BCIS 1405 Lecture Exam 1

Order Delivery Process

1 Marketing, 2 Sales, 3 Operations Management, 4 Accounting and Finance, 4 Customer Service

Which of the following best represents the definition of management information systems?

A business function, such as accounting and human resources, that moves information about people, products, and processes across the company to facilitate decision making and problem solving.

Describe Systems Thinking.

A way of monitoring the entire system by viewing multiple inputs being processed or transformed to produce outputs while continuously gathering feedback on each part.

What can an information systems model accomplish?

All of these - Manipulate time, Calculate Risks, Understand uncertainty

Why is there generally a gap between IT personnel and business personnel?

All of these are correct

Which of the following would represent the As-Is movie rental business process in 2010?

All of these are correct - Customer enters store, customer chooses movie, and customer pays for rental, Customer researches movie rental database online, customer chooses movie, customer picks up movie at movie store, Customer researches movie rental database online, customer chooses movie, and supplier ships movie to customer.

Which of the following is a quantitative model typically used by a DSS?

All of these are correct - Goal-seeking analysis, Sensitivity analysis, What-if analysis

Which of the following systems does Netflix use to run its business?

All of these are correct - Netflix uses OLTP, Netflix uses OLAP, Netflix uses TPS.

Which is not a type of organizational information system?

Analysis processing system

What typically occurs during operational business process improvement?

Automation

Based on the examples of Porter's three generic strategies in your textbook, which of the following is Walmart following?

Broad cost leadership

In analyzing Neiman Marcus, which of Porter's three generic strategies would you determine that it was following?

Broad differiention

Which of the following refers to applications and technologies that are used to gather, provide access to, and analyze data and information to support decision-making efforts?

Business Intelligence

What is a graphic description of a process, showing the sequence of process tasks, that is developed for a specific purpose and from a selected viewpoint?

Business process model

__________________ is the activity of creating a detailed flow chart or process map of a work process showing its inputs, tasks, and activities, in a structured sequence.

Business process modeling

Which of the following is not part of Porter's three generic strategies?

Business process strategy

How do decision-making information systems work?

By building models out of organizational information to lend insight into important business issues and opportunities

What is the business process called when waiting in line at the grocery store?

Checkout

_________________ are the crucial steps companies perform to achieve their goals and objectives and implement their strategies.

Critical success factors

Which of the following would represent the As-Is movie rental business process in 1995?

Customer enters store, customer chooses movie, and customer pays for rental.

Problem Identification - Step 4

Define the problem as clearly and precisely as possible.

Solution Generation - Step 3

Detail every solution possible, including ideas thet seem farfetched.

Solution Test - Step 5

Evaluate solutions in terms of feasibility (can it be completed?), suitability (is it a permanent or a temporary fix?), and acceptability (can all participants from a consensus?).

If you were asked to analyze Payless Shoes, which of Porter's three generic strategies would you determine that it was following?

Focused cost leadership

Of the below generic strategies, which one best represents the business strategy implemented by Tiffany & Co.?

Focused differentiation

Data Collection - Step 1

Gather problem-related data, including who, what, where, why, and how. Be sure to gather facts not rumors or opinions about the problem.

Which of the following represents buyer power for the organic milk industry?

Horizon Organic, Organic Valley, Whole Foods Organic, and Safeway Organic

Solution Implementation - Step 6

If the solution solves the problem, then the decisions made were correct. If not, then the decisions were incorrect and the process begins again.

Which of the following represents the relationship between the functional areas at the Chicago Rush?

Interdependent

Why is it important for employees at 1154 LILL to study management information systems?

MIS is everywhere in business and 1154 LILL you need to understand it if you are going to compete in today's global economy.

Semi-structured Decision Making - Best Customers, Expected vs actual - Decision Support System

Managerial

Which industry did Netflix revolutionize?

Netflix revolutionized the movie rental industry.

Structured Decision Making - Sick employees, Inventory - Transaction Processing System

Operational

What is not a reason for the growth of decision-making information systems?

People no longer have to worry about protecting the corporate asset of organizational information.

Which of the following is not a reason for the growth of decision-making information systems?

People no longer have to worry about protecting the corporate asset of organizational information.

Which of the following represents the order of priority for the three primary organizational key resources?

People, information, information technology

Key performance indicators are the quantifiable metrics a company uses to evaluate progress toward critical success factors. Which one of the following is a key performance indicator?

Percentage of help-desk calls answered in the first minute

Recall the decision-making process highlighted in your text. Which of the below represents the first step in the process?

Problem identification

What is it called when a company develops unique differences in its products or services with the intent to influence demand?

Product differentiation

Which of the following represents buyer power for the organic milk industry?

Safeway, Whole Foods, King Soopers, and Kroger

Solution Selection - Step 2

Select the solution that best solves the problem and meets the needs of the business.

Decision making is a challenging task. Review the below lists and determine which employees typically do not make operational decisions.

Senior management

Unstructured Decision Making - Employment levels, Recession - Executive Information Systems

Strategic

_____________ typically occurs during managerial business process improvement.

Streamlining

What makes customers reluctant to move to another product or service?

Switching costs

What is a way of monitoring an entire system by viewing multiple inputs being processed or transformed to produce outputs while continuously gathering feedback on each part?

Systems thinking

What factor significantly contributed to Netflix's need to use information systems to make decisions?

The amount of information people must understand to make good decisions is increasing significantly.

When thinking about a washing machine as a system, which of the following represents the outputs?

The clean clothes.

When thinking about a washing machine as a system, which of the following represents the inputs?

The dirty clothes, water, and detergent.

When thinking about a washing machine as a system, which of the following represents the feedback?

The light indicating that the washer is off balance and has stopped.

When thinking about a washing machine as a system, which of the following represents the process?

The wash and rinse cycle.

Which of the following is a reason why managerial decision making is challenging?

They must apply sophisticated analysis techniques, such as Porter's strategies, to make decisions.

When analyzing the organic milk industry, which of the following represents a substitute product?

Vitamin water, fruit juice, coffee, and tea

Rivalry among existing competitors is ________ when competition is fierce in a market and ________ when competitors are more complacent.

high; low

The _____-cost operator saves on expenses and passes the savings along to customers in the form of _______ prices.

low; low

During strategic business process improvement, ________________ typically occurs.

reengineering

Operational decisions are considered___________, which arise in situations in which established processes offer potential solutions.

structured decisions

The factor that significantly contributed to people's needs to use information systems to make decisions is:

the amount of information people must understand to make good decisions is increasing exponentially

Managers use ____________ information when making structured decisions at the operational level, such as when analyzing daily sales reports to determine how much inventory to carry.

transactional