Chartered Institute of Customer Relationship Management

Student name: Maneta Linnys Dzauma (FR21001)

Course Name: Managing Customer Information System

Programme: Post Graduate Diploma In Customer Relationship Mgnt

LECTURER: DR M. T. Nkosi

DUE DATE: 15 April 2022

1
 Table of Contents

Question Description Page

1 Characteristics of Quality Customer Information 3

2 “To manage a business is to manage its future” Discuss 7

3 How a Computer System works 11

4 Management Information Systems is an Interdisciplinary field 16

5 Customer Information System for decision making 20

2
 1. Discuss the characteristics of quality customer information.

Information can totally be different things to different people, it is a subject without structure
therefore its value and usefulness is highly subjective. Good quality information can be defined as
an acronym ACCURATE. A stands for Accurate (be communicated to the right person), C stands
for Complete (but not excessive), C stands for Cost-effective, U stands for Understandable (to the
manager using it), R stands for Relevant, A stands for Accessible (be communicated by an
appropriate channel), T stands for Timely, E stands for Easy-to-use! These characteristics are
interrelated; focus on one automatically leads to focus on other (Tosin Harold Akingbemisilu,
2014).

The characteristics of quality information include sufficient accuracy, must be complete, must be
less costly than the value it provides, must be communicated to the right person, it must be relevant,
authoritative, information must be provided in a timely manner and easy to use.

Information is good only when it is relevant, we must ensure it is pertinent and related to the
subject under discussion. Relevant information should be useful for decision making. Information
must be communicated to the right person and through the right channel. It does not matter how
interesting it is. Businesses are often criticised for producing too much information simply because
their information systems can "do it". It means person which has some control over decisions
expected to come out from obtaining the information. Information is good only if it is relevant.
Digital content is not always credible where credibility refers to the believability of the content.
Information must be free of errors because erroneous information often result erroneous decisions
which are costly to an organisation. Inaccurate information leads to faulty predictions. If predicted
outcomes are wrong, this leads to wasted time, money and resources. Accurate information
increases the level of confidence to make sound decisions, enhances productivity efficiency and
reduces cost. For example, erroneous diagnostics on a patient may have an adverse effect that can
even threaten life, wrong medication as a result of a wrong diagnosis may cause deaths. Modern
companies use business strategies that include artificial intelligence, data or accurate information
becomes paramount for their success. All digital business depend on accurate information and

3
without it, artificial intelligence becomes useless. The more accurate the customer information
provided, the better the chances are to use that technology to reach your audience, increase your
profitability and gives a business competitive advantage.

Accuracy of information is just not enough. It should also be complete which means facts and
figures should not be missing. Telling partial truth but not wholly is of no use. Completeness means
all required detail of the information must be made available. When looking at data completeness,
we think about whether all of the data needed is available; one might need a customer’s first and
last name, but the middle initial may be optional. Why does completeness matter as a quality
characteristic? If information is incomplete, it might be unusable. Let’s say when for medical
records or medical aid information where a member’s demographics are essential to positively
identify someone. Name or Initials and surname may not be enough for people with surnames like
Moyo, Phiri or Sibanda, P Sibanda can be Peter Primrose or Promise or there can be a dozen
Promise Sibanda the name may be for either male or female of various age groups some may even
share a birth day therefore we would need their national Identity number to positively identify that
particular customer. Having complete information on everyone is also very important because it
makes sure our analysis is as accurate as possible and that any differences are not simply a result
of chance (Lucy Elliss-Brookes, Head of Advanced Analytics at NHS Digital, October 2021). A
measure of data completeness is the percentage of missing data entries. For instance, a column of
500 with 100 missing fields has a completeness degree of 80%. Depending on the business, 20%
of missing entries can translate into losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in prospects and leads.
Though at times not achievable, completeness is desirable and information is complete when the
decision maker can satisfactorily solve the problem at hand using that information.

Information costs money as data is costly to collect, analyse and report. Information takes time to
read and assimilate. Users of information should question whether the information they receive or
have requested is worth their while. Information must be less costly than the value it provides. It
should be analysed for its benefits against the cost of obtaining it therefore its cost should not
outweigh the benefits. It should however be noted that some information may be necessary to
collect not necessarily as to get a financial benefit but it can be matter of regulatory compliance,
for example when receiving foreign guests at a hotel, it is a requirement to request their travel
documents and permits and have their information captured.

4
Information must be delivered in any easy to understand manner to the decision maker. It should
be communicated in the style, format, detail and complexity which address the needs of its users
for instance senior managers at a strategic level need summurised reports which enable them to
understand the position and performance of the business at a glance, while functional managers
need detailed information which enable them to make day to day decisions, information which
should be clearly presented as summaries, charts and graphs. It also needs to be communicated
using an appropriate medium like email, printed report and presentation making use of "templates"
which can used consistently throughout the organisation so when users get used to seeing
information in a similar style is beneficial.

Time is money, and it is the same as saying information is money. Information should be
communicated in time so that receiver of the information has enough time to decide appropriate
actions based on the information received. Information, which communicates details of the past
events earlier in time, is of less importance than recently issued information like newspapers. What
is timely information differ from situation to situation. Selection of appropriate channels of
communication is key skill to achieve. Information needs to be timely if it is to be actioned. In a
hospital situation nursing staff have to ensure that they record all patient care management
information as it happens and have to give a detailed report at the end of the shift to an incoming
shift therefore the recording of information has to happen in time for the handover-takeover report
that require documentation and oral narrative of events. To improve the speed with which
information is produced, businesses usually need to look at upgrading or replacing their
information systems. Information should come from reliable source this depends on qualifications
and experience and past performance of the person communicating the information.

Accessibility is also a key component of good characteristic of information, meaning it must be

readily available and accessible to decision makers in the desired format. Advances in information
technology has made information more accessible today than ever before, however they are
concerns of information overload that is to say difficulty in understanding an issue and effectively
making decisions when one has too much information. The term “information overload” was

5
coined by Bertram Gross, the Professor of Political Science at Hunter College, in his 1964 work –
The Managing of Organizations. However, it was popularized by Alvin Toffler, the American
writer and futurist, in his book “Future Shock” in 1970.Gross defined information overload as
follows: “Information overload occurs when the amount of input to a system exceeds its processing
capacity. Decision makers have fairly limited cognitive processing capacity. Consequently, when
information overload occurs, it is likely that a reduction in decision quality will occur.”

Auditability can also be termed traceability and verifiability which is ability to check the accuracy
and completeness of information. Decision makers should be responsible and accountable for their
decisions and actions and therefore cannot blame their subordinates or sources of information they
have a duty to authenticate and verify the information.

We can safely say that as long as decision makers have information which meet all the
characteristics above, decision made will be of the best quality and will most likely yield results
that are fruitful.

6
 2. “To manage a business is to manage its future, and to manage the future is to manage
information” Using practical examples, discuss this statement with reference to
Customer Relationship Management.

The world today has become more complex, turbulent and dynamic than ever before with change
taking place at a breakneck speed and companies which drift into “me too” strategies are punished
quickly and mercilessly. Through a thorough analysis and correct interpretation of this crazy
environment is the starting point for a competitive and sustainable business strategy.

Accurate forecasting, good identification of trends is the basis of business success. Strategic
management methods and techniques that use experience and historical economic data are not
adequate to the rapidly changing business environment. In particular, technological changes, and
the widespread use of ICT, forces a new approach to management style and changes in the way
data is acquired on the basis of which future decisions are made. Innovative thinking, a flexible
and dynamic approach to making future-oriented decisions using new technologies are the
foundations of future management which gives the business a high level of intellectual stamina.
One of the basic tasks of the manager, in addition to the day-to-day management of the
organization, is to set long-term goals to guarantee the development of the organisation that is
giving creative insights and high degrees of innovation managing the future.

Traditionally, the methods used in managing the future are methods and techniques developed as
part of strategic management. Most of the methods used to build the organization's strategy are
based on historical data as well as experience and forecasts resulting from previous practice. The
low credibility and timeliness of historical data used to build the strategy and the experience gained
in the current operation, allows only for modification, improvement, and raising some parameters
of the organization's functions. It is of little use in creating innovative approaches and innovative
ideas for revolutionary changes in the organization in the current business situation and the future
functioning period. This situation is particularly visible in connection with the use of new
information technologies

7
Traditional organisations must take heed and appreciate the changing reality, but they see the
future simply as a continuation of the present. Meanwhile, organisations are experiencing hyper-
change, in a space of a few years, “the roads that many once thought they owned have become
crowded, competitive arenas (Gibson, 1998).” Competition and markets have become fierce and
merciless both the speed of the changes takes place, as well as their scale and scope are accelerating
significantly, which is easy to see today. Humanity did not expect or anticipate the Internet,
Facebook or smartphones. Similarly, unpredictable inventions and solutions will certainly arise in
the coming years, because by definition nothing can be said about unpredictable inventions and
innovations. They will definitely rise and will somehow change the world. It is even difficult to
forecast the direction of these unexpected changes. Any forecasting in the area of new technologies
is very risky and unreliable. Existing management models rely on the development of an
organization's operating strategy, its distribution to objectives and undertaking appropriate
operational activities aimed at achieving these objectives. Building a strategy is preceded by an
analysis of the past and a conclusion modeled on previous experience. Such a model of operation
is burdened with actions from the past, both in the case of collected data, as well as methods and
techniques of conduct. However, it seems obvious to deduce from the past and previous models,
with a slight modification, on proven solutions. Innovation in action is very often only declarative
and limited to modification of existing solutions or implementation of other solutions in current
reality. Therefore, the question arises whether there is the possibility of "real" future management
that is, forecasting developmental directions and preparing for the inevitable changes resulting
from development, mainly technological.

The key condition for successful business ventures is innovation resulting from the correct
prediction of the future, derived from a good understanding of the functioning and conditions of
new technologies, as well as having current knowledge. E-business solutions used to traditional
shopping methods and conducting business activities were a revolutionary change that destroyed
almost all traditional trade paradigms. This revolutionary breakthrough resulted in the need to re-
evaluate many approaches in business operations. Currently, we are still in the period of another
revolutionary change related to the invention of the computer and especially the global Internet
network. Many areas of our lives have changed radically and are constantly changing, which
causes further changes in behavior, possibilities of action and various areas of social life.

8
Forecasting the future requires a different approach, more dynamic and adapted to new operating
conditions. The dynamic changes in Information Computer Technology (ICT) sector is surprising
and makes the use of existing management methods ineffective. It is particularly visible on the
example of methodological approaches in the implementation of Information Technology (IT)
projects, where traditional approaches give way to innovative adaptation approaches, agile
methodologies derived from spiral, fast software development. The issue of the future in
conducting a business has been an area of strategic management interest. In strategic management,
we usually carry out a deep analysis of the past and current state of business activity in the context
of its development and modification in order to increase the efficiency of future business activities.
It is obvious that the future is a natural consequence of the present. On the other hand, future
management, based on anticipated development trends, identifies future business opportunities
resulting from the observed trends, which do not necessarily relate directly to business operations,
but open new fields of business activity in the future, or the need for a radical change in the
organization. When thinking about the future, the most important is innovation, which is
something new, different from current solutions, becomes possible, necessary, giving economic
success. This high degree of unpredictability makes strategic management challenging and
exciting for leaders with strong entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities while it becomes
devastating for managers with inside-out old-fashioned mindsets.

It is worth observing changes in technology and drawing conclusions about future applications of
innovations and modifications of current principles and forms. It is becoming quite common belief
that many areas of life after the outbreak of the (COVID 19) pandemic will no longer be the same.
Therefore it is necessary to anticipate the direction of changes and forecast future situations from
the view point of the functioning of society in the conditions of dynamically developing
technology. The primary goal of business intelligence is to provide the manager with the
information necessary (that is, properly acquired, filtered and presented, often in the form of
transparent graphics) to make a decision. Business Intelligence (BI) allows the user to select the
data he needs from one or more sources. Multidimensional analyzes and automatically generated
reports are a source of business information and allow the formulation of conclusions from the
phenomena observed and the basis for making appropriate and quick business decisions. The use
of BI enables decision-makers to quickly provide strategic information and their transparent,

9
condensed graphic presentation. BI contains in itself analytical tools that enable data mining,
aimed at extracting knowledge from large masses of data. The development of BI tools occurred
due to the need to analyze increasingly larger data sets. New technologies provide tools that
actively support a dynamic approach to decision-making processes that use more reliable data,
derived from independent, automatically collected data masses.
Forecasting methods are supported by artificial intelligence, using advanced mathematical models,
in developing business decision proposals in accordance with the assumed criteria and priorities.
The dynamics of changes in the business environment forces dynamics and flexibility in decision-
making processes. The volatility of the economic situation in current economic conditions means
that traditional methods of making long-term, directional decisions become of little use and
detailed planning procedures are often a waste of time. Three themes emerge according to Gibson
(1998). The past is gone and the road we have been travelling on for decades is coming to an end
“the road stops here”, the journey to tomorrow will be an off-road experience therefore we must
change our mindset accordingly. “New times call for new organisation” that can handle the rough
uncertain landscape into which we are travelling. One that reflects the information age of the future
rather than the industrial age of the past. This New generation organisation responds appropriately
to environmental challenges for constant desire for value creation. These organisations are
characterized by a high degree of innovation, psychological stamina and a high level of creative
insights, they take a quantum leap (a major physical and mental shift in the way an organisation
does its things) and effect major changes as are required to make them leaders in their respective
sectors. To grab hold of the future we need to let go of the past, we have to challenge and in many
ways unlearn the old models, and old paradigms, the old rules, the old strategies, the old
assumptions, and the old success recipes therefore it becomes necessary to ask the question “where
do we go next?” in order to make confident strategic decisions. Winners will be those who stay
ahead of the change curve, constantly redefining their industries, creating new markets, blazing
new trails, reinventing the competitive rules, challenging the status quo with a huge appetite for
embracing new innovations, particularly information and communication technologies.

10
 3. Explain how a computer system works.

A system is defined as a group of integrated parts which are designed to achieve a common
objective. Thus, a system is made up of more than one element or part, where each element
performs a specific function and where all the elements (parts) are logically related and are
controlled in such a way that the goal (purpose) of the system is achieved. A computer system is
made up of a number of integrated elements like the input, central processing unit, and output
devices as well as the storage devices. Each of these units performs a specific task, however, none
of them can function independently on their own. These are logically connected and controlled to
achieve a specific goal. When they are thus integrated, they form a fully-fledged computer system.
A computer system comes in various forms and sizes. It can vary from a high-end server to
personal desktop, laptop, tablet computer, or a smartphone.

Fig 1.1 Block Diagram of the Computer System.

Source: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jeleel-Adebisi

11
Fig 1.2 Computer Input Devices
Source: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jeleel-Adebisi

The first stage of the computer system is input unit. Input devices are the devices that are used to
feed programs and data to the computer. The input system connects the external environment with
the computer system. The input devices are the means of communication between the user and the
computer system. Typical input devices include the keyboard, scanners, mouse, microphone, light
pen, joystick, bar codes and cameras. The way in which the data is fed into the computer through
each of these devices is different. However, a computer can accept data only in a specific form.
Therefore, these input devices transform the data fed to them, into a form, which can be accepted
by the computer. These devices are a means of communication and inter station between the user
and the computer systems. For example, when we type something using a keyboard, it is known
as an input provided to the computer. Thus the functions of the input unit are accept information
(data) and programs, convert the data in a form which the computer can accept and provide this
converted data to the computer for further processing.

12
Fig 1.3 Computer Processing Unit.
Source: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jeleel-Adebisi

The Central Processing Unit (CPU) is the brain of any computer system. The central processing
unit or CPU which is made of three parts which are the control unit, the arithmetic logic unit and
the primary storage unit. The Control Unit controls the operations of the entire computer system.
The control unit gets the instructions from the programs stored in primary storage unit interprets
these instruction and subsequently directs the other units to execute the instructions. Thus, it
manages and coordinates the entire computer system. The Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) actually
executes the instructions and performs all the calculations and decisions. The data is held in the

13
primary storage unit and transferred to the ALU whenever needed. Data can be moved from the
primary storage to the arithmetic logic unit a number of times before the entire processing is
complete. After the completion, the results are sent to the output storage section and the output
devices. This is also called as Main Memory. Before the actual processing starts the data and the
instructions fed to the computer through the input units are stored in this primary storage unit.
Similarly, the data which is to be output from the computer system is also temporarily stored in
the primary memory. It is also the area where intermediate results of calculations are stored. The
main memory has the storage section that holds the computer programs during execution. Thus,
the primary unit stores data and programs during actual processing, stores temporary results of
intermediate processing and stores results of execution temporarily.

Fig 1.4 Computer output devices

Source: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jeleel-Adebisi

14
The output unit gives the results of the computation to the user. The device that receives data from
a computer system for display and physical production are called output device. It converts digital
information into human understandable form. For example, monitor projector, headphone, speaker
and printer. A braille display monitor is useful for a visually challenged person to understand the
textual output generated by computers. A printer is the most commonly used device to get output
in physical (hardcopy) form. Three types of commonly used printers are inkjet, laserjet and dot
matrix. These days, there is a new type of printer called 3D-printer, which is used to build physical
replica of a digital 3D design. These printers are being used in manufacturing industries to create
prototypes of products. Their usage is also being explored in the medical field, particularly for
developing body organs
The evolution or development of computers is characterised by generations of computers. The first
generation had very large and complex machines which made use of the vacuum tube technology.
Invention of transistors in the second generation reduced the size of the computers and the concept
of stored program emerged, as well as higher level languages were introduced. The third generation
was characterised by Integrated Circuits and commercial production of computers. The fourth
generation saw the invention of microcomputers with Very Large Scale Integration, Networking
and introduction of personal computers. The fifth or the present generation has seen advances in
parallel processing and superconductor technologies.

15
 4. In gathering, analyzing and disseminating customer information to decision-makers,
we borrow heavily from other fields of study such as linguistics, psychology and so
on. Why? Please justify your answer using real-life examples.

In Information science it is critical to have all the necessary data to be able to make effective
decision on certain issues. In Data gathering we borrow heavily from other of fields of study that
influence what we are trying to achieve that is, interdisciplinary field. This involves a combination
of two or more academic disciplines into one activity. It draws knowledge from several other fields
and it is about creating something by thinking across boundaries. The analysis of the information
will also take into account how our decision will then affect these fields that we used to gathered
information. These fields include computer science, political science, linguistics, Psychology,
organizational theory, operations research and sociology. These help shape how we gather,
analyse, interpret and disseminate information when we want to make an informed decision. These
fields of study are interdependent on each other.

Computer science is about arithmetic computations that include addition, subtraction,

multiplication, division as well as logic operations greater, smaller than or equals to. This particular
field helps in information gathering, sorting, analyzing, evaluating and dissemination. It simplifies
the processes involved and ensures information accuracy in the computation of data that has been
input

Organizational theory is the study of corporate designs and structures. It also deals with the
behavior of individuals and/or groups in the organisation and how they interact with each other to
accomplish set goals. The Organizational theory studies the organisation so that it can identify the
way to solve any issues. Theories relating to organisations are made use of for example Henry
Fayol’s Principles of management give an insight as to how organisations operate and if we are to
make decisions how does it work. It offers an essential suggestion about ways that might help the
organisation to cope successfully with rapid or sudden changes, meet the expectations of all its
stakeholders and maximise productivity and efficiency. Other major theories that contribute to
this study include – classical organizational theory, human relations or neo-classical theory,
contingency or decision theory and modern systems theory. Over time, the emphasis in
organizational theory has shifted from stiff, hierarchical structures rampant in the industrial age

16
to broader, more flexible structures more prevalent in the technological, modern age. This means
that a structure of any organisation helps us in making decision that suits and helps the
organisation to grow. For examples, in business we have private business owners and huge
corporate public enterprises. For an owner managed business decision making is heavily
centralised to the owner who decides what to sell , at what price, how much funding required,
does he borrow or not and where to get supplies. In large public corporates we have board of
directors, shareholders and management who have to input information for a certain decisions
to be made.

Political Science is concerned with the protocol, rules and regulations, it talks to who has authority
to speak on behalf of the organisation it could be a spokesperson of the entity or management and
it cannot just be anyone therefore in wanting to gather information there has to be such
considerations, it cannot be done haphazardly. Political science borrows from many theories and
concepts, methods and techniques of other social sciences. For example decision making theory
from organizational field, structural functional approach from sociology and anthropology, action
theory from sociology, system analysis from communication sciences, even new concepts like
political culture, political socialization, political communication and political development are
being adopted and hence emphasis is being laid on the study of community power structures.
Hence, one could say that it is this so called behavioral revolution in social science and the growth
of empirical enquiry to the issues of politics which has given rise to the interdisciplinary approach
in political science.

Sociology is the science which deals with human beings and their social relationship. Political
science deals with the political activities of men. Political activities influences and is influenced
by the social life of men. Political science studies state, government and power mostly while
sociology provides sociological background to the forms of government, the nature of
governmental organs, the laws and sphere of the state activities as determined by the social
processes. As political science deals with state, sociology also studies state as one of the human
association. Sociology depends very much on political science in every respect. The state and
governments make laws for the welfare of the society; the government removes social evils such

17
as poverty, unemployment, dowry and so on from the society. The undesirable customs are
uprooted from the society by the government. The government gives financial assistance to people
at the time of natural calamities such as floods, famine, cyclone and drought. The laws which are
formed by the government are based on the social customs, traditions, mores, norms, of the society.
Most of the changes which have been taken place in the political theory, during the past times have
been possible due to sociology. In gathering, analyzing, interpreting, and disseminating of
information societal values, norms and culture will guide us. In trying to collect information in a
society who holds their tradition dear it is key to recognise and observe them to avoid distortions
as they may deliberately mislead the interviewer if they do not have confidence and trust in them.
Simple things like dress matter.

Linguistics is the scientific study of language, it has an influence on the creation and use of
information and its focus is the systematic investigation of the properties of particular languages
as well as the characteristics of language in general. It encompasses not only the study of sound,
grammar and meaning, but also the history of language families, how languages are acquired by
children and adults, and how language use is processed in the mind and how it is connected to race
and gender. Apart from simply understanding the intricacies of world languages, this knowledge
can be applied to improving communication between people, contributing to translation activities,
assisting in literacy efforts, and treating speech disorders. With close connections to the
humanities, social sciences and the natural sciences, linguistics complements a diverse range of
other disciplines such as anthropology, philosophy, psychology, sociology, biology, computer
science, health sciences, education and literature. The subfield of Applied Linguistics emphasizes
the use of linguistic concepts in the classroom to help students improve their ability to
communicate in their native language or a second language. Linguistics helps decision makers in
that effective communicating means that the listener has fully comprehended what needs to be
done and this is done by using the correct language. If the listener does not understand Shona or
English, it is pointless to use these languages when communicating with them. This discipline
emphasizes that the sender of information as they encode the receiver must decode information
with the same understating. Words with various meanings may actually cause distortions along the
way at encoding and decoding.

18
Psychology is the science of mental behavior and the human mind, and the professional
application of such knowledge toward the greater good
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior, according to the American Psychological
Association. It is the study of the mind, how it works, and how it affects behavior. Psychology also
impacts how we think and act about our diet and exercise. Psychology and understanding human
behavior also play a role in how we develop our closest relationships. According to researchers,
positive relationships have an important impact on your mental health and physical health in the
same way that healthy eating and not smoking can. In fact, studies have shown that children who
grow up in a stable home with positive family relationships are happier as they age in comparison
to other children. When collecting information that may make the respondent uncomfortable by
asking personal and sensitive question it may actually be wiser to ask indirect, near exact questions
and through inference the desired information may be gathered.

Operations research, these are models that help us in making decisions, as part of the analysis
computer software may be used to solve complex problems, for example by banks or micro finance
companies collects information from the customer by filling in a form and input details and the
software will assess risk level to determine whether the customer qualifies for a loan.

In concision, we can note that for decision to be reached, a wide consultation has to be made. The
various fields above highlight the strength of each field in information gathering, analysis, storing,
interpretation; dissemination of information for decision making meaning Management
Information Systems is an Interdisciplinary field.

19
 5. Using clear examples, explain the customer information system. How important is
this system to decision-makers?

Customer Information System (CIS) means any methods used to access, collect, store, use,
transmit, protect or dispose of customer information. CIS is a complete Customer Relationship
Management (CRM) Application that allows us to easily customize the database strategically with
user-defined fields allowing the system to fit our business rather than forcing us to fit the software.

CIS is a system used by an organization to assist employees to obtain customer information

efficiently. The users' satisfaction with the system will lead to improvement in task productivity
and allows the employees to fully utilise the system. These systems support the major decisions
regarding customer activities. The systems must be coordinated with other internal departments
and external organisations. It assists companies to identify profitable market and discover customer
need patterns. The system enables companies to accumulate capabilities of understanding
customer needs with knowledge extraction techniques. The accumulated capabilities, enable
companies to quickly respond to changes in customer needs and create values for customers. A
CRM-based information system captures and analyzes individual customer information so that
tailored products and services can improve their satisfaction level and win their loyalty.

Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) is a well-known information technology that handles

dimensional customer data. The multi-dimensional data model of OLAP databases allows quick
responses to complex analytical queries and ad-hoc queries. OLAP tools are powerful and user
friendly. It should be noted that OLAP tools summarize data rather than recognize patterns. The
summarized data can be used to forecast potential customer needs. It is a useful tool for preliminary
data analysis, nevertheless not a single system solution that can fit all cases it cannot be a one size
fit all solution. Data mining is a technology that improves the efficiency of traditional data
analytical methods with sophisticated algorithms to discover knowledge from vast data collections.
Based on the extracted customer knowledge, designers may generate product/service
specifications that match the customer needs of targeted customers with product/service features.
Customer preference patterns may be identified using clustering algorithms. Clustering algorithms

20
group objects that are similar in some way together. Wang et al. has applied clustering to customer
data in the securities trading industry to aggregate customers with similar behaviors into clusters.
Using the clustering results, business resources are better relocated to improve the overall customer
service level. Liu et al. applied clustering on department store data to identify the main customer
groups and relationships between customer characteristics and product categories.

As customer data may be scattered in different departments, it should be collected into a centralized
database called the integrated Customer Information Database system. The customer data may be
collected operationally from customer surveys, forums, and call/service centers. The system can
classify customer data into the following stated types. Customer Complaints/Feedbacks: Customer
complaints and feedbacks are sentences that express customer feelings or opinions. These data
may reveal the product/service features that need to be improved. Customer Profiles: Customer
profiles contain demographic information of customers, such as age, occupation, and so on. This
information helps to identify certain needs of customers. For example, if a customer is 80 years
old, he would prefer products or services that consider his slower response ability. Customer
profile data is usually multi-dimensional, that is, structured. Customer Transaction Records:
Customer transaction records are the purchase history of customers, such as the products/services
bought and the transaction time. It is usually structured data. With customer transaction records,
we can trace the customer preferences. Survey Responses: As questions in a customer survey may
either have limited choices or allow text answers, the survey responses are mixed format data. The
responses usually contain valuable information as the surveys are designed to capture customer
opinions, needs and desires.

The Integrated Customer Knowledge Base CIS is a customer knowledge base which stores useful
results of past analysis on customer data. The knowledge base contains the discovered customer
needs, the market attributes of each market segment (for example, age and occupation) and the
matching guidelines of customer needs with product/service features (like, weight is a critical
factor for convenient hand phone). The accumulation of this knowledge in a knowledge base
enhances the ability to respond to changes in customer needs. The Data Management Subsystem
allows users to create, update, maintain, and view information that is stored in the customer
information database. It also aims to store the data in a systematic way so that data retrieval is fast.

21
Unlike OLAP, it also accepts textual data so that more interesting results can be obtained. The
subsystem has the functionality of data cleaning and data preprocessing as customer data may
originate from different formats.

In conclusion, the proposed customer information system is a tool for knowledge extraction from
structured and textual data. It allows faster responses towards changes in customer needs. It should
be used actively by supportive and enthusiastic employees so that companies may benefit from the
implementation of the system. Employees should use the tool to explore data more deeply and to
think imaginatively. It takes time to extract meaningful findings from data but enables innovations
that are essential for product and service management.

22
 REFERENCES

1. Agrawal, R., Imielinski, T., and Swami, A., "Mining association rules between sets of items
in large databases," SIGMOD Record (ACM Special Interest Group on Management of
Data), Vol. 22, pp207-216, 1993.

2. Bierck, R., "The Manager's Guide to Communicating with Customers Collection,"

[Online]. Available: http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/2152.html.

3. Blasor, L., "Arteaga and Arteaga creates new division: will focus on strengthening nexus
between consumer and brand," [Online]. Available:
http://www.prwow.com/html/Archives/ArcDetail2.php?archID=16159.

4. Hsu, F.-C., Lee, M.-Y., and Chi, T.-H., "Discovering hidden blue ocean strategy with
keygraph machine," Proceedings of the 9th Joint Conference on Information Sciences,
JCIS 2006, Vol. 2006, pp209, 2006.

5. Henderson, KJ. (2016). The disadvantages of information technology in business.

Chronicle. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/disadvantages-information-
technology- business-4020.html
6. International Journal of Information Systems and Engineering (online), Volume 2, Issue 1
(April 2014)

7. Kalb, I. (2012). Apple's success wasn't just about platform control, design or management.
Business Insider. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/pundits-give-the-
wrong-reasons-for-apples-success-2012-6

8. Managing Customer Information System, Study Guide, Chartered Institute of Customer

Relationship Management.

23
9. Markovich, M. (2016). The disadvantages of using technology in business. Chronicle.
Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/disadvantages-using-technology-business-
23450.html
10. Tosin Harold Akingbemisilu M&E/ICT Specialist | Data Professional Published Oct 28,
2014

11. Wang, PX., Zhao, GN., Ji, YX. et al. Wang et al. reply. Nat Med 24, 700–701 (2018).
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-018-0063-1

12. Zdzisław Szyjewski, Future management, 24th International Conference on Knowledge-

Based and Intelligent Information & Engineering Systems

24
 Chartered Institute of Customer Relationship Management

Student name: Maneta Linnys Dzauma (FR21001)

Course Name: Managing Customer Information System

Programme: Post Graduate Diploma In Customer Relationship Mgnt

LECTURER: DR M. T. Nkosi

DUE DATE: 15 April 2022

25
26