Business Commons^™

The Use Of Object-Oriented Design Methodologies In Systems Design, Rick C. Larkin

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Object-oriented design methodologies, along with object-oriented programming techniques, have recently gained significant popularity as their advantages have become evident. Traditional methodologies following the structured approach have not been successful in providing an accurate model of the business system.Object-oriented techniques, where an object in the computer system corresponds to a real-world object, have been much more successful in accurately modeling the business system and its environment.

Object-oriented methodologies provide many advantages over structured approaches to systems design. Concepts such as data hiding, encapsulation, inheritance, dynamic binding, and polymorphism help to achieve an accurate and flexible system that is resistant to corruption …

No. 121 1993 April

International Journal for Business Education

SIEC Historical Documents

Job Attribute Preferences Of The Workforce In Polish High Technology Enterprises, Florian Michael Sisavic

Dissertations and Theses

A key precept in work place motivation theory is that management knows what job attributes are valued by the employee. Management can benefit by asking employees what they want from their work experience (i.e., job attribute preferences), rather than assume they know. This is particularly important to Polish high technology companies that are in transition to a free-market economy and to Polish workers who must be appropriately motivated to compete globally.

This study attempts to better understand the job attribute preferences of Polish managers and workers, the potential gaps between Polish managers' perception of their workers' preferences (system), and how …

Protocol Conformance Test Generation Using Circular Uio With Overlapping, Sesharao Patchipala

Theses

The purpose of the protocol conformance testing is to ensure that protocol implementations are consistent with their specifications. After the U-method was introduced, several test methods based on the Unique Input/Output (UI0) sequences which were the main concept in the U-method have been proposed, namely, the RCP-method, MUIO-method, MUIO with overlapping method, B-method, C-method. A good test sequence must be short and have wide fault coverage. By comparing the test sequences generated by the above test methods based on experimental results, reveals that the test sequences by the MUIO with overlapping method are the worst in quality but their lengths …

Computer Implementation Of Mason's Rule And Software Development Of Stochastic Petri Nets, Xiaoyong Zhao

Theses

A symbolic performance analysis approach for discrete event systems can be formulated based on the integration of Petri nets and Moment Generating Function concepts [1-3]. The key steps in the method include modeling a system with arbitrary stochastic Petri nets (ASPN), generation of state machine Petri nets with transfer functions, derivation of equivalent transfer functions, and symbolic derivation of transfer functions to obtain the performance measures. Since Mason's rule can be used to effectively derive the closed-form transfer function, its computer implementation plays a very important role in automating the above procedure. This thesis develops the computer implementation of Mason's …

Systems Integration In Pharmaceutical Industry Using Object-Oriented Expert System Technology, Korrapolu Reddy

Theses

SPHINX is an object-oriented expert system addressed to solve the burning problems of pharmaceutical industry. SPHINX stands for Systems integration in PHarmaceutical INdustry using object-oriented eXpert system technology.

Various problems that American pharmaceutical industries are facing have been explained. Using the revolutionary object-oriented concepts and the powerful expert systems technology, it has been shown how a prescription can be written to solve all the problems of pharmaceutical industries. A problem "Minimizing the wastage of Interferon" has been taken to demonstrate the power of Object-oriented Expert System technology.

Data Base Management And Quality Control Approaches: Users And Developers, Kamvar Farahbod, Jay Varzandeh

Journal of International Information Management

The widepsread use of Computer Integrated Manufacturing, the quest for Total Quality Management, and the increasing role of technology management have given an added importance to today's application of DBMS and the accuracy of its data. Indeed, the empirical evidence has documented data inaccuracy as the most (difficult part of implementing information systems softwares. This paper explores the process of building a data base necessary to ensure the quality of the data for conversion into information. This article also illustrates the application of quality control techniques for maintaining data base quality.

Factors Determining The Behavior And Effectiveness Of Personal Decision Support Systems Users: An Examination Of Fishbein's Model, Jack Teh, L. A. Digman

Journal of International Information Management

Personal computing, and the microcomputer which support it, are referred to as Personal Decision Support Systems (PDSS) (Lehman, 1985). Empirical studies regarding personal computing have been of the general field study type, primarily examining trends and/or establishing the basic concept of personal computing. This research builds and empirically tests a research model that conceptualizes some "impact" variables which are internal to the user, as intervening in the relationship between the "situational" or external variables identified by previous MIS research and system success (utilization, decision performance, and satisfaction). This study employs a framework, based on Fishbein and Ajzen's intention-behavior model (1975), …

The State Of Information Technology In China, David A. Rosenthal, Cecilia Wagner

Journal of International Information Management

In order to increase the modernization of its society, the Chinese government has marked Information Technology as an enabler of this goal. The implementation of this goal has been in progress for over 15 years. Many landmarks have been reached in hardware manufacturing and software development. However there still remains significant impediments that inhibit rapid growth of this technology into Chinese organizations. This paper will discuss what these obstades are and how the Chinese government is attempting to remedy them.

Health Care Information Systems Management: Structure And Infrastructure, Binshan Lin

Journal of International Information Management

The practice of medicine is inextricably entwined with the management of health care information system (HCIS). Major problems with HCIS are that it has not evolved from the needs of end users, and lacks of an organizational base^ to manage the HCIS in the health care environment. The object of this paper is to examine a direction to effectively support and enhance the health care activities through managing HCIS. An integrated focus is provided through a framework for analyzing the structure and infrastructure of HCIS in hospitals.

Incorporating Object Analysis And Design Into A Structured Information Systems Development Life Cycle, David C. Wallace

Journal of International Information Management

An object approach to information system development should be incorporated into the structured system design life cycle (SDLC) during the analysis and design phases. The tools of the structured approach (data flow diagrams, data structures, data stores, etc.) help to identify the relationships that exist between the data stores and the entities (objects) within an information system. This is only a starting point at which the IS developer further evaluates me informational needs that are required within the information system. A listing of the data structures is generated to assodate the specific data elements that comprise each data structure. A …

Impediments To Information Technology Utilization In A Developing Nation M Africa, Ravinder Nath

Journal of International Information Management

With an increasing awareness of the role of information technology (IT) in improving internal efficiency and conducting business in the emerging global economy, organizations in the developing nations, like their counterparts in the developed countries, are taking a keen interest in IT-based solutions to their problems. Yet they face unique problems that impede their ability to adopt FT. This research identifies these problems in Zimbabwe - a developing nation in Southern Africa. The results are based on a two-stage study consisting of interviews with 12 MIS managers, and responses to a questiormaire instrument by 88 middle- and upperlevel managers in …

Neural Networks: The Natural Road To Artificial Iiitelligence, Mohammad Dadashzadeh, Behnam Bahr

Journal of International Information Management

Despite the many advances of artificial intelligence (Al) technology, most notably in the area of expert systems, efforts to build intelligent systems that would approach the commonsense reasoning and sensory abilities of even a small child have not been rewarding. A small, but growing number of researches believe that the existing AI toolboxes of symbolic representation and heuristic search may not hold the answer, and that massively parallel networks of simple neuron-like processing elements may hold the key. In this overview article, we examine the use of neurally inspired concepts in the construction of intelligent machines, and address their practical …

Applying A Systems Approach To Mis Design For Occupational Health Care Delivery, Charmayne Cullom

Journal of International Information Management

Decision making in occupational health care management is complex due to the various parties involved in receiving, delivering, and/or paying for^ these services. This paper presents the view of MIS to support occupational health care as a system using Anthony's Paradigm to provide the decision making structure. Informational requirements reflect the hierarchy of strategic, tactical, and operational levels. A matrix of occupational health care services, responsibilities, and participants is utilized. Such matrix provides the foundation to couple needs and requirements of all participants with information system specifications.

Personal Computers And Powerful Preseritations, J. Douglas Gibb

Journal of International Information Management

Some of the best public speakers use personal computers to prepare their talks. They keep a file of speaking materials: quotations, examples, statistics, stories, poems, visual aids, and structured experiences. These items which they keep ori a disk become nuggets of thought and are like money in the bank—always ready when theiy need them. Speaking is not communicating unless some of these materials are used.

Business Visualization: More I Effective Management Tools For Observation, Dynamic Measurement And Control, Hal Records, Alan Olinsky

Journal of International Information Management

Increased global competition and continual pressure to produce more work with fewer resources has become the hallmark of the 1990s. Businesses are taking steps to meet these new challenges by downsizing for better control, using networks (Valovic, 1992) and data communications for rapid response, and purchasing personal tools such as word processing programs, spreadsheets, graphics and desktop publishing programs for an increase of manager productivity. But are these steps sufficient? In order to be more profitable in today's fast-paced and ever-changing environment, business managers at the strategic, tactical and operational levels must be able to visualize their operating data in …

Software Review: Os/2 2.0, Robert D. Wilson

Journal of International Information Management

Since I don't write advertising copy, what you read here may be different from what the few others who do write about IBM's new operating system OS/2 have had to say. You may have noticed that more ink has been devoted to an operating system, IH leave it unnamed, that has yet to be retailed than to OS/2 which has been on the desk for more than a year.

Are Business Students Computer Literate?, Syed Shahabuddin

Journal of International Information Management

In the modem world, a person without a computer knowledge will be considered a "crippled" person. The knowledge of computer is crucial for business managers, however. A computer literate person is one who understands the computer technology, can use the computer, and is able to understand its limitations. Realizing a need for computer literacy, colleges and universities require students to take at least a course in computer. This trend started in 1980 and now most students could be considered computer literate. This paper summarizes the results of the surveys in 1985, 1987, and 1992 of the students in the introductory …

Orion: A Menu-Driveri Source Code Generator For End Users, Jay M. Lightfoot

Journal of International Information Management

Low software development productivity is a major concern for corporations. This paper describes one approach to improve productivity by allowing end users to build their own business data processing systems. The approach uses Orion, a menu-driven software development tool. Orion generates source level COBOL programs that compile and run without modification. The tool does not require end users to know COBOL or high-level query languages. Orion was used for nearly two years to build real business systems. The approach resulted in a significant improvement in software development productivity.

A Group Decision Support System For The Asian Pacific Rim, Milan Aiken, Chi Hwang, Joseph Paolillo, Daeryong Kim, Long-Chuan Lu

Journal of International Information Management

The vast majority of research on Group Decision Support Systems (GDSSs) has been conducted on American groups using English. However, other nationalities using other languages may also benefit from this new technology. The GDSS developed at the University of Mississippi supports over a dozen languages including Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Russian, and Malay which are particularly relevant to organizations on the Asian Pacific rim. Three pilot studies of Japanese, Chinese, and Malaysian students using the GDSS demonstrate that these groups can benefit from the technology.

Use Of Expert Systems In Harmonizing International Accounting Reports, Mohammad S. Bazaz, Ravi Parameswaran

Journal of International Information Management

A significant problem in international accounting is the presence of a variety of accounting and disclosure standards that have been adopted by various countries as they match their national information needs to specific formats. Efforts at harmonization of world-wide financial statements have been less than successful. The needs in the 1990s suggest the need for an expedient solution to this problem. The current paper addresses this problem and suggests an information systems approach—a new approach—namely the development of an expert system which would be capable of translating disclosure in a particular country standard to one that meets internationally acceptable accounting …

End User Computing: A Critique Of The Empirical Literature, C. Steven Hunt, Ilyoo Hong

Journal of International Information Management

This manuscript is an attempt to provide the reader with synopses of relevant research pertaining to the EUC literature. References included in [this paper for review address some of the most germane topics in IT management. With the recently increasing recognition that end users are a major player in the acquisition, use, and management of computer resources in business organizations, a host of researchers have examined diverse changes that have occurred in the computing environment in order to explore various issues associated with enduser computing (EUC). This paper suggests that past EUC research has extensively examined the effects of MIS …

Software Review: Atlas *018, Robert D. Wilson

Journal of International Information Management

Atlas*015 (AGIS) from Strategic Mapping Inc., is more than a sophisticated graphical database or mapping program for the personal computer. It is software that performs complex spatial analyses of data within a geographical framework. A geographic information system (CIS), gives the user the ability to associate virtually any event or transaction with a geographic location. From there sophisticated analyses of your data can be conducted. GISs go far beyond the more common thematic mapping programs.

An Econometric Analysis Of The Desktop Computer Hardware Market, Brian D. Lynch, Frank M. Lin, Winston T. Lin, H. Raghav Rao

Journal of International Information Management

The purpose of this study was to compare six competing econometric models which depict the relationship between hardware characteristics and machine cost for the desktop computer market. The Box-Cox methodology and multiyear data were used to facilitate this comparison. The analysis validated that the Box-Cox methodology is a viable means for evaluating competing model formulations within the field of information systems research. The results were consistent with past research that suggested a double natural log model formulation for representing the functional relationships among variables when modeling machine cost as a function of hardware attributes. Further, the more complex power transformation …

Effects Of Dogmatism On Computer Literacy*, Floyd J. Brock, Chatles E. Paddock, Wayne E. Thomsen

Journal of International Information Management

Dogmatism and other individual characteristics affect the level of computer literacy (information fundamentals) reached in the introductory courses in Management Information Systems (MIS), perhaps as much as the investment education institution have made in software and hardware. This paper reports on the results of a questionnaire on computer literacy, dogmatism, and KolVs Learning Styles Inventory (KLSI) given to 80 students at the end of an introductory MIS course. Differences in the literacy and learning styles were analyzed from the perspective of dogmatism. The results indicated thai the scores in dogmatism inversely matched the scores in computer literacy. The effects of …

An Analysis Of The Effectiveness Of Air Force Information Management Officer Training Based On The Perceived Needs Of Current Information Management Officers, David P. Biros, Stewart J. Cole

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if the computer orientation courses provided Air Force information managers are properly focused. This study found that the courses have made the desired impact and, with minor exceptions, information managers perceive then-selves to be more knowledgeable after the training. From the results of the survey it is apparent that information managers are more knowledgeable of computers than they were in a study completed in 1988. The officers who attended training after the course was modified to include computer orientation were much more satisfied with their training than previous graduates. They indicated a …

Corporate Information Management And Business Process Improvement Under The Unit Cost Program: An Analysis Of A System For The Air Force Institute Of Technology, Kevin D. Kettell, Fredrick T. Ziegler Ii

Theses and Dissertations

DOD has been undergoing changes toward a competitive business-type environment as a result of the Packard Commission and -the Goldwater-Nichols Act. As a result of the Goldwater-Nichols Act, two programs directly affect the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT): Defense Management Report Decision 971, better known as the Defense Business Operations Fund (DBOF); and, the Corporate Information Management (CIM) initiative. DBOF requires that organizations provide unit cost per output figures as the basis for organizational funding. Unit cost resourcing changes the way federal managers manage and allocate resources, and promotes quality management and continuous improvement principles. Defense Information Management recognizes …

Automated Logistics Information Systems: A Case Study, James E. Hogue

Theses and Dissertations

A change within the Air Force has shifted management responsibilities within the logistics community. Formerly diverse functions have come under the purview of a single manager-the Logistics Group Commander-who has inherited information systems that may riot be able to provide consolidated information for informed and accurate decision making. The purpose of this thesis was to describe the current and potential ability for three logistics information management systems to share data: Standard Base Supply System, Consolidated Aircraft Management System, and On-Line Vehicle Information Management System. A systems model was synthesized from the literature review to determine what components of a system …

Staffing Sources Of Usaf Medical Center Systems Offices: A Study Of Their Relation To Information Systems Quality, William K. Dorr, Shelley D. Christia

Theses and Dissertations

This study measured the relationship between Medical Systems Office staffing source (i.e., military medical, military communications/computer, civilian government, and contractor personnel) and quality of automated information services provided at CONUS USAF medical centers. A literature search determined that information system quality is best measured on eight dimensions: performance, features, reliability, conformance, durability, serviceability, aesthetics, and perceived quality. The CIO at each medical center was surveyed to determine the level of system conformance to Air Force standards and to gather data on each MSO staff. Users at the medical centers were also surveyed in order to measure performance, features, reliability, serviceability, …

Integrated Diagnostic Expert System Model (Idesm): A Model For The Conversion Of Fault Isolation Procedures Into An Integrated Diagnostic Expert System, Robert J. Lacey, Glen D. Steemson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to develop a model to convert existing hardcopy maintenance manual fault isolation procedures into electronic format and to partially automate the fault isolation process. A comprehensive model was developed which comprised four major components: user interface, expert system submodel, hypermedia submodel, and a submodel integration shell. Using this model, the F 15E nose landing gear fault isolation procedures were transformed into a rule based expert system. An existing hypermedia information base was expanded and subsequently integrated with the expert system to form the prototype application. The prototype was evaluated by engineering and maintenance personnel …