c. Suggest suitable solutions that could be used by a company in the following situations: Example Solution a) The company wants to use a highly secured network that is built on top of the Internet b) The company owns software but want to purchase additional services as it has a shortage in the qualified IT staff. They would like to use a suitable hosting alternative that can run and maintain its computer system c) The company would like to use this type of reports that provide details or summary information about transactions or operating results that fall outside a predefined normal range of values d) The company wants to add a suitable data-entry control for a group of choices from which the user selects only one and the system then automatically turns off all other buttons in the group. Designing Reports, Statements, and Turnaround Documents Modern information systems have made information much more widely available, with a proliferation of all types of reports-paper and electronic, One of the major challenges organizations face today is to organize the over- making. One of the most difficult aspects of output design is to decide what information to provide and how to present it to avoid a confusing mass of complex data. detailed reports morts tot specific information on business transactions summary reports reports that summa loro proti Report Types There are four types of output reports commonly provided by an information system: Detailed reports These contain specific information on business transactions--for example, a list of all overdue accounts, with cach line of the report presenting information about a particular account. A credit manager could use this report to research overdue accounts and determine actions to collect past-due amounts. Summary reports-These are often used to recap periodic activity. An example of this is a daily or weekly summary of all sales transactions, with a total dollar amount of sales. Managers often use this type of report to track departmental or division performance. Exception reports These provide details or summary information about transactions or operating results that fall outside of a predefined normal range of values. When business is progressing normally, no report is needed. For example, a manufacturing organization might produce a report that lists parts that fail quality control tests more than 0.2 percent of the time. Executive reports - These are used by high-level managers to assess over all organizational health and performance. They thus contain summary information from activities within the company. They might also show comparative performance with industry-wide averages. Using these reports, executives can assess the competitive strengths or weaknesses of their companies exception reports morts that provide de nombouansa tions of operating results that all outside a predefined alonge of a executive reports reports sed by high vengono heart and porn Internal outputs pos t extemal outputs put produced for by ele the dette turnaround documents Internal versus External Outputs Printed outputs are classified as either internal outputs or external outputs. Internal outputs are produced for use within the organization. The types of reports just discussed fall under this category. External outputs include state ments, notices, and other documents that are produced for people outside the organization. Because they are official business documents for an outside audi ence, they need to be produced with the highest quality graphics and color. Examples include monthly bank statements, late notices, order confirmation and packing slips (such as those provided to Ridgeline Mountain Outfitters' cus tomers), and legal documents such as insurance policies). Some external outputs are referred to as turnaround documents because they are sent to a customer but include a tear-off portion that is returned for input later, such as a bill that contains a payment stub to be returned with a check. All these printed output must be designed with care, but organizations have many more options for printed output. Today's high-speed color laser printers enable all types of reports and other outputs to be produced An example of a detailed report for an external output is shown in Figure 7.17. When a customer places an order on the Web, the system will be able to print the order information as a confirmation, of course, wher can always print the Web screen display by using the browser's print capabil ity, but doing so is time consuming because it includes all the graphics and