MIS Chapter 2
15) The term management information systems refers to a specific category of information systems serving: A) integrated data processing throughout the firm. B) transaction process reporting. C) employees with online access to historical records. D) the information technology function. E) middle management functions.
E
69) A(n) ________ social networking tool creates business value by connecting the members of an organization through profiles, updates, and notifications that are tailored to internal corporate uses. A) cloud-based B) social-commerce C) collaborative D) remote, asynchronous E) enterprise
E
71) Which of the following tools would you use to evaluate and choose a collaboration tool for your organization? A) Virtual meeting system B) Cloud collaboration C) IBM Notes D) The collaboration matrix E) The time/space collaboration and social tool matrix
E
73) Which of the following is not a business benefit of collaboration? A) Improved quality B) Improved financial performance C) Improved customer service D) Improved innovation E) Improved compliance with government regulations
E
85) A website that allows citizens to file taxes online is a form of ________.
E-Government
63) Describe at least two benefits of using enterprise systems. Short Answer:
Enterprise systems integrate the firm's key business processes in sales, production, finance, logistics, and human resources into a single software system so that information can flow throughout the organization, improving coordination, efficiency, and decision making. These systems help create a more uniform organization in which everyone uses similar processes and information, and measures their work in terms of organization-wide performance standards. The coordination of the firm's key business processes allows the firm to respond more rapidly to customer demands.
64) How have the technologies associated with e-business impacted government? Short Answer:
Governments on all levels are using Internet technology to deliver information and services to citizens, employees, and businesses with which they work. The term e-government refers to the application of the Internet and networking technologies to enable government and public sector agencies' relationships with citizens, businesses, and other arms of government digitally. In addition to improving delivery of government services, e-government can make government operations more efficient and empower citizens by giving them easier access to information and the ability to network digitally with other citizens. For example, citizens in some states can renew their driver's licenses or apply for unemployment benefits online, and the Internet has become a powerful tool for instantly mobilizing interest groups for political action and fund-raising.
100) Describe the role of IT governance within the firm. Short Answer:
IT governance oversees how information systems are managed in the firm. This includes strategy and policies for using information technology in organization.
87) How do collaborative business culture and business processes differ from "command-and-control" firms? Short Answer:
In command-and-control organizations, the top leaders determine all the really important matters and then order lower-level employees to execute senior management plans. The job of middle management is to pass messages back and forth up and down the hierarchy. Command-and-control firms require lower-level employees to carry out orders without asking too many questions, with no responsibility to improve processes, and with no rewards for teamwork or team performance. If workgroups need help from another work group, that is something for the bosses to figure out. Employees never communicate horizontally, always vertically, so management can control the process. A collaborative business culture and business processes are very different. Senior managers are responsible for achieving results but rely on teams of employees to achieve and implement the results. Policies, products, designs, processes, and systems are much more dependent on teams at all levels of the organization to devise, to create, and to build. Teams are rewarded for their performance, and individuals are rewarded for their performance in a team. The function of middle managers is to build the teams, coordinate their work, and monitor their performance. The business culture and business processes are more social. In a collaborative culture, senior management establishes collaboration and teamwork as vital to the organization, and it actually implements collaboration for the senior ranks of the business as well.
60) The pet products chain you work for, Pets Galore, has noticed that one of its brands of dog food is not selling nearly as well as anticipated. What information systems of the business will you use to determine the reason for the poor sales? Discuss what information you will retrieve from which system. Which of the information systems will be most important for your analysis? Which of the systems will be least important? Short Answer:
TPS- check if product is actually getting to stores and getting restocked MIS- check sales levels according to various specific factors ESS- check competitor offerings and pricing DSS- see what factors could increase sales The most important would be those able to be used by management to improves sales. Assuming goods are being delivered and restocked as they should, TPS would be the least important.
10) Your aunt has asked you for your suggestions to make her business, a local sandwich shop, more efficient. Describe at least three types of business processes that a sandwich shop has. Can any be better coordinated through the use of information systems? Short Answer:
The business processes of a sandwich shop include: Taking orders, making sandwiches, selling to the customer, ordering supplies, opening the store, closing the store, cleaning the store, paying employees, hiring employees, paying creditors and vendors, creating financial statements, paying taxes, managing cash. Many of these processes could be helped by better information systems, specifically those that require recorded data, such as any financial processes (payments, cash management, taxes, salaries) and information gathered from and distributed to employees.
86) You have been hired by an international architectural firm, with offices in Singapore, Paris, and Mumbai. The firm would like architects and draftspeople from different teams to be able to collaborate efficiently. How will you determine what the best collaboration tools are for their needs? Short Answer:
The first step in evaluation is to determine what the collaboration challenges are and to locate the firm in the time/space matrix. Secondly, for each block of the matrix that the firm is in, determine what solutions are available from which vendors. Third, analyze the products in terms of their costs and benefits to the firm. Next, identify any risks involved with using the product. Then, seek the help of potential users to identify implementation and training issues. Finally, make a shortlist of tools and invite vendors to make presentations.
61) Identify and discuss the major types of information systems that serve the main management groups within a business. What are the relationships among these systems? Short Answer:
1. Transaction processing systems, such as payroll or order processing, track the flow of the daily routing transactions that are necessary to conduct business. 2. Management information systems (MIS) provide the management control level with reports and access to the organization's current performance and historical records. Most MIS reports condense information from TPS and are not highly analytical 3. Decision-support systems (DSS) support management decisions when these decisions are unique, rapidly changing, and not specified easily in advance. They have more advanced analytical models and data analysis capabilities than MIS and often draw on information from external as well as internal sources. 4. Executive support systems (ESS) support senior management by providing data of greatest importance to senior management decision makers, often in the form of graphs and charts delivered via portals. They have limited analytical capabilities, but can draw on sophisticated graphic software and many sources of internal and external information. The various types of systems in this organization exchange data with one another. TPS are a major source of data for other systems, especially MIS and DSS. ESS's primarily receive data from lower level systems.
24) Which of the following would you use to forecast trends in your supplier's industry that could affect your firm over the next five years? A) ESS B) TPS C) MIS D) DSS E) KMS
A
36) Which of the following types of system would you use to manage relationships with your customers? A) CRM B) MIS C) CLE D) CLU E) KMS
A
52) An organization's MIS and DSS supply an ESS with summarized information. A) TRUE B) FALSE
A
58) A TPS is an information system that keeps track of all of the daily routine transactions of a business. A) TRUE B) FALSE
A
78) ________ is a collaboration tool that supports remote (different place), synchronous (same time) collaboration. A) Video conferencing B) E-mail C) A MUD D) A wall display E) A virtual world
A
82) An example of a remote, synchronous collaboration tool is a Skype conference call using VOIP and webcams. A) TRUE B) FALSE
A
14) A(n) ________ is typically a major source of data for other systems. A) TPS B) MIS C) ESS D) DSS E) KMS
A
16) Which of the following would you use in order to determine which of your suppliers has the best and worst records for keeping to your production schedule? A) MIS B) TPS C) UPS D) DSS E) CRM
A
22) An ESS supports which of the following? A) Long-range planning activities of senior management B) Knowledge and data workers in an organization C) Decision making and administrative activities of middle managers D) Day-to-day processes of production E) Transactional needs of the organization
A
26) Using the Internet to buy or sell goods is called: A) e-commerce. B) e-business. C) an intranet. D) an extranet. E) e-government.
A
34) Which of the following types of system enables management to make better decisions regarding organizing and scheduling sourcing, production, and distribution? A) SCM B) TPS C) KMS D) ERP E) MIS
A
38) You have been hired by BizCom, a business communications consultancy that services many clients in different industries throughout the United States, to help it improve its profit margin. BizCom provides 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 50 consultants, all of whom are located in its central headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. What type of system do you recommend that BizCom install to improve its business processes and increase its profit margin? A) An extranet, to enable quick collaboration over the Internet, minimize the time spent communicating with the client, and minimize the amount of paperwork needed B) A CRM, to maintain easily accessible customer records to minimize the time spent looking for client data C) A KMS, for minimizing redundant work on similar clients D) A marketing system, for improving sales levels E) A TPS, to help manage all daily activities and transactions
A
41) Using ________ to enable government relationships with citizens, businesses, and other arms of government is called e-government. A) the Internet and networking technologies B) e-commerce C) e-business D) any computerized technology E) telecommunications
A
43) Which of the following statements about Plan International's new human resources system, as described in the chapter case, is not true? A) It took six months to implement a working system at Plan International's international headquarters. B) The new system helps manage grants and donations received by Plan International. C) The new system is cloud-based and delivers information on a secure mobile platform. D) The new system enables employees to update their own personal information. E) The new system provides a bird's-eye view of the entire Plan workforce.
A
44) Transaction-level information is essential for operational management to be able to direct the day-to-day operations of the business. A) TRUE B) FALSE
A
5) According to the chapter case, ABB decided to switch from its existing corporate intranet for all of the following reasons except: A) the intranet was too expensive to maintain. B) the intranet was too static and outmoded to meet its current needs. C) the intranet had poor capabilities for searching for information. D) the intranet lacked collaboration tools. E) the intranet was confusing and inefficient.
A
50) Managers can use DSS to make decisions about problems that are unusual and not easily specified in advance. A) TRUE B) FALSE
A
51) A DSS uses internal information as well as information from external sources. A) TRUE B) FALSE
A
54) A web interface used to present integrated personalized business content to users is called a portal. A) TRUE B) FALSE
A
55) Enterprise applications integrate information from multiple functions and business processes to enhance the performance of the organization as a whole. A) TRUE B) FALSE
A
57) Supply chain management systems are more externally oriented than enterprise systems. A) TRUE B) FALSE
A
7) One example of a business process is shipping a product to a customer. A) TRUE B) FALSE
A
74) ________ allows you to communicate with avatars using text messaging. A) A virtual world B) Screen sharing C) Collaborative writing D) A large audience Webinar E) Telepresence
A
76) Which of the following statements regarding IBM Notes is not true? A) It began as an e-mail and messaging client. B) It is a widely used collaboration tool at larger firms. C) It provides capabilities for wikis and microblogging. D) It provides tools for full version control of all company documentation. E) It is designed to provide security for sensitive corporate information.
A
81) A key word in social business is "conversations." A) TRUE B) FALSE
A
83) Global firms can collaborate from different locations at the same time using synchronous collaboration tools. A) TRUE B) FALSE
A
93) Which of the following is a firm's CPO responsible for? A) Ensuring that the company complies with existing data privacy laws B) Making better use of existing knowledge in organizational and management processes C) Enforcing the firm's information security policy D) Overseeing the use of information technology in the firm E) Acting as liaison between the information systems group and the rest of the company
A
97) The number of IS/MIS jobs is projected to grow 50% faster than the average job growth for the economy as a whole in the next eight years. A) TRUE B) FALSE
A
98) In 2016, the median wage for IT/MIS jobs is about twice the level for all occupations. A) TRUE B) FALSE
A
99) IT governance refers to the overall decision-making that guides the IT strategy of a firm. A) TRUE B) FALSE
A
62) Zoom Vacuum, a family-owned manufacturer of high-end vacuums, has grown exponentially over the last few years. However, the company is having difficulty preparing for future growth. The only information system used at Zoom is an antiquated accounting system. The company has one manufacturing plant located in Iowa; and three warehouses, in Iowa, New Jersey, and Nevada. The Zoom sales force is national, and Zoom purchases about 25 percent of its vacuum parts and materials from a single overseas supplier. You have been hired to recommend the information systems Zoom should implement in order to maintain their competitive edge. However, there is not enough money for a full-blown, cross-functional enterprise application, and you will need to limit the first step to a single functional area or constituency. What will you choose, and why? Short Answer:
A TPS focusing on production and manufacturing to keep production costs low while maintaining quality, and for communicating with other possible vendors. The TPS would later be used to feed MIS and other higher level systems.
65) What is a digital dashboard, and why are they becoming an increasingly popular tool? Short Answer:
A digital dashboard displays information graphical information and charts of key performance indicators on a single screen. They are becoming increasingly popular because they provide comprehensive and accurate information for decision making that helps managers quickly spot areas that need attention.
27) All of the following are examples of business intelligence systems except a system that: A) summarizes and reports on a company's basic operations. B) tracks the flows of materials in a factory. C) focuses on problems that are unique and rapidly changing. D) compares total annual sales figures for specific products to planned targets. E) addresses nonroutine decisions.
B
33) ________ systems are also known as enterprise systems. A) Resource planning B) Enterprise resource planning C) Enterprise support D) Management information E) Decision-support
B
42) In ________, digital technology and the Internet are used to execute the major business processes in the enterprise. A) e-commerce B) e-business C) enterprise applications D) MIS E) SCM
B
46) A DSS is most commonly used by the operations management level of an organization. A) TRUE B) FALSE
B
72) Which of the following decisions requires knowledge based on collaboration and interaction? A) How long will it take to manufacture this product? B) Should we work with outside vendors on new products and services? C) In which geographical locations are our products garnering the most sales? D) Which product design is the most efficient for the user in terms of energy use? E) How can we produce this product more cheaply?
B
11) If your main supplier was late in delivering goods, which type of system would you use to update your production schedule? A) ESS B) TPS C) MIS D) DSS E) BIS
B
23) Which of the following systems would you expect to deliver integrated, personalized business content through a web-based interface? A) TPS B) ESS C) MIS D) DSS E) SCM
B
29) What is the most important function of an enterprise application? A) Increasing speed of communicating B) Enabling business functions and departments to share information C) Enabling a company to work collaboratively with customers and suppliers D) Enabling cost-effective e-business processes E) Enabling inventory and supply chain management
B
31) A(n) ________ 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. A) transaction processing B) enterprise C) automatic reporting D) management information E) knowledge management
B
35) Which type of system integrates supplier, manufacturer, distributor, and customer logistics processes? A) Collaborative distribution system B) Supply chain management system C) Reverse logistics system D) Enterprise planning system E) Transaction processing system
B
40) Which of the following types of system helps coordinate the flow of information between the firm and its suppliers and customers? A) Intranet B) Extranet C) KMS D) TPS E) DSS
B
45) Cross-functional systems are being phased out in favor of systems that support business processes within a single functional group, such as human resources. A) TRUE B) FALSE
B
47) You would use an MIS to help determine if your business should introduce a new product line. A) TRUE B) FALSE
B
48) For nonroutine decision making, senior managers rely on management information systems. A) TRUE B) FALSE
B
49) Most transaction processing systems use sophisticated mathematical models or statistical techniques. A) TRUE B) FALSE
B
53) Operational managers use ESS primarily to solve specific problems. A) TRUE B) FALSE
B
56) An SCM is considered to be an intraorganizational system because it manages information that flows between different companies. A) TRUE B) FALSE
B
59) An inventory control system is an example of an MIS. A) TRUE B) FALSE
B
6) Identifying customers is a business process handled by the human resources function. A) TRUE B) FALSE
B
79) According to the chapter case, which of the following statements about Cisco's IX5000 telepresence system is not true? A) No special changes to a room are required to install the IX5000 system. B) A six-seat IX500 system costs about $500,000. C) The IX5000 system is able to capture an entire room in fine detail. D) The IX5000 system needs only half the power, installation time, and data transmission capacity (bandwidth) as Cisco's previous telepresence systems. E) Produban was the first company to deploy the IX5000 system.
B
80) Production tasks are coordinated through the use of social networks in social business. A) TRUE B) FALSE
B
8) What is the connection between organizations, information systems, and business processes? Short Answer:
Business processes refer to the manner in which work activities are organized, coordinated, and focused to produce a specific business result. They also represent unique ways in which organizations coordinate work, information, and knowledge and the ways in which management chooses to coordinate work. Managers need to pay attention to business processes because they determine how well the organization can execute, and thus are a potential source for strategic success or failures. Although each of the major business functions has its own set of business processes, many other business processes are cross functional. Information systems can help organizations achieve great efficiencies by automating parts of these processes or by helping organizations rethink and streamline them. Firms can become more flexible and efficient by coordinating and integrating their business processes to improve management of resources and customer service.
12) You have been hired by a 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? A) TPS B) TPS with DSS capabilities C) TPS with MIS capabilities D) TPS with ESS capabilities E) DSS with MIS capabilities
C
92) The ________ helps design programs and systems to find new sources of knowledge or to make better use of existing knowledge in organizational and management processes. A) CTO B) CSO C) CKO D) CPO E) CEO
C
1) Producing a bill of materials is a business process in which of the following functional areas? A) Finance and accounting B) Human resources C) Manufacturing and production D) Research and development E) Sales and marketing
C
13) To monitor the status of internal operations and the firm's relations with the external environment, managers need which of the following types of system? A) DSS B) KWS C) TPS D) MIS E) BIS
C
19) Which of the following types of information systems are especially suited to situations in which the procedure for arriving at a solution may not be fully defined in advance? A) MIS B) TPS C) DSS D) KMS E) RPS
C
2) Which of the following is an example of a cross-functional business process? A) Identifying customers B) Transporting the product C) Creating a new product D) Assembling a product E) Paying creditors
C
20) Which type of information system would you use to forecast the return on investment if your firm planned to switch to a new supplier that offered products at a lower cost? A) ESS B) TPS C) MIS D) CRM E) DSS
C
28) Which of the following types of systems typically use a digital dashboard to display an array of charts and graphs of a business's key performance indicators? A) MIS B) TPS C) ESS D) CRM E) SCM
C
37) Which of the following would you use to consolidate the relevant knowledge and experience in the firm and make it available to improve business processes and management decision making? A) TPS B) An extranet C) KMS D) CRM E) MIS
C
39) 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? A) CRM B) Enterprise system C) Extranet D) Intranet E) MIS
C
67) SVF uses which of the following collaboration tools? A) EMC Documentum eRoom B) IBM Notes C) Microsoft SharePoint Online D) Microsoft Yammer E) Salesforce Chatter
C
68) Which of the following is the greatest obstacle in enabling collaboration between employees at different, distant corporate locations? A) Privacy B) Permissions C) Time zones D) Language E) Corporate culture
C
70) Which of the following statements about collaboration is not true? A) In business, a collaboration can last as little as a few minutes. B) Business collaboration relies on the formation of teams that are assigned a specific task or goal. C) Successful collaboration can be achieved through technology regardless of the organization's culture or structure. D) One business benefit of collaboration is improved innovation. E) Businesses need special systems for collaboration.
C
89) The principal liaison between the information systems groups and the rest of the organization is a(n): A) programmer. B) information systems manager. C) systems analyst. D) CTO. E) CIO.
C
90) A ________ is a senior manager who oversees the use of IT in the firm. A) CEO B) CFO C) CIO D) CTO E) CKO
C
95) Which of the following job categories is expected to experience the most growth over the next eight years? A) Computer support specialists B) Software engineers C) Systems analysts D) Computer programmers E) Database administrators
C
84) You have been hired to work with 8 employees from different branches of a national business to help create a web application to be used to train new sales employees. Identify six collaboration tools that are available to help the team work together. Which single tool would be the most helpful for the project, in your opinion, and why? Short Answer:
Collaboration tools include e-mail and instant messaging; social networking; wikis; virtual worlds, collaboration platforms such as virtual meeting systems, Google Apps/Google Sites. The most helpful of these might be a collaboration platform because it would enable people to have discussions, calendars, conferences, and share documents.
9) What are cross-functional business processes? Give an example. Short Answer:
Cross-functional processes are those that require input, cooperation, or coordination between the major business functions in an organization. For instance, when a salesman takes an order, the major business functions of planning, production, inventory control, shipping, accounting, and customer relations will all be involved before the order is completed.
66) How can a good CRM system increase profits for a company? Short Answer:
Customer relationship management uses information systems to coordinate all of the business processes surrounding the firm's interactions with its customers. The systems consolidate customer information from multiple sources - telephone, e-mail, wireless devices, traditional sales and marketing systems, and the web - so that the firm can obtain a unified view of a customer. Understanding the customer allows a firm to increase the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns.
88) Why are "conversations" relevant to social business? Short Answer:
Customers, suppliers, employees, managers, and even oversight agencies continually have conversations about firms, often without the knowledge of the firm or its key actors (employees and managers). Supporters of social business assert that if firms could tune into these conversations, they will strengthen their bonds with consumers, suppliers, and employees, increasing their emotional involvement in the firm.
18) Non-typical business problems with causes and effects that are rapidly changing are typically handled by which of the following types of information system? A) MIS B) TPS C) ESS D) DSS E) KMS
D
21) Which level of the organization is an ESS specifically designed to serve? A) Operational B) End-user C) Middle management D) Senior management E) Knowledge workers
D
30) Which of the following systems is designed to support organization-wide process coordination and integration? A) DSS B) MIS C) CRM D) Enterprise applications E) SCM
D
75) All of the following are reasons for the increased business focus on collaboration and teamwork, except for: A) the need for creating innovative products and services. B) growth of "interaction" jobs. C) greater global presence. D) the need for more efficient work hierarchies. E) the need to reduce communication costs.
D
96) Which of the following statements is not true? A) In 2016, the median wage for IT/MIS jobs is about $80,000. B) In the next eight years to 2024, IS/MIS will add about 500,000 jobs. C) Out of 114 occupations, MIS is ranked 15th in terms of salaries. D) In general, the technical occupations in IT are showing faster expansion than occupations involved with the management of IT. E) The growth of online software services and cloud computing is impacting the job prospects for computer programmers.
D
17) A relocation control system that reports summaries on the total moving, house hunting, and home financing costs for employees in all company divisions falls into which of the following categories? A) KMS B) TPS C) ESS D) MIS E) DSS
D
25) Which of the following is a highly structured decision? A) Creating a new product B) Estimating the effect of changing costs of supply materials C) Calculating the best trucking routes for product delivery D) Granting credit to a customer E) Forecasting new industry trends
D
3) Order fulfillment involves all of the following business processes except: A) checking the customer's credit. B) assembling the product. C) submitting the order. D) making customers aware of the product. E) shipping the product.
D
32) The four major types of enterprise applications are: A) SCM, CRM, DSS, and KMS. B) SCM, CRM, ESS, and KMSs. C) ERP, SCM, DSS, and CRM. D) ERP, SCM, CRM, and KMS. E) TPS, MIS, DSS, and ESS.
D
4) The ________ function is responsible for identifying customers. A) finance and accounting B) human resources C) manufacturing and production D) sales and marketing E) distribution and logistics
D
77) Which of the following is not one of the four main classifications for collaboration tools identified by the space/time matrix? A) Synchronous/colocated B) Same time/remote C) Different time/remote D) Remote/colocated E) Same time/same place
D
91) An information systems manager: A) writes software instructions for computers. B) acts as liaison between the information systems group and the rest of the organization. C) translates business problems into information requirements. D) manages data entry staff. E) oversees the company's security policy.
D
94) All of the following job categories are expected to grow over the next eight years except: A) computer support specialists. B) software engineers. C) systems analysts. D) computer programmers. E) database administrators.
D
