Module 1 – Case
DATA, INFORMATION, AND ORGANIZATIONAL KNOWLEDGE
Assignment Overview
Every company has, to a greater or lesser extent, an
information subsystem — that is, a means by which it gathers data, interprets
it, and makes it available to employees through a distribution system. Whether
we are talking about marketing information, cost projections, accounting
results, or internal quality reports, every company depends on knowledge to
support its planning, decision-making, and control.
So how does knowledge fit into the picture? The emergence of
the field called knowledge management has highlighted some key propositions in
the last 10 years or so.
All organizations are storehouses of knowledge that operate
in information-rich environments made up of people and things both inside and
outside the organization itself
Organizations organize, interpret, and evaluate this
information to solve organizational problems
Knowledge is the primary mechanism for processing and
utilizing information
People’s brains are the key knowledge resource of any
organization
Codified knowledge stored in books, audio, videotapes, and
computer systems can be an important knowledge resource as well
There are organizational processes and strategies for IT
management and management in general. Therefore, processes and strategies in
particular can significantly enhance the ability of organizations to use their
knowledge resources for problem solving
Several of these themes will come up again in later modules
in this course. But by way of introduction to the subject, let’s take a look at
some views of how knowledge works. Read and review each of the lectures in
Frost’s Knowledge Management site to gain a good understanding of KM and its
relation to data, information, and knowledge.
Frost, A. (2015). Knowledge Management. KMT An Educational
KM Site. Retrieved from http://www.knowledge-management-tools.net/
Leonard, D., & Swap, W. (2005). The Knowledge Coach. HBS
Working Knowledge. Retrieved from: http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/4562.html
Case Assignment
The Case assignment for Module 1 consists of two parts. Part
I introduces the notion of computer basics. Part II analyzes the Kobuku Food
Company which provides an opportunity to appreciate how companies use and
differentiate among data, information, and knowledge.
Part 1:
Please review the following tutorials on computer basics and
answer the questions below. The tutorials are located
athttp://www.gcflearnfree.org/computerbasics
What are computers?
Understanding Operating Systems
Understanding Applications
Understanding the Cloud
After watching the videos, please answer the following
questions in 2-3 pages.
What operating system does your computer use?
What are some examples of applications residing in your
personal computer?
Do you use any apps or websites now that you think are
cloud-based?
How is a web app different from a desktop application?
Part 2:
For part II of the assignment, read the required articles
and then write a 3-5 page paper answering the Kokubu case study questions. Be
sure your discussion demonstrates that you understand the meanings and
differences between data, information, and knowledge. In your discussion, give
a real-world example of data, knowledge, and information in the context of the
Kokubu Food Company.
Kokubu management has asked you to be the company consultant
and prepare a management analysis of the business to help assess the firm’s
current situation and future plans. To familiarize yourself with Kokubu’s
background, you should review the corporate information, functions and
business, and social and environmental conservation activities in the website.
Particular attention must be given to the functions and business link to
appreciate how IT supports Kokubu operations and knowledge management activities
within the company.
Review the Kokubu website at
http://www.kokubu.co.jp/english/business/ and after finding the answers to the
Case questions, prepare a summary in 3-5 pages analyzing the following
questions.
What kind of organizational trends are evident in the Kokubu
case when we consider the business environment, management, and technology?
Discuss the IT applications to the company operations as
discussed in the website.
Why is the company considered to be customer focused?
The CEO said his company “created a culture where people are
addicted to data, information, and knowledge.” What does he mean by that, and
what are the benefits and drawbacks of such a culture?
As a reminder, you must have at least two outside scholarly
references when you write cases.
Assignment Expectations
Include Part I and Part II of the Case in one document,
properly labeling each section.
The Case assignment should be 5-8 pages in total excluding
cover page and reference list.
Your assignments will be graded following these
expectations:
Precision: the questions asked are answered.
Clarity: Your answers are clear and show your good
understanding of the topic.
Breadth and depth: The scope covered in your paper is
directly related to the questions of the assignment and the learning objectives
of the module.
Critical Thinking: It is important to read the “required
readings” posted in the background material plus others you find relevant. Your
paper should include important concepts from these readings and incorporate
your reactions and examples that illustrate your reflective judgment and good
understanding of the concepts.
Your paper meets the page requirements, excluding the cover
page or the references pages.
Module 1 – SLP
DATA, INFORMATION, AND ORGANIZATIONAL KNOWLEDGE
In this module, you will be introduced to Excel and some of
its basic functions. After watching the recommended videos, do the following:
Open the Excel software.
You will see a blank worksheet. Click on the file tab and
click Save As.
Next to File name, type Module1-exercise.
Choose where on your computer to save the file, and click
the Save button.
Close the worksheet.
Locate the assignment file Module1-exercise and open it.
Enter the following data into the worksheet, starting from
cell A2 (the intersection of column A and row 2) on the left side, and perform
the functions below. For the three exercises below, you can use the same Excel
worksheet with proper spacing between each assignment. Always remember to save
the file to your local drive every so often.
For the first table, add the numbers in cells A2 through D2
and give a sum in cell E2. Add the numbers in the next three rows and give sums
in the E column.
Add numbers in rows:
A B C D E
2 5 9 75 51
3
4 421 700 985 854
5
6 3352 6578 99655 9876
7 13 15 17 21
8
For the second table, add cells A1 through A5 and give a sum
total in cell A6. Do the same in columns B and C respectively.
Add numbers in columns:
A B C
1 2 1 254
2 23 3 7523
3 2 3 234
4 7 48 105
5 23 68 22
6
Use Save As to make a copy as Module 1- Exercise 2.
Create a third table within the same Excel worksheet and
perform the following.
Enter the following data and use Calibri font size 11 pt.
and AutoFit text to column width.
Change the fonts and size to Georgia and 14 pt., then
AutoFit to column width again.
Jack Johnson
Rayon Robinson
Alex Hollywood
Change page orientation and change margin to “narrow.” Save
the file.
Desired margin: Narrow.
Save your file.
After completing the Excel exercises, please upload the
Excel file with your results to SLP 1 Dropbox.
SLP Assignment Expectations
Your assignments will be graded following these
expectations:
The assignment file must be developed in Excel and saved as
.xls file.
Precision: the questions asked are answered.
Clarity: Your answers are clear and show your good
understanding of the topic.
Breadth and depth: The scope covered in your paper is
directly related to the questions of the assignment and the learning objectives
of the module.
Critical Thinking: It is important to read the “required
readings” posted in the background material plus others you find relevant. Your
paper should include important concepts from these readings and incorporate
your reactions and examples that illustrate your reflective judgment and good
understanding of the concepts.
Module 2 – Case
IT GOVERNANCE AND DECISION MAKING
Assignment Overview
In this case we investigate the technology-related decision
making in organizations.
We start by introducing the objective of governance specific
to the information technology function and services.
Next, we offer to you the fundamental battle in technology
management—the constant tug-of-war between centralization and decentralization.
We then provide several examples of how real-world
organizations have reconciled their choices in how to structure themselves.
Next, we present an overview of decision making processes
and some of the methods for making decisions.
Finally, we present insight into the complexity of
real-world choices highlight the politics of information.
Before writing-up the Case paper, make sure you read and
review the course materials assigned to Module 2.
Case Assignment
Using the “structure of governance focus area” found on
Figure 1 in the following COBIT case study, write a 4-5 page report comparing
and describing the IT governance structure and decision-making processes in
your organization. Include a discussion on the strengths and weaknesses of your
organization’s circumstances and present and justify one specific improvement
you would make to either the structure or a process. Be sure to apply the
concepts and use the terminology provided in the readings and case study.
Follow the case study in terms of “finding derived value” and “next steps” to
discuss your organization.
Please note that the ISACA website may give an error as you
click on the URL, but it will still link you to the case.
ISACA (2015). Developing a governance framework for the
global support organization at GlaxoSmithKline, using COBIT. Retrieved from
http://www.isaca.org/Knowledge-Center/cobit/Pages/COBIT-Case-Study-Developing-a-Governance-Framework-for-the-Global-Support-Organisation-at-GlaxoSmithKline-Using-COBIT.aspx
Assignment Expectations
Your assignments will be graded following these
expectations:
The Case should be 4-5 pages excluding cover page and
reference list.
Precision: the questions asked are answered.
Clarity: Your answers are clear and show your good
understanding of the topic.
Breadth and depth: The scope covered in your paper is
directly related to the questions of the assignment and the learning objectives
of the module.
Critical Thinking: It is important to read the “required
readings” posted in the background material plus others you find relevant. Your
paper should include important concepts from these readings and incorporate
YOUR reactions and examples that illustrate your reflective judgment and good
understanding of the concepts.
Your paper meets the page requirements not counting the
cover page or the references pages.
Module 2 – SLP
IT GOVERNANCE AND DECISION MAKING
Working with the Excel Environment
Excel allows us to calculate numerical information using
formulas. In Module 2, we learn how to use cell references to create formulas.
In order to create a formula, we need to learn about Excel standard operators
for formulas. These operators are a plus sign (+) for addition, a minus sign
(-) for subtraction, an asterisk (*) for multiplication, a forward slash (/)
for division, and a caret (^) for exponents. Excel uses = sign to start a
formula, and that cell must be equal to the formula which is calculated for.
SLP2 Excel Operations
Source: http://www.gcflearnfree.org/excel2013/13
Excel 2013 uses features like the Ribbon and Quick Access
toolbar to perform common tasks. The Ribbon in Excel 2013 uses a tabbed Ribbon
system rather the traditional menu. Below is the description of the different
tabs in Excel 2010-2013.
Understanding cell references
A cell is recognized by its address. The intersection of a
columns and a row represent a cell address. For instance, column B and row 3 is
the cell B3. The cell value is the value of what we calculate for a specific
cell. For instance, if we B1 = 15, B2 = 25, then the value of B3 = B1+B2 or B3
= 15+25=40, therefore, the value of B3 = 40 as shown below.
In formula section we have, Fx =A1+A2
15
25
B1+B2= 40
Please review the following link and watch the following
section videos.
Refer to tutorials at http://www.gcflearnfree.org/excel2013
Formatting Cells
Worksheet Basics
Page Layout
Printing Workbooks
Simple Formula
Complex Formulas
Relative Absolute Cell References
Functions
SLP Assignment
Please note that SLP 2 Assignment has the following
exercises and basic spreadsheet exercises from the Abacus Training site.
Use the table below to do the following.
A
B
C
D
11
30
36
20
2
70
31
11
35
45
35
14
= A1+A2+A3+A4
= B4 – B2
= C4/B2
= C3/5
A4^2
Write the cell address according above table for the
following:
Gas used for June
36
Gas used for May
45
Total used gas
81
Use the below table to calculate the total for each item;
however, instead of manual work, use the formula function. For example, to
calculate each item, you need to do the following.
Place = on the formula bar in the Total column
Multiple Quantity X Unit Price in the Total column
Fast Shop
Item
Quantity
Unit price
Total
Lighter
25
$1.99
Pepsi
17
$1.73
Hot dog
47
$1.05
Ice bag
11
$2.21
After completing the Excel exercise above, please continue
developing the Abacus Excel spreadsheet exercises located at
http://triplecsa.fhost.com.au/Blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Basic-Spreadsheet-Concepts-Exercises.pdf
and as noted below.
Exercise 1 – Sales for the Month
Exercise 2 – Sales
and Produce Department
Exercise 3 – Mike’s Stationery Order
Create an Excel file with designated folders 1-4 to develop
the above exercises.
SLP Assignment Expectations
The SLP should be developed in Excel. Your assignments will
be graded following these expectations:
Precision: The questions asked are answered.
Clarity: Your answers are clear and show your good
understanding of the topic.
Breadth and depth: The scope covered in your paper is directly
related to the questions of the assignment and the learning objectives of the
module.
Critical Thinking: It is important to read the “required
readings” posted in the background material plus others you find relevant. Your
paper should include important concepts from these readings and incorporate
your reactions and examples that illustrate your reflective judgment and good
understanding of the concepts.
Module 3 – Case
COLLABORATION TECHNOLOGIES AND IT INFRASTRUCTURE
Assignment Overview
To support communications and collaboration, organizations
make use of the IT architecture, which is defined by looking at different
components. To afford communications, it is required that an IT infrastructure
of people, hardware, software, and networks be in place. While there is a
global culture of communications and collaboration, different countries have
preferences how they attain communications and group cooperation. Similarly,
groupware technology is more preferred in high performing companies than low
performing ones.
Components of IT A
IT Architecture Components
Type of Architecture
Description
Business architecture
The processes the business uses to meet its goals.
Application architecture
How specific applications are designed and how they interact
with each other.
Data architecture
How an enterprise’s data stores are organized and accessed.
Technical architecture
The hardware and software infrastructure that supports
applications and their interactions.
Case Assignment
For Case 3, you will analyze the traffic gridlock case.
Taking communication and collaboration into the next 20 years, Ford Motors has
a vision to develop cars that rely on a network of communication systems. In
the long term, Ford sees a radically different transportation landscape where
pedestrians, bicycles, private cars, commercial and public transportation
traffic will be woven into a single mobile network to save time, conserve
resources, lower CO2 emissions, and improve safety.
Turban, E. (2013). Avoiding the future of crippling car
congestion. (2015). Information Technology for Managers. Retrieved from
http://babinkunjappa.blogspot.com/2015/07/avoiding-future-of-crippling-car.html
Ford, B. (2011). A future beyond traffic gridlock. TED
. Retrieved from
https://www.ted.com/talks/bill_ford_a_future_beyond_traffic_gridlock?language=en
Waze. (2015). Guided Tour. Retrieved from
https://www.waze.com/
Be sure to articulate your arguments and provide
justification as you answer the following questions:
Explain the concept of connected cars.
Why does Bill Ford see a need for connected cars?
What does Ford mean by “global gridlock”?
Brainstorm a few other ways in which an IT network could
help to reduce global gridlock. Do not limit yourself to current mobile network
capabilities.
If no action is taken far in advance of the forecasted car
congestion, what do you foresee will happen?
Assignment Expectations
The Case should be 4-5 pages for each case in total,
excluding cover page and reference list.
Your assignments will be graded following these
expectations:
Precision: The questions asked are answered.
Clarity: Your responses are clear and show your good
understanding of the topic.
Breadth and depth: The scope covered in your paper is
directly related to the questions of the assignment and the learning objectives
of the module.
Critical Thinking: It is important to read the “required
readings” posted in the background material plus others you find relevant. Your
paper should include relevant concepts from these readings and incorporate your
reactions and examples that illustrate your reflective judgment and good
understanding of the concepts.
Your paper meets the page requirements not counting the
cover page or the references pages.
Module 3 – SLP
COLLABORATION TECHNOLOGIES AND IT INFRASTRUCTURE
Please review the following link and watch the section
videos.
Refer to tutorials at http://www.gcflearnfree.org/excel2013
and watch the video:
Freezing Panes and view Options
Sorting Data
Filtering Data
Groups and subtotals
Tables
Charts
Sparkline
After watching the Excel videos, please continue developing
the Abacus Excel spreadsheet exercises as noted below.
Basic Spreadsheet Concepts.(2009). Abacus training.
Retrieved from
http://www.abacustraining.biz/Exercises/Excel/BasicSSConcepts.htm
Exercise 5 – Mike’s Lunch Bar
Exercise 6 – Mike’s Furniture Store
Exercise 7 – Weekly Income Schedule
Exercise 2 – Use the Sales and Produce Department
spreadsheet created in the Intermediate Spreadsheet Exercise 2 at
http://tfacomputers.weebly.com/uploads/1/3/3/5/13350957/excel_basic_exercises.pdf to create the Pie Chart below.
SLP3 Apples Pie Chart
Create similar Pie Charts for other Fruits in this
spreadsheet such as kiwifruit, pears, and nectarines. Hint: use the CTRL key to highlight or select
the cells or columns you need to create these charts.
Create an Excel file with designated folders 1-4 to develop
the above exercises.
SLP Assignment Expectations
The SLP should be developed in Excel, and the file and
should be uploaded as your completed assignment.
Your assignments will be graded following these
expectations:
Precision: the questions asked are answered.
Clarity: Your answers are clear and show your good
understanding of the topic.
Breadth and depth: The scope covered in your paper is
directly related to the questions of the assignment and the learning objectives
of the module.
Critical Thinking: It is important to read the “required
readings” posted in the background material plus others you find relevant. Your
paper should include important concepts from these readings and incorporate
your reactions and examples that illustrate your reflective judgment and good
understanding of the concepts.
Module 4 – Case
ELECTRONIC COMMERCE AND THE SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
Assignment Overview
Module 4 introduces online presence for business and
information security policies. E-commerce can result in a radical change in the
manner business operate, but it needs to be integrated with the rest of the
business. Some of the integration includes, planning, competition of resources,
and interfaces to other internal systems. Sometimes companies join an alliance
or consortium of companies to explore E-commerce implementation. Most
electronic payment systems know who the buyers are, and it is therefore
necessary to protect their identity. Other private issues may involve tracking
of Internet user activities through cookies and in-house monitoring of web
services.
Everyday sales items purchased online have almost doubled
between the year 2006 and 2010 and it is expected that these figures will keep
doubling by 2020. A few years back, E-commerce was not expected to be what is
now. It is now clear that all businesses need to provide online services sooner
or later to remain in the market. The same is true for mobile commerce.
In order to identify what businesses need to do to start
their online presence, go over the background readings and any other elective
readings you find useful. When you have read the articles listed in the
background material and any other relevant reading you could find, imagine that
you want take advantage of the Internet and communication technologies for your
business. These include the tools, business strategies, and information
security needed to orderly implement electronic and mobile commerce.
In addition, E-policies typically include: ethical computer
use policy, information privacy policy, acceptable use policy, email privacy
policy, Internet use policy, and anti-spam policy.
Case Assignment
The final case in this course explores some of the concerns
manager face as they adapt to an increasingly technological environment. The
Case “How Starbucks is Changing to
a Digital and Social Enterprise” is a thought provoking case and may
challenge you to consider some of the actions to take if placed in similar
circumstances. The case can be found at
https://sites.google.com/site/efraimturban/online-files Chapter 1 or at
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B01kmYbW3pyfbmlmNVNiOVowd1E/edit?pli=1
How is Starbucks changing to a Digital and Social
Enterprise? What are the drivers for this change?
In what ways you think Starbucks increases its brand recognition
with its E-Commerce initiatives?
Is the E-Commerce system bringing Starbucks closer to its
customers? Is it changing consumer behavior? Why and why not?
Note: this case study was selected from the book Electronic
Commerce
A Managerial and Social Networks Perspective by Turban, E.,
King, D., Lee, J,. Liang, T., & Turban, D. For more info see:
http://www.gallaugher.com/chapters
Assignment Expectations
The Case should be 4-5 pages for the answer, excluding cover
page and reference list.
Your assignments will be graded following these
expectations:
Precision: the questions asked are answered.
Clarity: Your responses are clear and show your good
understanding of the topic.
Breadth and depth: The scope covered in your paper is
directly related to the questions of the assignment and the learning objectives
of the module.
Critical Thinking: It is important to read the “required
readings” posted in the background material plus others you find relevant. Your
paper should include relevant concepts from these readings and incorporate your
reactions and examples that illustrate your reflective judgment and good
understanding of the concepts.
Your paper meets the page requirements, not counting the
cover page or the references pages.
Module 4 – SLP
ELECTRONIC COMMERCE AND THE SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
SLP 4 consists of two parts. In Part I, you will create an
Excel Pivot tables, and in Part II you will
and evaluating security measures to protect Internet consumers.
Refer to tutorials at http://www.gcflearnfree.org/excel2013
and watch the videos.
Track Change and Comments [Video 24]
Finalizing and Protecting Workbooks [Video 25]
Conditional Formatting [Video 26]
Pivot Tables [Video 27]
What-If Analysis [Video 28]
For this assignment, first watch the below videos by
clicking the links:
Pivot Tables:
https://support.office.com/en-in/article/Create-a-PivotTable-and-analyze-your-data-7810597d-0837-41f7-9699-5911aa282760?ui=en-US&rs=en-IN&ad=IN
IF functions
https://support.office.com/en-in/article/Advanced-IF-functions-17341cef-510d-4d60-a657-913f878fdacf?ui=en-US&rs=en-IN&ad=IN
Using PivotTables to answer questions
Suppose we wanted to answer the question: “What is the
amount sold by each salesperson?” for the sales data in the example below.
Answering this question could be very time-consuming and difficult—each
salesperson appears on multiple rows, and we would need to total all of their
different orders individually. We could use the Subtotal command to help find
the total for each salesperson, but we would still have a lot of data to work
with.
Fortunately, a PivotTable can instantly calculate and
summarize the data in a way that is both easy to read and manipulate. Perform
the following.
Use the PivotTable to calculate and summarize the data.
Once you have created a PivotTable, change the order amount
to currency.
What is the amount sold by each salesperson?
What is the total amount sold in each month?
Take a screenshot or use the Snipping tool to copy the
worksheet where the new pivot table and pivot table fields appear to show your
work. Paste the screen images into a Word doc.
Submit your answers for this assignment by pasting the
worksheet screenshots in 1- to 3-page Word document.
SLP Part II
For Part II, prepare a 1- to 2-page Word document paper
addressing the following question.
Research 2-3 security measures that are available to protect
customers shopping on the Internet. Define the measure and find the benefits
and limitations of each approach.
SLP Assignment Expectations
Your assignment will be graded following these expectations:
SLP Part I and II must be submitted in one combined Word
document containing 2-5 pages properly labeling each section.
Submit a Word document with screen copies of the Excel
worksheet by pasting them in 1-3 pages. Answer the security question in 1-2
pages.
Precision: the
questions asked are answered.
Clarity: Your answers are clear and show your good understanding
of the topic.
Breadth and depth: The scope covered in your paper is
directly related to the questions of the assignment and the learning objectives
of the module.
Your paper meets the page requirements not counting the
cover page or the references pages
