Course Syllabus
Welcome to BUS611: Data Management
Specific information about this course and its requirements can be found below. For more general information about taking Saylor Academy courses, including information about Community and Academic Codes of Conduct, please read the Student Handbook.
Course Description
Course Introduction
The business world is changing, and database management systems are at the heart of modern business information systems. Like any other resource, corporate data must be effectively managed to ensure the organization's ongoing success. Data management, which focuses on data collection, storage, and retrieval, thus constitutes a core activity for any business or organization.
Organizations and enterprises use big data more than ever to make informed business decisions. They rely heavily on big data to gain insights into customer trends and purchasing behavior and to improve product and service experiences. Organizations turn to data management solutions and platforms to make sense of vast amounts of data. Therefore, data management has become one of the most vital administrative functions. Most organizations are excellent at collecting data. However, there is a need for skilled professionals who can manage, analyze, and reveal insights from big data. Organizational leaders seek personnel who can provide reliable and trustworthy data insights through data management. Because of technological advancements, organizations can collect and store more data faster than ever.
For example, you may work for an organization that requires a data management department. You need to decide which technologies will best fit the organization's needs. Some technologies include MySQL, Microsoft Access, SQL, Oracle, RDBMS, and dBASE. To select the best technology for your organization, you will first need to analyze and compare data to choose the correct type of data management. You will develop a data management plan to improve the organization's decision-making capabilities.
Leaders are ready to move past collecting raw data. It is time to leverage this data to improve best practices, profits, and efficiency. This course will cover data management, database systems, and database applications in business. This course will provide adequate technical information for organizational and implementation issues relevant to data management in an organizational environment.
This course includes the following units:
- Unit 1: Introduction to Data Management
- Unit 2: Understanding Databases and DBMSes
- Unit 3: Data Models
- Unit 4: Big Data Processing and Cloud Computing
- Unit 5: Introduction to SQL
- Unit 6: Data on the Internet
- Unit 7: Data Sharing
- Unit 8: Data Warehousing and Data-Driven Systems
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
- Analyze how organizations use data management to plan, measure, and guide business decisions;
- Analyze how organizations utilize database management processes and Database Management Systems (DBMS) to provide reliable and trustworthy data results;
- Distinguish between types of data models and compare data models as they are applied in organizations;
- Examine big data processing, cloud computing, and the potential challenges associated with data management;
- Use Structured Query Language (SQL) to create, edit, and retrieve information stored in organizational databases;
- Compare the advantages and disadvantages of managing data in an open data culture for both industry and research institutions; and
- Explain how organizations use emerging data warehousing and data-driven systems technologies to make decisions and improve business outcomes.
Throughout this course, you will also see learning outcomes in each unit. You can use those learning outcomes to help organize your studies and gauge your progress.
Course Materials
This course's primary learning materials are articles, lectures, and videos.
All course materials are free to access and can be found in each unit of the course. Pay close attention to the notes that accompany these course materials, as they will tell you what to focus on in each resource and will help you understand how the learning materials fit into the course as a whole. You can also see a list of all the learning materials in this course at this link.
Some parts of this course may have been created or reviewed with the support of artificial intelligence (AI). To make sure you receive accurate, high-quality, and academically sound learning materials, all AI-assisted content is carefully checked and approved by Saylor Academy's faculty and subject matter experts.
Evaluation and Minimum Passing Score
Only the final exam is considered when awarding you a grade for this course. To pass this course, you will need to earn a grade of 70% or higher on the final exam.
Your score on the exam will be calculated as soon as you complete it. Be sure to study in between each attempt! If you do not pass the exam, you will not complete this course or receive a certificate of completion. You can attempt the exam as many times as you want.
There are end-of-unit assessments in this course that are designed to help you study and do not factor into your final course grade. You can take them as many times as you want until you understand the concepts they cover.
You can see all of these assessments at this link.
Continuing Education Credits
The certificate earned by passing this self-paced course displays the program hours you completed and continuing education credits (CEUs). CEUs document successful completion of courses that are designed to improve the knowledge and skills of working adults. Many industries value CEUs, and now your certificate reflects them clearly, and they may be used to support career advancement or to meet professional licensing standards. This course contains 4.4 CEUs.
Tips for Success
BUS611: Data Management is a self-paced course, meaning you can decide when to start and complete the course. We estimate the "average" student will take 44 hours to complete. We recommend studying at a comfortable pace and scheduling your study time in advance.
Learning new material can be challenging, so here are a few study strategies to help you succeed:
- Take notes on terms, practices, and theories. This helps you understand each concept in context and provides a refresher for later study.
- Test yourself on what you remember and how well you understand the concepts. Reflecting on what you've learned improves long-term memory retention.
Technical Requirements
This course is delivered entirely online. You will need access to a computer or web-capable mobile device and consistent internet access to view or download resources and complete auto-graded assessments and the final exam.
To access the full course, including assessments and the final exam, log into your Saylor Academy account and enroll in the course. If you don't have an account, you can create one for free here. Note that tracking progress and taking assessments require you to log in.
For more details and guidance, please review our complete Technical Requirements and our student Help Center.
Optional Saylor Academy Mobile App
You can access all course features directly from your mobile browser, but if you have limited internet connectivity, the Saylor Academy mobile app provides an option to download course content for offline use. The app is available for iOS and Android devices.
Fees
This course is entirely free to enroll in and access. All course materials, including textbooks, videos, webpages, and activities, are available at no charge. This course also contains a free final exam and a free course completion certificate.