Examples of Database Use in the Workplace

MGS 351

Questions

• Do you know what a database is?• What is the difference between a database

and a spreadsheet?• How many of you think you will use databases

in your future careers?• What’s the point of using databases?

Database Examples

• Customer data tracking by demographics– Example: Tops “Bonus Card”

• Need to know how databases work to propose systems like this in the workplace

• To improve any process in the workplace– http://www.dba-oracle.com/oracle11g/sf_Oracle_11g_Dat

abase_Management_for_Business_Intelligence.html– http://www.ehow.com/about_5447556_databases-used-r

eal-world.html

• Banks, Stores, Phone Companies, Electric Utility Companies, Internet Service Providers– Track transactions, inventory, current prices,

usage, billing & customer information, payments, questions and answers, etc.

– Applies to concentrations:• General Management• Supply Chain & Operations• MIS• Marketing• Accounting• Finance

– http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Could_anyone_List_10_places_that_databases_are_used

Why Do I Have to Take This Class?

• You need to know how to input information in a database

• You need to know where to input information in a database

• You need to know what database design is capable of – Coming up with an idea at your company that no one else

has ever thought of– This idea may not already exist at the company due to a

lack of knowledge of what databases are capable of or how to use one

Where You May Use Databases in the Future

Marketing

• Companies are “data rich and information poor”– Need for more employees that can turn data into

information– Understanding of how databases work and

generation of queries and reports is extremely useful

– Ex. Consumer datahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Database_marketing

Others Concentrations

• Accounting– Need for customer & company billing and purchasing

transactions, inventory costs, etc. • Stored in databases, reports will need to be generated

• Finance– Using database data for forecasting

• Supply Chain– Inventory management, purchases, shipment information,

etc.• Examples ORACLE SAP database most commonly used.

• MIS– Choosing, Customizing, Training, & Maintaining Company

Databases

Real-Life Example

• If you want to become some type of analyst (like financial or data analysts):– access is widely used– “I didn't realize until I went for the Blue Cross Blue Shield

interview and the analysts there all said that they all use Microsoft Access”

– MGS 351 Teaching Assistant

– And with the amount of data they (the company) carry they said it's easier to just run a query to get the numbers they need. They did say that they learned a little SQL after learning access just to get a more rounded knowledge of the program.

Please Keep in Mind:

• Database knowledge is transferrable across many database programs – Microsoft Access database fundamentals are

taught in this class– But Access fundamentals apply to most other

databases