MIS531- Chapter 4, MIS531 - Chapter 5, MIS 531 - Chapter 6

The factors driving the emergence of telecommuting include: changing demographics and lifestyle preferences, more powerful technologies, increasing reliance on web-based technologies, and _____________________.

A shift to knowledge based work or energy concerns

This is a list of activities on a Web site that briefly highlights what individuals are doing, thinking, and updating and in return gives the community a sense of what is happening.

Activity Stream

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) realized it did not have adequate policies, education or technology in place for remote workers when:

An employee whose laptop carrying unencrypted, sensitive military personnel information was stolen

A virtual team is faced with communication, technology, and ____ challenges

Diversity/Cultural

In this business structure the firm is a hierarchy organized around a set of functions. Each group has a core competency that it concentrates upon.

Functional

This is an approach that links a company with providers of the raw components it needs to make a product or service, manufacture that product or service, and delivers it to customers.

Supply Chain Management (SCM)

At the heart of how a business operates, you will find a collection of core business processes.

True

An effective workflow diagram should do all of the following EXCEPT: a) Map the sequence and details of a business process b) Identify all persons/roles who play a part in the process c) Use active verbs to describe activities d) Identify inputs and outputs of a process e) Try to mask the steps of a business process

Try to mask the steps of a business process

The system should drive the transformation in a company when

When the systems are in a crisis

Two dimensions of considering virtual team activity are: same or different ______ and same or different ______.

place, time

All of the follow are negative outcomes found in a firm that is set up using a functional model, EXCEPT for:

redundancy of expertise

The components of enterprise architecture are: core business processes, linking and automation technology, the people who are served by the system and: ______________,

shared data

What does SCM stand for?

supply chain management

The reason some supply chains are succumbing to the "neighborhood effect" in which factories are built closer to suppliers and consumers is to reduce _______ costs.

transportation

Enterprise Rent-A-Car was able to model and better understand how service requests were handled and then optimize the process, greatly benefiting the customer experience. Enterprise achieved this benefit using which tool?

Business Process Management (BPM)

_________________________is an all-encompassing tool used for modeling, building, executing and monitoring business processes that go across organizational boundaries (and often systems).

Business Process Management systems

This type of process reengineering uses a radical improvement method for change

Business Process Reengineering

If an organization was going to make substantial changes to its customer service department, it would use this type of transformation tool.

Business Process Reengineering (BPR)

IS can impede change, particularly when the _________ don't match the capabilities of the IS.

Business Processes

1. Which one of the following enterprise systems is social IT increasingly integrating with? a) ERP b) SCM c) PLM d) CRM e) SAP

CRM

The enterprise system used to manage all information regarding customer interactions is called_____.

CRM - customer relationship management

Which one of the following is NOT a quality associated with agile and dynamic business processes?

Change requires significant redesign effort

Today's IT increases the effectiveness of workers, particularly with the use of both ________ tools and collaboration tools.

Communication

Which of the following best describes cloud computing?

Computing services that can be accessed on demand across the Internet

What do we call members of the generation that's grown up using computers, the Web and social network sites as a normal, integrated part of their lives?

Digital Natives

Which virtual team challenge is more difficult for managers to manage/manipulate since there may be a great deal of difference between groups and individuals

Diversity

These are comprehensive software packages that incorporate all modules needed to run the internal operations of a business. They should include the following modules: Manufacturing, Accounting, Human Resources and Sales.

ERP systems

All of the following are characteristics of an ERP system EXCEPT: a) ERP systems provide seamless integration of information flow across the organization. b) ERP systems provide best (or at least "very good") practices for generic business processes. c) ERP systems have evolved to support newer IT architectures. d) ERP systems work "out of the box" with little configuration requirements. e) ERP systems are usually software packages obtained from a provider/vendor

ERP systems work "out of the box" with little configuration requirements.

All of the following are new types of jobs created by the growing reliance on technology EXCEPT:

Editors/writers

What was involved in the American Express BlueWork program?

Employees are provided with opportunities for flexible arrangements

Enterprise systems are useful for organizations seeking to do all of the following EXCEPT: a) Encourage duplication of data b) Centralize decision making c) Make effective use of organizational databases d) Unify operations e) Standardize processes

Encourage duplication of data

This is a set of information system tools used to enable information flow within and between processes across an organization.

Enterprise systems

As a result of increased flow of information, firms have seen an increase in middle managers

False

Business processes are functional in nature and rarely cut across different departments in an organization.

False

ERP systems are credited with establishing new business models, rather than simply making a firm improve its practices

False

The Process Perspective is also called the Silo perspective

False

The Technology Acceptance Model states that the two main drivers of system use are management mandates and incentives.

False

The functional perspective keeps the "big picture" in view.

False

The speed and magnitude at which organizations must make changes today continues to decrease as a result of technology

False

Virtual teams and remote work have advantages but no known disadvantages over face-to-face teams and showing up at an office.

False

One of the best examples of outcome controls is the re-hiring of Steve Jobs by Apple as CEO

False (this is an example of personell controls)

An advantage of virtual teams is that members in different parts of the world can cooperate to get work done faster due to time zone differences. Teams can upload their results every evening and another distant team can download those files immediately, in what is the start of their day. What is this called?

Following the sun

Reengineering is all of the following except: a) Gradual and systematic b) Threatening to employees c) Associated with very high reward if it succeeds d) Associated with quick rewards if it succeeds e) Sometimes suspected to be used to justify downsizing

Gradual and systematic

This provides a blueprint for translating a business strategy into a plan for IS

IS architecture

The qualities found in a successful remote worker include all of the following EXCEPT: a) Self-discipline b) Socialized into the corporate culture c) Self-starter d) Ineffective communicator e) Proficient in a wide range of technologies

Ineffective communicator

The major difference between an ERP and ERP II system is this feature

Information is made immediately available to external stakeholders using social and collaborative tools

A manager must know enough about the IT architecture and IT infrastructure so that he or she can:

Make realistic use of IT and know what to expect from IT.

A business uses __________to measure the critical success dimensions of a business process.

Metrics

Diversity in virtual teams increases the communication challenges. However, virtual teams with diversity have demonstrated which of the following? a) More creative solutions. b) Better compliance with deadlines. c) Equitable performance management. d) Tighter security policies. e) A high degree of self-reliance.

More creative solutions

3. Which one of the following is a valid statement? a) The cost to access information has risen. b) It takes more time to access information. c) Personal productivity has dropped as a result of technology. d) Traditional job roles have not changed much as a result of technology. e) Most jobs today have a significant information systems component.

Most jobs today have a significant information systems component.

Mohawk's need for flexibility required a change to its IT architecture. SOA was chosen by Mohawk because Mohawk

Needed to be able to scale up or down operations as called for by the market or by its own arrangements with suppliers

The type of controls that will be most likely be used for remote workers is:

Outcome

Sloan Valve Company redesigned their new product development process and as a result greatly reduced time-to-market as well as improved quality. Which one of the following enterprise systems supported Sloan's transformation?

PLM

Team members who are _______________ and prefer to do several activities at one time may want to have IM or VOIP available to them so that they can communicate with their colleagues and still work on other tasks

Polychronous

Technology today has increased the ways work blends together with other aspects of life. This is very similar to how work was configured in ____________ societies.

Preindustrial or Agricultural

To help employees accept new technologies like an information system, a manager will do all of the following EXCEPT: a) Ensure employees find the system easy to use b) Demonstrate that the system will allow them do more or better work for the same amount of effort c) Train the user on the new system d) Reward users of the new system e) Provide minimal rationale for the new system

Provide minimal rationale for the new system

IT has altered employees and the way they work by doing all of the following EXCEPT: a) Creating new types of jobs b) Greatly changing day-to-day tasks c) Supporting new ways to manage talent d) Needing more technically knowledgeable individuals e) Providing distinct lines between work and play

Providing distinct lines between work and play

List one of the largest enterprise systems vendors as identified in this chapter

SAP or Oracle (may also allow for Salesforce.com)

The type of architecture where larger software programs are broken down into services which are then connected to each other, in a process called orchestration, is called:

SOA

Employees may resist a change in IS by: denying that the system is up and running, trying to convince others it has no value, refusing to use the system, and/or _________ the system by distorting or altering inputs

Sabotaging

The architecture that the large paper company Mohawk adopted enables the company to scale technology services up and down instantaneously according to its needs. The architecture is called:

Service Oriented

Google Maps is a web mapping service that provides street maps and directions. A Google Maps component can be added to a business's web site to provide customers directions to the business location. This use of Google's service by a business is an example of __________.

Service-oriented architecture

Managers in today's global, virtual workforce must rethink how they break from traditional methods of managing, particularly in the all of the following ways EXCEPT: a) Hiring new employees b) Evaluating an employee's contribution to a team and the company c) Creating individual-based rewards and compensation policies d) Setting strategic objectives e) Supervising employees

Setting strategic objectives

This type of organizational structure (perspective) results in duplication of information, lack of coordination between departments, and lack of communication on a company wide basis.

Silo or functional

The Six Sigma process received its name from:

Six standard deviations, or less than 3.4 deects per million

Which collaboration technology is becoming more and more popular both inside and outside organizations, consuming much of our attention on a day-to-day basis?

Social networking on mobile devices

Which one of the following is NOT a factor driving the use of telecommuting

Stronger sense of company culture

This model suggests that employee attitudes may change if they think the new system will help them to do more or better work for the same effort, and that it's easy to use. Employee participation in the system's design and implementation also helps.

Technology acceptance model (TAM)

Steve works for a pharmaceutical company and he specializes in marketing and sales. He generally works from home. According to the text, what type of worker is Steve?

Telecommuter

"Reuse" is a benefit of service-oriented architecture because it supports:

The breaking apart of functionality into small services that can be used by many different systems

All of the following are good metrics a firm can use to measure the success of a business process EXCEPT for:

The change in demographics of a region.

Apple Inc. has developed iTunes, a unique propriety software system that supports Apple's need to delivery digital content to its customers. Apple chooses to develop iTunes rather than use an existing enterprise system solution, most likely because:

The critical process of content delivery is Apple's strategic advantage.

Businesses today link their customers and suppliers through a single network that optimizes cost and opportunities for all. This is possible because of all of the following reasons EXCEPT: a) Standardized communication networks (like the Internet) b) The availability of SCM enterprise systems c) The inability to coordinate workflow across organizational boundaries d) The globalization of business e) The ubiquity of IT

The inability to coordinate workflow across organizational boundaries

Organizations use the enterprise system to drive the redesign of a business process (rather than the process driving the system implementation) for all of the following reasons EXCEPT: a) The organization is just starting out and has no defined processes. b) The business process itself is not seen as a competitive strategic advantage. c) There is little time or resources to deviate from best practices. d) The organization has highly specialized processes that are not seen as best practices. e) The needs of the business are met by the enterprise system.

The organization has highly specialized processes that are not seen as best practices.

Computer systems in the 1960s and early 1970s were typically designed around a specific departmental need and did not interface very well. These systems were designed to support:

The silo perspective.

Shoshana Zuboff studied how papermakers' jobs were changed by the introduction of computers. What was one of her findings?

The workers were no longer able to smell and squeeze the pulp, resulting in lower productivity

ERP systems have all of the following characteristics except: a) They are expensive b) They are implemented in all, or nearly all, large organizations c) They are difficult to implement d) Organizations use them to reduce redundancy and make better decisions e) They are expensive but are easy to use.

They are expensive but are easy to use.

ERP systems are expensive for all of the following reasons EXCEPT: a) The software is costly to purchase. b) There is an enormous amount of work required to implement. c) There are a number of hidden costs such as project management, training and support. d) They require organizational changes and impact the way people work. e) They do not require business process redesign.

They do not require business process redesign.

A company that wants to make incremental improvements to existing business processes would utilize which of the following?

Total quality management

According to Thomas Friedman, collaboration is the way that small companies can "act big" and flourish in today's flat world.

True

Digital natives are willing to take a lower-paying job with better social media access, device choice, and mobility over a higher-paying job with less technological flexibility

True

Early computer systems were designed to support the silo perspective rather than a cross-functional business process approach

True

Enterprise systems are large information systems that provide the core functionality needed to run a business and share data across all divisions of the business.

True

Knowledge-based work allows employees to work remotely rather than having to physically be present at a store, manufacturing facility or office building

True

Personnel often react more favorable to incremental change rather than radical change because incremental change gives them control and ownership of improvements.

True

Sloane Valve's successful effort to redesign its new product development (NPD) process can be classified as radical redesign.

True

Teams operate in one of four ways, which are represented by combinations of two dimensions: "place" vs "time," and each dimension is either "same" or "different."

True

The Internet greatly enhances collaboration

True

The IT infrastructure components should be evaluated based on their expected financial value. All of the following are used to quantify the financial value of IT components EXCEPT for the:

Usability

When would an organization elect to use BPR over TQM?

When they need to attain aggressive improvement goals

ERP has all the following advantages except: a) Modules throughout a corporation can communicate with each other b) While purchasing is difficult, the vendors such as SAP make it worthwhile due to easy implementation c) Have predefined software that represents "pretty good practices" or even "best practices" d) Enables standardized procedures in an organization e) Reduces inconsistent data stored in various locations of the organization

While purchasing is difficult, the vendors such as SAP make it worthwhile due to easy implementation

The concept of "jobs" is being replaced with the concept of work, requiring a framework that links the IS Strategy with the organization strategy to answer all of the following EXCEPT: a) What work will be performed? b) Who is going to do the work? c) Where will the work be performed? d) When will the work be performed? e) Who will develop the IS?

Who will develop the IS?

This is the tool that is used to help map a sequence of tasks that support a business process.

Workflow diagram

The main benefit of ________________ is that users can work collaboratively to easily create and edit Web pages, and link them to useful resources.

a Wiki

Middleware is software used to:

connect processes running on different computer systems across a network.

This architecture is a complex framework whose main objective is to map how the organization's IT supports the business processes

enterprise architecture

IBM has implemented a social network analysis tool that maps the _________ and the connections of IBM employees, supporting innovation by allowing employees to find others in the company with particular skills, interests or expertise.

knowledge

Telecommuting is (more/less) accepted by people in countries such as Japan and China

less

The traditional approach uses subjective observation while the digital approach involves

objective assessment

While there are many advantages to working remotely, there are some potential problems. For example, once work has been successfully performed remotely, a company may find economic reasons to let go of workers and choose to _______ the work abroad.

offshore