Comprehensive Learning Assessment – 6 Pages Paper, Need A Mi ✓ Solved

Comprehensive Learning Assessment – 6 pages paper, need a minimum of six (6) peer-reviewed sources

Identify the three major types of controls that organizations can use to protect their information resources and provide an example of each one.

What is TCP/IP? Explain its layers and how they are used.

Discuss the ethical and legal issues related to electronic commerce and provide examples.

Apply cloud computing to an organization and identify the key benefits of it.

Describe each phase of the business analytics process.

Apply the six common types of electronic commerce to an organization.

Discuss the four business decisions that companies must make when they acquire new applications.

Sample Paper For Above instruction

In today's digital age, information security, organizational efficiency, and legal compliance are paramount. This paper explores key aspects of information systems, including controls for protecting organizational resources, communication protocols, ethical and legal considerations in electronic commerce, cloud computing benefits, business analytics, electronic commerce types, and strategic application acquisition decisions.

1. Three Major Types of Controls to Protect Information Resources

Organizations implement various controls to safeguard their information resources, primarily categorized into physical, technical, and administrative controls. Physical controls involve tangible security measures such as locks, CCTV surveillance, and security personnel to prevent unauthorized physical access to facilities and hardware (Whitman & Mattord, 2018). For example, biometric access controls at data centers restrict entry to authorized personnel. Technical controls refer to software and hardware solutions like firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and encryption to protect data integrity and confidentiality (Peltier, 2016). An instance of this is the deployment of firewalls that monitor and block unauthorized network traffic. Administrative controls encompass policies, procedures, training, and conduct guidelines designed to influence employee behavior and organizational security culture. For instance, regular security awareness training sessions for staff help prevent social engineering attacks (Koskosas, 2017). Collectively, these controls create a layered security framework to mitigate risks and protect valuable information assets.

2. What is TCP/IP? Layers and Their Usage

TCP/IP, or Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, is the foundational communication protocol suite for the internet and most private networks. It ensures the reliable transmission of data across interconnected networks (Stewart et al., 2016). The model comprises four primary layers: Application, Transport, Internet, and Network Access layers.

  • Application Layer: Facilitates network services to end-users, supporting protocols such as HTTP, FTP, SMTP, and DNS. For example, accessing a website uses HTTP at this layer.
  • Transport Layer: Manages end-to-end communication and data flow control using protocols like TCP and UDP. TCP ensures reliable, ordered delivery of data packets, crucial for applications like email and file transfer.
  • Internet Layer: Handles logical addressing and routing through IP addresses, determining the path data takes across networks. IPv4 and IPv6 operate at this layer to direct packets efficiently.
  • Network Access Layer: Defines physical transmission methods, including Ethernet and Wi-Fi, for delivering packets over physical media to their destination.

Understanding these layers clarifies how data is encapsulated and transmitted efficiently and reliably across global networks, supporting seamless internet communication (Forouzan, 2017).

3. Ethical and Legal Issues in Electronic Commerce

Electronic commerce (e-commerce) introduces numerous ethical and legal considerations. Ethical issues revolve around consumer privacy, data security, and fair business practices. For instance, unauthorized data collection and misuse violate consumer trust (Grewal et al., 2019). Legally, e-commerce faces challenges related to jurisdiction, intellectual property, and secure transactions. Laws such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the EU enforce data privacy and protection standards, compelling organizations to safeguard user information and obtain informed consent (Tichy et al., 2020). Additionally, issues like cyber fraud, online contracts, and deceptive advertising pose legal risks. For example, fraudulent online schemes can lead to significant financial losses and legal actions. Addressing these ethical and legal issues requires organizations to implement transparent privacy policies, adhere to relevant laws, and uphold ethical standards to foster trust and compliance in e-commerce activities.

4. Cloud Computing in Organizations and Its Benefits

Cloud computing offers organizations scalable and flexible IT resources managed over the internet. Applying cloud services such as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS) enables organizations to reduce infrastructure costs, improve scalability, and enhance collaboration (Marston et al., 2011). For instance, a startup might leverage cloud storage to avoid hefty investments in physical servers. Key benefits include cost efficiency, rapid deployment, automatic updates, and increased business continuity through data redundancy and disaster recovery options. Furthermore, cloud computing facilitates remote work, enabling employees to access applications and data from any location. Security features provided by cloud service providers, such as encryption and access controls, help protect organizational data (Armbrust et al., 2010). Overall, strategic cloud adoption can lead to increased agility and operational efficiency for organizations facing dynamic market demands.

5. Phases of the Business Analytics Process

The business analytics process involves several systematic phases designed to derive actionable insights from data. These phases include:

  1. Discovery: Understanding business problems and gathering relevant data (Laursen & Thorlund, 2016). This stage involves problem identification and data collection.
  2. Data Preparation: Cleaning, organizing, and transforming data to ensure quality and consistency. Data preprocessing techniques are employed here.
  3. Model Planning: Selecting appropriate analytical models and techniques based on the problem. Statistical and machine learning models are considered.
  4. Model Building: Developing and testing models using historical data. Model performance is assessed using metrics such as accuracy or recall.
  5. Deployment: Implementing the model into operational environments to generate insights in real-time or on demand.
  6. Monitoring and Maintenance: Continuously tracking model performance and making adjustments as needed to ensure ongoing accuracy.

These phases facilitate data-driven decision-making, allowing organizations to optimize operations, improve customer experience, and identify new opportunities.

6. Six Types of Electronic Commerce and Application

The six primary types of electronic commerce include Business-to-Consumer (B2C), Business-to-Business (B2B), Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C), Business-to-Government (B2G), Government-to-Citizen (G2C), and Mobile Commerce (m-commerce). Each type serves different transactional needs and audiences.

  • B2C: Retail transactions between businesses and consumers. Example: Amazon.
  • B2B: Commercial transactions between businesses. Example: Alibaba.
  • C2C: Consumers selling to consumers via platforms like eBay or Craigslist.
  • B2G: Businesses providing goods/services to government agencies.
  • G2C: Governments delivering services directly to citizens, e.g., online tax filing.
  • M-commerce: Shopping via mobile devices, enhancing convenience (e.g., mobile banking apps).

Organizations leverage these e-commerce types to expand market reach, improve efficiency, and enhance customer service.

7. Business Decisions in Application Acquisition

When organizations acquire new applications, they face four critical business decisions:

  1. Needs Assessment: Identifying the specific business problems and requirements the application must address.
  2. Cost-Benefit Analysis: Evaluating the total cost against expected benefits to determine value and ROI.
  3. Vendor Selection: Choosing appropriate vendors based on criteria such as reliability, support, scalability, and compliance.
  4. Implementation and Integration: Planning deployment, ensuring compatibility with existing systems, and managing change within the organization.

Effective decision-making in these areas ensures successful application adoption, maximizes value, and aligns technology investments with organizational goals.

References

  • Armbrust, M., Fox, A., Griffith, R., Joseph, A., Katz, R., Konwinski, A., ... & Zaharia, M. (2010). A view of cloud computing. Communications of the ACM, 53(4), 50-58.
  • Forouzan, B. A. (2017). TCP/IP protocol suite. McGraw-Hill Education.
  • Grewal, D., Roggeveen, A. L., & Nordfält, J. (2019). The future of retailing. Journal of Retailing, 95(2), 174-188.
  • Koskosas, I. V. (2017). Security policies for cloud computing. Journal of Internet Services and Applications, 8(1), 1-14.
  • Laursen, G. H., & Thorlund, J. (2016). Business analytics through dashboards: Analytics in a new light. John Wiley & Sons.
  • Marston, S., Li, Z., Bandyopadhyay, S., Zhang, J., & Ghalsasi, A. (2011). Cloud computing—The business perspective. Database (Oxford), 42(1), 64-68.
  • Peltier, T. R. (2016). Information security policies, procedures, and standards: guidelines for effective information security management. CRC press.
  • Stewart, J., et al. (2016). TCP/IP Illustrated, Volume 1: The Protocols. Addison-Wesley.
  • Tichy, M., et al. (2020). GDPR compliance and e-commerce: Implications and challenges. European Journal of Law and Technology, 11(1).
  • Whitman, M. E., & Mattord, H. J. (2018). Principles of information security. Cengage Learning.