Learning Materials for

AEC 8 – IT Application Tools in Business

A compilation of Lectures/Activities

COLLEGE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY

SEPTEMBER 2020
Disclaimer
This learning material is used in compliance with the flexible teaching-learning approach
espoused by CHED in response to the pandemic that has globally affected education institutions.
Authors and publishers of the contents are well acknowledged. As such the College of information
and Communications Technology and its faculty do not claim ownership of all sourced
information. This learning material will solely be used for instructional purposes not for
commercialization.
Contents:
• Overview
Software
2
• Learning Outcomes
• Introduction
2.1. Software
2.2. Categories of Software
2.3. Application Software
2.4. System Software
• Summary
• Self-Assessment Questions
• Activity
• References
 Overview:
• Software plays an important role in business. Segments
of business could be improved with the aid of software.
This includes finances, customer support, email
outreach, time-tracking, and others.
• There are several kinds of software that could be used
in business firms and that includes word processing
programs, accounts software, billing software, payroll
software, database software, asset management software, desktop publishing
programs and the like.
• This chapter focus on topics such as software, the two major categories of software
which are system software and application software and their function and uses.

Learning Outcomes:

After studying this chapter, the students shall be able to:

1. describe software;
2. distinguish application software from system software
3. discuss the functions of application software
4. enumerate and discuss the categories of application software
5. discuss the functions of system software
6. describe an Operating System
7. describe the function of Utility Program.
2.1. Software
• also called a program
• consists of a series of related instructions, organized for a common purpose
• tells the computer what tasks to perform and how to perform them.

2.2. Categories of Software

• Application Software
• System Software

2.3. Application Software

• consists of programs designed to make users more productive and/or assist with
personal tasks
➢ to make business activities more efficient
➢ to assist with graphics and multimedia projects
➢ to support home, personal, and educational tasks
➢ to facilitate communications

Categories of Application Software

Forms of Application Software:

• Packaged software
• Open source software
• Custom software
• Shareware
• Web application
• Freeware
• Public-Domain Software

• Packaged software
➢ mass-produced, copyrighted retail software that meets the needs of a wide
variety of users, not just a single user or company.

• Custom software
➢ performs functions specific to a business or industry.

• A Web application
➢ web site that allows users to access and interact with software from any
computer or device that is connected to the Internet.

• Open source
➢ software provided for use, modification, and redistribution.

• Shareware
➢ copyrighted software that is distributed at no cost for a trial period.

• Freeware
➢ copyrighted software provided at no cost by an individual or a company that
retains all rights to the software.

• Public-domain software
➢ donated for public use and has no copyright restrictions.

Business Software
• Business software is application software that assists people while performing
business activities
➢ Word Processing
➢ Spreadsheet
➢ Database
➢ Presentation
➢ Note taking
 ➢ Personal information manager
➢ Business software suites
➢ Project management
➢ Accounting
➢ Document management
➢ Enterprise Computing Software

Word-processing
• Word-processing - Developing a document

Spreadsheet
• Spreadsheet software allows users to organize data in rows and columns and
perform calculations
Project Management Software
• Project management software allows a user to plan, schedule, track, and analyze the
events, resources, and costs of a project

Accounting Software
• Accounting software helps companies record and report their financial transactions

Document Management Software

• Document management software provides a means for sharing, distributing, and
searching through documents by converting them into a format that can be viewed
by any user
2.4. System Software
• System software serves as the interface between the user, the application software,
and the computer’s hardware.
The Role of System Software
• System software serves as the interface between the user, the application software,
and the computer’s hardware
• To use application software, such as a word processing program, your computer must
be running system software — specifically, an operating system.

What is an Operating System?

• It makes a computer to work.
• It permits all the programs to be used.
• It organizes and controls the hardware.
• It acts as an interface between the application programs and the machine hardware.
• Examples: Windows, Linux, Unix and Mac OS, etc.,
• Different sizes of computers typically use different operating systems because
operating systems generally are written to run on a specific type of computer.

Operating Systems Functions:

• Starting and Shutting Down a Computer
• Providing a User Interface
• Managing programs
• Managing memory
• Coordinating Tasks
• Configuring devices
• Monitoring Performance
• Providing File Management
• Updating Software Automatically
• Controlling a Network
• Administering Security

Starting and Shutting Down a Computer

• The process of starting or restarting a computer is called booting.
• When turning on a computer that has been powered off completely, you are
performing a cold boot.
• A warm boot, by contrast, is the process of using the operating system to restart a
computer.
Providing a User Interface - You interact with software through its user
interface.
• A user interface controls how you enter data and instructions and how information is
displayed on the screen.
• Two types of user interfaces are graphical and command-line.
• Graphical User Interface - Most users today work with a graphical user interface.
• Command-Line Interface - To configure devices, manage system resources, and
troubleshoot network connections, network administrators and other advanced users
work with a command-line interface

Managing Programs
• Some operating systems support a single user and only one running program at a time.
• Others support thousands of users running multiple programs.
• How an operating system handles programs directly affects our productivity.

Managing Memory
• The purpose of memory management is to optimize the use of random-access
memory (RAM).

Coordinating Tasks
• The operating system determines the order in which tasks are processed. A task, or
job, is an operation the processor manages.

Configuring devices
• driver, short for device driver, is a small program that tells the operating system how
to communicate with a specific device.

Monitoring Performance
• Operating systems typically contain a performance monitor. A performance monitor
is a program that assesses and reports information about various computer resources
and devices.
• For example, users can monitor the processor, disks, network, and memory usage.

Providing File Management

• capability of managing files, searching for files, viewing images, securing a computer
from unauthorized access, uninstalling programs, cleaning up disks, defragmenting
disks, diagnosing problems, backing up files and disks, and setting up screensavers.

Updating Software Automatically

• automatic update feature that automatically provides updates to the program
Controlling a Network
• organizes and coordinates how multiple users’ access and share resources on a
network. Resources include hardware, software, data, and information. For
example, a server operating system allows multiple users to share a printer,
Internet access, files, and programs.

Administering Security
• Computer and network administrators typically have an administrator account that
enables them to access all files and programs on the computer or network, install
programs, and specify settings that affect all users on a computer or network.

Types of Operating Systems

Utility Program
• File Manager
➢ utility that performs functions related to file management.
• Search Utility
➢ a program that attempts to locate a file on your computer based on criteria you
specify.
• Image Viewer
➢ a utility that allows users to display, copy, and print the contents of a graphics file,
such as a photo.
• Disk Cleanup
➢ utility searches for and removes unnecessary files.
• Uninstaller
➢ utility that removes a program, as well as any associated entries in the system
files.
• Disk Defragment
➢ utility that reorganize the files and unused space on a computer’s hard disk so
that the operating system accesses data more quickly and programs run faster.
• Backup and Restore Utilities
➢ allows users to copy, or back up, selected files or an entire hard disk to another
storage medium such as another hard disk, optical disc or USB flash drive.
• Screen Saver
➢ utility that causes a display device’s screen to show a moving image or blank
screen if no keyboard or mouse activity occurs for a specified time.
• Personal Firewall
➢ utility that detects and protects a personal computer from unauthorized
intrusion.
• Antivirus Program
➢ a program or set of programs that are designed to prevent, search for, detect,
and remove software viruses, and other malicious software like worms, trojans,
adware, and more.
• Media player
➢ program that allows you to view images and animation, listen to audio, and
watch video files on your computer.
• Disc Burning
➢ writes text, graphics, audio, and video files on a recordable or rewritable CD,
DVD, or Blu-ray Disc. This software enables the home user easily to back up
contents of their hard disk on an optical disc and make duplicates of
uncopyrighted music or movies.
• Personal Computer Maintenance
➢ identifies and fixes operating system problems, detects and repairs disk
problems, and includes the capability of improving a computer’s performance.
 Summary

• Software is a programs and other operating information used by a computer.

Software can be categorized according to what it is intended to do.
• Two main types of software had been discussed in this chapter – the systems software
and application software.
• Systems software includes the programs that are dedicated to managing
the computer itself, such as the operating system, file management utilities, and disk
operating system (or DOS).
• Application software are often called productivity programs or end-user programs
because they enable the user to complete tasks, such as creating documents,
spreadsheets, databases and publications, doing online research, sending email,
designing graphics, running businesses, and even playing games.
• Several kinds of application software had been discussed in this chapter as well as the
different function of the system software.
 Self-Assessed Questions

1. Describe software;
2. Distinguish application software from system software
3. Discuss the functions of application software
4. Enumerate and discuss the categories of application software
5. Discuss the functions of system software
6. Describe an Operating System
7. Describe the function of Utility Program.
Activity

III. System and Application Software Used in the Company

3.1. Identify the different system and application software used in the company and
discuss the use of these software in doing everyday productivity tasks in the
company.
3.2. Discuss the kind of Operating System used in the company.
3.3. Categorize the different application software used in the company and discuss
each
3.4. Discuss the kind of form of the application software used in the company
3.5. Discuss also the kind of business software used in the company
References:
• Cashman, Shelly (2018). Discovering Computers 2018, Cengage Learning ISBN: 978-1-
337-38852-8
• Lambert, Joan (2015). Microsoft PowerPoint 2016 Step by Step, Microsoft Press ISBN:
978-0-7356-9779-9
• Microsoft Office. (n.d.). (Goodwill Community Foundation, Inc.) Retrieved June 10, 2020,
from Goodwill Community Foundation Learn Free:
https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/subjects/office/