business process re-engineering - jnujprdistance.comjnujprdistance.com/assets/lms/lms...

Business Process Re-engineering

Board of Studies

Prof. H. N. Verma Prof. M. K. GhadoliyaVice- Chancellor Director, Jaipur National University, Jaipur School of Distance Education and Learning Jaipur National University, JaipurDr. Rajendra Takale Prof. and Head AcademicsSBPIM, Pune

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Subject Expert Panel

Dr. Manoj Gadre Pritiben ChauhanProfessor, SBPIM Subject Matter ExpertPune

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Content Review Panel

Sushma JadhavSubject Matter Expert

___________________________________________________________________________________________Copyright ©

This book contains the course content for Business Process Re-engineering.

First Edition 2013

Printed byUniversal Training Solutions Private Limited

Address05th Floor, I-Space, Bavdhan, Pune 411021.

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not, in any form or by any means including electronic or mechanical or photocopying or recording, be reproduced or distributed or transmitted or stored in a retrieval system or be broadcasted or transmitted.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

I

Index

ContentI. ...................................................................... II

List of FiguresII. ..........................................................VI

List of TablesIII. ........................................................VIII

AbbreviationsIV. .........................................................IX

Case StudyV. .............................................................. 161

BibliographyVI. ......................................................... 175

Self Assessment AnswersVII. ................................... 178

Book at a Glance

II

Contents

Chapter I ....................................................................................................................................................... 1Introduction to Business Process Re-Engineering .................................................................................... 1Aim ................................................................................................................................................................ 1Objectives ...................................................................................................................................................... 1Learning outcome .......................................................................................................................................... 11.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 21.2 What is Business Process Re-engineering? ............................................................................................. 21.3 Data Processing Concepts for Business Process Re-engineering ............................................................ 5 1.3.1 Editing ...................................................................................................................................... 5 1.3.2 Field Editing ............................................................................................................................ 5 1.3.3 Office Editing........................................................................................................................... 51.4 Classification and Coding ........................................................................................................................ 5 1.4.1 Categorisation and Classification ............................................................................................ 5 1.4.2 When to Classify ...................................................................................................................... 5 1.4.3 Categorisation Rules ................................................................................................................ 5 1.4.4 Number of Categories .............................................................................................................. 6 1.4.5 Coding ...................................................................................................................................... 6 1.4.6 Transcription ............................................................................................................................ 61.5 Methods of Transaction............................................................................................................................ 6 1.5.1 Tabulation ................................................................................................................................ 6 1.5.2 Electronic Computers .............................................................................................................. 6 1.5.3 Construction of Tables ............................................................................................................. 61.6 Components of a Table ............................................................................................................................ 71.7 Principles of Table Construction .............................................................................................................. 71.8 Frequency Distribution and Class-intervals ............................................................................................. 81.9 Analysis and Interpretation of Data ......................................................................................................... 91.10 Drawing Conclusions and Recommendations ....................................................................................... 91.11 Graphic Representations ........................................................................................................................ 9 1.11.1 Meaning and Importance ....................................................................................................... 9 1.11.2 Types and General Rules ........................................................................................................ 9 1.11.3 Line Graphs .......................................................................................................................... 10 1.11.4 Histogram ............................................................................................................................. 10 1.11.5 Frequency Polygons ............................................................................................................. 10 1.11.6 Ogive .................................................................................................................................... 10 1.11.7 Lorenz Curve ....................................................................................................................... 10 1.11.8 Bar Charts ............................................................................................................................ 10 1.11.9 Pie or Circle Charts ...............................................................................................................11 1.11.10 Pictograms ...........................................................................................................................11Summary ..................................................................................................................................................... 12References ................................................................................................................................................... 12Recommended Reading ............................................................................................................................. 12Self Assessment ........................................................................................................................................... 13

Chapter II ................................................................................................................................................... 15File Processing System ............................................................................................................................... 15Aim .............................................................................................................................................................. 15Objectives .................................................................................................................................................... 15Learning outcome ........................................................................................................................................ 152.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 162.2 Window .................................................................................................................................................. 16 2.2.1 What is a Window? ................................................................................................................ 17 2.2.2 Parent Windows and Owner Windows .................................................................................. 18 2.2.3 Window Handles .................................................................................................................... 19

III

2.2.4 Screen and Window Coordinates ........................................................................................... 202.3 Basic File Management in Windows XP, Vista and 7 ............................................................................ 20 2.3.1 FILES and FOLDERS ........................................................................................................... 20 2.3.2 Simple File Setup ................................................................................................................... 21 2.3.3 Creating Folders ..................................................................................................................... 21 2.3.4 Viewing and Sorting File Lists .............................................................................................. 23 2.3.5 The Path of a File ................................................................................................................... 23 2.3.6 Path in Windows Vista and Windows 7 ................................................................................. 232.4 Organising Files and Folders ................................................................................................................. 24 2.4.1 Windows Explorer in Windows XP ....................................................................................... 24 2.4.2 Windows Explorer Window in XP ......................................................................................... 24 2.4.3 The Explorer Window in Windows 7 ..................................................................................... 25 2.4.4 Moving files using Windows Explorer (XP) or the Explorer Window (Windows 7) ............ 262.5 Letter Wizard ......................................................................................................................................... 26Summary ..................................................................................................................................................... 35References ................................................................................................................................................... 35Recommended Reading ............................................................................................................................. 36Self Assessment ........................................................................................................................................... 37

Chapter III .................................................................................................................................................. 39Spreadsheet ................................................................................................................................................. 39Aim .............................................................................................................................................................. 39Objectives .................................................................................................................................................... 39Learning outcome ........................................................................................................................................ 393.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 403.2 Use of a Spreadsheet .............................................................................................................................. 403.3 Getting Started ....................................................................................................................................... 403.4 Some Background .................................................................................................................................. 423.5 Working of Spreadsheets ...................................................................................................................... 43 3.5.1 Helpful hints while using the spreadsheet ............................................................................. 43 3.5.2 Moving around in the spreadsheet ......................................................................................... 44 3.5.3 Identifying the active cell’s coordinates ................................................................................ 44 3.5.4 Selecting a range (group) of cells .......................................................................................... 45 3.5.5 Blanking Out a Cell or Cells in the Spreadsheet ................................................................... 47 3.5.6 Editing the Data in the Entry Bar ........................................................................................... 473.6 Setting Up Labels for your Gradebook Template .................................................................................. 47 3.6.1 Aligning data in spreadsheet cells .......................................................................................... 48 3.6.2 Entering the column and row labels ...................................................................................... 49 3.6.3 Entering “dummy” scores ...................................................................................................... 49 3.6.4 Adjusting the Width of Columns ........................................................................................... 49 3.6.5 Changing the Alignment of the Column Labels .................................................................... 51 3.6.6 Creating and copying formulas .............................................................................................. 51 3.6.7 Creating the formula .............................................................................................................. 513.7 Copying and Pasting Formulas .............................................................................................................. 52 3.7.1 Copying the formula .............................................................................................................. 52 3.7.2 Pasting the formula ................................................................................................................ 533.8 Relative References ............................................................................................................................... 533.9 Setting up the Percentage Formula ........................................................................................................ 543.10 Using Logical functions ....................................................................................................................... 543.11 Absolute References ............................................................................................................................. 573.12 Setting the Cell Attribute for the PCNT column .................................................................................. 583.13 Checking Out the Formulas ................................................................................................................. 583.14 Entering Names and Scores for Each Student ..................................................................................... 59 3.14.1 Changing the name of the template document ..................................................................... 59 3.14.2 Entering the student names .................................................................................................. 60

IV

3.14.3 Entering the scores for each student .................................................................................... 603.15 Making Changes to your Gradebook ................................................................................................... 61 3.15.1 Inserting columns ................................................................................................................. 62 3.15.2 Deleting (cutting) rows and columns ................................................................................... 62 3.15.3 Printing your gradebook ...................................................................................................... 62 3.15.4 Saving a backup copy of your work .................................................................................... 64 3.15.5 Close the excel spreadsheet program ................................................................................... 643.16 A Word about Templates and Stationery Documents ........................................................................... 65Summary ..................................................................................................................................................... 66References ................................................................................................................................................... 66Recommended Reading ............................................................................................................................. 66Self Assessment ........................................................................................................................................... 67

Chapter IV .................................................................................................................................................. 69Introduction to Database ........................................................................................................................... 69Aim .............................................................................................................................................................. 69Objectives .................................................................................................................................................... 69Learning outcome ........................................................................................................................................ 694.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 704.2 Historical View of Key Database Developments ................................................................................... 714.3 Relational Database Model .................................................................................................................... 714.4 SQL ........................................................................................................................................................ 734.5 Object-based Database Models .............................................................................................................. 774.6 Classes and Attributes ............................................................................................................................ 784.7 Subtype and Inheritance ......................................................................................................................... 794.8 Object-Relational Database Model ........................................................................................................ 814.9 An Overview of Federated Database Systems ....................................................................................... 82Summary ..................................................................................................................................................... 84References ................................................................................................................................................... 84Recommended Reading ............................................................................................................................. 85Self Assessment ........................................................................................................................................... 86

Chapter V .................................................................................................................................................... 88SQL Server ................................................................................................................................................. 88Aim .............................................................................................................................................................. 88Objectives .................................................................................................................................................... 88Learning outcome ........................................................................................................................................ 885.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 895.2 Defining a Database ............................................................................................................................... 905.3 Building a Relationship .......................................................................................................................... 905.4 Functions with Database ........................................................................................................................ 92 5.4.1 Creating Tables ...................................................................................................................... 92 5.4.2 Building a View ..................................................................................................................... 95 5.4.3 Creating Stored Procedure ..................................................................................................... 975.5 XML Functions .................................................................................................................................... 102Summary ................................................................................................................................................... 109References ................................................................................................................................................. 109Recommended Reading ............................................................................................................................110Self Assessment ..........................................................................................................................................111

V

Chapter VI .................................................................................................................................................113Technological and Organisational Enablers of Business Process Reengineering ...............................113Aim .............................................................................................................................................................113Objectives ...................................................................................................................................................113Learning outcome .......................................................................................................................................1136.1 Introduction ...........................................................................................................................................1146.2 BPR: A Process Change Model.............................................................................................................1146.3 Functional Coupling of Business Processes .........................................................................................1146.4 Changing Functional Coupling Patterns of Processes through BPR ....................................................1166.5 Strategic Paths for Process Reconfiguration .........................................................................................1176.6 Enablers of Process Change ..................................................................................................................1196.7 Information Technology Enablers ........................................................................................................ 1206.8 Organisational Structure Enablers ....................................................................................................... 1226.9 BPR and Organisational Change.......................................................................................................... 1236.10 Reengineering Model Guidelines ...................................................................................................... 124Summary ................................................................................................................................................... 126References ................................................................................................................................................. 126Recommended Reading ........................................................................................................................... 127Self Assessment ......................................................................................................................................... 128

Chapter VII .............................................................................................................................................. 130The Place of Information Technology in BRP ....................................................................................... 130Aim ............................................................................................................................................................ 130Objectives .................................................................................................................................................. 130Learning outcome ...................................................................................................................................... 1307.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 1317.2 Business Strategy and the Management of Change ............................................................................. 1317.3 Integrating Information Systems Strategy and Business Strategy ....................................................... 1327.4 A Multi-Faceted Approach to Business Change .................................................................................. 1347.5 Organisational Environment ................................................................................................................ 1357.6 Business Strategies & Processes .......................................................................................................... 1357.7 Information Infrastructure .................................................................................................................... 1387.8 Organisational Learning ...................................................................................................................... 140Summary ................................................................................................................................................... 141References ................................................................................................................................................. 141Recommended Reading ........................................................................................................................... 141Self Assessment ......................................................................................................................................... 142

Chapter VIII ............................................................................................................................................. 144Automation, Business Process Reengineering and Client Server Technology ................................... 144Aim ............................................................................................................................................................ 144Objectives .................................................................................................................................................. 144Learning outcome ...................................................................................................................................... 1448.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 1458.2 BPR-An Historical Perspective Background ....................................................................................... 1458.3 The Industrial Era................................................................................................................................. 1458.4 The Information Era ............................................................................................................................. 1468.5 The Link between BPR and Information Technology ......................................................................... 148 8.5.1 General Information Technology ......................................................................................... 1488.6 The New Organisational Structure ....................................................................................................... 155Summary ................................................................................................................................................... 157References ................................................................................................................................................. 157Recommended Reading ........................................................................................................................... 158Self Assessment ......................................................................................................................................... 159

VI

List of Figures

Fig. 1.1 The components of a business process ............................................................................................. 3Fig. 1.2 Three inquiries three waiting queues ................................................................................................ 3Fig. 1.3 One stop service for all three inquiries ............................................................................................. 4Fig. 1.4 Sample table for Principles of Table construction ............................................................................ 8Fig. 2.1 Screen shot of an application window ............................................................................................ 17Fig. 2.2 Screen shot of a control window .................................................................................................... 17Fig. 2.3 Screen shot of an application with a dialog box ............................................................................. 18Fig. 2.4 Illustration showing parent/child and owner/owned relations ........................................................ 19Fig. 2.5 Illustration showing screen, window, and client coordinates ......................................................... 20Fig. 2.6 Creating folder ................................................................................................................................ 22Fig. 2.7 An example of the Save As dialog box in Windows Vista or 7 ...................................................... 22Fig. 2.8 Windows Explorer shows folders ................................................................................................... 24Fig. 2.9 Special features of the address bar ................................................................................................. 25Fig. 2.10 Letter Wizard ................................................................................................................................ 27Fig. 2.11 (a) Working of Letter Wizard ........................................................................................................ 27Fig. 2.11 (b) Working of Letter Wizard ....................................................................................................... 28Fig. 2.11 (c) Working of Letter Wizard ........................................................................................................ 28Fig. 2.12 (a) Recipient Info of Letter Wizard .............................................................................................. 29Fig. 2.12 (b) Recipient Info of Letter Wizard .............................................................................................. 29Fig. 2.13 The reference line option .............................................................................................................. 30Fig. 2.14 The mailing instruction option...................................................................................................... 30Fig. 2.15 The attention line option ............................................................................................................... 30Fig. 2.16 The subject line option.................................................................................................................. 30Fig. 2.17 Adding own information in letter wizard ..................................................................................... 31Fig. 2.18 Created letter ................................................................................................................................. 32Fig. 2.19 Envelopes and labels .................................................................................................................... 33Fig. 2.20 Customization of Menu or Tool Bar ............................................................................................. 34Fig. 3.1 Example Spreadsheet ...................................................................................................................... 40Fig. 3.2 The customize dialog box ............................................................................................................... 41Fig. 3.3 Gradebook for a 4th grade class ..................................................................................................... 42Fig. 3.4 Think of the spreadsheet as a grid divided into rows and columns ................................................ 43Fig. 3.5 Identifying the address of the cell you are working in ................................................................... 45Fig. 3.6 The spreadsheet Entry bar .............................................................................................................. 46Fig. 3.7 Completed Gradebook Template .................................................................................................... 47Fig. 3.8 Text is left aligned; numbers are right aligned ............................................................................... 48Fig. 3.9 The Column (letters of the alphabet) and Row (numbers) headers ................................................ 50Fig. 3.10 Adjusting column width using the mouse..................................................................................... 50Fig. 3.11 Copying and pasting ..................................................................................................................... 52Fig. 3.12 A zero will appear in each cell of the TOTAL column ................................................................. 54Fig. 3.13 Insert function dialog box ............................................................................................................. 55Fig. 3.14 The Logical functions ................................................................................................................... 55Fig. 3.15 The Function Arguments dialog box ............................................................................................ 56Fig. 3.16 Showing or not showing formulas in the Options dialog box ...................................................... 59Fig. 3.17 Selecting a row ............................................................................................................................. 61Fig. 3.18 Portrait and Landscape page orientation ...................................................................................... 62Fig. 3.19 Page Setup dialog box .................................................................................................................. 63Fig. 3.20 The Print dialog box ..................................................................................................................... 64Fig. 4.1 Historical view of key DBMS developments ................................................................................. 71Fig. 4.2 Tabular depiction of relations ......................................................................................................... 72Fig. 4.3 Example relational database ........................................................................................................... 73Fig. 4.4 General form of SELECT operations ............................................................................................. 75Fig. 4.5 Illustration of the join operation on two tables ............................................................................... 76Fig. 4.6 Classes and attributes ...................................................................................................................... 78

VII

Fig. 4.7 Association objects ......................................................................................................................... 79Fig. 4.8 Subclasses, super classes, and attribute inheritance ....................................................................... 80Fig. 4.9 Subclasses and instances ................................................................................................................ 80Fig. 4.10 Extending domain types in a relation ........................................................................................... 81Fig. 5.1 A stored procedure’s blank template ............................................................................................... 99Fig. 5.2 First set of template options filled .................................................................................................. 99Fig. 5.3 The remaining parameters ............................................................................................................ 100Fig. 5.4 Object Explorer with stored procedure listed ............................................................................... 101Fig. 6.1 A functional coupling framework of business processes ...............................................................116Fig. 6.2 Strategic paths for process reconfiguration ...................................................................................119Fig. 6.3 BPR: Enablers of Process Change ................................................................................................ 120Fig. 7.1 Information Systems Strategy as but one Aspect of Business Strategy ....................................... 132Fig. 7.2 Earl’s three-pronged, ‘multiple’ approach to IS strategy .............................................................. 133Fig. 7.3 Trends in IS strategy: The changing nature of the desired outcomes from the process .............. 134Fig. 7.4 An amended version of Leavitt’s ‘Diamond’ ............................................................................... 134Fig. 7.5 A Socio-Technical approach to business and IS strategy formation and the management

of organisational transformation ................................................................................................... 136Fig. 7.6 An illustration of aspects of Checkland’s (1981) Soft Systems Methodology ............................. 138Fig. 7.7 The IT Strategic Grid ................................................................................................................... 138Fig. 7.8 Choosing an appropriate IT-based business strategy ................................................................... 139

VIII

List of Tables

Table 3.1 Cell selection commands ............................................................................................................. 44Table 3.2 Selecting a range (group) of cells................................................................................................. 45Table 3.3 Column width ............................................................................................................................... 51Table 5.1 FOR XML .................................................................................................................................. 103Table 8.1 Stages of the industrial and information eras ............................................................................. 145Table 8.2 Benefits and costs of client/server computing ........................................................................... 149

IX

Abbreviations

BPR - Business Process ReengineeringCSF - Critical Success FactorCSRs - Customer Service RepresentativesDBMS - Database Management SystemDB - DatabaseEIS - Executive Information SystemGUI - Graphical User InterfacesIT - Information TechnologyLCA - Large Collection AgencyLANs - Local Area NetworksPMD - Product Marketing DivisionRDMS - Relational Database Management SystemSQL - Structured Query LanguageTQM - Total Quality ManagementTI - Texas InstrumentsXML - Xtensible Markup Language

1

Chapter I

Introduction to Business Process Re-Engineering

Aim

The aim of this chapter is to:

introduce Business Process Reengineering•

explain components of a business process•

discuss BRP application•

Objectives

The objectives of this chapter are to:

explain data processing concepts•

classify components of a table•

elucidate meaning and importance of graphic representation•

Learning outcome

At the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

distinguishclassificationandcoding•

understand principles of table construction•

identify categorisation rules•


2

1.1 IntroductionBusiness Process Reengineering involves changes in structures and in processes within the business environment. The entire technological, human, and organisational dimensions may be changed in BPR. Information Technology playsamajorroleinBusinessProcessReengineeringasitprovidesofficeautomation;itallowsthebusinesstobeconductedindifferentlocations,providesflexibilityinmanufacturing,permitsquickerdeliverytocustomersandsupportsrapidandpaperlesstransactions.Ingeneralitallowsanefficientandeffectivechangeinthemannerinwhich work is performed.

1.2 What is Business Process Re-engineering?The globalisation of the economy and the liberalisation of the trade markets have formulated new conditions in the market place which are characterised by instability and intensive competition in the business environment. Competition is continuously increasing with respect to price, quality and selection, service and promptness of delivery. Removal of barriers, international cooperation, technological innovations cause competition to intensify. All these changes impose the need for organisational transformation, where the entire processes and organisation climateandorganisationstructurearechanged.HammerandChampyprovidethefollowingdefinitions:

Reengineering is the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic •improvements in critical contemporary measures of performance such as cost, quality, service and speed.Processisastructured,measuredsetofactivitiesdesignedtoproduceaspecifiedoutputforaparticularcustomer•or market. It implies a strong emphasis on how work is done within an organisation.

Each process is composed of related steps or activities that use people, information, and other resources to create value for customers as it is illustrated in the following example.

Consider an example of a business process: Credit card approval in a bank.

Anapplicantsubmitsanapplication.Theapplicationisreviewedfirsttomakesurethattheformhasbeencompletedproperly.Ifnot,itisreturnedforcompletion.Thecompleteformgoesthroughaverificationofinformation.Thisisdonebyorderingareportfromacreditcompanyandcallingreferences.Oncetheinformationisverified,anevaluation is done. Then, a decision (yes or no) is made. If the decision is negative, an appropriate rejection letter is composed. If the decision is positive, an account is opened, and a card is issued and mailed to the customer. The process,whichmaytakeafewweeksduetoworkloadandwaitingtimefortheverifications,isusuallydonebyseveral individuals.

Business processes are characterised by three elements:the inputs (data such customer inquiries or materials)•the processing of the data or materials (which usually go through several stages and may necessary stops that •turns out to be time and money consuming)the outcome (the delivery of the expected result)•

The problematic part of the process is processing. Business process reengineering mainly intervenes in the processing part, which is reengineered in order to become less time and money consuming.

3

CEO

SALES FINANCE PRODUCTION

Customer Inquiry Delivery of Results

1. Trigger 3. results

PROCESSES ARE CHARACTERIZED BY 3 ELEMENTS

2. Processing

Fig. 1.1 The components of a business process(Source: httpcw.adi.pt/docs/innoregio_bpr-en.pdf)

The term “Business Process Reengineering” has, over the past couple of year, gained Increasing circulation. As a result,manyfindthemselvesfacedwiththeprospectofhavingtolearn,plan,implementandsuccessfullyconductareal Business Process Reengineering endeavour, whatever that might entail within their own business organisation. HammerandChampy(1993)definebusinessprocessreengineering(BPR)as:“thefundamentalrethinkingandradical redesign of the business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical, contemporary measures of performance, such as cost, quality, service and speed”.

Study following example of BPR applicationA typical problem with processes in vertical organisational structure is that customers must speak with various staff members for different inquiries. For example, if a bank customer enters into the bank determined to apply for a loan, apply for an ATM card and open a savings account, most probably must visit three different desks in order to beserviced,asillustratedinfigurebelowwhenBPRisappliedtoanorganisation.

LOANS ACCOUNTS ATM CARDS

Fig. 1.2 Three inquiries three waiting queues(Source: http://www.adi.pt/docs/innoregio_bpr-en.pdf)

The implementation of “One Stop Shopping” as a major customer service innovation requires the close coordination with a team of staff assigned to a process powered by IT for exchanging information and documents in order to service the customer’s request. For instance a customer applying for a loan “triggers” a team of staff assigned to service a loan application.


4

LOANS APPLICATIONPROCESS

NEW ACCOUNTS PROCESS

ATM PROCESS

ÂÁÍ Ê ÉÍ ÔRÁÍ ÅÔ

FUNCTIONAL TEAMS

Fig. 1.3 One stop service for all three inquiries(Source: http://www.adi.pt/docs/innoregio_bpr-en.pdf)

Thecustomercommunicateswithonlyoneperson,called“casemanager”,forallthreeinquiries,studythefigureabove. Manager completes an application for a loan in electronic form, which in turn is submitted through the network to the next team member, the credit control director, who examines the credit status of the customer. If the credit statusisnotsatisfactorytherejectionoftheloanisapprovedbythecreditmanagerandarejectionformisfilledand it is returned to the case manager. The case manager explains to the customer the reason that his application was rejected.

On the other hand, if the credit status of the customer is satisfactory, the application is submitted electronically to the next team member, who calculates interest rates and payment tables. The application is then submitted to the credit manager for approval using a digital signature. The approval of the application along with the payment table is delivered to the customer by the case manager.

Most importantly, while the loan application team was processing the loan application, the case manager “triggered” the account team to open a savings account and the ATM team to supply the customer with an ATM card. The customer leaves the bank having a response for his loan application, a new savings account and an ATM card, and all these without having to move around the desks for signatures and documents. All the customer’s requests were satisfiedatthesametimeinparallelmotion.

Thedifferencebetweentheverticalorganisation(figure1.2)andthecrossfunctionalorganisation(figure1.3)liesin the way businesses are organised internally. The vertical organisation is organised based on functional units for example, the sales, the accounting department. In cross-functional organisational units the main organisational unit is the process. Since “doing business” is mainly running processes, it would be very logical to organise companies based on processes. For instance, the ordering process crosses different departments such as the sales department for order taking, the accounting department for credit control and invoicing, the logistics department for inventory control and distribution, and the production department for producing the order.

5

1.3 Data Processing Concepts for Business Process Re-engineeringData processing is an intermediary stage of work between data collection and data analysis. The completed instruments ofdatacollectionwhichareinterviewschedules/questionnaires/datasheets/fieldnotescontainavastmassofdata.They cannot straightaway provide answers to research questions. They, like raw materials, need processing. Data processinginvolvesclassificationandsummariseronofdatainordertomakethemamenabletoanalysis

Processing of data requires advance planning at the stage of planning the research design. This advance planning may covey such aspects as categorisation of variables and preparation of dummy tables. This should be done with reference to the requirements of testing hypotheses/investigative questions. This type of preplanning ensures better identificationofdataneedsandtheiradequatecoverageinthetoolsforcollectionofdata.Dataprocessingconsistsof a number of closely related operations which are:

editing•classificationandcoding•transcription•tabulation•

1.3.1 EditingThefirststepinprocessingofdataiseditingofcompleteschedules/questionnaires.Editingisaprocessofcheckingtodetectandorcorrecterrorsandomissions.Editingisdoneattwostages:firstatthefieldworkstageandsecondatoffice.

1.3.2 Field EditingDuring the stress of interviewing the interviewer cannot always record responses completely and legibly. Therefore after each interview is over, he should review the schedule to complete abbreviated responses, rewrite illegible responses and correct omissions.

1.3.3 Office EditingAllcompletedschedules/questionnairesshouldbethoroughlycheckedintheofficeforcompleteness,accuracyanduniformity.

1.4 Classification and CodingClassificationandCodingincludesvariouspoints,theseareexplainedindetailbelow:

1.4.1 Categorisation and ClassificationTheediteddataareclassifiedandcoded.Theresponsesareclassifiedintomeaningfulcategoriessoastobringoutessentialpattern.Bythismethod,severalhundredresponsesarereducedtofiveorsixappropriatecategoriescontaining critical information needed for analysis.

1.4.2 When to ClassifyClassificationcanbedoneatanyphasepriortothetabulation.Certainitemslikesex,age,typeofhouse,andthelikearestructuredandpreclassifiedinthedatacollectionformitself.Theresponsestoopen-endedquestionsareclassifiedattheprocessingstage.

1.4.3 Categorisation RulesAclassificationsystemshouldmeetcertainrequirementsorbeguidedbycertainrules.

First,classificationshouldbelinkedtothetheoryandtheaimoftheparticularstudy.•Second, the scheme should be exhaustive. That is, there must be a category for every response.•Third,thecategoriesmustalsobemutuallyexclusive,sothateachcaseisclassifiedonlyonce.•


6

1.4.4 Number of CategoriesHow many categories should a scheme include? It is preferable to include many categories rather than a few, since reducingthenumberlateriseasierthansplittinganalreadyclassifiedgroupofresponses.However,thenumberofcategories is-limited by the number of cases and the anticipated statistical analysis.

1.4.5 CodingCoding means assigning numerals or other symbols to the categories or responses. For each question a coding scheme is designed on the basis of the con med categories. The coding schemes with their assigned symbols together with specificcodinginstructionsmaybeassembledinabook.Thecodebookwillidentifyaspecificitemofvariable/observation and the code number assigned to each category of that item. If the data are to be transferred to machine punch cards, the codebook will also identify the column in which it is entered.

1.4.6 TranscriptionWhen only a few schedules are processed and hand-tabulated, tabulation can directly be made from the schedules. On theotherhand,direct tabulation from theedited schedules/questionnaires isdifficult if thenumberof theschedules and the number of responses in them are large/suppose an interview schedule contains 180 responses requiring tabulation and 210 simple and cross tables are to be constructed, each schedule has to be handled at least 210 for tabulation. This will result in mutilation of the schedule, and. omissions and commissions may easily occur in tabulation. In order to avoid these drawbacks, data contained in schedules/questionnaires are transferred to another material for the purpose of tabulation. This intermediary process is called ‘transcription’.

1.5 Methods of TransactionThe material to be used for transaction depends on the method of tabulation - manual or mechanical. Long work sheets, sorting cards or sorting strips are used for transcription when tabulation is done manually, and punch cards or magnetic tape (or disks) are used in a system of machine sorting and tabulation.

1.5.1 TabulationAfter the transcription of data is over, data are summarised and arranged in a compact form for further analysis. This process is called tabulation. Thus, tabulation is the process of summarising raw data and displaying them on compact statistical tables for further analysis. It involves counting of the number of cases falling into each of several categories. Tabulation can be done by hand or by mechanical or electronic devices. The choice depends upon the size and type of study, cost considerations, time pressures and the availability of tabulating machines or computers. Hand tabulation is suitable for small and simple studies. Electronic or mechanical tabulation is more appropriate for large and complex studies.

1.5.2 Electronic ComputersThe uses of electronic computers have revolutionised data analysis. They can perform all the specialised functions at a much higher speed. The use of computers has facilitated large-scale studies and above all the use of complex techniques of analysis such as multivariate analysis, factor analysis and the like. The operating speed of computers is fantastic. The time required for computers to perform such basic operations as adding and subtracting is less than a billionth of a second. The large computers can perform many million operations in a second. In addition to being very fast, computers are very accurate.

1.5.3 Construction of TablesAfter the data have been tabulated, they are arranged in statistical tables in vertical columns and horizontal rows accordingtosomeclassification.Tablesprovidea“shorthand”summaryofdata.Theimportanceofpresentingstatistical data in tabular form needs no emphasis. Tables facilitate comprehending masses of data at a glance; they conserve space and reduce explanations and descriptions to a minimum; they give a visual picture of relationships between variables and categories; they facilitate summation of items and the detection of errors and omissions; and they provide a basis for computations.

7

It is important to make a distinction between the general-purpose tables and the special tables. The general-purpose tables are primary or reference tables designed to include large amounts of source data in convenient and accessible form.Thespecialpurposetablesareanalyticalorderivativeones,whichdemonstratesignificantrelationshipsinthedata or the results of statistical analysis. Tables in reports of government on population, vital statistics, agriculture, industries etc. are of general-purpose type. They represent extensive repositories of statistical information. Special purpose tables are found in monographs, research reports and articles, and are used as instruments of analysis. In research we are primarily concerned with special purpose tables.

1.6 Components of a TableThe major components of a table are:HeadingHeading consists of:

Table Number•Title of the table•Designation of units •

BodyIt includes:

Stub-head - heading of all rows or blocks of stub items.•Boxhead - headings of all columns or main captions and their sub captions•Field or body - the cells in rows and columns •

NotationsNotations are of:

Footnotes, if necessary•Source•

1.7 Principles of Table ConstructionThere are certain generally accepted principles of rules relating to construction of tables.

They are:Every table should have a title.•Everytableshouldbeidentifiedbyanumbertofacilitateeasyreference.•The captions (or column headings) should be clear and brief.•The units of measurement under each heading must always be indicated.•Any explanatory footnotes concerning the table itself are placed directly beneath the table and in order to obviate •any possible confusion with the textual footnotes such reference symbols as the asterisk (*) dagger (+) and the like may be used.If the data in a series of tables have been obtained from different sources, it is ordinarily advisable to indicate •thespecificsourcesinaplacejustbelowthetable.Usually columns are separated from one another by lines. Lines are always drawn at the top and bottom of the •table and below the captions.The columns may be numbered to facilitate reference.•Allcolumnfiguresshouldbeproperlyaligned.Decimalpointsand‘plus’or‘minus’signsshouldbeinperfect•alignment.Columns and rows which are to be compared with one another should be brought close together.•Totals of rows should be placed at the extreme right column and totals of columns at the bottom.•


8

In order to emphasise the relative significance of certain categories, different kinds of type, spacing and•indentations can be used.The arrangement of the categories in a table may be chronological, geographical, alphabetical or according to •magnitude. Numerical categories are usually arranged in descending order of magnitude.Miscellaneous and exceptional items are generally placed in the last row of the table.•Usually the larger numbers of items are listed vertically. This means that a table’s length is more than its •width.Abbreviations should be avoided whenever possible and ditto marks should not be used in a table.•The table should be made as logical, clear, accurate and simple as possible.•

Table Number

TITLE OF THE TABLE

Stub Head Caption or Column Head

X y Z W Total

1....

2.... Sub Captions

3....

4....

Total

Stub

Box Head

Items

Field or Body

Notations Source:

Footnote, only if necessary

Fig. 1.4 Sample table for Principles of Table construction(Source: http://www.adi.pt/docs/innoregio_bpr-en.pdf)

1.8 Frequency Distribution and Class-intervalsVariablesthatareclassifiedaccordingtomagnitudeorsizeareoftenarrangedintheformofafrequencytable.In constructing this table it is necessary to determine the number of class-intervals to be used and the size of the class-intervals.

A distinction is usually made between continuous and discrete variables. A continuous variable has an unlimited number of possible values racing between the lowest and the highest, with no gaps or breaks for example, Age, Weight andTemperature.ADiscretevariablecanhaveaseriesofspecifiedvalueswithnopossibilityofvaluesbetweenthose points. Each value of a discrete variable is distinct and separate for example, persons, houses, books.

In practice, all variables are treated as discrete units, the continuous variables being stated in some discrete unit size according to the needs of a particular situation. For example, length is described in discrete units of millimetres or tenth of an inch.

9

Class-intervals: Ordinarily the number of class-intervals may not be less than 5 and not more than 15, depending •on the nature of the data and the number of cases being studied. After noting the highest and lowest values and the features of the data, the number of intervals can be easily determined.One-way tables: Frequency tables present the distribution of cases on only a single dimension or variable. For •example, distribution of respondents by sex, distribution of respondents by religion, socio-economic status of respondents and the like are shown in one-way tables.Two-way tables: Distribution in terms of two or more variables and the relationship between two variables are •shown in two-way tables. The categories of one variable are presented, one below another, on the left margin of the table and those of another variable at the upper part of the table, one by the side of another. The cells represent particular combinations of both variables. To compare the distribution of cases raw numbers are converted into percentages based on the number of cases in each category.

1.9 Analysis and Interpretation of DataData analysis involves critical thinking. This is done only after collecting all the data and always focused on the research problems and the hypothesis and questions rose in the statement of the problem. Here the research compiles or summarises the results in a logical order usually in relation to the hypotheses and objectives of the study. After a briefintroductiononthemainresultsorfeaturesofthefindingsofthestudy,thedataaredescribedandinterpretedinsufficientdetailleadingtotheultimateconclusion.Tables,graphsandillustrationsareusedtopresentthedatamore clearly and economically.

In brief, analysis involves examination and evaluation of some phenomenon by dividing it into some constituent parts and identifying the relationships among the parts in the context of the whole. You then interpret the relationships to explain or make some intended generalisation governing the behaviour of the phenomenon.

1.10 Drawing Conclusions and RecommendationsTheresearchersummarisesthemainfindingsofhisstudyandtheimplications.Conclusionssummarisethemainresultsoftheresearchanddescribewhattheymeanforthegeneralfield.Brieflydescribewhatyoudid,considersuggesting future research to follow up where your research ended.

1.11 Graphic RepresentationsWe will explain graphic representations with the help of following points:

1.11.1 Meaning and ImportanceGraphic presentation involves use of graphics, charts and other pictorial devices. These forms and devices reduce largemassesofstatisticaldatatoaformthatcanbequicklyunderstoodataglance.Themeaningoffiguresintabularformmaybedifficultforthemindtograsporretain.“Properlyconstructedgraphsandchartsrelievethemindofburdensomedetailsbyportrayingfactsconcisely,logicallyandsimply.”They,byemphasisingnewandsignificantrelationships, are also useful in discovering new facts and in developing hypotheses.

The device of graphic representation is particularly useful when the prospective readers are non-technical people or general public. It is useful to even technical people for dramatising certain points about the data, for important points can be more effective captured in pictures than in tables. However, graphic forms are not substitutes for tables, but are additional devices.

1.11.2 Types and General RulesThe most commonly used graphic forms may be grouped into the following categories:

Line graphs or charts•Bar Charts•Segmental representations•Pictographs. •


10

1.11.3 Line GraphsThelinegraphisusefulforshowingchangesindatarelationshipsoveraperiodoftime.Inthisgraph,figuresareplotted in relation to two interesting lines or axes. The horizontal line is called the abscissa or X-axis and the vertical, the ordinal or Y-axis. The point at which the two axes, interest is zero for both X and Y. The ‘0’ is the origin of coordinates. The two lines divide the region of the plane into four sections known as quadrants, which are numbered anti-clockwise. Measurements to the right and above ‘0’ are positive (plus), and measurements to the left and below ‘0’ are negative (minus). Any point in the plane of the two axes is plotted in terms of the two axes reading from the origin ‘0’. Scale intervals in both the axes should he equal. If a part of the scale is omitted, a set of parallel jagged lines should be used to indicate the break in the scale. The time dimension or independent variable is represented by the X-axis and the other variable by Y-axis.

1.11.4 HistogramThis is another form of line chart used for presenting a frequency distribution. It is constructed by erecting vertical lines on the limits of the class intervals marked on the base line. That is the vertical lines so drawn from a series of contiguous rectangles or columns. The Width of each rectangle represents its class interval, and the height represents the class frequency.

1.11.5 Frequency PolygonsIt is often more convenient to draw a frequency polygon instead of drawing a histogram of a distribution. In laying out a frequency polygon, the frequency of each class is located at the midpoint of the interval and the plotted points are then connected by straight lines. If two or more series are shown on the same graph, the curves can be made with different kinds of ruling. If the total number of cases in the two series is of different size, the frequencies are often reduced to percentages. The frequency polygon is particularly appropriate for portraying continuous series. It is sometimes desirable to portray the data by a smoothed curve. The chart is then called a frequency curve.

1.11.6 OgiveThe ogive is a line chart plotted on arithmetic graph paper from a cumulative frequency distribution, which may be cumulated downward or upward. It is useful in representing population, per capita income, per capita earnings etc. Two or more distributions may be compared by converting the data of the distributions to percentages of the total, then cumulating the percentages and plotting the ogives on the same grid. The differences in steepness and shape of the ogives facilitate comparative observations.

1.11.7 Lorenz CurveThe Lorenz Curve is a line chart used to compare the proportionality in two quantitative variables. It is commonly used to show the degree by which the distribution of income per family departs from the distribution’ of the number of families; it shows that it disparate proportion of the income goes to a few families.

1.11.8 Bar ChartsThese charts consist of either vertical or horizontal bars to represent variables. The length of the bars varies corresponding to the values of the variable. Bar charts are the most effective pictorial device for comparing data. The bars may be depicted in solid blocks or in patterns of dots, dishes and so on. They may be of different forms:

linear or one-dimensional•areal or two-dimensional•cubic or three-dimensional•

The actual numerical values may be shown on the X-axis or Y-axis, as the case may be, or at the immediate ends of the bars.

11

1.11.9 Pie or Circle ChartsThe circle or pie chart is a component parts chart. The component parts form the segments of the circle. The circle chart is usually a percentage chart. The data are converted to percentage of the total; and the proportional segments, therefore, give a clear picture of the relationship among the component parts.

1.11.10 PictogramsA pictogram is a variation of the bar chart. In pictogram the value are represented by identical symbols or pictures eachonerepresentingafixedsizeofthevariable.Thesymbolsusedmaybeappropriatetothetypeofdata.


12

SummaryBusiness Process Reengineering involves changes in structures and in processes within the business •environment.The entire technological, human, and organisational dimensions may be changed in BPR.•Reengineering is the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic •improvements in critical contemporary measures of performance such as cost, quality, service and speed.Processisastructured,measuredsetofactivitiesdesignedtoproduceaspecifiedoutputforaparticularcustomer•or market. It implies a strong emphasis on how work is done within an organisation.Data processing is an intermediary stage of work between data collection and data analysis.•Processing of data requires advance planning at the stage of planning the research design.•Thefirststep inprocessingofdata iseditingofcompleteschedules/questionnaires.Editing isaprocessof•checking to detect and or correct errors and omissions.During the stress of interviewing the interviewer cannot always record responses completely and legibly.•Allcompletedschedules/questionnairesshouldbethoroughlycheckedintheofficeforCompleteness,accuracy•and uniformity.Coding means assigning numerals or other symbols to the categories or responses.•The material to be used for transaction depends on the method of tabulation - manual or mechanical.•After the transcription of data is over, data are summarised and arranged in a compact form for further analysis. •This process is called tabulation.After the data have been tabulated, they are arranged in statistical tables in vertical columns and horizontal rows •accordingtosomeclassification.A distinction is usually made between continuous and discrete variables.•The ogive is a line chart plotted on arithmetic graph paper from a cumulative frequency distribution, which may •be cumulated downward or upward.The Lorenz Curve is a line chart used to compare the proportionality in two quantitative variables.•Bar charts consist of either vertical or horizontal bars to represent variables.•

ReferencesFeese, D., 1995. • Business Process Re-engineering: An Exploratory Study, Concordia University.Venkatachalam, A. T., Sellappan, M. C., 2011. • Business Process, PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd.Zigiaris, S., • BUSINESS PROCESS RE-ENGINEERING BRP, [Online] Available at: <http://www.adi.pt/docs/innoregio_bpr-en.pdf> [Accessed 3 July 2012].Business Process Reengineering-BRP• , [Online] Available at: <http://www.scribd.com/doc/50644615/BPR> [Accessed 3 July 2012].saylorfoundation, 2011, • Saylor BUS303: Business Process Reengineering Explained, [Video Online] Available at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2j2lcDWQk7A> [Accessed 3 July 2012].PostMarkInc, 2009. • Data Processing, [Video Online] Available at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSgLeYbntV0> [Accessed 3 July 2012].

Recommended ReadingRadhakrishnan, Radhakrishnan B., • Business Process Reengineering: Text and Cases, PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd.Landon C. G., 2002. • Business Process Re-engineering: A Management Handbook, 3rd ed., Vertical Systems.Edwards, P., Broadwell, B., 1982. • Data Processing: Computers in Action, 2nd ed. Wadsworth.

13

Self Assessment_________allows the business to be conducted in different locations and provides flexibility in 1. manufacturing.

Information Technologya. Business Process Reengineeringb. Process Elementsc. Accountsd.

_________is the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic 2. improvements.

Businessa. Reengineeringb. Processc. Creditd.

_________isastructured,measuredsetofactivitiesdesignedtoproduceaspecifiedoutputforaparticular3. customer or market.

Businessa. Reengineeringb. Processc. Creditd.

The __________ is organised based on functional units.4. vertical organisationa. cross functional organisationb. function organisationc. business organisationd.

_________ is an intermediary stage of work between data collection and data analysis.5. Data storagea. Data manipulationb. Data analysisc. Data processingd.

Which of the following is not a data processing related operation?6. editinga. transcriptionb. removingc. tabulationd.

_________ is a process of checking to detect and or correct errors and omissions.7. Editinga. Copyingb. Deletingc. Pastingd.


14

________ means assigning numerals or other symbols to the categories or responses.8. Editinga. Field Editingb. Codingc. Classificationd.

Summarisation and arrangement of data in a compact form for further analysis is called as__________.9. notationsa. tabulationb. transactionc. alignmentd.

Variablesthatareclassifiedaccordingtomagnitudeorsizeareoftenarrangedintheformofa_________.10. frequency tablea. one-way tableb. two-way tablec. statistical tabled.

15

Chapter II

File Processing System

Aim


introducefileprocessingsystem•

explain window and its components•

elucidate Letter Wizard•

Objectives


explainfilesandfolders•

classifyviewingandsortingfilelists•

elucidatebasicfilemanagementinwindowsXP,vistaand7•

Learning outcome


compareorganisingfilesandfolders•

understandmovingfilesusingwindowsexplorer(XP)ortheexplorerwindow•

identify adding own information in letter wizard•


16

2.1 IntroductionA File can store records and we can extract these records using different applications programs. The simplest data retrievaltaskfromfilerequiresextensiveprogramming.Alsothisisatimeconsumingandahighskillactivity.

Toaccessthedatainfiletheprogrammermustawareofthephysicalstructureofthefile.•Securityfeaturessuchaseffectivepasswordprotection,lockingpartsoffileetcareverydifficulttoprogram.•TheFilesystemexhibitsstructuraldependencethatisachangeinfilestructuresuchasadditionordeletionof•afieldrequiresthemodificationofallprogramsusingthatfile.Datadependence:Achangeinfiledatacharacteristicsuchaschangeinafielddatatypefromintegertodecimal•requireschangesinallprogramsthataccessthefile.

Atypicalfileprocessingsystemissupportedbyconventionaloperatingsystems.Thesystemstorespermanentrecordinvariousfiles.Itusesvariousapplicationprogramstoextractrecordsfrom,andaddrecordstotheappropriatefiles.BeforeusingDBMStostoreandretrievedata,organisations120storedinformationinfileprocessingsystems.

Butasthenumberoffilesinthesystemexpands,systemadministrationbecomesdifficulttoo.Eachfilemusthaveitsownfilemanagementsystem,composedofprogramsthatallowusertocreatethefilestructure,adddatatothefile,deletedatafromthefile,modifythedatainthefile,listthefilecontentsetc.Evenasimplefileprocessingsystemcontaining25filesrequires5*25=125filemanagementprograms.Eachdepartmentintheorganisationownsitsdatabycreatingitsownfiles.Sothenumberoffilescanmultiplyrapidly.

Securityfeaturessuchaseffectivepasswordprotection,lockingoutpartoffilesorpartofsystemitselfandotherdataconfidentialitymeasuresaredifficulttoprogramandareusuallyomitted.Thefilesystem’sstructureandlackofsecuritymakesitdifficulttopooldata.Thesamebasicdataisstoredindifferentlocations.Butitisveryunlikelythat that data stored in different locations will always be updated consistently, hence maintaining different versions of samedata.Thefileprocessing system is simplynot suitable formoderndatamanagement and informationrequirement.

2.2 WindowWindow is an enclosed rectangular area on a display screen. Most modern operating systems and applications have graphical user interfaces (GUIs) that let you divide your display into several windows. Within each window, you can run a different program or display different data. Windows are particularly valuable in multitasking environments, which allow us to execute several programs at once. By dividing our display into windows, we can see the output from all the programs at the same time. To enter input into a program, we simply have to click on the desired window to make it the foreground process.

GUIs, such as the one supported by the Apple Macintosh or Windows, enable us to set the dimensions and position of each window by moving the mouse and clicking appropriate buttons. Windows can be arranged so that they do not overlap (tiled windows) or so they do overlap (overlaid windows). Overlaid windows (also called cascading windows) resemble a stack of pieces of paper lying on top of one another; only the topmost window is displayed in full. We can move a window to the top of the stack by positioning the pointer in the portion of the window that is visibleandclickingthemousebuttons.Thisisknownaspopping.Wecanexpandawindowtofilltheentirescreenby selecting the window’s zoom box.

In addition to moving windows, changing their size, popping and zooming them, you can also replace an entire window with an icon (this is sometimes called minimising). An icon is a small picture that represents the program running in the window. By converting a window into an icon, we can free up space on the display screen without erasing the window entirely. It is always possible to reconvert the icon into a window whenever we want. A window canalsobealogicalviewofafile.Bymovingthewindow,youcanviewdifferentportionsofthefile.

17

2.2.1 What is a Window?Obviously, windows are central to Windows. They are so important that they named the operating system after them. But what is a window? When we think of a window, we probably think of something like this:

Fig. 2.1 Screen shot of an application window(Source: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ff381403%28v=vs.85%29.aspx)

This type of window is called an application window or main window. It typically has a frame with a title bar, Minimise and Maximise buttons, and other standard UI elements. The frame is called the non-client area of the window, so called because the operating system manages that portion of the window. The area within the frame is the client area. This is the part of the window that our program manages.

Here, is another type of window:

Fig. 2.2 Screen shot of a control window(Source: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ff381403%28v=vs.85%29.aspx)

If you are new to Windows programming, it may surprise you that UI controls, such as buttons and edit boxes, are themselves windows. The major difference between a UI control and an application window is that a control does not exist by itself. Instead, the control is positioned relative to the application window. When you drag the application window, the control moves with it, as you would expect. Also, the control and the application window can communicatewitheachother.(Forexample,theapplicationwindowreceivesclicknotificationsfromabutton.)

Therefore, when you think window, do not simply think application window. Instead, think of a window as programmings construct that:

Occupies a certain portion of the screen.•May or may not be visible at a given moment.•Knows how to draw itself.•Responds to events from the user or the operating system.•


18

2.2.2 Parent Windows and Owner WindowsIn the case of a UI control, the control window is said to be the child of the application window. The application window is the parent of the control window. The parent window provides the coordinate system used for positioning a child window. Having a parent window affects aspects of a window’s appearance; for example, a child window is clipped so that no part of the child window can appear outside the borders of its parent window.

Another relationship is the relation between an application window and a modal dialog window. When an application displays a modal dialog, the application window is the owner window, and the dialog is an owned window. An owned window always appears in front of its owner window. It is hidden when the owner is minimised, and is destroyed at the same time as the owner. The following image shows an application that displays a dialog box with two buttons:

Fig. 2.3 Screen shot of an application with a dialog box(Source: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ff381403%28v=vs.85%29.aspx)

The application window owns the dialog window, and the dialog window is the parent of both button windows. The following diagram shows these relations:

19

Fig. 2.4 Illustration showing parent/child and owner/owned relations(Source: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ff381403%28v=vs.85%29.aspx)

2.2.3 Window HandlesWindows are objects they have both code and data but they are not C++ classes. Instead, a program references a window by using a value called a handle. A handle is an opaque type. Essentially, it is just a number that the operating system uses to identify an object. You can picture Windows as having a big table of all the windows that have been created. It uses this table to look up windows by their handles. (Whether that’s exactly how it works internally is not important.) The data type for window handles is HWND, which is usually pronounced “aitch-wind.” Window handles are returned by the functions that create windows: CreateWindow and CreateWindowEx.

To perform an operation on a window, you will typically call some function that takes an HWND value as a parameter. For example, to reposition a window on the screen, call the MoveWindow function:

BOOL MoveWindow(HWND hWnd, int X, int Y, int nWidth, int nHeight, BOOL bRepaint);

Thefirstparameteristhehandletothewindowthatyouwanttomove.Theotherparametersspecifythenewlocationof the window and whether the window should be redrawn.

Keep in mind that handles are not pointers. If hwnd is a variable that contains a handle, attempting to dereference the handle by writing *hwnd is an error.


20

2.2.4 Screen and Window CoordinatesCoordinates are measured in device-independent pixels. We’ll have more to say about the device independent part of device-independent pixels when we discuss graphics.

Depending on your task, you might measure coordinates relative to the screen, relative to a window (including the frame), or relative to the client area of a window. For example, you would position a window on the screen using screen coordinates, but you would draw inside a window using client coordinates. In each case, the origin (0, 0) is always the top-left corner of the region.

Screen Coordinates

(width, height)

Client Coordinates

Window Coordinates

(0,0)

(0,0)

(0,0)

Fig. 2.5 Illustration showing screen, window, and client coordinates(Source: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ff381403%28v=vs.85%29.aspx)

2.3 Basic File Management in Windows XP, Vista and 7Following section describes the basics of File Management in Windows XP, Vista and 7.

2.3.1 FILES and FOLDERSBeforeworkingwithfilesandfolders,itisimportanttounderstandthedifferencebetweenthemasusedincomputervocabulary.Afileisacollectionofdigitalinformation,sometimescreatedbytheuser,givenaname,andstoredonacomputerdisk.Examplesoffilesaredocuments,spreadsheets,databases,photographs,andmore.

Afolderisaspecialkindoffilethatisacontainerforotherfilesandfolders.ExamplesoffoldersincludedwithWindows XP are My Documents and My Computer. In Vista and Windows 7 the “My” is dropped. You can create yourownfoldersandnamethem.Thinkoffoldersasstoragebinsforyourfiles.

21

2.3.2 Simple File SetupThebestillustrationofasimplefilesetupisthewaywefileourletters.Let’sassumewewritetwotypesofletters:personalandbusiness.WecouldputthemallinafolderlabelledLetters,butacomputermakesiteasytofileinaslightlymoreefficientmanner.

Agoodwaytofilepersonalandbusinessletterswouldbetoputeachtypeofletterinitsownfolderandthenputthe two folders into another folder labelled Letters. The simple folder “tree” below is displayed in outline format, wherebold-faceditemsarefoldersandothersaredocumentfiles.

Letters•Business Letters•

Insurance Company �Lawyer �

Personal Letters•Mrs. Smith �Cousin Sam �Johnson Invitation �

2.3.3 Creating FoldersOpen the My Documents folder (or Libraries-Documents in Windows 7), and create a new folder. In XP, right click in a blank area in the folder and click New - Folder. In Windows 7, click “New Folder” in the Task Toolbar along thetop.)ThefirstnewfolderwillautomaticallybenamedNewFolder.Thenamewillbehighlighted.Withoutclicking, type the word “Letters.” It will replace “New Folder.” Repeat the process to create two more folders: Personal letters and Business letters.

When you write a letter from now on, you can save it in the appropriate folder using the Save As dialog box, using the steps below:

Open your word-processing program and write a short business letter. (“Dear Mr. Jones” will do.)•Click File - Save As.•The Save As window opens. In XP click the arrow next to the Save in box to and locate the folder in which you •wish to save the letter. (In this case, Business) Double click the chosen folder to display it in the Save In box.In the File Name box, type a name for the letter.•Notice the File Type box. If you wish to change it, click the down arrow and choose another type.•Click Save.•The letter is saved in the folder you have chosen.•

Here, is an example of the Save As dialog box as it looks in Windows XP:


22

Fig. 2.6 Creating folder(Source: http://www.spcug.org/PDF-Files/Basic%20File%20Management%20Materials%20-2012.pdf)

Here, is an example of the Save As dialog box as it looks in Windows Vista or 7. The last folder in the address bar at the top will be the saving location. If it isn’t visible, click Documents and choose the correct folder.

Fig. 2.7 An example of the Save As dialog box in Windows Vista or 7(Source: http://www.spcug.org/PDF-Files/Basic%20File%20Management%20Materials%20-2012.pdf)

23

2.3.4 Viewing and Sorting File ListsWhenyoudoubleclickanyfolder,youseealistofthefilesandfolders,whichtheoriginalfoldercontains.Itispossibletolearninformationabouteachfileandtosorttheminvariouswaysbyviewingthefilelist.

Exercise:Openthe(My)Documentsfolder.Alistoffilesandfoldersappears.•In Windows XP click View in the Menu toolbar, and then click Details. In Windows 7, click the arrow next to •the Views icon and choose Details.

Now,youcanseealistoffilesintheDocumentsfolderwhichincludesthefilename,datemodified,type,and•size.Thisinformationisnotavailableforasub-folder,onlyafile.If you wish, you can change the width of the columns to make viewing of this information easier. Click the line •between the column headings and drag to narrow or widen the column.TosortalistoffilesandfolderswhileinWinXP,clickView,thenArrangeIconsby.InWindows7,clickany•column heading for example, Name to sort the list alphabetically or chronologically. Click again to reverse the order.FoldersaresortedseparatelyfromFilesinthesamelistandappearfirst.

2.3.5 The Path of a FileWindowsXPwilldisplaythePath,(afulldescriptionofthelocationofafile)intheTitleBar,butonlyifyouselectthat option. (Start - Control Panel - Folder Options - View-Checkmark by “Display full path in title bar.”) Note the “path”ofafileinthetitlebarbelow,startingwiththelargeststoragearea,theharddrive(C),andendingwiththenameofthefolderinwhichthedocumentfileisstored.

2.3.6 Path in Windows Vista and Windows 7InWindowsVistaandWindows7,thepathorlocationofeachfileisdisplayedintheaddressbaracrossthetopoftheExplorerWindow.Theplaceslistedshowthefoldersyouhadtoopentoreachtheopenfile.Thelargestfolder,Libraries, is on the left. Documents is a sub-folder inside Libraries, and so on until you reach the last folder, which wherethisfileisstored.ClickingonanyfolderalongtheAddressBarwilltakeyoutothatfolder.


24

Clicking the yellow folder at the left end of the Address bar will change this view of the path to look like the one in Windows XP. Clicking the arrows between items will show you the names of all the folders within the one listed before of the arrow.

2.4 Organising Files and FoldersAfteryouhavecreatedandsavedfilesinMyDocumentsforawhile,youwillbegintoseetheneedforcreatingsub-foldersforspecificcategorieswithinMyDocuments.Youmightcreatefolderscalled“Travel”or“Finance”or“Recipes,”forinstance.It’stimetoconsiderasystemfororganisingyourfilesandfolders.

2.4.1 Windows Explorer in Windows XPWindowsXPallowsyoutoseehowfoldersandfilesareorganisedonyourharddrivethroughaprogramcalledWindows Explorer (Start-All Programs-Accessories-Windows Explorer). Windows Explorer shows folders in the “folder tree” or outline format. See XP sample below:

Fig. 2.8 Windows Explorer shows folders(Source: http://www.spcug.org/PDF-Files/Basic%20File%20Management%20Materials%20-2012.pdf)

2.4.2 Windows Explorer Window in XPWindows Explorer always opens in a two-paned window. The left pane shows the major folders on your computer. They can be opened and closed using the plus and minus signs, as shown in the illustration above. When you click the plus sign next to a folder name, the list of sub-folders appears below it. These are indented, as if in an outline, and the plus sign becomes a minus sign. To close the open folder, click the minus sign. Windows Explorer does not displayanyindividualfilesintheleftpane,justfolders.

= This folder is closed, but contains one or more sub-folders.

= This folder is open, revealing its sub-folders.

25

Noplusorminussignsappearintherightpane.Therightpaneshowsthefiles,foldersanddrivescontainedwithinthe folder that is highlighted in the left pane. When you click the folder name in the left pane, a list of contents (foldersandfiles)appearsintherightpane.WeuseWindowsExplorertoseethelocationofafileorfolderandtomoveafiletoanewlocation.

2.4.3 The Explorer Window in Windows 7In Windows Vista or Windows 7, you do not need to open a separate program to view Windows Explorer. Whenever you open a folder, it is displayed in an Explorer Window which looks very much like Windows Explorer in Windows XP. One important difference is the Address Bar, a new feature in Windows Vista/ 7.

This Address bar is much like the address bar in a web browser: it lists the address or “path” of the folder, which is currentlyopen.The top level folder in theC:drive is listedfirst, followedby theprogression (often called‘breadcrumbs’) of folders, one inside the other, up to the last item, whose contents show in the right pane. This bar provides easy access to other locations within the Libraries (Documents, Photos, Music, and so on.) Here, are some special features of the address bar:

Click the left arrow to go back to your last location.•Click the down triangle to the left of the address bar to see a list of folders you’ve opened recently.•Click the right-facing triangle to the right of any ‘bread crumb’ to see the folders it contains. Click a folder •name to go there.Clickthesmallfoldericonontheleftendoftheaddressbartoshowthefileintheoldpathformat,usingback•slashes between folder names. Press the Esc key to return to Win 7 view.

Fig. 2.9 Special features of the address bar(Source: http://www.spcug.org/PDF-Files/Basic%20File%20Management%20Materials%20-2012.pdf)

Instead of + and – signs to indicate folders containing other folders in Windows XP, Windows Vista and 7 use right and down-facing triangles. Their meanings are the same.


26

2.4.4 Moving files using Windows Explorer (XP) or the Explorer Window (Windows 7)Let’ssayacertainfileyoucreatedisnotinthecorrectfolder.YoucaneasilymoveitusingWindowsExplorer.TrythisusingthePublixfolder.Wewillmovethefilecalled“Boyeatingicecream”fromitslocationwithin‘FrozenFood’ to a new location in ‘Dairy’. Here are the instructions:

Intheleftpane,clicktheplussign(ortriangle)nexttothePublixfoldertoshowitsfirstlevelofsub-folders.•You should see 5 of them.Weneedtofindthe“Boyeatingicecream”file.Clicktheplussignnextto‘FrozenFood’torevealitssub-folder,•‘IceCream’,whichhasnoplusnexttoit,indicatingitcontainsnofolders,butmaycontainfiles.Clickthefoldernamed‘IceCream’intheleftpaneandnoticethetwofileswithinit,“BoyEatingIceCream”•and “Chocolate cone” appear in the right pane.Nowwecanseeboththefilewewanttomove(“Boyeatingicecream”intherightpane)andthefolderinto•which we want to move it (“Dairy” in the left pain).Rightclickanddragthe“Boyeatingicecream”filefromrighttoleftacrossthepanedivideroverthefolder•calledDairyuntilitishighlighted.Leftclickandclick‘Movefile.’Tomakesurethefilegotthere;clickDairyintheleftpane.“Boyeatingicecream”shouldbelistedintheright•pane, showing you that it is now located in the Dairy folder.

Example:Open your (My) Documents or (My) Pictures folder on your own computer and consider how you could improve •its organisation.CreatesomecategoryfolderswithinoneofthesefoldersandmoverelatedfilesintothemusingtheDrag-and-•Drop or Cut and Paste method.SortyourownFilelists.Thismaygiveyouanideaforastandardwayofnamingyourfiles.•Themoreyouworkwithfilesandfolders,themoreyouwillseethattheyformthebasisoforganisationfor•your whole computer.

2.5 Letter WizardDouble click the Tools menu to expand it fully. In Word 2000, you’ll see the Letter Wizard on the menu. In Word 2002, you’ll see the Letters and Mailings option, click that and you’ll see the Letter Wizard. Click the Letter Wizard option to open its dialog box. Keyboard users will hit Alt/T+Z in Word 2000, or Alt/T+E+Z in Word 2002.

27

Fig. 2.10 Letter Wizard(Source: http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/pub0009/lpmarticle.asp?id=72)

Although the dialog is fairly self-explanatory, we’ll go through it to make sure you understand how it works.

Fig. 2.11 (a) Working of Letter Wizard(Source: http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/pub0009/lpmarticle.asp?id=72)

If your document needs a date, select the Date line option (Alt+D) and then click the drop down (Alt/DownArrow) to choose the way you’d like the date formatted.


28

Fig. 2.11 (b) Working of Letter Wizard(Source: http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/pub0009/lpmarticle.asp?id=72)

You’ll also choose the way you want your letter to look. Choose a page design, such as elegant; and choose a letter style, such as full block.

Fig. 2.11 (c) Working of Letter Wizard(Source: http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/pub0009/lpmarticle.asp?id=72)

If you’ll be using your own pre-formatted letterhead, you can advise the wizard that you need space added at a particular location on the letter. Then you can break out your ruler and measure your stationery, to enter the proper spacing setting to make sure your letter doesn’t print over your letterhead.

29

Fig. 2.12 (a) Recipient Info of Letter Wizard(Source: http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/pub0009/lpmarticle.asp?id=72)

Oncetheletterformatisdesigned,it’stimetofilloutthedetailsfortheRecipient.NoticethatyoucanclickontheAddress Book icon to pull the details directly from your Address Book, or Contact List if you use Outlook.

Fig. 2.12 (b) Recipient Info of Letter Wizard(Source: http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/pub0009/lpmarticle.asp?id=72)

Various salutations are available for you to choose from the drop down list. Each of these drop downs are actually Combo Boxes. That means that you can click to choose an item from the list; however, if the item you want isn’t in the list, you can just type it in the way you want it. After you click OK on the dialog, that addition will be added to your list, so you can easily choose it the next time.


30

After you set up the Recipient information, move to the Other Elements tab. If you never learned the proper location for which to place these items in a business letter, no need to worry. Just choose the items you need to add to your letter and they’ll be formatted and placed on the letter in it’s proper, professional location.

Fig. 2.13 The reference line option(Source: http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/pub0009/lpmarticle.asp?id=72)

Fig. 2.14 The mailing instruction option(Source: http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/pub0009/lpmarticle.asp?id=72)

Fig. 2.15 The attention line option(Source: http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/pub0009/lpmarticle.asp?id=72)

Fig. 2.16 The subject line option(Source: http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/pub0009/lpmarticle.asp?id=72)

31

Lastly, it’s time to add your own information.

Fig. 2.17 Adding own information in letter wizard(Source: http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/pub0009/lpmarticle.asp?id=72)

Notice the Closing option drop downs. Again, these are Combo Boxes, so you can add your own personal Closing and it’ll be added when you click OK. But keep the Letter Wizard dialog box open until you’ve entered in all the pertinent information. When you click OK, your letter will be created.


32

July 27, 2002

In reply to:

CERTIFIED MAIL

Greg Chapman123 Main StreetChicago, IL 60606

Attention:

Dear Greg,

Subject:

Type your text hereAll the best,

Dian ChapmanTechnical ConsultantsMouse Trax Computing Solutions

Enclosure (3)

ddcmscc: Stacy Chesney 788 West Avenue Chicago, IL 60666

Fig. 2.18 Created letter(Source: http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/pub0009/lpmarticle.asp?id=72)

Typeyourtextherefieldwillbehighlighted,readyforyoutoenterthecontentofyourletter.Remembertoadddetails to those Other Elements you may have selected. If you used the Attention line and didn’t add the details into theComboBox,becauseyoudidn’tneedtosavethatspecificinformation,thenit’stimetoenteritnow.Clickjustafter the colon for the items in your letter, such as Attention:, Subject:, or In reply to: and make sure you enter the needed details.

Onceyourletterisfinished,youcanquicklyprintanenvelopebyhighlightingtheAddresslineswithinyourletterand clicking Tools/Envelopes and Labels (Alt/T+E in 2000, Alt/T+E+E in 2002). The Envelope dialog will appear and the highlighted address from your letter will have been automatically inserted, so you don’t have to retype it.

Besuretoselectallthespecificoptionsyouwant.Youcanseehowtheenvelopewillbeprintedinthedisplayimageon the dialog. If the envelope isn’t the right size, or the feed isn’t the right style for your type of printer, click the Options dialog and make the necessary adjustments.

33

Fig. 2.19 Envelopes and labels(Source: http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/pub0009/lpmarticle.asp?id=72)

Also notice the button on the above image of the Envelope and Label dialog box that says Add to Document. You canclickthatbutton(orhitAlt+A)andtheenvelopewillbeaddedtoyourletterfile.Youcanprinttheenvelopefromthefile.Thenit’llbesavedwiththeletter.Shouldtherebeafutureissueregardingwhetheryoutypedtheaddress on the envelope correctly, you’ll have it saved to verify.

Ifyoufindyourselfwritingalotofletters,youshouldcreateaTemplateasyourmasterformat.Andifyouneedto create a lot of envelopes for letters, you might want to add the envelope icon to your toolbar or a Customized menu. Then you can save a few clicks by not having to click Tools/Envelopes and Labels/Envelopes. You can just highlight the Address text and click the Envelope Icon on your toolbar to automatically open it with the address inserted. After the dialog box opens, just hit Print (Alt+P) or Add to Document (Alt+A).


34

To Customize a menu or toolbar the step-by-step illustration is given below: Customized Toolbars and Menus. Note in the image below, you’ll see how to locate the Create Envelope icon. Click Tools/Customize/Commands (Alt/C+C). Locate All Commands in the left column and ToolsCreateEnvelope in the right. Click and drag it to your toolbar or menu.

Fig. 2.20 Customization of Menu or Tool Bar(Source: http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/pub0009/lpmarticle.asp?id=72)

If you add the icon to a Customized menu, you’ll then be able to access the command from your custom menu by using shortcut keys. In menu, just hit Alt+D to access my Dian menu, the E to activate the Envelope dialog box. Our many blind readers should note that creating your own Customized menu is a good way to add those items you mightotherwisefinddifficulttolocate.ByrightclickinganewmenuitemwhilestillinCustomizemode,youcanCustomize your hotkeys.

If you would like to learn how you can add a MacroButton right into your letter template so users can print an envelope just by double clicking a link right within a letter, be sure to check out this other TechTrax article: Instant Envelopes Using the MACROBUTTON Field and VBA!

35

SummaryA File can store records and we can extract these records using different applications programs.•Achangeinfiledatacharacteristicsuchaschangeinafielddatatypefromintegertodecimalrequireschanges•inallprogramsthataccessthefileisadatadependency.Atypicalfileprocessingsystemissupportedbyconventionaloperatingsystems.•Window is an enclosed rectangular area on a display screen.•Most modern operating systems and applications have graphical user interfaces (GUIs) that let you divide your •display into several windows.Awindowcanalsobealogicalviewofafile.•An icon is a small picture that represents the program running in the window.•The frame is called the non-client area of the window, so called because the operating system manages that •portion of the window.The major difference between a UI control and an application window is that a control does not exist by itself. •Instead, the control is positioned relative to the application window.In the case of a UI control, the control window is said to be the child of the application window.•The application window is the parent of the control window.•When an application displays a modal dialog, the application window is the owner window, and the dialog is •an owned window.The application window owns the dialog window, and the dialog window is the parent of both button •windows.Windows are objects they have both code and data but they are not C++ classes.•A program references a window by using a value called a handle.•Afile isacollectionofdigital information, sometimescreatedby theuser,givenaname,andstoredona•computer disk.Afolderisaspecialkindoffilethatisacontainerforotherfilesandfolders.•InWindowsVistaandWindows7,thepathorlocationofeachfileisdisplayedintheaddressbaracrossthe•top of the Explorer Window.WindowsXPallowsyoutoseehowfoldersandfilesareorganisedonyourharddrivethroughaprogramcalled•Windows Explorer.Windows Explorer always opens in a two-paned window.•

ReferencesTharp, L. A., 2008• . File Organization and Processing, John Wiley & Sons.Corporation, M., 1990. • Microsoft Windows: Guide to Programming, Distributed by Microsoft Press.Chapman, D., MVP, & MOS, • Letter Wizard, [Online] Available at: <http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/pub0009/lpmarticle.asp?id=72> [Accessed 3 July 2012].What is a Window?• , [Online] Available at: <http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ff381403%28v=vs.85%29.aspx> [Accessed 3 July 2012].HankDfrmSD, 2010. • Computer Basics for Beginners Part 1, [Video Online] Available at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jnyVQD7wZQ&feature=related> [Accessed 3 July 2012].eHow, 2009. • Using Microsoft Word: How to Use the Microsoft Word Letter Wizard, [Video Online] Available at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJZ4yT1tYVs> [Accessed 3 July 2012].


36

Recommended ReadingCoomber, J. C., Teague, J. G., 1994. • File Processing: Study guide, Deakin University.Rathbone, A., 2009. • Windows 7 For Dummies, John Wiley & Sons.Ed Bott, Leonhard, W., 2004. • SpecialEditionUsingMicrosoftOffice2003, Que Publishing.

37

Self AssessmentA ________ can store records and we can extract these records using different applications programs.1.

Filea. Operating systemb. DBMSc. SQLd.

_________ is an enclosed rectangular area on a display screen.2. Dialogue boxa. Screenb. Windowc. Filed.

______ enables to set the dimensions and position of each window by moving the mouse and clicking appropriate 3. buttons.

LINUXa. GUIb. Windowc. Folderd.

A ______ is a collection of digital information, sometimes created by the user, given a name, and stored on a 4. computer disk.

Dialogue boxa. Screenb. Windowc. Filed.

A_________isaspecialkindoffilethatisacontainerforotherfilesandfolders.5. foldera. fileb. windowc. driverd.

Windows XP allows seeing how folders and files are organised on hard drive through a program 6. called________.

Windows XPa. Windows Explorerb. All Programsc. Accessoriesd.

Windows Explorer always opens in a____________.7. single-paned windowa. foldersb. two-paned windowc. windows 7d.


38

___________ resemble a stack of pieces of paper lying on top of one another; only the topmost window is 8. displayed in full.

Apple Macintosh a. Windowsb. GUIsc. Overlaid windowsd.

Atypicalfileprocessingsystemissupportedbyconventional_________.9. Operating systemsa. GUIb. UNIXc. XPd.

Achangeinfiledatacharacteristicsuchaschangeinafielddatatypefromintegertodecimalrequireschanges10. inall_______thataccessthefile.

data typea. programsb. filec. datad.

39

Chapter III

Spreadsheet

Aim


introduce spreadsheets•

explain cells, rows and columns of a spreadsheet•

discuss creating and copying formulas•

Objectives


explain the power of spreadsheet templates•

explain producing a printed copy of the contents of a spreadsheet document•

elucidate making changes in a spreadsheet•

Learning outcome


understand saving a backup copy of your work•

understand basic concepts of a spreadsheet•

identify idea of templates•


40

3.1 IntroductionA spreadsheet is a table, which displays numbers in rows and columns. Spreadsheets can be used for a variety of purposes(accounting,budgeting,charting/graphing,financialanalysis,scientificapplications).Spreadsheetscanexist in paper format but the electronic spreadsheets are able perform automatic calculations on changing data. For example, a teacher who uses a spreadsheet to record student marks is able to determine student averages and class means in real-time that means the minute one number in the spreadsheet is changed, the calculations are up-to-date everywhere within the spreadsheet. This can save users drastic amounts of time.

3.2 Use of a SpreadsheetSpreadsheet programs help you manage data in various formats and, as mentioned above, they can increase your productivity when dealing with various types of data. Computerised spreadsheets offer students and teachers with a way to view data in various formats (pie charts, line graphs, bar graphs, and the like). When students and teachers are able to view data in various formats, they are able to make important visual discoveries about their data.

As you can see from the illustration below, the data is entered into cells and is organised in rows and columns. Example: Second graders count how many people are in a particular room and divide them into groups: men, women, and children. This raw data is then entered into a spreadsheet.

Fig. 3.1 Example Spreadsheet(Source: http://www.saskschools.ca/curr_content/pd21byersj/prodtls/spreadsht.html)

3.3 Getting StartedShowing the Full menus and organising the Toolbars. In case you are using a computer in a lab or some computer other than your own, you should set the options to always show full menus, Show the standard and formatting toolbars on two rows, List font names in their own font, and Show ScreenTips on toolbars. If the computer you’re using doesn’t already have these settings, here’s what you do.

Open Microsoft Excel if you have not already done so (it’s probably in your Start menu > All Programs > Spreadsheets), then in the Tools menu, select Customize…, and in the dialog box that pops up, select the Options tabseethefigurebelow.

41

Fig. 3.2 The customize dialog box(Source:http://www.pitt.edu/~edindex/OfficeXPTutorials/Lesson4XP.pdf)

Make sure there is a check mark next to the item to always show full menus. While you’re at it, check the box next to Show Standard and Formatting toolbars on two rows, List font names in their font, and Show ScreenTips on toolbars

Click the Close button when you’re ready


42

3.4 Some BackgroundFigure below illustrates a typical spreadsheet for keeping track of student grades.

Fig. 3.3 Gradebook for a 4th grade class(Source:http://www.pitt.edu/~edindex/OfficeXPTutorials/Lesson4XP.pdf)

Asillustratedinfigureabove,theleftmostcolumnandthetopmostrowoftenarereservedfordescriptivelabelsthatidentifythevaluestoredineachofthecellsinthegrid.Therightmostcolumnandlowerrowsofasetoffiguresareoften set aside for row and column totals respectively.

In 1978, Dan Bricklin, a young graduate student at the Harvard School of Business, developed a program called Visicalc,whichsimulatedaworksheet.Itwasthefirstelectronicspreadsheet,aprototypeofthemanyvarietiesofspreadsheets available today.

The Excel spreadsheet is considerably more powerful than Visicalc, able to handle much larger sets of numerical data at greater speeds. Like Visicalc, however, it goes beyond the traditional manual worksheet in so far as it is programmable. We can build instructions into an electronic spreadsheet to do relatively complex mathematical calculation and analysis. We also can build instructions into the spreadsheet to carry out humdrum, repetitive calculations the kind of calculations which could take hours, even days, to complete manually but which, when done electronically, take a matter of seconds.

The Excel screen acts as a window onto a large grid of rows and columns into which data is entered, usually from the keyboard. We can build formulas into selected cells which automatically carry out calculations on designated sets of data. We’ll learn how to do that in this lesson and the next.

43

The spreadsheet is most used for business accounting and data analysis. In K-12 schools, the spreadsheet comes in handy as a tool for keeping grades, but it is also used for creating charts and graphs of all kinds, as well as for data analysis related to class projects where numbers need to be organised, managed, and analysed. It also is an excellent tool for helping students learn math concepts and has many other applications with students across the curriculum.

3.5 Working of Spreadsheets As with the word processor, the best way to learn about the spreadsheet is to build a spreadsheet document and work with it. So here goes you should see a new Excel spreadsheet document titled Book1 (or some such default name). Close the Task Pane since you won’t need it for this lesson.

ItisalwaysagoodideatoimmediatelygiveadifferentnametoanewdocumentsincethedefaultOfficenameisnondescript. You want to be able to tell what each document contains when you look at the list of documents on your disk. The outline version of the document you are about to create will be a template for a gradebook.

PutyourDataDiskinthediskdrive(floppydrive,zipdrive,CD-RWdrive,dependingonwhereyouarestoringyourfiles,unlessyouaresavingyourfilesontheharddriveonyourowncomputerathome).SelectSaveAsfromthe File menu and, in the Save As dialog box, switch to the disk drive that contains your Data Disk. In the Save As dialog box, click on the New folder icon and name the new folder Spreadsheets. Type Grades Template as the document name for the new spreadsheet and click on the Save button. You should now be looking at a screen with the name of your document (Grades Template) at the top of a blank worksheet ready for you to insert your data.

3.5.1 Helpful hints while using the spreadsheetA template is an outline or form, which can be used over and over as a layout when carrying out other projects that require the same basic document format. Here you are going to build a spreadsheet template to simulate an empty gradebook. Once you have created the template, you will keep it as a template on your disk for future use. You will be able to use this template from semester to semester to build the electronic gradebooks for all your classes.

A spreadsheet is a grid divided into columns and rows. The intersection of a column and row is referred to as a cell, studythefigurebelow.

Fig. 3.4 Think of the spreadsheet as a grid divided into rows and columns(Source:http://www.pitt.edu/~edindex/OfficeXPTutorials/Lesson4XP.pdf)


44

Right now, cell A1 is selected in the top left-hand corner of the spreadsheet. Type the number 2002 in cell A1 so you have some data in the spreadsheet for what follows. The cells are where information, in the form of a label, number or formula for calculation, will be entered. Labels are made up of text that describes the numbers in the columns and rows. Formulas are mathematical expressions built into certain cells that instruct the computer to carryoutcalculationsonspecifiedsetsofnumbersintherowsandcolumns.Asyougoonwiththetutorial,theseconcepts will become clearer to you.

3.5.2 Moving around in the spreadsheetThesecondcolumnintablebelowliststheeffectofpressingthekeyslistedinthefirstcolumn.

Key Pressed Effect

Tab Moves selection to the right to next cell in same row

Shift-Tab Moves selection to the left to previous cell in same row

Arrow keys Move selection one cell in any direction

Shift-Enter Moves selection up to previous cell in same column

Enter Moves selection down to next cell in same column

Scroll bars Scroll vertically and horizontally through the spreadsheet

Accept buttons () Accepts data in cell but does not move to another cell

Cancel button () Cancels entry in cell

Table 3.1 Cell selection commands

Check each one now-this will help you follow later directions. There are 65536 rows and 256 columns in the Excel spreadsheet. That means there are over 16 million cells into which one can store data.This should be enough for any purposes one might have in mind. Usually you’ll use the mouse to select the cell you want to work in. Just click on the cell to select it. Once in a particular cell, use the commands in Table 3.1 to proceed to other related cells. Practice now by moving around the spreadsheet. After you have located several cells, end up by clicking on cell A1 to make it the current or active cell.

3.5.3 Identifying the active cell’s coordinatesLookinthetoplefthandcorneroftheExcelscreeninthegivenfiguretosee,whichcelltheactivecellyouareinat any point in time.

45

Fig. 3.5 Identifying the address of the cell you are working in(Source:http://www.pitt.edu/~edindex/OfficeXPTutorials/Lesson4XP.pdf)

Click on any cell now and look at the cell’s coordinates in the top left corner of the screen. Each cell address (a location in the spreadsheet) begins with a letter to indicate the column, followed by a number to indicate the row. Forexample,H32identifiesthecellattheintersectionofcolumnH,row32.

3.5.4 Selecting a range (group) of cellsTable below lists the methods for selecting a group or range of cells.

Task Method

To select a block of cells Drag diagonally from top left corner of the block of cells down to the lower right corner

To select an entire row of cells (horizontally from left to right)

Click on the number (the row label) on the left hand side of the spreadsheet

To select an entire column of cells (vertically, from top to bottom)

Click in the letter(s) of the alphabet (the column label) at the top of the column

To select several rows or columns Drag across the row or column headings

Table 3.2 Selecting a range (group) of cells

Once again, take a few minutes now to try each of these methods for selecting groups of cells. Location of the active (selected)cellafterenteringdataintoacell;whenyoutypethedataforacell,thedatafirstappearsintheEntrybaratthetopofthescreenasshowninfigurebelow.


46

Fig. 3.6 The spreadsheet Entry bar(Source:http://www.pitt.edu/~edindex/OfficeXPTutorials/Lesson4XP.pdf)

Click on any cell and type the number 2002

Look at the Entry bar above the spreadsheet window. The data is displayed there while you

check that it is correct before copying it to the active (selected) cell;•make up your mind whether it should be entered into the spreadsheet at all;•decide which cell you would like to be the active cell next after the value has been copied to the currently active •cell

You may still decide not to enter the data into the spreadsheet, in which case you would click on the Cancel box (X) intheEntrybarasshowninfigureaboveandstartover.If,ontheotherhand,thedataiscorrect,youwouldclickthe Accept button (), which keeps the cell you are working in as the active cell.Click the Accept button () now

Notice that the data is immediately copied to the selected (active) cell.

Alternatively, you may want to proceed to the cell immediately to the right of the active cell into which the number you just typed will go. Or you may want to proceed to the cell just below the active cell, or the cell just above the active cell, and so on. A short while back you practiced moving around the spreadsheet using the commands listed in Table 3.1. This table also lists the key(s) to press to tell Excel which cell to go to after you accept the data you have typed into the Entry bar. Practice now by making the cell in which you just typed 2002 the active cell (by clicking on it). Then press each of the keys or key combinations in Table 3.1 and verify the result of the action in the spreadsheet each time.

47

3.5.5 Blanking Out a Cell or Cells in the SpreadsheetThe quickest way to blank out cells is to use the Clear option from the Edit menu. Select the cell holding the data 2002 then, from the Edit menu, select Clear > All. Let’s do that another, simpler, way. First you need to bring back the data you just deleted. Hit Ctrl-z. Now, with the cell still selected, hit the Del (ete) key on the keyboard. This saves you having to use the mouse and menus. To do the same to a group of cells you would just drag across the cells to select them-they will become highlighted. Then select Clear from the Edit menu or hit the Del (ete) key as before.

Practice now by entering 3 or 4 numbers into adjacent cells in the spreadsheet. Select all (Ctrl-a) and use the Clear command or the Del(ete) key to remove them in one go. Remember that you can undo the Clear operation (or any other Edit operation) by immediately selecting Undo Clear from the Edit menu (or press ctrl-z).

3.5.6 Editing the Data in the Entry BarWhile you are typing in data in the Entry bar you can edit it as if you are using Word. Editing data after it has been entered into a cell

If you have left the cell where you have an error and want to make a correction or change, move back to the cell in question by selecting (clicking on) it. The data in that cell will be displayed in the Entry bar at the top of the spreadsheet. Click in the Entry bar (the cursor will show where you clicked on the text) and then just go ahead and make any changes you want. Replace the old entry by clicking the Accept button () or by selecting another cell in the spreadsheet.

3.6 Setting Up Labels for your Gradebook TemplateThegradebooklooklikethefigurebelow.

Fig. 3.7 Completed Gradebook Template(Source:http://www.pitt.edu/~edindex/OfficeXPTutorials/Lesson4XP.pdf)


48

The steps that follow will help you achieve this goal. Follow them carefully. Select cell A2 and type GRADE REPORT. Check the data in the Entry bar to make sure you typed the label correctly; correct any errors. Click the Accept button () when you are sure all is well (or press one of the other keys which accept data into the spreadsheet—arrow keys, Enter/Enter key, Tab key).

This is an example of a label,which is any text you use to describe the data that is in a spreadsheet. All the column and row headings are labels also. You need to widen the A column to allow for longer student last names. From the Format menu select Column/Width. Type the number 15 in the dialog box, then click on OK

Whileyou’reatit,clickanywhereintheBcolumn(firstname)andadjustthewidthto12Laterinthissectionyou’llpractice adjusting other column widths. Select cell A4. Type the label Class: (note the colon) and press Enter to move the cell pointer to cell A5. Type the label Semester: and press Enter to move the cell pointer to cell A6. Finally type the label Year: and click on the Accept button () in the Entry bar. At this point you should be thinking about saving the work you have completed thus far! Since you have already named the document (Grades Template), you can use a quick keyboard shortcut. Press Ctrl-s to save your work to this point.

3.6.1 Aligning data in spreadsheet cellsThe gradebook will look best if the three labels you just entered into the spreadsheet were right aligned in their respective cells. Right aligned means that the label is aligned to the right side of the cell. Unless you tell Excel otherwise, the system will left align any data that is regular text (letters of the alphabet, for example). Likewise, the systemwillrightalignanydatathatismadeupofnumbers.Thismakessenseifyoulookatfigurebelow.

on the page, while numbers are easiest to work with

23 345

2360 4

_____ Total 2732

Fig. 3.8 Text is left aligned; numbers are right aligned(Source:http://www.pitt.edu/~edindex/OfficeXPTutorials/Lesson4XP.pdf)

However, sometimes text looks best when it is right aligned in the cell, as should be the case with the labels you just entered into cells A4, A5, and A6. Here, is how you right align the text in these cells.

Position the spreadsheet cursor on cell A4.•Hold down the mouse button and drag down to cell A6, so that all three cells are selected (cell A4 will still •be selected even though it is not highlighted—it has the heavier border which also indicates selection in the spreadsheet).In the Format tool bar click on the Right Alignment button•

This will right align the cells that you have selected (A4 through A6). Check this on the screen before you go on.Press Ctrl-s to save your work so far (this is a good habit to get into!)•

49

3.6.2 Entering the column and row labelsNow you will enter the labels for each of the columns that eventually will contain the scores for assignments you might give your students during the course of a school session.

Select cell D8 and enter the grade label A1 (short for Assignment 1).•Check that you have typed the label correctly, and then press the Tab key to move to the next cell across and •enter the assignment label A2.Do the same thing three more times, using the labels A3, A4, and A5 (Your last entry should be in cell H8).•Click the Accept button (• ) next to the entry bar at the top of the screen.

These labels might represent home works or quizzes for a unit or for a whole semester, depending on how many assignments you might assess for grading purposes.

When you use this Grades Template document for an actual gradebook, you will edit these column labels so that they contain appropriate titles relating to the actual assignments that will be stored in the respective columns. There is, of course, room in the gradebook for you to include as many assignments as you want.

Onceyouhaveenteredallfiveoftheassignmentlabels,presstherightarrowkeytwice;thisshouldbringyou•to cell J8.Type TOTAL then press the Tab key 2 times to move to cell L8•Type PCNT then press the Tab key 2 times to move to cell N8, then type GRADE and click the Accept button •()

Now you will enter the row label for the Maximum Scores.Select cell C10, type MAX (this row will be used in due course to keep a record of the maximum score for each •assignment, test, and so forth), then click the Accept button ()

Finally, you need to enter the column labels for the First and Last names.Select cell A12 and type LAST NAME, then click the Tab key to go to cell B12•Type FIRST NAME, then click the Accept button (• ) and press Ctrl-s again to save your work so far

3.6.3 Entering “dummy” scoresFor the sake of the template you will enter a set of “dummy” maximum scores (zeroes). Later in the tutorial you willedittheseMaximumScorestoreflectmaximumscoresforactualassignments.

Move to cell D10 and enter the number 0 (zero)•Enter a 0 (zero) for the Maximum Score into each of the remaining assignment columns (E10 through H10)•

3.6.4 Adjusting the Width of ColumnsYou will notice that the numbers are not quite lined up under the labels in the assignment columns. Recall that in Excel the labels (text in general) are aligned on the left of the column while numbers are always aligned on the right.

To improve the appearance to your gradebook you probably want your column labels to be more in line with your entries. You already practiced one way of doing this: namely, to right align the labels. Another way is to reduce the width of the columns containing scores. They need be no wider than the width of the column labels. By default Excel makes all the columns about an inch wide (8.43 is the Excel default value for the column width). Let’s change the width of columns C through N so they are only as wide as necessary.

Use the horizontal scroll bar at the bottom of the spreadsheet window to scroll the gradebook over until Column C is at the left edge of the spreadsheet. Use the mouse pointer on the column header “C” at the top of the column refersthefigurebelow.


50

Fig. 3.9 The Column (letters of the alphabet) and Row (numbers) headers(Source:http://www.pitt.edu/~edindex/OfficeXPTutorials/Lesson4XP.pdf)

Hold down the mouse button, and keep it down, while you drag across the screen to the right as far as Column H. When you have columns C through H selected, let go of the mouse button. All six columns (C through H) should be highlighted.

From the Format menu select Column/Width.•

This will bring up the Column Width dialog box.Type 4, and click on OK, then click anywhere to deselect the columns•Now use the horizontal scroll bar if necessary to scroll the spreadsheet to the right until you can see column A •again

Another way to change Column Widths is to drag with the mouse. Let’s try this.Position the mouse pointer in the headers between column B and column C so the pointer becomes a crosshair •asshowninfigurebelow.

Fig. 3.10 Adjusting column width using the mouse(Source:http://www.pitt.edu/~edindex/OfficeXPTutorials/Lesson4XP.pdf)

51

Now just drag left or right and notice the small box that tells you the exact column width. You can simultaneously change the widths of several columns, as long as you want them all to be the same width, by selecting (highlighting) themallfirstandthendragginginthisway.Trythisforyourselfnow,andthenhitCtrl-ztorestorethecolumnstotheir previous width.

3.6.5 Changing the Alignment of the Column LabelsIt would also be a good idea to change the alignment of the column labels and make them all center aligned. Position the mouse over cell D8, then hold down the mouse button, and drag across to cell H8 before letting go of the mouse button. All the column labels for the 5 assignments should now be highlighted. In the Format tool bar, click on the Center Alignment button. Other columns in your spreadsheet are also wider than necessary. Your tasks now are as follows:

Reduce the width of the columns listed in table below to the column width indicated

Column Width

I,K,&M 1

J and N 8

L 10

Table 3.3 Column width

Change the alignment of the labels for columns J, L, and N to Center Aligned. Press Ctrl-s again to save your work when you have completed these tasks

3.6.6 Creating and copying formulasFunctions and Formulas are powerful tools in spreadsheets, which can save you hours of work. Functions are routinesbuiltintotheExcelspreadsheet.Formulas,ontheotherhand,aredefinedbytheuser,andmayincludethe built-in functions. Both functions and formulas accomplish the same task: they tell Excel to do some kind of calculation for you.

For example, at the end of a semester you will want to calculate a total point value, and probably a percentage, for each student. To do this you can program the spreadsheet to do the work on the values in appropriate cells. You can have the spreadsheet add up the numbers in a whole range of cells, or have it tell you the average score in a range of cells, and so on. You can also have the system copy a formula into other cells. Let’s try a few things along these lines now.

3.6.7 Creating the formulaLet’s enter a formula and see what it does.Select cell J10Type =SUM (D10:H10) then click the Accept button ()The “=” symbol at the beginning is a clue to the system that what follows is a formula. So remember this:

ALL SPREADSHEET FORMULAS BEGIN WITH THE “=” SIGN.

The formula = SUM (D10:H10) tells Excel to sum (add together) the scores entered in cells D10 through H10 and store the result in cell J10, J10 being the selected cell in which you want the formula to do its job. SUM is one of many Excel built-in functions. It automatically carries out the series of additions to produce the required result.


52

Built-in functionsNotice the 0 (zero) that now appears in cell J10. This number is the sum of the zeroes you typed in cells D10 through H10. In a short while you will have an opportunity to test whether the formula is correct. You will be entering into the spreadsheet a maximum score for real assignments along with a set of scores for a roster of students.

For now, if you typed in the formula correctly and clicked the Accept button () you should see that J10 contains the sum of all the maximum scores (which for the time being is 0 (zero), of course).

Press Ctrl-s again to save your work so far

3.7 Copying and Pasting FormulasSoonyouwillbeenteringasetofdataforseveralstudents.ButfirstyoumustcompletetheGradesTemplatebycreating a formula that will produce a total or sum of the eventual scores for each student. Before you carry out the exercise, here is a description of what is involved. Figure below illustrates the process.

You are going to copy the formula from cell J10 to the relevant cells in the same TOTAL column. You will start by copyingtheformulatotheclipboard.Thenyouwillpasteitintothefirstofthecellswhereyouwanttheformuladuplicated.FinallyyouwilltellExcelto“filldown”acopyoftheformulatotheremainderoftherelevantcellsinthe column—one for each student in the roster.

Fig. 3.11 Copying and pasting(Source:http://www.pitt.edu/~edindex/OfficeXPTutorials/Lesson4XP.pdf)

3.7.1 Copying the formulaFollow the procedure below to copy the formula:

Select cell J10 if it is not still selected from the previous exercise•Press Ctrl-c for copy (or, from the Edit menu select Copy)•

53

Cell J10 will now have a blinking border indicating that this is the cell from which the data has been copied. The formula in cell J10 has been copied to the clipboard in the computer’s primary memory. Let’s take a look at the clipboard now. It’s useful to know how to check the clipboard’s contents.

FromtheEditmenu,selectOfficeClipboard•

Think of the clipboard as a temporary holding area for a single set of data. Once something is on the clipboard it can be pasted anywhere else-in this spreadsheet, or in another spreadsheet, or into some other document.

3.7.2 Pasting the formulaRow14iswhereyouwillenterthefirststudent’snameandscoreswhenyoucreateanactualgradebookafteryouhave saved this template. So you are going to paste the formula you just copied (you copied it from cell J10) into cell J14.

Select cell J14•Press Ctrl-v (this is the short cut command for selecting Paste from the Edit menu)•

Look at cell J14. You should see the value 0 (zero) stored there. Now look at the data in the Entry bar at the top of the spreadsheet. Interesting! The formula is different from the one you copied from cell J10.

Check this out—click on cell J10 again. Notice that the range of cells is D10 through H10. Now click on cell J14 again. The range of cells is D14 through H14. So Excel automatically adjusted the range so that it would make sense inrow14(wherethefirststudent’sscoreswillbe).ThisiscalledRelativereferencing.

3.8 Relative ReferencesYoumightfindthisatrifletrickytofollow,soputonyourthinkingcap!ThesystemiscopyingtheformulaincellJ10to cell J14 in relation to (“relative to”) cell J10. In other words, just as the formula in J10 sums the values stored in cells D10 through H10, so the formula copied to cell J14 will sum the values relative to cells D14 through H14.

Does that make sense to you? If so, give yourself a pat on the back! If not, don’t despair. Read it over a couple of times. The alternative to a Relative Reference, by the way, is an Absolute Reference. You will need to use an Absolute Reference shortly, at which time you will more easily understand what it means in the context of the exercise. Bet you can’t wait to check it out!

Press Ctrl-s again to save your work so far (are you getting into the habit of doing this?)Filling down (copying the formula into the rest of the TOTAL column) Excel provides a neat tool to duplicate the contents of cells into a set of adjacent cells. For the sake of this exercise we will assume you will have just ten students in your class. You are going to duplicate the formula that is in cell J14 into the other nine cells below it. As before, Excel will automatically adjust the cell addresses so that they are appropriate (relative) to each student’s record.

Select cell J14, if it is not already selected. Use the mouse button to drag down to highlight all the cells from cell J14 to cell J23. Notice that the set of cells from J14 through J23 are now selected as a block on the screen. From the Edit menu select Fill/Down (Ctrl-d for short). This command copies the formula down to the end of the selected set ofcells.Fornow,azerowillappearineachcelloftheTOTALcolumnexaminethefigurebelow.


54

Fig. 3.12 A zero will appear in each cell of the TOTAL column(Source:http://www.pitt.edu/~edindex/OfficeXPTutorials/Lesson4XP.pdf)

This is because you have not yet entered any scores. Later, when you do enter the scores, the current total for each student will appear in the TOTAL column.

Press Ctrl-s again

3.9 Setting up the Percentage FormulaThe next formula you need will go in the PCNT column (column L) and will calculate the percentage for each student. The formula will tell Excel to divide the Total Points earned by a particular student by the Total of all the MaximumScoresforeachassignment.SelectcellL14,sincethisisthecellinthePCNTcolumnforthefirststudent.TheformulayouwantwilldividethevalueincellJ14(whichistheTotalpointsforthefirststudent)bythevaluein cell J10 (which is the Total maximum score possible).

Type the formula =J14/J10 and press EnterError messages are sometimes OKThe entry #DIV/0! is displayed in cell L14.

This is an error message warning you that the formula in cell L14 is telling Excel to divide by zero (the current valueinJ10)—anillegaloperationbecauseitisundefinedinmath.

In one sense, you don’t need to worry about this for now. You will eventually have a value other than zero in cell J10 when you put actual Maximum scores into the Gradebook and this will take care of the #DIV/0! message. But the error message, because it does not use the word “error” in the message, might be disconcerting to someone who does not understand what is going on. This might be the case if, for example, you shared a template with a colleague at your own or another school.

3.10 Using Logical functionsExcel has a useful built-in function for dealing with errors such as this. It’s the logical IF function. The whole function looks like this: =IF(Logic expression, Value if True, Value if False). Actually, Excel has over 100 functions dividedintoninecategories.Let’slookatthebuilt-infunctionsnowsothatyoucanknowhowtofindthemwhenyou need them.

From the Insert menu select Function.

55

The Insert Function dialog box appears on the screen.

Fig. 3.13 Insert function dialog box(Source:http://www.pitt.edu/~edindex/OfficeXPTutorials/Lesson4XP.pdf)

Click on the Logical category in the Function category: drop down menu and look at the set of 6 Logical functions, which appear in the new dialog box.

Fig. 3.14 The Logical functions(Source:http://www.pitt.edu/~edindex/OfficeXPTutorials/Lesson4XP.pdf)

Notice the IF logical function—the third one listed in the Function Name: area of the dialog box. Double click to select the IF Function now, and notice that the components of the IF function are displayed in the next dialog box.


56

Fig. 3.15 The Function Arguments dialog box(Source:http://www.pitt.edu/~edindex/OfficeXPTutorials/Lesson4XP.pdf)

The Logical test part of the expression is a statement which the spreadsheet will evaluate as either true or false. For example 2+2=5 will be evaluated as false; 2+2=4 will be evaluated as true. The second part of the Logical IF expression (value_if_true) is what you want the spreadsheet to put in the cell if the Logical expression is true. The third part of the Logical IF expression (value_if_false) is what you want the spreadsheet to put in the cell if the Logical expression is false.

Try the following example for practice. It will be easier to begin with if you just type in the formula yourself instead of using the built-in function provided by Excel. Built-in functions are really useful when you know what you’re doing, as you will soon enough. But let’s keep it simple for now.

Close the Function Arguments dialog box by clicking on the Cancel button

Click in cell A30 and type the formula:

=IF(2+2=5,”How can that be True!”,”Of course it’s False!”)

Click on the check mark () to accept the formula into cell A30

We know that 2+2=5 is False, so the result that will be displayed in cell A30 will be “Of course it’s False!”. Notice, by the way, that you can have text as the result; it doesn’t have to be a number.

Select Clear from the Edit menu, or hit Del(ete) to remove the formula from cell A30

Back to the Division by zero problem OK, in cell L14 you want to tell Excel that if the value in cell J10 is zero (0), it should put a phrase such as “Div/0 error” in cell L14. This will better explain what is going on. It will also remind you that those Maximum Scores need to be updated before the spreadsheet will work with an actual class of students. You will also tell Excel in cell L14 what to do if the value in cell J10 is other than zero (0) — which it will be if there are Maximum Scores other than zero. In this case, you will tell Excel to go ahead and calculate the percentage for the student.

57

Now,howwouldyouwritethatasaformula?Ifyouthinkyoucanfigureitout(andyou’llimpressyourinstructorno end if you can!), write down the correct formula in the box below:

The answer is....(drum roll...)

Go ahead and type this formula into cell L14 now

3.11 Absolute ReferencesYou need to make one small change to the formula in cell L14 before you copy it to each of the cells from L15 through L23. This is because part of the formula needs to be an Absolute Reference.

Look at the formula again:

Cell J10 contains the total of the maximum scores. The percentage for every student is calculated by using the value inthisspecificlocation.Sothereferencetothiscellmustnotchangewhentheformulaiscopiedtotheothercellsin column J. This is why it is called an Absolute Reference-it must not change; it must always reference cell J10. The value in J14, on the other hand, is relative to the student data in row 14. This reference (to cell J14) will change relative to each student.

Does that make sense? Read the previous paragraph over again if you need to. The fact is that you must tell Excel thatyouwantanyreferencestoJ10intheformulaspecifiedforcellL14tobeAbsolute,otherwisetheformulawillnot copy correctly to the other cells in column J.

Follow these steps to do this.Select cell L14•Look at the Entry bar. You should see the formula =IF(J10=0,–Div/0 error”,J14/J10).•PositionthecursorimmediatelyafterthefirstparenthesisintheEntrybar•Type a dollar sign ($) before the letter J, and another dollar sign ($) before the number 10 (so the formula will •now be =IF($J$10=0,”Div/0 error”,J14/J10))Look at the formula again. Do you see the second reference to cell J10 at the other end of the formula (J14/•J10)? You’re going to need $ signs there, too.Goaheadandfillthemin(J14/$J$10)justasyoudidatthebeginningoftheformula•

The $ signs tell Excel to treat the reference to column J and row 10 as Absolute when copying the formula to other cells. The reference to J14, on the other hand, will be Relative and will therefore change relative to whichever cell it is copied to, so there’s no need for dollar signs here. Remember:

A dollar sign ($) before each part of a spreadsheet cell address tells Excel to treat the reference to the cell as an absolute (unchanging) reference.


58

Click on Accept () to accept the formula, then press Ctrl-s to save the change. Now that you have edited the formula, you want to copy it to the other cells in the PCNT column. Cell L14 should still be selected, so use the mouse to drag down from cell L14 to cell L23, then from the Edit menu select Fill/Down Voilà! All the appropriate cells have been set to calculate the percentage for every student once you have entered a set of scores for each student. Right now, remember, you have the “Div/0 error” message in each cell because you are telling

Excel to divide by zero. As you know, this problem will be overcome when you enter an actual set of maximum scores into row 10.

Press Ctrl-s again to save your work so far•

Notice that you are doing all the hard work up front. Once you have built the template, using it as a gradebook will be easy—as you will see in a moment. You have a few more tasks to complete before the Gradebook is ready, however.

3.12 Setting the Cell Attribute for the PCNT columnWhen you divide one number by another the result is usually a fraction. Thus, the eventual percentage for each student won’t look like percentages at all. Instead of, say, 85%, the computer will display 0.85. It would be best to display the percentages as whole numbers (no fractions) with a % sign after them. So you must add this feature to the Gradebook template.

Follow these steps to format (select attributes for) the values in the PCNT column so they will eventually display as recognisable percentages. If necessary, drag the mouse from cell L14 to cell L23 and, in the Format menu, select Cells. In the Format cells dialog box, from the Category menu select Percentage. Then click on OK because the number of places after the decimal point (called Precision) is set at the default of two (2). That’s it. Later, when you add students and their scores to your roster you will see all the percentages displayed with the % sign. You are now ready to save your template for the last time (ctrl-S).

3.13 Checking Out the FormulasIt is useful for you to know how to check out the formulas in the spreadsheet. Like everything else, this is easy enough to do when you know how. Follow these steps to do this.

From the Tools menu select Options, then in the Options dialog box below select the View tab.

59

Fig. 3.16 Showing or not showing formulas in the Options dialog box(Source:http://www.pitt.edu/~edindex/OfficeXPTutorials/Lesson4XP.pdf)

In the Window options section, put a check mark in the box next to Formulas, and click OK

This will display all the formulas in your spreadsheet. Excel widens the columns so you can see the whole of each formula.ScrolloverifnecessarytocheckouttheformulasdisplayedincolumnsJandL.Afteryouhaveverifiedthat the formulas are stored correctly relative to each of the appropriate cells, you should reset the display so you can see the values in the cells.

From the Tools menu select Options, make sure you have the View tab selected, then click in the box next to Formulas to deselect it, and click on OK. Notice that the formulas are hidden once again and the columns are restored to their originalwidth.Thelastsummarycolumninthespreadsheet(columnN)isforthefinallettergrade.Forthepurposesof this tutorial, you will enter the grade yourself based on the totals, averages, and other factors that you consider significantinassessingthequalityofyourstudents’work.Thus,noformulawillbesuppliedforthiscolumnatthistime. Later, in Lesson 4, you will learn how to create a Lookup table so that Excel can calculate each student’s grade and automatically enter it into the spreadsheet. This will simplify your work still more.

3.14 Entering Names and Scores for Each StudentEntering names and scores for each student requires following steps:

3.14.1 Changing the name of the template documentNowthatthetemplateissafelysavedondisk,youcanstarttouseittobuildspecificgradebooksforparticularclasses. As you can see, the template is still on the computer screen after you have saved a copy of it on your disk. Nowyouaregoingtofillitoutwithstudentnamesandscores.Thus,thetemplatewillnolongerbeatemplate;itwillbeanactualgraderoster.Therefore,thefirstthingyoumustdoischangeitsname,sothatwhenyousavethedocument it will not overwrite the template that you want to keep for future use. It is always a good idea to do this straight away because you might forget to do it later.


60

Up until now you have been working with the document that you originally called “Grades Template.” Let’s say you are a 4th Grade teacher, and the year is 2002. A good document name for this gradebook would be Grade4 2002. You probably remember how to change a document name from the previous two tutorials. But in case you don’t. Select Save As from the File menu and type the name Grade4 2002, then click on Save. The new document namewillappearatthetopofthescreen.Youshouldstartbyfillinginthespecificclassandsemesterdetailsforthe new gradebook.

In cell B4 type Grade 4, hit the Enter key, type 1 for the semester, hit Enter again, then type 2002 for the year and click on Accept ()

3.14.2 Entering the student names

SelectcellA14(thisiswherethefirststudent’slastnamewillgo)•Type a student’s Last Name and hit the Tab key to move to cell B14•Type the student’s First Name•Hit Enter, then the left arrow key, to move to cell A15, and do the same for the next student•Repeat these steps until you have a roster of 10 students. Notice how the names are all lined up on the left of •the column (text is normally left aligned). It doesn’t matter if your names are not in alphabetical order at this time since Excel lets you sort them any time you like.

3.14.3 Entering the scores for each studentYour next step will be to enter scores for these students. But before you do this you will need to decide what kind of scores they will be-Homeworks, Tests, Quizzes, and so forth.

Select cell D8, and type a brief label in the Entry bar, such as HW1, or Test1, and press the Tab key.•Do the same for each of the four other labels for the scores columns. Next you must decide what maximum •scores you want for each assignment.Select cell D10•

Type a maximum score for the assignment or test recorded in this column (column D)— a maximum score is the highest possible score that can be achieved for the assignment or test (such as 20 out of 20, or 100 out of a possible 100, and so on). Move to each of the four other maximum score cells (E10 through H10) and enter appropriate maximum scores. Now look across to column L.

Notice that those warning messages in column L have gone. This is because you are no longer telling Excel to divide by zero (). Take a look at cell J10 and notice that it now has a value other than 0 (zero) in it. Next, select D14. This isthefirstcellinthefirstcolumnofscoresforyourstudents.Typeascoreforeachstudent(pressEnteraftereachscore because you want to go down to cell D23). Remember that the score should be within the Maximum Score range for that HW, Test, Worksheet, or whatever.

Now enter scores for each student in each of the remaining four Assignment categories. If you move across to columns J and L, you should notice how the Totals and Percentages are all kept up to date as you enter each score andthepercentageslooklikepercentages!Ifthecolumnsarefilledwith######signs,thisisbecausethecolumnis not wide enough to show the data. Go ahead and make the columns wider if you need to. Remember about those ###### signs if you ever see them in a cell. They’re not a problem. They’re just an alert to you that you need to makethecolumnwidertofitthesizeofthedata.

The formulas are the most powerful aspect of spreadsheets. When the spreadsheet does the math for you, you begin to appreciate the power of those formulas that you have built into the gradebook template. You don’t need a calculator anymore.Thespreadsheetisyourcalculatoranditwillsaveyouasignificantamountoftime.Onceagain,youmustsave your work (press Ctrl-s). Everything will be saved under the new name (Grade4 2002) on your Data Disk.

61

3.15 Making Changes to your GradebookNow that your gradebook is complete and saved on your disk, this does not mean that you cannot make alterations to it. Perhaps a new student needs to be entered onto your roster, or you have accidentally overlooked an assignment and want to enter it into your gradebook, or you decide to add an extra assignment or test to your normal schedule. This can all be done with little effort on your part.

Adding a student to the roster (Inserting rows)

A new student can be added by inserting a row. To insert a row you would select the location ahead of which you want to place the new row or rows (say before Row 16). Excel inserts a new row immediately ahead of the row you have selected. Follow these steps to try this now. Select row 16 by clicking in the row label (the number 16 at the leftedgeofthespreadsheet-seefigurebelow).

Fig. 3.17 Selecting a row(Source:http://www.pitt.edu/~edindex/OfficeXPTutorials/Lesson4XP.pdf)

Row 16 will become highlighted on the screen. From the Insert menu select Rows. You should now see a new empty row. If you inserted the row in the wrong place, remember that you can undo what you just did by selecting Undo InsertfromtheEditmenu.Nowyoumustfillthenewrowwithdataasintherestofthespreadsheet.MakecellA16theactivecellnowandfilloutanameandasetofscoresyouwillalsoneedtocopythemathformulasfromcellsJ10 and L14 to the respective cells in the TOTAL and PCNT columns.

Move,first,tocellJ10andpressCtrl-c(theshortcutfortheCopycommand)•Move to cell J16 and press ctrl-v (or select Paste from the Edit menu)•Now follow the same procedure to copy the formula from cell L14 to cell L16. After you have copied the formulas •you should check to see that the results in the various cells make sense. Mistakes are always possible.


62

3.15.1 Inserting columnsTo insert a new column, you will select where you want to insert the column—say between columns F and G. Excel will insert the new column(s) to the left of the column you select. Select column G by clicking in the column label (the letter “G” at the top of column G in the spreadsheet). Column G will become highlighted. From the Insert menu select Columns Excel inserts an empty column to allow you to enter a new set of data. The column width is set to be the same as the column next to which it is inserted.

AgainyouwillneedtofillinacolumnlabelincellG8,amaximumscoreforthatassignment(incellG10),anda set of actual scores, one for each student in the class. Notice that the column label you enter in cell G8 is right aligned since you set this attribute across the cells from D8 to H8. Notice also once more that all your totals and percentagesareupdatedtoreflectthenewsetofscores.

3.15.2 Deleting (cutting) rows and columnsHere, are the steps to delete rows or columns from a spreadsheet. Select a row or column, or a set of rows or columns, by highlighting them, then, from the Edit menu select Delete. No need to practice this now. Just remember where tofindthissectionifyoueverneedtodeleterowsorcolumnsfromaspreadsheet.

The beauty of an electronic spreadsheet such as Excel is that, even when you add or delete rows or columns, the system automatically updates the formulas where appropriate to match the new state of the data. If you make changes like this that you want to keep, you must save your work once again. Do this now.

Save your Grade 4 2002 gradebook document

3.15.3 Printing your gradebookYou are now going to print a “hard copy” of your gradebook. Unless you decide otherwise, Excel will print the page in the Portrait orientation.

Fig. 3.18 Portrait and Landscape page orientation(Source:http://www.pitt.edu/~edindex/OfficeXPTutorials/Lesson4XP.pdf)

Ifyourgradebookistoowidetofitonthe8.5inchwidthofstandardpaper,youcanprintthegradebooksideways(Landscapeorientation).FromtheFilemenu,selectPageSetuptobringupthedialogboxinbelowfigure,andmake sure you have the Page tab selected

63

Fig. 3.19 Page Setup dialog box(Source:http://www.pitt.edu/~edindex/OfficeXPTutorials/Lesson4XP.pdf)

Click on the radio button next to Landscape, and then click on OK. In the Page Setup dialog box you can also tell Excel to print or not to print gridlines, row and column headings and so forth. You can thus still make changes to the appearance of your spreadsheet on the printed page.

From the File menu select Page Setup again, and click on the Sheet tab, then remove the checkmark in the box next to Row and Column Headings (if necessary) and Gridlines (again, if necessary). This is to tell Excel you do notwantthoseheadingsinthefirstprintout.Now,inthePageSetupdialogbox,clickonthePrintbuttontobringup the Print dialog box.


64

Fig. 3.20 The Print dialog box(Source:http://www.pitt.edu/~edindex/OfficeXPTutorials/Lesson4XP.pdf)

In the print dialog box, you can choose the number of copies you would like. As a rule, it is best to have the computer print only one copy unless you have a high speed printer, since it is easier to make multiple copies by usingaphotocopier.Also,ifyouhaveadotmatrix,daisywheel,orinkjetprinter,selectdraftqualitythefirsttimeor two, so you don’t waste ink (this is not an option with laser printers since laser printers always print best quality). Another tip, if you have control over your own printer, is to recycle once used paper (clean on one side) for draft copies. You might even start collecting this, instead of throwing it away. Help save the planet!

For Print Range in the Print dialog box the radio button for All is selected by default. If you look a little lower in the dialog box (in the Print what section) you’ll see that the radio button for Active sheet(s) is also selected by default. These are the appropriate settings for this tutorial. Finally, click on OK to print your document. The printer will print your Grade 4 2002 gradebook so you can hand it in to your instructor.

3.15.4 Saving a backup copy of your workYour last task before completing this session at the computer is to make a backup of your spreadsheets on another disk. There are a couple of ways to do this and if you already know how to backup your work to your Data Backup disk, go ahead and do so. Otherwise complete the following directions. The Grades Template and Grade4 2002 spreadsheets are saved on your Data Disk, which is in the disk drive.

3.15.5 Close the excel spreadsheet programClose or minimise any other windows that may be open on your desktop to make it easier for you to see what you’re doing. Double click to open the My Computer icon, then double click to open the disk drive where you have your Data Disk. Now drag the folder Spreadsheets from your Data Disk to the Desktop and drop it there. Watch while Windows makes a copy of your documents on to the desktop, then close the Window on your Data Disk. Remove your Data Disk from the disk drive, replace it with your Data Backup disk and double click to open the disk drive. Now drag the Spreadsheets folder from the desktop to your Data Backup disk.

65

3.16 A Word about Templates and Stationery DocumentsSo much of a professional’s work is based on standard forms of one kind or another. There are simply dozens of such forms that you either generate yourself or that are generated for you by administrators. They may be ditto masters, grade sheets, attendance registers, sign-up sheets, course schedules, syllabi, correspondence, you name it.

Youshouldthink“Template”wheneveryouuseMicrosoftOffice.“HowcanIleveragetheeffortI’mputtingintocreating this document? Are there parts of it that are common to other documents I have to produce? Is there a template here that I should be saving as a separate document for future use?”

Office uses the term “Stationery” to describe documents that act as templates forword processing, database,spreadsheet, or Presentation applications. A selection of some two dozen “starter” documents is supplied with the software. Over the course of your career you will undoubtedly develop your own set of stationery documents or templates. The rationale behind templates is personal productivity, where time and ideas are at a premium. Templates areapowerfulwayofcapturingthefreeflowofideasintheformofelectronicdocumentswhichenhancethequalityandefficiencyofourwork.


66

SummaryA spreadsheet is a table, which displays numbers in rows and columns.•Spreadsheets can exist in paper format but the electronic spreadsheets are able perform automatic calculations •on changing data.Spreadsheet programs help you manage data in various formats and, as mentioned above, they can increase •your productivity when dealing with various types of data.In 1978, Dan Bricklin, a young graduate student at the Harvard School of Business, developed a program called •Visicalc which simulated a worksheet.The Excel spreadsheet is considerably more powerful than Visicalc, able to handle much larger sets of numerical •data at greater speeds.We can build instructions into an electronic spreadsheet to do relatively complex mathematical calculation and •analysis.The Excel screen acts as a window onto a large grid of rows and columns into which data is entered, usually •from the keyboard.The spreadsheet is most used for business accounting and data analysis.•We can build instructions into the spreadsheet to carry out humdrum, repetitive calculations the kind of •calculations which could take hours, even days, to complete manually but which, when done electronically, take a matter of seconds.The cells are where information, in the form of a label, number or formula for calculation, will be entered.•There are 65536 rows and 256 columns in the Excel spreadsheet.•The quickest way to blank out cells is to use the Clear option from the Edit menu.•While you are typing in data in the Entry bar you can edit it as if you are using Word.•To improve the appearance to your gradebook you probably want your column labels to be more in line with •your entries.Use the horizontal scroll bar at the bottom of the spreadsheet window to scroll the gradebook over until Column •C is at the left edge of the spreadsheet.Functions and Formulas are powerful tools in spreadsheets, which can save you hours of work.•

ReferencesMiller, P. F., Vandome, F. A., McBrewster, J., 2009. • Spreadsheet, Alphascript Publishing.Brown, M. J., 2001. • Step-by-Step Spreadsheet Activities for Microsoft Excel, Teacher Created Resources.4 INTRODUCTION TO THE EXCEL SPREADSHEET Preparing a Gradebook• , [Online] Available at: <http://www.pitt.edu/~edindex/OfficeXPTutorials/Lesson4XP.pdf>[Accessed3July2012].Techno logy Tools for Teachers, • SPREADSHEETS, [Online] Available at: <http://www.saskschools.ca/curr_content/pd21byersj/prodtls/spreadsht.html> [Accessed 3July 2012].mrsjuliahamilton, 2010. • What is a Spreadsheet, [Video Online] Available at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwR8MeQGJeU> [Accessed 3 July 2012].vhyndman, 2007. • Excel Spread Sheet Basics - Using a Formula, [Online] Available at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOU_hL2_zBo> [Accessed 3 July 2012].

Recommended ReadingGipp, J., 2007. • Spotlight on Spreadsheets, 2nd ed. Cengage Learning.Ragsdale, C., 2010. • Spreadsheet Modeling & Decision Analysis, 6th ed. Cengage Learning.Pasewark, R. W., Pasewark, G. S., Pasewark, R. W., Pasewark, D. C., Stogner, P. J., 2007. • MicrosoftOffice2007:IntroductoryCourse, Cengage Learning.

67

Self AssessmentA ________ is a table, which displays numbers in rows and columns.1.

Spreadsheeta. Tableb. Windowc. Datad.

The ________ acts as a window onto a large grid of rows and columns into which data is entered.2. Windows Excela. Excel screenb. Spreadsheetc. Data sheetd.

A _________ is an outline or form, which can be used over and over as a layout when carrying out other projects 3. that require the same basic document format.

columna. templateb. spreadsheetc. celld.

The ______ are where information, in the form of a label, number or formula for calculation, will be entered.4. rowsa. columnsb. tablec. cellsd.

_________ are mathematical expressions built into certain cells that instruct the computer to carry out 5. calculations.

Formulasa. Calculationsb. Tabsc. Scroll barsd.

_________ are made up of text that describes the numbers in the columns and rows.6. Tabsa. Labelsb. Formulaec. Rowsd.

There are _______ rows and ______ columns in the Excel spreadsheet.7. 256 , 65536a. 16 million ,16 millionb. 65536 ,256c. 4000 , 16000d.


68

_________ are routines built into the Excel spreadsheet.8. Functionsa. Formulaeb. Programsc. Spreadsheetsd.

Which of the following statements is false?9. The formulas are the most powerful aspect of spreadsheets.a. Excel provides a neat tool to duplicate the contents of cells into a set of adjacent cells.b. Excel has over 100 functions divided into nine categories.c. The Logical test part of the expression is a statement, which the spreadsheet will evaluate as either right or d. wrong.

__________spreadsheets offer students and teachers with a way to view data in various formats.10. Computeriseda. Paperb. Differentc. Powerfuld.

69

Chapter IV

Introduction to Database

Aim


introduce a general-purpose database management system•

explain relational database model•

introduce Structured Query Language•

Objectives


elucidate historical view of key database developments•

explain federated database systems•

elucidate object based database model•

Learning outcome


solve relational database query•

distinguish between classes and attributes•

understand extending domain types in a relation•


70

4.1 IntroductionA database (DB) is a collection of structured (organised), inter-related information units (objects). An information unit is a package of information at various levels of granularity. An information unit could be as simple as a string of letters forming the name of an experimenter or a data value collected from an experiment. It could also be as complex as the protocol of an experiment, a published paper, the image of a rat brain, the audio clip of a speech, or the video clip of an experiment in a laboratory.

Every database is a model of some real world system. At all times, the contents of a database are intended to represent asnapshotofthestateofanapplicationenvironment,andeachchangetothedatabaseshouldreflectanevent(orsequence of events) occurring in the environment. A database can be of any size and of varying complexity.

For example, a database can contain the information of only a few hundred people working on the same project. It couldcontaintheinformationofabank,anairlinecompany,ordatacollectedfromscientificexperiments.

A general-purpose database management system (DBMS) can be viewed as a generalised collection of integrated mechanismsandtoolstosupportthedefinition,manipulation,andcontrolofdatabasesforavarietyofapplicationenvironments. In particular, a general-purpose DBMS is intended to provide the following functional capabilities:

Support the independent existence of a database, apart from the application programs and systems that manipulate •it.Provide a conceptual/logical level of data abstraction.•Supportthequeryandmodificationofdatabases.•Accommodate the evolve ability of both the conceptual structure and internal (physical) organisation of a •database, in response to changing information, usage, and performance requirements.Control a database, which involves the four aspects of semantic integrity (making sure the database is an accurate •model of its application environment), security (authorisation), concurrency (handling multiple simultaneous users), and recovery (restoring the database in the event of a failure of some type).

At the core of any database system is a database model (data model), which is a mechanism for specifying the structure of a database and operations that can be performed on the data in that database. As such, a database model should:

Allow databases to be viewed in a manner that is based on the meaning of data as seen by their users.•Accommodate various levels of abstraction and detail.•Support both anticipated and unanticipated database uses.•Accommodate multiple viewpoints.•Be free of implementation and physical optimization detail (physical data independence).•

Abstractly speaking, a database model is a collection of generic structures, semantic integrity constraints, and primitive operations.Thestructuresofadatabasemodelmustsupportthespecificationofobjects,objectclassifications,andinter-object relationships. The semantic integrity constraints of the database model specify restrictions on states of adatabaseortransitionsbetweensuchstates,sothatthedatabaseaccuratelyreflectsitsapplicationenvironment.Some constraints are embedded within the structural component of a database model, while others may be expressed separatelyandenforcedexternallytotheDBMS.Thespecificationofaparticulardatabaseconstructedusingthesegeneral-purpose structures and constraints can be referred to as a (conceptual) schema.

The operational component of a database model consists of a general-purpose collection of primitives that support thequeryandmodificationofadatabase,namely,givenadatabasewithanassociatedconceptual schema, theoperations facilitate the manipulation of that database in terms of the schema. Such primitives may be embodied in a standalone end-user interface or a specialised language, or embedded within a general-purpose programming language.Database-specificoperationscanbeconstructedusingtheprimitivesofthedatabasemodelasbuildingblocks.

71

4.2 Historical View of Key Database DevelopmentsTo provide a historical perspective on relational, object-based, and object-relational databases models and systems, figure4.1showsa30-yeartimelineoftheirdevelopments(McLeod,1991).Notethattherearemanydatabasemodels and systems being developed during the period of time. For the purpose of our discussion, only those relevant databasemodelsandsystemsareincludedinthefigure.

Therelationaldatabasemodelwasfirstintroducedin1970(Codd,1970).Itisbasedonasimpleanduniformdatastructure, the relation, and has a solid mathematical foundation. Many commercial products of relational DBMSs were implemented in the 1980s. The descendants of these relational DBMSs are still dominating the database market around the world. The semantic/object based database models adopts objects and classes as their basic structures, and add many semantic primitives such as specialisation/generalisation, data abstraction and encapsulation. Several semantic/object-based database systems were developed in the 1990s.

The object-relational database model extends the relational database model with abstract data types and primitives from semantic/object-based data models. Its basic structure is still a relation, but the value contained in a cell of the relation could be of any abstract data type in addition to atomic data types like strings and numbers. The specialisation/generalisation of both relations and data types are also incorporated into the object-relational model.

1970 1980 1990 2000

RelationalDatabase

Model RelationalDBMSs

Semantic/Object-Based

DatabaseModel

Object-basedDBMSs

Object-relationalDatabase model

and DBMSs

Fig. 4.1 Historical view of key DBMS developments(Source: http://www-scf.usc.edu/~csci586/papers/cs586_reading_12.pdf)

4.3 Relational Database ModelSimplicity and uniformity are the main characteristics of the relational database model. To introduce the relational database model, the basic structures and constraints of the relational model can be considered. The operational component of the relational model will be illustrated later in the section on the SQL query language. A relation canbecrudelyviewedasatablecontainingafixednumberofcolumns(attributes)andavariablenumberofrows(tuples).

A table depiction of a relation is an approximation; Example, rows and columns are unordered, and no duplicate rows are allowed. We say a relation is n-ary if there are n columns in the table. Each column has a “domain” comprising the possible entries for that column. Thus a relational database consists of a number of n-ary relations and a collection of underlying domains.

Figure below shows an example relation named FRIENDS which contains information on four friends. The relation is presented in tabular form. The relation has three columns: Name, Age, and Telephone. Each row represents informationonafriend.Forexample,thefirstrowoftherelationindicatesthatJoe’sageis48andhistelephonenumberis740-4312.Thedomainofacolumnspecifiespossiblevaluesacolumnentrymaytake.Inthisexample,the domains of Name and Telephone columns are strings and the domain of the Age column is numbers.

In the relational model, the domains consist of atomic values, which may be built-in for example, Numbers, Strings oruserdefinedforexample,Phone-numbers.Notethattheuser-defineddomainisasubsetofoneofthebuilt-indomains. For instance, the domain of the Phone-numbers column is the set of strings that represent meaningful


72

telephone numbers. Each database may contain as many relations as necessary. The relational database model captures inter-record relationships in a uniform manner: by means of common data values. Each relation has a column or a collection of columns whose values taken together uniquely determine rows in the relation. Such a columnorcolumncollectionistermedaprimarykey(logicaluniqueidentifier)andisunderlinedinthefigure.Inthis example, the primary key is the Name column if no two friends have the same name.

Name[STR]

Joe

Sue

Ted

Mary

48

30

26

25

Age[NUM]

740-4312

284-5012

291-3478

743-2222

Telephone[Phone-numbers]

FRIENDS relation (table) name

columns (unordered)domains

rows (unordered)

Fig. 4.2 Tabular depiction of relations(Source: http://www-scf.usc.edu/~csci586/papers/cs586_reading_12.pdf)

Figure below presents an example database which contains four relations. This database includes information on publications, authors, reviewers, and recommendations of publications by reviewers. By relating the common values of the Title columns in both the AUTHORS and RECOMMENDATIONS relations, it shows that the book “The Metaphorical Brain 2” is written by the author named Arbib and the book is recommended by two reviewers named Campbell and Oneil.

73

The Metaphorical Brain 2

Learning to Detour

Brain Maps

1989

1995

1998

Title[T-names]

Year[Years]

PUBLICATIONS

Campbell

Lucas

Oneil

(213)284-0392

(310)452-3521

(617)352-8997

Name[R-names]

Telephone[Phone-numbers]

REVIEWERS



Brain Maps

Campbell

Oneil

Oneil

Title[T-names]

Reviewer[R-names]

RECOMMENDATIONS

*****

****

*****

Rating[Ratings]


Learning to Detour

Brain Maps

Arbib

Arbib

Corbacho

Title[T-names]

Author[A-names]

AUTHORS

Learning to Detour

Swanson

Fig. 4.3 Example relational database(Source: http://www-scf.usc.edu/~csci586/papers/cs586_reading_12.pdf)

Thefigurealsoshowsexamplesofthreefundamentalrelationalmodelconstraints,whicharetermeddomainintegrity,entityintegrity,andreferentialintegrity.Domainintegrityconstraintspecifiesthatthevalueofacolumnentrymustcome from the underlying domain of that column.

Entityintegrityconstraintspecifiestheuniquenessofrowsinarelation.Thevalue(s)ofcolumn(s)oftheprimarykey in a relation taken together uniquely determine the row in the relation. For example, the primary key of RECOMMENDATIONS is the combination of Title and Reviewer, which means that given the title of a publication and the name of a reviewer, there is at most a single value of Rating for that pair. Referential integrity constraints, indicatedbydashedlinesinfigure4.3,specifythatvaluesinsomecolumnsmustoccurasvaluesinsomeothercolumn. For example, the arrow from Title in RECOMMENDATIONS to Title in PUBLICATIONS means informally that for a recommendation to exist for a publication that publication must exist in the PUBLICATIONS relation; more precisely, the title of the publication as indicated in RECOMMENDATIONS must also exist as the title of the publication in PUBLICATIONS.

4.4 SQLSQL was originally an abbreviation for Structured Query Language. The SQL language consists of a set of primitives fordefining,accessing,andmanagingdatastoredinarelationaldatabase.Itisahigh-leveldeclarativelanguageinthattheuseronlyspecifieswhatthequeryresultisandleavestheactualexecutionandoptimizationdecisionsto the DBMS. There are many commercial SQL implementations which comply to various SQL standards (SQL1, SQL2, or SQL3) and also provide its own extensions (Date and Hugh, 1997).


74

The goal of this section is to present a brief and informal overview of some important primitives of standard SQL. Thedatabaseinfigure4.3willbeusedtoillustrateusingSQLprimitivesindefiningtables,specifyingconstraints,updating the tables, and querying the tables. The SQL extensions for object-relational databases will be discussed later after the object-relational database model is introduced.

In followingfigure fourCREATETABLE statements are used to define the four tables infigure 4.3with thespecifiednamesandspecifiednamedcolumns(withspecifieddatatypes).Columnnamesmustbeuniquewithintheir containing table. All four tables will initially be empty that is it contains no rows.

ThereisaprimarykeyspecifiedforeachofthefourtablesusingthePRIMARYKEYkeyword.TheFOREIGNKEY keyword is used to indicate referential integrity constraints. Domain integrity, entity integrity, and referential integrity will be enforced by the underlying DBMS.

CREATE TABLE PUBLICATIONS( Title VARCHAR(80),

Year INTEGER,PRIMARY KEY (Title));

CREATE TABLE AUTHORS( Title VARCHAR(80),

Author CHAR(20),PRIMARY KEY (Title, Author),FOREIGN KEY (Title) REFERENCES PUBLICATIONS (Title));

CREATE TABLE REVIEWERS( Name CHAR(20),

Telephone CHAR(13),PRIMARY KEY (Name));

CREATE TABLE RECOMMENDATIONS( Title VARCHAR(80),

Reviewer CHAR(20),Rating CHAR(5),PRIMARY KEY (Title, Reviewer),FOREIGN KEY (Title)

REFERENCES PUBLICATIONS(Title),FOREIGN KEY (Reviewer)

REFERENCES REVIEWERS(Name));

Examples of SQL data definition

There are four basic SQL data manipulation operations: INSERT, DELETE, UPDATE, and SELECT. The first threeoperationsareused tomodify thecontentsofa tableand theSELECTstatement isused to retrieveinformation from a database. The three INSERT statements in the example below illustrate how to add rows into the PUBLICATIONS table. In SQL syntax, entries for strings are quoted and entries for numbers are not quoted as shown in the examples.

The UPDATE statement shows how to change the year of publication from 1993 to 1995 on the article entitled as ‘Learning to Detour’. The DELETE statement illustrates how to delete the row of publication ‘Brain Maps’ from the PUBLICATIONS table. Note that the UPDATE and DELETE operations can be applied to several rows at once, although this is not shown in the examples. The same is also true in general for INSERT operations.

INSERT INTO PUBLICATIONS VALUES (‘the Metaphorical Brain 2’, 1989)INSERT INTO PUBLICATIONS VALUES (‘Learning to Detour’, 1993)INSERT INTO PUBLICATIONS VALUES (‘Brain Maps’, 1998)UPDATE PUBLICATIONS SET Year = 1995WHERE PUBLICATIONS.Title = ‘Learning to Detour’DELETE FROM PUBLICATIONS WHERE PUBLICATIONS.Title = ‘Brain Maps’

Examples of SQL update

75

SELECT columnsFROM tablesWHERE predicate

SELECT Title, RatingFROM RECOMMENDATIONSWHERE Reviewer = ‘Oneil’

General form Example

Fig. 4.4 General form of SELECT operations(Source: http://www-scf.usc.edu/~csci586/papers/cs586_reading_12.pdf)

TheSELECToperationhasthegeneralform“SELECT-FROM-WHERE”asillustratedinfigure.TheSELECTclauseindicatesthecolumnstoberetrievedanddisplayed.TheFROMclausespecifiesthetablesfromwhichtheresultsshouldberetrieved.TheWHEREclausedefinesthecriteriafortheinformationthatshouldberetrieved.Only the data that satisfy the predicate are returned as the result of the SELECT operation.

If the WHERE clause is omitted, the result contains all rows of the tables in the FROM clause. The simple SELECT operation in above example retrieves the title and rating of those publications which are recommended by Oneil. The operationreturnstworows:TheMetaphoricalBrain2withfour-starratingandBrainMapswithfive-starrating.

SELECT Title, Year, AuthorFROM PUBLICATIONS, AUTHORSWHERE PUBLICATIONS.Title = AUTHORS.Title

An example of relational join operation

One of the important features of SQL is its support for the relational join operator. This operator makes it possible to retrieve data by “joining” two, three, or any number of tables, all in a single SELECT statement. An example of relational join operation shows a query that retrieving the title, year of publication, and authors of each publication by joining PUBLICATIONS and AUTHORS on matching titles. The query produces a ternary that is 3-ary relation, with columns containing a title, the year of publication, and an author of that publication. The join operation is illustratedinfigurebelow.


76


Learning to Detour

Brain Maps

1989

1995

1998

Title[T-names]

Year[Years]

PUBLICATIONS


Learning to Detour

Brain Maps

Arbib

Arbib

Corbacho

Title[T-names]

Author[A-names]

AUTHORS

Learning to Detour

Swanson


Learning to Detour

Brain Maps

Arbib

Arbib

Corbacho

Title[T-names]

Author[A-names]

Learning to Detour

Swanson

1989

1995

1995

1998

Year[Years]

after join on matching titles

Fig. 4.5 Illustration of the join operation on two tables(Source: http://www-scf.usc.edu/~csci586/papers/cs586_reading_12.pdf)

The SELECT operation can be nested. The result of a select statement can be used in another select statement. An example of relational database query shows a query that retrieves the title, year of publication, and authors of each publication that has been recommended by the reviewer named Oneil. This query is the same as the one in previous example except that only those publications recommended by Oneil are retrieved. The titles of publications recommendedbyOneilarefirstselectedintheinnerselectstatement.AsubsetofthejoinonThePUBLICATIONSandAUTHORS relations on matching publication title is then selected corresponding to those publications recommended by Oneil in the inner select statement.

SELECT Title, Year, AuthorFROM PUBLICATIONS, AUTHORSWHERE PUBLICATIONS.Title = AUTHORS.TitleAnd PUBLICATIONS.Title in(SELECT Title FROM RECOMMENDATIONS WHERE Reviewer = ‘Oneil’);

An example of relational database query

77

4.5 Object-based Database ModelsObject-based database models are placed in contradistinction to the relational database model. The term ‘object-based’referstotheclassofdatabasemodelsthatincludethoseidentifiedas‘semantic’and‘object-oriented’.Inwhatfollows,firsttheprincipalcharacteristicsofobject-baseddatabasemodelsareexamined.Themaincomponentsof object-based model are then discussed and illustrated using an example database, which is an extension of the database previously used in illustrating the relational database model.

The term object-based refers to the following characteristics, as exhibited by a database model and a database system that embodies that model (McLeod, 1991). Individual object identity: Objects in a database can include not only primitive (atomic) data values, such as strings and numbers, but also abstract objects representing entities in therealworldandintangibleconcepts.Relationshipsamongandclassificationsofsuchobjectscanthemselvesbeconsidered as abstract objects in the database. Graphical, image, and voice objects can also be accommodated. Such ‘abstract’ objects can be directly represented and manipulated.

Explicitsemanticprimitives:Primitivesareprovidedtosupportobjectclassification,structuring,semanticintegrityconstraints, and derived data. These primitive abstraction mechanisms support such features as aggregation, classification,instantiation,andinheritance.

Activeobjects:Databaseobjectscanbeactiveaswellaspassive,inthattheyexhibitbehaviour.Variousspecificapproaches to the modelling of object behaviour can be adopted, such as an inter object message-passing paradigm, or abstract data type encapsulation. The important point is that behavioural abstraction is supported, and procedures to manipulate data are represented in the database.

Object uniformity: All (or nearly all) information in a database is described using the same object model. Thus descriptive information about objects, referred to here as meta-data, is conceptually represented in the same way as specific‘fact’objects.Meta-dataareconsidereddynamic,andcanbemodifiedinamanneranalogoustothatusedto alter ‘fact’ objects.

To provide a more substantive analysis of the concepts underlying object-based database models in general and the notions of object identity and explicit semantic primitives in particular, the following main components of an object-based model are considered.

Objects are abstract, complex, or atomic entities that correspond to things in the application environment being •represented in the database, and may be at various levels of abstraction and of various modalities (media).Inter-object relationships describe associations among objects. Such relationships are modelled as attributes •of objects (logical mapping from one object to another) and their inverses, as well as by association objects (objects that represent relationships as entities).

Objectclassificationsgrouptogetherobjectsthathavesomecommonalities.Thetermobjecttypeoftenreferstosuchclassification,andthetermclasstothesetofobjectsclassifiedaccordingtothetype.(Thetermtypeandclassare sometimes informally used somewhat synonymously.)

Relationshipsamongobjectclassificationsspecifyinter-classificationassociations,Example,,thesubclass/superclassinter-class relationship supports specialisation/generalisation. Object classes or types can themselves be considered objects at a higher level of abstraction, for example, with attributes of their own.


78

4.6 Classes and AttributesTo examine the fundamentals of object-based database models, consider again the example application environment involving publications, authors, reviewers, and recommendations. Figure below illustrates the concepts of classes and attributes.Classesareclassificationsofobjects,andattributesaremappingsfromoneobjectclasstoanother.Inthisfigure,classesareindicatedasovals.Exampleclassesincludeabstractentityclassifications,suchasPUBLICATIONS,AUTHORS, REVIEWERS, and RECOMMENDATIONS, as well as atomic value classes, such as Phone numbers, T-names (title names), A-names (author names), Ratings, and so on.

T-names

Years

A-names

R-names

Phone-numbers

PUBLICATIONS AUTHORS

REVIEWERSRECOMMENDATIONS

Ratings

reco

mm

enda

tions

(m)

publ

icat

ion(

1)has-authors(m)

is-author-of(m)

reviewer(1)

opinions(m)

rating(1)

name(1)

name(1)

phone(1)

title(1)

year(1)

Fig. 4.6 Classes and attributes(Source: http://www-scf.usc.edu/~csci586/papers/cs586_reading_12.pdf)

Studythefiguregiven,attributesareindicatedbylabelleddirectedarrowsfromthedescribedclasstothedescribingclass (value class). Attributes are labelled with a name, and are indicated as single valued or multi-valued (m); attributeinversesarespecifiedbyalineconnectingtwosmallcircles(orby2trackingsmallcircles).AnattributeAfromclassC1toaclassC2meansthatanobjectclassifiedasbeingofclassC1mayberelatedtoobject(s)ofclassC2 via A; the inverse of A, which is always logically present, may be explicitly indicated and named.

For example, class PUBLICATIONS has an attribute called has-authors that is multi-valued; for a given publication object, its authors are indicated by the values of this attribute, which relates the publication to zero or more objects of type AUTHORS. The inverse of this attribute is called is-author-of of AUTHORS, which is also multi-valued. Another example is the attribute year of PUBLICATIONS, which is single-valued; its inverse is not explicitly present here, but can be referenced as ‘the inverse of year of PUBLICATIONS’ (the publications published in a given year), which is of course an attribute of class Years.

One-to-one, one-to-many, many-to-one, and many-to-many binary relationships between object classes can be expressed by attribute and attribute inverse pairs. The many-to-many relationships between classes PUBLICATIONS and AUTHORS are represented by the multi-valued attribute have authors of PUBLICATIONS and its multi-valued inverse, is-author-of of AUTHORS.

79

An example of a one-to-many relationship is indicated between the PUBLICATIONS and RECOMMENDATIONS classes by the single-valued attribute publication of RECOMMENDATIONS and its multi-valued inverse attribute recommendations of PUBLICATIONS; this means informally that an object of class RECOMMENDATIONS represents the evaluation of a single publication, and that a given publication may have many evaluations.

An example of a one-to-one relationship, although not indicated as such in some example before, might be between PUBLICATIONS and T-names; here the attribute called title of PUBLICATIONS is single-valued, and its inverse from T-names to PUBLICATIONS, for example, called is-title-of would also be single-valued.

Figure below illustrates the RECOMMENDATIONS class in more detail. Here, RECOMMENDATIONS has three attributes publication, reviewer, and rating, each of which is single-valued. Objects of class RECOMMENDATIONS represent abstract entities that correspond to recommendations of publications by reviewers with a given rating; they in effect model a ternary relationship. It is also possible to consider a derived attribute called reviewed-by of PUBLICATIONS and its inverse (has-reviewed of REVIEWERS), both of which can be derived from information carried by the values of attributes of RECOMMENDATIONS.

This is an example of derived data in general, and derived attributes in particular; note that attribute and attribute inverse pairs are in a sense also derived, or more precisely, logically redundant information. A database system that supports an object-based database model must of course support this redundancy, and maintain consistency in its presence.

RECOMMENDATIONS Ratingsrating(1)

PUBLICATIONS REVIEWERS

publ

icat

ion(

1)

reviewer(1)

reviewed-by(m)

has-reviewed(m)

Fig. 4.7 Association objects(Source: http://www-scf.usc.edu/~csci586/papers/cs586_reading_12.pdf)

4.7 Subtype and InheritanceThe concept of specialisation (and its inverse, generalisation) is an important kind of interclass relationship, which is supported by subclass/super class construct. Figure given illustrates this relationship between a class and its subclass (es), using a large arrow from a class to a subclass. In the example, the class PUBLICATIONS has two subclasses, namely, BOOKS and PAPERS. PAPERS in turn has two subclasses, namely, JOURNAL PAPERS and CONFERENCE PAPERS. Attributes are inherited by a subclass from its super class and the subclass may have additional attributes as well. Thus BOOKS has its own attribute ISBN#, as well as the attributes called title, year, hasauthors,andrecommendations,whichareinheritedfromPUBLICATIONS.(Forsimplicityinthefigure,thevalue classes of some attributes are omitted.)


80

AUTHORSPUBLICATIONS has-authors

title

year

recommendations

BOOKSISBN# PAPERS

pages

CONFERENCEPAPERS location

conference nameJOURNALPAPERS

journal name

Fig. 4.8 Subclasses, super classes, and attribute inheritance(Source: http://www-scf.usc.edu/~csci586/papers/cs586_reading_12.pdf)

Theobjectsclassifiedbyaclassmaybetermedtheinstancesofthatclass.Thesetofinstancesofasubclassmustbeasubsetofthesetofinstancesofitssuperclass.ThefigureSubclassesandinstancesshowssomeinstancesofclassPUBLICATIONS, indicated as P1, P2, P3, P4, and P5. Each instance of CONFERENCE PAPERS is an instance of three classes: for example, P5 can be viewed as a conference paper, a paper, and a publication. The subset constraint involving instances of a subclass must of course be enforced by the database system.

BOOKS

P1 P2JOURNALPAPERS

P3

CONFERENCEPAPERS

P4 P5

PAPERS

P3 P4 P5

PUBLICATIONS

P1 P2 P3 P4 P5

Fig. 4.9 Subclasses and instances(Source: http://www-scf.usc.edu/~csci586/papers/cs586_reading_12.pdf)

It is also possible for a class to have multiple super classes. In this case, the specialisation structure among classes is not necessarily a forest of trees, but rather a directed acyclic graph. For example, suppose that FRIENDS and COLLEAGUESaredefinedassubclassesofPERSONS;theclassFRIENDSATWORKmightthenbedefinedasa subclass of both FRIENDS and COLLEAGUES.

In this example, the instance subset constraint implies that the instances of FRIENDS AT WORK must be a subset of the instances of FRIENDS as well as a subset of the instances of COLLEAGUES. When multiple super classes are permitted, some rules must be present in the database model to accommodate the problem of multiple inheritances (namely, the inheritance of attributes from more than one super class).

81

4.8 Object-Relational Database ModelThe object-relational database model is based on the relational database model with extensions of several key ideas from object-based database models. The basic structure of the object-relational model is still a relation, but the domains of a column in a relation are extended to include abstract data types in addition to atomic data types like strings and numbers. Subclasses (sub-relations) and inheritance are added to incorporate specialisation/generalisation inter-class(inter-relation)relationships.Withtheabilityforuserstodefineabstractdatatypeswithsubclassesandinheritance, the object-relational database model has more capability for modelling complex data than the traditional relational database model.

Unlike most object-based database models, the object-relational model maintains the top-level structure as relations andmakesitpossibletousethestandardSQLwithextensionstodefine,access,andmanipulateitsdatabases.Inwhat follows, extended data types and subclasses/inheritance of the object-relational database model will be further illustrated using Informix universal server DBMS.

C1 C2 C3

relation (table)

Basic types:Strings, Numbers, etc.

Extended types:User-defined types(complex data types and opaque data types)

Fig. 4.10 Extending domain types in a relation(Source: http://www-scf.usc.edu/~csci586/papers/cs586_reading_12.pdf)

The object-relational database model is an extension to the relational database model. By ignoring the additional types and constructs provided by the object-relational database model, one could just use an object-relational database system as a relational database system. In the relational database model, the domains of a column in a relation (table) are limited to basic atomic data types like strings and numbers and so on. The object-relational database model easesthelimitationtoincludeuser-definedextendedtypesasthedomainsofcolumnsinarelation.Bydoingso,it enables users to capture more semantics of complex application environments. There are two main categories of extendedtypes.Thefirstcategoryisthecomplexdatatypesincludingrowtypesandcollections.

A row type is a data type consisting of a record of values, which is analogous to a C structure or C++ class. Row types couldbespecificallynamedorcreatedautomaticallyasananonymous(unnamed)rowtypeduringtablecreationusing CREATE TABLE statements. In the following example, the left side creates the PUBLICATIONS table with an unnamed row type. The right side creates a named row type PUUBLICATIONS_T and uses it create the table PUBLICATIONS.Inadditiontousingnamedrowtypetocreatetables,youcanalsouseittodefineindividualcolumns of a table. The collection types include set, list, and multi set types that can hold multiple values.

CREATE TABLE PUBLICATIONS( Title VARCHAR(80),

Year INTEGER,PRIMARY KEY ( Title ) );

CREATE ROW TYPE PUBLICATIONS_T( Title VARCHAR(80),


CREATE TABLE PUBLICATIONSOF TYPE PUBLICATIONS_T;

Creating tables using named and unnamed row types


82

Thesecondcategoryofextendedtypesistheopaquetype.Anopaquedatatypeisauserdefinedtypetobeusedlike an atomic data type. Opaque types are totally encapsulated. The database server knows nothing about the representation and implementation of an opaque type. All access to an opaque type is through the functions written byusers.Theyareaccessedthroughthefunctionsdefinedonthem.Onceanopaquetypeisdefinedandimplemented,it could be used just like built-in strings and numbers. For example, complex number is not directly supported by most database system. But it can be implemented as an opaque type with input, output, and arithmetic functions. Aftercomplexnumbertypeisdefinedandimplemented,operationsoncomplexnumberscanthusbesupportedinthe database system.

The object-relational database model also supports subclasses and inheritance. Subclasses can be applied to tables, rowtypes,oropaquetypes.Boththedataandfunctionsdefinedonthesuperclassesareinheritedbytheirsubclasses.However, there is one restriction on creating sub tables using named row types. If named row types are used in creating tables, the type hierarchy of the named rows must match the type hierarchy of the corresponding tables. Create PUBLICATIONS and BOOKS tables using named row types. Note that the named row type BOOKS_T is a subtype of the type PUBLICATIONS_T. The corresponding BOOKS table is also a sub-table of PUBLICATIONS table.

CREATE ROW TYPE PUBLICATIONS_T( Title VARCHAR(80),


CREATE ROW TYPE BOOKS_T( ISBN CHAR(13) )UNDER PUBLICATIONS_T;

CREATE TABLE PUBLICATIONSOF TYPE PUBLICATIONS_T;

CREATE TABLE BOOKS UNDER PUBLICATIONS;

Named row type hierarchy must match corresponding table hierarchy

As a further extension to the basic relational database model, Informix as well as many other object-relational database management systems also add the capability of allowing multi-valued attributes. Thus, a many-to-many relationship can be expressed as set-valued attribute. Such set valued attributes can be useful, but introduce the problem that one must select which “side” to represent the relationship; using a separate table for many-to-manies avoids this problem, by symmetrically representing the relationship as a pair of references to the tuples/objects involved in it.

For example, we can represent the many-to-many relationship between authors and publications as a set-valued attribute for tuples in the AUTHORS relation, or a set-valued attribute in the PUBLICATIONS relation. Alternatively, we can use a new table, say AUTHORING, which contains single-valued attributes that refer to the AUTHORS and PUBLICATIONS tuples; in the latter approach, there will be a tuple in AUTHORING for each binary pairing of an author and a publication; if there are attributes of this relationship, they can be placed in the AUTHORING relation.

4.9 An Overview of Federated Database SystemsWith the rapid growth of computer communication networks over the last decade, a vast amount of diverse information hasbecomeavailableonthenetworks.Usersoftenfinditdesirabletoshareandexchangeinformationthatresideseither within the same organisation or beyond organisational boundaries. A federated database system is a collection of autonomous, heterogeneous, and cooperating component database systems. Component database systems unite into a loosely-coupled federation in order to achieve a common goal: to share and exchange information by cooperating with other components in the federation without compromising the autonomy of each component database system. Suchenvironmentsareincreasinglycommoninvariousapplicationdomains,includingofficeinformationsystems,computer-integratedmanufacturing,scientificdatabasesandsoon.

83

The issues related to sharing and exchanging of information among federated database systems can be considered in threedifferentphases.First,theuserofacomponentdatabaseinthefederationneedstofindoutwhatinformationcan be shared, and identify the location and content of relevant information units which reside in other component databases in the federation. This is categorised as the information discovery phase. Once the information units of interesthavebeenidentifiedandlocated,thenextphaseistoresolvethedifferencesbetweentheinformationunitsto be imported and the information units contained in the user’s local component database.

This is the semantic heterogeneity resolution phase. After the various kinds of heterogeneity have been resolved, the next phase is to actually import the information units into the user’s local environment so that they can be used inanefficientandintegratedmanner.Thisiscalledthesystem-levelinterconnectionphase.


84

SummaryA database (DB) is a collection of structured (organised), inter-related information units (objects).•Every database is a model of some real world system.•A general-purpose database management system (DBMS) can be viewed as a generalised collection of integrated •mechanismsandtoolstosupportthedefinition,manipulation,andcontrolofdatabasesforavarietyofapplicationenvironments.A database can be of any size and of varying complexity.•Database-specific operations can be constructed using the primitives of the databasemodel as building•blocks.Therelationaldatabasemodelwasfirstintroducedin1970(Codd,1970).•The object-relational database model extends the relational database model with abstract data types and primitives •from semantic/object-based data models.Simplicity and uniformity are the main characteristics of the relational database model.•Theuser-defineddomainisasubsetofoneofthebuilt-indomains.•The relational database model captures inter-record relationships in a uniform manner.•Entityintegrityconstraintspecifiestheuniquenessofrowsinarelation.•SQL was originally an abbreviation for Structured Query Language.•TheSQLlanguageconsistsofasetofprimitivesfordefining,accessing,andmanagingdatastoredinarelational•database.SQLisahigh-leveldeclarativelanguageinthattheuseronlyspecifieswhatthequeryresultisandleavesthe•actual execution and optimization decisions to the DBMS.There are four basic SQL data manipulation operations: INSERT, DELETE, UPDATE, and SELECT.•The SELECT clause indicates the columns to be retrieved and displayed.•One of the important features of SQL is its support for the relational join operator.•Object-based database models are placed in contradistinction to the relational database model.•Database objects can be active as well as passive, in that they exhibit behaviour.•All (or nearly all) information in a database is described using the same object model.•One-to-one, one-to-many, many-to-one, and many-to-many binary relationships between object classes can be •expressed by attribute and attribute inverse pairs.The concept of specialisation (and its inverse, generalisation) is an important kind of interclass relationship, •which is supported by subclass/super class construct.

ReferencesDate, C. J., 1995. • Introduction to Database, 6th ed. Addison Wesley Publishing Company.Alexander, M., 2007. • MicrosoftAccess2007DataAnalysis, John Wiley & Sons.Introduction to Databases• , [Online] Available at: <http://www-scf.usc.edu/~csci586/papers/cs586_reading_12.pdf> [Accessed 4 July 2012].Rodriguez, A., • Brief Introduction to Database Concepts, [Online] Available at: <http://edugi.uji.es/Andrea/DBreading.pdf> [Accessed 4 July 2012].pbm07c, 2009. • MicrosoftAccess 2007Tutorial, [Video Online] Available at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPtXq-3qf6U> [Accessed 4 July 2012].gcflearnfree,2011.• Access2010:IntroductiontoDatabases, [Video Online] Available at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXiCza050ug> [Accessed 4 July 2012].

85

Recommended ReadingFriedrichsen, L., 2007. • MicrosoftOfficeAccess2007-IllustratedComplete, Cengage Learning.Date, 2006. • An Introduction to Database Systems, 8th ed. Pearson Education India.Pasewark and Pasewark, William R. P., Scott G. P., William R. P., 2007. • MicrosoftOfficeAccess2007:IntroductoryCourse, Cengage Learning.


86

Self AssessmentA _________ is a collection of structured (organised), inter-related information units.1.

Databasea. RDBMSb. Filec. Memoryd.

Which of the following statements is false?2. An information unit is a package of information at various levels of granularity.a. Every database is a model of some real world system.b. A general-purpose database management system (DBMS) can be viewed as a generalised collection of c. integrated mechanisms and tools.Adatabaseisoffixedsizeandofnonvaryingcomplexity.d.

Therelationaldatabasemodelwasfirstintroducedin__________.3. 1989a. 1977b. 1970c. 1972d.

A_________canbecrudelyviewedasatablecontainingafixednumberofcolumnsandvariablenumberof4. rows.

relationa. tupleb. data modelc. relational tabled.

Entityintegrityconstraintspecifiestheuniquenessofrowsina_________.5. tuplea. relationb. data modelc. relational tabled.

The________languageconsistsofasetofprimitivesfordefining,accessing,andmanagingdatastoredina6. relational database.

.NETa. PL/SQLb. RDBMSc. SQLd.

Which of the following is not a SQL data manipulation operation?7. INSERTa. DELETEb. UPDATEc. WHEREd.

87

Which of the following statements is false?8. Primitivescannotsupportobjectclassification.a. Database objects can be active as well as passive, in that they exhibit behavior.b. Objects in a database can include not only primitive data values.c. Object-based database models are placed in contradistinction to the relational database model.d.

Relationshipsamong_________classificationsspecifyinter-classificationassociations.9. classa. attributeb. objectc. datad.

___________ are inherited by a subclass from its super class and the subclass may have additional attributes 10. as well.

Attributesa. Queryb. Relationsc. Classd.


88

Chapter V

SQL Server

Aim


definedatabase•

identify use of keys•

explain the concept of building a relationship•

Objectives


discuss relationships and referential integrity•

enumerate steps in creating tables •

describe the functions with database•

Learning outcome


comprehend XML functions•

identify steps in creating schema •

understand the steps in creating stored procedure•

89

5.1 IntroductionStructured Query Language (SQL) is the language used to manage and administer the database server. SQL server is a Microsoft product used to manage and store information. In technical terms, SQL server is a ‘relational database management system’ (RDMS). The data stored inside SQL server will reside in a ‘relational database’. SQL Server is an entire ‘management system’, not just a database.

Relational DatabaseEdgarCoddfirstproposedtherelationalmodel.Mostoftheproductsinmarkettoday(suchasSQLServer,Oracle,MySQL, and MS Access) are relational database products. Data is stored inside a structure called a ‘Table’, which uses rows and columns (like a spreadsheet). Unlike a spreadsheet, the data rows stored inside a table is not in particular order.Inatypicalspreadsheetcolumn,ifthedatainthefirstcolumnofaspreadsheetistobesortedalphabetically,clickthefirstcolumnandthenclickthe‘Sort’button.Therowsofdatawouldchangetheirordersotheyweresortedin particular way, as shown below.

Before: After:

Thename‘Dave’ismovedfromthethirdrowtothefirst.InadatabaseTable,thisneveroccurs.Thedatawouldnot be rearranged. For a sorted list, the database is asked for display copy of the data sorted. This request to see the data is called a query. So a query is run, personalised display copy of the data is seen, the actual data items are not rearranged.

A database is a core, central component to SQL server. SQL server is Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) which manages databases. A database is a logical container object used for storing information to help with organisation. Also, a database can be used as an easy security boundary. Usually, databases separate applications from each other. For example, all the accounting system information may be contained in one database, while all the marketing information is in another. However, SQL server would allow that all corporate information can be contained in a single database. Conversely, each group of information can be separated into their own database, having many databases in a single SQL server. A single SQL server can contain over 32,000 separate databases.

Whenanewdatabaseiscreated,twophysicalfilesarecreatedontheharddrive.Onefileholdsalltheobjectsanddata.•Anotherfilecontainsalogofallthedatabasechanges.•

ThesefilesareproprietarytoSQLserverandcannotbeopenedbyWord,Excel,Notepad,oranyotherapplication.Thefilesizeofadatabasecanbeover500,000terabytes.Dataisstoredintablesconsistingofcolumnsandrows.Tables can be linked or related to one another. Tables and objects belonging to the same family or require similar security are collectively stored in a database.


90

5.2 Defining a DatabaseA database is a container for objects that not only store data, but also enable data storage and retrieval to operate in a secure and safe manner. A SQL server database can hold the following:

Columns within Tables That Make Up Rows of DataTables are where data is kept within the database.

A database must contain at least one table to be of use, although you can have a database with no user tables •and only system tables.Columnsprovideadefinitionofeachsingleitemofinformationthatbuildsuptoatabledefinition.•A column is made up of cells that hold data. A column within a SQL server table is restricted as to what the data •within it relates to, the type of data it will hold, and how much information can be stored in it.Each table must have at least one column, although the column does not need to contain any information.•Arow(alsocalledrecords)ismadeupofonecellfromeverycolumndefinedforthetable.Therecanbeany•numberofrowsinatable.Thediskspaceortheamountofdiskspacethatisdefinedasthemaximumindatabasecreation, or the amount of disk space on server is limited.Arowwilldefineasingleunitofinformation(suchasauser’sbankaccountdetailsoraproductonane-commerce•site).

Programs (either stored procedures or assemblies)It is used to access or manipulate data. Stored procedures contain one or more T-SQL statements (program statement that SQL server can use to work with data), which are compiled and ready to be executed when required. Stored procedures are permanently stored in the database, ready for use at any time.

Indexes:• Itisusedtospeeduptheretrievalofdata.Indexesorpredefinedlistsofinformationthatcaninformdatabasehowthedataisphysicallysortedandstored,ortheycanbeusedbySQLservertofindrowsofdataquickly with use of information supplied by a T-SQL query and matching this information to data within columns.Anindexconsistsofoneormorecolumnsfromthetableitisdefinedfor,butanindexdoesnotcovermore than one table.Views:• These are specialised ways of looking at the actual data. Views or virtual tables can contain information combined from several tables and can present a more user-friendly interface to the data. Views add security to an application, but reduced functionality over use of stored procedures or direct access to tables. Views can also be indexed to speed processing of data within.Functions:• These are repetitive tasks that can be applied to rows of data. A function is similar to a stored procedure, but it takes or produces information one row at a time as one works through the rows of data processed.

Also within every database is a set of system tables that SQL server uses to maintain that database. These tables hold information about every column, information about every user, and many other pieces of information.

5.3 Building a RelationshipThe tables in database are essentially single, unrelated items. Tables have columns with the same name in different tables.Definingrelationshipsbetweenthetablesrelatestotyingthemtogether.Bindingthetablestogetherensuresthat changes in one table do not cause the invalidation of data in another table.

Using keysA key is used to identify a record in a database table. Keys are used to build relationships between tables. Key can be exploited when working with columns having the same name in different tables. Keys can uniquely identify a recordinatablewhenthatisanimportantpartindesignofdatabase.Akeycanbedefinedonasinglecolumnifitisenoughtoidentifytherecord,elseitcanbedefinedonmorethanonecolumn.Thethreekindsofkeysusedinadatabase:

Primary•Foreign/referencing•Candidate/alternate•

91

Creating RelationshipsA relationship in a SQL Server database is a logical link between two tables. A physical line is drawn between two tables when designing the database. A physical link would mean the actual data linking the two tables would be stored only once in a central location and that information within the keys linking the tables would be stored more than once.

Whendefiningalogicalrelationship,SQLserverisinformedaboutlinkingaprimarykeyfromthemastertabletoa foreign key in another table. Thus, there is a need for two keys; one on each table.

Relationships and Referential IntegrityA relationship can be used to enforce data integrity. If data is expected in one table because there is data in another, a relationship is placed between these two tables to ensure that no SQL command breaks this rule.

Referential integrity assumes that there are two tables in the database that contain the same information, and it requires that duplicated data elements are kept consistent. For example, if a primary key is in one table and a foreign key in another table having data that exactly matches, then it is important that both pieces of data either change together or do not change at all. With relationships, referential integrity can be enforced. Also, triggers can be used to ensure that data remains valid.

An entry of customer transaction using a customer reference number which is not existing within the customers table is not possible. This is another result of enforcing referential integrity. Instead, to enter a customer transaction in thissituation,first,customerrecordistobecreated,andthenthetransactionistobecarriedout.Finally,ifthereisa customer record and related customer transaction records, the customer reference number in the customer record cannotbealteredwithoutfirstaltering thecustomer transactionrecordsandchecking that thereferenceyou’realtering the customer transaction records to already exist. If referential integrity by creating a relationship between two tables is to be maintained, then these two tables must be in the same database. Referential integrity between two databases is impossible.


92

5.4 Functions with DatabaseAdatabaseinSQLserverconsistsofdatafile(s),andatleastonetransactionlogfile,andmayalsoincludefolder(s)namedfor‘Filestreamstorage’.Thedatafilescontainobjectsanddatawithindatabase.Thetransactionlogkeepstrackofallmodificationstoadatabaseandisrequiredforrecoveryintheeventofasystemfailure.Whenanewdatabase is created, the model system database is used as a template. Database settings on the model are used as defaultsforanynewdatabasescreatedonthatserver.Manydatabasescontainonedatafileandonetransactionlogfile.But,somecontainmanyfilesdividedintofilegroups.Filegroupsarenamedcollectionsoffilesthatallowadatabasedevelopertoplacedatabaseobjectsintospecificsetsoffiles.Filegroupscanbeusedtoimproveperformance,help in back up and recovery of large databases.

5.4.1 Creating TablesConsider a new empty database. To create tables within the empty database, navigate to the ‘Server Explorer’ tab window within Visual Studio, which enables to manage databases and servers. SQL server express databases stored in the \App_Data folder of application will automatically show up within the server explorer. ‘Connect to Database’ icon on the top of the ‘Server Explorer’ window can be used (optional) to add additional SQL Server databases (both local and remote) to the list.

93

Add two tables to Nerd Dinner database; one to store our Dinners, and the other to track RSVP acceptances to them. New tables can be created by right-clicking on the ‘Tables’ folder within the database and choosing the ‘Add New Table’ menu command.

Thisopensupatabledesignerthatallowsconfigurationoftheschemaoftable.For‘Dinners’table,add10columnsof data.

Ifthe‘DinnerID’columnistobeauniqueprimarykeyforthetable,itcanbeconfiguredbyright-clickingonthe‘DinnerID’ column and choosing the ‘Set Primary Key’ menu item.


94

Inaddition tomakingDinnerIDaprimarykey, if it is tobeconfiguredasan‘identity’columnwhosevalue isautomaticallyincrementedasnewrowsofdataareaddedtothetable(thatisfirstinsertedDinnerrowwillhaveaDinnerID of 1, second inserted row will have a DinnerID of 2, and so on).

It can also be done by selecting the ‘DinnerID’ column and then using ‘Column Properties’ editor to set the ‘(Is Identity)’ property on the column to ‘Yes’. The standard identity default (start at 1 and increment 1 on each new Dinner row) is used.

Then save the table by typing Ctrl-S or by using the File Save menu command. This prompts us to name the table. Name it ‘Dinners’.

95

Then new Dinners table show up within our database in the server explorer. Repeat the above steps and create a ‘RSVP’ table. This table has 3 columns. Setup RsvpID column as the primary key, and also make it an identity column.

Save it and give it the name ‘RSVP’.

5.4.2 Building a ViewSQL Server MSQL Server Management studio provided handy GUI to create and manage the View. In Object Explorer Tab, it lists all the View with corresponding to its database. SSMS is used to create a maintain view. Expand da ViewDemoDB > Move to View. Right click on View folder.

When you click on New view, it is displayed as the screen given below. In ViewDemoDB, there are two data tables. To create View from EmpInfo Table, select EmpInfo, click on Add.


96

ItredirectstoCreateViewscreenwheretheviewcreationcanbeconfigured.

Therearethreesectionsasshowninabovefigure.Youcanselectthetablenameinabovesectionorinbelowsection,you can right query for view also. After it is done, click on ‘Save’ button on toolbar. Give the name of View and click OK.

Go to ViewDemoDB > View > Expand View folder again. Along with system view, you can see the view that is already created.

97

Thus,thisistheuserdefineView.Ifyourightclickonit,yougetoptionofopentheviewwhichshowstheresultof View.

Also, we can create a view from a view itself as in case of table.

5.4.3 Creating Stored ProcedureSQLserverassumesthatastoredprocedurewillberunmorethanonce.Thus,whenitisexecutedforthefirsttime,a query plan is created for it, which details about the best execution of the query. As any other database object, it is alsopossibletoassignsecuritytoastoredprocedure,sothatonlyspecificuserscanrunit,lendingaddedsecuritycompared to a one-time-only query saved to a hard drive.

A stored procedure is a collection of compiled T-SQL commands that are directly accessible by SQL server. The commands placed within a stored procedure are executed as one single unit or batch of work. As a result, network traffic isgreatly reducedsince singleSQLstatementsarenot forced to travelover thenetwork. Inaddition toSELECT, UPDATE or DELETE statements, stored procedures are able to:

Call other stored procedures•Usestatementsthatcontroltheflowofexecution•Perform aggregate functions or other calculations•

Stored procedures give a single proven interface to access or manipulate data to the application. This means that you keepdataintegrity,makecorrectmodificationsorselectionstodata,andensurethatusersofdatabasedonotneedtoknowstructures,layouts,relationships,orconnectedprocessesrequiredtoperformaspecificfunction.

CREATE PROCEDURE syntaxBegin a stored procedure with a CREATE PROCEDURE statement. The CREATE PROCEDURE syntax offers a greatmanyflexibleoptionsandextendsT-SQLwithsomeadditionalcommands.Thesyntaxgenerallyappearsasfollows:


98

CREATE PROCEDURE procedure_name[ { @parameter_name} datatype [= default_value] [OUTPUT]][ { WITH [RECOMPILE | ENCRYPTION | RECOMPILE, ENCRYPTION } ]AS[BEGIN]statements[END]

To create a stored procedure, a CREATE PROCEDURE statement is supplied. Some procedures may require information to be provided in order for them to do their work. It is achieved by passing in a parameter. For example, [email protected] requireparametersandso this isoptional. However, if you want to pass in parameters to a stored procedure, name the parameters and follow them withdatatypeand,whererequired,thelengthofthedatatopassin.Forexample,thefollowingspecifiesaparameterof name L_Name, with varchar data type of length 50.

@L_Name varchar(50)

Adefaultvaluecanbespecifiedintheeventthatauserdoesnotprovideoneatexecutiontime.Forexample,ifanapplication is commonly and non-exclusively used by the marketing department, the department variable is made optional by setting a default of marketing.

@department varchar(50) = ‘marketing’

It is also possible to return a value or a number of values from a stored procedure using a parameter to pass the informationout.Theparameterwouldstillbedefinedasifitwasforinput,withoneexceptionandoneextraoption.TheextrasyntaxoptionthatisrequiredistosuffixtheparameterwiththekeywordOUTPUT.Thismustfollowthedatatypedefinition.

@calc_result varchar(50) OUTPUT

Thefirstmethodistonamethestoredprocedureandthenpasstheinputvaluesfortheparametersinthesameorderthattheyaredefined.Then,SQLservertakeeachcommandlimitedvaluesetandassignittothedefinedvariable.The second (preferred) method of executing a stored procedure is to name the parameter, and follow this with the valuetopassin.SQLserverisabletomatchtheparameterdefinedwiththeparameterdefinedwithinthestoredprocedure. If the stored procedure needs to be expanded, for backward compatibility, any new parameters can be definedwithdefaultvalues.Thisremovesneedtochangeeverycallingcode.

The stored procedure is built within SQL Server Management Studio to insert a customer into CustomerDetails. By using a stored procedure to enter the data into underlying table, which data is entered is known, as the data can bevalidatedandverified.

Creating a stored procedure using SQL server management studioNavigate to the ApressFinancial database and right-click stored procedures. From the pop-up menu, select New •Stored Procedure.This opens a Query Editor pane with code from a basic stored procedure template, the template called Create •Stored Procedure (New Menu) to be exact. Either alter the procedure by changing the template options by clicking Ctrl+Shift+M, or write the code from scratch. To create a stored procedure via Object Explorer, use thetemplate.Thefiguregivenbelowshowsthetemplateoptionsthatcanbechanged.

99

Fig. 5.1 A stored procedure’s blank template(Source: Dewson, R., 2006. Beginning SQL Server 2005 for Developers)

Thefirstoptionisusefulbecauseitwillprobablybeadboaccountthataddsthestoredproceduretodatabase.•Thus,itwillbedifficulttotracktheactualcreatorofthestoredprocedure.Onlyoneaccountmay‘release’allthe code to production for deployment. The second option, Create Date can be found by interrogating system views. The Description option form part of every stored procedure, as it allows a short description of what the stored procedure is trying to achieve.

Fig. 5.2 First set of template options filled(Source: Dewson, R., 2006. Beginning SQL Server 2005 for Developers)

MovetothetemplateoptionsthatformpartoftheCREATEPROCEDUREsyntax.Thefirstoptionisthename.Theninserttwoparameters.ThefirsttwoparameterspopulateCustomerFirstNameandCustomerLastName.Theparametervaluesdonothavetobethesamenameasthecolumns.Thedatatypeanddatalengthshouldbedefinedas the same type and length as the columns used for.


100

Fig. 5.3 The remaining parameters(Source: Dewson, R., 2006. Beginning SQL Server 2005 for Developers)

Click OK. The code is as shown below:-- ================================================-- Template generated from Template Explorer using:-- Create Procedure (New Menu).SQL---- Use the Specify Values for Template Parameters--command(Ctrl-Shift-M)tofillintheparameter-- values below.---- This block of comments will not be included in--thedefinitionoftheprocedure.-- ================================================SET ANSI_NULLS ONGOSET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ONGO-- =============================================-- Author: Robin Dewson-- Create date: 17 Sep 2005-- Description: This is to insert a customer-- =============================================CREATE PROCEDURE apf_InsertCustomer-- Add the parameters for the stored procedure here@FirstName varchar(50) = ,@LastName varchar(50) =ASBEGIN-- SET NOCOUNT ON added to prevent extra result sets from

101

-- interfering with SELECT statements.SET NOCOUNT ON;-- Insert statements for procedure hereSELECT @FirstName, @LastNameENDGO

Definetheremainingparameters.Firstofall,theparameterscanbeinanyorder(yetitisbettertogroupparameterstogether). The second point is that parameters such as @CustTitle, @AddressId, @AccountNumber, and @AccountTypeId in the example given below are showing the numerical reference values that come from values definedinagraphicalfrontend.Incaseoftheaddress,IDlinkbacktoanexternaladdressdatabase,soratherthanholding whole address, you receive ID selected when the operator used the address lookup. The code with the remaining parameters is given below:

CREATE PROCEDURE CustomerDetails.apf_InsertCustomer-- Add the parameters for the function here@FirstName varchar(50) ,@LastName varchar(50),@CustTitle int,@CustInitials nvarchar(10),@AddressId int,@AccountNumber nvarchar(15),@AccountTypeId int

Take the values of parameters and use these as input to relevant columns. The remaining code for stored procedure is given below:ASBEGIN-- SET NOCOUNT ON added to prevent extra result sets from-- interfering with SELECT statements.SET NOCOUNT ON;INSERT INTO CustomerDetails.Customers(CustomerTitleId,CustomerFirstName,CustomerOtherInitials,CustomerLastName,AddressId,AccountNumber,AccountTypeId,ClearedBalance,UnclearedBalance)VALUES (@CustTitle,@FirstName,@CustInitials,@LastName,@AddressId,@AccountNumber,@AccountTypeId,0,0)ENDGO

On execution of preceding code, the following is the output:This will have added the stored procedure to the database. To check it, move back to the Object Explorer, right-click Stored Procedures, and select Refresh. After Refresh, the stored procedure occurs in the Object Explorer, asshowninfiguregivenbelow.

Fig. 5.4 Object Explorer with stored procedure listed(Source: Dewson, R., 2006. Beginning SQL Server 2005 for Developers)


102

5.5 XML FunctionsXML is commonly used to exchange data between disparate and loosely-coupled systems, (such as B2B applications andworkflowsolutions).Recently,XMLhasbeenusedtorepresentsemi-structured(alsounstructured)datasuchas documents and emails. For information in these models to be queried, XML is the simplest way to represent such information. For example, if documents are represented in XML, it is very easy to write a DOM or XPATH query to extract the contents of a section titled, say ‘Recipe’.

Many applications require other pieces of information that typically reside in a database. For example, an application that allows a user to personalise the look and feel of an application is considered. It is common to store the preferences of the user against the user record in the database. XML is used in storing such unstructured information to cope with an ever expanding list of user preferences.

When such semi-structured or unstructured information as XML in the database is stored, it is sometimes impossible to extract the content to the application tier and then process XML using XML parsers. It is a major advantage if the database platform is able to provide native XML processing capabilities. Thereby, advantage of other database capabilities such as query optimisation, indexing, backups and interoperability with relational data (most important) can be taken.

SQL server 2005 supports an XML data type and enterprise applications that rely heavily on XML processing can take advantage of these native capabilities.

SQL Server 2000 Server-Side XMLSQL server 2000 provided both server-side and client-side XML support. The major elements of server-side XML support in SQL Server 2000 are as follows:

Creation of XML fragments from relational data using the FOR XML extension to the SELECT statement•Ability to shred XML data, using the OPENXML function, so that it can be imported into relational tables•Storing XML data natively in the database•

FOR XMLTheFORXMLextensionallowsthecreationofXMLfromrelationaldata.Itsupportsseveral‘modifiers’thatdictatethe shape of the resulting XML fragment. The syntax of FOR XML clause is given below:

FOR XML {RAW | AUTO | EXPLICIT} [, XMLDATA] [, ELEMENTS] [, BINARY BASE64]

Clause Description

XML Whenspecified,theresultsofaqueryarereturnedasanXMLdocument.Oneofthethreeoptions,fromRAW,AUTOandEXPLICIT,mustbespecified

RAW TransformseachrowintheresultsetintoanXMLelementwithagenericidentifier <row /> as the element tag

AUTOReturns query results in a simple, nested XML tree. For each table in the FROM clause,

for which there is at least one column listed in the SELECT clause, an XML element is created. The columns are mapped to the appropriate element attributes

EXPLICIT SpecifiestheshapeoftheresultingXMLtreeexplicitly.Usingthismode,queriesmustbewritteninaparticularwaysothatadditionalinformationaboutthenestingisspecified

XMLDATA Returns the schema, but does not add the root element to the result

103

ELEMENTS Specifiesthatthecolumnsarereturnedassub-elementstothetableelement.Otherwise,they are mapped as attributes

BINARY BASE64 Specifiesthatthequeryreturnsthebinarydatainbinarybase64-encodedformat

Table 5.1 FOR XML

The following query uses AUTO mode and returns as an XML fragment information about a particular author. The pubs sample database shipped with SQL Server2000 is used.

USE pubs GO SELECT au_id, au_lname, au_fname FROM authors WHERE au_id = ‘409-56-7008’ FOR XML AUTO, ELEMENTS

This query returns the following output:

OPENXMLThe OPENXML function provides a rowset view over an XML document. The syntax of the OPENXML command is given below:

OPENXML(idocint[in],rowpatternnvarchar[in],[flagsbyte[in]])[WITH (SchemaDeclaration | TableName)]

The input to OPENXML is a ‘handle’ to an XML document that is generated by making a call to thesp_xml_preparedocument procedure, and then a ‘row pattern’, which is an XPATH used to identify the nodes in the XML document that are to be processed as rows. The mapping information between the XML document and the relational rowsetthatisgeneratedistobespecified.TheexampleofOPENXMLisgivenbelow:

DECLARE @xmlDoc NVARCHAR(200) DECLARE @handle INT SET @xmlDoc = N’ <authors> <au_id>409-56-7008</au_id> <au_lname>Bennet</au_lname> <au_fname>Abraham</au_fname> </authors> ‘ EXEC sp_xml_preparedocument @handle OUTPUT, @xmlDoc SELECT * FROM OPENXML (@handle, ‘/authors’, 2) WITH (au_id VARCHAR(20), au_lname NVARCHAR(20), au_fname NVARCHAR(20) ) EXEC sp_xml_removedocument @handle


104

The nodes are processed based on the rowset schema declaration provided after the WITH clause. The ‘2’ in the query represents use of element-centric mapping. The output of the above command is given below:

Storing XML in the databaseSQL server 2000 also allows storing XML documents and fragments in the database. SQL server 2000 does not support an XML data type, so XML needs to be stored in a TEXT, NTEXT or IMAGE column. For process of this XML, applications have to retrieve this XML into the application tier and then process the same using the MSXML APIs.

SQL server 2000 client side XMLClient-side XML support in SQL Server 2000 comes in the form of SQLXML. The main SQLXML technologies are:

XML Views provide a bidirectional mapping between XML schemas and underlying relation tables. Mapping •annotationsareaddedtoXMLschemathatdefinesparticularbusinessobject.ThisproducesanXMLViewthat allows presenting the underlying data in a hierarchical, semi-structured format. XML views also support querying using XPATH and packaging the result as XML.Creation of XML Templates that allow creation of dynamic sections in XML documents. FOR XML queries can •be embedded within the XML document, and/or XPATH expressions over mapping queries. The query block is replaced with the result of the query on template execution.

In SQL Server 2000, there are two ways to access SQLXML functionality via:SQLXMLOLEDB provider: exposes SQLXML functionality through ADO•HTTPaccessthroughanISAPIfilter:Usingaconfigurationtool,youcansetupawebsitetoreceiveincoming•requests to execute XML templates, FOR XML and XPATH statements, and then apply transformations to the results

SQL server 2005 XML enhancementsAlthough, SQL server 2000 provides quite extensive XML support, the major drawback is that it is not native, and does not provide all of the features required by traditional XML processing. Some of the limitations are:

There is no support for XML schemas in the database for validating XML documents.•XML is only stored as text and thus cannot be queried using XPATH syntax. The only option is to extract XML •to application tier using ADO (or other data access APIs) and perform manipulations.Results generating XML cannot be stored in variables inside of procedures and functions. The only option •available is to stream it to the client tier using FOR XML.It support only for XPATH 1.0 queries. This poses restrictions on some of the types of queries that can be •written.

XML features of SQL server 2000 are extensively used and there are many enterprise applications that actively dependonit.SQLserver2005buildsremovestheselimitationsandoffersXMLasafull-fledgednativeXMLdatatype along with querying capabilities. Enhancements have been made to FOR XML syntax.

XML data typeThe XML data type is a built-in data type similar to other built-in types in SQL Server 2005. •XMLcolumns,XMLvariables,XMLparameterscanbedefinedforproceduresandfunctions,andcanalso•return XML as return values from functions. Internally, XML data type is stored in a binary format. Maximum permissible size of XML content is 2GB.

105

Defining XML variables and columnsTo declare a variable of type XML is as simple as this:•

DECLARE @xmlDoc XMLTo create an XML column (using untyped XML), the following can be used:•

CREATE TABLE rssFeeds ( feedName VARCHAR(20) NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY, generatedDate DATETIME DEFAULT GETDATE(), feedXML XML )

Loading data into XML columns and variablesHavingdefinedanXMLvariableorcolumn,informationcanbestoredinitviathefollowingmethods:

Assigning a string to the XML variable / column•Using the output of the SELECT…FOR XML clause•Using bulkload•

Simple string assignmentYou can load a string into @xmlDoc variable as follows:SET @xmlDoc = ‘<contact><name>Bob Smith</name></contact>’ SELECT @xmlDocString content is implicitly converted to XML type. The string to XML can be explicitly converted as shown:SET @xmlDoc = CAST (‘<contact><name>Bob Smith</name></contact>’ AS XML) SELECT @xmlDoc

Select this XML content. If this example is run in SQL Server Management Studio with the ‘results to grid’ option enabled, XML output is:

XML content is hyperlinked and if this link is clicked, a new window opens and shows entire XML document. This improvement over SQL Server 2000 Query Analyser show the results of XML queries as a single line of output and also truncate results if result size is greater than 8192 bytes.

Insert regular string content into the feedXML column of our rssFeeds table using the following method:INSERT INTO rssFeeds (feedName, feedXML) VALUES (‘MSDN’, ‘<feedXML/>’)

Using FOR XMLFor example, initialise @xmlDOC variable using a SELECT…FOR XML statement:USE AdventureWorks GO DECLARE @xmlDoc XML SET @xmlDoc = ( SELECT name, salesYTD FROM sales.salesterritory FOR XML AUTO, ELEMENTS ) SELECT @xmlDoc


106

The output of the above command is as follows:

The above example returns an XML fragment and not an XML document. If an XML document is to be returned, one can use new ROOT directive in FOR XML command as:USE AdventureWorksGO DECLARE @xmlDoc XML SET @xmlDoc = ( SELECT name, salesYTD FROM sales.salesterritory FOR XML AUTO, ROOT (‘territories’), ELEMENTS ) SELECT @xmlDoc

Executing the above command produces the following output:

Bulkloading XML data using the OPENROWSET FunctionSQLserver2005providesextensionstoOPENROWSETfunctiontobulkloadanXMLdocumentfromfilesystem.For example, bulkload @xmlDoc variable using this technique:DECLARE @xmlDoc XML SET @xmlDoc = ( SELECT * FROM OPENROWSET ( BULK ‘C:\Temp\rss.xml’, SINGLE_CLOB ) AS xmlData ) SELECT @xmlDoc

The output of the above command is as follows:

Similarly, the following code uses OPENROWSET command to load an XML document into feedXML column:GO INSERT INTO rssFeeds (feedName, feedXML) SELECT ‘MSDNRSS’, xmlData FROM ( SELECT * FROM OPENROWSET (BULK ‘C:\Temp\rss.xml’, SINGLE_CLOB) AS xmlData ) AS feed (xmlData) GO SELECT * FROM rssFeeds

107

The following output is generated:

Typing XMLAn untyped XML variable/column is not associated with a schema. If a schema is associated with XML type, it is then referred to astyped XML. Once an XML variable/column is typed using a schema, any data that is inserted into it is automatically validated against the schema, and SQL server 2005 raises an error if the data does not conform todefinedschemarules.

Usually, it is recommended to associate schemas to XML content in SQL server, since query optimisation can use the information and also it provides better operational semantics. For example, arithmetic operations are performed on numbers, and not strings. If no schema is attached to an XML, then all values are considered to be strings.

Creating typed XML involves two basic steps: Create an XML schema •Register it in the database•

Creating a SchemaWith use of tools such as Visual Studio 2005 and XML Spy, a schema is easily created. Create the following schema with use of any tool:<?xml version=‘1.0’ encoding=‘utf-8’?> <xs:schema id=‘Contacts’ targetNamespace=‘http://www.srisamp.com/contacts.xsd‘ elementFormDefault=‘qualified’ xmlns=‘http://www.srisamp.com/contacts.xsd‘ xmlns:mstns=‘http://www.srisamp.com/contacts.xsd‘ xmlns:xs=‘http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema‘> <xs:complexType name=‘contact’> <xs:sequence> <xs:element name=‘name’ type=‘xs:string’ /> </xs:sequence> </xs:complexType> <xs:element name=‘contacts’> <xs:complexType> <xs:sequence> <xs:element name=‘contact’ type=‘contact’ /> </xs:sequence> </xs:complexType> </xs:element> </xs:schema>

ThisschemadefinesanXMLdocumentoftheform:<contacts><contact><name></name></contact></contacts>SavethisschemainafilecalledContactsSchema.xsdinC:\Tempfolder.


108

Registering a schema in SQL server 2005Register a schema in SQL server 2005 using CREATE XML SCHEMA COLLECTION command. The following script loads XML schema into database:IF EXISTS (SELECT * FROM sys.xml_schema_collectionsWHERE [name] = ‘MyContacts’)DROP XML SCHEMA COLLECTION MyContactGODECLARE @contactsSchema XMLSET @contactsSchema =(SELECT * FROM OPENROWSET(BULK ‘C:\Temp\ContactsSchema.xsd’, SINGLE_CLOB)AS xmlData)CREATE XML SCHEMA COLLECTION MyContacts AS @contactsSchemaGO

In the following code, type an XML variable to MyContacts schema and then assign both valid and invalid content to XML.DECLARE @xmlDoc XML (MyContacts)BEGIN TRY-- This entry conforms to our schema rulesSET @xmlDoc = ‘ <contacts xmlns=‘http://www.srisamp.com/contacts.xsd‘> <contact> <name>Bob Smith</name> </contact> </contacts>’SELECT @xmlDoc -- This one does not conform to the schemaSET @xmlDoc = ‘<contacts xmlns=‘http://www.srisamp.com/contacts.xsd‘><contact><names>Bob Smith</names></contact></contacts>’SELECT @xmlDocEND TRYBEGIN CATCHPRINT ‘Error at line ‘+CAST(error_line() AS VARCHAR)+’. Message: ‘+error_message()END CATCH

Theschemareferenceisspecifiedinparenthesesaftervariable.Whenyouexecutetheabovesnippet,thefollowingoutput is generated:

We should also receive the following error message:(1 row(s) affected)Error at line 14.

Message: XML Validation: Invalid content.Expected element(s): http://www.srisamp.com/contacts.xsd:nameWhereelement‘http://www.srisamp.com/contacts.xsd:names’wasspecified.Location: /contacts[1]/*: contact[1]/*:names[1]

109

SummaryStructured Query Language (SQL) is the language used to manage and administer the database server. •SQL server is a Microsoft product used to manage and store information. •SQL server is a ‘Relational Database Management System’ (RDMS). •EdgarCoddfirstproposedtherelationalmodel.•Data is stored inside a structure called a ‘Table’, which uses rows and columns (like a spreadsheet).•A database is a core, central component to SQL server. •SQL server is Relational Database Management System (RDBMS), which manages databases. •A database is a logical container object used for storing information to help with organisation.•Databases separate applications from each other.•Each group of information can be separated into their own database, having many databases in a single SQL •server. A single SQL server can contain over 32,000 separate databases.•Data is stored in tables consisting of columns and rows. •Tables can be linked or related to one another. •Tables and objects belonging to the same family or require similar security are collectively stored in a •database.A database is a container for objects that not only store data, but also enable data storage and retrieval to operate •in a secure and safe manner.Columnsprovideadefinitionofeachsingleitemofinformationthatbuildsuptoatabledefinition.•Views or virtual tables can contain information combined from several tables and can present a more user-•friendly interface to the data.Tables have columns with the same name in different tables.•A key is used to identify a record in a database table.•A relationship can be used to enforce data integrity.•AdatabaseinSQLserverconsistsofdatafile(s),andatleastonetransactionlogfile.•A stored procedure is a collection of compiled T-SQL commands that are directly accessible by SQL server.•

ReferencesDalton, P & Whitehead, P., 2007. • SQLServer2005BlackBook, Dreamtech Press.Nielsen, P & Parui, U., 2011. • MicrosoftSQLServer2008Bible, John Wiley & Sons.Red Gate Software, 2005. • BeginningSQLServer2005XMLProgramming [Online] Available at: <http://www.simple-talk.com/sql/t-sql-programming/beginning-sql-server-2005-xml-programming/>. [Accessed 22 June 2012].‘NerdDinner’ application tutorial, • NerdDinnerStep2:CreatingtheDatabase [Online] Available at: <http://nerddinnerbook.s3.amazonaws.com/Part2.htm>. [Accessed 22 June 2012].Keystonelearningcom, 2008. • SQLServer2005-ImportingXMLData [Video Online] Available at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVu56zePwz4>. [Accessed 22 June 2012].Computervideos.110mb.com 2007. • Creating a Stored Procedure in SQL Server from Scratch [Video Online] Available at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1N3-W8JL7c&feature=relmfu>. [Accessed 22 June 2012].


110

Recommended ReadingDewson, R., 2006. • BeginningSQLserver2005forDevelopers:FromnovicetoProfessional, Apress.Rankins, R., Jensen, Bertucci, P., 2002. • MicrosoftSQLServer2000Unleashed, Sams Publishing.Shapiro, J., 2006. • MicrosoftSQLServer2005:TheCompleteReference, McGraw-Hill Professional.

111

Self AssessmentA ___________is a core, central component to SQL server.1.

databasea. columnb. tablec. rowd.

A column is made up of ______that hold data.2. stored proceduresa. assembliesb. cellsc. indexesd.

What is used to speed up the retrieval of data?3. Functionsa. Assembliesb. Indexesc. Viewsd.

What refer to the repetitive tasks that can be applied to rows of data?4. Functionsa. Assembliesb. Indexesc. Viewsd.

__________are permanently stored in the database, ready for use at any time.5. Stored proceduresa. Assembliesb. Indexesc. Viewsd.

What are used to build relationships between tables?6. Keysa. Tables b. Assembliesc. Indexesd.

A _____________in a SQL Server database is a logical link between two tables. 7. relationshipa. indexb. viewc. stored procedured.


112

Which of the following statements is false?8. Key can be exploited when working with columns having the same name in different tables.a. Keys can uniquely identify a record in a table when that is an important part in design of database.b. There are four kinds of keys used in a database.c. Views add security to an application, but reduced functionality over use of stored procedures or direct access d. to tables.

Which of the following statements is true?9. Each table must have at least two columns, although the column does not need to contain any a. information.Rowsprovideadefinitionofeachsingleitemofinformationthatbuildsuptoatabledefinition.b. Acolumnismadeupofonecellfromeverycolumndefinedforthetable.c. Thediskspaceortheamountofdiskspacethatisdefinedasthemaximumindatabasecreation,orthed. amount of disk space on server is limited.

Match the following.10.

Rows1. Manipulate dataA.

Programs2. RecordsB.

Functions3. RDBMSC.

SQL server4. Repetitive tasksD. 1-A, 2-B, 3-C, 4-Da. 1-B, 2-A, 3-D, 4-Cb. 1-D, 2-C, 3-B, 4-Ac. 1-A, 2-C, 3-B, 4-Dd.

113

Chapter VI

Technological and Organisational Enablers of Business Process Reengineering

Aim


introduce organisational enablers of business process reengineering•

explain process change model of BPR•

discuss functional coupling of business processes•

Objectives


explainstrategicpathsforprocessreconfiguration•

classify organisational and information technology enablers•

discuss information technology enablers•

Learning outcome


understand organisational changes•

understand changing functional coupling patterns of processes through BPR•

identify reengineering models guidelines•


114

6.1 IntroductionMany contemporary organisations are undertaking the critical analysis and redesign of their business processes to achieve breakthrough improvements in performance. Commonly referred to as Business Process Reengineering (BPR), a 1993 CSC/Index survey of 224 IS executives found that 72% had a process improvement initiative underway. Another study by Deloitte & Touche revealed that 85% of the 532 IS executives surveyed had been involved in process redesign projects. Reports of successful results from many reengineering efforts have been reported recently.

AT&T,PacificBell,CignaRE,Hallmarkandamongothersreportsignificant improvement inproductivityandreduction in staff after business reengineering. With the accelerated acceptance of the reengineering concept, however, comesthe‘bandwagon’effectwhichisenticingsomefirmstoseeka‘quickfix’totheirproblemsthroughBPR.BPRmust be a well orchestrated effort involving the careful evaluation of the nature of desired process change prior to any application of IT or change in organisational structures.

Neglecting a careful process evaluation and arbitrarily throwing IT at an apparent problem could be a recipe for disaster. Not surprisingly, BPR failures are reportedly on the rise and the concept itself is being brought under scrutiny. To better understand factors contributing to reengineering success, researchers and consultants are beginning to study methods for process analysis and organisational contingencies related to BPR implementation.

In an attempt to facilitate understanding of BPR, this chapter presents a model of process change. The model describes various processes in terms of the relationships between their constituent functional activities. A change fromoneconfigurationtoanotherprovidesfundamentalinsightintothereconfigurationofbusinessprocessestoachieve breakthrough performance gains. Two major sets of catalysts that can enable process change as depicted by themodelarethendiscussed.Thefirstsetincludesinformationtechnologiesthatcanacceleratechangesinprocessstructures.

The second set includes organisational structure innovations that can support different process configurations.Such a model provides a broad perspective on business process change and the “match” between the nature of such change and its technological and organisational enablers. Based on this change model, senior executives involved in process reengineering may be better able to plan and implement the complex process of organisational change and possibly the evolving transformation into the information age.

6.2 BPR: A Process Change ModelWhile it is possible to reengineer business processes within limits of a particular functional department, maximum performance gains are typically achieved with processes that cross functional boundaries where the required activities are performed by personnel from several different functional units. In a recent study involving 20 reengineering cases, it was reported that projects targeted at single function processes yielded an average of less than 5% reduction in business unit cost as compared to 17% for cross-functional projects. To succeed in reengineering, therefore, it is vital that we develop a proper understanding on how various functions of the organisation are coordinated while participating in the same business process.

6.3 Functional Coupling of Business ProcessesThe way various functions are orchestrated while participating in a particular business process will be referred to as the functional coupling pattern of the process. This pattern can be differentiated along two dimensions: degree of physical coupling and degree of information coupling.

When a function is included in a business process, it typically develops tangible input output relationships with other participating functions involving either transfer of physical objects or hand-off of documents from one function to another.Theextentofthisflowofinputandoutputamongtheparticipatingfunctionsisreferredtoasthedegreeof physical coupling dimension of a business process. At one extreme of this dimension, referred to as the serial pattern, the process consists of a large number of sequential steps performed by different functions.

115

An example of this pattern often can be found in business expense processing which requires many layers of managementapprovals,auditorevaluation,andfilingofreceiptsandsoon.Attheotherextremeofthephysicalcoupling dimension is the parallel pattern where several functions contribute directly to the process outcome without intermediate steps. For example, both production function and advertising function are involved in the process of launching a new product, but the advertising function need not possess the product inventory or obtain authorisation from the production function in order to advertise the product. Between the serial and parallel patterns, there are different degrees of physical coupling corresponding to processes with less number of serial steps and a mixture of both serial and parallel patterns.

In addition to, and sometimes instead of relying on tangible input-output to orchestrate their activities, various functions involved in a process may collaborate with each other through “intangible” information exchange to make mutual adjustments. This informational coupling between functions constitutes the second dimension of our functional coupling model of business processes. The frequency and intensity of information exchange between two functions can range from none (completely insulated) to extensive (highly collaborative).

Based on the two dimensions discussed above: degree of physical coupling and degree of information coupling, afunctionalcouplingframeworkforbusinessprocessesispresentedinfigurebelowshowing,forsimplicityofpresentation, the four extreme coupling patterns: serial-insulated (Region I), serial-collaborative (Region II), parallel-insulated (Region III), and parallel-collaborative (Region IV). These patterns are illustrated with two functions, X and Y, as they participate in a business process in producing a process outcome, labelled as Z. Collaborations between functions are represented by 2-way dotted arrows, and tangible input-output relationships by solid one-way arrows.

Interestingly, the relationships between various units in an organisation were studied more than twenty years ago by management theorist James. D. Thompson, as detailed in the book entitled, “Organisation in Action”.


116

YX

ZY

X

Z

YX

Z

Degree of Information Coupling

Deg

ree

of P

hysi

cal C

oupl

ing

Low

Insulated

Para

llel

Seria

l

Coupling Pattern: Function Participate in the process sequentially with no mutual information exchange

Coupling Pattern: Functions participate directly in producing process outcome with mutual information exchange

Example: Sales function(X) Sends customer order to inventory function(Y) for shipping

YX

ZY

X

ZCoupling Pattern: Functions participate directly in producing the process outcome with no mutual information exchange

Coupling Pattern: Functions participate directly in producing process outcome with mutual information exchange

Example: Recruiting workers(X) and equipment requisition(Y) participate directly in establishing a new plant with no consultation between X and Y

Example: Advertising (X) and production (Y) directly participate in launching a new product with frequent consultation between X and Y

Example: Engineering(X) provides manufacturing design specificationstoproduction(Y)with frequent consultation between X and Y

Collaborative

High

Low

Hig

h

represents information coupling and information exchange

represent participating functions

represents physical coupling with input-output

representsthefinalstep of process

Legends:

I II

III IV

Fig. 6.1 A functional coupling framework of business processes

The “sequential interdependence” relationship described by him corresponds to the serial end of the physical coupling dimension of the framework. Thompson also discussed the “pooled interdependence” relationship where a unit can perform its activities without regard to the other units. Such a relationship corresponds to the parallel end of the physical coupling dimension in the framework.

6.4 Changing Functional Coupling Patterns of Processes through BPRMany organisations have reengineered their business processes to reduce degrees of physical coupling. At Bell Atlantic Corp., for example, a customer order for hooking up to a long-distance carrier took 15 to 25 days and passedthrough25handsbeforeitwasfilled.ThroughBPR,many“irrelevant”serialstepswereeliminatedandtheordercanbefilledinjustafewhours.AtBankOne,theserialflowofpaperdocumentshasbeendrasticallychangedthrough the use of imaging technology which enables many functions to perform different steps for the mortgage approval process on the same document in a parallel pattern.

Asonebankofficerexamines thedocument toverify theapplicant’semploymentstatus,anothercandocreditscoring, and yet another one can perform credit inquiry. Thus, the high degrees of physical coupling for processes currentlyinRegionIandRegionIIgiveninfigureabovemaybesignificantlyreducedthroughBPRand,asaresult,shifted toward Region III and IV.

117

In addition to physical coupling, the information coupling pattern of a business process may also be changed through BPR. At Deere and Company, for example, the new product development process before reengineering consisted of insulated functions who always blamed each other whenever something went wrong. Failure to make a one-dollar changeduringproductdesignwouldcost$100,000tofixlaterinmanufacturing.Aftermanyyearsofreengineeringefforts, new product development at the giant farm equipment manufacturer now involves a number of functions that collaborate in every phases of the process.

This process change was brought about mainly through the creation of cross-functional teams with specialists from marketing, design, engineering, manufacturing, accounting, sales, and service functions. According to experts, around 60% to 70% of manufacturing quality problems starts with the engineering function.

In recent years, many organisations have attempted to improve the collaboration between various functions related to new product development to shorten the development cycle. The development of Jeep Cherokee at Chrysler, for example, took only a total of 39 months, rather than the usual 5 or more years, from the initial product conception to actual production. By enhancing collaboration between participating functions, this type of BPR would lead to processchangesandmovetheprocessfromRegionsIandIIIasshowninfigure6.1toRegionsIIandIV.

In addition to vertical and horizontal movements in the grid, it is also possible to move diagonally to change both the physical and information coupling levels of a process, thus relocating the process from Region I to Region IV. At Texas Instruments (TI), for example, new product developments are now conducted at locations in a number of different countries: India, Malaysia, Japan, and the U.S. The company’s global computer network enables design teams in different countries to achieve a high level of collaboration, while permitting them to work on different partsofthedesigninparallelfashionwithoutthetime-consumingflowofdocuments.

6.5 Strategic Paths for Process ReconfigurationThe lateral, vertical and diagonal movements in the functional coupling grid, as described above, provide a strategic perspective on BPR at the process level. These alternative directions for changing the functional coupling pattern of a process may be evaluated by following the decision tree as outlined in Figure 6.2. Based on an assessment of the process with regard to its potential for information coupling enhancement and the potential for physical couplingreduction,alternativedirectionsforprocesschangecanbeidentifiedandrepresentedbythefourleavesin the tree.

The environments for the various process coupling patterns are noteworthy. As indicated in the column labelled, ‘typical condition,’ the environment of the process in terms of uncertainty and other attributes should be evaluated inselectingareconfigurationpath.Manytraditionalbusinessprocessesevolvedinanenvironmentwithlimiteduncertainty,wheretheoutputoffunctionXcanbespecifiedinadvancetomeettheinputrequirementsoffunctionY, and the two functions can participate in the process without contacting each other and making adjustments.

However,today’sincreasinglyuncertainenvironmenthasrenderedstandardisedrulesandprocedurestooinflexible,and the penalty for an isolated function is the possibility that its output would be unsatisfactory or even useless to other functions in the process. To meet this challenge, functional coupling patterns of many traditional business processesarebeingmodifiedorevenradicallyalteredtoreducephysicalcouplingandenhanceinformationcouplingamong the participating functions. It is important to note that not all processes can and should be reengineered.

Asindicatedinthefirstleafinthedecisiontree,thereengineeringpotentialofsomeprocessesarerestrictedbymandate. Before marketing a new drug, for example, FDA approval is necessary which may take many years. Also, manyprocesseswithphysicalI/Oflowsareinherentlysequential.Ifsuchprocessesoperateinastableenvironmentwithout great need for collaboration, they can remain in Region I.

SuchphysicalI/Oflowsinaprocess,asinafactoryassemblyline,canbecontrastedtoinformationalI/Oflows,asintheissuanceofadocumentfromonefunctiontoanother.AsexemplifiedbytheBankOneexample,thesetypesof processes may be reengineered by storing the information being transferred in a common information resource, such as digitized images or data bases, to facilitate parallel operations of the various functions in the process.


118

Such processes, as indicated by the third leaf in Figure 6.2, are often operational processes which typically have complicated mazes of serial steps accumulated over the years making them good candidates for vertical movement in the grid. For relatively unstructured managerial processes, lateral movement to improve collaboration may be necessary to absorb the higher level of uncertainty.

For managerial processes with limited processing steps, or operational processes with little or no uncertainty, straight lateralorverticalmovementsinthegridmaybesufficient.Otherwise,asindicatedinthelastleafinFigure6.2,a diagonal path should be considered for those managerial processes with complicated serial steps, or operational processes that operate in a highly uncertain environment.

Consider the new product development process. The process is undoubtedly a knowledge-intensive managerial process,andyettherearealsomanysequentialinput-outputflows:productspecificationfromR&Dtoengineering,design blueprint from engineering to production and so on. For this process, therefore, great reengineering potential can be realised along the diagonal path. A case in point is the new car design process at Ford. Relying on computer-aided design systems, members of the design team can simultaneously access a common design data base across the Atlantic, removing the need for serial input-output of design documents circulating among the designers.

In the meantime, exchange of criticism and opinions can be fully supported through the network among members who have never met face to face.

119

6.6 Enablers of Process ChangeIn the process change model, two major catalysts can facilitate the vertical and horizontal movement in the grid. One of these includes information technologies as can be seen from many of the examples discussed above.

Reconfiguration

Path

Rem

ain

in a

giv

en

regi

on w

ith n

o ch

arge

s in

phys

ical

an

d in

form

atio

n co

uplin

g le

vels

Typi

cal

cand

idat

es

•Processeswithsteps

that

are

eith

er in

here

ntly

or

by

man

date

are

se

quen

tially

dep

ende

nt

thus

pro

hibi

ting

redu

ctio

n in

phy

sica

l co

uplin

g.•P

rocesseswith

st

anda

rd p

hysi

cal I

/O

flowsandrelativelyneed

forinformationflows.

Man

ager

ial p

roce

sses

w

ith p

artic

ipat

ing

func

tion

in se

para

te

depa

rtmen

ts in

an

orga

niza

tion

faci

ng

incr

easi

ng e

nviro

nmen

tal

unce

rtain

ty.

Com

plic

ated

ope

ratio

nal

proc

esse

s with

informationalIOflow

s

•Managerial

proc

esse

s with

co

mpl

icat

ed st

eps

•Com

pleteoperational

proc

esse

s in

an

envi

ronm

ent o

f in

crea

sing

unc

erta

inty

Exam

ples

•Amailsurveymustbe

com

plet

ely

desi

gned

bef

ore

pric

ing

whi

ch in

turn

, mus

t be

com

plet

ed b

efor

e m

ailin

g.•F

DAapprovalisrequired

befo

re m

arke

ting

a ne

w d

rug

Impr

oved

col

labo

ratio

n

betw

een

engi

neer

ing

and

prod

uctio

n at

Chr

ysle

r whi

ch

has s

horte

ned

the

new

pr

oduc

t dev

elop

men

t cyc

le

•Thereengineeredaccounts

paya

ble

proc

esse

s at F

OR

D•T

hereengineeredmortgage

appr

oval

pro

cess

es a

t Ban

k

The

impr

oved

pro

cess

of t

he

prod

uct d

evel

opm

ent a

t Tex

as

Inst

rum

ent a

nd F

OR

D; w

here

co

llabo

ratio

n w

as e

nhan

ced

thro

ugh

a gl

obal

co

mm

unic

atio

n ne

twor

k. T

he

phys

ical

cou

plin

g le

vel w

as

also

redu

ced

as d

iffer

ent p

arts

of

the

desi

gn c

an b

e w

orke

d on

sim

ulta

neou

sly

by

engi

neer

s at v

ario

us si

tes.

late

ral m

ovem

ents

in

the

grid

to im

prov

e co

llabo

ratio

n•F

romregionItoII,

•FromR

egionIIItoIV

Verti

cal m

ovem

ents

in

the

grid

to re

duce

seria

l st

eps:

•FromRegionItoII,

•FromRegionIItoIV

Dia

gona

l Mov

emen

t fr

om R

egio

n I t

o IV

in

the

grid

to re

duce

seria

l st

eps a

nd to

impr

ove

configurationatthe

sam

e tim

e.

Pote

ntia

l for

Pr

oduc

ing

Phys

ical

C

oupl

ing

Pote

ntia

l for

En

hanc

ing

Info

rmat

ion

Cou

plin

g

Pote

ntia

l for

En

hanc

ing

Info

rmat

ion

Cou

plin

g

Low

Low

Low

Hig

h

Hig

h

Hig

h

Fig. 6.2 Strategic paths for process reconfiguration


120

Serial-InsulatedProcess

Communication Technologies + Team Based Structures>

Shar

ed In

form

atio

n R

esou

rces

+ C

ase

Man

ager

s

> Parallel-InsulatedProcess

Parallel-CollaborativeProcess

Serial-CollaborativeProcess

Fig. 6.3 BPR: Enablers of Process Change

Thesetechnologiescanbeclassifiedinto:“communication” technologies that can better coordinate functional components of a process and enable lateral •movement in the grid.“shared resource” technologies that can form a common repository to allow parallel operation of functions and •enable vertical movement in the grid.

The second catalyst includes changes in organisational structure, such as institution of cross functional teams, case managers and process generalists. These catalysts and their primary impetus for process change are illustrated in figureabove.

6.7 Information Technology EnablersConceptually, an organisation should be able to redesign a business process without the aid of IT. However, many recentsuccessesinBPRwouldbedifficulttoconsummatewithouttheenablingIT.However,appropriateapplicationof IT should stem from an understanding of the nature of the business change desired.

AsindicatedinFigure6.3,thereductionofphysicalcouplinginprocessreconfigurationmaybeenabledthroughtheapplicationofsharedcomputingresourcessuchasdatabaseandimagingtechnology.ManyfirmshavesuccessfullycapitalisedontheenablingroleofITinreconfiguringtheirbusinessprocessesfromahighlyserialpatternwithmanyintermediate steps to a parallel pattern permitting several functions to proceed independently.

In the well-publicised case at Ford Motor Corp. for example, the old accounts payable process involved three functions: purchasing, inventory and account payable, which participated in the process serially with many intermediate stepsandasequentialflowofpaperdocuments.Withdirectaccesstoashareddatabase,thethreefunctionsnowparticipate in the reengineered process in a parallel fashion. The reengineered process achieved a 75% reduction in the workforce required, from 500 to only 125.

In addition to shared data bases, the application of imaging technology has also turned many serial processes into parallel ones. As illustrated by the Bank One example cited earlier, the processing of loan applications can be performedusingthedigitizedimageoftheapplicationwhichmaybeaccessedbyseveralofficersdirectlyinaparallelfashion.Whenoneofficerattemptstoverifytheapplicant’semploymentstatus,anotherwilldocreditscoringatthesametime,whileathirdofficercanperformcreditinquiry.

Thus, innovative application of shared computing resources such as imaging and common data bases can be a powerful enabler for process change leading to the reduction of physical coupling for processes. In terms of the functional coupling framework portrayed in Figure 6.1, this means that processes currently in Region I and Region II may be moved vertically to Region III and IV.

121

While shared computing resources can enable process change through reducing physical coupling, the enhancement of information coupling is primarily enabled by the application of telecommunication technologies such as local area networksandavarietyofofficesystemsproductsundertherubricof“groupware.”Applicationofthesetechnologiesmay greatly improve communication and collaboration between different functions involved in a business process and enable horizontal movement in the grid.

AtHewlett-PackardCo.,forexample,thesalesprocessunderwentsignificantchangeas135salesrepresentativesbegan to use laptop computers to retrieve up-to-date inventory information from corporate data base during customer meetings. In addition, they can now use the portable computers to communicate with their peers and superiors, enabling frequent exchange of sales intelligence among the salespersons as well as timely dissemination of corporate directives pertaining to promotion, pricing, and discounting.

The results showed that time spent in meetings decreased by 46%, and travel time was cut by 13%. Meanwhile, time spent with customers increased 27% and sales rose by 10%. We have discussed the role of shared computing resources in enabling process change related to reduction of physical coupling, and the possibility of using telecommunication in enabling changes leading to enhancement of information coupling.

With the convergence of computing and communication technologies, however, it may be impossible to have one without the other. Thus, it is important to realise that the major enabler for vertical movement in Figure 6.1 is shared computing resources, even though utilisation of these resources may require communications technology. Similarly, the primary enabler for lateral movement in the grid is communication technology but its effective application often depends on shared computing resources.

Increasingly,many business processes can benefit from a combination of shared computing resources andtelecommunication technologies. These processes, as can be seen in Figure 2, are candidates for diagonal movement in the functional coupling grid. In an uncertain environment, collaboration is central to group activities, and telecommunication-based IT support can greatly improve team work. Without such support, the usefulness of shared computing resources may diminish. A team of engineers, for example, can share a common design data base. In the absence of telecommunication, however, they can not simultaneously modify different parts of the same object, nor are they aware of each others’ changes. By combining both telecommunication and shared computing resources, a shared environment for team work may be developed. Approaches to provide such an environment have received attention from many researchers.

Currently,anumberofemergingIT,includingworkflowsoftwareandthepopularCAD/CAMsystems,holdgreatpromiseinprovidingthissharedenvironmentforeffectiveteamwork.Withtheapplicationofworkflowsystems,not only can different processing steps be performed in parallel on the same document, but many ‘unnecessary’ steps can also be detected and eliminated in the attempt to analysing and automating a process (thus reducing physical coupling).Inaddition,collaborationamongthoseinvolvedintheworkflowmaybesignificantlyenhanced.Whenthe popular CAD/CAM system is tied to a global communication network, the creation of this environment can be a powerful enabler of process change following the ‘diagonal’ path. The new product development process at Texas Instrumentscitedearlierillustratesthebenefitsofthischange.

The company’s global network and advanced computing resources enable design teams in different countries to sustain a high level of collaboration, while permitting them to work on different parts of the design directly without sequentialflowofdocuments.Asaresult,thedevelopmentcycletimeforvariousproductsdecreasedsubstantially.The time needed to develop a calculator, for example, declined 20% soon after design drawings began to be sent electronically in 1989, and a further decrease of 17% has been achieved since then.


122

6.8 Organisational Structure EnablersManybusinessprocessescrossfunctionalboundariesandsignificantlybetterperformancecanbeattainedthroughcrossfunctionalBPReffortsthanprojectsconfinedwithintraditionalfunctions,accordingtoarecentempiricalstudy.Merely automating or augmenting existing procedures, however, do not hold much promise since these procedures involve many ‘vertical’ movements of information and approvals within various functional areas which tend to slowdowntheprocesssignificantly.Tofacilitatecross-functionalcooperation,traditionalorganisationstructurebasedonfunctionalspecialisationcanbemodifiedthroughsuchstructuralenablersascross-functionalteams,casemanagers and process generalists.

In many cases, these structural enablers provide a powerful means of complementing the IT enablers discussed above to successfully institute process change. The use of cross-functional teams has played a central role in many reengineering efforts. These teams enable functional interfaces and parallel design activities. At Modicon, Inc., a maker of automation-control equipment in Massachusetts, product development is no longer the sole responsibility of the engineering function.

In the past, manufacturing wouldn’t get involved in this process until the design was brought into the factory when their suggestions on the design changes become very costly. Now, a team of 15 managers from engineering, manufacturing,marketing, sales andfinance routinelywork together on the process.Whatwas traditionally aserial process in both task and structure now involves cross-functional collaboration which has eliminated many unnecessary delays and costly changes, helping to bring six products to market in one-third of the time it would normallytake.Thebenefitsofcrossfunctionalteamscanalsobeillustratedbyattemptstoreengineertheblack-and-whitefilmoperationatKodak.

In 1989 when the reengineered process, called Zebras, began to operate, the operation was running 15% over budgetedcost,tookupto42daystofillanorder,andwaslateathirdofthetime.Thereengineeredprocess,whichiscentered around cross-functional teams, has over a period of two years turned the situation around completely: 15% under budgeted cost, cut response time by half, and being late only one out of 20 times (Stewart, 1992). Such team based structures can facilitate lateral movement in the process change model by improving coordination between functional components of a process. Coupled with telecommunication technologies, these teams can collaborate in remote locations, and asynchronously.

Another structural enabler for reengineering is the establishment of a case manager for a cross-functional process who has access to the latest status information on a given transaction and serves as the single contact point for customers.AtPacificBell,forexample,theuseofcasemanagershasbeencentraltoitsBPRapproach.Priortoreengineering,providingacustomerwithaCentrextelephoneservicetookelevenjobsandmorethanfivebusinessdays. Service representatives had to update 9 or more computer systems, making frequent errors and rework, and consulting customers several times.

Now, Centrex service coordinators handle all interfaces with customers. Using a computer workstation that interfaces with all nine systems, they can now provide the service usually in the same day. While case managers coordinate work performed by many functional specialists a process generalist actually perform their work and eliminates the needforthespecialistsaltogether.Givenpropersafeguardsagainstfrauds,thismaymeantheultimateinefficient‘cross-functional’ coordination, as there is no longer separate function to coordinate.

AtIBMCredit,thefinancingservicedivisionwithinIBM,asinglegeneralistisnowperformingcreditchecking,pricing and other activities previously done by four different specialists in processing a customer’s loan request. This arrangement has reduced the application turnaround time from six days to just four hours. With no additional workforce, the redesigned process is able to handle 100 times as many applications as before.

123

Both case managers and process generalists are powerful organisational innovations that can support vertical movement in the process change model. These structures can prove particularly useful in organisations with complexprocessesforbringingproductsandservicestothecustomer.Theinefficientinterfacesbetweenfunctionsin these processes and the lack of an overall process perspective can result in poor responsiveness to customers. If the information requirements of the diverse functional components of these processes can be effectively integrated through shared computing resources, then with a powerful front end interface, case managers can be supported.

It should be noted that these structural (and technological) enablers must be consistent with the organisational orientation, design and culture. As indicated by socio-technical research, all enablers must be aligned and in balance with other key aspects of the organisation. Failure to actively consider these aspects (for example, incentive systems, training, existing structures) could greatly constrain process innovation and its success.

6.9 BPR and Organisational ChangeIs it possible to manage a sales force of 10,000 in a traditional hierarchical organisation? Undoubtedly, this would take a colossal amount of communication and coordination, which typically require many layers of middle management to absorb. At Frito-Lay, however, a coordination-intensive structure was developed to replace the traditional hierarchy with the aid of IT. A hand-held computer is given to each of the 10,000 salespersons to record sales data on 200 grocery products. Each night, the data is transmitted to a central computer which will send instructions back to the hand-held computers on changes in pricing and product promotions the next morning.

In addition, weekly summaries and analysis are available to senior executives through an Executive Information System(EIS). In termsof themodelpresented infigure6.1, theFrito-Laycasecorresponds toRegion IV, theparallel-collaborative cell. The shared data base and hand-held computers facilitate the physical decoupling of serial procedures. The EIS and the electronic transmission of sales data and management directives intensify the information coupling among the participating functions - marketing and sales.

The steady progress of IT in the last four decades has now reached a critical point where the combined power of shared computing resources and telecommunication enable many organisations to coordinate their activities in ways that are not possible before. According to the recent research results, these advanced IT applications would initially allow organisations to increase the amount and effectiveness of coordination with existing structures. Innovative useofadvancedIT,however,wouldinevitablyleadmanyfirmstodevelopnew,coordination-intensivenetworkstructures, as in the Frito-Lay case described above.

Networked organisations according to Rockart and Short are usually conceived of as communication-rich environments,withinformationflowsblurringtraditionalintra-companyboundarieswhichcanbethoughtof“moreasinterrelationshipswithinorbetweenfirmstoaccomplishworkthanas‘formal’organisationaldesignperse.Thus,as an organisation reengineers and improves its cross-functional processes, it will take on certain characteristics of a networked organisation. For example, Chrysler Corp. has instigated a series of reforms since the late 80’s to improve collaboration between functional departments. The product design function is now working closely with theengineeringfunctionandtheynolongerfightturfwarswitheachother.Thus,onemaysaythatChryslerisevolving toward a networked organisation.

Anumber of prominent firms, including IBM,Xerox andHallmark, have adopted a reorganisation approachcentered on core business processes. At Hallmark, the traditional functional structure is undergoing an interesting transformation. Before process reengineering efforts, the development of a new greeting card took two years because of a long list of serial steps in sketches, approvals, cost estimates, and proofs, which traverse many different departments. After reengineering, specialists such as writers, artists, and designers from various departments work side by side in teams. As a result, the cycle time for new card development was cut by half. The company still has functional departments, but the departmental headquarters now serve mainly as “centers of excellence” to which workers can return for training between projects. As such, they can be likened to the homerooms in high schools.


124

Further indications on movements toward process-based organisations have surfaced recently. At Modicon, Inc., for instance, many of its 900 employees are involved in up to 30 teams that span several functions and departments. Accordingtoitspresident,“Infiveyears,wewillstillhavesomeformalfunctionalstructure,butpeopleprobablyfeel free enough to spend the majority of their time outside their functions.” As a result of this cross-functional collaboration, the company is now able to bring products to market in one third of the time it would normally take. At Eastman Chemical Co., a unit of Eastman Kodak Co., several senior vice presidents have been replaced by self-directed work teams. There is no more VP for manufacturing. Instead, there is now a team of all plant managers.

In general, functional hierarchies depend heavily on rules, procedures and upward referral, which invariably increase the tendency for them to become rigid bureaucracies. This tendency may be avoided when functional specialists participate in a variety of teams attempting to accomplish different business processes at different times. These teams are given the “ownership” of the process and do not need to await several levels of approvals before making importantdecisions.Thisinherentflexibilityisoneofthemoststrikingcharacteristicsofanorganisationalformcalled “adhocracy” which has the ability to readily create and disband ad hoc teams on an on demand basis. If the reengineering movement continues to gather momentum, organisations would be inevitably gravitating toward adhocracy.

Since most traditional hierarchies are organised around specialised functional departments, it is almost against their nature to conduct “cross-functional” endeavours. The hierarchical structure itself must be mobilised to ensure integrationbetweenfunctions,asthesefunctionsfulfiltheirassigneddutiesaccordingto“cross-functional”plansset by higher levels, without sometimes even knowing the objectives of the assigned duties. While most information flowsvertically to facilitate task assignments, lateral sharing and exchangeof information related to commonprocessesbetweenfunctionsaredifficultinahierarchy,andmustbearrangedthroughspecialeffortssuchastaskforces and matrix structures. Furthermore, territorial battles are often waged between functions at the detriment of the overall organisation. Such familiar patterns of organisational life would subside in a networked organisation where cross-functional teams determine their own responsibilities and proceed to execute these duties with full access to necessary information.

6.10 Reengineering Model GuidelinesIs BRP a management fad of the 90’s or the start of something very big? Are we beginning to alter the very structure of organisations based on business processes rather than functional specialisation? While the reengineering model guides more and more business processes, as shown on the top of Figure 6.1, from the serial-insulated cell to the parallel-collaborativecell, theorganisationwillinthemeantimeundergosignificantchangesfromanindustrialage organisation to an information age organisation. This might involve extrapolation of the trends discussed to the extreme.

Organisations would have widely accessible shared information resources that “informate” multiple logically distinct processes. Case managers, process generalists, and teams responsible for these processes interact and access information through ad-hoc networks which facilitate their existence and support their function. The process change modelshowshowvariousfunctionalactivitiesinvolvedinabusinessprocessmaybefundamentallyreconfigured,through the reduction of physical coupling and the enhancement of information coupling, to achieve breakthrough performancegains.Basedonthismodelofprocesschange,asuitablepathforprocessreconfigurationmaythenbe selected.

As process reengineering takes place in the context of people and organisation, risk of failure would be great if it proceeds without appropriate plans for organisational change. While the process change model can provide guidelinesforprocessreconfigurationwithrespecttopatternsoffunctionalcoupling,theeventualsuccessofprocessreengineering requires a high-level perspective of the complex, unprecedented organisational changes engendered by process reengineering.

125

In developing these macro perspectives, it is important to realise that patterns of change will vary in speed a 0321and scope for individual organisations. Different industries may involve different facilitating and inhibiting factors. Also, it is important not to equate process reengineering with organisational transformation. As aptly observed by Davenport and Stoddard (1994) “reengineering is a process that can contribute to transformation, but it is not synonymous with transformation.”


126

SummaryMany contemporary organisations are undertaking the critical analysis and redesign of their business processes •to achieve breakthrough improvements in performance.AT&T,PacificBell,CignaRE,Hallmarkandamongothersreportsignificantimprovementinproductivityand•reduction in staff after business reengineering.The way various functions are orchestrated while participating in a particular business process will be referred •to as the functional coupling pattern of the process.When a function is included in a business process, it typically develops tangible input output relationships with •other participating functions involving either transfer of physical objects or hand-off of documents from one function to another.In recent years, many organisations have attempted to improve the collaboration between various functions •related to new product development to shorten the development cycle.The lateral, vertical and diagonal movements in the functional coupling grid provide a strategic perspective on •BPR at the process level.The environments for the various process coupling patterns are noteworthy.•Thus, innovative application of shared computing resources such as imaging and common data bases can be a •powerful enabler for process change leading to the reduction of physical coupling for processes.Manybusiness processes cross functional boundaries and significantly better performance canbe attained•throughcrossfunctionalBPReffortsthanprojectsconfinedwithintraditionalfunctions,accordingtoarecentempirical study.The use of cross-functional teams has played a central role in many reengineering efforts.•Another structural enabler for reengineering is the establishment of a case manager for a cross-functional •process who has access to the latest status information on a given transaction and serves as the single contact point for customers.Both case managers and process generalists are powerful organisational innovations that can support vertical •movement in the process change model.Anumberofprominentfirms,includingIBM,XeroxandHallmark,haveadoptedareorganisationapproach•centered on core business processes.The process change model shows how various functional activities involved in a business process may be •fundamentallyreconfigured.

ReferencesSethi, & Sethi, V., 1998. • Organizational Transformation Through Business Process Reengineering: Applying Lessons Learned, Pearson Education India.Grover, V., Kettinger, J. W., 1995. • Business Process Change: Reengineering Concepts, Methods, and Technologies, Idea Group Inc (IGI).Ahadi, R. H., • An Examination of the Role of Organizational Enablers in Business Process Reengineering and the Impact of Information Technology,[Online]Availableat:<http://www.2c-fanavaribumi.iust.ac.ir/files/rail/Abstract/ahadi/ej_2.pdf> [Accessed 4 July 2012].Business Process Reengineering and Information Technology• , [Online] Available at: <www.tech.uh.edu/faculty/gibson/IT_for.../PPT.../Chapter_4.ppt> [Accessed 4 July 2012].AIIMInfoCert, 2nd Oct 2011. • 2.2.6BPMandBPR, [Video Online] Available at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8L4N5-z0xs> [Accessed 4 July 2012].Moliverez, 1 Dec 2009. • WorkflowManagement:Visualized, [Video Online] Available at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KJjKY8k9Lk> [Accessed 4 July 2012].

127

Recommended ReadingRadhakrishnan B., • Business Process Reengineering: Text and Cases, PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd.Elzinga, J. D., Gulledge, R. T., Chung-Yee Lee, 1999. • Business Process Engineering: Advancing the State of the Art, Springer.Hui-Liang Tsai, 2003. • Information Technology and Business Process Reengineering: New Perspectives and Strategies, Greenwood Publishing Group.


128

Self AssessmentThe ___________relationship corresponds to the serial end of the physical coupling dimension of the 1. framework.

sequential interdependencea. functional couplingb. patternc. frameworkd.

The pooled interdependence relationship is given by________.2. Bella. Thompsonb. Fordc. Hewlett-Packardd.

_________ technologies enable lateral movement in the grid.3. Communicationa. Sharedb. Telecommunicationc. Groupwared.

Manybusiness processes cross functional boundaries and significantly better performance canbe attained4. through cross functional __________.

BRPa. IBMb. BPRc. CADd.

__________ has the ability to readily create and disband ad hoc teams on an on demand basis.5. Groupwarea. Ownershipb. Adhocracyc. Cross-functionald.

Two major sets of catalysts that can enable process change are _____ and _______.6. information technologies , organisational structurea. telecommunication , information technologyb. groupware ,ownershipc. cross functional , adhocracyd.

When a ________ is included in a business process, it typically develops tangible input output relationships.7. businessa. functionb. processc. memoryd.

129

Various functions involved in a process collaborate with each other through ______ information exchange.8. tangiblea. organisationalb. couplingc. intangibled.

The relationships between various units in an organisation are given by ______.9. James. D. Thompsona. Coddb. Bell Atlantic Corpc. R&Dd.

_______ technologies that can form a common repository to allow parallel operation of functions and enable 10. vertical movement in the grid.

Communicationa. Modiconb. Shared resourcec. Adhocracyd.


130

Chapter VII

The Place of Information Technology in BRP

Aim


introduce business strategies•

explain trends in IS strategy•

discuss integrating information systems strategy•

Objectives


explain the changing nature of the desired outcomes from the process•

classify information systems strategy and business strategy•

elucidate socio-technical approach to business and IS strategy•

Learning outcome


identify an appropriate it-based business strategy•

understand minimising negative impacts and easing implementation•

understand multi-faceted approach to business change•

131

7.1 IntroductionIn much of the earlier literature on Business Process Redesign (BPR) it was almost always the case that Information Technology (IT) was given a central role. Indeed, IT was seen as the catalyst for radical change. “Don’t automate, obliterate”,opinedHammer(1990).Lookforopportunitiesnotonlytoreengineerbusinessprocessesbutredefinethe very scope of the business itself, was the message given by Venkatraman (1991) in his contribution to MIT’s Management in the 1990s research program.

This followed a decade in which there was the much-heralded era of strategic information systems. IT for competitive advantage was a key issue for management in the mid-1980s. Arising from the work of Michael Porter, we were given a vision of IT being used in a proactive way in changing the very nature of competition. As the decade wore on, however, questions began to be asked about the sustainability of any advantage that might have been achieved through the judicious utilisation of IT, and interest in the topic waned. In much the same way, although still a key component of the process, we now see the centrality of IT in BPR being questioned.

Furthermore, the need for radical innovation to achieve strategic success with IT has also been called into question. As a result of this experience, this chapter attempts to provide a more balanced view of the role of IT in BPR. Indeed, following Quinn (1980), it questions what seems to be the received wisdom of many a proponent of BPR, namely that radical change will always be required and that IT is the key to this change. The chapter’s major focus is to provide a means by which managements can identify:

the extent of change required•the role that IT may or may not play in achieving necessary change•

Existing tools are applied with a view to demonstrating an approach to BPR which takes into account the range of change that may be necessary for example, with respect to the skills, roles and attitudes of key personnel, and procedures and organisational boundaries, as well as IT. In doing so, both the old and the new of BPR are identified.

Thechapterisorganisedasfollows.Considerationisfirstgiventothetopicsofbusinessstrategyandthemanagementof change, and integrating information systems strategy with both business strategy and the change process. This provides a means of setting the scene for the remainder of the chapter. An approach to the management of change which takes account of the multi-faceted nature of business change is then described, with illustrations as to how this might be implemented in practice. In this way, some of the more limited views that have been expressed concerning the role that IT might play in business change are challenged, and the topic is located within the broader management systems literature than is often the case.

7.2 Business Strategy and the Management of ChangeEgelhoff (1993) reminds us that there has been a tendency in the West to attempt to compete by developing unique business strategies, while many Japanese companies tend to compete by implementing not-so-unique strategies better than their competitors. In many respects, BPR echoes this call given its focus on the way we go about our business, as opposed to the 1980s’ concentration on the competitive environment. The focus of BPR is not entirely internal,however:akeycomponentistheidentificationoftherequirementsofone’scustomers.Oncethesehavebeenidentified,however,thefocusshiftstowaysinwhichthesecanbemetmoreefficientlyandeffectively.

Where both the BPR and the strategic management literature tend to let us down to some degree at least-is on how we go about implementing the change their analysis suggests should occur. While there is much useful advice to be had in terms of identifying strategic opportunities and while the BPR literature has developed from early exhortations simply to “think discontinuously” - to recognise and break away “from the outmoded rules and fundamental assumptions that underlie [current] operations”, there remains the problem of how we might go about implementing that change and deciding whether radical change is indeed feasible and appropriate.


132

Hammer warns us that “unless we change [outdated] rules, we are merely rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic”. To continue with this analogy, and while it is recognised that many have already suggested that the mere computerisation of an ineffective operation will lead to an automated mess, there is always the danger that BPR and IT may actually turn out to be the iceberg! Clearly, we need to ensure that we have the wherewithal to effect the required change in awaythatisbeneficialratherthanactuallyharmful.Quinn(1980)propoundsthetheoryoflogicalinstrumentalismas a means of effecting major change while minimising its negative impacts. He argues for a step-by-step approach towardsclearlydefinedgoals.ThiswouldseemtobeatvariancewiththephilosophyofBPR.

7.3 Integrating Information Systems Strategy and Business StrategyA starting point to a consideration of the place of IT in BPR is the view that IS strategy should be but one aspect of businessstrategy,bothintermsofstrategyformulationandimplementation.Thisviewisillustratedinfigurebelowwhich presents IS strategy in broader terms than is often the case. For example, Lederer and Sethi (1992) perceive ISstrategyasbeingconcernedwiththeidentificationofrequiredISapplicationsandthenecessaryresourcestodevelop these.

Business Environment,(e.g., Competitive, Technological, Political, Economic

Business Strategy

Is Strategy (Formulation & Implementation)

Why?

What?

How?

How? When? Who?

Information Management Strategy

Information Strategy

Change Management/ Implementation Strategy

(inc. Is related Human Resource issues)

It Strategy

Evaluation & Review

Fig. 7.1 Information Systems Strategy as but one Aspect of Business Strategy

Alltoooften,whenconsideringISstrategy,ourthinkinghasbeenconfinedtooutcomesassociatedwithrequiredapplications and necessary resources. In the same way that, until quite recently, business strategy has focussed on strategy formulation at the expense of implementation, so has IS strategy. This is why Figure above extends the earlier model developed by Earl (1989) by overtly including an implementation/change management component.

Theabovefigureisslightlyunusualinthat,atfirstsightatleast,itappearstomixtogetherstrategycontentforexample, information strategy and strategy process for example, implementation. The point is that strategy formulation (formation)andimplementationaremeanttobeconsideredcontemporaneously.Inaddition,figureaboveattemptsto show that IS strategy both feeds off and feeds into business strategy and can usefully be perceived as a continuous process, requiring on-going assessment, review and feedback.

133

Earl(1989)talksalsoofathree-prongedapproachtoISstrategy,illustratedinfigure7.2.Herewearenotsolelyrelianton the ‘top-down’ approach of the formative years of IS strategy that is feeding off an existing business plan) or the ‘bottom-up’ approach, which was the hallmark of the very earliest attempts to plan for IS that is being reliant on an audit of existing systems and the demands of users. In addition, Earl’s so-called ‘multiple’ methodology incorporates the thinking of the mid-1980s in reviewing the Business Environment for example, Competitive, Technological, Political, Economic in an attempt to identify, as a result of a creative process, the strategic opportunities that IT might provide. He labels this the ‘inside-out’ leg of the methodology.

Approach

Business Strategy (objectives and responsibilities)

Current Is/It (infrastructure and

applications)

It/Is Developments (marketplace and

opportunities)

Environmental and organisational

scanning

Lateral thinkers, intrapreneurs and

champions

Method driven Surveys, audits

Users and providers

Teamwork

Focus

Mode

Participant Roles

‘Top-down’ ‘Bottom-up’ ‘Outside-in’

IS/IT Strategy

Fig. 7.2 Earl’s three-pronged, ‘multiple’ approach to IS strategy

In many ways, however, a more appropriate label might be ‘outside-in’, given that this orientation is often dependent on a review of the market forces affecting the competitive environment of the company concerned. Such a three-pronged approach is a step toward the more balanced perspective we are seeking. It takes account of the company’s current IS/IT status, attempts to identify IS/IT requirements in line with existing business objectives, but also takes a more proactive stance with respect to the opportunities offered by IT to alter business strategy and refocus the business. It also takes note of the developments in our thinking regarding the changing nature of the desired outcomes of the IS strategy process.

Figure below illustrates the point. From simple beginnings, when IS strategy was viewed simply as a means of identifying required IS developments, our attention moved to a concern to identify the required portfolio of IS applications across the spectrum of business functions and not just those in the traditional application areas such as financeandaccounting.Withtheadventofpowerfuldatabasetechnology,inthelatterhalfofthe1970sandintothe1980s, our attention was turned to the creation of corporate databases, and IS strategy refocused on what might be termed data centric approaches such as that advocated by Martin (1982). Indeed, there is still a school of thought which favours this approach, including today’s adherents to the BPR philosophy such as Davenport (1993). As we have seen, however, there then followed an era when IT for competitive advantage was in the limelight, with IS strategy focussing on strategic IS.


134

1960s/1970s Required IS DevelopmentsPotential IS Developments (Priorities)Applications Portfolio

1980s Corporate Data/DatabasesCompetitive Advantage

1990s Improved/New Products/ServicesFlexibleInfrastructureRe-engineered Business Processes

Fig. 7.3 Trends in IS strategy: The changing nature of the desired outcomes from the process

The view here was that IS/IT could improve and actually create new products and services, leading to a refocusing of the business, and acting as a catalyst in radically reengineering business processes. Figure above is also meant to illustrate the rapidity with which proposed outcomes from the IS strategy process have changed during the current decade, especially when compared to the 1960s and 1970s, and even the 1980s.

A central argument of this chapter is that while each of these views has validity, they each present but one aspect only of the totality of the issues confronting us in IS strategy. We should not forget the lessons provided thirty yearsagobyLeavitt(1965)whenheidentifiedtheinteractionsandinterdependenceoftask,technology,structureandpeopleinhisfamous‘diamond’asshowninfigurebelow.Inthesamewaythatwecannotassumeapurelytechnological solution, neither should we assume a purely processual solution either: BPR and radical change are unlikely always to be the answer. We need to take into account each component and their interrelationships of each individual situation we face.

Process

People

Technology Culture

Structure

Fig. 7.4 An amended version of Leavitt’s ‘Diamond’

7.4 A Multi-Faceted Approach to Business ChangeThe approach advocated herein attempts to take account of the above arguments and does not assume that required change will always take the form of a technological or processual solution, nor that it will always be radical, as opposed to incremental change that is the answer. Based on the work of Checkland (1981), the approach described below takes into account Lewin’s (1951) analysis that a period of change requires creation of a favourable climate in which change can take place (‘unfreezing’), followed by a period in which the required change is set in place (‘freezing’). The approach is outlined in Figure 7.5.

A number of feedback loops have been incorporated into the process in order to indicate that it is essentially an iterative one which builds upon past experiences and an evaluation of both intended and unintended consequences of the changes that are being implemented, and the changing nature of the business (and technological) environment in which the organisation is operating. In other words, the process aids organisational learning of the kind advocated

135

by Argyris and Schôn (1978). In this respect, it argues against the somewhat facile concept of one-time, radical change propounded by many a BPR proponent.

The approach has been divided into three sections that is Organisational Environment, Business Strategies & Processes, and Information Infrastructure for ease of reference, but it is important to stress the point that it is essentially an iterative, on-going process..

7.5 Organisational EnvironmentKey stakeholders have to be favourably disposed to change for change strategies to have any real chance of success. There is a tendency in much of the BPR literature to view BPR as a process instigated by senior executives and often orchestrated by external consultants. This is not the only mode of operation, nor is it always likely to lead to a motivated workforce should the change include-as it often does-downsizing and forced redundancy. Indeed, weshouldbeawarethatinmanyfirms,theanticipatedeconomicandorganisationalbenefitsofdownsizinghavefailed to materialise and that any “reductions in headcount need to be viewed as part of a process of continuous improvement that includes organisational redesign, along with broad, systemic changes designed to eliminate redundantprocesses,waste,andinefficiency”.

Downsizing as a sole objective of BPR is likely to be unsuccessful. A climate in which change is eagerly anticipated is likely to be achieved by a realisation that all is not well, for example, that competitors are making inroads into one’s markets, that key customers are becoming increasingly discontented with one’s products and/ or services, and that personnel are becoming increasingly frustrated with the way business is conducted. This perceived need for action can be reinforced and harnessed by the process advocated herein.

The very analysis of organisational strengths and weaknesses and environmental opportunities and threats, when undertaken by key executives and the involvement of personnel who are responsible for key day-to-day operational activities, can often lead to concerted action and, properly handled, an enthusiastic response to ways and means of dealing with the problems and opportunities that have thereby been uncovered.

Thebenefitstobegainedfromworkshopsofthiskindarewelldocumented,butitisaswelltopreparefortheseinterms of clarifying the nature of such roles as project champion, project manager and facilitator; carefully selecting a team from a range of functional backgrounds and/or business units, and deciding on the membership of a steering committee for example, Ward, 1990.

The analysis of the internal and external environments can usefully utilise such tried and tested techniques as SWOT analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, PEST analysis of political, economic, social andtechnologicalenvironments,Porter’s(1980;1985)fiveforcesandvaluechainanalysis,andthelike.Inaddition,however, it is worthwhile, especially in the context of understanding the nature of the IS/IT agenda in all of this, to take stock of the quality of IS provision and the full range of issues associated with the management of IS services. We deal with the information (systems) aspects of the organisational environment under the Information Infrastructure section below. First, though, we now turn to the Business Strategies & Processes aspects of the approach.

7.6 Business Strategies & ProcessesHaving taken stock of the current (and recent past) situation, it is useful then to consider possible future scenarios for the organisation as a precursor to considering alternative business strategies that appear to be appropriate in these different contexts. A helpful technique in this aspect of the process is one developed by the SEMA Group. This considers the future in terms of “facts” those elements that are considered to be relatively stable within the planning period; “heavy trends” those trends that are thought very likely to continue during the planning period, and “issue” those elements over which there is disagreement or considerable doubt.


136

Organizational Environment

Business Strategies & Processes

Information Infrastructure

Analysis of organizational strengths, weaknesses and culture; assessment of Is provision/organizational and management competences

Scanning of environment including customer requirements and technological developments (benchmarking)

Creation of a favorable climate for change and preparation for change projects

Creation of alternative future scenarios for the organization

Derivation of alternative business strategies in line with future scenarios; assessment of feasibility of each

Development of models depicting the business processes required to enable implementation of relevant business strategies

Derivation of information, organization of Is services, and Is opportunities with current provision/arrangements

Comparison of required information, organization of IS services, and IS opportunities with current provision/arrangements

Comparison of models with current situation andidentificationofrequiredchange

Allocation of responsibilities to project teamswithclearlydefinedobjectives,time scales and performance measures

On-going evaluation/review including longitudinal perspectives and assessment of emergent strategies

Fig. 7.5 A Socio-Technical approach to business and IS strategy formation and the management of organisational transformation

By building up alternative scenarios by altering the “issues” while keeping the “facts” constant and making minor alterations to the “trends”, it is possible to consider alternative strategies in the light of the differing “futures” thus constructed. It also proves useful to include a counter-intuitive “future” that is altering key “facts”, to identify what thefirmmightdoinsuchunforeseencircumstances.

137

Having agreed on a small number of scenarios following discussion of a range of alternatives (three or four is fairly normal), one can begin to consider an appropriate business strategy and the potential role of IS/IT in each. Questioningthekeyassumptionsonwhichthesestrategiesarebasedisanimportantroutetotheidentificationofstrategic information. The statement of strategy should comprise the following: Viewpoint taken for granted view that makes the notional system of activity meaningful. Owner (the person or persons who could destroy the system orchangeitbeyondrecognition)Customer(thebeneficiariesorvictimsofthesystem)Actors(thoseinvolvedincarrying out the tasks implied by the system objectives).

Transformation(themeansbywhichdefinedinputsaretransformedintodefinedoutputs;thecentralpointofthesystem) Environment (the constraints or givens within which the system has to operate), to enable the development ofasufficientlyrichprocessmodel,whichshoulditselfcomprisetheminimumsetofprocessesthatarerequiredtofulfilthestrategicobjectivesassociatedwitheachscenario.

Anillustrationofthesetwostepsintheprocess,takenfromChecklandandScholesisgivenbelowinfigure7.6.ThedefinitionofthenotionalsysteminthisillustrationrelatestotheperceivedneedforchangeinroleandreducedconflictsbetweendifferentpartsoftheProductMarketingDivision(PMD)ofICL.Itisincludedheretodemonstratethe point that the approach is a general one that can be used in a range of quite different circumstances. In this instance, the focus was on organisational change within a particular sector of a company. In different circumstances, the approach can be used, for example, to deal with organisational change company-wide; to consider alternative strategies, or to incorporate IS/IT considerations into the equation.

A comparison of the processes that go to make up the kind of models illustrated in Figure 7.6, and their interrelationships, especially when the potential of IS/IT is being considered at the same time, often leads to the realisation that some of the current business processes, which until this time were considered to be key to business success, can actually be streamlined or even omitted altogether. Conversely, processes that are crucial may not be in place or may be undertaken poorly.

It is important to remember that the models are based on required processes and do not relate to existing organisational arrangements nor to current functional boundaries. An information architecture based on key information needs andflowsastheserelatetorequired,notexisting,processes,isanaturaloutcomeofthiskindofthinking.Keyinformationcanbeidentifiedbyusingsuchtechniquesasthecriticalsuccessfactor(CSF)approach,augmentedby its corollary, critical failure factors and the critical assumptions upon which the strategies are based. On-going assessment of the impact of change projects is assisted by the collection of information of this kind.


138

Appreciate Divisional structures

Investigate operations for overlapsandconflictsinpresent structures

Definenatureof potentially destructive overlapsandconflictswhich exist

Test overlaps andconflicts for potential destructiveness

Operate method for avoiding destructive overlaps/conflicts

Take control action

Definecriteriafor efficiency&effectiveness

Monitor

Decide methods for dealing with/avoidingconflicts,overlaps; covering processes & attitudes

Determine criteria for destructive

Determine criteria definingoverlap,conflict

Fig. 7.6 An illustration of aspects of Checkland’s (1981) Soft Systems Methodology

7.7 Information InfrastructureThe extent to which an organisation is dependent on IS can be estimated by the application of McFarlan’s so-calledstrategicgrid,asdepictedinfigurebelow.Inaddition,anassessmentoftheappropriatenessofanaggressivecompetitive strategy with respect to the utilisation of IS/IT can be made using a similar grid developed by McLaughlin, asshowninfig.7.8.

Referringtofig.7.7,havingundertakenthekindofanalysisadvocatedbyPorter&Millar,forexample,itispossibletoestimatethevalueaddingpotentialtothefirmofIS/IT.AnassessmentofthequalityofISresourcesasshowninfig.7.7and7.8alsoneedstobeundertakenandthiswillbediscussedbelow.Asshowninfig.7.8,organisationswith sound IS resources and good business opportunities from the application of IS/IT are clearly in a position to adopt an aggressive stance.

Turnaround (potentially strategic)

Strategic

Support Factory (essential)

High

Low Low High

Strategic Impact of

Planned Systems

Strategic of Existing Is Portfolio

Fig. 7.7 The IT Strategic Grid

139

Beware (Catch 22) Attack

Safe (Status quo)

Explore (Quietly)

High

Low Low High

Value adding potential of Is/It

Quality of Existing is Resources

Fig. 7.8 Choosing an appropriate IT-based business strategy

Thosethathaveidentifiedonlylimitedopportunitiesarelikelytoberelativelysafefromattackbycompetitorsevenif their IS resources are weak. Conversely, those in a similar position but with sound IS resources may wish quietly to explore the situation further as the business/technological environment changes and/or they uncover a previously hiddenopportunity.ShouldafirmidentifyconsiderablevalueaddingpotentialfromIS/IT,buthaverelativelypoorresources, there is a requirement to act with due urgency. Such an enterprise is currently in a “Catch 22” situation. In other words, the enterprise may be “damned if they do and damned if they don’t”! An aggressive strategy is likely to become unstuck since they are likely to lack the capacity - both in technological and human terms - to see it through to a successful conclusion.

Inactionislikelytoleadtothefirmcomingunderattackfromthecompetition.Howthencanafirmmakeanassessmentof the quality of its IS resources and decide what urgent action it should take? This is not simply an assessment of the strategic impact of IS as in McFarlan’s (1984) analysis. A broader evaluation is required and this can be achieved by a development on the well known “stages of growth” concept which incorporates the so-called “7S” analysis pioneered by McKinsey & Co. This broader stage of growth model is described in detail in Galliers and Sutherland (1991)andlessonsfromitsapplicationarerecountedinGalliers.Itisillustratedinoutlineinfigure7.8.

We have found that the revised model is best used in a workshop environment where key stakeholders can debate their different perceptions about the current state of affairs and there almost certainly will be different perceptions expressed! It is often the case that certain elements of the 7S framework will be at different stages of growth and a profilewillemergethatwillindicatewhereparticularurgentactionisrequired.Inaddition,itisalmostboundtobethecasethatdifferentpartsoftheorganisationforexample,functions,SBUs,siteswillfindthemselvesatdifferentstages of growth.

Placingthecurrentcompanyprofileinrelationtotheprofileof,say,fiveyears,threeyearsandoneyearagocanbe particularly insightful, as this gives an indication of the rate of progress, if any: there is no God-given right for firmstomovetowardthelaterstagesofgrowthasimpliedbyearliermodels.Indeed,itcanoftenbethecasethatfirmsmayreverttoearlierstages.Discussiononthereasonsforlackofprogressorreversiontoearlierstagesisparticularly enlightening.

Theoutcomesfromallthisassessmentcanbecomparedagainsttheinformationidentifiedasbeingrequiredfromananalysis of the business strategy and associated model(s) of the kind depicted in Figure 7.6. Bear in mind, however, that we should not simply focus our attention on IS and associated IT requirements. Consideration should also be given to the impact of IT on business processes and strategy, and on the alternative ways we might organise our information services—the information management strategy, in other words.


140

7.8 Organisational Learning This chapter has attempted to provide a means by which the kind of discontinuous thinking advocated by Hammer (1990) can be achieved, without dismissing organisational learning. The comparison of what is needed in the context of alternative future scenarios may lead to a decision that radical change is required and just as likely, it may not! Incremental change may well be more appropriate during a period following rapid change or where the analysis suggests that this change is either unnecessary or foolhardy.

IT can often be a catalyst in this process and IT opportunities for new or enhanced products and services should certainly not be overlooked. Having said that, an aggressive competitive strategy with IT at its heart is only likely to yieldbenefitswhenthefirm’sISresourceshumanaswellasinfologicalandtechnologicalaresound.Organisationsshould be wary of the hyperbole surrounding the topic of competitive advantage arising from IT, especially those without a sound IT and IS management track record.

The approach that has been described above gives equal weight to internal as well as external concerns. Customer - potential as well as current - requirements are highlighted, as is the changing competitive, political, economic and technological environment. A fresh review of what might otherwise be seen as essential internal business processes is also at the heart of the analysis. Above all, however, concern needs to be focussed - as part of the process itself - on the propensity of key stakeholders for change and on the implementation issues.

Onefinalwordontheprocessisthatitismeanttobeappliedflexiblyandonanon-goingbasissothatitcontributestoorganisational learning. The techniques that have been incorporated into it in this chapter are meant to be illustrative rather than prescriptive. They are included for the purposes of ensuring greater understanding. While they have been found to be extremely helpful in a range of BPR projects, it is more than likely that other techniques can be applied as successfully. The approach described in this chapter should not be applied rigidly - rigid application leads to rigid thinking and that is certainly not what is required!

141

SummaryIn much of the earlier literature on Business Process Redesign (BPR) it was almost always the case that •Information Technology (IT) was given a central role.An approach to the management of change which takes account of the multi-faceted nature of business change •is then described, with illustrations as to how this might be implemented in practice.ThefocusofBPRisnotentirelyinternal,however:akeycomponentistheidentificationoftherequirements•of one’s customers.BPR and the strategic management literature tend to let us down to some degree at least-is on how we go about •implementing the change their analysis suggests should occur.A starting point to a consideration of the place of IT in BPR is the view that IS strategy should be but one aspect •of business strategy, both in terms of strategy formulation and implementation.Downsizing as a sole objective of BPR is likely to be unsuccessful.•The analysis of the internal and external environments can usefully utilise such tried and tested techniques as •SWOT analysis of strengths.It is important to remember that the models are based on required processes and do not relate to existing •organisational arrangements nor to current functional boundaries.Aninformationarchitecturebasedonkeyinformationneedsandflowsastheserelatetorequired,notexisting,•processes, is a natural outcome of this kind of thinking.The extent to which an organisation is dependent on IS can be estimated by the application of McFarlan’s.•Hammer warns us that “unless we change [outdated] rules, we are merely rearranging deck chairs on the •Titanic”.IS strategy both feeds off and feeds into business strategy and can usefully be perceived as a continuous process, •requiring on-going assessment, review and feedback.

ReferencesDevlin, S. E., Emerson, C., Wrobel, A. L., 1997. • Business Resumption Planning, Auerbach.Hui-Liang Tsai, 2003. • Information Technology and Business Process Reengineering: New Perspectives and Strategies, Greenwood Publishing Group.Ramachanran, N., • Business process Reengineering: Role of Information Technology in the Implementation of Business Process Reengineering, [Online] Available at: <http://www.anterron.com/cgi-bin/white_papers/docs/Role_of_IT_in_BPR.pdf> [Accessed 4 July 2012].Attaran, M., Exploring the relationship between information technology and business process reengineering, •[Online] Available at: <http://dns2.asia.edu.tw/~psuhjw/paper/bpr-6.pdf> [Accessed 4 July 2012].interfacing, 26• th March 2008. Business Process Management BPM. Improve business processes., [Video Online] Available at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kq4JVkkCzKY> [Accessed 4 July 2012].wpcareyschool, 4th May 2010. Module 12: Supply Chains and Information Technology, [Video Online] Available •at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXDvHgjRNDQ&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PL000256FB0DE965D1> [Accessed 4 July 2012].

Recommended ReadingKhosrowpour, M., 2002. • Issues and Trends of Information Technology Management in Contemporary Organizations, Idea Group Inc (IGI).Khosrowpour, M., 2006. • Cases on Information Technology and Business Process Reengineering, Idea Group Inc (IGI).Draheim, D., 2010. • BusinessProcessTechnology:AUnifiedViewonBusinessProcesses,Workflows andEnterprise Applications, Springer.


142

Self AssessmentBusiness Process Redesign is the case that ______ has given a central role.1.

Information Technologya. Business processesb. Strategic informationc. Business strategiesd.

Who propounds the theory of logical instrumentalism as a means of effecting major change while minimising 2. its negative impacts?

Lederera. Venkatramanb. Quinnc. Sethid.

________perceiveISstrategyasbeingconcernedwiththeidentificationofrequiredISapplicationsandthe3. necessary resources to develop these.

Leavitt and Sethia. Quinn and Venkatramanb. Martin and Davenportc. Lederer and Sethid.

Which of the Following Statement are False?4. Orientation is often dependent on a review of the market forces affecting the competitive environment of a. the company concerned.Strategy formulation (formation) and implementation are meant to be considered contemporaneously.b. Competitive, Technological, Political, Economic in an attempt to not identify, as a result of a creative process, c. the strategic opportunities that IT might provide.Business strategy and can usefully be perceived as a continuous process, requiring on-going assessment, d. review and feedback.

The process aids organisational learning of the kind advocated by _________.5. Argyris and Schôn a. Lederer and Sethib. Leavitt and Sethic. Checkland and Lewin’sd.

Which of the following is not under SWOT analysis?6. Weaknessesa. Threadsb. Opportunitiesc. Strengthsd.

WhichofthefollowingtechniquesarenotusedtoidentifiedtoKeyinformation?7. Critical strengthsa. Critical failure factorsb. Critical assumptionsc. Critical success factord.

143

The extent to which an organisation is dependent on IS can be estimated by the application of McFarlan’s so-8. called _________

competitive strategya. analysis advocatedb. aggressive strategyc. strategic gridd.

________and__________ from the application of IS/IT are clearly in a position to adopt an aggressive 9. stance.

Strategic impact of IS, good business opportunitiesa. Organisations with sound IS resources, good business opportunitiesb. Sound IS resources, quality of IS resourcesc. Quality of IS resources, utilisation of IS/ITd.

A broader evaluation is required and this can be achieved by a development on the well known __________.10. critical success factora. aggressive strategyb. stages of growthc. strategic gridd.


144

Chapter VIII

Automation, Business Process Reengineering and Client Server Technology

Aim


introduce client server technology•

explain stages of the industrial and information eras•

discussbenefitsandcostsofclient/servercomputing•

Objectives


explain historical perspectives of BPR•

explicate stages of information era•

elucidate link between BPR and information technology•

Learning outcome


compare historical setting and focus•

understand the new organisationorganisational structure•

understandinfluencescompellingorganisationorganisations•

145

8.1 IntroductionThe idea of reengineering a business is not new. Although, the current focus is on reengineering business processes, the concept of reinventing the business has been around at least since the turn of the century. Reengineering is criticaltoafirm’ssurvivalduringcertainperiodswhentherearemajorupheavalsintheeconomythatthreatenthefirm’sexistence.Intoday’schaoticbusinessenvironment,manyfirmsthatdonotreinventthemselvesaredoomedto become part of business history.

In this chapter, we have two themes. First, we present a three stage model that illustrates the role of business process reengineering (BPR) in organisational transformation. Then, we discuss why client/server technology can have a significantimpactonreengineeringmanagement.Wedemonstratehowclient/servertechnologycanbeusedbothtoreengineer work processes and to redesign work management. We argue that client/ server computing has a unique capability to change how work is managed and, as such, is an important agent in restructuring organisations to a form appropriate to an information era.

8.2 BPR-An Historical Perspective BackgroundThe current emphasis on business process reengineering began in 1990, with Hammer’s article in Harvard Business Review.HammerdefinedBPRasusing“thepowerofmoderninformationtechnologytoradicallyredesignourbusinessprocessesinordertoachievedramaticimprovementsintheirperformance”.Thisdefinitionhasevolvedtothe one in vogue now: “the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvement in critical, contemporary measures of performance, such as cost, quality, service, and speed.”

Themore recentdefinitiondownplays information technology’s role in reengineeringandaddsameasurementdimension.Basictotheseandotherdefinitionsaretheconceptsofradicalredesignanddramaticimprovement.If either of these concepts is missing, the effort falls short of reengineering. Recent interest in BPR represents the resurgence of a concept that seems to swing in and out of fashion. There is evidence of wide - spread reengineering efforts to increase blue-collar productivity early this century. Interestingly, this earlier reengineering effort began approximatelyfifty years after the start of the industrial era, and today’s reengineering efforts are occurringapproximatelyfiftyyearsafterthestartoftheinformationera.

We see some clear parallels between the industrial and information eras as shown in table below. Our analysis of the industrial era indicates the existence of three stages, each of which represents a different focus for the organisation. Whilesomeorganisationsmaybefirmlywithinasinglestage,itismuchmorelikelythatafirmwillstraddletwostages at once. As our case data will indicate, an organisation often continues to automate some processes concurrently with a search for ways to revolutionise other processes.

8.3 The Industrial EraDuring stage one of the industrial era, machines such as the steam engine and the internal combustion motor had simple applications: replace human or animal energy sources.

HISTORICAL SETTING STAGE/FOCUS INDUSTRIAL ERA INFORMATION ERA

STAGE ONE: AUTOMATING REPLACING WORKERS

Steam engine, internal combus t ion eng ine , electronic motor

Computer, word processor, calculator, spreadsheets, data bases

STAGE TWO: INFORMATING REDESIGNING WORK

Scientific management, time and motion studies, the assembly line

Total quality Management, Business Process Reengineering

STAGE THREE: TRANSFORMING REDESIGNING ORGANISATIONS AND THE MANAGEMENT OF WORK

Functional organisations, multi-divisional organisations

Learning organisations, collaborative work teams, empowered workforce

Table 8.1 Stages of the industrial and information eras


146

Attention was not given to radical improvement of work; there was no need. Large productivity gains were easily reaped through the straightforward substitution of machine for human. For instance, the horse-drawn carriage was replaced by a truck. The truck was faster, required less attention, and was not subject to the vagaries of the animal mind.Afterreplacingworkers,firmssearchedforwaystoredesignworkprocessesthatexistedbeforemachineswereused.ThissearchsignalledtheentranceoffirmsintoStageTwooftheindustrialera,andsparkedtheconceptofscientificmanagement.

Scientificmanagement,concernedwithmanagingworkandworkers,offeredaradicaldeparturefrompastpractices,and Frederick Taylor played a dominant role in this departure. We suspect that, were Taylor reincarnated today, he would sound much like Hammer and Champy in their preaching for radical departures from existing mindsets. Taylor believed that productivity improvements would result from following certain basic principles. One principle was to develop a science of management to identify the best method for performing a task. To succeed, Taylor felt that labour and management must undergo a “complete mental revolution.” He carefully examined work methods, and redesigned them to achieve radical results. For example, Bethlehem Steel increased the loading and unloading of steel from 12.5 tons to 47.5 tons per day (a radical, 380% improvement) by following Taylor’s methods. At another firm,theworkforcewasreducedto35from120whileaccuracyimprovedover60%.

Thus,manyfirmschanged theway inwhichworkwasaccomplishedbecauseofTaylor’sconceptofscientificmanagement.Afterchangingtheirworkmethods,firmsstillneededtodevelopawaytomanagetheneworganisationsthatevolvedfromtheindustrialrevolution.Ineffect,firmsneededtolearnhowtomanageindustrialwork.Formanyorganisations, the pattern was similar. Chandler (1962) presents this progression in his classic study of organisational histories.First,firmsverticallyintegrated.Verticalintegrationcreatedtheneedforadifferentmanagementstructure,sinceeachfirmnowperformedseveraldifferentfunctions.Thus,thefunctionalorganisationemerged,andareassuchasfinance,production,andmarketingwereseparatelymanaged.Finally,asfirmsgrewlargeranddiversified,the multidivisional (M–form) organisational structure emerged.

Moving to the M–form organisation was not a trivial task. Chandler’s work clearly depicts the struggle that corporations such as Sears, General Motors, and Du Pont endured as they tried to move into an M–form organisation. Often it is only during times of crisis, when the organisation is threatened, that it will overcome the barriers to change and, in many cases, this was the compelling reason for the adoption of the M–form.

Onceadopted,however,theM–formprovedaneffectivewayforlargefirmstomanageworkintheindustrialage.Forlargeorganisations,ithasremainedthedominantorganisationalform,andmostlargefirmshaveadoptedit.Firms that have not adopted the M–form have no need to - either because their core function is relatively simple (such as mining companies) or because they are in highly customised market niches.

8.4 The Information EraThe information era is also unfolding in three stages. Schein (1994) refers to these stages as automating, informating, and transforming the organisation. In Stage One, productivity gains were made by replacing clerical workers with data processing systems. The success of microcomputer word processing and spreadsheet software is a demonstration of how information–era technology, like industrial–era technology, was initially used to harvest obvious gains by replacing workers or highly leveraging existing work.

Technology, whether industrial- or information-based, enables an organisation to take on new functions, enter new markets, and generally expand its operational scope. Given such expansion and change, existing management structuresoftenbecomeineffectiveandevendysfunctional.Furthermore,thenatureofworkwithinthefirmalsochanges. Just as the unskilled manual labourer of the early industrial era became a skilled blue-collar worker, so did the high school graduate, a clerical worker of the early information era, become a knowledge worker with an MBA in Stage-two.

In Stage Two, the focus shifts to redesigning work to realise a further round of productivity gains. Thus, today’s BPRandtotalqualitymanagement(TQM)effortsparalleltheindustrialera’sscientificmanagement.Inanerawhen70%ofworkerswereemployedinmanufacturing,Taylor’sscientificmanagementconceptsworkedtoimprove

147

blue–collar productivity. Today, 70% of workers are in the service sector, so focusing attention on improving white–collar productivity makes sense. Additionally, we have achieved the obvious gains from replacing workers with computers; future productivity gains will come from radically redesigning work.

Thus, the current interest in BPR represents a transition of focus from stage one to Stage Two of the information era. In the 1990s, individuals and organisations must be given the tools to “work smarter” by better managing complexity (Schrage,1993).Tomanagethiscomplexity,firmsmusteventuallyenterthethirdstageoftheinformationera.Theymust redesign not only their processes, but also themselves. In an intensely competitive and global world, leading edgecompaniesarealreadyconfrontingthethirdstageoftheinformationera.Theseorganisationsarefindingthatthey need a new way to manage work.

Functional and multidivisional organisations are often not appropriate to the information age; they hinder rather than enhance the rapid exchange of information. Many enlightened organisations are already moving beyond reengineering business processes to total organisational transformation. These organisations are seeking new ways to organize work, new ways to communicate, and new authority relationships (Schein 1994). There is no clear demarcation between thestagesoftheinformationera;manyfirmsareintransitionfromonestagetotheother.Specifically,StagesTwoand Three may be intertwined: as businesses continue to reengineer selected processes they often begin to reengineer their basic structures, thus leading to organisational transformation –– Stage Three of the information era.

Beinginthemidstofthisrevolutionmakesitextremelydifficulttoidentifywhattheneworganisationalformwillbe.After all, Chandler’s analysis was not completed until long after the M–form had emerged as a successful solution to managing industrial–era work. Nevertheless, current trends seem to indicate that managing work in an information erainvolvescreatingflatterorganisations,autonomousworkgroups,andthedevolutionofpower.

Scholars and early experience suggest that the M–form structure of the industrial era is giving way to a new design centered on creating learning organisations and collaborative work teams. The new organisational form is perhaps best encapsulated in the word empowerment. Empowerment occurs when employees who perform certain jobs are given the responsibility for determining how those jobs should be done. It assumes that the people doing the work are those most informed about how best to do the work and how best to improve it (Pine 1993).

There are four keys to empowerment: information, knowledge, skills, and control (Taylor and Felton 1993). First, employees must have the knowledge and skills to perform their jobs, or they must be able (authorised to and willing to) obtain what they need. Second, employees must have available the information needed to perform their jobs. This leads to less closely–guarded data within the organisation and implies that information sharing is commonplace and encouraged. Finally, empowered workers have control over their jobs. They can make decisions regarding any aspect of the task and expect to be supported by upper management in those decisions.

Empoweredworkersareactivelyengagedintheirjobsandinfirstdevelopingandthenfulfillingorganisationalgoals.Theyhavetheauthoritytoformautonomousteamswithself–definedrolesandstructure.Empoweringworkersleadsto radically different organisations. In these new organisations, decision making and responsibility are diffused so that the organisation can react rapidly to environmental change and customer demands. The new organisation is highlyresponsiveandadaptive.Intelligenceandcontrolarenolongerconcentratedindivisionaloffices;theyexistin all the tentacles of the organisation. Information technology (IT) can play a key role in forming and sustaining the transformed organisation.


148

8.5 The Link between BPR and Information TechnologyGeneral information technology enabler gives the link between BPR and information technology.

8.5.1 General Information TechnologyMost current literature on business process reengineering acknowledges the role that information technology (IT)mustplayintheprocedure.Someviewspecificinformationtechnologies,suchaswork–groupcomputing,as enabling organisations “to go beyond traditional time and motion studies to reengineer business processes and refocus organisations”.

Davenport and Short (1990) note that: information technology should be viewed as more than an automating or mechanizing force; it can fundamentally reshape the way business is done.” and, as previously noted, Hammer (1990), suggested that businesses use information technology to reengineer. Thus, it is clear that information technology and BPR are intricately linked in the redesign of work processes. It is also clear that BPR represents a transition from Stage One-automating work-to Stage Two -redesigning work.

Many of today’s business processes were developed and institutionalised long before computers became the powerful tools they now are. The true challenge in Stage Two is to redesign work processes around existing and future information technologies to maximise their possibilities. Thus, IT is viewed as an enabler in business process reengineering rather than a solution in itself. For Hammer and Champy (1993), IT is an “essential enabler” of any reengineering effort. They caution, however, that “throwing computers” at existing business problems does not lead to a reengineered business.

There are numerous examples of information technology being used to enable BPR. In a current reengineering project, afirmchosetoreengineeritsbusinesscommunicationsprocesses,includingthemailroom.Asurveyofmailroomoperationsrevealedthatalargepercentageofincomingmailbeinghandledisactuallycomprisedofinter–officememos.Byimplementinganelectronicmailsystemtohandlesuchcommunications,thefirmwilleliminatethisparticular mailroom process. Remaining mail will be scanned using an electronic imaging system and distributed to the addressee electronically, largely eliminating handling.

Electronic data interchange has often been cited as a technology that redesigns work. Some organisations that conduct a large part of their business electronically have completely eliminated, or greatly reduced entire departments and functions. When the management at General Motors designed the operations for the new Saturn plant, they worked the concept of EDI directly into the design and eliminated the need for complex purchasing systems.

Whileelectronicmail,imaging,andEDIaregoodexamplesoftechnologiesthatenablefirmstoreengineerbyhelpingthem redesign work, none of these technologies is able to radically change the manner in which work is managed. We maintain that the technology that does this is client/server computing. While client/server technology may be used simply to automate work or reduce costs (Stage One enabler), it may also be used to redesign business processes (Stage Two enabler). Furthermore, because this technology parallels the organisational goals of empowerment and cooperation by distributing information and processing power closer to the user, it may also be a Stage Three enabler.

Client/servercomputinghasbeendefinedinanumberofways.Thetypicalclient/servermodelistwo–fold.Simplystated,theclientmakesrequests;theserverusuallyfulfilsthoserequests.Themodelhasthreecomponents:datamanagement, application and presentation. These components can be distributed to the clients and servers in a variety of ways; however, the presentation software usually resides entirely on the client workstation. Application software may reside on either the client or the servers, or it may be split among them. The data management software usually resides only on the servers although client workstations may have some software for data management.

The client hardware is normally a workstation, equipped with a graphical user interface (GUI). In some cases, the client workstation may be equipped with enough software to handle certain requests without server involvement. ThissoftwareusuallyincludesaTable2:standardofficeautomationpackage(wordprocessor,spreadsheet,andgraphics) and may also include a statistical analysis package.

149

Benefits Drawbacks

Lower processing costs (micro v. Mainframe computer)

Higher start-up training costs; many IS professionals unskilled in client/server development tools

Graphical User Interfaces (GUI) are easier to use DifficulttomanageoperatingsystemsAvoids reliance on a single vendor or mainframe system Unreliable networks

Greaterflexibilityinconfigurations “Plug and Play” open systems not yet a realityDecision-making authority at user level and therefore closer to customers

Moredifficultdatasecurity,backupandrecovery,anddata management

Empowered users have information to make decisions More systems and links to manage and maintain

Faster development cycles because applications can be modularized more easily Lack of sophisticated development tools

Table 8.2 Benefits and costs of client/server computing

Application software and processing power are often distributed among many networked systems; thus, in theory, eachcomputer systemcanbeconfigured toperform its jobmost efficiently.Anecdotal evidence suggestsvastbenefitspossiblefromclient/servercomputing,aswellasanumberofsignificantdrawbacks(Table8.2).Therehas been much debate as to whether client/server reduces costs when compared to a mainframe–based system. The client workstation’s GUI normally provides some cost savings from ease of use, reduced user training time, and productivity gains.

Typically, client/server user interfaces, such as Windows, Presentation Manager, and Macintosh, overcome many problemsassociatedwiththelessfriendly,character–basedinterfacesofolderoperatingsystems.Yet,manyfirmsreport increased costs associated with managing the more complex networks and in training the information systems personnel.Formanyfirmsthathavemovedtoclient/servertechnology,theprimarybenefitshavecomenotfromreduced costs, but in other areas.

A move to client/server may mean escape from an undue reliance on the products of a single vendor. While true open systems have not yet arrived, client/server technology is moving in that direction more rapidly than its mainframe counterparts. Another advantage of client/server is that it facilitates organisations getting closer to their customers. Asmorecustomersrequestinformationsuitedspecificallytothem,organisationsmustfindawaytomeetthosedemands. Decision making authority must be placed closer to the customer, and client/server computing is the way to do this.

Client/servertechnologyisnotwithoutitsdrawbacks.Earlymoversexperiencedunreliablenetworks,difficulttomanage operating systems, and a lack of the much-touted development tools. Tasks such as data security, backup andrecovery,anddatabasemanagementareoftenmoredifficultinaclientserverenvironment,simplybecausethereusually are more machines and links that can fail. Client/server technology represents more of a “philosophy of operation”thanastrictlydefinedarchitecture.Thenatureofclient/serverissuchthatitcanbeconfigureddifferentlyfordifferentfirms,thusofferingtheflexibilityneededinarapidlychangingbusinessenvironment.

WewillstudytheexampletobetterunderstandBRPandinformationtechnology.Datafromthreefirmsthataremovingtoorhavemovedtoaclient/servercomputingenvironmentarepresented.Twoofthefirmsarebanks;examiningtheir move to client/server computing is especially interesting because the banking industry was largely responsible forthemovetolargemainframesystemstwentyyearsago.Thethirdisalargecollectionagency.Specificsabouteachfirmaredisguisedsothatconfidentialityismaintained.


150

In two of the cases, the reasons for considering a move to client/ server and the degree of senior level management involvementaresimilar.Thissuggeststhatthefirmsmaybeinthesamestageoftheinformationera.Inthefirstcase,client/server was initially thought of as a way to automate current practices and possibly eliminate the mainframe. In Cases Two and Three, client/server technology is redesigning work management and enabling the transformation of the organisation.

Case One: Large Bank (LB)Through recent acquisitions and mergers, LB has grown considerably during the last ten years. It now ranks among the ten largest banks in the United States. The computing environment is strictly mainframe, and the systems are totally outsourced. Billing for mainframe usage is based on a sliding scale per processing cycle used. At the branch offices,noteverytellerhasapersonalcomputer;depositandwithdrawalinformationisnoton–line.Currently,thereis a project underway to bring more technology to the branches, eliminating much of the batch processing. An IS staffismaintainedatLB’scorporateofficetomanagefinancialproductionandreporting.

There are three primary components of the reporting system: the database management side, the development/ad hocreportingsection,andtheconsolidationreportingdepartment.Itwasthead-hocreportinggroupthatfirstlookedat a move to client/server technology. Production reporting at LB currently takes place in a COBOL environment. Theproductionsystemproducesallstandardreportsusedbythefinancialgroup.A4GLisusedtoruntheadhocreporting. The product is perceived as a resources hog, and the ad hoc group is often criticized for its consumption ofmainframeprocessingcycles.Anotherdifficultywiththecurrentsystemisthatitrunsunderanoperatingsystemthat has not been supported for nearly ten years. LB cannot add any more users to the system; therefore, they must make some change to it.

Theadhocgroup’soriginalgoalwastofindamainframereplacementthatwouldgiveidenticalfunctionality,usethe same programs with minimal changes, provide all existing services at a substantially reduced cost and better performance level, and offer more control than the outsourced system. According to the manager for the ad hoc group, the current production system is “very bureaucratic; changes require an Act of Congress.” Like many IS departments, the ad hoc group has a workaround for this situation.

Ad hoc reports are not put into production, but are instead kept in the ad hoc group’s own libraries. Once the need for anewsystemwasidentified,thegroupaskedthreelargevendorstopresentproposals.Atthispoint,aclient/serversolutionwasnotspecificallyrequested.Somewhereduringtheproposalstage,however,theideaofclient/servercame to the forefront. As a manager recalls, “One of the vendors had a client/server product he wanted to sell.”

Whenthefirstvendorwasreadywithaproposal,theypresentedittotheadhocgroup.PhaseOneoftheproject(forwhichthevendorassumedallcosts)wasscheduledtolastfivedays.Thefirsttwodayswouldbeusedtodownloaddata to the servers; a rehearsed script of tests was to be conducted on the last three days. Loading the data onto the serverstooktwoweeks.Problemsoccurredforseveralreasons:programswrittentoconvertpackedfieldsdidnotwork correctly, some key players were not available during the scheduled cutover week, and the software did not perform as expected. The test results were not spectacular, as processing on the servers was not faster than on the mainframe.

Nonetheless, the groupbelieved that themove toClient/serverwas justifiedbecausemainframe savingswereprojected to be two million dollars per year. The outsourcing contract, however, was not favourable to the change. Due to the sliding billing scale, the loss of the ad hoc group’s mainframe cycles each month actually resulted in an overall cost increase for LB. The group then tried to justify the new system not as a savings but as a wise idea because it meant a move to newer technology. This attempt failed because the system would have solved only the ad hoc group’s problems, and there was trouble in the production group as well.

TheCOBOL–basedsystemlockedallfilesduringanyprocessing,andtheproductiongroupoftencouldnotgainaccesstothedata.Consequently,everygeneralledgeraccountwasstoredinthreefiles––inthegeneralledgeritself, in the production system, and in the ad hoc system. Maintaining common, current versions on three systems was a nightmare. Ultimately, upper management decided to invest the time and money needed to develop a new

151

system that would solve the problems in both groups, and a development project is currently underway at LB. As to whether the new system will use client/server technology, the manager said, “People don’t really care if it’s client/server or not.

All they want is to have all the functions they need. No one cares about the technical architecture.” Yet, the new system will most likely be a client/server system for several reasons. LB’s information systems management staff believes that a client/server system would keep up with technology and provide a “cohesive, integrated plat form.” They also believethatamajoradvantageofaclient/serversystemisitsflexibility.Userswillhavemoreflexibletoolstobuildapplications that will do what needs to be done. These tools will be easier to use and information will be easier to obtain.Rekeyingwillbeeliminated,anddownloadingwillbesimplified.Bothfunctionsarecurrentlycriticaltothefinancialarea.Asthemanagerstated,“Weproduceallthisdataandabout80%ofitiseitherdownloadedorrekeyedinto a spreadsheet so they (the users) can add a font, shading and a bold, and that’s all they care about.”

Although,theofficialpositionisthatthenewsystemwillprovideacostsavings,noonereallybelievesthatislikely. Vendors have been asked back to demonstrate products in three areas: data base management, consolidation reportingsystems,anddevelopmentandadhocreportingtools.Laterthisyear,asingledatabasesystem,aspecifichardware platform, and a variety of tools will be selected for testing. Managers and staff have six months to “play with the tools and see how they work and if they like using them.”

Although the senior management at LB is committed to this, managers in the three groups are currently managing theiron–goingprojectswhileresearchingthenewsystems.Changesintheinformationflowanddecisionmakingprocess are not expected at LB from the client/server system. Although the manager acknowledges that the new system will offer more on–line tools and reporting, no one really expects senior management to use them. The present culture of LB is such that upper management doesn’t log on to computers; their staff runs reports for them.

Case summaryIt is clear that Large Bank’s primary intention in developing the new system was to save money. While giving users moreflexibilityandinformationwasimportant,thedrivingforcebehindthechangewasfinancial.Althoughthemost recent look at client/server systems is motivated by more than money replacing a legacy system and embracing new technology the project retains a predominantly Stage One focus.

There is some indication, however, that LB’s senior management does recognize the need to change the manner is which work is accomplished, and is teetering at the brink of Stage Two. That is, they are positioning themselves to reengineer their business processes. While some work has begun in this area, it is largely unrelated to the client/server project, and the new technology is expected to have only a minimal effect on the BPR effort. In fact, the manager expressed little hope that even the BPR efforts would change the management structure and the way things are done at LB.

Case Two: Large Collection Agency (LCA)The system in this case was originally developed in 1977, and evolved over time to suit the needs of the business. To understandthesystem,itisnecessarytoexaminetheorganisationatthetimethelegacysystemwasfirstdevelopedandimplemented.Inthemid–70s,LCAmaintainedseveralhundredgeographicallydispersedcollectionoffices,each of which followed its own collection procedures, most of which were manual. In general, the collection process beganwithacustomer’srequesttocollectaninvoice.Amanualfilefolderwascreated,andalltransactionswererecorded on the jacket.

Allcollectionstookplacein theofficethatreceivedtherequest, irrespectiveofwherethedelinquentcustomerwas located. This often resulted in large telephone costs and delays in mailings. Each local manager decided the collectioncycle.Someplacedseveraldirectphonecallsbeforemailinganyletters;othersmailedlettersfirst,andthen placed personal calls. In some cases, attorney involvement was threatened quickly; in others this was looked upon as a last resort. Thus, a customer with delinquent accounts in two different areas of the country could be treated differentlybyeachcollectionoffice.


152

In the late70s,LCAwent throughamajor restructuringandmergedmanyof itsoffices.Thecorporateoffice,in an effort to establish and enforce policy, in the chief technology consultant’s words “to homogenize service,” developed the initial information system. As time passed, subsystems were added to the legacy system, until in 1985 the composite system consisted of seven different applications. In 1985, the economy was such that revenues in theorganisationneededaboost.Previously,LCAhadgrownlargelyfromefficiencythatisreplacingmanualworkwithcomputers,butitisdifficulttorepeatthosegainsfromyeartoyear.Insteadoflookingfurtheratthebottomlineformoreefficiencygains,thefocusshiftedtothetopline.Asthetechnologyconsultantstated,“Thebottomline gives only once; the top line gives many times.”

LCAdevelopedanumberofinformation-basedproductsforthecustomersandacquirednewfirmsthattheypromptlygathered under the same system, thus presenting a unique identity in the marketplace. With the major downturn in the economy, however, the business went into a tailspin, prompting another major restructuring. In the consultant’s words, “When business is slow, there are no sales; consequently, there are no invoices, and ultimately, no overdue invoicesforustocollect.”Theeconomywasnottheonlynegativeimpactonthefirm.Othersmallercollectionagencies, and the customers themselves, began using computers to improve their collection efforts. Thus, both the quality of the claim that is the chances of collecting it and the number of claims were lower.

Theregionalofficepersonnelwereinstructedtogetclosertothecustomerandprovidethemwithwhattheyneeded,butthatwasextremelydifficultwiththeinformationsysteminuse.Theearliermonolithicsystemswerefineatproducing standard requests but when customers needed specialised information, the systems could not provide it. Changes to the system usually took one year; the competition, being smaller, could change much more rapidly. Management decided that what was really needed was a way to empower associates to respond to the customer’s needs. A different tool set is needed when the objective is to push customer service to the point of customer contact. This according to the consultant, was “a real disconnect with a centralised system that enforces policy.” Managers could not make more decisions without the tools to provide needed information.

Thus,LCAhadcomefullcircleinthewaytheyviewtheirinformationsystems.Atthestart,fieldofficeshandledcollectionshowevertheywanted.WhenLCAwasfirstcomputerised,peopleinthefieldcouldonlydowhatthesystemletthemdo.Now,theobjectivewastoallowpeopleinthefieldtodowhattheyneededtodo,andtodecideforthemwhatthatwas.Thefirmalsoneededasystemthatwouldsupportarapidlychangingbusinessenvironment;thus,continuinginthetraditionmainframearenawasruledoutbecauseofthemainframe’slackofflexibility.

TodeterminewhatthenewsystemwouldbeLCAfirstrightsizedtheiroperationsoverlastthreeyears.Thisprocessinvolved senior managers from all departments. Through close examination of the business processes in effect, a reengineering of the processes, LCA realised they needed a decentralised management structure, but their highly centralised information system could not support such a structure. Tools that could be used to distribute information from the mainframe were either not available, or not practical.

Client/ server technology was selected based on the belief that it would enable the reengineered management recently putintoplacetoworkbetter.Ineffect,thefirmwantedtodistributemanagement,butthenneededaninformationsystem to handle the redistributed authority. The conversion to client/server, currently underway, has a budget of nearly two million dollars and a time frame of one year.

Case SummaryThe discussion above indicates that Large Collection Agency (LCA) has moved into Stage Three of the information era. They have reengineered their business processes; they have reengineered and restructured their management. Work has been organised in new ways and the lines of communication have been restructured. Now, they seek an information system to support and enable this new organisational form.

Case Three: Small Bank (SB)When SB opened seven years ago, management made the decision to use service bureaus for all their data processing needs rather than purchasing their own mainframe systems. As a start– up company, this decision made sense because it represented a lower short–term investment in information processing power. SB continues to use these service

153

bureaus today. Currently, one service bureau handles their credit card business, another handles their traditional bankingbusiness(commercialloans,savingsaccounts,equityloansandsoon),athirdfirmsuppliesprocessingfortheirnon–bankingtrustaccounts.Thebankhasonlyasinglebranchoffice;mostbusinessisconductedviaphone,facsimile, or direct mail.

Initially, users had dumb terminals through which they could connect to the service bureau of their choice and obtain needed information. For the most part, the service bureaus provided consistent service with very scalable costs, but theywereinflexible.Customisedreporting,especiallyforasmallercustomersuchasSB,wastooexpensive.Yet,as SB began to grow, the need for such customisation became obvious. SB needed more management information, in a more usable format, than what was available from the service bureaus.

To accommodate management needs, analysts would receive a multitude of reports from the bureaus, take a few lines of data from each, and rekey the data into spreadsheet applications to produce the necessary information. This method was time consuming, tedious, and expensive, and it greatly under utilised the analysts’ talent. The goal, therefore,wastoprovideflexiblereportingwithouthighcostsinawaythatwouldenhance,ratherthanignoreSB’sanalyticalresources.Thegeneralledgerwastheareafirsttargeted.

The bank selected a client/server technology for several reasons. As a start up company, they didn’t want to make a huge investment in mainframe computers. They also wanted to empower their employees, giving them all the information they needed to make decisions. The decision was made to start out with small machines that could grow asthefirm(anditsprofits)did.Thedecisiontomovehorizontallytomultipleserversinsteadofonelargeserverreflectstheseconsiderationssincefailureofasinglesystemdoesnotmeanthateveryuserisoff–line.

The solution was to install a database server to which general ledger data were downloaded each morning from the mainframe. As the data were written to the server, they were processed to obtain information not available directly from the mainframe, such as account average balances. Users (clients) were given access to the data on the local serverviaintelligentworkstationsequippedwithsufficientsoftwaresothattheycouldmanipulateandmassagethe data as they needed. The users build queries to see what they need to see. Queries are ad hoc; users can ask any questions using a point and click scheme for ease of use.

TherearepresentlysixfileserversinuseatSB.Oncegeneralledgerdataweremadeavailable,usersquicklyaskedfor trust account, commercial loan, savings account, credit card, and home equity data. The Information Systems personnel at SB believe that several more servers will be added in the next few years. One manager stated that either theusersortheISdepartmentalwaysfindsaneedforanotherserver.Themostrecentadditionisaserverdedicatedto tracking telecommunications costs. The data switch talks directly to the server for every connection made.

TheinformationsystemsdepartmentatSBconsistsoftwenty–twopeople,andservicesthreeseparatefloorsofusersonthreedistinctLANs.Manyofthestaffaresystemsandfinancialanalystswhoareworkingtogethertodevelopnewclient/serverapplicationsinthefinancialreportingarea.Theadventofclient/servercomputinghaschangedthe manner in which many of SB’s employees perform their jobs; it has reengineered the work processes. In the past, month–end closing would take up to eight working days; it can now be done in two. If, for some reason, the database servers aren’t working, there is no need for some employees to report to work. The IS manager’s comments on this are interesting:

“Organisationstendtostructurethemselvestofitthemainframe.ThemainframespitsoutreportAorB,someonegets them, and then rekeys lines 10 and 30, and then an army of analysts replays the information into something the mainframe didn’t provide. In the old world, that’s what things looked like. The value of the client/server structure became so valuable that they (the users) ended up, without prompting from us, reengineering their work around its capabilities.”


154

A systems analyst also had some telling comments: “We don’t give our users a hole; we give them a shovel. We no longer build systems for them; we build tools for them to use. We have become toolmakers. The organisation has moved decision making further and further down, in data processing we have moved it to the end user.” Another process that has been completely reengineered is closing an account. What once took several days of processing through numerous approval channels now takes about twenty seconds. This has happened through a combination of three factors. First, the process itself has been reengineered; unnecessary steps are gone.

Next, client/server enabled the new process to take place. Finally, customer service representatives (CSRs) were empowered to make account–level decisions. IS management at the bank believes that client/server technology is no more expensive for them than buying and maintaining mainframe systems would have been; in fact, they feel it may be less expensive. The focus of client/server for SB, however, is not on costs. It is on user satisfaction with the performance and information availability. As the Data Base Administrator said: “When it comes right down to itarethecosts(forclient/server)goingtobesignificantlycheaper,Idon’tknow.Isitgoingtobecheaper,Ibelieveso. But better than any of that, it’s (client/ server) going to be better. If you get better for the same price, you’ve still got a better deal.

You have a better front–end for the users, you’ve got a better implementation of everything. But we’re not doing client/server because it’s cheaper or because the users like the GUIs. We’re doing it because it solves business problems.” No one in the IS department at SB sees the mainframe going away completely. All agree that for number crunching and transaction processing, the mainframes and service bureaus will remain.

Yet,theycontinuetodevelopnewclient/serverapplicationstoreplacemainframefunctionstheyfindunacceptable.Thus, while SB never faced the legacy system problems that the large bank and large collection agency face, they do have systems that no longer work well for them. The focus at SB has always been on empowering their users. When perspective programmer/analysts are interviewed, they are asked by the COO how they feel about empowering users––writingtoolsandnotsystemsforthem.Thus,theideaofempoweringusersfiltersdownfromthetop.Indeed, senior management is intimately involved with the IS projects at the bank, and IT plays a central role in the strategic plan.

SB’s president has always focused on two issues: the quality of the customer service representatives and the quality of the information systems that support the bank. Since customers don’t walk into the bank to make transactions, the person on the phone becomes all– important to them. The voice, attitude, and demeanor of the CSR are critical, but also important is the information the CSR can offer the customer. Thus, the corporate culture doesn’t see IT as an expense but rather as a “keeper of the business.”

Client/servertechnologyhaschangedseveralthingswithinSBFirst;theflowofinformationhasbeenstreamlined.Formerly, several different processes updated the mainframe sequentially and long delays resulted from an overnight wait for each update. The general ledger system processing has been reduced from more than 3 days to less than 1 day. The sources of information for many bank employees have also changed. Managers just below the senior vice–president level once called on analysts to run reports; now, they can get the information themselves very easily. Information is also more readily available to clerical employees.

Thus, the client/server systems have distributed information up and down the organisation. Decision making has moved down the organisation so that now CSRs and clerical employees are given the information and authority to make decisions. There are fewer layers of management for each decision to travel through; thus, the organisational structurehasflattened.

Case SummaryWorkisorganisedinnewways,communicationpathsaresimplifiedandredefined,andauthorityrelationshipshavechanged. These are all indicative that an organisational transformation has occurred. Thus, SB seems to be in Stage Three of the information era.

155

8.6 The New Organisational StructureReferences to the new organisation, the organisation of the future and new organisational forms and structures abound throughout this paper, and in much of the current literature. What do all these catchphrases mean? One visionoftheorganisationofthefutureisamoveawayfromthehierarchicalstructuretoaflatteronecomprisedofsmallbusinessunitsfocusedbyproductormarketsegment.Inthesefirms,reengineeredforquickresponsetoachangingenvironment,informationflowsfreelyandprocessesarestreamlined.

Autonomous business teams are critical in these new information– based organisations. Employees are empowered and encouraged to participate in the decision making process. The organisation of the future will be knowledge based, and have fewer levels of management. It will be a learning organisation one that is constantly enhancing its capacity to create. By building a shared vision of an organisation’s future, the organisation will become learning rather than controlling and the behaviour of people within the organisation will be fundamentally different.

The new organisation will also be better able to respond to opportunities – whether they be in new technologies, new revenue sources, or new market segments. Another term often used to characterise the new organisation is “boundary lessness”. As used by Jack Welch, the CEO of General Electric, the term connotes an organisation that de–emphasizes hierarchical and functional boundaries and focuses instead on partnerships, alliances and teams. Criticaltothisneworganisationisthefreeflowofinformationamongitsemployees.

Thereareseveral influencescompellingorganisations tobecome“moreflexible, far–sighted,andable to learncontinuously”. These include global turmoil and competition, the rise of self–directed teams, participatory management, and time compression.Managers, however,mayfind it difficult to respond to these influencesbecausetheinfrastructureoftheirfirmsdoesnotsupportsuchresponse.Thus,theorganisationofthefuturewillbecharacterized by empowered associates who have the responsibility, knowledge, and authority to make decisions. Information Technology (IT) will play a key role in enabling this organisational form.

We have put forth a three–stage model to explain the changes in the automation and the management of work that occurred during the industrial era and are occurring during the information era. Our model suggests that BPR is primarily a second stage phenomenon that initiates new organisational forms based on collaborative teams and empoweredemployees.Indeed,thereisevidencethatsomefirmsarealreadyabandoningtheconstraintsoftheM–form for less rigid structures. Thus, while in 1985, Williamson could maintain that the M–form organisation was“themostsignificantorganisationalinnovationofthetwentiethcentury;”sixyearslaterBettiswascallingitan “organisational fossil”.

In a world of increasing complexity, rapid change, virtual corporations, and global competition, Bettis may indeed be correct. We propose that client/server technology is a major enabling technology for every stage of the information era. It has this capability because it can be used to automate existing processes, simplifying an interface or providing information more easily. It may also enable informating the organisation as it reengineers its business processes because it provides users with a friendly interface, tools for extracting and manipulating data, and access to a range of servers.

As a Stage Three enabler, client/server technology deregulates information access. The monopoly era of the mainframe as the sole provider of information is replaced by a free market of multi-servers and user self-service. Users are empowered because they have choice, tools, and personal processing resources. Users can choose what data they want from what is available.

As marketing discovered decades ago, customers like to serve themselves. Users want to have the tools to manipulate data and change its format to meet their personal preferences and decision style. Customers want customised products, eveniftheyhavetodothetailoringthemselves.Usershavedesktopcomputerswithsufficientprocessingpowertoquickly and easily process data without being reliant on the IS custodians of processor cycles.


156

Customers want independence and control over their destinies. A marketing perspective on client/server illustrates thatitresultsinsatisfieduserswhocanbetterservetheircustomers.Thethreecasestudiesillustratehowsomefirmsareusingclient/server technologyasameansof empowerment.The smallbankand the largecollectionagency both perceive client/server technology as a medium for transferring power from the IS department to the users. Furthermore, it is clear that this movement is a deliberate response to a competitive business environment that requires a more agile and maneuverable organisation.

Clearly, these organisations are in the third stage of the information revolution. In contrast, the large bank seems to be teetering between phases one and two. Client/server is initially seen as a way of rearranging processing to reduce costs; it is just a cheaper way of automating work. This is not surprising because the impetus for change is not external market forces but internal cost saving measures. Competition is not promoting the change; rather, some cost accountant is tallying the score. There is some indication, however, that the bank also sees client/server as a way of redesigning work since it is now looking into a large–scale cutover to a client/server environment.

The cases support our argument that client/server technology enables organisations to empower employees to create a new organisational form. While two cases directly support this contention, one supports it indirectly. The large bank has no compelling reason to undertake the massive organisational upheaval and realignment of power that is necessary for a new organisational form. It is far easier to stay in the automation phase than endure the rigors of transition to another phase.

There is little doubt that organisations must change to survive into the 21st century. Hammer and Champy argue that simple gains from automation are no longer enough and that radical advances must be made. Evidence suggests that even these radical gains from reengineering business processes are not enough. What is needed for survival is a totally transformed organisation, one that is able to learn and grow continually. We believe that client/server technology can enable this new organisational form.

157

SummaryReengineering is critical to afirm’s survivalduringcertainperiodswhen therearemajorupheavals in the•economythatthreatenthefirm’sexistence.Client/ server computing has a unique capability to change how work is managed and, as such, is an important •agent in restructuring organisations to a form appropriate to an information era.The current emphasis on business process reengineering began in 1990, with Hammer’s article in Harvard •Business Review.There is evidence of wide - spread reengineering efforts to increase blue-collar productivity early this •century.Technology, whether industrial- or information-based, enables an organisation to take on new functions, enter •new markets, and generally expand its operational scope.Functional and multidivisional organisations are often not appropriate to the information age; they hinder rather •than enhance the rapid exchange of information.Many enlightened organisations are already moving beyond reengineering business processes to total •organisational transformation.Scholars and early experience suggest that the M–form structure of the industrial era is giving way to a new •design centered on creating learning organisations and collaborative work teams.Empoweredworkersareactivelyengagedintheirjobsandinfirstdevelopingandthenfulfillingorganisational•goals.Most current literature on business process reengineering acknowledges the role that information technology •(IT) must play in the procedure.Many of today’s business processes were developed and institutionalised long before computers became the •powerful tools they now are.There are numerous examples of information technology being used to enable BPR.•Electronic data interchange has often been cited as a technology that redesigns work.•Client/servercomputinghasbeendefinedinanumberofways.•The client hardware is normally a workstation, equipped with a graphical user interface (GUI).•Typically, client/server user interfaces, such as Windows, Presentation Manager, and Macintosh, overcome many •problems associated with the less friendly, character–based interfaces of older operating systems.Through recent acquisitions and mergers, LB has grown considerably during the last ten years.•There are three primary components of the reporting system.•

ReferencesInstitute of Industrial Engineers 1981., • Business Process Reengineering: Current Issues and Applications, Industrial Engineering and Management Press.Srinivasan, R., 2011. • Business Process Reengineering, Tata McGraw-Hill Education.WorkflowTechnology• , [pdf] Available at: <http://www.batescommunications.net/WORKFLOW.pdf> [Accessed 4 July 2012].Aversano, L., Canfora, G., De Lucia, A., & Gallucci, P., • Businessprocessreengineeringandworkflowautomation:a technology transfer experience, [pdf] Available at: <http://dns2.asia.edu.tw/~psuhjw/paper/bpr-11.pdf> [Accessed 4 July 2012].Business Automation• , 10th May 2012. [Video Online] Available at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nd6DhrEAcYg> [Accessed 4 July 2012].synopticconsulting, 2009. • Business Process Improvement 101, [Video Online] Available at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ObRQRKXLzA&feature=related> [Accessed 4 July 2012].


158

Recommended ReadingEccles, G. M., Julyan, W. F., Boot, G., Van Belle & P. J., 2000. • The Principles of Business Computing, 5th ed. Juta and Company Ltd.ToshioItō,1996.• Technologyinthe21stCentury:FutureReadingsforanInformation-OrientedSociety, IOS Press.Langer, M. A., 2007. • Analysis and Design of Information Systems, 3rd ed. Springer.

159

Self AssessmentWhich of the following are the three stages information era?1.

Processing, technology and organisationa. Technology, informating, and transformingb. Automating, informating, and transformingc. Automating, informating, and processingd.

__________were made by replacing clerical workers with data processing systems.2. Productivity gainsa. Microcomputer wordb. Era technologyc. Transformingd.

Which of the following statement is false?3. In an era when 70% of workers were employed in manufacturing.a. Taylor’sscientificmanagementconceptsworkedtoimproveblue–collarproductivity.b. Current interest in BPR represents a transition of focus from stage one to Stage Two of the information c. era.Skilled manual labourer of the early industrial era became a unskilled blue-collar worker.d.

Which concept worked to improve blue-collar productivity?4. Era technologya. Taylor’sscientificb. Functional organisationc. Chandler’s workd.

__________areactivelyengagedintheirjobsandinfirstdevelopingandthenfulfillingorganisationalgoals.5. Autonomous teamsa. Empowered workersb. Customer demandsc. Divisionalofficesd.

Which of the following are four keys to empowerment?6. Information, knowledge, skills, and controla. Word, knowledge, skills, and controlb. Information, knowledge, support, and controlc. Information, responsibility, skills, and controld.

___________enabler gives the link between BPR and information technology.7. Specificinformationtechnologiesa. Future information technologiesb. General information technologyc. Business process reengineeringd.


160

A survey of __________revealed that a large percentage of incoming mail being handled is actually comprised 8. ofinter–officememos.

Remaining maila. Reengineering projectb. Electronic datac. Mailroom operationsd.

Which of the following statements is true?9. Electronic data interchange has often been cited as a technology that redesigns work.a. Electronic mail, imaging, and EDI are good examples of complex purchasing systems.b. General Motors not designed the operations for the new Saturn plant.c. client/server technology may not used simply to automate work or reduce costs.d.

Which of the following is three primary components of the reporting system?10. Client/server technology, Database management side, and ad hoc reporting section.a. Adhocreportingsection,consolidationreportingdepartment,andfinancialgroup.b. Database management side, ad hoc reporting section, and consolidation reporting department.c. Financial group, Client/server technology and Database management side.d.

161

Case Study I

A Case Study on the Comparative Costs of Database Administration

IntroductionIn these tough and uncertain economic times lowering operational costs and total cost of ownership (TCO) has become a crucial factor for IT infrastructure decisions. While some factors such as purchase price and annual support are easytomeasure,otherkeycostssuchasadministrativelabouraremoredifficulttodifferentiatebetweentechnologyalternatives. Considering that on-going administrative costs often make up 70% of IT budgets, it is critical to measure and assess the alternative management costs between competing technologies.

Database:AComparativeStudyonTotalCostofAdministration(TCA),Alinean2006.Thefirststudyconductedin-depth interviews with 100 Directors of Database Administration and Senior level Database Administrators regarding their database environments, user populations, and database administration activities. These follow up customer case studies focused on a dozen of the largest organisations to see how their use of the two database platforms for mission critical applications had changed and how the database administrative effort to manage these databases had changed.

Thecustomercasestudiesrevealedtwomajorfindings.First,whiletheuseofOracledatabasesremainedrelativelysimilar to previous observations, both the number and size of Microsoft SQL Server databases had increased significantlyinthemajorityoforganisations.Second,thedifferenceinTotalCostofAdministration(TCA)becameeven greater for the two database platforms than in the original study.

The customer case studies demonstrated that on average a Database Administrator (DBA) could manage over 65 mission critical Microsoft SQL Server databases, while Oracle Database implementations required one DBA per 15 critical databases. Factoring in slightly higher average salaries for Oracle DBAs, the corresponding annual cost for administration for these two databases comes out to $1,605 per year per database for Microsoft SQL Server and $7,385 per year per database for Oracle Database; a 460% difference in annual cost of administration per database.

Key Results

Measure Microsoft OracleAverage number of databases per company 1780 234Average number of users per database 165 216Average database size (GB) 290 627Mission critical databases 57% 53%Web-based databases 54% 21%Transaction-based databases 26% 47%Decision-support databases 20% 32%Databases supported per DBA 65.4 15.2Annual TCA per database $1,605 $7,385

Table 1 Key findings reveal that Microsoft SQL Server has a TCA advantage over Oracle Database

A key cost factor used for comparisons across case studies was the number of administrators per database. Other factorssuchasdatabasesize,complexityandtransactionloadwerealsoobservedtoinfluencethetotaldatabasemanagement costs. However, due to inconsistencies in the measurement of these factors across the case studies, they have been deemed as out of scope. Other costs including software licensing, server hardware costs and management utilities, which typically consume 40% or more of any database management project’s costs, were also excluded from the customer case studies. While TCA per database should be a major consideration in selecting a database platform, it should not be the only consideration.


162

Methodology and GoalsThere are two predominant methods for measuring the ease-of-use or productivity for alternative technologies. One approach is to conduct time-in-motion studies within a lab environment. Study participants are asked to accomplish similar tasks using the alternative technologies, while researchers measure the time required to complete assigned tasks. While this approach can measure the usability and number of operations required to complete a given task fairlyprecisely,itmaynotaccuratelyreflecthowpeopleaccomplishtheirdailyactivitiesonthejob.

The other approach, used in these customer case studies, measures differences in effort based on real world results in similar environments. An original study conducted in 2006 surveyed one hundred (100) Directors of Database Administration and Senior Database Administrators from a wide variety of organisations representing fourteen different industries, and ranging from smaller companies with fewer than 300 employees to some of the world’s largest companies with over 100,000 employees. The follow up customer case studies for this paper focused primarily on the larger organisations across eight industries including:

Banking and Financial Services•Energy•Insurance•Media and Entertainment•Technology•Retail•Healthcare•Chemicals•

The organisations were asked a series of common questions regarding their database infrastructures and use, including the number of database servers installed, the average size of each database, and the number of users supported per database. Participants were also asked detailed questions regarding the overall level of effort required by database administrators to support the Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle Database servers, as well as the average time allocations for several key operational functions.

Database ProfilesThe participants interviewed for these customer case studies were primarily senior database administrators who were familiar with the database environments in their organisations and the work effort required to implement and manage the database systems. The majority of the customer case studies had both Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle Database servers installed in their organisations.

An important distinction to note was that only information on Mission Critical databases was included in the customer casestudyanalyses.MissionCriticaldatabasesweredefinedasproductionsystemscrucialtothebusinessoperationsof the organisation such that interruption in service (downtime) for these systems would result in lost revenue, service interruptionsforcustomers,ormeasurableproductivitylossesforemployees.Basedonthisdefinition,customercasestudies demonstrated on average that 57% of their Microsoft SQL Server databases were characterised as mission critical,whileslightlyfewer53%oftheOracleDatabaseswereclassifiedasmissioncritical.

Database Application UsageIn these customer case studies, a marked difference was observed in the usage of the database platforms from a previous assessment. In several cases, the organisations had deployed very large numbers of SQL Server databases to support new Web initiatives. While the average annual growth rate for all new database deployments was 13.2%, the deployment of SQL Server databases for new Web applications was growing at 34% per year. Figure 2 shows the average growth rate for the database platforms by application type. Overall, new Microsoft SQL Server databases were growing at 23.4% per year, while new Oracle Database deployments were growing by 8.8% annually.

163

Average Annual Growth Rate for Databases

40.0%30.0%20.0%10.0%0.0%

Transaction Decision Support Web Based

Oracle Microsoft

Fig. 1 Average annual growth rate for databases

ThesignificantgrowthinSQLServerdatabasesforWebapplicationsshiftedtheaverageusageforthedifferentdatabase platforms. Over half (54%) of the SQL Server databases were now supporting external facing Web applications. By contrast over 75% of the Oracle databases were supporting traditional internal facing transaction based applications such as ERP and decision support applications. Figure 2 below shows the types of usage for the database platforms.

21%

32%47% 54%

26%

20%

Oracle Application Support Microsoft Application Support

Transaction Decision Support Web Based

Fig. 2 Database application usage by platform

Number of Databases per CompanyAmajorfactorinfluencingthenumberofdatabasessupportedperdatabaseadministratorwasthetotalnumberofdatabases deployed within the organisation. Several organisations had several thousand databases deployed for Web applications,retailstoresandbranchoffices.ThemajorityoftheseverylargedeploymentswereforSQLServer.Sixty percent (60%) of the customer case study organisations had over one thousand (1000) SQL Server databases deployed.Bycontrastfiftypercent(50%)oftheorganisationshadfewerthanonehundred(100)Oracledatabasesdeployed. Figure 3 shows the distribution of database deployments among the customer case studies.


164

Number of Databases per Company

80.0%60.0%40.0%20.0%0.0%

Several < 100 Many 100< 1000 Very Many 1000+

Oracle Microsoft

Fig. 3 Number of databases per company

Database User PopulationsThenumberofusersaccessingadatabaseofteninfluencestheamountofeffortrequiredforsupportingthedatabase.The customer case studies showed a high correlation between the application type for the databases and the user populationforthosedatabases.Databasesusedforbranchofficesorretailstorestypicallyhad30to50users,whiledatabases supporting Web based applications often had several thousand registered users.

In order to better understand the true differences in the user populations for the two database platforms, the customer case studies concentrated on the internal transaction based systems and the decision support systems, and set aside the characteristics of the very large database deployments. For these internal focused applications the user populations were fairly similar for the Microsoft and Oracle databases. On average the Microsoft SQL Server databases supported 187 users for transaction based applications and 43 users for decision support systems. The Oracle databases averaged 234 users for transaction based applications and 57 users for decision support applications. Figure 4 shows the total distribution of user populations for the database platforms.

Average Users per Database

60.0%

40.0%

20.0%

0.0%Several < 100 Many 100< 500 Very Many 500+

Oracle Microsoft

Fig. 4 Average users per database by platform

Database SizesInadditiontotheuserpopulation,thesizeandcomplexityofadatabasetypicallyinfluencetheeffortrequiredfordatabase administration. Again, the application type for the database had a strong correlation to the database size in manycases.Databasesusedfordistributedretailandbranchofficefunctionstendedtobefairlysmall,averaginglessthan 100 GB. Databases supporting decision support applications were the largest averaging 643 GB for Microsoft SQL Server and 1.23 TB for Oracle Database.

165

The size of the databases supporting both internal transaction based applications and external Web based applications varied considerably in size, ranging between less than 100 gigabytes to several terabytes. On average the Oracle databases were over twice as large as the Microsoft SQL Server databases in this area, with Oracle transaction based databases averaging 627 GB and Microsoft SQL databases averaging 290 GB. Figure 5 shows the distribution of sizes for the database platforms.

Average Database Size

60.0%

40.0%

20.0%

0.0%<100 GB 100 GB < 500 GB 500+ GB

Oracle Microsoft

Fig. 5 Average database size by platform

(Source: An Alinean White Paper, A Comparative Study on Total Cost of Administration (TCA), [Online] Available at: <http://www.alinean.com/PDFs/Microsoft_SQL_Server_and_Oracle-Alinean_TCA_Study_2010.pdf> [Accessed 5 July 2012]).

QuestionsWhatwasthemajorfactorinfluencingthenumberofdatabasessupportedperdatabaseadministrator?1. AnswerThemajorfactorinfluencingthenumberofdatabasessupportedperdatabaseadministratorwasthetotalnumberof databases deployed within the organisation.

What are the two predominant methods for measuring the ease-of-use or productivity for alternative 2. technologies?AnswerOne approach for measuring the ease-of-use or productivity for alternative technologies is to conduct time-in-motion studies within a lab environment.The other approach, used in these customer case studies, measures differences in effort based on real world results in similar environments.

Whatdoesthenumberofusersaccessingadatabaseofteninfluences?3. AnswerThenumberofusersaccessingadatabaseofteninfluencestheamountofeffortrequiredforsupportingthedatabase.


166

Case Study II

Process Mapping

Processmappingisatoolthatallowsonetomodeltheflowofanybusinessprocessinagraphicalform.Theprocessmap allows one to see how the process actually works across functional boundaries. It thereby enables all employees to see how the business process actually works and how it can be changed to be more effective. Process mapping also creates a common language for dealing with changes to business processes.

An experienced facilitator conducts process mapping training. The role of the facilitator is to encourage interaction and creative input from everyone by throwing questions back to the group. The idea is to facilitate learning by discovery and inquiry, not by being told what to do. The training philosophy at Honeywell focuses on educating employees about the importance of total customer satisfaction and world-class manufacturing. It is important for employees to understand that optimisation of the whole system is the goal, not individual departments or subsystems.

Three principles underlie the philosophy ± be non-blaming and nonjudgmental, focus on process and results, and consider the big picture. Many times organisations focus on individual and/or subsystem results to the detriment of the whole system. Results are important, but how they are achieved is equally important. A focus on process helps to rationalise enterprise-wide results over functional ones. If the process is not understood or is misunderstood, itismoredifficulttojustifysub-optimalresultsinanindividualarea.Theonlyimportantresultistotalcustomersatisfaction.

Process thinking helps to justify overall results because the people involved understand how and why it is successful. Functional thinking concentrates only on individual performance, not enterprise performance. For process thinking to work, employees must be empowered to do their jobs since they are the ones that actually do the work.

For process mapping to work, decisions are pushed to the “process’’ level and employees are given the tools and training they need to excel. An example (Figure 1) of non-enterprise thinking is presented at the beginning of training to encourage participants to begin thinking “out-of-the-box’’. The story is about six blind men and an elephant. One man grabbed an ear, another the trunk, a third the tail, the fourth a leg, and the last touched the side.

Fig. 1 Six blind men and an elephant

167

The blind man holding the trunk thought he was holding a snake. The blind man holding the leg thought it was a tree. The blind man holding the ear thought it was a fan. The blind man touching the side thought it was a wall. The blind man holding the tail thought it was a rope. The moral of the story is each blind man’s perception is based completely on his individual perception rather than on the reality of the situation.

This lesson is critically important when training people about enterprise optimisation. Each employee works in his or her own “box’’, that is, they work within a functional area of the organisation. Unless they see and understand that their work is part of the much larger enterprise, process sub-optimisation will occur. To really improve the business, everyone involved in the process has to understand the whole system. Process mapping is a powerful technique that provides an understandable picture of the entire process and a common language to get and keep everyone on the same page.

At Honeywell, process mapping consists of eight steps ± select process, identify boundaries, form teams, develop “as is’’ map, identify cycle times, identify opportunities for improvement, develop “should be’’ map, and develop theimplementationplan(receiveconfirmationbeforeimplementation).Thejobofthefacilitatoristoencouragecreative ideas from teams and guide the effort.

Thefirststepistoselecttheprocess.Theteamliststheproductsresponsibleforandcomestoaconsensus.Thecustomersforeachproductarethenidentified.Customersatisfactiondependsongivingthecustomerswhattheyexpect, so they must be interviewed. Hence, teams are intensively trained in interviewing, data collection, and data analysis techniques.

The second step is to identify the boundary. The boundary spans from when the raw product is taken from the supplier(input)towhenthefinishedproductishandedtothecustomer(output).Definingtheboundaryissimple,but it is important to document them for each product.

The third step is to make sure that the team has cross-functional representation from each organisation contributing to the process. Inclusion in the team should be based on who is involved in creating the product between the input and output boundaries.

Thefourthstepistodevelopthe“asis’’map.The“asis’’maprepresentsthetransformationofinputsintofinishedproducts.Themapincludesbothinformationandproductflowthroughthesystem.Startingattheinputboundary,important questions to resolve are: What is done with the input and who does it? What happens next and who does it? At decision points, a branch is created that shows alternative routes for each decision alternative.

Three potential problems can occur when process mapping ± optimising part of the process while sub-optimissing the process as a whole, making the map so far removed (too broad) from the actual process that it is not useful as a toolforchange,andmakingthemaptoospecificwithoutinvolvingthosewhomustlivewiththechanges.

Thefifthstepistoidentifythecycletimeforeachstepintheprocess.Cycletimeisdeterminedbymeasuringboththe distance the product travels through its process and the time required for performing the steps in the process. Time is measured by average and range. Average cycle time is the mean rather than the midpoint between the minimum and maximum time. Range is the difference between the minimum and maximum time.

The sixth step is to identify opportunities for improvement that would not add resources (extra costs). Typical opportunities include waiting and storage steps, non-value-added steps, decision points for approval, steps with a widerangeofcycletimes,sequentialoperationsthatcouldbedoneinparallel,andinformationthatdoesnotflowto those who do the work. Waiting, storage, and non-value-added steps are just waste. If the process is streamlined, these should not be necessary. If a step has many decision points, it can be improved by removing most of them. If astephasawiderangeofcycletimes,thisindicatesthatitisprobablyinefficient.Ifastepcanbedoneinparallelwithothers,cycletimeisgreatlyreducedatnoextracost.Finally,informationflowisjustasimportantasproductflow.Ifinformationisnotflowingtothosethatdotheworkandmakedecisions,theprocessisinefficient.


168

The seventh step is to develop the “should be’’ map. This map includes a “picture’’ of the improved processes and projections of their new cycle times. The “should be’’ map depicts what the process will look like after improvements are made. It provides a graphical picture of what the process team needs to work toward. It should only include improvementsthatdonotrequiresignificantnewresources.“Amajorlimitationisthatprocessmappingtakesalong time. The market wants cycle time reduction to happen very quickly. However, we need it because it provides a road map for our business’’.

Theeighthstepistodeveloptheprocessimplementationplan,establishconfirmation,andimplement.Theteamprioritises opportunities for improvement based on the impact on cycle time and quality. The team also considers theimpactofpossiblechangesonotherprocessesandcustomers.Theteamspecifiesspecificchanges,responsibleparties, and timetables. Cycle time goals are set for each of the process steps. Finally, the team consults with the steeringcommitteeforinputandconfirmationbeforeimplementationcanbegin.

(Source: Paper, J. D., Rodger, A. J. & Pendharkar, C. P., A BPR case study at Honeywell, [Online] Available at: <http://www.bus.iastate.edu/nilakant/MIS538/Readings/BPR%20Case%20Honeywell.pdf> [Accessed 5 July 2012]).

QuestionsWhat is Process Mapping?1. List all the eight steps of process mapping.2. What is the need of process thinking?3.

169

Case Study III

A Framework for Process Reengineering in Higher Education: A Case Study of Distance Learning Exam Scheduling and Distribution

IntroductionBusinessprocessreengineering(BPR)istheanalysisanddesignofworkflowsandprocesseswithinandbetweenorganisations. In spite of academics’ often skeptical stance against BPR and other management concepts, which may seem foreign to the organisational culture of higher education (HE), many universities have reengineered their internal processes. According to a recent study conducted by Educause, HE institutions have invested heavily in business process reengineering, leveraging information technology to improve services and reduce costs.

This interest in rethinking processes and procedures is driven mainly by budget shortfalls, information technology infusion, and external pressures for greater accountability and responsiveness. Despite this enthusiasm and heavy investment from HE institutions however, few studies have examined the overall effectiveness and outcomes of reengineeredprocesses.Additionally,withtheexceptionoftheabovementionedEducausestudy,AllenandFifield(1999), and the work of Sepehri, Mashayekhi and Mozaffar (2004), Okunoye, Frolick and Crable (2006), and to some extent Penrod and Dolence (1992) and Belarmino and Canteli (2001), few studies have proposed a comprehensive framework to reengineer processes in HE environment.

Process Reengineering FrameworkIntheirseminalworkonBPR,HammerandChampy(1993)arecreditedintheliteratureasdefiningreengineeringas“the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical temporary measures of performance such as cost, service, quality, and speed”. Closer to the organisational culture ofHE,andpriortotheHammerandChampywork,PenrodandDolence(1992)definedreengineeringas“usingthepower of modern information technology to radically redesign administrative business processes in order to achieve dramaticimprovementsintheirperformance”.Fromthesetwodefinitions,weunderstandthattheultimategoalofprocessreengineeringistoachieveefficiencyandeffectivenessbyradicallyrethinkingexistingprocesses;whereasthe goal of total quality management is to undertake process change gradually by working in incremental steps.

OneofthecorollaryoutcomesofBPR’spursuitofefficiencyandeffectivenessoftenistranslatedintostaffreductionand downsizing. By injecting new ways of doing things, BPR provides the opportunity to senior leadership to reducestaffandtoreshapetheorganisationalculture,asreflectedinitsvalues,norms,guidelines,andexpectations,(Schein, 2004).

Following the BPR perspective, we designed a framework inspired by two main sources:a retrospective analysis of our own experience in reengineering several internal processes, such as faculty •development program management, a syllabus creation process, and learning assessment lab registrationthe BPR literature by combining two sources in which theory has been nurtured by practice, our framework •providesawellgroundedtooltousewhenreengineeringprocessesinHE.Asshowninthefollowingfigure,our framework is structured around four sequential and non-linear phases.

These four sequential and non-linear phases are as follows:InitiationThis phase is aimed at identifying and understanding the purpose, the rationale, and the objectives of the process review (PR). This phase requires active participation from all stakeholders to document and to understand the environmental dynamics and the risks associated with the proposed reengineering process (den Hengst & de Vreede, 2004).


170

AnalysisThis second phase involves an in-depth analysis of the process tasks and procedures by analysing tasks, reviewing risks and assumptions, and by identifying potential causes of resistance and inertia. With the documentation obtained duringphaseone,theoutcomeofthisanalysisphaseisusedtoflowcharttheprocess.Avisualpresentationoftheexisting process dependencies and interdependencies is not only critical to mapping the core tasks and procedures of the process, but is also foundational for the reengineering process itself.

ReengineeringThis third phase is intended to design the features and functionalities of the reengineered process, and includes active participationandfeedbackfromallappropriatepersonnelandusers.Astheprocessisredesigned,theflowchartoutlinedinphasetwoisupdatedtoincludeaclarificationofthekeymeasurementvariables.Inthisphase,informationtechnology is used as an enabling and facilitating tool.

Implementation and evaluationTheimplementationandevaluationphaseisintendedasafirststeptoprototypethereengineeredprocess,thusaddressing users’ and stakeholders’ issues and concerns. In a second step, the reengineered process is fully implemented and monitored to ensure successful operation. A summative evaluation is conducted, and achievement and outcomes are reported.

Successful implementation of this framework requires three key pillars:a deep understanding and familiarity with the organisational culture and its dynamics and politics •a clear vision, involvement, and support from senior leadership sustained by a “capacity for action”•the intelligent leveraging of information technology as an enabling, dynamic, and scalable tool.•

Process Reengineering Framework ApplicationOur case study was conducted at a moderately sized, urban, public, doctorate awarding, research university. Despite the fact that, in recent years, the university’s delivery modes have been expanded to include two-way video, Internet, CD-ROM, and synchronous video streaming, the majority of its distance courses still are delivered using interactive television. Between summer 2006 and Summer 2007, 593 instructors taught 1,281 courses, totalling 37,668 registrations. With numbers this high, material distribution and paper-based exam scheduling logistics can be challenging and sometimes overwhelming. Indeed, in addition to burdening faculty with numerous paper-based forms for each exam given, this manual approach created tracking, processing, and retrieving problems for the DLstaff.Inshort,thesubmissionofpaperformswascostly,cumbersome,andinefficient,andmadetrackingandmanagingdifficult.Toaddresstheseissues,aWeb-basedsolutionwasdesigned,followingthefourstepframeworkoutlined above.

Need of sequential and non-linear phases:InitiationInthisphase,weidentifiedtheexamschedulinganddistributionprocesstobereengineeredfromtheperspectiveofour unit’s years of experience in dealing with exam scheduling and distribution for DL courses’ material and exams. We established our understanding of the process by reviewing a variety of sources – including original paper reports, manuals, and forms – and by interviewing current staff and administrators in DL and, perhaps more importantly, faculty members teaching DL courses. Although nowadays a large number of objective exams are conducted using course management systems such as Moodle, the majority of televised courses exams, essays, and papers still are conducted and managed traditionally in a classroom environment using paper and pencil.

After observing the exam scheduling and distribution processes used in our DL unit, we conducted a series of meetings with related stakeholders in order to cultivate a supportive environment, get their feedback, and document the process to be reengineered. During multiple meetings, we established a development team; drafted a project plan;anddefinedteamroles,accountability,expectations,andtimelinesinordertofacilitateprojectmanagement.

171

AnalysisIn this step, we conducted an in-depth analysis of the tasks and procedures involved in the exam scheduling and distribution process. In-depth evaluations and analysis of the current paper-based exam scheduling and distribution approachweremadeandartifactswerecollected.Asaresult,weflowchartedtheexistingprocessandidentifiedalist of issues and problems which needed to be addressed. The team met many times, reached an agreement, and made recommendations for the reengineered process which included new features, functionalities, requirements, and ideas.

Paper-based Exam Distribution & Scheduling Process

Paper-based Forms Completion

Exam Tracking and Distribution

Forms Processing & Users

Paper forms are completed by faculty before due dates for

each exam

Exam & Proctors paper forms are logged into Excel, mailed or faxed

(digital sender) to each site

Paper forms are processed by different

services and users

DL Staff

Enter Exam & Proctors into in Excel

Keep copies of forms

Send exam copies via mail

Send exam via digital sender

DL Staff

Remote Sites Staff

Complete proctor form for

each course

Prepare exam copies per number of students

Prepare exam cover

sheet for each site

Fig. 1 Paper-based exam distribution and scheduling process

ReengineeringInthisstep,wedesignedthefeaturesandfunctionalitiesofthereengineeredprocess.Specifically,weflowchartedthe reengineered process and conducted a system conceptual design and an interface design. We developed a conceptual model of the phases, tasks, and functions, and then created a “database-related entity-relationship” diagram. Subsequently, we formalised this conceptual design by creating a Web-based user interface involving all system users. This participative approach during the design phase enabled us to capture users’ concerns and feedback early in the process, and to reach a consensus as to the workability of the reengineered process.


172

Reengineered Process: Web-based Exam Distribution & Scheduling Process

User Interface Options & Steps

Web-based interface Components

System User’s : Access, Complete and Track Forms

Faculty log in and complete exam-related

forms and upload exams to system

Online exams are stored, indexed in a

secure faculty database

Exams are reused, accessed, tracked, retrieved

and printed by faculty, staff and proctors

DL Staff

DL Staff

DL Staff

Schedule course exams

Create a distribution list

Submit exams in Word or PDF with cover sheet

Manage submissions

Register/ manage proctor information

HTML interface

CSS Coding

PHP Scripting

PDF Version

RTF Version

SQL Database

Fig. 2 Web-based exam distribution and scheduling process

During the reengineering process, an instructional designer, two instructional technologists, and an interface designer were involved in the actual system programming and development. The system is a database driven environment intended to streamline the exam related forms management process. To deploy the system on the Web, a Microsoft MSSQL server was used as the backend database environment. It was chosen because of its rich capabilities in supporting the required functionalities. PHP was used as the scripting language in order to create dynamic Web content by querying the database. Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), a common style sheet language for web pages, was used to ensure the overall consistency of the system’s look and feel. A user account authentication system maintained by the Center for Learning Technologies was used to prevent unauthorised access to the online form services, thereby enforcing the security of the application.

Reengineered Process Features and StepsThe reengineered process allows for access by three types of users: faculty, DL support staff, and proctors (people appointed to supervise students at an examination). On the faculty accessed portion of the site, faculty members are able to accomplish the following tasks/ steps:

Step 1: Schedule course exams. Faculty members schedule all of their exams for the entire semester and indicate whether or not they will need a proctor.

173

Step 2: Create a distribution list. Faculty members create their course’s distribution list, which is used to send/ return exams or course related materials to the remote sites. This list also is used to notify remote sites’ staff of any schedule changes. It is worth mentioning at this juncture, that before this process was reengineered, the list was enteredmanuallyforeachsite.Withthereengineeredprocess,thesystemfillsinthedatausinganautomatedreportprocess from the university data system.

Step 3: Submit exams. Faculty members upload their exam documents in Word or PDF format. To maintain cross platform consistency, Word documents are converted to PDF format. Using a generated distribution list, instructions, cover sheets, and exams are emailed to the remote sites’ staffs, as well as to faculty and proctors.

Step 4: Manage submissions. Faculty members are able to modify and/ or update exam information and schedule orupdatedistributionlists.DLstaffandproctorsarenotifiedofanychanges.

On the staff side, DL support staff members are able to track the course exams and material by course name and date,andcanmonitorandrespondtocourseandexammodificationrequestsfromfaculty.Staffmembersalsocansubmitcourseandexammodificationrequeststoremotesitesonbehalfoffacultymembers,asneeded.

Fig. 3 A Web-based exam distribution and scheduling process interface

On the proctor page, a request form for DL students and a proctor agreement form also are available online. DL support staff members are able to track and approve the proctor request and agreement information.

Implementation and evaluationThe development team adopted a rapid application development approach (Robinson, 1995) in building the system. Based on the entity relationship diagrammed in Step 3, we designed a database using a Microsoft SQL server, followed by a shared login/ authentication module. After that, we created a separate module including access privileges and features for each user. These modules then were integrated into a fully functional system. The user features and functions were prototyped and tested with real data several times prior to the actual use of the system. The system has now been through multiple iterations of revision, based on feedback collected from all users.


174

(Source: Abdous, M. & Wu He, 2008. [Online] Available at: <http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/535/1138> [Accessed 5 July 2012]).

QuestionsWhat are the four sequential and non-linear phases?1. Explain Reengineered Process Features.2. Explain analysis.3.

175

Bibliography

ReferencesAhadi, R. H., • An Examination of the Role of Organizational Enablers in Business Process Reengineering and the Impact of Information Technology[Online]Availableat:<http://www.2c-fanavaribumi.iust.ac.ir/files/rail/Abstract/ahadi/ej_2.pdf> [Accessed 4 July 2012].AIIMInfoCert, 2011. 2.2.6 BPM and BPR, [Video Online] Available at: <http://www.youtube.com/•watch?v=f8L4N5-z0xs> [Accessed 4 July 2012].Alexander, M., 2007. • MicrosoftAccess2007DataAnalysis, John Wiley & Sons.Attaran, M., • Exploring the Relationship between Information Technology and Business Process Reengineering, [Online] Available at: <http://dns2.asia.edu.tw/~psuhjw/paper/bpr-6.pdf> [Accessed 4 July 2012].Aversano, L., Canfora, G., De Lucia, A., & Gallucci, P., • BusinessProcessreengineeringandworkflowautomation:A technology transfer experience, [Online] Available at: <http://dns2.asia.edu.tw/~psuhjw/paper/bpr-11.pdf> [Accessed 4 July 2012].Brown, M. J., 2001. • Step-by-Step Spreadsheet Activities for Microsoft Excel, Teacher Created Resources.Business Automation, 2012. [Video Online] Available at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nd6DhrEAcYg> •[Accessed 4 July 2012].Business Process Reengineering and Information Technology• [Online] Available at: <www.tech.uh.edu/faculty/gibson/IT_for.../PPT.../Chapter_4.ppt> [Accessed 4 July 2012].Business Process Reengineering-BRP• , [Online] Available at: <http://www.scribd.com/doc/50644615/BPR> [Accessed 3 July 2012]Chapman, D., MVP, & MOS, Letter Wizard, [Online] Available at: <http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/pub0009/•lpmarticle.asp?id=72> [Accessed 3 July 2012].Corporation, M., 1990. • Microsoft Windows: Guide to Programming, Distributed by Microsoft Press.Dalton, P & Whitehead, P., 2007. • SQLServer2005BlackBook, Dreamtech Press.Date, C. J., 1995. • Introduction to Database, 6th ed. Addison Wesley Publishing Company.Devlin, S. E., Emerson, C., Wrobel, A. L., 1997. • Business Resumption Planning, Auerbach.eHow, 26th Jan 2009. • Using Microsoft Word: How to Use the Microsoft Word Letter Wizard, [Video Online] Available at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJZ4yT1tYVs> [Accessed 3 July 2012].Feese, D., 1995. • Business Process Re-engineering: An Exploratory Study, Concordia University.gcflearnfree,2011.• Access2010:IntroductiontoDatabases[Video Online] Available at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXiCza050ug> [Accessed 4 July 2012].Grover, V., & Kettinger, J. W., 1995. • Business Process Change: Reengineering Concepts, Methods, and Technologies, Idea Group Inc (IGI).HankDfrmSD, 11 Sep 2010. • Computer Basics for Beginners Part 1, [Video Online] Available at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jnyVQD7wZQ&feature=related> [Accessed 3 July 2012].Hui-Liang Tsai, 2003. • Information Technology and Business Process Reengineering: New Perspectives and Strategies, Greenwood Publishing Group.Institute of Industrial Engineers 1981. • Business Process Reengineering: Current Issues and Applications, Industrial Engineering and Management Press.Interfacing, 2008. • Business Process Management BPM. Improve business processes., [Video Online] Available at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kq4JVkkCzKY> [Accessed 4 July 2012].Introduction to Databases• , [Online] Available at: <http://www-scf.usc.edu/~csci586/papers/cs586_reading_12.pdf> [Accessed 4 July 2012].‘4 INTRODUCTION TO THE EXCEL SPREADSHEET Preparing a Gradebook• , [Online] Available at: <http://www.pitt.edu/~edindex/OfficeXPTutorials/Lesson4XP.pdf>[Accessed3July2012].


176

Keystonelearningcom, 2008. • SQLServer2005-ImportingXMLData [Video Online] Available at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVu56zePwz4>. [Accessed 22 June 2012].Miller, P. F., Vandome, F. A., McBrewster, J., 2009. • Spreadsheet, Alphascript Publishing.Moliverez, 1 Dec 2009. • WorkflowManagement:Visualized, [Video Online] Available at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KJjKY8k9Lk> [Accessed 4 July 2012].mrsjuliahamilton, 2010. • What is a spreadsheet, [Video Online] Available at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwR8MeQGJeU> [Accessed 3 July 2012].Nielsen, P & Parui, U., 2011. • MicrosoftSQLServer2008 Bible, John Wiley & Sons.NerdDinner’ application tutorial, NerdDinner • Step2:Creating theDatabase [Online] Available at: <http://nerddinnerbook.s3.amazonaws.com/Part2.htm>. [Accessed 22 June 2012].pbm07c, 2009. • MicrosoftAccess 2007 Tutorial [Video Online] Available at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPtXq-3qf6U> [Accessed 4 July 2012].PostMarkInc, 2009. • Data Processing, [Video Online] Available at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSgLeYbntV0> [Accessed 3 July 2012].Ramachanran, N., • Business process Reengineering: Role of Information Technology in the Implementation of Business Process Reengineering, [Online] Available at: <http://www.anterron.com/cgi-bin/white_papers/docs/Role_of_IT_in_BPR.pdf> [Accessed 4 July 2012].Red Gate Software, 2005. • BeginningSQLServer2005XMLProgramming [Online] Available at: <http://www.simple-talk.com/sql/t-sql-programming/beginning-sql-server-2005-xml-programming/>. [Accessed 22 June 2012].Rodriguez, A., • Brief Introduction to Database Concepts [Online] Available at: <http://edugi.uji.es/Andrea/DBreading.pdf> [Accessed 4 July 2012].saylorfoundation, 2011, Saylor BUS303: • Business Process Reengineering Explained, [Video Online] Available at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2j2lcDWQk7A> [Accessed 3 July 2012].Sethi, & Sethi V., 1998. • Organizational Transformation Through Business Process Reengineering: Applying Lessons Learned, Pearson Education India.Srinivasan, R., 2011. • Business Process Reengineering, Tata McGraw-Hill Education.synopticconsulting, 23rd Sep 2009. • Business Process Improvement 101, [Video Online] Available at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ObRQRKXLzA&feature=related> [Accessed 4 July 2012].Technology Tools for Teachers, SPREADSHEETS, [Online] Available at: <http://www.saskschools.ca/curr_•content/pd21byersj/prodtls/spreadsht.html> [Accessed 3 July 2012].Tharp, L. A., 2008. • File Organization and Processing, John Wiley & Sons.Venkatachalam, A. T., Sellappan, M. C., 2011. Business Process, PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd.•vhyndman, 23 Feb 2007. • Excel Spread Sheet Basics - Using a Formula, [Online] Available at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOU_hL2_zBo> [Accessed 3 July 2012].What Is a Window• ? [Online] Available at: <http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ff381403%28v=vs.85%29.aspx> [Accessed 3 July 2012].WorkflowTechnology• , [Online] Available at: <http://www.batescommunications.net/WORKFLOW.pdf> [Accessed 4 July 2012].wpcareyschool, 2010. • Module12:SupplyChainsandInformationTechnology, [Video Online] Available at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXDvHgjRNDQ&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PL000256FB0DE965D1> [Accessed 4 July 2012].Zigiaris, S., B• usiness Process Re-engineering: BRP, [Online] Available at: <http://www.adi.pt/docs/innoregio_bpr-en.pdf> [Accessed 3 July 2012]..

177

Recommended ReadingCoomber, J. C., Teague, J. G., 1994. • File Processing: Study guide, Deakin University.Date, 2006. • An Introduction to Database Systems, 8th ed. Pearson Education India.Dewson, R., 2006. • BeginningSQLServer2005forDevelopers: From Novice to Professional, Apress.Draheim, D., 2010. • BusinessProcessTechnology:AUnifiedViewonBusinessProcesses,Workflows andEnterprise Applications, Springer.Eccles, G. M., Julyan, W. F., Boot, G., Van Belle, P. J., 2000. • ThePrinciplesofBusinessComputing,5thed.Juta and Company Ltd.Ed Bott, Leonhard, W., 2004. • SpecialEditionUsingMicrosoftOffice2003, Que Publishing.Edwards, P., Broadwell, B., 1982. • Data processing: computers in action, 2nd ed. Wadsworth.Elzinga, J. D., Gulledge, R. T., & Chung-Yee Lee, 1999. • Business Process Engineering: Advancing the State of the Art, Springer.Friedrichsen, L., 2007. • MicrosoftOfficeAccess2007-IllustratedComplete, Cengage Learning.Gipp, J., 2007. • Spotlight on Spreadsheets, 2nd ed. Cengage Learning.Hui-Liang Tsai, 2003. • Information Technology and Business Process Reengineering: New Perspectives and Strategies, Greenwood Publishing Group.Khosrowpour, M., 2002. • Issues and Trends of Information Technology Management in Contemporary Organizations, Idea Group Inc (IGI).Khosrowpour, M., 2006. • Cases on Information Technology and Business Process Reengineering, Idea Group Inc (IGI).Landon C. G., 2002. • Business Process Re-engineering: A Management Handbook, 3rd ed., Vertical Systems.Langer, M. A., 2007. • Analysis and Design of Information Systems, 3rd ed. Springer.Pasewark and Pasewark, William R. P., Scott G. P., William R. P., 2007. • MicrosoftOfficeAccess2007: Introductory Course, Cengage Learning.Pasewark,R.W.,Pasewark,G.S.,Pasewark,R.W.,Pasewark,D.C.&Stogner,P.J.,2007.MicrosoftOffice•2007: Introductory Course, Cengage Learning.Radhakrishnan, Radhakrishnan B., • Business Process Reengineering: Text and Cases, PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd..Ragsdale, C., 2010. • Spreadsheet Modelling & Decision Analysis, 6th ed. Cengage Learning.Rankins, R, Jensen, P & Bertucci, P., 2002. • MicrosoftSQLServer2000Unleashed, Sams Publishing.Rathbone, A., 2009. • Windows 7 for Dummies, John Wiley & Sons.Shapiro, J., 2006. • MicrosoftSQLServer2005:TheCompleteReference, McGraw-Hill Professional.ToshioItō,1996.• Technologyinthe21stCentury:FutureReadingsforanInformation-OrientedSociety, IOS Press.


178

Self Assessment Answers

Chapter Ia1. b2. c3. a4. d5. c6. a7. a8. b9. a10.

Chapter IIa1. c2. b3. d4. a5. b6. c7. d8. a9. b10.

Chapter IIIa1. c2. b3. d4. a5. b6. c7. a8. d9. a10.

Chapter IVa1. d2. c3. a4. b5. d6. d7. a8. c9. a10.

179

Chapter Va1. c2. c3. a4. c5. a6. a7. c8. d9. b10.

Chapter VIa1. b2. a3. c4. c5. a6. b7. d8. a9. c10.

Chapter VIIa1. c2. d3. c4. a5. b6. a7. d8. b9. c10.

Chapter VIIIc1. a2. d3. b4. b5. a6. c7. d8. a9. c10.