Databases: More Powerful Than You Can Imagine

This week I learned about the importance of databases and how to design and create relationships among them. Here I will talk about what kinds of databases there are and how big they can be. Did you know, for instance, that the FBI database holds record on 1.5 billion people? Can you imagine how incredible it would be if you knew how to design and manage databases yourself? What about the downsides on that, with hackers invading databases and causing terrible consequences? We will see how learning to use such things can be promising in today’s world.

Keeping record of things has been a natural process since the beginning of times. As Information Technology has developed, the same has happened to the creation and storage of databases. Programs such as Microsoft Visio and Access allow me to draw and manage my own databases, creating relationships and making it easier to get information when I need. In my accounting class, for instance, we are learning how to create journals and records of every transaction into different ledgers. There is a reference number which is associated with the previous journal. This is a relationship. As I learn to do that, I see how easier it becomes if I know how to use programs such as QuickBooks to help me with storing data and turning it into information. Another great example of the use of databases is the Family History program of the Church. It is a huge database that keeps record of millions of our ancestors. Thanks to that, we can perform temple ordinances in their behalf and “bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of men.” (Moses Ch. 1, v. 39) The FBI also has a huge database that holds record of 1.5 billion people. One of the reasons they keep such track of things is to prevent further terrorist attacks. That’s what they call the “total information awareness system.” (Ashford, W. Par. 4) Privacy groups are opposed to such practice. “People have no idea of how many “digital footprints” they leave as they surf the Internet, travel and use their mobile phones.” (Ashford, W. Par. 4) At the same time that there is an intention to bring more security, there is also a great risk of immeasurable damage if a database ends up in wrong hands.

Hackers have shown great expertise in invading systems and stealing precious information. Not too long ago we heard the story of Albert Gonzales, accused of orchestrating one of the biggest identity thefts in history after stealing more than 40 million credit card numbers. (Johnson, B., Par. 1) Just imagine how much damage it must have caused to the lives of many people, banks, and credit card companies.

For good or evil, databases have proven to be much more powerful as well as needful than most people can imagine. The effective use of databases can be implied in accuracy in reports; integrating companies and nations, and even bringing us more protection. Most importantly, it can help us record things from the past and have them maintained in the future, if we only understand their essentialness in today’s world.

REFERENCES
Ashford, W., (2009, September 24), FBI database holds records on 1.5 billion people. Computer Weekly, Par. 1. Retrieved September 24, 2009, from http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2009/09/24/237851/fbi-database-holds-records-on-1.5-billion-people.htm

Johnson, B., (2009, September 11), US credit card hacker pleads guilty to massive ID theft. Guardian.co.uk, Par. 1. Retrieved September 24, 2009, from http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/sep/11/hacking-usa

Smith, J., Revelator, An extract of the translation of the Bible. Book of Moses, The Pearl of Great Price of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Chapter 1, verse 39 (Salt Lake City, Utah: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints), Retrieved September 24, 2009, from http://scriptures.lds.org/en/moses/1

Major Business Initiatives

This week we talked about how companies are working with IT to gain competitive advantage in the very competitive market. Several methods are utilized in order to help the company go beyond frontiers and advance. The IT support has been crucial and makes a huge difference on race. Here I will point out some of the programs that have been used in business and have demonstrated to be very effective. There are two main tools that I want to focus on today: CRM and ERP.

The first one is Customer Relationship Management (CRM), which is a very important thing for companies to identify their customers’ needs and increase their profitability. Software that provides information on how customers behave gives a great picture of what can be done to give them what they want and get what the company wants.[1] An understanding of things like purchase and payment history as well as specific preferences and business needs can significantly enhance their experience of doing business with a company. So having all the customer knowledge on a database can bring great customer service, which will consequently bring great customer satisfaction. [2]

The second one is Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). This is a kind of software that attempts to integrate all departments and functions across a company onto a single computer system, providing all the information necessary to different departments and their needs within a company.[3] The key word here is integration. Such thing enables varies departments to collect information from each other and bring much more effectiveness to the business. An example of this that we can even see here at LDS Business College is how PeopleSoft works. If a student wants to enroll in a class which has a pre-requisite, the program automatically searches to make that other class has been taken. FIN 101, for instance, can only be taken after IT 102 or concurrently. If the student has not enrolled for IT 102 and tries to do so with FIN 101, the system will automatically forbid him to do so until he enrolls for the pre-requisite. SAP is the largest ERP provider in the world. It is in charge of many large businesses and their integration. Recently, SAP officials said that there are over 30,000 job openings for SAP consultants.[4] This is due to the need of so many companies, customers and users.

In conclusion, as we can see, there are many things that are helping businesses become more effective, and in order to stay on track we need to update ourselves in this new world of information technology. We can apply this to the future as we become more familiar with these resources and try to implement them in our professions. A professional that has a sound knowledge of ERPs is ahead of many others. He can get the whole picture of a company by integrating different areas and departments. CIOs are essential in this process, and here is a great opportunity for those of us who want to invest in the Information Systems area: become the next CIOs of company who need qualified and up-to-date professionals to do the job. At the same time, we can take a look at how important it is to use CRMs in order to better understand customer wants and needs. Those who would like to enter the marketing sector will see a great use on this as they can create alternatives to attract customers by knowing their characteristics. The opportunities are there and the job market is looking for those who are ready for them. It is now our duty to obtain knowledge and skills to get there.

[1] Terri C. Albert, Paulo B. Goes, and Alok Gupta, “GIST: A Model for Design and Management of Content and Interactivity of Customer-Centric Websites”,Journal, http://www.misq.org/archivist/vol/no28/issue2/Albert.html, Accessed 18 September 2009.
[1] Jason Nash, “Customer Relationship Management: happy customer = profitable customers”, Computer Weekly, 23 May 2008, http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2008/05/23/230817/customer-relationship-management-happy-customers-profitable.htm, Accessed 18 September 2009.[1] Thomas Wailgum, “EPR Definitions and Solutions”, CIO e-magazine, http://www.cio.com/article/40323/ERP_Definition_and_Solutions#improve, Accessed 18 September 2009.
[1] Bob Evans, “30,000 Job Openings for SAP Consultants, SAP Official says”, Information Week , 1 September 2009, http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2009/09/30000_job_openi.html;jsessionid=OEBGT0DADIG3ZQE1GHPCKH4ATMY32JVN?queryText=enterprise+resource+planning, Accessed 18 September 2009.

Business and Information Technology - An Essential Combination

This week we talked about how the use of information technology has been crucial in the development of businesses. We live in a very competitive world today. “It is the information age – a time when knowledge is power. Today, more than ever, businesses are using information (and information technology) to gain and sustain a competitive advantage. You’ll never find a successful business whose slogan is “What you don’t know can’t hurt you.” [1] Businesses understand that what they don’t know can become an Achilles’ heel and a source of advantage for the competition.

Information Technology has had great implications in the business world today. Brother McReynolds opened a discussion about Porter’s five forces and how IT has tremendously influenced each one of them. The most evident example we could find was how Apple is progressing in these last years because of great ideas that came from their IT department. The use of iPod, iPhone and other devices has created a great bound with their customers. Internet based companies such as Amazon.com, Google – which are some of the fastest growing companies in the world - and others have been great instances of how important IT has been in the business world today. Banks have also made great profit because of their good use and development of IT to improve their services. I worked in a multi-level marketing company where the CEO was also the head of the IT department. The whole company was based on a website with integrated systems to provide customers with a Back Office.

We can also integrate Information Technology with other learning. Online courses have increased with the development of information technology. “More than 4 million enrolled in at least one online course last fall, up from fewer than 2 million in 2003.”[2] It is indeed a very convenient method for those who lack time to be in a class lecture. It integrates with my learning right now. I am currently taking 18 credit hours and working 20 hours a week. When I heard there was an online class for the English 201 that I was going to take, I thought to myself it would be convenient to save three weekly hours of lecture and use that to study for other classes. My accounting class shows how effective you can be if you can use the IT sources provided to accelerate your work, as you learn to enter data in spreadsheets that do the rest of the job for you. The same applies to my Personal Finance class, where you can use Excel to work for you and for your money.

We all need to become more familiar with the use of information systems in the business area. I can tell I these things will have a significant implication in my future as well. I know with certainty that as I expertise in this area I will likely have greater success in my career. We live in a competitive world, and those who are most creative and innovative will be ahead of everyone else. The “know-how” will make a huge difference. It is our duty to learn these things for our future use. Acquiring the necessary knowledge is essential to win in the competitive market of today and tomorrow.

[1] Stephen Haag, Management Information Systems for the Information Age (McGraw-Hill Comp., Inc., 2007), 4.

[2] Kim Clark, U.S. News & World Report: Online Education Offers Access and Affordability, April 2, 2009, http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/online-education/2009/04/02/online-education-offers-access-and-affordability.html, Accessed September, 2,2009.

Some Insights from the Learning Model

The Learning Model is based on the Gospel Principles taught in the Scriptures. It indeed is the best way to learn and I am glad to have this experience at LDS Business College. It is divided into the four following parts:

1. Prepare -Before class we should read the assignments and try to understand the concepts which will be discussed.
   
2. Teach one another - I find this part very important, because the best way to learn something is by trying to teach it. It demands that you master in that subject so that you can share it with others, giving you more knowledge of it. This part occurs during class.
   
3. Ponder - We think about what we learned and how we can improve on that by applying its teachings in our lives. It is a continuous process that takes place during and after class.
   
4. Prove it - in class and after class by demonstrating our understanding through assignment tasks and evaluating our performance.

I am sure that with diligent effort as the scriptures teach, we will be able to acquire much more knowledge following the Learning Model, and that's the whole purpose of studying in a Church school. As we have been told, we don't know what we will be doing ten years from now, but the Lord does.

First Blog

A totally new experience: publishing my thoughts to everyone. Let's see how it goes!