Why Database Management Systems Are Important to Business Organizations PDF

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Summary

Prompt: Write an essay on the following (800 words/2 pages):

"Why Are Database Management Systems Important to Business Organizations?"

Prof. Mathew Tams

Topics include: advantages to database management systems, tracking and storing data, big data, queries, hu...

Description

Grace Parsons 1/28/18 Importance of Database Management Systems

Due to rapid changes in technology, business organizations no longer operate in the ways that they once used to. The internet, mobile phones, and social media are a few recent advances that have not only changed society, but also the way we conduct business and interact with customers and employees alike. Companies have been forced to adapt to the times, and one of those adoptions involves the implementation of new database management systems. These systems allow business organizations to store, modify, and derive information from databases. They have enabled users and customers to be integrated in ways that have never existed before, and they have allowed information to be shared and explored more thoroughly and clearly. Overall there are many advantages to database management systems that have allowed business organizations to truly move forward. One of the major business advantages to having a database management system is that it boosts the ability to keep track of and sort important data. Companies can store information in their databases pertaining to clients, vendors, employees, salaries, inventory, supplies, orders, customer service requests, and more. They can even grow in size. Database management systems allow for greater company growth because they make it easier to store large amounts of data and therefore manage a higher number of clients without decreasing service expectations. With paper files it is easier for information to get lost or misplaced, which leads to a second major business advantage of database management systems: organization and accuracy.

Database management systems empower business to be far more organized and to be able to extract information quickly and accurately. This is due to software that allows for internal organization and investigation. For instance, today’s companies can run queries which are ways they are able to extract certain data that they are looking for. This helps with organization immensely. No longer do business organizations need to rely on file cabinets, color coded folders, or alphabetically ordered files. When all the data exists in an online database it is much easier to quickly pull out information that is ensured to be accurate. It also means that there is more consistency as there is less likely to be mistakes to do human error. In terms of human employees and the human error, many people worry that technological advances such as database management systems can lead to greater unemployment considering business organizations no longer need humans to fill roles that are now replaced through database systems. This is not necessarily the case. Businesses will still employ people, however those people will be better utilized by the company and the company’s productivity will increase. With a database management system, a company can spend less time on repetitive, manual tasks that may incur human errors and more time on things that actually matter, such as moving the organization further towards its goals. Furthermore, database management systems often boast greater security of company data, and can ensure control over who can access the data. Another reason why database management systems are the way to go for business organizations is that they can be accessed by multiple users, including clients and employees. They can also be accessed in multiple locations, and sometimes all around the world. In the olden days of business, business employees had to report to the office each day for work. The office was where all of the computers were, and all files and company data were stored.

Nowadays there is less of a need for everyone to commute and show up to the office or headquarters. With phones and laptops employees can now access company information on the go and from the comfort of their own homes. Because of this, many companies have been able to save money by hiring remote workers, or having several days out of the week where employees can work from home. Today because of technology such as database management systems, people have higher expectations for business transactions. Due to search engines such as Google, people are used to obtaining whatever information they would like to know at their fingertips. Human interactions are expected to be fast, brief, and clear. Offices and company cultures have changed greatly due to these new cultural changes brought about by technology. There seems to be an emphasis on transparency in business, due in part to these new databases. One company that I feel exemplifies these new changes is Bullhorn, a fairly young tech business headquartered in Boston, MA. Bullhorn identifies itself as a company that offers CRM technology for staffing businesses, or in other words, a customer relationship management system. Like the company Salesforce, Bullhorn offers an internal software that manages all of a company’s relationships, interactions with customers, and potential new hires. On Bullhorn’s company website they claim, “No matter your

role,

Bullhorn

has

a

solution

that

helps

you

be

more

productive”

(https://www.bullhorn.com). Their aim was to create a software that manages everything a recruiter would need managed, such as job openings, all potential hires, huge databases full of applicants (sometimes thousands of applicants for one single open position), and all emails. This meant that manual tasks a recruiter would need to allot time for each week, such as organization

of email, would be diminished or taken away completely. Recruiters would be able to be far more productive and spend more time generating new leads. As an intern at Bullhorn, I learned firsthand the importance of having a database management system. The Boston office I worked in had roughly 200 employees, and everyone had the Bullhorn system on their computer. If I typed in anyone’s name I could read through every email they sent and received. If I searched a client’s name I could instantly see each and every interaction they had with an employee as well as all of the data pertaining to that one particular client including their orders and financial information. With this system in place, a high turnover rate was no longer a business crisis. In the staffing industry there tend to be high turnover rates, which is eased by having with a system in place such as Bullhorn software. If someone quit a staffing company without notice, the new hire could simply go into the Bullhorn software and find all of the emails and relational information from the former employee’s clients. These databases allow for increased productivity in cases like these because all of the information is stored and saved, even if an employee leaves suddenly. The age of databases and technology have changed company culture in business overall. There is now a greater focus on transparency and accuracy. Instead of cubicles and corner offices there are rows of open tables and desks. This is truly the age of information and transparency, and with blockchain technology becoming more widespread it is only matter of time before the business world will again be greatly altered....