Instructor Resource
Kavanagh and Johnson, Human Resource Information Systems: Basics, Applications, and Future Directions, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Sample Answers to Discussion Questions
Chapter 2: Database Concepts and Applications in HRIS
1. Explain the differences between data, information, and knowledge.
• Data represent the “facts” of transactions that occur on a daily basis. A
transaction can be thought of as an event of consequence, such as hiring a
new employee for a particular position for a specified salary.
2. What are the main functions of a database management system, and how is it
different from a database?
DBMS and their associated databases electronically allow organizations to
effectively manage data. DBMS turn data into an organizational resource. A
3. What were the shortcomings of early file-oriented database structures?
Instructor Resource
Kavanagh and Johnson, Human Resource Information Systems: Basics, Applications, and Future Directions, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Early DBMS were simply data-processing systems that performed
recordkeeping functions that mimicked existing manual procedures. These
traditional file-oriented data structures had a number of shortcomings,
4. What are the three types of data sharing?
• The three types of data sharing are (1) data sharing between functional units,
5. Define the key terms in a relational database.
• Entities are things such as employees, jobs, promotion transactions,
positions in company, and so on. They include both physical things such as
desks and conceptual things such as bank accounts. A company must
Instructor Resource
Kavanagh and Johnson, Human Resource Information Systems: Basics, Applications, and Future Directions, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
6. What is the difference between a primary key and a foreign key?
A primary key is the attribute of an entity that uniquely identifies a specific
7. What are the three types of queries?
• A select query allows you to ask a question based on one or more tables in a
database. This is the most commonly used query.
• An action query performs an action on the table on which it is based.
8. How are forms and reports similar, and how are they different?
Forms and reports are similar in that they are both components of a
Instructor Resource
Kavanagh and Johnson, Human Resource Information Systems: Basics, Applications, and Future Directions, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
9. Take the list of HR database common fields, and group them into tables.
This could be a good project by having students work in teams of
10. What are the differences between data warehouses, BI, and data mining?
• A data warehouse is a special type of database that is optimized for