INFORMATION MANAGEMENT. MS EXCEL VS.MS ACCESS. FREE ESSAY SAMPLE

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Summary:

The following essay compares and contrasts two major marketable software for business, Microsoft Access® and Microsoft Excel®. It analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of each, their meaning and importance for business organization and concludes which software is best for what type of business and tasks.

Introduction:

Microsoft Access® and Microsoft Excel® are two programs created by Microsoft corporation as a part of Microsoft Office®. These two programs are different and complementary in some way and they never appear to be outside Microsoft office® simply because each of them is more efficient at solving certain important tasks. In the following essay I will use a hypothetical scenarios to analyze each software and determine which one is good for what company and tasks.

Body

I order for a decision maker to make the best decision in obtaining maximum efficiency, performance and accuracy when drawing a conclusion as to what software is best for his/her organization it is necessary for him/her to determine as to which of Microsoft Access® or Microsoft Excel® best works with the data used in his organization or environment.

MS Excel®

Advantages:

1. Comparatively easy to learn (Schmalz, 91).

2. Has a comprehensive wizard and help files.

3. Integrates perfectly with any other MS Office ® software applications.

4. Excellent built-in functions be it math, statistic, charts, graphs or tables or any sort.

5. Has a very simple and user-friendly interface.

6. Deals well with small amounts of data and simple data/databases.

7. Just about every college student knows Excel® good enough to solve most problems needed at most organizations. So it is relatively easy to obtain help from colleagues on Excel®.

Disadvantages:

1. Is not convenient for the use of large files and large data (Monk, 234).

2. Cannot be used to create large databases.

MS Access®

Advantages:

1. Excellent tool for creating relational databases of any size (Alexander 183).

2. Integrates well with any other MS Office ® software applications.

Disadvantages:

1. Comparatively more difficult to learn and comprehend.

2. Can be extremely slow when dealing with small data and simple functions.

3. Not too many people know or like MS Access®. It might be hard to find a person who knows Access® well and can explain it to you when you need it.

Speaking about the two scenarios I would like to note the following:

Scenario 1. One should use Excel® simply because the company is relatively small, and figures up to about 1000 can be easily managed and manipulated with Excel®. One could still use Access® yet that certainly is unnecessary.

Scenario 2. One should certainly use Access® as it is most suitable for dealing with large databases and many people. Taking into account that the company already has more than 1000 employees and sales over $50 million, one can assume that the company will grow in sales and personnel so Access® is absolutely necessary for keeping track of everything.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, I would like to note that both Excel® and Access® are a part of MS Office® and are meant to be used simultaneously on various projects and tasks. In hypothetical scenarios I favored one or the other based on their efficiency when dealing comparatively large or small databases and sets of data. Overall, one can do with Excel® just about everything one can do with Access® and vice versa. Most companies use both software applications depending on the task complexity. Taking into account the fact that both tools integrate well with each other and other Microsoft products, the best policy is to learn and study both software applications and use them both in daily corporate operations.

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