Research Topics: Information Technology

Essay Instructions on Introduction to Information and Communication Technology Assignment

Introduction to Information and Communication Technology Course Outline Communications systems are an integral part of any modern business. Starting in the 1990s, communication system started to migrate to the Internet. Today, it is crucial for students to appreciate and be familiar with these technologies. As a future manager, executive, or business owner, you may have to decide what type of communication needs your business has, and make a decision to purchase networking and communication equipment. This class will prepare you to understand the options you will face by teaching the essentials of communication system, computer networks, and the architecture of the Internet. Becoming literate in computer terminology and Internet protocols will also allow you to participate in technology decision making. Aims of the Unit ¨          Identify the main applications of IT, for different types of organization and activity, such as -          management information -          procurement and inventory management -          production/operations control and management -          transaction processing and recording, and financial management -          customer relationship management, sales and marketing -          HR recruitment and management, training and development ¨          Explain the main structures required to setup IT systems -          open systems -          closed systems ¨          identify the main hardware for us in IT systems -          computers: servers, personal, laptop, midi, mainframe, super, etc -          input devices: keyboard, scanner, bar code reader, card reading devices, etc -          output devices: visual display unit (VDU), printers, etc -          storage media: CD ROM, disk drives, etc ¨          identify software for use in IT systems -          operating software -          application software (general purpose, integrated and bespoke) ¨          identify different network configurations -          multi-user systems -          distributed processing -          local area networks (LAN) and wide area networks (WAN) -          internet (World Wide Web), intranets and extranets -          electronic data interchange (EDI) ¨          identify the types and purpose of information required of the management information system -          strategic (key ratios, strategic plans, market analysis, etc) -          technical (variance analysis, exception reports) -          operational (invoices, customer orders, stock records, etc) ¨          identify the functional areas of an organization which generate data to the management information system -          financial department (accounts, debtors, payroll) -          purchasing/procurement department (orders issued, stock selection) -          HR department (staffing levels, absenteeism, skills levels/shortages) -          Sales and marketing department (turnover, sales ratios, market intelligence) ¨          Formulate the presentation formats of the outputs of the management information system based on data type and user needs -          tabulation (quantities and values, sub-totals and totals, and percentages using different bases) -          graphical presentation (line graphs, pie and bar charts, etc) -          numerical (variance analysis and ratios, etc) ¨          identify the range of communication technologies and channels available to transmit oral, written and digital information within the organization ¨          identify and map the formal information flows in an organization, using standard information flow notations ¨          employ software to construct information flow diagrams ¨          identify informal information flows within an organization, the factors, determining their operation and their effect on formal information flows ¨          evaluate systems for transmitting, recording, storing, analyzing and using information ¨          explain the importance of accurate, timely and valid information, in appropriate formats, to solve problems and make decisions ¨          analyze the information requirements of others in solving problems and making decisions ¨          evaluate current information systems and make recommendations for improving information systems in the organization ¨          identify the relevant legal obligations of organizations, their employees and others in the collection, storage an transfer of information -          Date Protection Act 1998 and the eight principles for protecting personal and policy and practice on monitoring employee computer use and privacy information -          Computer Misuse Act 1990 -          Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 -          Freedom of Information Act 2000 and Environmental Information Regulation 2004 -          The Telecommunications (Lawful Business Practice) (Interception of Communications) Regulations 2000 -          Electronic Communications Act (2000) -          Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 -          Telecommunications (Data Protection and Privacy) Regulations 1999 -          Role of the Information Commissioner ¨          Recognize the main external threats information security and confidentiality and the main policies and procedures needed to address these -          viruses, spam and denials of service -          anti-virus and anti-spam software, firewalls and encryption ¨          observe policy on retaining/archiving information and legal -          legal requirements for retention of data -          methods of data retention and archiving -          and policies and procedures for data retention and archiving Learning Resources E-business and E-commerce Management, 2nd ed. Prentice Hall, Dave Chaffey ISBN: 0-273683780 Business Data Communications: Introductory Concepts and Techniques, Thompson Course Technology, ISBN 0-7895-6806-3. Assessment: The world-processed report, of approximately 600 to 1,000 words. It should include: ¨          An overview of the main applications of information technology within the organization ¨          An evaluation of the policies, procedures and systems for collecting, storing, analyzing and reporting information within the organization or an operating division, including relevant security, confidentiality and legal requirements ¨          Reasoned proposals, including benefits and limitations, on how (aspects of) information systems and practices within the organization or operating division could be developed to improve procedures, problem-solving and decision-making. Plagiarism Students are asked to note the following College policy on plagiarism. The College assumes students are honest and expects from students honest work in all their assignments. Good scholarship necessarily requires building on and borrowing from the work of others but this use must be acknowledged. Cheating, plagiarism, and falsification of data are dishonest practices which contravene academic values of respect for knowledge, scholarship and scholars. These practices devalue the quality of learning, both for the individual and for others enrolled in the course; they also finish the reputation of a College course. The College imposes strict penalties on students who are found to contravene the College plagiarism policy. “Do not plagiarize. You will receive a “F” if you plagiarize materials directly from other authors (from books, internet or any other sources). However, you may quote and give credits to other authors, but you must not plagiarize.” Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Essay Instructions on Introduction to Information and Communication Technology Assignment

Introduction to Information and Communication Technology Course Outline Communications systems are an integral part of any modern busines...

The Effectiveness Of Information Management To Improved Customer Service

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF INFORMATION MANAGEMENT TO IMPROVE CUSTOMER SERVICE       Information and Communication Technology (ICT) open up a whole new world of opportunity to most business and organization in order to deliver the most sophisticated quality and informative services for the benefit of their customers, they uses the power of information to be able to serve and improve their practices of most companies. Information Management helps each and every organization to deliver the widest range of services according to their customer’s needs and want. It includes choosing the right software, implementing the most suitable program depending on the services needed or as required by the conditions. Most companies has embraced the technology as the solution to their fast and efficient services and the availability that whenever customers need an information about their products and services the information is readily available for them to simply reach out and grab it for their advantage.       Having an effective information management system to improve customer service is not easy it requires a lot of testing and validation in order to make the service a success but during the 20th century the needs for information technology as a means for customer services is simply a must and the availability of software available in the market makes it even more beneficial to those organizations and companies who may need it. Here are some of the most in demand services used by most successful companies to serve their customers consistently;       24 Hour Customer Service – this can be a 24 hour service hotline especially designed for customers who have comments, questions, suggestion and query and complaints. Companies can use different integration of information management options to be able to give an immediate access to their customers. For example a cable television company provides 24 hour customer support for their subscriber so that they can be of reach if the customers need them. Companies can use human operator or robotic information system that automatically answers according to the basic needs of their customers while the human operator can even provide technical support in order to help their customers. The 24 hour customer hotline uses computer generated information management system that can easily trace customer’s identification and trace their transaction history in order to provide solution to their problem that is usually presumed by the company that this may occur. This process has been a very effective approach to customers since the company is open 24 hours a day 7 days a week so customers are mostly secured that they will be served.           Internet Management System – this includes web content management that customers can simply browse information they need and again this system is open 24 hours a day. This can also includes document management that customers can submit or download files, audio, video, images etc. the internet management system can also accept transaction such as digital recording, updating, communication through chat email and more. Most importantly the company provided the most comprehensive information as possible that is necessarily needed by their customers. Banks, Hospitals, Airlines and other agency can accept online transaction such as payment and balance inquiry needed by their customers so they don’t need to call or visit their offices since online transaction is practically the same.       This services results in fast, efficient and most comfortable assistance to their customers which is affordable or mostly free. Internet management system provides so much efficiency in customer handling that includes; online learning, enterprise information, product introduction, best offers, follow ups, database access, collection, webinars and inquiry that can be virtually presentable and appealing in the eyes of the customers and it can be accessed in their most convenient time. Internet management system act as a 24 hour store that can reach the whole world; they also act like a 100 salesman that eliminates rejection of customers but introduce all the benefits of their products in order to gain customers trust to simply buy their products and services. All business should be able to succeed in online customer service using their websites.       Mobile Information Communication Services – in today’s fast pace economy customers reached most companies by using the benefit of mobile phone communication system. This system uses state of the art mobile service advantages that customers can have access to information using their mobile phone; they can make transactions, information rendering, and inquiry and more using their gadgets and this is something personal. Company can also send instant messages to their customers to make sales or follow up their account subscription, they also use this technology to gather more customers and as a form of media advertisement which create a more interesting approach. The mobile technology nowadays can also be used to access the internet, using this gadget makes it very efficient for most companies and individual to conduct business and serve their customers possibly anytime and wherever they are.       Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

The Effectiveness Of Information Management To Improved Customer Service

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF INFORMATION MANAGEMENT TO IMPROVE CUSTOMER SERVICE Information and Communication Technology (ICT) open up a wh...

Significance of intranet in organization

Significance of intranet in organization The introduction of information technology to different work sectors worldwide has led to a number of developments. Information technology (IT) is defined as the combined principle of telecommunications and computation so as to obtain, process, store, transmit and output information in the form of voice, pictures, words and numbers. In a number of ways, information technology has been able to support the activities and operations of various work sectors and business industries from all over. The transfer of information and data from one location to another via a transmission medium for example, is one of the common benefits brought about by information technology. Probably, this advantage can easily be understood by citing message switching through electronic mail as an example. More commonly known as e-mail, the electronic mail is one of the original services on the Internet that has enabled scientists and researchers working on government-sponsored projects to communicate with colleagues at other locations. At present, e-mail has made its way as a primary means of communication not only for business use but for personal use as well. Another important use of information technology to most work sectors is information retrieval. This feature pertains to the recovery of data stored in particular storage medium. At present, the availability of computers and various information systems help in making information retrieval less tedious and time-consuming. Aside from making the sending and receiving of information easier, information technology had also aided in making production faster. For instance, computers are now being used in several institutions and companies to do certain jobs, which people may not be capable of doing or may be too dangerous for them to handle. A computer for example may be utilized in the production of aluminum sheets to monitor the thickness of the products and report on the task at hand. If an individual is asked to perform such task in place of a computer, the worker may be subjected to certain chemicals and radiations which can possibly lead to injury. The growing significance of creating, processing and management of information has been highly prioritized by most economies worldwide. Perhaps, this transition of resources from the traditional productive activities of industrial and agricultural workers to the handling of information of white collar workers represents one of the major changes of the century. The adoption of information technology is one of the related changes that has transformed to how modern businesses and work activities are conducted. With the materialization of computer technology, the preparation of invoices, issue checks, tracking of the stock movement and storage of personnel and payroll record can be done by different machineries and modern technologies. The patterns of work in offices have significantly changed through the use of word processing and personal computers. Indeed, the spread of information technology has greatly affected the efficiency and competitiveness of major businesses, structure of the workforce and the economic output in general. In working organizations, information technology has been a part of its operation and workforce. Eventually, information technology has gained the attention of the organizations’ top management. Various factors had motivated the management division of companies to employ information technology. One of which is the constant and intense competition among similar corporations. Companies had then realized that by employing information technologies in their operations, they do not only become more cost-efficient but they are also able to improve the quality of their services. Another factor that had contributed to the increased need of information technology among working organizations is the necessity for global business operations to communicate through online computerized networks. This is so as to minimize time and distance barriers. Over the years, IT performance had significantly improved. Sharp experience curves, distributed processing and communication, and integration of alternative technologies have also made information technologies more capable of solving organizational structure and strategy issues. Indeed, information technologies have evolved over time, both in their significance and applications. With these functions, up to date organisational information can easily be uploaded and downloaded by the clients or displayed on the website on a real-time basis. The internal web function also allows governments to transfer funds through electronic means to other government agencies; the intranet or internet system provided by internal web technology can also be used for relaying information to employees. Responding to the requests of employees is also made easy through this function (Moon 2002).  \ Reference Moon, MJ 2002, ‘The Evolution of E-Government among Municipalities: Rhetoric or Reality?’, Public Administration Review, vol. 62, no. 4, pp. 424+. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Significance of intranet in organization

Significance of intranet in organization The introduction of information technology to different work sectors worldwide has led to a numbe...

Development Of Online Banking: It’s Advantages And Disadvantages Of Online Bank Transactions

Abstract             The papers discusses the development of online banking, along with the advantages and disadvantage that entails online bank transactions. On the one hand, online banking offers a number of advantages such as the ability to make financial transactions virtually anywhere while on the other hand, the continuous development of the Internet gives rise to privacy and security issues of online banking. Background             Information technology, particularly the internet is becoming an important foundation of the future of financial services industry. Indeed almost all financial services and financial transactions can be done online. The quick development of online financial services is made possible by the internet. Banks all over the world are exploiting the net in order to give better services to their clients. Online banking is the flagship banking development that currently affects how customers and banks do business transactions and will continue to hold a prominent position in the banking sector in the future. Online banking traces its history to 1970s when banks offered PC-based online banking with propriety dial-up services. Banks such as Chemical (through Pronto), Citibank (Direct Access), Chase (Spectrum), Bank One (Applause), and others offered their customers, for a monthly fee, basic home PC banking which included balance lookup, fund transfers, personal budgeting and bill payment (Banks, 2001). Home banking was targeted towards upscale households (Guttman, 2002).  Home PC banking was heavily invested on and marketed by these banks, but it remained unpopular among consumers because of high user fees and burdensome technical platforms. In the mid-1980s software companies such as Meca and Intuit/Quicken introduced third-party packages designed to link customers and banks. This was met with eagerness from local banks which signed up with one of these software companies and allowed customers to use the platform in order to access account information, transfer funds and pay bills. Intuit’s bill paying platform was reasonably successful. Customers could authorize the payment of funds to a given merchant, the Quicken package would receive the customer approval and determine, via the Intuit Services Corporation (ISC), if the merchant was part of the Federal Reserve’s Automated Clearing House (ACH). If it was, ISC would effect an electronic payment through the ACH and, if not, would mail a check to the merchant. In the mid-1990s AOL partnered with Intuit in order to give customers access to Intuit’s home banking services. Though Intuit and others improved the home banking process, the overall market for such services remained very limited until the arrival of the Internet (Banks, 2001). In order to investigate further the impacts, usages, advantages, and disadvantages of online banking, the researcher conducted a survey. The researcher was able to gather responses from 34 respondents. Of the 34 respondents, 7 (20.59%) were below 19 of age, 13 (38.24%) were aged 19-35, 10 (29.41%) were aged 36-55, 3 (8.82%) were aged 56-64 and 1 (2.94%) was aged above 64.               Of all the 34 respondents 8 (23.52%) are in high school, 8 (23.52%) are studying in college (or have already earned their bachelor’s degree), 11 (32.35%) are taking their post-secondary degree (or have already earned their post-secondary degree), 6 (17.65.4%) are taking their master’s degree (or have earned their master’s degree) and 1 (2.94) was with PhD degree.             Supporting the view that Internet has a big part in the birth, development and usage of online banking services, majority of the respondents have a very convenient access to the internet (28 respondents or 82.35%). 4 respondents (11.76%) stated that they have convenient access to the internet while 2 (5.88%) stated that they have slightly convenient access to the internet.               The respondents were also active Internet users with 14 (41.18%) using the net for 1 to 3 hours each day. Seven (20.59%) respondents stated that they use the internet for 4-5 hours daily while 9 (26.47%) said that they use the net for 6-8 hours. There were 4 (11.76%) respondents who said that they use the internet for more than 8 hours.   Advantages of Online Banking             Online baking offers benefits for banks, customers and the economy as a whole. From the bank point of view one benefit is better brand image. Online banking allows banks to be more responsive to the needs of their customers. Banks that offer online banking are perceived as leaders in technology implementation. In terms of financial benefits, online banking offers an opportunity for banks to maximize their profits by decreasing transaction cost. According to a study conducted in 2002, bank transaction in the United States cost .07 as compared to 54 cents for telephone banking, 27 cents for ATM (Automated Teller Machine) banking and 1.5 cents for Internet banking (Pyun et al, 2002). There are other benefits that banks can reap from online banking. The benefits that banks can have from online banking can permeate the entire organization, from sales and marketing to customer service, back office support and operations. Some of the benefits are discussed below: ·         Customer Satisfaction and Retention – banks become empowered to satisfy the needs of their customers and provide extra services and features to retain them. ·         Cross-selling opportunities – integrated products allow for opportunities to data mine and market products and services to specific customer who need them in real time. Through online banking, banks can determine when customer log on to the internet banking system, and what products and services appeal to them most. Through the captured information, banks can devise strategies to fit the specific needs and wants of their customers. ·         Focusing on the most profitable customer base – data mining allows banks to identify their most profitable customer base and allows them to target the appropriate products and services directly to them in real time. ·         Shifting costs – through online banking, banks can concentrate on other channels to operate more efficiently. ·         Competing on a more level playing field – through online banking, a small bank can compete head to head with larger banks by offering more sophisticated online financial services (Winter, 2001). On the point of view of the customers’ the main benefit of online banking is significant saving of time by the automation of banking services processing and introduction of an easy maintenance tools of managing customer’s money. The main advantages of online banking for business customers include the following: ·         Lesser cost of online banking services ·         Customers are allowed to transact with the banks 24 hours daily providing comfort and greater access to services ·         Customers enjoy quick and continuous access to information – this is particularly beneficial for companies as they will have easier access to information, allowing them to check on multiple accounts at the click of a button ·         Online banking allows better cash management which is enabled by online banking facilities that speed up cash cycle and increases efficiency of business processes as large varieties of cash management instruments are available on internet sites Private customers demand slightly different benefits from online banking. These include: ·         Reduced cost in terms of the cost of availing and using the various banking products and services ·         Convenience which means the ability to complete banking transactions while at home, in the office or elsewhere ·         Funds management which means that customers can download their history of different accounts and analyze them using their computers When asked whether they prefer online banking over conventional banking, majority of the respondents said yes (25 or 73.53%) while 9 (26.47%) said no. the advantages of online banking have more weight for those that said yes while for those that said no, the disadvantages particularly security and privacy issues have more weight.                         The respondents were asked which service they think is the most useful with online banking. 15 respondents aid that the most useful service with online banking is bills payment while 7 stated money transfer. There are 6 respondents who stated account information access.   Technological System of Online-Banking             There are many design and technical issues that a bank must consider in its decision to offer online banking services. First are issues relating to the online banking website. The bank needs to ensure that the website is designed in such a way that navigation will be easy and that the website is not over-commercialized. The bank can also make use of trademarks, logos and animated graphics to make the website more interesting and informative. However, banks are advised to be simple with their designs as putting too much designs and animations may give different impressions and images of the bank. The designs must be in accordance to the image that the bank wants to exude. Many banks include banking-related information such as stock quotes, investment summaries or online brokerages on their web sites. Others include a range of helpful non-financial information, such as news and weather, sports, and entertainment, or links to various community web sites. One of the first issues a bank must face when considering online services is the selection of an Internet Protocol (IP) address and Domain Name System (DNS) Server. In the Internet world, each web server computer has a unique IP address, and consumers use easy-to-remember domain names to find most commonly used web sites. The now-familiar .com domain serves most commercial businesses on the Internet. A number of options are now available for web site hosting. Some banks run their online operations on a computer server located at their own offices, while others call on highly specialized data centers to provide this important infrastructure. Outsourcing is often the preferred option for smaller banks, because it is faster, simpler and does not require the institution to invest in infrastructure or specialized personnel. Outsourcing can also provide a more suitable solution for the dynamic, database-driven activities common to most online banking transactions (Hamlet & Strube, 2000).             Another important part of the online banking system is protection. There are different types of protection that banks use. Generally, banks use firewalls and other associated controls. A firewall is a hardware and software placed between two networks. The intent is for all network traffic, regardless of the direction of flow, to pass through this firewall. The firewall then can check all traffic to make sure it is authorized and prevent unwanted traffic from entering the system. The firewall also can check the traffic to determine whether it contains any unauthorized attachments, such as viruses. Firewalls need to be efficient to catch any traffic that is unauthorized in order to prevent potential harm to the institution. Network isolation is a function of firewalls. A domain name server converts publicly known addresses into internal addresses that are not publicly known. This is sometimes referred to as a “bastion host”. The feature prevents intruders from gaining access to internal names and addresses on the bank’s internal network. Firewalls also act as a screen for addresses. Firewalls function as filters that sort out messages that come from inappropriate addresses. Firewalls also act as applications screen. By acting as an application screen firewalls prevent inappropriate instructions from entering the system or an unauthorized access to the administrator level of the server. Lastly, a firewall can be used to inspect message flow. Through this function inappropriate responses are filtered. There are also other controls that can work with firewalls in order to strengthen the online banking security system. These controls include logical access controls and physical security. A logical access control includes a user identification and password. Physical security is used to protect a bank’s data communications networks and internal accounting systems.             Cryptography is a security technique used by banks to protect online transactions. Encryption generally deals with privacy, trust and verification issues. There are two different kinds of encryption that are being used. One purpose is to keep information private. The other is to verify the identity of parties in a transaction. Both kinds of encryption are typically used together to both protect messages and validate the parties involved, Each is governed by industry standards, Vendors provide the encryption technology as software products or as part of specific hardware devices. These two basic types of encryption are symmetric and asymmetric. Symmetric, also known as secret key cryptography, requires both the sender and receiver to have the same key. The sender encrypts the message and the receiver decrypts the message using the same key. The advantages of secret key cryptography are that it is secure, widely used and fast. Asymmetric, also known as public/private key cryptography employs two keys. In order to secure the message the sender performs the encryption using the recipient’s public key. However, the receiver can only read the information using their private key. Some of the advantages of public key cryptography over private key cryptography are that it simplifies key administration.             Encryption may be used to both secure the message and authenticate the sender. The normal approach is to use the asymmetric and symmetric encryption technologies in tandem. Symmetric encryption is typically used for encrypting large volumes of information and asymmetric encryption is for authentication. Problems and Disadvantages of Online Banking             Although online banking will benefit the banks as well as their customers, both parties will also face different disadvantages. For example, according to Bonette (2001) there are at least seven risks that banks face through online banking. These are: 1. Strategic risk – this refers to the business risk associated with the decision to go online. Before introducing a internet banking product, management should consider whether the product and technology are consistent with tangible business objectives in the bank’s strategic plan. The bank also should consider whether adequate expertise and resources are available to identify, monitor, and control risk in the internet banking business. 2. Operational risk – includes some of the popular concerns such as online frauds, system abuse, or system failure. The cost of maintaining these systems can be high, for knowledgeable personnel are needed to cope with the potential problems involving security, availability/accessibility, or system integrity, all problems which could expose banks to unrecoverable losses. 3. Credit risk – this can be faced by banks using online loan applicants as frauds or other problems could arise through remote access. 4. Liquidity risk – this is associated with online deposits, which by definition are more volatile. Internet banking can increase deposit volatility from customers who maintain accounts solely on the basis of rate or terms. Asset/liability and loan portfolio management systems should be appropriate for products offered through internet banking. Increased monitoring of liquidity and changes in deposits and loans may be warranted depending on the volume and nature of Internet account activities. 5. Legal and compliance risk – these include defining jurisdictions with cross-border internet access complicated the law. Compliance risk is the risk to earnings or capital arising from violations of, or non-conformance with laws, rules, regulation, prescribed practices, or ethical standards. Compliance risk also arises in situations where the laws or rules governing certain bank products or activities of the bank’s clients may be ambiguous or untested. Compliance risk exposes the institution to fines, civil money penalties, payment of damages, and the voiding of contracts. 6. Reputation risk – customers may be unforgiving if a web system goes down and experiences security problems which will affect the reputation of the bank. Reputation risk is the existing and prospective impact on earnings and capital arising from negative public opinion. This affects the institution’s ability to establish new relationships or services or continue servicing existing relationships. This risk exposes the institution to litigation, financial loss, or a decline in its customer base. 7. Systemic risk – which increases if there are industry-wide security problems or even of a general loss of confidence develops in internet banking as a whole (cited in Gup, 2003). 8. Transaction risk – is the current and prospective risks to earnings and capital arising from fraud, error and the inability to deliver products or services, maintain a competitive position, and manage information. Transaction risk is evident in each product and service offered and encompasses product development and delivery, transaction processing, systems development, complexity of products and services, and the internal control environment. A high level of transaction risk may arise with internet banking products, particularly if those lines of business are not adequately planned, implemented, and monitored.             Aside from the risks discussed above, banks are also threatened by different online attacks. These attacks can include: ·         Sniffers – or network monitors, this software can be used to capture keystrokes from a particular computer. This software of capable of capturing online IDs and passwords. ·         Guessing passwords – this involves the use of a software to test all possible password combination to gain access. ·         Brute force – this technique is used to dial every number on a known bank telephone exchange. The objective is to find a modem connected to the network. This could then be used as a point of attack. ·         Social engineering – this technique may involve an attacker making a call to the helpdesk of a bank and impersonating an authorized user in order to gain information especially IDs and passwords. ·         Trojan horse – this involves the embedding of codes into a system in order for the attacker to access the system or the network. ·         Hi-jacking – this involves the interception of transmission in order for the attacker to gain information. Internet traffic is particularly vulnerable to this threat.             There are also different problems that customers face when making banking transactions online. There are three types of internet banking fraud that are commonly perpetrated against online banking customers. These are identity theft, friendly fraud and internal fraud. Among the three common kind s of online banking fraud, identity theft gets the most attention from the media and is of highest concern to consumers. Identity theft can be extremely difficult for its victims. It can take months or even years to correct the damage it can cause. If the thief has acquired enough information to satisfactorily answer the questions asked by the financial institution, he or she will be able to use the information to commit fraud. Friendly fraud is fraud committed by a trusted relative or friend. Friendly fraud is also known as “civil fraud” or “family fraud”. This refers to fraud committed using information that belongs to a trusted friend or family member. As much as financial institutions, independent organizations and the media communicate to consumers that they should not share confident data, many people do share their information with close friends and family. The number of identity theft cases perpetrated by a customer’s friend or family member is rising. Internal fraud is fraud perpetrated by a financial institution employee. This type of fraud is not new but the proliferation of online banking has added another avenue for frauds to commit their crimes. If a financial institution allows employees access to customer data, and that data is the same information needed to gain online access to customer accounts, an employee can easily commit fraud. Protecting Customers             In 2005, a guidance entitled “Authentication in an internet banking environment” was released by the Federal Financial Institutions of Examination Council (FFIEC). The said guideline presents different strategies for banks in protecting customers and their businesses from online crimes such as online fraud and online identity theft. Authentication is the main strategy for protecting customers against cyber crimes involving financial institutions. There are various technologies and methodologies financial institutions can use to authenticate customers. These methods include the use of customer passwords, personal identification numbers (PINs), digital certificates using public key infrastructure (PKI), physical devices such as smart cards, one-time passwords (OTPs), USB plug-ins or other types of ‘tokens’, transaction profile scripts, biometric identification and others. Some of these instruments are discussed below: ·         Shared secrets – this include information elements that are known or shared by both the customer and the authenticating entity. Passwords and PINs are the best known shared secret techniques but some new different types are now being used as well such as questions or queries that require specific customer knowledge to answer and customer-selected images that must be identified or selected from a pool of images (FFIEC, 2005). ·         Tokens – these are physical devices and may be part of a multifactor authentication scheme. There are three kinds of tokens that are being used by financial institutions – USB, smart card, and password-generating token. USB tokens are plug directly into a computer’s USB port and therefore does not require installation of any special hardware on the user’s computer. USB tokens are hard to duplicate and are tamper resistant so they are virtually safe to use in storing sensitive data and credentials. A smartcard is the size of a credit card and contain a microprocessor that enables it to store and process data. Inclusion of the microprocessor enables software developers to use more effective authentication schemes. A password-generating token produces a unique pass-code; also known as a one-time password each time it is used. The token ensures that the same OTP is not used consecutively (FFIEC, 2005). ·         Biometrics – biometric technologies identify or authenticate the identity of a living person on the basis of a physiological or physical characteristic. Physiological characteristics include fingerprints, iris configuration, and facial structure. The process of introducing people into a biometrics-based system is called “enrollment”. In enrollment, samples of data are taken from one or more physiological or physical characteristics; the samples are converted into a mathematical model, or template and the template is registered into a database on which a software application can perform analysis. Once enrolled, customers interact with the live-scan process of the biometrics technology. The live scan is used to identify and authenticate the customer (FFIEC, 2005). Comments on the Result of the Survey             The survey was intended to investigate the extent to which online banking has impacted the lives of consumers. Majority of the respondents in the survey across age brackets use online banking at least once a week for services such as bills payment and money transfer. It is clear from the survey that consumers favor online banking but still use traditional banking methods. Online banking is used as a more convenient alternative to traditional banking. Conclusion             Online banking is definitely here to stay. And as long as the world-wide-web continuous to progress, online banking will also continue to develop. Online banking provides benefits for the bank, its business clients and its private clients. Online banking allows banks to be more responsive to the needs of their customers. Banks that offer online banking are perceived as leaders in technology implementation. In terms of financial benefits, online banking offers an opportunity for banks to maximize their profits by decreasing transaction cost. On the point of view of the customers’ the main benefit of online banking is significant saving of time by the automation of banking services processing and introduction of an easy maintenance tools of managing customer’s money. References Authentication is an Internet Banking Environment 2005, Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, viewed 16 December, 2009 <http://www.ffiec.gov >. Banks, E 2001, E-finance: The electronic revolution, Wiley & Sons, New York. Bonnette, C 2001, E-banking overview, presentation to the FDIC Bank Technology Group. Gup, B E (ed.) 2003, The future of banking, Quorum Books, Westport CT. Guttman, R 2002, Cybercash: The coming era of electronic money, Palgrave Macmillian, New York. Hamlet, C & Strube, M 2000, “Community banks go online”, ABA Banking Journal, vol. 92, no. 3, pp. 61+. Pyun, CS, Les, S & Kiseok, N 2002, “Internet banking in the U.S., Japan and Europe”, Multinational Business Review, vol. 10, no. 2, p. 73. Winter, M 2001, “Straight talk about internet banking”, ABA Banking Journal, vol. 93, no. 12, pp. 77+. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Development Of Online Banking: It’s Advantages And Disadvantages Of Online Bank Transactions

Abstract The papers discusses the development of online banking, along with the advantages and disadvantage that entails ...

Information System Assignment

Information System Assignment   Part A: Information Management Needs             Laudon and Laudon (1988) identified 4 levels of information users in the organization: workers, middle managers, senior managers and executive. In line with this, the author also presented a pyramid of systems which reflect the said levels of information users: transaction processing systems, management information systems, decision support systems and executive information systems, which is shown in figure 1. Thus, the four levels of information systems help these 4 levels of information users in different levels of the organization.  Figure 1 Four Level Pyramid Model (Information Users and Information Systems) Source: (Laudon and Laudon, 1988)             The lowest level among the 4 information users is the worker. Workers need information that are related to short-term decision, thus focus on the transaction of the day-to-day business (Obermeyer and Pinto 2008). Thus, this level of users use transaction processing systems (TPSs) in order to deal with thousands or even millions of transactions with the customers and suppliers (Heathcote 2004). TPSs cope with well-structured routine processes and sustain many of the day-to-day operations of the organization (Visscher, Wild and Fung 2001). It collects source data regarding each business transaction, such as customer order, sales, purchases, movement of stocks, payments, invoices and receipts, which are reported on a regular basis, thus these are vital for control and audit purposes, but offer little usable management information (Collier and Agyei-Ampomah 2008).             The second level managers are responsible in formulation of plans in order to achieve strategic objectives and making different operational decisions, which include resource allocation, employee evaluation and short-term goal setting, thus, they need information related to general and specific information requirements (Obermeyer and Pinto 2008). With this, management information systems (MISs) are needed because it help management to control and plan the organization (Heathcote 2004) by summarizing data from operational and knowledge level systems (Barnwell 2007). Reports are commonly standard but information needs additional processing – extracted from standard reports to spreadsheet for manipulation and analysis by the managers (Collier and Agyei-Ampomah 2008).             Senior managers are responsible in strategy formulation, therefore, both internal and external information about the organization are vital (Obermeyer and Pinto 2008). Decision support systems (DSSs) can help in order to access data which offer the managers the ability to stimulate and ask ‘what if?’ questions in order to consider different options. For instance, DSSs will help managers to manipulate selling price in order to see its impact towards the volume and profit of the organization, which will be helpful in pricing and profitability decision-making (Collier and Agyei-Ampomah 2008).             The top of the pyramid is the executive. This level of management are responsible in long-term objectives, goals and strategies of the organization, thus, it is important to acquire information about the entire operation. Executive Information Systems (EISs) are used for decision support, which incorporate access to different summarised data, commonly presented in graphical form in order to help senior managers to evaluate and assess information about the organization and its environment. EISs smooth the process of drilling down facilities to move from aggregated data towards a more specific and detailed degree (Collier and Agyei-Ampomah 2008).   Part B: Call Centre Mini Case A. Strategic Decision-Making and Call Centre             Call centres are centralised operation where in trained agents communicate with customers via phone and with the use of purpose built information and communication technologies. The normative model of call centre organisation is that tasks are tightly prescribed, routinised, scripted and monitored (Houlihan 2001). With this, the questions whether the information or data to be gathered in this means of communicating with the customers is questionable. However, in the ideal world, every customer will be catered as if she is the only customer of the company. Thus, ever communication and interaction she has with the company will be enlightened by all the important information regarding her needs and demands. In addition, all of the information that she expressed regarding preferences and background will be saved and will be brought to bear on the interaction in intelligent manner. It is not just a matter of collecting data and storing it in a back-office database wherever, where it is reported on and forgotten, but, it must go into two directions. When a company knows something about a customer, it must use that knowledge in order to establish the relationship between the two parties. Furthermore, it must do so in relentless manner, in order for the customers to reach the point where she is doing business with the company because she has so much invested in the company that it’s simply easier than switching to a competitor (Dawson 1999). With this, information gathered by the agents and the computer system can be used in strategic decision-making, particularly those related with the improvement of the products and services being offered by the company. It can also help in order to further improve the customer relation management of the company, which can help in order to drive and sustain customer satisfaction and loyalty.   B.  Call Centre and Insurance Company             Insurance company can take advantage of the general or typical benefits being offered by call centre to any organization which will use it. It can offer competitive advantage because it can help in order to improve some of the fussy procedures and information flows inside the organization.             First, it can help in order to improve the customer relation management of the company. This is because, the callers or the customers will be immediately connected to the office, where they can directly transact their business minus long waiting time, therefore, it can offer the clients the quick access to information that they want to have, which improve relationship with the customers (Fritzgerald n.d.). For example, the case of Interpolis (www.interpolis.nl) a large insurance company in Netherlands. The company gained competitive advantage by establishing its “Damage-Claim Services” call centre. This enable the company to stop using intermediates or agents to report insurance damage claims, instead, it enables the clients directly report their damages instead of indirect reporting via intermediates or agents. The agents have the adequate training and knowledge regarding the different products and services being offered by the company and they are well-equipped to answer questions and enquiries about damage report (Feinberg, de Ruyter and Bennington 2005). As a result, it can also help in order to improve the efficiency of the company, due to the fact that its customers can be connected towards the office in easy manner, at the same time, they can connect to the company any time they want, because call centre offers 24/7 services. Above all, it can also help insurance company to save money, time and effort, because it is possible just to hire outsource call centre service. With this, insurance company that are processing thousands of claims daily can be backed up by call centre – without hiring additional personnel or staffs or installing extra phone lines in order to meet the volumes of caller, it can be done by simply hiring call centre (The Lead Tree, LLC 2010). With this, insurance company can gather information which can be helpful in decision-making, at the same time, improve their customer relation management process.   Part C: Information Systems and Internet Technology A. Types of Information System             The common types of information systems are: Transaction Processing Systems (TPSs), which support central activities (i.e. customer order processing, accountant receivable and warranty claim processing (Shelly, Cashman and Rosenblatt 2007)); Management Information Systems (MISs) (i.e. online payment and ordering system), which support managers in decision-making in operational level of the company; Office Automation Systems (OASs), which support secretarial needs (i.e. word processing, e-mail); Decision Support Systems (DSSs), which support specialised managers and users (i.e. medical diagnosis, bank loan verification system); Executive Information Systems (EISs), which support members of the strategic management level (i.e. drill drown tools  (Umar 2003)); Intelligent Support Systems (ISS), which support managers who are included in the first two levels of managements as well as the internal specializes consultants which the need for support regarding the critical issues from Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques (i.e. intelligent agents  (Sugumaran 2007)); and Knowledge Management Systems (KMSs) which support businesses to establish and share information (Matsatsinis and Siskos 2003).   B. Internet Technology             Internet opened a wide door of opportunities to an expanding company. The Internet is considered by many businesses as one of the main aspects or elements in marketing procedure. The report of ACNielsen in 2005 alone shows that 1/10th of the population of the world or 627 million people are doing buying products and availing services online. Thus, the Internet offers a vast market, which will be helpful in profitability and sales. In addition, Internet also help to decrease costs of marketing process, because it can help to remove or lessen some of the important but costly aspects in marketing, which include the place and promotion. With this, Internet helps to decrease the cost of expansion and introduction of product, expands the market, improve competitiveness, improve the image of the business, and increase sales and revenues (Intrapairot and Srivihok 2003, p. 199).             On the other hand, the materialization of the intranet dramatically changed the way information are being accessed inside the organization (Terplan 2000). It is like a closed-circuit television system, which can only be viewed by those people in the organization which own the system (Lowe 2009). Thus, it can only be viewed by those who are inside the network of the organization. With this, intranet will be helpful in order to enable the members of the organization to take advantage of accessibility and flexibility of the Internet in terms of information system, at the same time, take advantage of its security and confidentiality, because although intranet is using the same protocols as the WWW, it is protected from the outside world via firewall (Matthews, Matthews and Poulsen 2003).   Part D: Problem Solving and Information Processing Methods A. Problem Solving             There are different problem solving techniques and tools which can be used in any level of organization. This can help in order to tackle the problems which can be huge, overwhelming and excessively complex. These tools can offer starting point in solving small and big problems. These include: cause and effect diagrams, affinity diagrams, risk analysis, swot analysis, Pest analysis, Porter’s five forces, the Boston Matrix, core competence analysis, USP analysis, critical success factors, the McKinsey 7Ss and the Greiner Curve.             The cause and effect diagram or known as the Ishikawa Fishbone diagram can help in order to consider all the possible causes of the problem rather than one source. In addition, affinity diagrams or known as the KJ (from Kawakita Jiro) method, which help to synthesize large amounts of data by looking for the connections between ideas, which can help to organize the dissimilar items into a related group. Then, the risk analysis can help in order to have formal framework in identifying the different risks and problems which an organization can be faced. All of these tools can help in order to work out strategies to be implemented, at the same time, controlling them (Mind Tools n.d.).             SWOT analysis (Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) can help in order to focus on the survival and success strategy towards the environment; this will be supported with PEST analysis and Porter’s Five Forces which will help the entire environment, where the business operates. These internal and external analyses of the environment can help organization to focus on the possible source of problems, and the possible solution towards it. On the other hand, The Boston Matrix, Core Competence Analysis and USP Analysis can be helpful in order to come up with the actions and strategies to be done in order to gain competitive edge. On the other hand, Critical Success Factors, the McKinsey 7Ss and the Greiner Curve will be helpful in complex problems of the company, which will be used by the upper management level (Mind Tools n.d.).   B. Information Processing             The four types of information processing are: batch processing, real-time processing, distributed processing and parallel processing. Batch processing exists when data is being collected and stored in files for a while before processing, which makes it more common with data back-up (Behl 2009). Example of this is payroll, when company calculates the wages for its employees and prints the payslips (The Teacher n.d.). In real-time processing, the transactions are processed in order to update a file or to alter any changes in a data right after the transaction occurs in the real life. Examples of this processing are all online-based transactions, ticket booking and reservations (Behl 2009). Distributed processing perform some data processing tasks at the points of the user activity, at the same time, allowing other tasks to be transferred to a centralised computer for processing. The Internet is the classic example of distributed processing because it connects millions of workstations from different locations (Brooke and Paige 2007). Lastly, parallel processing offers a steady flow of work to the computer (Behl 2009). Thus, it focus on taking large tasks, dividing it into smaller tasks, then working on individual smaller tasks in simultaneous manner. Examples of this type of processing are: grocery store and weather forecasting (Mahapatra and Mishra 2000).   Part E: Evaluation of Information System             Evaluation and assessment of information systems is difficult, complex and challenging task. This is because evaluation is interdisciplinary by nature, thus it is designed by both information technology people and the end-users of the system. With this, there are different barriers towards the communication process between the entities involved in the process. First, both of the parties may have difficulty in understanding each other, for instance, it will be hard for IT people to understand medical procedures and terms, then it will be hard for medical people to understand IT-related technical terms, thus, there will be a lack of common tools (Baud, Fieschi and Le Beux 2003). In addition, for instance, in public health informatics, an evaluation commonly deals with dynamic and ubiquitous data and with different information systems. Therefore, system designers, implementers and researchers must develop a comprehensive analysis which includes a broad range of evaluation methods. Furthermore, evaluation process is also complicated because many information applications are extremely complex (O’Carroll 2003).             Because the system is controversial and there is a problems related to the stakeholders of the system, both types of evaluation will be done: Prior Operational Use Evaluation (POUe) – predictive evaluation performed in order to forecast the impact of the project; and Operational Use evaluation (OUe) which is carried out when the system becomes into operational use, which will help in order to justify the adoption of the system (Irani 2002). This will help in order to first, present the possible outcome of the project in order to convince those hesitant stakeholders, then present the end result or outcome of the project based on its advantages and benefits towards the organization and the individual member or stakeholder. Therefore, it will be helpful in order to compare the anticipated result with the actual result, which will enlighten all of the entities involved in the system.   References   ACNielsen 2005, Global Consumer Attitudes Towards Online Shopping: October, 2005, Retrieved 9th August, 2010, from ACNielsen database.   Barnwell, H 2007, Test of Professional Competence in Management Accounting, CIMA, Oxford, UK.   Baud, R, Fieschi, M and Le Beux, P 2003, The New Navigators: From Professionals to Patients: Proceedings of MIE2003, IOS Press.   Behl, R 2009, Information Technology for Management, McGraw-Hill Education.   Brooke, P and Paige, R 2007, Practical Distributed Processing, Springer.   Collier, P and Agyei-Ampomah, S 2008, Cima Official Learning System Management Accounting Risk and Control Strategy, Butterworth-Heinemann.   Dawson, K 1999, Call Center Savvy: How to Position Your Call Center for the Business Challenges of the 2th Century, Focal Press.   Feinberg, R, de Ruyter, K and Bennington, L 2005, Cases in Call Center Management: Great Ideas (th)at Work, Purdue University Press.   Fritzgerald, J, 5 Benefits of a Call Centre to Your Business, Retrieved 9th August, 2010, from Ezine Articles database.   Heathcote, P M 2004, A2 ICT, Payne Gallway.   Houlihan, M 2001, ‘Managing to Manage? Stories from the Call Centre Floor’, Journal of European Industrial Training, vol. 25, no. 2/3/4, pp. 208 – 220.   Intrapairot, A and Srivihok, A 2003, ‘The E-Commerce of SMEs in Thailand’, in T. Thanasankit (ed.), E-Commerce and Cultural Values (pp. 199 – 210), Idea Group Inc.   Irani, Z 2002, ‘Information Systems Evaluation: Navigating Through the Problem Domain’, Internetional Journal of Information and Management, vol. 40, pp. 11 – 24.   Laudon, K C and Laudon, J P 1988, Management Information Systems, 2nd edn, Macmillan.   Lowe, D 2009, Networking for Dummies, For Dummies.   Mahapatra, T and Mishra, S 2000, Oracle Parallel Processing, 1st edn., O’Reily Media.   Matthews, M, Matthews, C B and Poulsen, E 2003, Microsoft Office FrontPage 2003: The Complete Reference, McGraw-Hill Professional.   Matsatsinis, N and Siskos, Y 2003, Intelligent Support Systems for Marketing Decisions, Springer.   Mind Tools, Problem Solving Techniques, Retrieved 9th August, 2010, from Mind Tools Website.   O’Carroll, P 2003, Public Health Informatics and Information Systems, Springer.   Obermeyer, N and Pinto, J 2008, Managing Geographic Information Systems, Guilford Press.   Shelly, G, Cashman, T and Rosenblatt, H 2007, Systems Analysis and Design, Cengage Learning.   Sugumaran, V 2007, Application of Agents and Intelligent Information Technologies, IGI Publishing.   The Lead Tree, LLC 2010, Benefits of Your Business Using a Call Center (May 03), Retrieved 8th August, 2010, from The Lead Tree website.   The Teacher, Batch Processing, Retrieved 9th August, 2010, from The Teacher Website.     Umar, A 2003, E-Business and Distributed Systems Handbook: Integration Module, NGE Solution, Inc.   Visscher, A, Wild, P and Fung, A 2001, Information Technology in Educational Management, Springer. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Information System Assignment

Information System Assignment Part A: Information Management Needs Laudon and Laudon (1988) identified 4 levels of inform...