Design a Query for Commission Payments in December ✓ Solved

Imagine that you have been hired as a consultant to assist in streamlining the data processing of an international based organization that sells high-end electronics. The organization has various departments such as payroll, human resources, finance, marketing, sales, and operations. The sales department is the only department where employees are paid a commission in addition to their yearly salary and benefits. All other departments compensate their employees with a yearly salary and benefits only.

Commission is paid by multiplying the employee’s commission rate by the total amount of product units sold. You have access to the following data sets: Employee (EmpNumber, EmpFirstName, EmpLastName, CommissionRate, YrlySalary, DepartmentID, JobID); Invoice (InvNumber, InvDate, EmpNumber, InvAmount); InvoiceLine (InvLineNumber, InvNumber, ProductNumber, Quantity); Product (ProductNumber, ProductDescription, ProductCost); Department (DepartmentID, DepartmentDescription); Job (JobID, JobDescription).

This paper presents a SQL query designed to determine the commissions paid to specific employees of the sales department for the month of December. It also includes a comparison to a query that shows total compensation paid to each employee in the same period, an explanation of factors needed for referential integrity, an object-oriented model for table interrelations, identification of entities and attributes, and a discussion of how Big Data can improve productivity and forecasting.

SQL Query for Commissions

The SQL query to determine the commissions paid to specific employees in the sales department for December is as follows:



SELECT E.EmpNumber, E.EmpFirstName, E.EmpLastName, 


E.CommissionRate, 


SUM(IL.Quantity) AS TotalUnitsSold,


SUM(IL.Quantity * P.ProductCost) AS TotalSalesAmount,


(E.CommissionRate  SUM(IL.Quantity  P.ProductCost) / 100) AS TotalCommission


FROM Employee AS E


JOIN Invoice AS I ON E.EmpNumber = I.EmpNumber


JOIN InvoiceLine AS IL ON I.InvNumber = IL.InvNumber


JOIN Product AS P ON IL.ProductNumber = P.ProductNumber


WHERE E.DepartmentID = (SELECT DepartmentID FROM Department WHERE DepartmentDescription = 'Sales')


AND I.InvDate BETWEEN '2022-12-01' AND '2022-12-31'


GROUP BY E.EmpNumber, E.EmpFirstName, E.EmpLastName, E.CommissionRate;

Comparison of Queries

In contrast to the commission query, the query for determining the total compensation for each employee, which includes salary and commissions, is as follows:



SELECT E.EmpNumber, E.EmpFirstName, E.EmpLastName, 


E.YrlySalary,


(E.CommissionRate  SUM(IL.Quantity  P.ProductCost) / 100) AS TotalCommission,


(E.YrlySalary / 12) + (E.CommissionRate  SUM(IL.Quantity  P.ProductCost) / 100) AS TotalCompensation


FROM Employee AS E


JOIN Invoice AS I ON E.EmpNumber = I.EmpNumber


JOIN InvoiceLine AS IL ON I.InvNumber = IL.InvNumber


JOIN Product AS P ON IL.ProductNumber = P.ProductNumber


WHERE E.DepartmentID = (SELECT DepartmentID FROM Department WHERE DepartmentDescription = 'Sales')


AND I.InvDate BETWEEN '2022-12-01' AND '2022-12-31'


GROUP BY E.EmpNumber, E.EmpFirstName, E.EmpLastName, E.YrlySalary, E.CommissionRate;

Ensuring Referential Integrity

To ensure referential integrity in the database relationships, it is essential that:

  • Each foreign key in a table correspond to a valid primary key in another table.

  • Data types must match between foreign keys and primary keys to prevent data inconsistency.

  • Null values should be managed appropriately, as foreign keys should either be null (for optional relationships) or must point to an existing record.

  • Deletion and update rules must be established, such as cascade or restrict rules to maintain consistency across related tables.

Object-Oriented Model of Table Interrelations

The interrelationships among the tables can be depicted as follows:

The Employee table has a one-to-many (1:M) relationship with the Invoice table, as one employee can have multiple invoices. The Invoice table also has a one-to-many (1:M) relationship with the InvoiceLine table, where each invoice can contain multiple line items. The InvoiceLine table has a many-to-one (M:1) relationship with the Product table, as multiple invoice lines can reference the same product. Finally, the Employee table has a many-to-one (M:1) relationship with the Department table.

For this assignment, object-oriented diagrams would be prepared using graphical tools such as Visio or similar software to accurately represent these relationships.

Entities and Attributes Identification

In the object representation model, the entities include:

  • Employee: EmpNumber, EmpFirstName, EmpLastName, CommissionRate, YrlySalary, DepartmentID, JobID

  • Invoice: InvNumber, InvDate, EmpNumber, InvAmount

  • InvoiceLine: InvLineNumber, InvNumber, ProductNumber, Quantity

  • Product: ProductNumber, ProductDescription, ProductCost

  • Department: DepartmentID, DepartmentDescription

  • Job: JobID, JobDescription

The relationships are depicted through lines connecting the entities indicating the type of relationships such as 1:M and M:1.

Using Big Data in Productivity and Forecasting

Big Data can be instrumental in enhancing productivity and forecasting capabilities in the organization’s operations. By leveraging advanced analytics and machine learning algorithms, the organization can:

  • Analyze customer purchase patterns and preferences, enabling personalized marketing strategies.

  • Forecast product demand based on real-time data analytics, allowing for better inventory management.

  • Enhance sales strategies by understanding customer behavior and optimizing commission structures.

  • Utilize predictive analytics to identify emerging trends in electronics, ensuring the organization stays ahead in the market.

By investing in common big data technologies, the organization can improve decision-making processes, enhance operational efficiencies, and ultimately drive profitability.

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