IDCS Syllabus - DBO203 - Business Organisation

Introduction

Any information system, whether or not it is computerised, should meet the requirements of the organisation as a whole and the needs of individual users.

Business Organisation is intended to give candidates an understanding of the various types of organisation, the principal functional areas within organisations, the information needs of organisations and the needs of employees in the workplace. The level of the subject matter should be that required by junior staff rather than those involved in management decision-making. However, the junior members of any working computer team still need to be aware of management techniques and theories.

General Objectives

Upon successful completion of this module candidates will be able to demonstrate a satisfactory performance in the following topic areas:

A Types of Organisation.

Describe the different types of organisation.

B Functional Areas and Activities.

Describe the functional areas within organisations and the activities undertaken within each functional area.

C Information Needs.

Describe the information requirements of organisations.

D Information Systems.

Describe the methods which organisations may use to fulfil their information requirements.

E Security.

Discuss the need for, and describe the methods of, control in information systems.

F Theories of Organisation and Management.

Distinguish between different theories of organisation and management.

G Working Environment.

Discuss the purpose and function of business relations, and the relationship between employee performance and the working environment.

Specific Objectives

Objective A: Types of Organisation

A1.Identify the reasons for the formation of organisations.

A2.Describe the characteristics of the different types of legal company organisation, such as sole proprietorship, partnership, private limited company, public limited company, government controlled and multinational company.

A3.Describe the fundamental characteristics common to all forms of organisation.

Objective B: Functional Areas and Activities

B1.Describe the activities of the functional areas within organisations; for example, personnel, marketing, data processing, and accounts.

B2.Construct an organisation chart showing the working relationships between the functional areas of typical organisations

B3.Identify the flows of information between the functional areas.

B4.List the duties and responsibilities of the personnel at various levels within each functional area.

Objective C: Information Needs

C1. Describe the uses of information in the effective operation of organisations.

C2. Describe the nature of information required at the different levels within organisations (strategic, planning and operational).

C3. Distinguish between formal and informal information and relate these distinctions to the levels described above.

C4. Identify types of information, such as qualitative, quantitative, descriptive and emotive.

Objective D: Information Systems

D1.Describe methods used to gather information and assess the appropriateness of these to the various organisational structures described earlier.

D2.Describe methods used to present information.

D3.Describe the methods of classifying, storing and retrieving information, both manual and computerised.

D4.Compare manual and computerised information systems and the business processes these support, with specific reference to office automation.

D5.Describe and compare the features of currently used Information Systems Architectures.

D6.Identify and describe the types of documentation used in organisations and identify the most appropriate media for storage and communication of this documentation.

Objective E: Security

E1.Describe techniques used for maintaining security and accuracy in systems development, systems implementation and data collection.

E2.Describe techniques used to maintain security, accuracy and privacy within information systems operation.

E3.Explain the need for security, privacy and accuracy of data in organisations, with reference to appropriate data protection legislation.

Objective F: Theories of Organisation and Management 

F1.List the characteristics of different approaches to organisational style, in particular classical, systems and matrix.

F2.Discuss the features of theories of motivation and job satisfaction.  

Objective G: Working Environment  

G1.Discuss the benefits to employers and employees of a good working relationship.

G2.Describe the social, environmental and economic factors that contribute to good business relations.

G3.Identify the relationship between the working environment and employee performance.

G4.Identify how this relationship is affected by change.

G5.Describe methods of office planning, design and layout and the use of ergonomic theory in optimising these.

Practical Work

It is important that candidates are able to apply the theoretical analysis of organisation types, information needs and information flows to a real organisation