DATA WAREHOUSE

A data warehouse is a centralized repository for storing and managing large amounts of data
from various sources for analysis and reporting. It is optimized for fast querying and analysis,
enabling organizations to make informed decisions by providing a single source of truth for
data. Data warehousing typically involves transforming and integrating data from multiple
sources into a unified, organized, and consistent format.
The main job of a data warehouse is to synthesize the high amount of data produced by all of
a business’s systems into one accessible location. In a data warehouse, information flows in
continuously while analysts review it. This makes it possible for businesses to create reports
and dashboards that continuously monitor and improve business functions.

Functions of Data warehouse: It works as a collection of data and here is organized by

various communities that endures the features to recover the data functions. It has stocked
facts about the tables which have high transaction levels which are observed so as to define
the data warehousing techniques and major functions which are involved in this are
mentioned below:
1. Data Consolidation: The process of combining multiple data sources into a
single data repository in a data warehouse. This ensures a consistent and accurate
view of the data.
2. Data Cleaning: The process of identifying and removing errors, inconsistencies,
and irrelevant data from the data sources before they are integrated into the data
warehouse. This helps ensure the data is accurate and trustworthy.
3. Data Integration: The process of combining data from multiple sources into a
single, unified data repository in a data warehouse. This involves transforming the
data into a consistent format and resolving any conflicts or discrepancies between
the data sources. Data integration is an essential step in the data warehousing
process to ensure that the data is accurate and usable for analysis. Data from
multiple sources can be integrated into a single data repository for analysis.
 4. Data Storage: A data warehouse can store large amounts of historical data and
make it easily accessible for analysis.
5. Data Transformation: Data can be transformed and cleaned to remove
inconsistencies, duplicate data, or irrelevant information.
6. Data Analysis: Data can be analyzed and visualized in various ways to gain
insights and make informed decisions.
7. Data Reporting: A data warehouse can provide various reports and dashboards
for different departments and stakeholders.
8. Data Mining: Data can be mined for patterns and trends to support decision-
making and strategic planning.
9. Performance Optimization: Data warehouse systems are optimized for fast
querying and analysis, providing quick access to data.

Data Warehouse vs. Database

It’s important to note that data warehouses are different from databases. While both store data,
their purposes differ significantly.
Databases are structures that organize data into rows and columns making the information
easier to read. Compared to data warehouses, databases are simple structures intended for
storage only.
Data warehouses consist of likely many databases. A data warehouse goes beyond a simple
database by compiling data from multiple sources and allowing for data analysis. Data
warehouses don't just store data — they aggregate it for long-term business use.

Data Warehouse vs. Data Lake

You may have also heard of “data lakes.” A data lake also stores raw data from different
sources, but this data hasn’t been filtered or structured. When businesses keep a data lake, they
usually intend to use this data later in a more structured manner.
Data warehouses, on the other hand, store structured data that has been filtered, cleaned, and
defined for a specific use. Data warehouses are made for analysis and extracting insights, as
the data they contain is much more actionable.
Because data lakes include raw data, the data is simpler to use and easier to edit. In data
warehouses, the data is more expensive to make changes to, but better for long-term decisions.

Data warehouse vs. data mart

A data mart is a subset of a data warehouse that contains data specific to a particular business
line or department. Because they contain a smaller subset of data, data marts enable a
department or business line to discover more-focused insights more quickly than possible when
working with the broader data warehouse data set.
DATA MART
A data mart is a subset of a data warehouse focused on a particular line of business, department,
or subject area. Data marts make specific data available to a defined group of users, which
allows those users to quickly access critical insights without wasting time searching through
an entire data warehouse. For example, many companies may have a data mart that aligns with
a specific department in the business, such as finance, sales, or marketing.
Since these storages are smaller in size, they are easy to create, and maintain, and are more
flexible. Its objective is to provide the business user with the most relevant data in the shortest
time possible.
Types
There are three types of data marts that differ based on their relationship to the data warehouse
and the respective data sources of each system.
• Dependent data marts are partitioned segments within an enterprise data warehouse.
This top-down approach begins with the storage of all business data in one central
location. The newly created data marts extract a defined subset of the primary data
whenever required for analysis.

• Independent data marts act as a standalone system that doesn't rely on a data
warehouse. Analysts can extract data on a particular subject or business process 2from
internal or external data sources, process it, and then store it in a data mart repository
until the team needs it.

• Hybrid data marts combine data from existing data warehouses and other
operational sources. This unified approach leverages the speed and user-friendly
 interface of a top-down approach and also offers the enterprise-level integration of the
independent method.

Structure of a data mart

A data mart is a subject-oriented relational database that stores transactional data in rows
and columns, which makes it easy to access, organize, and understand. As it contains
historical data, this structure makes it easier for an analyst to determine data trends. Typical
data fields include numerical order, time value, and references to one or more objects.
Companies organize data marts in a multidimensional schema as a blueprint to address the
needs of the people using the databases for analytical tasks. The three main types of schema
are star, snowflake, and vault.
Star
Star schema is a logical formation of tables in a multidimensional database that resembles
a star shape. In this blueprint, one fact table—a metric set that relates to a specific business
event or process—resides at the center of the star, surrounded by several associated
dimension tables.
There is no dependency between dimension tables, so a star schema requires fewer joins
when writing queries. This structure makes querying easier, so star schemas are highly
efficient for analysts who want to access and navigate large data sets.

Snowflake
A snowflake schema is a logical extension of a star schema, building out the blueprint with
additional dimension tables. The dimension tables are normalized to protect data integrity
and minimize data redundancy.
While this method requires less space to store dimension tables, it is a complex structure
that can be difficult to maintain. The main benefit of using snowflake schema is the low
demand for disk space, but the caveat is a negative impact on performance due to the
additional tables.
 Vault
Data vault is a modern database modeling technique that enables IT professionals to design
agile enterprise data warehouses. This approach enforces a layered structure and has been
developed specifically to combat issues with agility, flexibility, and scalability that arise
when using the other schema models.
Data vault eliminates star schema's need for cleansing and streamlines the addition of new
data sources without any disruption to existing schema.

Process of Data Mart

The process of building a Data Mart can be complex, but it generally involves the following
5 easy steps:

Here are the steps for implementing data mart:

Designing
Building
Populating
Accessing
• Managing

Here is detailed explanation of above steps:

1. Designing
Designing is the first step in implementing data mart. Since, data mart stores data related
to a particular topic, so this step includes identification of a subject or a topic related to
which data mart will store data. Also it includes the sources to gather the information
related to the subject and then designing logical and physical structures of data mart.
Steps To Follow:
1. Identification of subject.
2. Source to gather the information.
 3. Designing the logical and physical structures.
ER diagrams are used to design the overall structure and the functioning of data
mart.
2. Building
Building is the second phase in implementing data mart. It includes building physical
and logical structure of data mart which is designed in the first step.
Physical Structure means constructing database so that data can be easily accessed
from it and logical structure means outer schema.
Steps to Follow:
1. Building the physical database which is designed in the first phase.
In order to design database, RDBMS software is required. It helps in
implementing the tables and views related to the subject.
3. Populating
Populating phase includes putting data into the data mart. Before putting data into
data warehouse, there is a need to extract the data from the sources, to clean it and
convert it into the correct format and then put the corrected data into the data mart.
You can also set the frequency with which data transfer will be done, whether daily or
weekly. These steps are needed to perform so that data stored in the data mart is
appropriate.
Steps To Follow while Populating include:
1. Extracting data from external sources.
2. Cleaning of extracted data by converting it into correct format.
3. Loading correct data into data mart.
ETL tool is used in extracting, transforming and loading data from sources into
data mart.
During this phase you execute the data-flow plan between the data warehouse, if
you’re using one, and individual data marts. If there’s no data warehouse, then
execute data flow from the appropriate sources. Questions to consider include:
Where is the data that you need to include (owned as well as licensed)? What are
the terms (both legal and technical) in which that data is available? What fields will
be used to join and connect disparately sourced datasets? How will data be cleaned
and normalized? Look at what metadata and indices will help make queries more
efficient and also, identify what components of your data mart will require live
querying versus which can be scheduled out.
4. Accessing
In this step, the data that has been loaded into the Data Mart is put into active
use. Activities involved here include querying, generating graphs and reports, and
publishing.
To make it easy for non-technical users to use the Data Mart, a meta-layer should be
set up and item names and database structures translated into corporate expressions.
If possible, interfaces and APIs should be set up to ease the process of data access.
Steps to Follow while Accessing includes:
1. Set up a layer to convert database structures into business terms so that non-
technical persons can access data from data mart easily.
2. Set up database structures.
3. Maintain interface.
This is the phase when the planned subsets of your overall data warehouse can first
be accessed. Set up specific queries and reports so that they can be accessed through
the data mart interface. Some reports will be the product of a scheduled task, others
will be based on live queries and some will be ad-hoc. Run a limited pilot to a defined
 set of users. This is a good opportunity to make sure users can access the information
they need and that back-end systems and feeds are working according to plan.
Consider how the data mart structure responds to failure, such as if access to the data
warehouse fails. Make sure business leaders get informative error messages. At this
stage it’s important to document everything to help administrators know how
different data mart components are generated so that future modifications can be
more efficient. Keep the documentation up to date.
5. Managing
This is the last step in implementing data mart. It includes all the management task to
manage data mart for long term use.
Managing includes the following:
1. Maintaining recovery of data in case system fails.
2. Adding and deleting data into data mart
3. Procedure to access data from data mart should be optimized for enhanced
performance.
4. Controlling user access.
Here are a few pivotal use cases where Data Marts can come in handy:
• Improved Resource Management: You can provide each department with a separate
repository to manage the imbalance of resource use by various organizational units. For
instance, if the department running logistics operations performs a lot of actions with a
database on a daily basis, then this might cause system malfunctions in other
departments that carry out fewer database queries. Eventually, this might end up
reducing the performance effectiveness of the entire company. These repositories allow
you to use resources more effectively and efficiently.
• Subject-focused Data Analytics: Data Analytics plays a pivotal role in any business
lifecycle. These repositories allow for more focused data analysis since they only
contain records that are organized around particular subjects like sales, products,
customers, etc. Since there is no extraneous information to deal with, businesses can
filter more accurate and clearer insights.
• Selective Data Access: You can leverage these repositories in situations when an
organization needs selective privileges for managing and accessing data. Generally, this
can be the case for big enterprises that can’t reveal the entire Data Warehouse to all the
users. By building multiple dependent repositories, you can help protect sensitive data
from accidental writes and unauthorized access.
• Time-limited Data Projects: As opposed to corporate data warehouses that need
considerable effort and time, these are much easier and faster to set up. Since, data
developers and engineers work with smaller amounts of data, simpler schemas, and
fewer sources, this comes in handy. Apart from this, these repositories are also easier
to implement compared to a Data Warehouse. So, if you are facing any time crunches
in terms of completing a data project, these repositories may be the way to go.

Data Marts in Cloud

Even with the improved efficiency and flexibility that are offered by these data
repositories, Big Data and big business- are still becoming too much to handle for various on-
premise solutions. As Data Lakes and Data Warehouses move to the cloud, so do these
repositories.
With a shared cloud-based platform to house and generate data, analytics and access
become much more efficient. You can generate transient data clusters for short-term analysis,
or long-lived clusters can come together for more sustained work. Modern technologies are
also separating data storage from computing, allowing for ultimate scalability to query data.
Other advantages of cloud-based hybrid and dependent Data Marts include:
• Resources consumed on-demand.
• Flexible architecture with cloud-native applications.
• Increased efficiency.
• Single depository containing all the Data Marts.
• Real-time, interactive analytics.
• Consolidation of resources that lowers the costs.
• Immediate real-time access to information.

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Knowledge management is the process of identifying, gathering, storing, evaluating, and
sharing all of the valuable information organizations create in their day-to-day operations.
It involves capturing answers to frequently (and not so frequently) asked questions and
documenting them in an easy-to-understand format across multiple file types, like step-by-
step written articles, videos, or images. A KMS makes knowledge sharing a whole lot easier
by having an answer ready and easily accessible to share.

Types of knowledge
Tacit knowledge: This type of knowledge is typically acquired through experience, and it
is intuitively understood. As a result, it is challenging to articulate and codify, making it
difficult to transfer this information to other individuals. Examples of tacit knowledge can
include language, facial recognition, or leadership skills.
Explicit knowledge: Explicit knowledge is captured within various document types such as
manuals, reports, and guides, allowing organizations to easily share knowledge across
teams. This type of knowledge is perhaps the most well-known and examples of it include
knowledge assets such as databases, white papers, and case studies. This form of knowledge
is important to retain intellectual capital within an organization as well as facilitate
successful knowledge transfer to new employees.
Implicit knowledge is the application of learned (explicit) knowledge. An example of
implicit knowledge includes a webinar about video conferencing software and then trying it
out with clients.
Declarative knowledge is factual information or static principles. An example of
declarative knowledge includes the date your company was founded.
Procedural knowledge is information describing how to do something. An example of
procedural knowledge includes how-to articles about setting up your email on a new device.

Implementation a knowledge management system

Now that you know all about KMS, you can work on your knowledge management strategy to
decide the right knowledge to share, whom the information is for, the best format to convey it,
and the optimal way to organize the information.

Start capturing the information you want to document

Decide what information you want to record in your knowledge management system. It could
be product information, onboarding guides, how-to tutorials or troubleshooting instructions for
common issues. Find out common customer inquiries that are submitted at your support
helpdesk and build your knowledge repository based on customer needs.

Arrange the information with your audience in mind

You need to start by thinking about who will be searching for the information and when. You
can do this by analyzing your customer journey and figuring out the information that’s required
at each state, and identifying the best way to efficiently convey that. For example, as you move
down the customer journey, you’ll want to restrict some content like information on referral or
loyalty programs to logged-in customers. Or, for an internal KMS, you can set your support
agents up for success with deeper product details and pricing specifics.

Track and analyze feedback

In order to measure the success of your KMS, you need to tap into user feedback. Add feedback
surveys at the end of each article and guide to understand if the information was useful or not.
For example, Freshdesk articles offer an option for readers to vote Yes or No to “Did you find
it helpful?” at the bottom of each article. If many customers report that an article is not helpful,
it’s almost certainly time for an update. That it gives a deeper insights into how users navigate
within your KMS and explain how relevant is your content.

Update your KMS regularly

Invite multiple stakeholders within your organization like the customer support team or the
sales department to collaborate, contribute, and update the knowledge shared periodically.
Knowledge management process and tools
Knowledge management tools
There are a number tools that organizations utilize to reap the benefits of knowledge
management. Examples of knowledge management systems can include:
• Document management systems act as a centralized storage system for digital
documents, such as PDFs, images, and word processing files. These systems enhance
employee workflows by enabling easy retrieval of documents, such as lessons learned.
• Content management systems (CMS) are applications which manage web content
where end users can edit and publish content. These are commonly confused with
document management systems, but CMSs can support other media types, such as
audio and video.
• Intranets are private networks that exist solely within an organization, which enable
the sharing of enablement, tools, and processes within internal stakeholders. While they
can be time-consuming and costly to maintain, they provide a number of groupware
services, such as internal directories and search, which facilitate collaboration.
• Wikis can be a popular knowledge management tool given its ease of use. They make
it easy to upload and edit information, but this ease can lead to concerns about
misinformation as workers may update them with incorrect or outdated information.
• Data warehouses aggregate data from different sources into a single, central,
consistent data store to support data analysis, data mining, artificial intelligence (AI),
 and machine learning. Data is extracted from these repositories so that companies can
derive insights, empowering employees to make data-driven decisions.

Knowledge management software

1. Freshdesk
Freshdesk is a feature-rich, powerful knowledge management software that can be used to
manage, curate, and share company knowledge for both employees and customers. You can
host a vast content repository organized in categories, folders, and articles that your customers
can use to find answers to their knowledge-related queries easily.
2. Document360
Document360 is a popular document management system that includes article version history,
document tagging and content migration that helps to build online public and private
knowledge bases to manage and share company knowledge.
3. ClickUp
ClickUp is primarily a project management tool that helps teams be more productive by
streamlining their tasks and projects. It includes multiple text formatting options, real-time
team collaboration, integration among docs, workflows, and tasks
4. Helpjuice
The Helpjuice knowledge management tool incluces customization, team collaboration and
advanced KM analytics, it has a range of features to host a customized knowledge base to create
and share content with customers and employees.

Benefits of knowledge management

• Identification of skill gaps: When teams create relevant documentation around
implicit or tacit knowledge or consolidate explicit knowledge, it can highlight gaps in
core competencies across teams.
• Make better informed decisions: By improving accessibility to current and historical
enterprise knowledge, your teams can upskill and make more information-driven
decisions that support business goals.
• Operational efficiencies: Knowledge management systems create a go-to place that
enable knowledge workers to find relevant information more quickly. This, in turn,
reduces the amount of time on research, leading to faster decision-making and cost-
savings through operational efficiencies. Increase productivity not only saves time, but
also reduces costs.
• Increased collaboration and communication: Knowledge management systems and
organizational cultures work together to build trust among team members. These
information systems provide more transparency among workers, creating more
understanding and alignment around common goals. Engaged leadership and open
communication create an environment for teams to embrace innovation and feedback.
• Data Security: Knowledge management systems enable organizations to customize
permission control, viewership control and the level of document-security to ensure that
information is shared only in the correct channels or with selected individuals.
 DECISION MAKING
Decision making in management is the process of making a choice between two or more
options. This involves evaluating the pros and cons of various choices and choosing the
best option to achieve a desired outcome. Management decision is an important part of
managing any organization. It allows managers to set goals and figure out what actions are
needed to meet those goals,and evaluate whether those actions are working as intended.
Management decision meaning refers to managers guiding their organizations down the
right path toward success.

Decision Making Process

1. Establishing Objectives
Establishing objectives is among the crucial decision-making steps in management. Without
clear objectives, it can be difficult to make effective decisions that will help the organization
meet its goals. Establishing objectives involves setting specific goals that need to be
achieved within a certain timeframe.
2. Identify the Decision
The next important step in the decision-making process in management is identifying the
problem that needs to be addressed. Once the problem has been identified, the manager will
gather information about possible solutions. This may involve consulting with others, doing
research, or running simulations. After weighing the pros and cons of each option, the
manager will choose the course of action that they believe is most likely to succeed.
3. Gather Appropriate Information
This process of gathering information is known as information gathering. The different
sources of information that managers can use include surveys, interviews, focus groups,
observation, and secondary data sources such as articles and reports. After gathering this
information, managers must then analyze it to determine which option is best.
4. Identify the Alternatives
One of the most important aspects of the decision-making process in management is
identifying the alternatives. Without knowing what your options are, it can be difficult to
make an informed decision. There are a number of different ways to identify the alternatives,
but some of the most common methods include brainstorming, research, and consultation.
5. Weigh the Evidence
When we define decision making in management One key step in this process is known as
'weighing the evidence'. This simply means taking the time to consider all of the available
information before making a final decision. This can include things like market research,
financial data, and even gut instinct. By taking the time to weigh the evidence, managers
can make better-informed decisions that are more likely to lead to success.
6. Choose Among the Alternatives
One of the most important decisions that a manager has to make is which alternative to
choose. There are multiple ways to approach this, such as by first considering all available
alternatives, then assessing each against an explicit set of criteria. Finally, choosing one
alternative over another could depend on other factors such as political considerations and
the influence of stakeholders.
7. Take Action
There are many approaches to decision making, but one of the most popular is the "take
action" approach. This approach involves taking decisive action in response to a problem,
without overthinking or second-guessing yourself. While this approach can lead to quick
results, it also carries the risk of making impulsive decisions that may not be in the best
interest of the company.
8. Review the Decision
Finally, after a decision has been made, it is important to review the results and make any
necessary adjustments.
Decision Making Styles
1. Psychological
Psychological decision-making styles tend to be more creative and flexible, as they allow
for gut instinct to play a role in the process. However, this style can also lead to impulsive
decisions that are not well thought out.
2. Cognitive
Among the many decision-making styles, one of the most popular is the cognitive style. This
involves making decisions based on logic and reasoning, rather than intuition or emotion.
When using cognitive style, it is important to consider all of the available information before
coming to a conclusion. This can sometimes mean taking a long time to make a decision,
but it also means that you are more likely to make a sensible choice.
3. Normative
Normative decision making in project management is a style of decision making that is
based on sticking to established rules and procedures. This type of decision making is often
used in situations where there is little time for deliberation and the stakes are low.

Characteristics of Decision Making

1. Rational-thinking: It involves systematically analyzing options and choosing the best
course of action based on logic and evidence.
2. Selective: A key characteristic of managerial decision making is that it is selective. That
is, deciding involves picking the best options. There are many factors that influence what
gets selected, including the clarity of the options, the relevance of the criteria, and weighing
the various factors.
3. Purposive: A purposive approach to decision making is one that takes into account the
desired outcome of the decision, and considers all of the available options in order to select
the best possible course of action.
4. Commitment: If you want to make successful decisions, it is crucial that you have
commitment. This means having the drive to see the decision through, even when it gets
tough. It also means being able to defend your decision to others, even if they do not agree
with you.
5. Evaluation: Evaluation is a key characteristic of good decision making. This involves
considering all of the options and weighing their pros and cons before making a choice. It
is important to be as objective as possible when evaluating the different options, and to look
at the situation from all angles.
Techniques of Decision Making
1. SWOT Analysis
One popular decision making a step in management is known as SWOT analysis. This
involves identifying the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats associated with a
particular decision. By taking all of these factors into account, individuals can make
informed and effective choices.

2. Marginal Analysis
A popular technique is known as marginal analysis. It involves weighing the costs and
benefits of each option to choose the one that will create the greatest value.
3. Pareto Analysis
Pareto analysis is a decision-making technique that can be used to identify the most
important factors in a given situation. Named after Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, the
technique is based on the principle that 20% of the causes will produce 80% of the results.
4. Decision Matrix
Finally, the decision matrix is a tool that can be used to compare different options side -by-
side. By using these techniques, individuals can be sure that they are making sound decisions
that will lead to positive outcomes.

Difficulties in Decision Making Process

Any decision-making model in management made by an individual or organization has the
potential to be difficult. There are many factors that can contribute to difficulty in decision
Here are five of the most common difficulties that can arise during the decision-making
process:
1. Avoiding Discomfort
Without clear and specific objectives, it can be difficult to decide which course of action to
take. This is often a problem when organizations are facing new challenges or opportunities.
2. Consultation Ambiguity
Not having enough information about a situation can make it difficult to identify all of the
possible options and their potential consequences. This can lead to decisions that are based
on gut feeling or incomplete data.
3. Blind Spot
When individuals or groups have strong emotional attachments to an issue, they may find it
difficult to be objective in their decision making. This can lead to decisions that are driven
by personal biases rather than what is best for the organization as a whole.
4. Indecisive
When multiple people are involved in the decision-making model in management, group
dynamics can complicate matters. disagreements over objectives, differing opinions on the
best course of action, and power struggles can all contribute to difficulty in rea ching a
decision.
5. Group-thinking
Sometimes, decisions must be made quickly, without adequate time for careful
consideration. This can lead to rushed decisions that may not be well thought out or optimal.

TYPES OF DECISION MAKING

1. Routine and Basic Decision-making
Some decisions are more complex and require more thought. For instance, you may need to
decide what to weekly target or how to handle a difficult customer at work. In these
situations, it is important to take the time to carefully consider your options before making
a decision. Basic decision-making skills involve considering the potential consequences of
each option and choosing the one that is most likely to lead to the desired outcome.

2. Personal and Organizational Decision-making

Capital formation, new methods or techniques of production, new production line, closing
any unit, rules, methodology of working etc. fall in the preview of organisational
decisions. Such decisions directly affect the organisation. On the other hand, if the same
person decides to go on leave, retire, or resign, such decisions are his personal decisions.
They directly affect him though they may have indirect effect on the organisation.
Organisational decisions are to be implemented throughout the organisation and they are
binding on all concerned people.
Whereas personal decisions have nothing to do with the organisation. They may have some
indirect effect on the organisation as they are directly related to his individual personality
and not his personality as a manager.

3. Policy and Operating Decision-making

Policy decisions are of vital importance and are taken by the top management. They affect
the entire enterprise. But operating decisions are taken by the lower management in order
to put into action the policy decisions. For instance, the bonus issue is a policy matter
which is to be decided by the top management, and calculation of bonus is an operating
decision which is taken at the lower levels to execute the policy decision.
4. Tactical and Strategic Decision-making
This is an essential type of managerial decision making. Tactical decision making is
important because it helps organizations to respond quickly to changes in the environment.
However, too much emphasis on tactical decision making can lead to a lack of foc us on
long-term goals. Strategic decision making is important because it helps organizations to
establish a clear direction and make informed choices about resource allocation. Both
tactical and strategic decision making are necessary for an organization to be successful.

5. Individual and Group Decision:

If a decision is taken by an individual person it is known as individual decision. On the
other hand when a number of persons collectively take the decisions they are known as
group decisions. Individual decisions are, often, taken in small organisation of small sized
top level management. On the other hand big size organisations like companies, are
managed not by an individual but by group of individuals like board of directors. Naturally
strategic decisions are taken by the group.

6. Planned and Unplanned Decision-making

There are two types of decision making in management: planned and unplanned. Planned
decisions are those that are made in advance, after considering all the options and their
possible outcomes. Unplanned decisions, on the other hand, are those that are made on the
spot, without any prior consideration. Both types of decision making in management have
their own advantages and disadvantages.

7. Programmed and Non-Programmed Decisions:

The programmed decisions are of a routine and repetitive nature which are to be dealt with
according to specific procedures. But the non-programmed decisions arise because of
unstructured problems. There is no standard procedure for handling such problems. For
instance, if an employee absents himself from his work for a long time without any
intimation, the supervisor need not refer this matter to the chief executive. He can deal
with such an employee according to the standard procedure which may include charge
sheet, suspension, etc.

8. Organizational, Departmental, and Interdepartmental Decision-making

Organizational type of managerial decision making is the process of identifying and
choosing the best course of action to achieve organizational goals. It includes both formal
and informal methods of decision making, and it occurs at all levels of an organization. This
is one of the managerial decision-making examples that managers have to be great at.
Interdepartmental decision making is the process of identifying and choosing the best course
of action to achieve interdepartmental goals. It occurs at all levels where two or more
departments interact.
Organizational, departmental, and interdepartmental types of managerial decisions making
are all important aspects of an organization's operations, and each type of decision making
has its own benefits and challenges.
DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM
Decision support systems (DSS) are interactive software-based systems intended to help
managers in decision-making by accessing large volumes of information generated from
various related information systems involved in organizational business processes, such as
office automation system, transaction processing system, etc.
DSS uses the summary information, exceptions, patterns, and trends using the analytical
models. A decision support system helps in decision-making but does not necessarily give a
decision itself. The decision makers compile useful information from raw data, documents,
personal knowledge, and/or business models to identify and solve problems and make
decisions.

Classification of DSS
• Text Oriented DSS − It contains textually represented information that could have a
bearing on decision. It allows documents to be electronically created, revised and
viewed as needed.
• Database Oriented DSS − Database plays a major role here; it contains organized and
highly structured data.
• Spreadsheet Oriented DSS − It contains information in spread sheets that allows
create, view, modify procedural knowledge and also instructs the system to execute
self-contained instructions. The most popular tool is Excel and Lotus 1-2-3.
• Solver Oriented DSS − It is based on a solver, which is an algorithm or procedure
written for performing certain calculations and particular program type.
• Rules Oriented DSS − Procedures are adopted in rules oriented DSS. Export system
is the example.

Components of a Decision Support System

The three main components of a DSS framework are:
1. Model Management System
The model management system S=stores models that managers can use in their decision-
making. The models are used in decision-making regarding the financial health of the
organization and forecasting demand for a good or service.
2. User Interface
The user interface includes tools that help the end-user of a DSS to navigate through the
system.
3. Knowledge Base
The knowledge base includes information from internal sources (information collected in a
transaction process system) and external sources (newspapers and online databases).
Types of Decision Support Systems
• Communication-driven: Allows companies to support tasks that require more than
one person to work on the task. It includes integrated tools such as Microsoft SharePoint
Workspace and Google Docs.
• Model-driven: Allows access to and the management of financial, organizational, and
statistical models. Data is collected, and parameters are determined using the
information provided by users. The information is created into a decision-making
model to analyze situations. An example of a model-driven DSS is Dicodess – an open-
source model-driven DSS.
• Knowledge-driven: Provides factual and specialized solutions to situations using
stored facts, procedures, rules, or interactive decision-making structures
like flowcharts.
• Document-driven: Manages unstructured information in different electronic formats.
• Data-driven: Helps companies to store and analyze internal and external data.

Advantages of a Decision Support System

• A decision support system increases the speed and efficiency of decision-making
activities. It is possible, as a DSS can collect and analyze real-time data.
• It promotes training within the organization, as specific skills must be developed to
implement and run a DSS within an organization.
• It automates monotonous managerial processes, which means more of the manager’s
time can be spent on decision-making.
• It improves interpersonal communication within the organization.

Disadvantages of a Decision Support System

• The cost to develop and implement a DSS is a huge capital investment, which makes it
less accessible to smaller organizations.
• A company can develop a dependence on a DSS, as it is integrated into daily decision-
making processes to improve efficiency and speed. However, managers tend to rely on
the system too much, which takes away the subjectivity aspect of decision-making.
 • A DSS may lead to information overload because an information system tends to
consider all aspects of a problem. It creates a dilemma for end-users, as they are left
with multiple choices.
• Implementation of a DSS can cause fear and backlash from lower-level employees.
Many of them are not comfortable with new technology and are afraid of losing their
jobs to technology.

OLAP
Online analytical processing (OLAP) is software technology you can use to analyze business
data from different points of view. Organizations collect and store data from multiple data
sources, such as websites, applications, smart meters, and internal systems. OLAP combines and
groups this data into categories to provide actionable insights for strategic planning. For
example, a retailer stores data about all the products it sells, such as color, size, cost, and location.
The retailer also collects customer purchase data, such as the name of the items ordered and total
sales value, in a different system. OLAP combines the datasets to answer questions such as which
color products are more popular or how product placement impacts sales.

Types of OLAP
MOLAP
Multidimensional online analytical processing (MOLAP) involves creating a data cube that
represents multidimensional data from a data warehouse. The MOLAP system stores
precalculated data in the hypercube. Data engineers use MOLAP because this type of OLAP
technology provides fast analysis.
ROLAP
Instead of using a data cube, relational online analytical processing (ROLAP) allows data
engineers to perform multidimensional data analysis on a relational database. ROLAP depends
on the data size and it takes higher processing time. ROLAP is suitable for analyzing extensive
and detailed data. However, ROLAP has slow query performance compared to MOLAP.
HOLAP
Hybrid online analytical processing (HOLAP) combines MOLAP and ROLAP to provide the
best of both architectures. HOLAP allows data engineers to quickly retrieve analytical results
from a data cube and extract detailed information from relational databases.

OLAP Architecture
Online analytical processing (OLAP) systems store multidimensional data by representing
information in more than two dimensions, or categories. Two-dimensional data involves
columns and rows, but multidimensional data has multiple characteristics.
Data engineers build a multidimensional OLAP system that consists of the following elements.
Data warehouse
A data warehouse collects information from different sources, including applications, files, and
databases. It processes the information using various tools so that the data is ready for analytical
purposes. For example, the data warehouse might collect information from a relational database
that stores data in tables of rows and columns.
ETL tools
Extract, transform, and load (ETL) tools are database processes that automatically retrieve,
change, and prepare the data to a format fit for analytical purposes. Data warehouses use ETL
to convert and standardize information from various sources before making it available to
OLAP tools.
OLAP server
An OLAP server is the underlying machine that powers the OLAP system. It uses ETL tools
to transform information in the relational databases and prepare them for OLAP operations.
OLAP database
An OLAP database is a separate database that connects to the data warehouse. Data engineers
sometimes use an OLAP database to prevent the data warehouse from being burdened by
OLAP analysis. They also use an OLAP database to make it easier to create OLAP data models.
OLAP cubes
A data cube is a model representing a multidimensional array of information. While it’s easier
to visualize it as a three-dimensional data model, most data cubes have more than three
dimensions. An OLAP cube, or hypercube, is the term for data cubes in an OLAP system.
OLAP cubes are rigid because you can't change the dimensions and underlying data once you
model it. For example, if you add the warehouse dimension to a cube with product, location,
and time dimensions, you have to remodel the entire cube.
OLAP analytic tools
Business analysts use OLAP tools to interact with the OLAP cube. They perform operations
such as slicing, dicing, and pivoting to gain deeper insights into specific information within the
OLAP cube.

OLAP operations
Business analysts perform several basic analytical operations with a multidimensional online analytical
processing (MOLAP) cube.
Roll up
In roll up, the online analytical processing (OLAP) system summarizes the data for specific attributes. In
other words, it shows less-detailed data. For example, you might view product sales according to New York,
California, London, and Tokyo. A roll-up operation would provide a view of the sales data based on
countries, such as the US, the UK, and Japan.
Drill down
Drill down is the opposite of the roll-up operation. Business analysts move downward in the concept
hierarchy and extract the details they require. For example, they can move from viewing sales data by years
to visualizing it by months.
Slice
Data engineers use the slice operation to create a two-dimensional view from the OLAP cube. For example,
a MOLAP cube sorts data according to products, cities, and months. By slicing the cube, data engineers can
create a spreadsheet-like table consisting of products and cities for a specific month.
Dice
Data engineers use the dice operation to create a smaller subcube from an OLAP cube. They determine the
required dimensions and build a smaller cube from the original hypercube.
Pivot
The pivot operation involves rotating the OLAP cube along one of its dimensions to get a different
perspective on the multidimensional data model. For example, a three-dimensional OLAP cube has the
following dimensions on the respective axes:
• X-axis—product
• Y-axis—location
• Z-axis—time
Upon a pivot, the OLAP cube has the following configuration:
• X-axis—location
• Y-axis—time
• Z-axis—product

Benefits of OLAP
Online analytical processing (OLAP) helps organizations process and benefit from a growing amount of
digital information. Some benefits of OLAP include the following.
Faster decision making
Businesses use OLAP to make quick and accurate decisions to remain competitive in a fast-paced economy.
Performing analytical queries on multiple relational databases is time consuming because the computer
system searches through multiple data tables. On the other hand, OLAP systems precalculate and integrate
data so business analysts can generate reports faster when needed.
Non-technical user support
OLAP systems make complex data analysis easier for non-technical business users. Business users can create
complex analytical calculations and generate reports instead of learning how to operate databases.
Integrated data view
OLAP provides a unified platform for marketing, finance, production, and other business units. Managers
and decision makers can see the bigger picture and effectively solve problems. They can perform what-if
analysis, which shows the impact of decisions taken by one department on other areas of the business.