Mission Statements and Strategy Planning UsingInformation Technology: An Introduction

Introduction

The use of information technology (IT) by many organizations has increased dramatically over recentyears. Databases help an organization store, retrieve, manipulate and print information withincreased speed and accuracy. This increased efficiency helps organizations to enjoy a greater profitmargin. Murphy (2006) says that making use of information technology can help you, "Avoidduplication of effort, save you time [and] money, make you more efficient, introduce staffingeconomies and ultimately increase your profit." Increasing the profit margin as well as improvingstaff efficiency are common goals for organizations. Are they the goals of your organization?

Strategy Statement

Successful organizations know that goal setting and mission statements are the basic foundationthat helps motivate its employees to achieve common objectives. There is a need to developstrategies that point team members in the right direction. Berkowitz (2011) says that, "In general, astrategy statement should contain the following elements: publics, logic, communication channel,type of medium, [and] timing." A well written strategy supports the objectives and outcomes that theorganization is striving to achieve.

Integrating Information Technology

Nowadays, businesses and organizations know that promoting information technology should be asignificant part of its overall mission. Information systems should be incorporated into the missionand strategy statements. A specific objective might include the expansion of information technologyacross all work silos.

Educational institutions likely have made some of the more significant progress in incorporatinginformation technology to increase and enhance distant learning as well as other important areassuch as communication and Internet presence. Texas Tech University includes these quantifiablegoals: "Create a secure wireless network to serve at least 50% of campus. Expand the number oftechnology-enabled classrooms by 100%. Provide 25% of all Internet services through portabledevices." A goal to increase student achievement might be accomplished by the increased use oftechnology.

Choosing a Database

In order to achieve these IT strategies and goals, an institution might choose a database unique toits needs. It is important to consider five key components during the planning and setup phase of thedatabase design stage. Duffy (2000) states that the components of a database plan should include,"an executive summary, implementation plan, hardware/software purchase plan and needs, staffingrecommendations, training recommendations and data/information flow (where/how data movesthrough your agency)." Some questions that might be asked include, "Which database you will use?Who will build the database? Who will maintain the database?"

9 Database Models

According to UnixSpace, there are nine database models: (1) Hierarchical, (2) Network, (3)Relational, (4) Object/Relational, (5) Object/Oriented, (6) Semi-structured, (7) Associated, (8) Entityattribute value, and (9) Context. How might an organization go about choosing the most appropriatedatabase type?

Relational Database

According to Paragon (2005), "The most common kind of database used for structured applicationsis the relational database which is partitioned into tables." If an organization chooses the relationaldatabase model, then designing tables will be the next step. Sebastian (2005) says one shouldconsider appropriate naming conventions that limit the use of, "dashes, spaces, digits and specialcharacters." The author notes that the designer should also, "avoid language mix-ups...useconsistent table naming and give them a technical primary key." Sebastian discusses the relationaldatabase theory and identifies ways to setup a "one-to-many relationship" structure. "You need apolicy for many-to-many relationships too." A thorough understanding of the components of arelational database gives the designer a competitive edge.

Designing Reports

Next, the user might set out to design some basic forms and reports. Microsoft Office softwareproducts are very commonly used by many corporations and non-profit organizations. Simple tablescan be designed in either Excel or Access. One might first choose to begin in Excel and follow thesuggestions outlined by Sebastian. Once the tables are designed in Excel, the user can import them

into Access. At this point, the names of the tables and the identification of primary keys can bemodified as needed. There are built-in help features which allow a person with a basicunderstanding of computers to design forms with radio dials and fields with dropdown menus.

Data Modeling

Before a user is able to make any meaningful reports or forms, data modeling should be conducted.It is important because it points the designer in the right direction for setting up the appropriatetables in the first place. The business design needs to be studied and then matched with the modelthat is most applicable. Work silos can be identified and then their relationships studied. This is whythe relational database is appropriate across many organizational structures.

Diagram Basics

A diagram helps to depict the relationships of the data being modeled. Chaple, (2011) says an entity-relationship (ER) diagram is, "A specialized graphic that illustrates the interrelationships betweenentities in a database. ER diagrams often use symbols to represent three different types ofinformation. Boxes are commonly used to represent entities. Diamonds are normally used torepresent relationships and ovals are used to represent attribute." We have discussed relationships,but what are entities and attributes? IBM describes an entity as, "a principal data object that is ofsignificant interest to the user. It is usually a person, place, thing, or event to be recorded in thedatabase. If the data model were a language, entities would be nouns" (IBM, 2005). The IBM guidealso discusses attributes. "Entities contain attributes, which are characteristics or modifiers,qualities, amounts, or features. An attribute is a fact or non-decomposable piece of informationabout an entity. Later, when you represent an entity as a table, its attributes are added to the modelas new columns."

Church Database

A church or parish will generally have a database of its members as illustrated in Diagram 1. Theparishioner is the member of the church and is located in the entity box. The associated attributessuch as the address and phone numbers are located in the ovals. A relationship to the parishioner,such as a child, is located in the diamond with its associated attributes or additional information inthe ovals.

The database for a church or parish is likely to be much more detailed and complex with additionalchild members, sacramental records, and contribution information. It is shown here to give a basicidea of how a relational database might be setup for this organization.

Conclusion

High quality information technology should be incorporated into all aspects of a given organization.The future of IT systems may evolve into uses that might be more user-friendly. Using MicrosoftOffice software products might be replaced or enhanced by voice recognition systems that design anappropriate database by oral command.