Business System Analysis

Chapter 1 Problems/Exercises1.)Why is it important to use systems analysis and design methodologies when building a system? Why not just build the system in whatever way seems to be â€Å"quick and easy?† What value is provided by using an â€Å"engineering† approach?It’s important to use systems analysis and design methodologies when building a system because it ensure the quality of the system being built, it is also tested and you are following an appropriate process that is very structural. If you build a system in whatever way seems to be quick and easy, it can result in a poorly developed system, yes it can be easier and cheaper but in the long run it can require extra work to maintain and more money to maintain it. The value that is provided by using an engineering approach is well designed, precise and systematic. 8.) How might prototyping be used as part of the SDLC?Prototyping is part of the feasibility analysis phase of SDLC. A simulated prototype of t he target system is created which gives the initial fee of the target system. This also helps in pre-analyzing the behavior of the target system.Chapter 2:3.) In the section on choosing off-the-shelf software, eight criteria are proposed for evaluating alternative packages. Suppose the choice is between alternative custom software developers rather than prewritten packages. What criteria would be appropriate to select and compare among competing bidders for custom development of an application? Define each of these criteria.The criteria for evaluating alternative packages from custom software developers would be: cost, functionality, and response time. As with custom software, you know from your bid that vendor support, viability of vender,  flexibility, documentation and ease of installation is taken care of, as the vendor will install the system, supply appropriate documentation, will ensure flexibility of software (if in the bid) and will offer support for its own software that it wrote for the company.As far as viability of vender, I would hope that someone checked out the company before giving a bid. When trying to decide which software a developer is going to go with we would want to follow pretty much the same criteria they we followed when going with an off-the-shelf software. Regardless if it’s an off-the-shelf or custom made I would still want the software to have the same features. Will the software developer have some sort of warranty; will they stand behind their product? Will it be easily installed? Cost, usefulness and will the developing company offer some sort of documentation.Off the shelf software, also known as â€Å"shrink-wrapped† or â€Å"canned† software, refers to standard (not custom) software applications. When you take off the shelf software out of the package, you automatically agree to the terms and conditions of the software license and agreement. The most common criteria for choosing off the shell software are the following: Cost, Functionality, Vendor Support, Flexibility, Documentation, Response, Time, and Ease of Installation.4. How might the project team recommending an ERP design strategy justify its recommendation as compared with other types of design strategies?By using a strategy through cost saving due to facilitated reuse/raw materials inventory and by innovating, integrating and transforming their design processes.

Explain the Function of Assessments in Learning and Development

GROUP C – KNOWLEDGE BASED UNDERSTAND THE PRINCIPLES AND REQUIREMENTS OF ASSESSMENT 1. 1 EXPLAIN THE FUNCTION OF ASSESSMENT IN LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT Assessment can be used for many different purposes, including to identify students’ needs, plan and adapt courses, check that learning is taking place, motivate students, acknowledge learning and measure results. Assessment is used for various purposes. * Assessment for learning: where assessment helps teachers gain insight into what students understand in order to plan and guide instruction, and provide helpful feedback to students. Assessment as learning: where students develop an awareness of how they learn and use that awareness to adjust and advance their learning, taking responsibility for their learning. * Assessment of learning: where assessment informs students and teachers, as well as the broader educational community, of achievement at a certain point in time in order to celebrate success and support continued progress. Assessment must be planned with its purpose in mind. Assessment for, as and of learning all have a role to play in supporting and improving student learning, and must be appropriately balanced.The most important part of assessment is the interpretation and use of the information that is gathered for its intended purpose. Research and experience show that student learning is best supported when * Instruction and assessment are based on clear learning goals * Instruction and assessment are differentiated according to student learning needs * Students are involved in the learning process (they understand the learning goal and the criteria for quality work, receive and use descriptive feedback, and take steps to adjust their performance) Assessment is carried out to ensure that learning has taken place.If you do not assess the student you cannot assess their knowledge and skills in their learning area. The student needs guidance to understand what it is they have to learn, if they are doing well and how they may improve. Assessment is essential for this to happen. Assessment encourages students to ask questions on anything they have not fully understood and allows them to build on their strengths and learn from mistakes by listening to the assessor’s feedback.It is important that assessments are both valid and reliable. Validity relates to the question – does the assessment measure what it claims or appears to measure and can we make judgements based on the results of the assessment? The assessment must form a fair and balanced representation of the area of knowledge being assessed. Reliability relates to the accuracy of the marks or grades that result from the completion of the assessment.The results would need to be the same if the assessment was carried out by another person or directed to a similar student. In addition to being valid and reliable, assessments should also be: * Authentic – based on the candidate’s own work * Current – Still relevant/able to be completed at the time of the assessment * Sufficient – covering all the required elements. Word Count: 456

Entrepreneurship and Innovation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Entrepreneurship and Innovation - Essay Example Bibliography†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.12 8. Appendix I Reflective Commentary†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.13 Entrepreneurship and innovation Introduction Human activity has reached its height in XXI century. Therefore, there is a need to develop and facilitate spheres of human activities. Business is a sphere of human activity, which requires constant development and dynamic change. Under conditions of overall globalization processes, business activities have to adopt constant changes in order to satisfy diverse needs of customers and producers. Thus, innovation in the business field is required. Entrepreneurship is an integral part of the modern business world. A need for innovation in this field is a sign of constant development of the bus iness world and reflects a dynamic nature of all participants of the business world (Bessant & Tidd, 2009). This research paper discusses intrapreneurship as an innovative type of entrepreneurship. Intrapreneurship implies entrepreneurship activity of employees within a certain organization. This phenomenon has been often studied from theoretical and practical perspective, but there is a need to study positive and negative effects of intrapreneurship. ... An intrapreneur propagates and supports his ideas thus creating a gap between organizational goals and his own goals. The best scenario for an intrapreneur is to gain support from the organization where he works. In other cases, he has to quit from his job and set up his own business. A well-known example of intrapreneurship is separation and propagation of the ideas developed by the developers of Adobe, John Warnock and Charles Geschke (Literature Review, 1990). These engineers were hired by Xerox and their innovative ideas were not supported within the organization. Finally, they established their own business and currently annual turnover of Adobe rises up to $3 billion. Literature review on intrapreneurship and entrepreneurship At first glance it may seem that intrapreneurship is rather easy and uncomplicated process of business doing. Very often, one attempts to reveal characteristics of entrepreneurship in intrapreneurship: the former business doing implies innovation and creat ive thinking and things are considered from an innovative perspective. Enterpreneurship is able to take a risk and accept failure. An intrapreneur is focused on the search for new opportunities that will result in profits increase. Intrapreneurship is a perfect way for organizations to increase their profits and develop creative thinking of their employees. Intrapreneurship is a way for innovation, reinvention and improvement (Carrier, 1996). A creative potential of employees is the core rod of company’s innovative and successful development. Currently, studies on entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship are focused on comparative-contrasting analysis of these activities. More educated employees with a richer experience were not involved in intrapreneurship

The process of globalisation and its impacts on international business Essay

The process of globalisation and its impacts on international business activities - Essay Example ocess is further understood in the 20th century colonialism in Africa and Latin America, where the capitalists seek to extend their dominion and individualism ideas to the ‘new’ worlds. During this epoch, new economies emerged through the adoption of capitalistic model of governance, which catapulted the Western European countries to financial glory in the early 19th century. Mann (2006) summarises in his book that the process of Globalization was deeply founded in imperialism. Economies opened up for accrual in the First World realms at the cost of exploitation of the Third World nations. In this phase, the outlook of Globalization relied on the leadership fashion of the rulers of that time. The leadership mentality enabled the imperialists distinctively segregate people based on social strata, enabling them further exploit the Third World countries. The raw materials from these nations were extracted and utilised in military and administrative developments by the First World countries; this way, the economies continued to flourish whereas the poor nations were hard-pressed more to paucity. The next stage of Globalization centred on inter-imperial business actions. The joint trade between the European states, the United States of America and more recently, Japan founded a chain of groups on regional echelon, collectively with the governing powers. The economic alliances gave rise to collaborations and competitions in the business realm, leading to a faceoff for market share control by the multinationals. The coalition also bolstered the exploitation of the Third World markets more effective (McCarthy, 2012). Foreign trade forms a fundamental part of Globalization. Transfer of supplies on an international scale is closely interlaced with the different orders of the social ladder and the commercial markets. The nature of the relationship helps the facade of Globalization attain a class disposition (Gilbertson, 2009). As much as the morphology of

Tableau de bord Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Tableau de bord - Essay Example The study has selected Balance Score Card over other performance measurement due to its popularity. Detailed analysis of all the four perspectives of balance scorecard will be important part of the study. In the second part, the study will try to identify key performance driver for both the models and recommend â€Å"best practice† to organizations. The study will try to analyze usefulness of balance scorecard from the view point of supply chain management. Analyzing shortfalls of Tableau de Bord will be an important part of the study. The study will try to address strategic issues regarding the Tableau de Bord. In the last section, the study will try to recommend a neo classical model of balance scorecard for both profit and non profit organizations; the model will describe performance measurement in terms of corporate culture, managerial system, operational system, marketing activities and resource capabilities. Table of Contents Table of Contents 3 Introduction 4 Main Findi ngs 4 Balanced Scorecard 4 Customers 5 Financial Perspective 5 Internal Business Process 7 Learning and Growth 8 Tableau de bord 8 Key Performance Criteria 10 Conclusion 12 Recommendation 12 Reference 13 Introduction It has been observed that companies planning to measure performance of the internal and external stakeholders opt for Balance Scorecard model proposed by Kaplan and Norton although there are plenty of performance measurement tools available such as Performance Prism, Key performance indicator and little known â€Å"Tableau de bord†. Othman (2008) has pointed out that Balance Scorecard is extended version of â€Å"Tableau de bord† while other research have nullified this assumption. â€Å"Tableau de bord† is widely used in countries like France as an effective performance measurement tool while the model has very little applicability in other countries. Flamholtz (2003) has pointed out that balance scorecard is the best performance measurement tool a vailable for managers. Various research scholars such as Epstein and Manzoni (2010) have tried to create a connecting bridge between Balance Scorecard and â€Å"Tableau de bord† while others have criticized the French model for its limitations. Main Findings Balanced Scorecard Research scholars have described balanced scorecard as a strategic option for organizations which helps them to assess performance of different non financial and financial elements. It provides the strategic framework to companies to measure performance variables. Survey conducted by fortune magazine states that more than half of top 500 companies in the globe are using balanced scorecard as a performance measurement technique. Moreover, Harvard business Review has identified balanced scorecard as the most important performance management tool developed in the last forty years. Balance scorecard is complemented with four elements such as Business Process Perspective, Learning & Growth Perspective, Finan cial Perspective and Customer Perspective. The model measures performance on the basis of above mentioned four perspectives and these performance criterions can be explained in the following manner. Customers The model measures performance gap in terms of customer profitability, customer retention rate, churn rate, customer satisfaction level. Organizations select market segment to offer products in order to achieve profitability and business growth hence mangers need to translate marketing strategy according to demand of particular segment. It has been observed that in many cases companies fail to maintain relationship with internal and external stakeholders. In such situation balance scorecard can be a useful tool for companies to adopt a customer relationship strategy. Balance scorecards use generic

Fiscal and Monetary Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Fiscal and Monetary Policy - Essay Example From the study it is clear that  in the United States, moreover, the existing mandate to the Federal Reserve Board emanating from Congress is for the former to promulgate fiscal policy decisions that will push employment numbers to the maximum as well as achieve stability in prices of goods and services.As the paper highlights  separate from this general two-component mandate, however, the US Central Bank has autonomy with regard to the operational aspects of achieving those mandates, and that means that the US Federal Reserve Board has the independence to chart monetary policy without intervention from the US Congress. In contrast, when one talks about fiscal policy, one talks about things that relate to the way government raises revenues through taxation, in order to finance its activities in terms of government expenditures.  As the name implies monetary policy refers to the policy, as controlled bank, pertaining to the amount of money in circulation in the economy. The mech anisms of control of the monetary supply, or the effecting of monetary policy include tweaking interest rates for loans, as well as tweaking monetary reserve requirements for banks. The end result is that the central bank can calibrate the amount of money n circulation by controlling these monetary policy levers.  In times of recession, mostly, the central bank will try to lower interest rates to spur borrowing and also relax controls on money to increase the overall supply of money in the economy.

If every physical event has a sufficient physical cause, how can a Essay

If every physical event has a sufficient physical cause, how can a functionalist account for mental causation - Essay Example The most important point to note about the functionalism is that it indicates that mental states which constitute beliefs, being in pain and desires are composed entirely by their functional roles. Being a theoretical; level existing between implementation and physical output, functionalism is different from Cartesian dualism which supports the physical substance and mental independency. The aim of this paper is to discuss how functionalist account for mental causation given that every physical event has a sufficient physical cause. One of the major worries that are experienced in functionalism is the problem of mental causation. This refers to facing a problem of accounting for the idea that intentional mental state and intentional thoughts are triggers of intentional actions1. Mental causation covers the mind’s interaction with the rest of the world and how it influences the behavior of individuals. One of the major sub-division of the problem of mental causation is problem of mental causal exclusion. Others are anomalism and externalism problems. A good example of the causal exclusion problem is indicated when pain is experienced and it is generally linked to a certain state, and the higher properties of that state occurs, then argument that it is pain can casually irrelevant. In dealing with the problem of mental causation, various responses have emerged. According to Antony and Levine 1997, the problem occurred due to highly restrictive causation whereby a cause has to produce its effect. Other phil osophers indicate that causation covers the relationships that exist between various events that must be invoked in order to produce a certain behavior. Recently, causal exclusion problem has been noted to relate with theories of mental states. Theorists such as Anthony and Levine indicated that even though mental states can be defined based on their