frequency identification (RFID)
tags have been developed to generate baggage-tracking data.
This type of data reduces the number of mishandled episodes and
reduces the time to locate baggage. Airlines continually need to
identify information systems and adapt new technologies, Several
technologies have been developed to ensure data security, to
provide enhanced services for passengers through online
reservation, and to improve air-traffic controls. These information
systems help airlines to have a competitive edge over rivalairlines.
AIRLINES INFORMATION SYSTEMS ARCHITECTURE
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GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM AS A SOURCE OF
INFORMATION FOR INFORMATION ANALYSIS
GDS, a reservation system, is the central repository of the details
of passenger information collected when passengers book tickets
and is compiled in the computerized reservation networks. This
data helps to understand a passengers behavior and profile.
GDSs were originally developed by the airlines to enable travel
agents to book and reserve tickets, but soon its services were
extended to making bookings for hotels, car, and cruise,
therefore, GDS connects airlines to other airlines and to the allied
services, such as travel agencies, hotels, cruises, tour operator,
and car rental companies.
Example:The four major reservation system or GDS that serve
the airline industry are:
SABRE: Is considered to be the pioneer and the largest
reservation system. Sabre is constantly upgrading to meet
the market requirements and technology advancements.
Headquartered in Southlake, texas, it connects more than
60000 travel agency locations around the would, providing
information to around 400 airlines, 55000 hotel outlets, 52
car rental companies, and several transport operators. The
following figure shows the products and services elements ofthe home page of the Sabre website, which conveys the
huge extent of information transmitted into the GDS.
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Galileo: Is a diversified global technology leader. The
company is braches in 16 countries and serves travel agentsspread over 44000 locatins. Others served by Galileo are
500 airlines, 227 hotel companies, 35 car rental companies,
and 368 tour operators. The following figure illustrates the
products and service elements of the home page of Galileo.
Worldspan: Provides Web-based technologies and services
to its customers, it serves around 16000 travel agencies in90 countries and connects around 400 airlines, 200 markets
spread around the world.
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Amadeus: is the most recent GDS . a leading technology
provider, Amadeus serves more than 57,000 travel agency
locations and 10,500 airlines sales offices in 200 markets
spreads around the world. It also serves around 58000
hotels and 50 car rental companies over 24000 locations.
INFORMATION ANALYSIS IN AIRLINE
TICKETING
Ticketing generates revenue for the airline industry. Airlines have
ticket distribution systems. Earlier airlines sold tickets only at the
airports. However, post deregulation, the distribution channel
veered towards the travel agents. Airlines. Pay travel agents
commission based on the price and percentage of the value of
tickets sold. Commissions represent the fourth largest expense
after labor, fuel, and cost of aircrafts.
There are various information analysis process in the process ofticketing for different purposes like maintaining passenger
records, verification of tickets, ticket bookings, facilitating
different modes for ticketing and generating scheduled reports.
To reduce costs, many major airlines have slashed commissions
and distribute tickets through an alternate and cheaper mode,
that of websites. Major airlines, such as Southwest Airlines And
Delta Airlines have used this strategy to their
advantage.Interestingly, this has benefited passengers who nowhave varied modes for purchasing tickets while retaining access
to travel agencies. Sometimes, airlines also sell the tickets of
other airlines. This practice enables airlines to increase sales and
to expand their operations to remote areas. This type of airline
partnership is called code sharing.
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Any one of the following modes, offered by airlines:
Booking an Air Ticket through Airlines Counter
Booking an Ari Ticket through Travel Agents
Booking an Air Ticket on Websites
The online booking service of Airlines industry has triggered a
good response from passengers. Online booking is quick and easy
to access. It has led to customer satisfaction. There has also been
a rise in ticket sales with the introduction of the service. This
involves the structured format of information and passengerdetails to be stored and produced time to time.
SCHEDULED REPORTS
The various types of scheduled reports, such as the agency
reports, ticket report, and from of payment report are
generated daily through orderely information analysis on adaily basis.
The agency repot is created to manage the travel agency
commissions and payment of overrides, and to determine
the market share of travel agencies. It comprise parameters,
such as the agency name, contact details, commission paid
to the agents, total number of tickets sold, total ticket fare,airline name, class of the tickets, gross fare, and selling fare.
The ticket report comprises parameters, such as the ticket
number, ticket code, date and place of issue, passenger`s
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name, gross fare, selling fare, and total fare. This report
helps airlines to identify the fares set by travel agents and to
set the appropriate fare to attract passengers.
The form of payment report helps to identify the swindled
amount and the fraudulent passengers who have paid
through credit cards. These reports comprise parameters,
such as the ticket num the passenger`s name, the net fare,
the form of payment, and the total fare of the ticket.
Realtime and On-demand Reports
The sale of airline tickets is based on real-time information.
The fewer the seats, the higher is the price of tickets. On-
demand reports are rarely generated. If at all, these reports
are generated only in critical situations. For example,
passengers` data may be screened to find out details, such
as the itinerary, the mode of payment, and the origin city todetect a fraudulent case.
These types of reports help the senior management to take
certain strategic decisions.
THE INFORMATION SYSTEM IN AIRLINE
TICKETING
In the airline industry, the ticket contains all the information
related to a specific booking.
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This types of information is valuable because it helps to
analyze multiple aspects, including human behavior and
security. For example, some passengers book tickets
directly through Imperial Airlines, while others book tickets
through travel agents of the airline. In either case, thisinformation will be transferred to the airlines data base.
Travelling and airlines follow a simple ticketing process
which includes creating and storing ticket data as
illustrated in the following figure
Information system of ticketing
DATA TRANSMISSION PROCESS OF
TICKETING
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GDS Bank
XML TAIR
Travelagent
Travel agent
Counter
Airlines
Counter
Passeng
Airlines
OLTP
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The passenger purchases an air ticket either through a travel
agent or the airlines counter.
When a passenger requests the travel agent for an air
ticket, the travel agent updates the data to the travel
agency`s server. The data is transmitted from the
server to the GDS as an XML TAIR file. Next, the data is
from the GDS to the airline database (OLTP), which is a
maintained and used by the IT department of the
airlines.
Similarly, in the case of booking through air lines
(reservation counters or on websites), the data is
transmitted to the OLTP. Next, the data is transmitted
to the GDS as an XML TAIR file.
An XML TAIR file is an encoded form of a ticket. The
TAIR files of ticket contains fields, such as the
passenger name, date and time of travel, hotel booking,
car rental, and the mode of payments. Fields are
randomly arranged, and each field is followed by a
backslash. Each GDS generates a different TAIR file
format. For example, the TAIR file of Sabre is different
from that of the Worldspan TAIR file.
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INFORMATION ANALYSIS: THE BASIS FOR
VERIFICATION OF AN AIR TICKET
The OLTP or the airlines data base is complete after a
passenger`s Id is verified and finally updated by the airport
ground staff at the check-in counters. This verification also
confirms that the passenger has boarded the air craft.
The following figure illustrative the verification process at
the check in counter at airports.
Ve
rification from
Airlines OLTP
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Counterassistan
Passenger
checks in at
the counter
Airline
s OLTP
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Verification at the check-in counter
Consider this scenario. John Barrett, the CEO of Imperial air line
wants to strategically use the large volumes of passenger data.
There fore, the company decides to set up a data warehouse.
Data marts are created from the data warehouse. Specific
parameters are selected from the data marts to run queries on
passengers. These queries seek information according to theneed of the senior management. The analyzed data helps the
senior management of Imperial air lines to devise new
programmes.
CONCLUSION
From this project we can learn the fact that Information
Analysis is an inevitable process in any business
enterprise. The basic step to any strategic plan,
decisions, innovations, operating techniques,
management styles and the execution of the core
business activity depends upon effective information
analysis of the data available to the organization from thedifferent information resources. The following points
summarizes the important facts studied in the project as
a concluding note:
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Verification of
the passenger
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