Individual Assignment

1. What should be submitted a) A Word document (BIS320_W3_???) containing the scenarios. b) An Excel document (BIS320_W3_???) containing costs and options for a wireless router. c) A Word document (BIS320_W3_PC_???) containing the plagiarism check report.
Simply copy (not screen print) the entire plagiarism report to a word document and submit it. Completed plagiarism report must be turned in to receive credit for the assignment. If not available before the deadline, submit this document once it’s available. No penalty if the plagiarism check report is submitted late.

Where: Assignment Files tab

You could also place all three files in a zip file (BIS320_W3_???.zip) and submit the zip file instead of three above mentioned files.

Remember to replace ??? with the initials of your First, Middle, Last Names. For example BIS320_W3_SSS.

2. Objective
To review and understand database and data communications.

The specific questions for each scenario below are designed specifically for you to research, understand and respond. It is not expected for you to know these technologies already. The text book and the discussion questions have the supporting information to help you understand the purpose of the technology and how they fit in at home or business.

3. Requirement / Assignment Description

Write a paper between 1,200 and 1,500 words in which you respond to the questions designated for both scenarios.

The requirements stated in this section are general. Follow the guidelines outlined in section 4 to fully meet the assignment requirements.

Scenario 1: You are a marketing assistant for a consumer electronics company and are in charge of setting up your company’s booth at trade shows. Weeks before a show, you meet with the marketing managers and determine what displays and equipment they want to display. Then, you identify each of the components that need to be shipped and schedule a shipper to deliver them to the trade show site. You then supervise trade show personnel as they set up the booths and equipment.

After the show, you supervise packing the booth and all the equipment as well as schedule its shipment back to your home office. When the equipment arrives, you check it into your warehouse to ensure that all pieces of the booth and all the equipment are returned. If there are any problems due to shipping damage or loss, you handle those problems. Your job is important; at a typical show you are responsible for more than a quarter-million dollars of equipment.

In Scenario 1: * You need to track data about booth components, equipment, shippers, and shipment. List typical fields for each type of data. Provide an example of two relationships that you need to track. * Do you need a database system? If not, can Excel® handle the data and the output? What are the advantages and disadvantages? * Would you use a personal database or an enterprise database? Explain your answer. * Would a decision support system (DSS) be helpful? Explain your answer. * * * Scenario 2: You manage a group of seven employees in a small consulting business. Some employees work at home and some work in the office. Each of the employees needs to be connected to the Internet. *
In Scenario 2: * Does your company need a WAN or LAN? Explain your answer. * Does your business require wireless? Explain your answer. * Consider security. Is your data sensitive and in need of protection? Do you need to use a VPN? Explain your answer. *
Imagine that you created a Microsoft® Excel® spreadsheet to help you determine the costs and options for a wireless router for your office. Use the Microsoft® Excel® “Determining Databases and Data Communications Spreadsheet” template to manipulate the cost and specification data of the various wireless routers based on the directions in the spreadsheet. *
Cite at least two references in your paper.

* Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.

4. Recommendations/Tips

This is a technical paper which implies technical discussion is required. Simply stating the need or use of certain technology without providing any supporting information will not earn you any credit.

Hint : If you have only one single sentence for the required technology discussion, that’s the indication you have not done your homework.

Use as many examples as possible to demonstrate your understanding of the concepts instead of providing the exact definition of the concepts from text book Keep the word count with the word count requirement.

Do not use unrelated examples or concepts in your discussion. That’s another indication you have not done your homework.

I follow the grading rubric strictly when grading. To earn the maximum possible points, please address the required components in the given order. If it is addressed, then you earn the points based on the quality of the supporting information. If it is not addressed, then you don’t earn the points.

There is no need for conclusion section. The decision to use the desired technology should be concluded in the section the supporting facts are being presented.

Do not take the risk of assuming or go by your understanding of the concepts or explanation from your colleague. Research and verify before using the information.

If you are not sure of any requirement or concept, please do not hesitate to contact me early, not the day before the due date!

Tracking data and relationship examples:

For the tracking data requirement, include at least 3 different tables (booth components, equipment, shippers, or shipment) and for each table include at least 3 fields.

You must explicitly identify the three tables first and then identify the three fields for each table. Outline the purpose of the fields.

Need to identify two different relationships; basically need to identify two different primary keys from two different tables and where they are used as foreign keys in other table(s).

One of the important database architecture is to reduce or eliminate data redundancy. By using the relationship (primary key and foreign key), data redundancy can be eliminated by not repeating all the details of the item every time the item is referenced. Normalization is the technique used to identify repeated details and reorganize the data into multiples tables and establish the relationship between the tables; and thus the name relational database. See “Normalization Example”.xlsx for example.

A relationship refers to the reference of one field from one table to a similar (or same) field in another table. When trying to establish a relationship, think of fields that can represent an identity (like Student Number) and be used repeatedly in other tables.
Example from MIS essentials text book (page 108) Student number in the Email table to related to the Student number in the Student table.

Database or Excel:
Read about on how the data is captured from the user, stored in the database, and retrieved from the database. You can use Access or mySQL as reference. There are many online resources about Access or mySQL. Perform the same analysis for Excel.

* Before making your selection, need to compare both Excel and database in terms of: setup, ease of use, etc. Simply stating one is faster or easier than the other will not be sufficient. You have to justify it with some facts or information.

For each data store (database or Excel) discuss about the preparation (like definitions, rules, etc) needed before you can enter the data how do you populate the data how do you locate specific data elements / records for retrieval * * What are the advantages and disadvantages? You can include data entry, search, maintenance, cost, etc.

* Based on the discussion above, you decide the selection of Excel or database. * * Note : Excel is NOT a database.

Personal database or an enterprise database:
Consider the cost the following cost a) database software b) hardware needed to support the database c) IT (people) resource to support the database

* DSS * DSS can be used for many purposes. The focus of DSS should be to help you to streamline your job as the person in charge of setting up your company’s booth at trade shows. Need to discuss what information is needed to make decision and what criteria should be used and the different outcome based on the criteria. * * Must provide justification if DSS is selected or not. * * DSS - cost / benefit * * WAN/LAN * Does your company need a WAN or LAN? “Need” in this context refers to owning a WAN or a LAN. Consider the cost of owning WAN and LAN. Need to discuss the purpose of each and if it is necessary to own it.

* Note: Using a WAN is not the same as owning a WAN. * * Wireless * Include discussion on the different wireless: LAN and WAN. Consider the current trend of computing in your discussion. Is the wireless capability necessary for employees to work from home? * * Data security * Discuss the type of documents used by the business and the employees. Why security is needed? * * VPN * Do NOT simply state what is VPN or what it stands for. In addition to the definition, include how it works and why it is needed. Based on that, justify your decision.

5. Grading Rubric

The following is point allocation breakdown for the major components of the paper.

Major Components | Points | Database | | Fields for tracking data | 0.9 | Two relationship examples | 0.6 | Database / Excel usage | 0.9 | Advantages and disadvantages | 0.9 | Selection justification | 0.6 | Personal or enterprise database selection | 0.9 | Need for decision support system (DSS) | 0.8 | | | Network | | WAN/LAN selection | 0.8 | Wireless need | 0.8 | Data security | 0.6 | VPN | 0.6 | | | Excel Spreadsheet | 1.0 |

Organization / Development (20%) 2.8 points | Paper is between 1200 to 1500 words in length. | Paragraph transitions are present, logical, and maintain the flow throughout the paper. | The tone is appropriate to the content and assignment. | Sentences are complete, clear, and concise. | Sentences are well constructed, strong, and varied. | Sentence transitions are present and maintain the flow of thought. |

Mechanics (20%) 2.8 Points | The paper follows APA guidelines for format. | Citations follow APA guidelines. | The paper is laid out with effective use of headings, font styles, and white space. | Rules of grammar, usage, and punctuation are followed. | Sentences are complete, clear, concise, and varied. | Spelling is correct. |

* APA Guidelines * Do not use Week three scenario or anything similar as the title. Use a meaningful title that describes the content of the paper. * Do not use scenario one or scenario two as headings. * Do not repeat the requirements in the paper. * In text citation should be less than 10% of the paper.