This document analyzes a computer-based information system used in a work environment. It details the inputs, processing methods, and reports produced by the system. The summary provides an overview of the key points: 1) It describes the basic components of the information system, including how data is collected and transformed into useful information through processing. 2) It explains how information flows through different management levels in an organization and the types of reports - operational, tactical, and strategic - produced at each level. 3) It discusses important aspects of information systems like data security, file organization, and ergonomic design to protect information and optimize user experience.

1. Information & Communication Systems
FETAC MinorLevel 5 - AIS code:5N1952
Analyse of a computer-based information system used in the work environment
detailing inputs to the system, methods of processing, and information produced in
the form of report.
YasminaRayeh
8/5/2014
1589 words

2. Business Management FETAC MINORLevel 5
Information and Communication Systems AISCode:5N1952
Yasmina Rayeh 05/08/14
1
Contents
I. Data and information............................................................................................................................2
II. Information flows .................................................................................................................................4
III. The functions of the Main Components of a computer Processing System.................................................6
IV. File Organization Structures...................................................................................................................6
V. File Organization Structures...................................................................................................................8
VI. Ergonomics & computer system design ..................................................................................................9
VII. Data Processing activities Map. ...........................................................................................................10
VIII. Research safely Internet using information communication technology (ICT) ..........................................11

3. Business Management FETAC MINORLevel 5
Information and Communication Systems AISCode:5N1952
Yasmina Rayeh 05/08/14
2
I. Data and information
A ComputerBased Information System(CBIS) helpsprocessing data followingrequirementsand procedures
(strategies,rules,policies and methods)1
.Thisstudy underlinesvariousCBISaspectsproviding description on its
functionalitiesand utilities.
 Relationship between data and information
The difference between "data" and "information" lies in the way they are used. Data is qualified as "raw
material" such as numbers, words, symbols, that needs to be processed in useful hind sights.
Information involves the communication and reception of knowledge: Data are compiled/processed in
meaningful information for specific purposes that can be used in an organisation to allow planning, recording,
controlling, measuring and making specific decisions; hence the need for "data processing". Sound,
measurement, articles or pictures are information.
 Examples
Data Information
Messages converted into electrical or optical signals Content of a conversation
A set of namesand addresseswritten outon to formsready
for typing
A list of names and addresses
 Attributes of information
Accessible Accuracy Reliable Detailed Relevant
Easy to
access
Represents the
factual situation
Froma
verifiable
source
should be at a
level of detail that
allows readability
The required information
leads to improved decision
making
 Reports Identification steps - Operation processes.
1 http://www.slideshare.net/jandian/computer-based-information-system

4. Business Management FETAC MINORLevel 5
Information and Communication Systems AISCode:5N1952
Yasmina Rayeh 05/08/14
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 Flow chart
As described, each departmentneedsto report to the upper level of the hierarchy. Therefore gathering and
processing data is crucial. Processes, people and a CBIS are in place to facilitate reporting that includes all
identified steps and resources.

5. Business Management FETAC MINORLevel 5
Information and Communication Systems AISCode:5N1952
Yasmina Rayeh 05/08/14
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II. Information flows
 How information differs across management levels
Communication flows at each stage of the organisation and might be different from one department to
another2
.
Each department(human resource,financial,marketing,operations…) needs to compile information in order
to manage efficiently and effectively their tasks and the whole business.
Examples:
Fromthe upperlevel (leadership),through themanagement, to thelowest level (workforce), and vice versa a
clear communication process needs to be defined in order to deliver the vision and value, enhance the
profitability of the business.
In this process, procedures and feedback allow verification and correction when necessary.
ECTDB follow a typical administration schema where several levels of hierarchy are involved, but the
communication flowbetween theleaders,managers, related Government bodies, and employees is complex
and ruled by strict protocols. However as training centre abides by laws, this heavy structure comply with all
prerogatives determined by the Irish regulations. This is an administration with a lot of written
communication running at all level of the hierarchy with plenty of reports done.
2 Private Limited Company (Ltd), Public Limited Company (PLC) or Voluntary Organization: seeCRO.ie

6. Business Management FETAC MINORLevel 5
Information and Communication Systems AISCode:5N1952
Yasmina Rayeh 05/08/14
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 Type of information3
:
Operational –routine tasks Tactical – non routine tasks Strategic – decision making
Management information
system (MIS)
Decision support system
(DSS)
Executiveinformation system
(EIS)
 Evaluation tool: comparison.
Evaluation and comparison tools help decision-making to prioritize decisions and vision4
when studying criteria
and evaluating data, report or project results.
CDETB has for instance chosen Do-IT Profilers that provides a two-way flow of information5
ensuring that the
tool is ‘fit for purpose'.
For the course,CDETB interview potentialusersto find outabout their experience and expectations. Meanwhile
CDETB refers to the Labour Market Trends in order to refine requirements and foresee courses in ad equation
with the demand.
 Motivation tool: feedback.
Feedbacks allow a better communication between all levels of the hierarchy as it clarifies, improves, informs on
how the organisation is or should be working.
The SMART tool is one of the tools used to set goals and performance objectives:
Specific - Objectives must be very specific so each person understands what is expected.
Measurable - quantitative or qualitative
Achievable - Employees must be able to reach the objectives.
Relevant - Objectives must be relevant to their wants, needs, and beliefs.
Timely - current feedback is more effective as deadlines measure tasks accomplishment.
 Management
is accountable for the well-being of the organisation and is in charge of “the process of dealing with or
controlling things or people” 6
, therefore needs to determine any issues (for which they are accountable too) is
possiblewith reporting on regularbasis;reporting factsdetermine new actions or corrections and allows further
hindsight that can be elevated to the upper hierarchical level, which decide further processes after analyses.
3 http://catalog.flatworldknowledge.com/bookhub/reader/7?e=collins-ch15_s03
4 Nancy R. Tague’s TheQuality Toolbox, Second Edition,ASQQuality Press, 2004.
5 http://www.doitprofiler.com/education/case-studies.aspx
6 http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/management

7. Business Management FETAC MINORLevel 5
Information and Communication Systems AISCode:5N1952
Yasmina Rayeh 05/08/14
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III. The functions of the Main Components of a computer Processing System
IV. File Organization Structures
 The difference between static and dynamic data
Static data (i.e.in a list) stay the same whilst dynamic data (in a form) can be reassigned or altered.
 The main data collection methods are7
:
 Registration: full enumeration.
 Questionnaires: completed by respondents.
 Interviews: completed with the respondent.
 Direct observations: direct measurements.
 Reporting: analyse activities.
 Data verification and validation is used “to evaluate whether data has been generated according to
specifications, satisfies acceptance criteria, and are appropriate and consistent with their intended use”8
.
Data verification is the systematic process for evaluating performance and compliance of a set of data and
checking if data conforms to specification standards (complete, correct, and consistent).
Data validation (datavetting, data cleaning) uses specifications to ascertain the usability of the data in light of
its measurement quality objectives and to ensure that results obtained are scientifically defensible.
7 http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/x2465e/x2465e09.htm
8 http://www.epa.gov/QUALITY/vandv.html

8. Business Management FETAC MINORLevel 5
Information and Communication Systems AISCode:5N1952
Yasmina Rayeh 05/08/14
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 The difference between single- and multi-user environments
A single-useroperating systemisa system in which only oneuser can access the computer system at a time (e.g.
MicrosoftWindows) whilea multi-user environment design is more complex allowing a multi-connection access
to a computer at the same or different time.
 Data security means the protection of data.
Security involves protecting data and software from being lost / destroyed / corrupted / modified or disclosed
(unauthorised access)
Data integrity means accuracy and completeness
Preserving data: Archives and back-up system are commonly used to prevent breach of security. A backup file
allows a safe copy of the original one.
Other safeguards include:
Password to individual files
Dataencryption:useof secret keysto codeand decodedata so thatit is unreadableby anyone elsewho doesnot
have the ‘key’.

9. Business Management FETAC MINORLevel 5
Information and Communication Systems AISCode:5N1952
Yasmina Rayeh 05/08/14
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V. File Organization Structures
Copyright under Intellectual property (IP) rights 9
jurisdiction confers an automatic protection on an original
literary, scientific, artistic work or commercial creation of mind.
Protected by national and International laws, IP rights cover financial aspects with royalties, but also a
recognition status for the creator10
.
Software copyright is the extension of copyright law to machine-readable software and is used by proprietary
software companies to prevent piracy (unauthorized copying) that induce a loss of incomes11
.
PRIVATE database creates a proprietary link in a specific schema of the local database while Public creates a
database-wide link. The authorisation accesses to the corresponding remote database are different: in private
database, only the private database’s owner who has access to the conceptual schema (logical design model)
can accessdatabaseobjects;whilein publicdatabaseall usersin the physicaldatabasehaveauthorisation to use
the link to access database objects 12
.
Data Protection Acts 1988 and the Data Protection (Amendment) Act set employers and businesses obligations
on how to deal with data access and transmission related to personal data of staff and customers13
.
The European Union directive was adopted in 1995, and implemented in 200314
, regulates the processing of
personal data within the European Union. The Data Protection Directive is an important component of EU
privacy and human rights law.
9 IP covers Copyright,Patents,Trademarks, IndustrialDesigns, GeographicalIndications (wipo.com)
10 http://www.wipo.int/about-ip/en/
11 http://www.answers.com/topic/software-copyright
12 https://community.oracle.com/thread/686026?tstart=0
13 http://www.lawyer.ie/labour-law-1/data-protection#sthash.4Ym5eJ1f.dpuf
14 officially Directive95/46/EC on the protection ofindividuals withregardto theprocessing ofpersonal data andon thefree movement ofsuchdata)

10. Business Management FETAC MINORLevel 5
Information and Communication Systems AISCode:5N1952
Yasmina Rayeh 05/08/14
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 Describe EU directive on privacy
On 25 January 2012, the European Commission unveiled a draft European General Data Protection Regulation
that will supersede the Data Protection Directive15
This major reform of the EU legal framework on the
protection of personal data will strengthen individual rights and tackle the challenges of globalisation and new
technologies notably through:
 The right to be forgotten
 Access to personal data
 Information about data breaches that could adversely affect customers
 Data protection safeguards built-in into products/services as default setting.
VI. Ergonomics & computer system design
Ergonomics is the study of how a workplace, the equipment used and the work environment itself can best be
designed for comfort, efficiency, safety and productivity.
Below illustrates three potential postures and related problems16
:
Too high, too low or in the lap, a laptop can affect the body17
.
Keyboard and computermonitorshould bedirectly in frontof the user atthe appropriateheight and adjusted to
match his/her specific physical requirements.
15 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_Protection_Directive
16 Griffin, Timothy,"The AdaptiveLaptop". October,2001. Timothy Griffin, IndustrialDesign Program, The University ofCalgary.

11. Business Management FETAC MINORLevel 5
Information and Communication Systems AISCode:5N1952
Yasmina Rayeh 05/08/14
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VII. Data Processing activities Map.

12. Business Management FETAC MINORLevel 5
Information and Communication Systems AISCode:5N1952
Yasmina Rayeh 05/08/14
11
VIII. Research safely Internet using information communication technology (ICT)
ICTs include computers, the Internet, broadcasting and integrated technologies (instant presence information,
video, and telephony -VOIP) to create, store, communicate and manage information.
CDETB website ismade /secured by: http://www.biznetiis.com18
18 http://www.biznetiis.com/Who-We-Are/Quality-Standards.aspx

13. Business Management FETAC MINORLevel 5
Information and Communication Systems AISCode:5N1952
Yasmina Rayeh 05/08/14
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14. Business Management FETAC MINORLevel 5
Information and Communication Systems AISCode:5N1952
Yasmina Rayeh 05/08/14
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Along with the ISO standards, some protective measures to secure CDETB website and data are implemented
within the network and on each location:
Anti-virus
Common security threats are Malicious code (worms, Trojan, viruses, spyware), denial of service attack
(overwhelming a networkwithmassivecommunication),spoofing(phishing,scam,man-in–the-middle) and Anti-
virus, anti-spyware and anti-adware can stop them.
Other specific tools:
- Built-in firewalls: create Inbound/outbound rules to HTTP conversation to identify and block attacks.
- OS Update
- Network isolation (Subnetting) avoids internal data access.
- Data encryption using symmetric and asymmetric keys.
- Securing authentication with Smartcards, biometrics controls and digital print.
For studentsfollowingcourses,verifying information from the Internet is crucial, therefore Search needs to be
made in order to find out if:
 The author qualified to write on the given topic
 The purpose is dealt by experts
 The information is objective, impartial?
 The information is accurate, factual, up-to-date and clearly sourced, which means also that the
Reliability/Credibility/ Legitimacy should be verified outside of the Internet.

15. Business Management FETAC MINORLevel 5
Information and Communication Systems AISCode:5N1952
Yasmina Rayeh 05/08/14
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