Lecture 1

1. Lecture 1 ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills Prof. DawidKasperowicz http://www.yorku.ca/dkasper

2. Learning Objectives • Information Systems • Definition • Types and Users • Role in Organizations • Potential Benefits • Development Process ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

3. Computer-Based Information Systems (CBIS) • Set of interrelated components • Hardware • The physical components of a computer that performs the input, processing, storage, and output activities of the computer • Software • The computer programs that govern the operation of the computer • Data • Raw facts, such as an employee number, total hours worked in a week, inventory part number, or sales orders • Networks • Computers and equipment that are connected in a building, around the country, or around the world to enable electronic communications • Users • People who will regularly interact with the system • Procedures • An established or official way of doing something ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

4. Computer-Based Information Systems (CBIS) • Set of interrelated components • Hardware • Inputs – Keyboard, Mouse, Scanner, Microphone • Processing – Central Processing Unit (CPU) • Storage – Hard Disk Drive (HDD), Solid State Drive (SSD), Random Access Memory (RAM), Read-Only Memory (ROM) • Output – Monitor, Printer, Speakers • Software • Contain various components: • User-Interface Components – Parts of the software that the user will interact with • Business Logic Components – Perform validation or calculations on data, as well as written data to a database • Reporting Components – Creating reports from data for information generation and knowledge discovery • Numerous types: • System Software – Needed for a computer to operate • Application Software – Uses the computer system to perform work beyond the operation of the computer itself • Embedded Software – Permanent software programmed into a read-only memory (ROM). Mostly identified with firmware ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

5. Computer-Based Information Systems (CBIS) • Set of interrelated components • Data • Different from: • Information – Interpreted data. Forms when data is processed, organized, and structured to provide context or additional value beyond the individual facts • Knowledge – Awareness and understanding of information and the ways the information can be made useful • Networks • Various types: • Personal Area Network (PAN) – A network that connects information technology devices close to one person • Local Area Network (LAN) – A network that connects information technology devices within a small area, such as an office, home, or building • Metropolitan Area Networks (MAN) – A network that connects information technology devices in a geographical area that spans a campus or city • Wide Area Networks (WAN) – A network that connects information technology devices across large geographical regions • Procedures • Includes strategies, policies, methods, and rules for using the CBIS, including the operation, maintenance, and security of the computer ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

6. Computer-Based Information Systems (CBIS) • The interrelated components process data to: • Collect, store and disseminate data • Organize data and transform it into information • Provide it to management and users • Examples: • Automated Teller Machine (ATM) • Airline reservation systems • Course reservation systems • Two types: • Manual • Computerized ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

7. Business Information Systems (BIS) • BIS support the activities of individuals in organizations and have potential benefits at organizational and individual levels • Multiple types of BIS • Electronic Commerce Systems (E-Commerce) • Transaction Processing Systems (TPS) • Enterprise Systems • Management Information Systems (MIS) • Decision Support Systems (DSS) • Artificial Intelligence (AI) Systems • Expert Systems ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

8. Business Information Systems (BIS) • Electronic Commerce Systems (E-Commerce) • Systems that conduct business activities (e.g., distribution, buying, selling, marketing, servicing products) electronically over computer networks • Business activities are done: • Business to Business (B2B) • Business to Consumer (B2C) • Consumer to Consumer (C2C) • Business to Government (B2G) • Consumer to Government (C2G) ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

9. Business Information Systems (BIS) • Transaction Processing Systems (TPS) • An IS that collects, stores, modifies and retrieves transactions of an organization • The word transaction is used to mean any event that generates or modifies data stored in the IS • Various types: • Batch Processing – Refers to the execution of a series of programs (jobs) on a computer without manual intervention. Several transactions, called a batch are collected and processed at the same time. The results of each transaction are not immediately available when the transaction is being entered • Real-Time Processing – Attempts to guarantee an appropriate response to a request quickly enough such that it appears to be instantaneous. Each transaction is unique; it is not part of a group of transactions ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

10. Business Information Systems (BIS) • Transaction Processing Systems (TPS) • Various types: • Time-Sharing Processing – The sharing of a computer system among multiple users, giving the illusion they have exclusive control of the system • Transaction Processing – The processing of information that is divided into individual, indivisible operations, called transactions. Each transaction must succeed or fail as a complete unit; it cannot remain in an intermediate state ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

11. Business Information Systems (BIS) Transaction Processing Systems (TPS) ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

12. Business Information Systems (BIS) • Enterprise Systems • A IS that is central to the organization by ensuring information can be shared across all business functions and all levels of management to support the running and managing of a business • Able to provide real-time information which helps coordinate activities and monitor their execution ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

13. Business Information Systems (BIS) • Management Information Systems (MIS) • Used by managers to analyze the data from various sources to create reports and other types of information that can be used to support managerial decision making • Majority of data comes form the TPS • Major outputs include: • Statistical summaries – Summaries of raw data such as daily production • Exception reports – Highlights of data items that are larger/smaller than designated levels • Periodic reports – Statistical summaries provided at regular periods • Ad-hoc reports – Special, unscheduled reports provided on demand • Comparative analysis – Performance comparison to competitors, past performance, or industry standards • Projections – Advance estimates of various future trends ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

14. Business Information Systems (BIS) • Decision Support Systems (DSS) • Provides computerized support for complex, sometimes non-routine decisions • Usually serve management, operations, and planning levels of an organization and help make decisions • Sometimes referred to as, “what if” analysis as it answers questions like, “What if sales dip below $100 million during the third quarter and interest rates rise to 7.5%?” ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

15. Business Information Systems (BIS) • Artificial Intelligence (AI) Systems • Computer systems that attempts to build computers that operate like a human brain • Has capabilities to: • Learn from data • Recognize patterns • React to sensory data • Mostly used for forecasting, prediction, classification ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

16. Business Information Systems (BIS) • Expert System • A system that gives a computer the ability to make suggestions and function like an expert in a particular domain • Organizations can capture and use the knowledge of domain experts and with this system • Consists of: • Knowledge Base – Stores all relevant information, data, rules, cases, and relationships. Natural extension of a database • Inference Engine – Seeks information and relationships from the knowledge base and provides answers, predictions, and suggestions • Explanation Facility – Provides reasoning for its conclusions • Knowledge Base Acquisition Facility – Provides a convenient and efficient means of capturing and storing all components of the knowledge base • User Interface – User interacts with this component. It interacts with the Inference Engine ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

17. Organizations and Information Systems • Value Chain – A series (chain) of activities that a firm operating in a specific domain performs in order to deliver a valuable product or service for the market • Upstream Management– The management of raw materials, inbound logistics, warehouse and storage facilities • Downstream Management – The management of finished product storage, outbound logistics, marketing and sales, and customer service • For E-Commerce • Selling on your own website – Buyers review electronic catalogs from which they buy. Large buyers are provided with their own website and customized catalogs • Example: Dell • Auctions – Auctioning off products or obsolete equipment on a website. This type can shorten cycle time and the supply chain and save on logistics and administrative expenses • Example: Online car auctions for car dealers doesn’t require physical transporting the car to a auction lot, thus saving money on the transportation ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

18. Organizations and Information Systems The Value Chain of a Manufacturing Company ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

19. Organizations and Information Systems • Value Chain • Used to investigate each activity in the chain to determine how to increase the value perceived by a customer • Just as important for companies that don’t manufacture products because the concept can be used by adding significant amount of value to products and services • Two major activity sets • Physical/Traditional Value Chain– A physical-world activity performed to enhance a product or service • Virtual Value Chain – A virtual-world activity performed to enhance a product or service ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

20. Organizations and Information Systems • Supply Chain Management (SCM) Systems • A system that includes planning, executing, and controlling all activities involved in raw material sourcing and procurement, converting raw materials to finished products, and warehousing and delivering finished products to customers • Main goal is to provide a single information access location to sales, purchasing, manufacturing, distribution, and tranportationso various departments can use the same data • Helps determine: • What supplies are required for the value chain • What quantities are needed to meet customer demand • How supplies should be processed(manufactured) into finished goods and services • How the shipment of supplies and products to customers should be scheduled, monitored, and controlled ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

21. Organizations and Information Systems • Supply Chain Management (SCM) Systems • Cannot get full benefit of SCM until one has Customer Relationship Management (CRM) System • Real business benefit comes from increases in sales from the expanded sales and marketing capabilities of a CRM system • Three major links: • Suppliers – Handled on the supply chain through the use of e-commerce • In-House Processes– Handled on the supply chain through Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems • Customers - Handled on the supply chain through the use of e-commerce ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

22. Organizations and Information Systems • Supply Chain Management (SCM) Systems • Sales Forecasting – Develops an estimate of future customer demand • Might be done through an ERP system or other specialized software and techniques • Sales and Operations Plan – Focuses on current inventory levels and determines the specific product items that need to be produced and when to meet future demand • Demand Management – Refines the production plan by determining the amount of weekly or daily production needed to meet the demand for individual products • Detailed Scheduling – Uses the production plan defined by demand management to develop a detailed production schedule detailing which item should be made first and when production should switched to another product ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

23. Organizations and Information Systems • Supply Chain Management (SCM) Systems • Materials Requirement Planning – Determines the amount and timing for placing raw material orders with suppliers • Purchasing – Information from materials requirement planning to place purchase orders for raw materials and transmit them to qualified suppliers • Production – Uses the detailed schedule to plan the details of running and staffing the production operation ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

24. Organizations and Information Systems • Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems • A system that supports marketing, sales, service operations involving direct and indirect customer interaction, and programs to retain loyal customers • Must be tailored for each company or organization to be able to have the most benefits • Often integrated with e-commerce systems to allow: • Order entry, Order Tracking, Shipping, Back Ordering, Returns • Two types: • Software as a Service (Saas) – An application that is used over a network opposed to using it directly from ones own computer (also known as the top-most layer in cloud computing) • Software as a Product (SaaP) – An application that is used directly from ones own computer opposed to using it over a network ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

25. Organizations and Information Systems • Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems • Contact Management– Ability to track data on individual customers and sales leads and access that data from any part of the organization • Sales Management – Ability to organize data about customers and sales leads and prioritize the potential sales opportunities and identify appropriate next steps • Customer Support – Ability to support customer service reps so that they can quickly, thoroughly, and appropriately address customer requests and resolve customers’ issues while at the same time collecting and storing data about those interactions • Marketing Automation – Ability to capture and analyze all customer interactions, generate appropriate responses, and gather data to create and build effective and efficient marketing campaigns ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

26. Organizations and Information Systems • Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems • Analysis – Ability to analyze customer data to identify ways to increase revenue and decrease costs, identify the firm’s “best customers,” and determine how to retain them and find even more of them • Social Networking – Ability to create and join groups like LinkedIn where salespeople can make contacts with potential customers • Access by Smartphones – Ability to access Web-based customer relationship management software through Google Android or BlackBerry • Import Contact Data – Ability for users to import contact data from various data service providers that offer company-level contact data that can be downloaded for free directly into the CRM application ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

27. Organizations and Information Systems Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

28. Organizations and Information Systems Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

29. Organizations and Information Systems • Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems • A set of integrated programs that manages the vital business operations for an entire multisite, global organization with a client/server architecture in real time, including contacts with business partners and with customers • Can replace many applications with one unified set of programs, making the system easier to use and more effective • Usually able to support many legal entities, languages, and currencies. • Primary benefit includes eliminating inefficient systems, easing adoption of improved work processes, improving access to data for operational decision making, standardizing technology vendors and equipment, and enabling supply chain management • Not suitable for small businesses ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

30. Organizations and Information Systems • Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems • Can encompass: • Finance/Accounting • Human Resources • Manufacturing • Supply Chain Management • Sales and Service • Customer Relationship Management • Project Management • Etc. • Like most systems, the majority of the processes is automated • Allows flow of information between all business functions inside the organization, and manages connections to outside stakeholders ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

31. Organizations and Information Systems • Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems • Advantages include: • Improved access to data for operational decision making • ERP system operate using integrated databases, using one set of data to support all business functions • The system can support decisions for the entire organization from the start, instead of having to gather data from many sources and trying to coordinate them • The result is an organization that is seamless (runs very smoothly), and allows companies to provide greater customer service and support, strength customer and supplier relations, and generate new business opportunities • Elimination of costly, inflexible legacy systems • Are able to remove many individual systems to replace it with only one system that is integrated for the entire enterprise • Old systems are usually hard to fix, have poor documentation, hard to adapt to an ever changing business domain • Switching eliminates all costs associated with these negative aspects of old systems • Improvement of work processes • High competition requires companies to be effective and customer oriented as possible • ERP vendors ensure to use the best practices and standards in each domain to ensure this happens • Upgrade of technology infrastructure • Allows the company to eliminate multiple hardware platforms, operating systems, and databases from multiple vendors, and standardize on fewer technologies and vendors • Doing so reduce ongoing maintenance and support costs, as well as training load for those who support the infrastructure ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

32. Organizations and Information Systems • Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems • Challenges include: • Cost and disruption of upgrades • Most companies have other systems that must be integrated with the new ERP system, like e-commerce platforms, applications that communicate with suppliers, customers, distributors, business partners, etc. • This integration takes time, effort, and money • Difficulty in managing change • Companies must change how they operate to conform to the ERP’s work process • Changes can take a long time to each to employees that are used to the old way of doing things, and are not willing to adapt to change • This could lead to the company losing experienced workers, and lost time for training • Cost and long implementation lead time • Average implementation cost is $5.5 million with an average project lasting around 14 months • Management of software customization • There may be a need to modify the ERP system to meet specific business requirements • Modification can be expensive and take a long time • User frustration with the new system • Users will most likely initially hate new changes and require a lot of training and encouragment ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

33. Organizations and Information Systems Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

34. Organizations and Information Systems • Competitive Advantage • An advantage that a organization has over its competitors, allow it to generate greater sales or margins and/or retain more customers than its competition • Many types exist: • Cost structure • Product offerings • Distribution network • Customer support • Brand recognition • Etc. • Success of a company often depends on establishing and maintaining a competitive advantage ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

35. Organizations and Information Systems • Competitive Advantage • Firms that gain a competitive advantage often emphasize the alignment of organizational goals and IS goals. • They make sure that there IS/IT departments are totally supportive of the broader goals and strategies of the organization • IS does not give organizations a competitive advantage easily • Strategic planning for competitive advantage includes: • Cost leadership – Deliver the lowest possible cost for products and services • Differentiation – Deliver different products and services • Niche strategy – Deliver to only a small, nice market • Altering the industry structure – Change the industry to become more favorable to the company or organization • Creating new products and services – Introduce new products and services periodically or frequently • Improving existing product lines and services – Make real or perceived improvements to existing product lines and services • First to market – Be the first to enter the market with a product or service • Innovation – Introducing a new or different product or service that is based off old products or services • IS can be used in aiding an organization in finding competitive advantages ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

36. Organizations and Information Systems • Other Benefits of IS • Improved productivity • Reduced costs • Customer satisfaction • Market share growth • Earnings growth • Globalization – Bring down barriers of linguistic and geographical boundaries • Communication • Bridging the cultural gap – Able to communicate with people from different cultures and allows the exchange of views and ideas, thus increasing awareness and reducing prejudice • More time – Businesses able to be open 24 x 7 globally ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

37. Organizations and Information Systems • Traditional Approach to IS Development • Planning – Identifies the scope of the new system, ensure that the project is feasible, and develop a schedule, resource plan, and budget for the remainder of the project • Analysis – Understand and document in detail the business needs and the processing requirements of the new system • Design – Design the solution system based on the requirements defined and decisions made during analysis • Implementation – Build, test, and install a reliable information system with trained users ready to benefit as expected from the use of the system • Maintenance – Keep the system running productively initially and during the many years of the system’s lifetime ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

38. Organizations and Information Systems • Traditional Approach to IS Development • Planning • Five activities occurs in the planning phase: • Define the Problem • Produce the project schedule • Confirm project feasibility • Staff the project • Launch the project ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

39. Organizations and Information Systems • Traditional Approach to IS Development • Planning – Define the Problem • Define precisely the business problem to be solved and thereby determine the scope of the new system • First task is to review the business needs that originally initiated the project • Develop a list of business benefits; a list containing all expected benefits • Second task is to identify the expected capabilities of the new system, with the objective to define the scope of the problem • A system scope document is made from the problem description, the business benefits, and the system capabilities • Might be necessary to build a proof of concept prototype to illustrate that a solution is possible and feasible • Might need to build a context diagram that shows the primary users of the system and the information that is exchanged between them and the system ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

40. Organizations and Information Systems • Traditional Approach to IS Development • Planning – Producing the Project Schedule • Three key terms: • Task – The smallest piece of work that is identified and scheduled • Activity – Made up of a group of related tasks • Phase – Made up of a group of related activities • Provide estimates of the time to complete the project and the total cost of the project • Schedule is divided into two main steps • Develop a Work Breakdown Structure– List of all individual tasks required to complete the project • Built a PERT/CPM Chart – Project Evaluation and Review Technique/Critical Path Method; diagram of all tasks identified, showing the sequence of dependencies of the tasks. • The critical path is the longest path through the diagram and contains all the tasks that must be done in the defined sequential order. • If there is a delay in development of this path, entire project will be late ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

41. Organizations and Information Systems • Traditional Approach to IS Development • Planning – Confirming Project Feasibility • Object is to determine if development of the project has a reasonable chance of success • A list of potential risks is developed with five specific areas of feasibility: • Economic feasibility • Organizational and cultural feasibility • Technological feasibility • Schedule feasibility • Resource feasibility • Project must pass feasibility tests before it can proceed ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

42. Organizations and Information Systems • Traditional Approach to IS Development • Planning – Staff and Launch the Project • Project manager must find the right people with the right skills for the project • Staffing activity consists of five tasks: • Develop a resource plan for the project • Identify and request specific technical staff • Identify and request specific user staff • Organize the project team into workgroups • Conduct preliminary training and team-building exercises ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

43. Organizations and Information Systems • Traditional Approach to IS Development • Analysis • Six primary activities are considered part of this phase: • Gather information • Define system requirements • Prioritize requirements • Build prototypes for discovery of requirements • Generate and evaluate alternatives • Review recommendations with management ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

44. Organizations and Information Systems • Traditional Approach to IS Development • Analysis – Gather Information • System analysts gather information from users of the system, either by interviewing, or watching them work • Obtain other information from reviewing planning documents, policy statements, documents from existing systems, looking at other vendor solutions • Need to collect technical information of all aspects of the existing system to understand it ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

45. Organizations and Information Systems • Traditional Approach to IS Development • Analysis – Define Requirements • Two basic types if requirements: • Functional – Activities the system must perform, based on procedures and rules that the organization uses to run its business • Non-Functional – Characteristics of the system other than activities it must perform or support • Technical – Related to the environment, hardware, and software of the organization • Performance – Related to measures of workload, such as throughput and response time • Usability – Related to users, such as the user interface, related work procedures, online help, and documentation • Reliability - The dependability of the system; how often a system exhibits outages and incorrect processing, and how it detects and recovers from those problems • Security – Which users can perform what system functions under what conditions ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

46. Organizations and Information Systems • Traditional Approach to IS Development • Analysis – Define Requirements • Need both functional and non-functional for a complete definition of a new system, and both are investigated and documented • Primary source of information is various stakeholders of the new system; people who have an interest in the successful implementation of the system. • Analysis – Prioritize Requirements • Important to determine which requirements are most crucial for the systemas some requirements might be desirable but not essential • Resources are limited and system analysts must justify the scope ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

47. Organizations and Information Systems • Traditional Approach to IS Development • Analysis – Build Prototypes for Discovery of Requirements • Building discovery prototypes helps understanding requirements and finding requirements that may have been tacit; understood or implied without being stated • Never built to be fully functional, and is usually thrown away once it served its purpose • Helps assess if new technology will provide appropriate capabilities to address the business need and thus feasible ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

48. Organizations and Information Systems • Traditional Approach to IS Development • Analysis – Generate and Evaluate Alternatives • Many alternatives exists, all have their own costs and benefits • System analyst wants to provide highest benefits with the lowest costs. Sometimes, this means going with an existing solution opposed to building a new one • All alternatives go through a cost-benefit analysis and the best alternative is chosen • Analysis – Review Recommendations with Management • Each alternative should be explored, including cancelation • Project cannot continue without the green light from management • Continual reassessment of feasibility is necessary ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

49. Organizations and Information Systems • Traditional Approach to IS Development • Stakeholders • All people who have an interest in the success of a new system • Three groups: • Users – Those who use the system • Client – Those who pay for an own the system • Technical Staff– Those who ensure the system operates in the computing environment of the organization • Users as stakeholders: Identifying user roles (types of system users) is done looking: • Horizontally – Analyst must look for information flow across business departments or functions • Vertically – Analyst must look for information needs across different user aspects ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1

50. Organizations and Information Systems • Traditional Approach to IS Development • Users as stakeholders: Identifying user roles (types of system users) is done looking: • Vertically – Analyst must look for information needs across different user aspects • Business Users– People who use the system to perform day-to-day operations • Information Users– People who need current information from the system • Management Users– People responsible for seeing the company is performing its daily procedures efficiently and effectively • Executive Users– Top executives of an organization typically want information for comparing overall improvements in resource utilization, provide strategic information on trends and directions of the industry and business • External Users– People who are not directly in the organization; e.g., customers and suppliers ADMS 3020 – Canadian Business Culture and Management Skills – Lecture 1