Info Systems Exam 1 Ch 1-5
define operational excellence. how can information systems help achieve it?
-achievement of higher levels of productivity, efficiency, profitability -info systems can help by improving communication to suppliers, optimizing the supply chain. -can also help managers communicate with workers, enable tech innovation in products, minimize warehouse overhead, streamline distribution
main changes taking place in organizational use of information systems
-businesses using social networks -businesses implementing tablet and mobile platforms enabling work away from the office -increase in collaboration with customers and suppliers more connected by networks and able to contribute in new products and services
An example of raw data from a national chain of automobile stores would be
1 toyota rav4 sold March 3, 2008 in Louisville, KY
Which of the following choices may lead to competitive advantage: 1. new products, services, and business models; 2. charging less for superior products; 3. responding to customers in real time?
1, 2, and 3
T/F A business model describes how a company produces, delivers, and sells a product or service to create wealth
True
T/F A firm that invests in efficient business processes is making an investment in organizational complementary assets.
True
T/F A substantial part of management responsibility is creative work driven by new knowledge and information.
True
T/F Computers are only part of an information systen
True
T/F Developing a new product, fulfilling an order, and hiring a new employee are examples of business processes.
True
T/F Government and private sector standards are examples of complementary social assets required to optimize returns from IT investments.
True
T/F In order to understand how a specific business firm uses information systems, you need to know something about the hierarchy and culture of the company.
True
T/F Internet advertising is growing at approximately 10 percent a year.
True
T/F Investment in IT is over 50% of all invested capital.
True
T/F The behavioral approach to information systems leaves aside technical solutions to instead analyze the psychological, social, and economic impacts of systems.
True
T/F The dimensions of information systems are management, organizations, and information technology.
True
t/f UPS's use of Web-based tools that allow customers to embed UPS functions such as tracking and cost calculations into their own Web sites was an information systems solution used to achieve customer intimacy.
True
An example of a business using information systems to attain operational excellence is
Walmart's RetaiLink system
The ________ is a service provided by the Internet that uses universally accepted standards for storing retrieving, formatting, and displaying information in a page format
World Wide Web/Web/WWW
Define business process
a set of logically related tasks and behaviors for accomplishing work
All of the following are advantages, for a firm, of cloud computing except
ability to improve communication
Apple Computer dominates the online legal music sales industry primarily because of a failure or recording label companies to
adopt a new business model
t/f ESSs are designed primarily to solve specific problems
false
t/f a hotel reservation system is a typical example of a management information system
false
t/f in social business, firms use social networks for coordinating production tasks
false
t/f management information systems typically support nonroutine decision making
false
t/f most MISs use sophisticated mathematical models or statistical techniques
false
t/f transaction processing systems are most commonly used by the senior management level of an organization
false
t/f you would use an MIS to help decide whether to introduce a new product line
false
Maintaining the organizations financial records is a central purpose of which main business function
finance and accounting
an example of a highly structured decision is
granting credit to a customer
Psychologists study information systems with an eye to understanding
how human decision makers perceive and use formal information
Sociologists study information systems with an eye to understanding
how systems affect individuals, groups, and organizations
Which main business function is responsible for maintaining employee records?
human resources
The six important business objectives of information technology are new products, services, and business models; customer and supplier intimacy; survival; competitive advantage; operational excellence; and
improved decision making
Verizon's implementation of a web-based digital dashboard to provide managers with real-time information such as customer complaints is an example of
improved decision making
____ is data that has been shaped into a form that is meaningful to human beings
information
The three activities in an information system that produce the information organizations use to control operations are
input, processing, and output
which of the following are key corporate assets
intellectual property, core competencies, and financial and human assets
organizational culture is best described by which of the following statements
it is a set of assumptions and values accepted by most members
Engineers, scientists, or architects, who design new products or services for a firm, belong to which level of a business hierarchy?
knowledge workers
executive support systems are information systems that support the
long-range planning activities of senior management
A relocation control system that reports summaries on the total moving, house hunting, and home financing costs for employees in all company divisions would fall into the category of
management information systems
The field that deals with behavioral issues as well as technical issues surrounding the development, use, and impact of information systems used by managers and employees in the firm is called:
management information systems
which field of study focuses on both a behavioral and technical understanding of information systems
management information systems
in a hierarchical organization, the upper levels consist of
managerial, professional, and technical employers
Producing bills of materials is a business process within the ________ function.
manufacturing and production
The average number of tickets sold daily online is an example of
meaningful information
the term management information systems designates a specific category of information systems serving
middle management functions
In a business hierarchy, the level that is responsible for monitoring the daily activities of the business is
operational management
The discipline that focuses on mathematical techniques for optimizing parameters of organizations, such as transportation and inventory control, is
operations research
Disciplines that contribute to the technical approach to information systems are
operations research, management science, and computer science
Converting raw data into a more meaningful form is called:
processing
which of the following roles in a firm would be least affected by using mobile devices to access firm information systems
production workers
Order data for baseball tickets and bar code data are examples of
raw input
identifying customers is a responsibility of the ____ function
sales and marketing
Which of the following is not one of the primary environmental actors that interacts with an organization and its information systems
sales force
ESS are specifically designed to serve which level of the organization
senior management
____ makes long-range strategic decisions about the firm's products and services
senior management
the three principle levels within a business organization hierarchy are
senior management, middle management, and operational management
A corporation that funds a political action committee, which in turn promotes and funds a political candidate who agrees with the values of that corporation, could be seen as investing in which main category of complementary assets
social
In a ____ perspective, the performance of a system is optimized when both the technology and the organization mutually adjust to one another until a satisfactory fit is obtained
sociotechnical
Computer ________ consists of the detailed, preprogrammed instructions that control and coordinate the computer hardware components in an information system.
software
data management technology consists of the
software governing the organization of data on physical storage media
____ systems integrate supplier, manufacturer, distributor, and customer logistics processes
supply-chain management
A firm that must invest in a new information system capabilities in order to comply with federal legislation can be said to be investing to achieve which business objective?
survival
The move of retail banking to use ATMs after Citibank unveiled its first ATMs illustrates the use of information systems to achieve what business objective
survival
The use of information systems because of necessity describes the business objective of:
survival
the temp agency that you own is having serious difficulties in placing temps bc few of them are familiar with Internet search. Investing in training software to enhance your workers' skills is an example of using technology to achieve which business objective?
survival
An example of a social complementary asset is
technology and service firms in adjacent markets
a managerial element in the UPS tracking system described in the chapter is
the decision to use automation
from a business perspective, raw data is transformed systematically during various stages, transforming it into valuable information, in a process called
the information value chain
E-government refers to the application of ________ to digitally enable government and public sector agencies' relationships with citizens, businesses, and other arms of government.
the internet and network technologies
thomas friedman's declaration that the world was now "flat" meant that
the internet has reduced the economic advantages of developed nations
which of the following constitutes an organizational element in the UPS tracking system described in the chapter?
the specification of procedures for identifying packages with sender and recipient information
which of the following best describes the primary reason for implementing a new information system, from a business perspective?
the system will create new value for the firm, beyond its costs
To monitor the status of internal operations and the firm's relations with the external environment, managers need ___ systems
transaction processing
Which systems are typically a major source of data for other systems?
transaction processing systems
output
transfers processed information to the people who will use it or to the activities for which it will be used
T/F operational management is responsible for directing the day-to-day operations of the business and therefore needs transaction-level information
true
t/f ESSs draw summarized information from internal MIS and DSS
true
t/f a skype conference call using VOIP and webcams is an example of a remote, synchronous collaboration tool
true
t/f a transaction processing system is a computerized system that performs and records the daily routine transactions necessary to conduct business
true
t/f decision support systems help managers make decisions that are unique, rapidly changing, and not easily specified in advance
true
t/f decision-support systems use internal information as well as information from external sources
true
t/f enterprise systems often include transactions with customers and vendors
true
t/f functional systems that support business processes within a single functional group, such as human resources, are being phased out in favor of cross-functional systems
true
t/f shipping a product to a customer is an example of a business process
true
t/f supply chain management systems are more externally oriented than enterprise systems
true
t/f synchronous collaboration tools allow global firms to collaborate from different locations at the same time
true
t/s MIS job growth is projected to be 50% greater than other jobs in the next five years
true
An example of an organizational complementary asset is
using the appropriate business model
T/F A fully digital firm produces only digital goods and services.
False
T/F Business processes are logically related tasks for accomplishing tasks that have been formally encoded by an organization.
False
T/F Information systems literacy describes the behavioral approach to information systems, whereas computer literacy describes the technical approach.
False
T/F Information technology (IT) consists of all the hardware that a firm needs to use in order to achieve its business objectives, whereas information systems consist of all the software and business processes needed.
False
T/F Intranets allow firms to work easily with third-party suppliers and vendors.
False
T/F Knowledge workers assist with paperwork at all levels of the firm.
False
T/F Studies have consistently shown that firms that invest greater amounts in information technology receive greater benefits than firms that invest less.
False
T/F There are four major business functions: sales and marketing; manufacturing and production; finance and accounting; and information technology.
False
T/F enrolling employees in benefits plans is a business process handled by the finance and accounting function
False
An example of a business using information systems for customer and supplier intimacy is
The Mandarin Oriental hotel's customer-preference tracking system
________ is a global network that uses universal standards to connect millions of different networks around the world.
The internet
An example of a business using information systems to create new products and services is
Apple Inc.'s iPod
You are planning the launch of your new company, an application service provider that provides an online timesheet and project tracking application. To best communicate with and manage your relationship with your users, you would want to implement a(n)
CMS
____ systems are designed to help firms manage their relationships with their customers
CRM
non-typical business problems with causes and effects that are rapidly changing are typically handled by which type of information system
DSS
which type of system would you use to forecast the return on investment if you used new suppliers with better delivery track records
DSS
which type of system would you use to determine what trends in your supplier's industry will affect your firm the most in five years
ESS
____ is output returned to appropriate members of the organization to help them evaluate or correct the input stage
Feedback
networking and telecommunications technologies, along with computer hardware, software, data management technology, and the people required to run and mange them, constitute an organization's
IT infrastructure
which types of systems consolidate the relevant knowledge and experience in the firm to make it available to improve business processes and management decision making
KMS
which type of system would you use to determine the five suppliers with the worst record in delivering goods on time
MIS
enabling management to make better decisions regarding organizing and scheduling sourcing, production, and distribution is a central feature of
SCMs
which type of system would you use to change a production schedule if a key supplier was late in delivering goods?
TPS
You have been hired by a worldwide non-profit agency to implement a system to handle their donations. The system must be able to handle and record telephone, sms, and Internet donations, provide up-to-the-minute reports, and create highly customizable mailing lists. In addition, event fundraisers need to be able to quickly access a donor's information and history. Which of the following systems will best meet these needs?
TPS with MIS capabilities
You work for a highly successful advertiser that is just about to expand nationally. Of utmost importance will be finding a way to store and disseminate their clients' continually updated branding guides, which include multiple image files and text documents, to all of the firm's branches. What system will best serve these needs?
an extranet with KMS capabilities
The enormous volume of data generated by Internet activity, such as web traffic, email, and social media is referred to as ______
big data
which of the following would not be a complementary asset for a solar panel manufacturer
centralized hierarchical decision making
Dell Computer's use of information systems to improve efficiency and implement "mass customization" techniques to maintain consistent profitability and an industry lead illustrates which business objective?
competitive advantage
which of the following is an example of a cross-functional business process
creating a new product
The fundamental set of assumptions, values, and ways of doing things that has been accepted by most of a company's members is called its
culture
The key elements of an organization are its people, structure, business processes, politics, and ___
culture
Telus's use of SharePoint for team sites is an example of using information systems to achieve which business objective?
customer and supplier intimacy
Which of the following objectives best describes the business strategy behind the technologies implemented in Disney's Operational Command center, as discussed in the chapter case?
customer support
____ systems are especially suited to situations in which the procedure for arriving at a solution may not be fully defined in advance
decision-support
which of the following is not one of the current changes taking place in information technology
development of videopresence software
which of the following would not be used as an input for an information system
digital dashboard
Buying or selling goods over the Internet is called:
e-commerce
what is the most important function of an enterprise application
enabling business functions and departments to share information
An ________ system collects data from various key business processes and stores the data in a single, comprehensive data repository, usable by other parts of the business.
enterprise
____ are designed to support organization-wide process coordination and integration
enterprise applications
enterprise systems are also known as ____ systems
enterprise resource planning
the four major enterprise applications are
enterprise systems, SCMs, CRMs, and KMSs
Which systems often deliver information to senior executives through a portal, which uses a Web interface to present integrated personalized business content?
executive support systems
You manage the IT department at a small startup Internet advertiser. You need to set up an inexpensive system that allows customers to see real-time statistics such as views and click-throughs about their current banner ads. Which type of system will most efficiently provide a solution?
extranet
which of the following types of system helps coordinate the flow of information between the firm and its suppliers and customers
extranet
You have been hired by Inspiration Inc., to help improve their profit margin. Inspiration Inc. is a business communications consultancy that services many clients in different industries throughout the United States. The end products of the company are customized recommendations for the best use of a client's existing resources for improving internal communications, typically delivered via documentation in different media. The company has approximately 100 consultants, all of whom are located in their central headquarters in Chicago. What system do you recommend to improve the company's business processes and increase their profit margin?
extranet, to enable quick collaboration over the Internet, minimize the time spent communicating with the client, and minimize the amount of paperwork needed
____ are private corporate networks extended to authorized users outside the organization
extranets
