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CHAPTER 3
DATABASES AND DATA WAREHOUSES
Building Business Intelligence
THE CHAPTER IN SHORT FORM…
This chapter introduces your students to the vitally important role of information in an organization and the
various technology tools (databases, DBMSs, data warehouses, and data mining tools) that facilitate the
management and organization of information.
In the first section – which is short but powerful – your students will learn about the value of business
intelligence. We also review some key concepts such as OLTP and OLAP and introduce the notion of an
operational database.
The second section is a fairly thorough (but not technical) look at the relational database model. It explores
such key concepts and terms as
1. Database and relation
2. Data dictionary
3. Primary key and foreign key
The following section covers database management system software and covers key topics such as
views, queries, reports, and SQL.
In the fourth section, your students will tour data warehouses and data mining tools that support OLAP
and help create business intelligence. Within data mining tools we cover query-and-reporting tools,
intelligent agents, multidimensional analysis tools, and statistical tools.
In the final section, we look at four important questions. They are:
1. Who should oversee the organization’s information?
2. How will changes in technology affect organizing and managing information?
3. Is information ownership a consideration?
4. What are the ethics involved in managing and organizing information?
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Describe business intelligence and its role in an organization.
2. Differentiate between databases and data warehouses with respect to their focus on online transaction
processing and online analytical processing.
3. List and describe the key characteristics of a relational database.
4. Define the five software components of a database management system.
5. List and describe the key characteristics of a data warehouse.
6. Define the four major types of data mining tools in a data warehouse environment.
7. List key considerations in managing the information resource in an organization.
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LECTURE OUTLINE
INTRODUCTION (p. 78)
BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE (p. 78)
THE RELATIONAL DATABASE MODEL (p. 80)
1. Collections of Information
2. Created with Logical Structures
3. With Logical Ties Among the Information
4. With Built-In Integrity Constraints
DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM TOOLS (p. 83)
1. Data Definition Subsystem
2. Data Manipulation Subsystem
3. Application Generation Subsystem
4. Data Administration Subsystem
DATA WAREHOUSES AND DATA MINING (p. 94)
1. What Is a Data Warehouse?
2. What Are Data Mining Tools?
3. Data Marts: Smaller Data Warehouses
4. Important Considerations in Using a Data Warehouse
MANAGING THE INFORMATION RESOURCE IN AN ORGANIZATION (p. 100)
1. Who Should Oversee the Organization’s Information?
2. How Will Changes in Technology Affect Organizing and Managing Information?
3. Is Information Ownership a Consideration?
4. What Are the Ethics Involved in Managing and Organizing Information?
END OF CHAPTER (p. 104)
1. Summary: Student Learning Outcomes Revisited
2. Closing Case Study One
3. Closing Case Study Two
4. Key Terms and Concepts
5. Short-Answer Questions
6. Assignments and Exercises
7. Discussion Questions
8. Real HOT Electronic Commerce
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KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS
KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS
Application generation subsystem
Business intelligence
Chief information officer (CIO)
Data administration
Data administration subsystem
Data definition subsystem
Data dictionary
Data manipulation subsystem
Data mart
Data mining tool
Data warehouse
Database
Database administration
Database management system (DBMS)
DBMS engine
Foreign key
Integrity constraint
Logical view
Multidimensional analysis (MDA) tool
Online analytical processing (OLAP)
Online transaction processing (OLTP)
Operational database
Physical view
Primary key
Query-and-reporting tool
Query-by-example (QBE) tool
Relation
Relational database model
Report generator
Structured query language (SQL)
View
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OPENING CASE STUDY
Data Warehousing-Part of the Information Loop at Scotiamcleod
This is a very interesting case about how data bases can be used to help in better understanding and
serving clients. Every times a client calls Scotia Mcleod, the call centre agent tries to get as much
information as possible (e.g., name, address, and stock portfolio) about him/her to be able to draw a profile
of the client. This help in better identifying the client’s need and in better servicing him/her. Behind this lies
a complex data base.
The key of this small case is to make the students understand the importance of data bases and their
application in real business.
SUPPORT
Extended Learning Modules
 XLM/A – if you require your students to build a small database application as a class project, cover
this module on designing a database and entity-relationship (E-R) diagramming.
Skills Modules (CD-ROM)
 Skills Module 2 – if you cover XLM/A with your students, we definitely recommend that you cover Skill
Module 2, which demonstrates how to actually implement a database using Microsoft Access.
Real HOT Group Projects (CD-ROM)
2: Using Relational Technology to Track Projects – use DBMS software to build a database that tracks
construction projects.
C: Building Value Chains – use DBMS software to evaluate customer survey responses and determine
value-added and value-reducing processes.
E: [email protected] – use DBMS software to build a database to support an online
auction.
Web Support (www.mcgrawhill.ca/college/haag)
 Financial aid resources
 Libraries
 Consumer information
 Demographics
 Real Estate
 Data warehousing and data mining tools
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INTRODUCTION
To make good and accurate decisions and work in the most productive and efficient way, knowledge
workers today need (1) access to information and (2) tools to work with that information.
To support these needs, most organizations provide databases (and the DBMS tools which allow you
to work with a database) and data warehouses (and the data mining tools which allow you to slice and
dice your way through data warehouse information).
Those topics are central to this chapter.
BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE
Today, businesses need more than just data and information.
They need business intelligence.
Business intelligence combines many different types of information from many different places to help
you make better decisions and operate more productively. See Figure 3.1 on page 79 for an illustration
of business intelligence.
Business intelligence can be found in databases and data warehouses. To access and use that
business intelligence, you use DBMSs and data mining tools, respectively.
Key Term: Business intelligence is knowledge – knowledge about your customers, your competitors,
your partners, your competitive environment, and your own internal operations.
Key Term: Online transaction processing (OLTP) – the gathering of input information, processing
that information, and updating existing information to reflect the gathered and processed information.
Key Term: Operational database – database that supports OLTP.
Key Term: Online analytical processing (OLAP) – the manipulation of information to support
decision making.
Concept Reinforcement: Real HOT Group project #C (CD-ROM)
This project requires your students to use DBMS software to evaluate customer surveys and build
value chains.
 Value chain analysis certainly requires the use of business intelligence because it explores an
entire business process, from beginning to end, as opposed to just a specific step.
 In Chapter 2, you covered value chains, so this is a good time to see them in action.
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Summary: Student Learning Outcomes Revisited
THE RELATIONAL DATABASE MODEL
To store information in the form of a database, most organizations use the relational database model.
Key Term: Database – a collection of information that you organize and access according to the
logical structure of that information.
Key Term: Relational database model – uses a series of logically related two-dimensional tables or
files to store information in the form of a database.
Key Term: Relation – describes each two-dimensional table or file in the relational model (hence its
name relational database model).
Collections of Information (p. 80)
Key Points:
 Relational databases are collections of information.
 That information is organized logically.
 In our sample database in Figure 3.2 on page 81, the focus of the database is inventory with two
logical collections of information including Part and Facility.
Concept Reinforcement: Adding Value – Class Participation
 To help you present the relational database model by way of our Inventory database example,
we’ve provided you with that database.
 You can find it on the Web site for this text.
 Its file name is CC03Inventory.mdb.
 We encourage you to start Access and use this database to demonstrate many of the concepts
presented in this section.
Created with Logical Structures (p. 80-82)
Key Points:
 Databases are very different from spreadsheets in that you don’t have to know the physical
location (i.e., row number and column character) of information you want to work with.
 Rather, you need only know the logical location of information.
 You develop the “logical” view of a database by creating a data dictionary.
Key Term: Data dictionary – contains the logical structure for the information.
Concept Reinforcement: Adding Value – Class Participation
 Again, we encourage you to use CC03Inventory to demonstrate logical structures.
 After selecting a particular relation, you can click on the Design view to show its data dictionary.
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With Logical Ties Among the Information (p. 82)
Key Points:
 Another key difference between spreadsheets and databases is that you must provide logical ties
among the relations in a database.
 This is achieved by identifying primary keys, foreign keys, and relationships.
 Figure 3.3 on page 83 illustrates these concepts with an extended version of the Inventory
database.
Key Term: Primary key – a field (or group of fields in some cases) that uniquely describes each
record.
Key Term: Foreign key – a primary key of one file that appears in another file.
Concept Reinforcement: Adding Value – Class Participation
 To illustrate Figure 3.3 on page 83 in action, we’ve provided you with another database named
CC03Inventory2.mdb.
 You can find it on the Web site for this text.
 Use it to show the relationships among the relations and the use of foreign keys.
With Built-In Integrity Constraints (p. 82-83)
Key Points:
 By providing the logical organization for database information, you’re also specifying integrity
constraints.
 For example, you cannot add a part of the Part file using a non-existent Facility Number.
Key Term: Integrity constraints – rules that help ensure the quality of the information.
Concept Reinforcement: Team Work – Primary Keys, Foreign keys, and Integrity Constraints
(p. 84)
 This project requires your students to think about and identify primary keys, foreign keys, and
integrity constraints for your school’s class or registration system.
 Depending on how your school handles this, answers may vary slightly from what we’ve provided
below (outside of this box).
 You might consider starting Access and actually defining this database with the information
provided by your students.
INFORMATION
Department
Designation
Course Number
Course Name
PRIMARY KEY?
Yes
FOREIGN KEY?
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
No
Course Description
No
No
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INTEGRITY CONSTRAINTS
Must be unique per department
Must be unique within a department
Must be present; some sort of
character limitation
Must be present; some sort of
character limitation
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Summary: Student Learning Outcomes Revisited
Prerequisite
No
Yes
Number of Credit
Hours
Lab Fee
Instructor Name
Room Number
Time of Day
Day of Week
No
No
Must have a valid Department
Designation and Course Number
Numeric with some sort of range
No
No
No
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
Currency with some sort of range
Must be present even if “Staff”
Must have a valid room number
????
????
DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM TOOLS
To build, access, and use a database, you need a database management system (DBMS).
The five important components of a DBMS are:
1. DBMS engine
2. Data definition subsystem
3. Data manipulation subsystem
4. Application generation subsystem
5. Data administration subsystem
Figure 3.4 on page 85 illustrates the primary roles of the five components.
Most importantly, the DBMS (specifically the DBMS engine) helps knowledge workers focus on the
logical view without regard for the physical view.
Key Term: Database management system (DBMS) – helps you specify the logical organization for a
database and access and use the information within a database.
Key Term: DBMS engine – accepts logical requests from the various other DBMS systems, converts
them into their physical equivalent, and actually accesses the database and data dictionary as they
exist on a storage device.
Key Term: Physical view – how information is physically arranged, stored, and accessed on some
type of storage device such as a hard disk.
Key Term: Logical view – focuses on how you as a knowledge worker need to arrange and access
information to meet your particular business needs.
Data Definition Subsystem (p. 85-86)
Key Points:
 The data definition subsystem is the first part of a DBMS that you use.
 You use it to create the data dictionary, and thus define the logical structure for the files/relations in
a database.
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Key Term: Data definition subsystem – (of a DBMS) helps you create and maintain the data
dictionary and define the structure of the files in a database.
Concept Reinforcement: Extended Learning Module A – Defining a Database and EntityRelationship Diagramming
 This module takes your students through the process of defining (although not implementing) the
structure of a small database application.
 A significant portion of that overall process is the task of determining the data dictionary content
and structure of the files/relations.
Data Manipulation Subsystem (p. 86-91)
Key Points:
 The data manipulation subsystem tools are most often the primary interface between the users and
the information contained in a database.
 Data manipulation subsystem tools include views, report generators, query-by-example tools, and
structured query language.
Key Term: Data manipulation subsystem – (of a DBMS) helps you add, change, and delete
information in a database and mine it for valuable information.
Key Term: View – allows you to see the contents of a database file, make whatever changes you
want, perform simple sorting, and query to find the location of specific information.
Key Term: Report generator – helps you quickly define formats of reports and what information you
want to see in a report.
Key Term: Query-by-example (QBE) tool – helps you graphically design the answer to a question.
Key Term: Structured query language (SQL) – a standardized fourth-generation query language
found in most DBMSs.
Concept Reinforcement: Skills Module 2 (CD-ROM) – Implementing a Database with Microsoft
Access
 In this module, we not only show your students how to implement a database with Microsoft, we
also show them how to build queries using a QBE tool and create reports using a report
generator.
 This module is on the CD that accompanies the students’ texts. If your students don’t have the
CD, send them to the bookstore.
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Key Points:
 Figure 3.5 on page 88 illustrates the functionality of a view.
 Figure 3.6 on page 89 shows some of the steps you would go through to create a report using a
report generator.
 Figure 3.7 on page 90 illustrates the process of using a QBE tool to query information.
Concept Reinforcement: Adding Value – Class Participation
 To demonstrate many of these concepts such as views, report generators, QBE, and even SQL,
we recommend that you play around with CC03Inventory2.
 That database contains sufficient information for you to use all of these data manipulation
subsystem tools.
Application Generation Subsystem (p. 91)
Key Points:
 To develop transaction-intensive applications, your DBMS must support an application generation
subsystem.
 This subsystem includes tools for creating data-entry screens, programming languages specific to
the particular DBMS, and interfaces to commonly used programming languages.
Key Term: Application generation subsystem – (of a DBMS) contains facilities to help you develop
transaction-intensive applications.
Concept Reinforcement: Global Perspective – Floating Databases Aboard Royal Caribbean
Cruise Ships (p. 91)
 This industry perspective covers how and why Royal Caribbean uses a database aboard its
cruise ships to track customer information and provide better service.
 In the perspective is an interesting question: What fields of information would you have in a
“massage” record.
 Cover this with your students to generate some class participation.
Data Administration Subsystem (p. 92-93)
Key Points:
 To manage the overall database and DBMS environment, you need to use the data administration
subsystem.
 It includes facilities for backup and recovery, security management, query optimization,
concurrency control, and change management.
Key Term: Data administration subsystem – (of a DBMS) helps you manage the overall database
environment by providing facilities for backup and recovery, security management, query optimization,
concurrency control, and change management.
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Concept Reinforcement: On Your Own – DBMS Support for OLTP, OLAP, and Information
Management (p. 92)
 This project requires your students to think about the many DBMS tools we’ve just covered and
determine their primary focus – for supporting OLTP, OLAP, and/or information management.
 In the table below (outside of this box), we’ve provided our answers. With some argument, your
students could generate other answers that may be correct in a given situation. That is, our
answers are very generic.
DBMS TOOL
DBMS engine
View
Report generator
QBE
SQL
Data entry screen
DBMS programming language
Data administration subsystem
OLTP
OLAP
BOTH
X
X
MANAGEMENT
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
DATA WAREHOUSES AND DATA MINING
Many organizations need information from multiple databases to solve complex problems and take
advantage of large opportunities.
So, they are building data warehouses and using data mining tools to extract the necessary
information.
Data warehouse represent the next logical step beyond databases in building business intelligence.
What Is a Data Warehouse? (p. 94-96)
Key Points:
 Data warehouses support OLAP only, not OLTP.
 They are multidimensional, not just two dimensions like databases.
 They support decision making, not transaction processing.
 Figure 3.8 on page 95 shows a data warehouse and its various dimensions.
Key Term: Data warehouse – logical collection of information – gathered from many different
operational databases – used to create business intelligence that supports business analysis activities
and decision-making tasks.
Concept Reinforcement: Adding Value – Class Participation
 Spend some time with Figure 3.8 on page 95 as it is a great illustration of a data warehouse.
 For example, the second cube from the left in the top row of the first layer represents sales for the
North territory for product line #2.
 Pick a few cubes and ask your students what information is in them.
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What Are Data Mining Tools? (p. 96-97)
Key Points:
 Data mining tools allow you to extract information from a data warehouse.
 Data mining tools include query-and-reporting tools, intelligent agents, multidimensional analysis
tools, and statistical tools.
 Figure 3.9 on page 96 illustrates the role of these various data mining tools.
Key Term: Data mining tools – the software tools you use to query information in a data warehouse.
Key Term: Query-and-reporting tools – similar to QBE tools, SQL, and report generators in the
typical database environment.
Key Term: Multidimensional analysis (MDA) tools – slice-and-dice techniques that allow you to view
multidimensional information from different perspectives.
Concept Reinforcement: Global Perspective – Cross-Selling Insurance Products in Australia
(p. 97)
 This perspective covers how Australian P&C Direct is using data warehouses to support customer
relationship management (CRM) and cross-selling strategies.
 P&C includes both customer information and marketing campaign information in its data
warehouse (both sets of information coming from different databases).
Data Marts: Smaller Data Warehouses (p. 97-98)
Key Points:
 Data warehouses are often implemented on an organization wide basis.
 However, most people in an organization don’t need all of that information.
 Instead, they need a smaller subset, which would be contained in a data mart.
Key Term: Data mart – a subset of a data warehouse in which only a focused portion of the data
warehouse information is kept.
Concept Reinforcement: Adding Value – Class Participation
 Cover the Lands’ End discussion presented in the text on page 97-98.
 It covers the fact that Lands’ End built a huge data warehouse that no one would use because it
was so complicated.
 People did begin using the information finally when it was broken into focused, smaller data
marts.
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Important Considerations in Using a Data Warehouse (p. 98-100)
Key Points:
 Not every organization needs a data warehouse or data mart.
 And, even if an organization needs a data warehouse, it still has many questions to address.
 Important considerations here include:
o Do you need a data warehouse?
o Do all your employees need an entire data warehouse?
o How up-to-date must the information be?
o What data mining tools do you need?
Concept Reinforcement: Team Work – How Up-to-Date Should Data Warehouse Information
Be? (p. 100)
 In this project, your students will evaluate a number of environments and determine how often
data warehouse information should be updated – monthly, weekly, daily, or by the minute.
 We provide our answers below.
1. To adjust class sizes in a university registration system – daily.
2. To alert people to changes in weather conditions – by the minute.
3. To predict scores in professional football games – weekly.
4. To adjust radio advertisements in light of demographic changes – monthly.
5. To monitor the success of a new product line in the clothing retail industry – weekly.
6. To adjust production levels of foods in a cafeteria – by the minute.
7. To switch jobs to various printers in a network – by the minute.
8. To adjust CD rates in a bank – daily.
9. To adjust forecasted demands of tires in an auto parts store – weekly.
MANAGING THE INFORMATION RESOURCE IN AN ORGANIZATION
This is a great section and opportunity for you to focus on the many issues surrounding information as
a resource without talking about technology.
The simple fact is that managing information as a resource is much more difficult than determining how
to organize and structure a database or data warehouse.
Who Should Oversee the Organization’s Information? (p. 101-102)
Key Points:
 Most large organizations have three high-level strategic positions that help oversee the information
resource.
 These include chief information officer (CIO), data administration, and database administration.
 The latter two are often in the form of a steering committee, as opposed to a single person.
Key Term: Chief information officer (CIO) – responsible for overseeing an organization’s information
resource.
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Summary: Student Learning Outcomes Revisited
Key Term: Data administration – the function in an organization that plans for, oversees the
development of, and monitors the information resource.
Key Term: Database administration – the function in an organization that is responsible for the more
technical and operational aspects of managing the information contained in organizational databases
(which can include data warehouses and data marts).
Concept Reinforcement: Industry Perspective – Do You Want to Be a CIO? (p. 101)
 This industry perspective provides some statistics concerning salaries in the IT field, with CIOs
being on the high end at a median of $119,000.
 What’s really important is to stress to your students what it takes to become a CIO.
 First, CIOs need detailed knowledge about the business environment.
 Second, CIOs need detailed knowledge about how technology works.
 Finally, we believe CIOs in the future will rise out of the data warehousing arena.
How Will Changes in Technology Affect Organizing and Managing Information? (p. 102)
Key Points:
 Technology changes on a daily basis.
 But new technologies should not be instantly adopted.
 For adoption, new technologies should enable the organization to better perform its processes and
functions.
Concept Reinforcement: Real Hot Group project #E (CD-ROM)
 As you close this chapter, consider assigning any of the three Real Hot Group projects that focus
on designing, building, and using databases.
 Number E requires your students to design and build a database for an online auction format.
Is Information Ownership a Consideration? (p. 103)
Key Points:
 Ultimately, someone in any organization must take ownership of information.
 Ownership in this instance refers to who is responsible for the quality of the information.
Concept Reinforcement: On Your Own – CRUD – Defining Information Ownership (p. 102)
 In this project, your students will consider the issue of information ownership within the context of
CRUD – create, read, update, and/or delete.
 In other words, given specific pieces of information at your school – such as Student ID, name,
address, GPA, declared major, and so on – who has the ability to create, read, update, and/or
delete it.
 For example, should a student have the ability to update his/her address or should your school
control that function?
 Many interesting discussions will arise from this project.
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What Are the Ethics Involved in Managing and Organizing Information? (p. 103-104)
Key Points:
 Finally, discuss with your students the ethics involved in managing and organizing information.
 Your discussion here will centre mainly around who should have access to information and what
they should be able to do with it.
Concept Reinforcement: Industry Perspective – Do Movies Affect Your View of Ethics? (p.
103)
 This industry perspective details how movies affect our view of ethics.
 Specifically, we talk about Gattaca, a movie in which all people can easily gain access to a
person’s DNA.
 As well, DNA is used to determine education, jobs, quality of life, etc.
 This is a great discussion to end the chapter.
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SUMMARY: STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES REVISITED
In each chapter and module, we revisit the student learning outcomes as a mechanism and format for
summarizing the chapter.
You’ll find this content for Chapter 3 on page 104-105.
Following the adage of, “Tell them what you’re going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you
told them,” you should walk through the summary with your students.
You should also inform your students that the summary is great support for studying for exams.
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Closing Case Study One
CLOSING CASE STUDY ONE
We’ve Got OLTP Covered; Let’s Go on to OLAP (p. 105-107)
In this first closing case study, your students will read about three different companies and their struggles
and successes in supporting OLAP.
The first is Eastman Chemical Company. It has several problems, including too much information,
information in incompatible formats, and difficult-to-use software.
The second is Texas Instruments (TI). TI’s decision makers must use information from several different
databases. IT specialists at TI do nothing all day except build data-extraction programs and reports to
provide managers with what they need.
The third is Cigna Corporation. Cigna is actually pleased with its OLAP-supporting efforts.
QUESTIONS
1. In your view, what is the single most important factor that hinders all organizations in general from
providing good online analytical processing (OLAP) support? Why is it so much easier for
organizations to provide good online transaction processing support (OLTP)?
DISCUSSION
 Answers here will vary greatly according to your students.
 We are much better at providing OLTP support because that’s what we’ve used technology for
since the beginning.
 Also, OLTP is much more straightforward and can be easily defined by a set of well-known rules.
 OLAP is much more subjective.
2.
Consider Eastman. According to Jerry, most of the decision support software is too difficult for
managers to use. One identified solution is to provide a menu of predefined reports. Will that
completely solve the problem? What other steps should Eastman take so that managers don’t find
the decision support software too difficult to use?
DISCUSSION
 A menu of predefined reports will help, but it will not completely solve the problem.
 Eastman should focus on finding easy-to-use OLAP software and then provide extensive training
for its managers.
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Closing Case Study One
3.
Now consider Texas Instruments. Its managers need information for decision making that resides in
several different databases. One potential solution here is to build a data warehouse and extract the
necessary information from the various databases. Will this solve the problem? Why or why not? If
Texas Instruments does indeed build a data warehouse, what sort of training will its managers need?
How can Texas Instruments convince its managers that learning how to use yet another technology
tool will be beneficial?
DISCUSSION
 This is a complete solution provided that TI train its managers to use a data warehouse and the
data mining tools.
 The easiest way to convince people of the worth of new technologies is “proof by example.”
4.
Finally, consider Cigna. According to Marc, Cigna is half-way home in providing OLAP support. If
you have only half the information you need to make a decision, how effective do you think you’ll be?
Can you expect to make the right decision 50 percent of the time if you have only 50 percent of the
information you need? What if you have 90 percent of the information you need? Will you be 90
percent correct in making your decisions? Why or why not?
DISCUSSION
 This discussion question will generate several responses, all of which are correct if they are
justified adequately.
 In some instances, having some information will enable you to make the right decision.
 At other times, it won’t.
5.
Neil Hastie, CIO at TruServe Corp., describes most decision making in all types of businesses as
“…a lot of by-guess and by-golly, a lot of by-gut, and a whole lot of paper reports.” That statement is
not kind to managers in general nor to IT specialists charged with providing the right people with the
right technology to make the right decisions. What’s the key to turning Neil’s statement into a positive
one? Is it training? Is it providing timely information access? Is it providing easy-to-use tools? Other
solutions? Perhaps it’s a combination of several answers.
DISCUSSION
 Again, this discussion question will generate several different responses, all of which can be
correct.
 We believe it’s a combination of training, providing timely information access, and providing easyto-use tools.
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CHAPTER 3
Closing Case Study Two
CLOSING CASE STUDY TWO
Mining Dining Data (p. 107-108)
In this second closing case study, your students will once again evaluate several different companies and
their use of OLAP to make better decisions.
This time, the focus is on restaurants, fast-food chains, and casinos.
The companies include Red Robin International, Harrah’s Entertainment, and Maxwell’s Pizza.
QUESTIONS
1. Consider the issue of timely information with respect to the businesses discussed in the case. Which
of the businesses must have the most up-to-date information in its data warehouse? Which business
can have the most out-of-date information in its data warehouse and still be effective? Rank the three
businesses discussed with a “1” for the one that needs the most up-to-date information and a “3” for
the one that is least sensitive to timeliness of information. Be prepared to justify your rankings.
DISCUSSION
 Answers here will vary greatly.
 All of your students are correct provided they offer the appropriate justification.
2.
Harrah’s Entertainment tracks a wealth of information concerning customer-spending habits. If you
were to design Harrah’s Entertainment’s data warehouse, what dimensions of information would you
include? As you develop your list of dimensions, consider every facet of Harrah’s business
operations, including hotels, restaurants, and gaming casinos.
DISCUSSION
 Your students should be able to generate a considerable number of dimensions.
 We recommend that you cover their answers in class and write the dimensions on the board. The
list should be long, illustrating why data warehouses are truly multidimensional.
 Some dimensions include hotel stays by guest, meals by guest, time of playing in the casino,
dollars spent at the casino, age, etc.
3.
Visit a local grocery store and walk down the breakfast cereal aisle. You should notice something
very specific about the positioning of the various breakfast cereals. What is it? On the basis of what
information do you think grocery stores determine cereal placement? Could they have determined
that information from a data warehouse or from some other source? If another source, what might
that source be?
DISCUSSION
 Breakfast cereals are positioned by the “eye-height” of the target consumers. Cereals for children
are on the lower shelves while adult-oriented cereals are on the upper shelves.
 This information probably did not come from a data warehouse, but rather from target-marketing
initiatives.
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CHAPTER 3
Closing Case Study Two
4.
Suppose you’re opening a pizza parlour in the town where you live. It will be a “take and bake” pizza
parlour in which you make pizzas for customers but do not cook them. Customers buy the pizzas
uncooked and take them home for baking. You will have no predefined pizza types but will make
each pizza to the customer’s specifications. What sort of data warehouse would you need to predict
the use of toppings by time of day and day of the week? What would your dimensions of information
be? If you wanted to increase the requests for a new topping (such as mandarin oranges), what
information would you hope to find in your data warehouse that would enable you to do so?
DISCUSSION
 This is a great closing question.
 Dimensions of information would have to include a unique customer ID, customer demographics,
use of pizza toppings by day of the week, use of pizza toppings by time of day, use of pizza
toppings correlated with sporting events, use of pizza toppings used in conjunction with each other,
and so on.
 If you wanted to increase the requests for a new topping, you should probably focus on the use of
pizza toppings used in conjunction with each other.
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CHAPTER 3
Short-Answer Questions
SHORT-ANSWER QUESTIONS (p. 108)
1.
What is business intelligence? Why is it more than just information?
ANSWER: Business intelligence is knowledge – knowledge about your customers, your
competitors, your partners, your competitive environment, and your own internal operations. It is
more than just information because it combines various types of information to allow you to make
better decisions and operate more productively. p. 78
2.
What is online analytical processing (OLAP)? How is it different from OLTP?
ANSWER: Online analytical processing (OLAP) is the manipulation of information to support
decision making. It differs from OLTP in that it does not process transactions but rather manipulates
existing information to support the making of a decision. p. 79
3.
What is the most popular database model?
ANSWER: The most popular database model is the relational database model. p. 80
4.
What is the role of a data dictionary in a database environment?
ANSWER: A data dictionary contains the logical structure for the information in a database. So, it
contains various field properties, integrity constraints, and the identification of primary and foreign
keys. p. 80
5.
How are primary and foreign keys different? How are they the same?
ANSWER: A primary key is a field that uniquely identifies a record in a relation of a database while
a foreign key is a primary key of one file that appears in another file. So, primary keys must be
unique in a given relation while foreign keys do not have to be. They are the same in that both are
used to enforce integrity constraints. p. 82
6.
What are the five important software components of a database management system?
ANSWER: The five important software components of a DBMS are (1) DBMS engine, (2) data
definition subsystem, (3) data manipulation subsystem, (4) application generation subsystem, and (5)
data administration subsystem. p. 84
7.
What part of a DBMS helps you manage the overall database environment?
ANSWER: The part of a DBMS that helps you manage the overall database environment is the data
administration subsystem. p. 90
8.
What is a data warehouse? How does it differ from a database?
ANSWER: A data warehouse is a logical collection of information – gathered from many different
operational databases – used to create business intelligence that supports business analysis
activities and decision-making tasks. Data warehouses are different from databases in that they
support only OLAP while databases support both OLAP and OLTP. p. 94
9.
What are the four major types of data mining tools?
ANSWER: The four major types of data mining tools are intelligent agents, query-and-reporting tools,
multidimensional analysis tools, and statistical tools. p. 96-97
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CHAPTER 3
Short-Answer Questions
10. What database tools are similar to data mining query-and-reporting tools?
ANSWER: Database tools that are similar to data mining query-and-reporting tools include view,
query-by-example, SQL, and report generators. p. 96-97
11. What is a data mart? How is it similar to a data warehouse?
ANSWER: A data mart is a subset of a data warehouse in which only a focused portion of the data
warehoused information is kept. p. 97
12. How often should you update information in a data warehouse?
ANSWER: That all depends on the purpose a data warehouse and the information it stores. For
example, weather-forecasting data warehouses probably need up-to-the-minute information while
some inventory data warehouses may not. p. 100
13. What is the role of a chief information officer (CIO)?
ANSWER: The role of a chief information officer (CIO) is to oversee an organization’s information
resource. p. 101
14. How do the functions of data administration and database administration differ?
ANSWER: Data administration is responsible for the less technical issues surrounding information as
a resource in an organization. Database administration is responsible for the more technical issues
surrounding database and data warehouse design, implementation, and use. p. 101
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CHAPTER 3
Short-Question Answers
SHORT-QUESTION ANSWERS
Although they are not included in the book, these Question-Answers can be used by the instructor as a
help to review the concepts covered in the chapter.
1.
It’s more than just information.
QUESTION: What is business intelligence? p. 78
2.
Operational databases.
QUESTION: What type of database supports OLTP? p. 78
3.
Relation.
QUESTION: What is a term in the relational database model that describes a table or file? p. 80
4.
Database.
QUESTION: What is a logical collection of information that you access according to the logical
structure of the information? p. 80
5.
A primary key of one file that appears in another file.
QUESTION: What is a foreign key? p. 82
6.
Rules that help ensure the quality of information.
QUESTION: What are integrity constraints? p. 82
7.
Handles the physical view in a database environment.
QUESTION: What is the primary role of the DBMS engine? p. 84
8.
Data dictionary.
QUESTION: What maintains the structure of a database? p. 80
9.
Tools including views, report generators, QBE, and SQL.
QUESTION: What tools are in the data manipulation subsystem? p. 86
10. The graphical equivalent of SQL.
QUESTION: What is QBE? p. 89
11. Security management is an example.
QUESTION: What is the role of the data administration subsystem in a DBMS? p. 90
12. It is multidimensional and supports only OLAP.
QUESTION: What is a data warehouse and what is its role? p. 94
13. Slice-and-dice techniques.
QUESTION: What are multidimensional analysis tools? p. 97
14. A smaller version of a data warehouse.
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CHAPTER 3
Short-Question Answers
QUESTION: What is a data mart? p. 97
15. CIO.
QUESTION: Who oversees the organization’s information as a resource? p. 101
16. The function that plans for, oversees the development of, and monitors the information resource.
QUESTION: What is data administration? p. 101
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CHAPTER 3
Assignments and Exercises
ASSIGNMENTS AND EXERCISES (p. 109)
1.
Finding “Hacked” Databases. The Happy Hacker (www.happyhacker.org/news/index.shtml) is a
Web site devoted to “hacking” – breaking into computer systems. When people hack into a system,
they often go after information in databases. There, they can find credit card information and other
private and sensitive information. Sometimes, they can even find designs of yet-to-be-released
products and other strategic information about a company. Connect to The Happy Hacker Web site
and find an article that discusses a database that was hacked. Prepare a short report for your class
detailing the incident.
DISCUSSION
 Your students will be able to find a wide variety of stories detailing a database that was hacked.
 As these stories change almost daily, we can’t provide any answers here.
 It’s worth your time in class to explore this site. Some of the content is actually questionable from
an ethical point of view.
2.
Defining Queries for a Video Rental Store. Consider your local video rental store. It certainly has
an operational database to support its online transaction processing (OLTP). The operational
database supports such things as the adding of new customers, the renting of videos (obviously), the
ordering of videos, and a host of other activities. Now, assume that the video rental store also uses
that same database for online analytical processing (OLAP) in the form of creating queries to extract
meaningful information. If you were the manager of the video rental store, what kinds of queries
would you build? What answers are you hoping to find?
DISCUSSION
 Your students should be able to generate a number of possible queries here. We list a few below.
 Customers with consistent late charges.
 Videos that haven’t rented in a given period of time.
 “New release” movies that have experienced a decline in rentals (it may be time to move them off
the premier shelves).
 Movies with several copies that do not consistently have multiple copies rented out (it may be time
to sell some of them).
3.
Researching DB2 – A Popular Business DBMS. IBM provides one of the most well-known DBMSs
for the business world, called DB2. Connect to IBM’s site (www.ibm.com) and search for “DB2.” Read
the product overview. What sort of data manipulation tools does it support? What sort of security
management does it support? Does IBM claim that you can easily perform OLAP using DB2? If so,
how and using what kinds of tools?
DISCUSSION
 Have students identify a company and how it could use DB2 to its’ advantage.
 Why are data manipulation tools so important in this context?
4.
The Physical View of a Floppy Disk. Floppy disks are one of the most common storage devises in
a computer system. Although they don’t store a lot of information (about 1.44 megabytes), they do
offer information portability and a means of creating a quick backup of an important file or two. Your
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CHAPTER 3
Assignments and Exercises
task is to research and describe the complete physical view of how information is stored on a floppy
disk. As you do, you’ll come across such terms as FAT (file allocation table), sides, tracks, sectors,
and clusters. In fact, you should be able to provide a brief description of each of those five terms. Is it
really that important that you know all of them?
DISCUSSION
 How important is it to know the terms versus what can be done with the technology?
 Are there any new kinds of technology being introduced that will replace floppy disks? If yes, what
are they?
5.
Creating a Query. On the Web site that supports this text (www.mcgrawhill.ca/college/haag choose
Chapter 3 and then Inventory database), we’ve provided the Inventory database (in Microsoft Access)
we illustrated in this chapter. Connect to the text’s Web site and download that database. Now,
create three queries using the QBE tool. The first one should extract information from only one file
(your choice). The second one should extract information found in at least two files. The third should
include some sort of selection criteria. How easy or difficult was it to perform these three queries?
Would you say that a DBMS is just as easy to use as something like word processing or spreadsheet
software? Why or why not? By the way, Extended Learning Module J takes you through the step-bystep process of creating a query in Access.
DISCUSSION
 We can’t provide any correct answers here as your students are free to choose which queries they
want to build.
 We encourage you to download this database and perform some queries in class.
6.
Career Opportunities in Your Major. Knowledge workers throughout the business world are
building their own desktop databases (often called end-user databases or knowledge worker
databases). To do so, they must understand both how to design a database and how to use a
desktop DBMS such as Microsoft Access or FileMaker (made by FileMaker). The ability to design a
database and use a desktop DBMS offers you a great career advantage. Research your chosen
major by looking at job postings (the Web is the best place to start). How many of those jobs want
you to have some database knowledge? Do they list a specific DBMS package? What’s your take –
should you expand your education and learn more about databases and DBMSs? Why or why not?
DISCUSSION
 Depending on the major, your students will generate different answers here.
 If they do enough research, however, most will find a knowledge of databases as essential for any
type of career.
7.
Salaries for Database Administrators. Database administrators (DBAs) are among the highest
paid professionals in the information technology field. Many people work for 10 to 20 years to get a
promotion to DBA. Connect to Monster.com (www.monster.com) or another job database of your
choice and search for DBA job openings. As you do, select all locations and job categories and then
use “dba” as the keyword search criteria. How many DBA job postings did you find? In what
industries were some of the DBA job openings? Read through a couple of the job postings. What
was the listed salary range (if any)? What sort of qualifications were listed?
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CHAPTER 3
Assignments and Exercises
DISCUSSION
 At the time we wrote this text, Monster listed over 1050 job openings for DBAs.
 These were in all different types of industries.
 Salaries started at about $50,000 and moved upward to “high 6 figures” (exact salaries not listed
on the high end).
 Qualifications did include a detailed knowledge of popular database tools such as Oracle.
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CHAPTER 3
Discussion Questions
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS (p. 110)
1.
Databases and data warehouses clearly make it easier for people to access all kinds of information.
This will lead to great debates in the area of privacy. Should organizations be left to police
themselves with respect to providing access to information or should the government impose privacy
legislation? Answer this question with respect to (1) customer information shared by organizations;
(2) employee information shared within a specific organization; and (3) business information available
to customers.
DISCUSSION
 This question will generate considerable discussion, with no right or wrong answers.
 We encourage you to discuss this question in class, being careful to let everyone freely express
their opinions.
2.
Business intelligence sounds like a fancy term with a lot of competitive advantage potentially rolled
into it. What sort of business intelligence does your school need? Specifically, what business
intelligence would it need to predict enrollments in the coming years? What business intelligence
would it need to determine what curriculums to offer? Do you think your school gathers and uses this
kind of business intelligence? Why or why not?
DISCUSSION
 Business intelligence for schools is vast.
 It would include demographics, showing the total number of students entering college-age.
 It would also include what competing schools are doing with respect to financial aid, curriculums
and programs, graduation rates, etc.
 Whether or not your school is gathering and using this information is a mystery to us (but hopefully
not you).
3.
Consider your school’s registration database that enforces the following integrity constraint: to enroll
in a given class, the student must have completed or currently be enrolled in the listed prerequisite (if
any). Your school, in fact, probably does have that integrity constraint in place. How can you get
around that integrity constraint and enroll in a class for which you are not taking nor have completed
the prerequisite? Is this an instance of when you should be able to override an integrity constraint?
What are the downsides to being able to do so?
DISCUSSION
 Most schools allow students to get around a prerequisite by having an instructor sign off on an add
slip of some sort.
 There are obviously downsides. Prerequisites are in place to ensure that each student possesses
a level of expertise.
4.
When credit card companies make the decision of whether to issue you a credit card, they go
through what is essentially a list of integrity constraints (such as your having a job for a given period
of time) or rules. If you don’t meet the integrity constraints, you’re often denied a credit card. Put
yourself in the shoes of a credit card company. What sort of integrity constraints would you follow?
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CHAPTER 3
Discussion Questions
Would be willing to forgo any of them in certain situations? What would be the nature of those
situations?
DISCUSSION
 Ask students how much confidentiality should be maintained in this situation.
 What about the security of this information? Who has access?
 What kind of Decision Support System (DSS) is this?
5.
Some people used to believe that data warehouses would quickly replace databases for both online
transaction processing (OLTP) and online analytical processing (OLAP). Of course, they were wrong.
Why can data warehouses not replace databases and become “operational data warehouses”? How
radically would data warehouses (and their data mining tools) have to change to become a viable
replacement for databases? Would they then essentially become databases that simply supported
OLAP? Why or why not?
DISCUSSION
 Data warehouses cannot replace databases for OLTP because they only contain summaries of
information, not the detail needed to process transactions.
 To support OLTP, data warehouses would have to store the same detail of information as databases.
 Then, the distinction between databases and data warehouses would no longer be present.
6.
Information ownership in an organization is critical. It defines who has responsibility of the quality of
the information. When was the last time you got the runaround from a business because no one
seemed to know who or why some of your information was changed? As a customer, how did that
make you feel? Were you inclined to find a substitute product or service (think back to Chapter 2)? Is
it really that difficult of a task for an organization to clearly define who has responsibility for each and
every piece of information? Why or why not?
DISCUSSION
 What effect did this have on your overall perception of the organization?
 Did you bring your business to their competitor? Why or why not?
 Can companies lock you in and make it difficult for you to move your business to their competitors?
7.
Imagine that you work in the human resources management department of a local business and that
many of your friends work there. Although you don’t personally generate payroll checks, you still
have the ability to look up anyone’s pay. Would you check on your friends to see if they’re earning
more money than you? For that matter, would you look up their pay just out of simple curiosity,
knowing that you would never do anything with the information or share it with anyone else? Why or
why not? People working at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) were caught just curiously looking up
the reported incomes of movie stars and other high-profile public figures. Is this acceptable? Why or
why not?
DISCUSSION
 This is another great question for class discussion.
 There are no right or wrong answers.
 Use this question to further enforce the notion of ethics.
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CHAPTER 3
Discussion Questions
8.
As we discussed in the Industry Perspective “Do Movies Affect Your View of Ethics,” movies such as
Gattaca do play a role in our view of ethics. Make a list of the movies you’ve recently seen that raise
ethical questions. What are the movies? What ethical questions do they raise? Did any of them, by
chance, change your ethical view? Why or why not?
DISCUSSION
 We can’t give you any correct answers here, as new movies will have come out since we wrote this
text.
 One movie that most students will remember is Wall Street, in which Michael Douglas used any
kind of information – no matter how it was gathered – to build a financial empire.
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CHAPTER 3
Real HOT Electronic Commerce
REAL HOT ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
Searching Online Databases and Information Repositories (p. 111-114)
In this project, your students will explore some of the various information repositories and databases that
exist on the Internet.
There is a great deal of information available on the Internet, much of it in a searchable form.
As an example, you might want to quickly take your students to eBay (www.ebay.com) and demonstrate
online search capabilities. From eBay’s main page:
1. Choose Search
2. Enter a few words in Search Title such as “Pontiac Grand Am” (a lot of people sell cars on eBay) or
“Ladies Rolex”
3. Review some of the auction items you find
We recommend that you create five groups of students, each one of which will address a different section
in this project. Ideally, there should be about 4 to 5 students per group. If your class is large, all of your
students don’t have to complete this project – you can assign the remaining students to the e-commerce
projects in other chapters.
Financial Aid Resources
 This is a great section for all your students to complete.
 Surprisingly enough, we’ve found that very, very few students use the Internet to find financial aid.
 Financial aid can include scholarships, borrowed money, and even money you don’t have to pay back.
 Be wary – there are some sights that offer money but at an extremely high interest rate.
Libraries
 Really encourage your students to work through this section and explore as many online libraries as they
can.
 It just doesn’t make sense to go to the physical library anymore when so many are online.
Consumer Information
 This is a fairly open-ended section.
 We’ve included numerous sites such as Consumer Information (www.consumerinformation.ca) which
provide all types of consumer information.
 You might also encourage your students to explore getting a credit report online.
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CHAPTER 3
Real HOT Electronic Commerce
Demographics
 You can relate this section back to Chapter 1.
 In Chapter 1, we discussed Acxiom, which sells information on American consumers.
 Many of the sites your students will find require some sort of fee (usually fairly high) to access and use
demographic information.
Real Estate
 You might want to consider taking your students through this section in class.
 You can perform a variety of searches to find different homes.
 Your students will enjoy finding million-dollar mansions and mountain cottages.
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