Info Systems Midterm
Uber as an example company, give one example for each of Porter's 5 competitive forces: 1 - Competing Organizations 2 - Threat of New Entrants 3 - Threat of substitute products/ services 4 - Buyer power (increases) 5 - Supplier power (increases)
1 - Lyft (another organization doing the same thing) 2 - Didi from China (another organization that could enter the US market) 3 - Tesla (making new product - self driving cars - that could replace Uber) 4 - Increases if there are substituent products that buyers could threaten to start using 5 - Increases if there are less drivers in the area - price raises as demand increases
Why has data become so easy to send around the world?
1. Communication cost is extremely low to none 2. Fiber optic cables carry data under the ocean at the speed of light
What are the 5 different strategies for competitive advantage?
1. Cost leadership - having the lowest cost 2. Differentiation - having diff products than competitors 3. Innovation - selling new/ novel products 4. Operational Effectiveness - being more efficient than competitors 5. Customer-Orientation - better customer relationship/ experience than competitors
What three things do databases maximize?
1. Data Security 2. Data Integrity 3. Data Independence
What three things is "big data" referring to?
1. Diverse data: we now have numbers, text, images, videos, etc. 2. High volume of data: lots of it 3. High velocity of data: data coming at faster rate than ever
According to the online talk "Race with the Machine" by Erik Brynjolfsson, what are the three pillars of information technology growth?
1. Exponential 2. Digital 3. Combinatorial
What were Friedman's Flatteners? (history of the world flattening for reasons)
1. Fall of the Berlin Wall (allowed global flow of internet) 2. Netscape (web & browsers accessible to more people) 3. Work-flow softwares (word flows digitally) 4. Uploading things on web 5. Outsourcing (companies let someone else do a part of business process - ex: cust service call center) 6. Offshoring (relocate an entire operation) 7. Supply chains (each step of a process can be an individual company) 8. Insourcing (let other companies work inside your company) 9. Informing
What are the 4 support activities in Porter's Value Chain Model?
1. Firm's Infrastructure (accounting, finance, management) 2. Human Resources Management 3. Product and Technology Development (R&D) 4. Procurement (access to new things)
Explain what each part of this function means: IF(H5*52>$C$25, H5*$C$26, H5*$C$27)
1. H5*52>$C$25 - the value you're checking (the computation you make first) 2. H5*$C$26- If #1 was true, then do this 3. H5*$C$27 - If #1 was false, then do this
Info Systems vital role in three areas of the business process: 1. Executing the process 2. Capturing and storing process data 3. Monitoring process performance
1. Help execute by: informing employees when to complete a task, providing required data, providing means to complete the task 2. Capture and store data in immediate, "real time", and get immediate feedback 3. Evaluate how well a process is being executed; Two levels - 1. Process level (average of all instances) 2. Instance level (one instance; one individual transaction)
What are the 5 primary activities in Porter's Value Chain Model? Give an example of each in a Pizza Company
1. Inbound Logistics (inputs); Ex: delivery of ingredients 2. Operations (manufacturing and testing); Ex: baking the pizzas 3. Outbound Logistics (storage and distribution); Ex: delivering pizza 4. Marketing and Sales; Ex: getting coupon in the mail 5. After Sales Services; Ex: Getting customer feedback
What are the three elements that a business process is comprised of?
1. Inputs 2. Resources 3. Outputs
What do these symbols mean in a flow chart? 1. Rectangle 2. Diamond 3. Oval
1. Rectangle = step/ task 2. Diamond = Decision (question that tells you to go one way or another) 3. Oval = start/ end
What are the three main problems databases reduce?
1. Redundancy 2. Isolation 3. Inconsistency
What are the three inputs to use the goal seek function?
1. Set cell (the cell where you're putting the desired output) 2. To value (the desired value of the set cell) 3. By changing cell (what cell you're changing to get the exact set value for the set cell)
According to Phillip Evans, what are the first two things to happen when transaction cost goes down?
1. Ungluing of the value chain (b/c parts of the organization can now be done by outside people b/c its so cheap) 2. Part of the value chain gets "fragmented" (replace what was done by organization to individuals)
Explain what each part of this function means: VLOOKUP(F5,$E$25:$E$27,2,TRUE)*F5
1: F5- The number you're looking for to appear in a table 2: $E$25:$E$27- where you're looking for the value (the cells where the table is located) 3: 2 - Which column of the table do you want the output to come from 4: TRUE - find an approximate match (finds the value closest and less than the value you're looking for)
How many value parameters do you see in this particular URL? http://finance.yahoo.com/q/hp?s=AAPL&g=d
2 - know this b/c there are two equal signs. Equal signs connect parameters to values Equal sign is parameter and value comes after that
You would like to compute a bonus payout for your employees based on monthly sales. In particular, if the monthly sales are greater than $20,000, you would give a bonus of $1000, otherwise there will be no bonus payout. Which of these excel functions would you likely use for this problem? A) IF B) AVERAGE C) SUM D) MAX
A - IF function
According to the talk, "Race with the Machines" by Prof B., rising productivity and wealth in recent decades is due to: A) Automation B) Larger Populations C) Better Cars D) Electricity
A - automation is the reason for rising productivity and wealth
Amazon is best know to be using robots for ____ A) Moving items within a warehouse B) Driving cars b/w its locations C) Manufacturing some of the items D) Making deliveries to customers
A - moving items within warehouse This is an example of business process reengineering b/c the entire process was completely changed w/ the use of these robots
Value chain describes the ____ that transform an organization's inputs into valuable outputs. A) Primary and support activities B) market forces C) competitive forces D) Info technology
A - primary and support activities transform an organization's inputs into valuable outputs
Value chain describes the ______ that transform an organization's inputs into valuable outputs. A) Primary and supportive activities B) Market forces C) Competitive forces D) Information technology
A - primary and supportive activies
What is a flowchart/ what does it do?
A diagram that provides a logical description of a process or algorithm
What is a foreign key in a database (Entity relationship diagram)?
A primary key of one entity that is duplicated to another entity, but is not used as a primary key in the new entity
What is Business Process Reengineering (BPR)?
A radical redesign of an organization's business processes to increase productivity and profitability; Examine business processes with a "clean slate" approach
What is Porter's value chain?
A sequence of activities that transforms the organization's inputs to more valuable outputs
What is an algorithm?
A step-by-step procedure
What is a primary key in a database (entity relationship diagram)?
A unique attribute to identify a single instance of an entity (ex: a single record in a table)
What kind of table do you solve a "many to many" relationship with?
An associative table - in this table, there can be repeats in each column But there are no repeats of single rows, so the two columns put together are the primary key
What is Business Process Improvement (BPI)?
An incremental approach to move an organization toward business process centered operations; Focus on making the current process better
Business process definition
An ongoing collection of related activities that create a product or service of value to the organization, its business partners, and/or its customers
What is a competitive advantage defined as in business?
Any asset that provides an organization with an edge against its competitors
What is the relationship b/w entities and attributes in databases? Give an example of each
Attributes are pieces of information about entities. Entity example - Customer/ order Attribute example - Customer ID number/ Order ID number
Which of the following cell references is using absolute referencing? A) C22 B) $B$3 C) A1 D) D6
B - $B$3 is using absolute referencing
According to Thomas Friedman, the focus of globalization 2.0 was on _______ A) Countries B) Companies C) Individuals and Groups D) None of the above
B - Companies Countries were 1.0 Individuals and groups were 3.0
Google has been developing _____ for several years. A) A space rocket B) a driverless car technology C) A passenger place D) An autonomous ship
B - a driverless car technology
A traditional restaurant currently uses waiters to take the orders from customers. The restaurant is planning to completely change how it takes orders by providing tablets on each table. The tablet allows customers to customize and order the menu items, as well as rate and review each item once they are done eating them. This is an example of: A) Business process improvement B) Business Process reengineering C) Better process communication D) rating system
B - business process reengineering The process was changed completely
The hardware, software, and media used to store, organize, retrieve and communicate information is known as... A) Information system B) Information technology C) Office Automation D) Operating System
B - information technology NOT IS because no business processes or people are involved
According to the talk by Rachel Botsman, the advances in information technology are making it easier for us to share goods and services by increasing _____. A) Strategic planning B) Trust and efficiency C) Order-to-shipping time D) Search costs
B - trust and efficiency make it easier to share goods and services
Here is the order of bytes for digital storage: Byte Kilobyte Megabyte Gigabyte Terabyte Petabyte Exabyte Zettabyte What's the acronym to remember that? Each layer goes up by 1000.
Burger King Must Go To Pay Elephant Zoos
The switch from Taxi to Uber - business process reengineering or improvement?
Business process reengineering
What is data storage measured in?
Bytes
IF(OR(2>3,4>3)5,6) A) 3 B) 4 C) 5 D) 6
C - 5 Read from the inside out. OR says that only one of the statements must be true for it to be considered true. Since 4 is greater than 3, the statement is true. The IF function says to choose the first output if the inside statement is true, so 5 is the correct answer.
Which of these is larger than a gigabyte? A) Kilobyte B) Megabyte C) Terabyte
C - Terabyte
During Rachel Bostman's talk, we heard an example of how an Air Bnb host satisfied a customer in order to increase his reputation online. What the host buy to satisfy a customer? A) Dog B) Bacon C) Cat D) New comforter
C - cat Because the customer saw a mouse in the house and said the only way the host would get a good review is if he bought a cat
Which is a strategic information system? A) Payroll B) Work email system C) Data mining systems used by Target
C - data mining systems used by Target b/c no other company in this industry has done this before
According to Erik B, in his talk "Race with the Machine", what is a smarter source? A) Humans B) Machines C) Human/ Machine Combo
C - human and machine combo
According to Thomas Friedman, the focus of Globalization 3.0 is on _____. A) Countries B) Companies C) Individuals and groups D) none of the above
C - individuals and groups is the focus of globalization 3.0
A retailer's information system that can predict life events related to customers based on their transactions and consequently send them relevant coupons is making use of: A) Data B) Information C) Knowledge D) Supply chain management
C - knowledge Because they're taking information and doing something with it
If a pizza company delivers pizza using drones, which part of the value chain will it have an effect on? A) Inbound logistics B) Operations C) Outbound logistics D) Marketing and Sales
C - outbound logistics This is a change in delivery of the pizza; storage and distribution
Which of these can be called an information system? A) smartphone B) a personal computer C) robots, software, hardware, people, and business processes needed for order fulfillment D) all of the above
C - robots, software, hardware, people, and businesses processes needed for order fulfillment This is info system b/c it involves IT + people and business processes
One of the main reasons that global communication of data is fast and low cost is because of the availability of: A) Telephone lines B) Microprocessors C) Submarine fiber optic cables D) Memory chips
C - submarine fiber optic cables
Among the Porter's five competitive forces, what type of a competitive force does Air bnb represent for the hotel chains such as a Hilton and Sheraton? A) Threat of technology B) Threat of a new hotel chain C) Threat of a substitute D) Bargaining power of suppliers
C- threat of a new substitute
According to Phillip Evans, Communication + Processing Costs = ???
Communication cost + Processing cost = Transaction cost
What does Rachel Botsman think is the most important part of collaborative consumption?
Creation of trust between strangers Technology doesn't matter w/o trust
IF(AND(2>3,3>4),5,6) A) 3 B) 4 C) 5 D) 6
D - 6 Read from the inside out. And function means both of the things inside the parenthesis must be true, and 3 is not greater than 4, so that statement is false. The IF function says that if the statement is false, use the 2nd output, which is 6.
What is the value of the parameter 's' in the URL? http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bs?s=AAPL A) G B) hp? C) & D)AAPL
D - AAPL is the value of the parameter s parameters come before the =; values come after the =. & signs separate multiple parameter/ value relationships
In the online talk, "Key to Growth? Race with the Machine" Erik Brynjolfsson mentions _______ as the most important invention. A) Self-driving car B) Supercomputer C) Microprocessor D) Machine Learning
D - Machine learning This means machines and humans working together - will be faster and better than any human or machine alone
Information systems play a vital role in the business process by supporting _____. A) The execution of the processes B) The capturing and storing of process data C) The monitoring of process performance D) All of the above
D - all of the above
Which of the following cell references is using absolute referencing? A) $C$22 B) $B$3 C)$A$1 D) All of the above
D - all of the above Absolute referencing means the cells won't change when copied or using the drag-down option Absolute referencing uses the $
A business process requires A) Inputs B) Resources C) Outputs D) all of the above
D - all of the above Business processes require inputs, resources, and outputs
Air BNB is a marketplace that connects owners of an unused space (a house) with the people who are looking for such space to stay. It is an example of what is called: A) Sharing economy B) Collaborative Consumption C) Peer Economy D) All of the above
D - all of the above b/c A,B, & C are all synonyms
Air bnb is a marketplace that connects owners of an unused space (eg. a house) with people who are looking for such space. It is an example of what is called: A) Social media B) Big data C) Search cost D) Collaborative consumption
D - collaborative consumption Synonyms: peer economy, shared economy
A business process can be described with: A) an information system B) a software C) a computer D) a flowchart
D - flowchart's describe business processes
A company out of Boston called Rethink Robotics has developed a general-purpose robot named Baxter that _____. A) Is designed for specific tasks in the automobile industry B) Is designed for moving goods in a warehouse C) Is designed to create driverless cars D) Is designed to work alongside human factory workers
D - is designed to work alongside human factory workers
According to Thomas Friedman, which is NOT a possible flattener? A) The fall of the Berlin wall B) Offshoring C) Insourcing D) Microprocessors
D - microprocessors Thomas Friedman did not talk about microprocessors
In the talk by Phillip Evans on How data will transform the business, he suggests that falling transaction costs due to improvements have led to... A) the creation of the value chain B) five competitive forces C) a more closely connected value chain D) ungluing of the value chain
D - ungluing of the value chain is happening b/c transaction costs have gone down
Explain the DIK Hierarchy (data, info, knowledge, wisdom)
Data --> Info: give context to data Info --> Knowledge: give meaning to info Knowledge --> Wisdom: knowing when to use certain knowledge Increasing value as you move through each step
Explain the digital pillar of technology growth
Data, software, music, movies, etc. can be digitized (in to 1s and 0s) This means they can be perfectly replicated and distributed with little to no cost and time
What is collaborative consumption/ sharing economy/ peer economy? Give an example of a company who uses this?
Describes the appearance of new marketplaces where excess capacity in goods and services can be shared efficiently using info technology Ex: Uber uses collaborative consumption by having an app that lets drivers who aren't currently using their car give rides to people who currently need a ride
What are two ways to measure a business process?
Efficiency: are the steps of the business process taking a good amount of time? Effectiveness: Is it high quality? Are the customers satisfied?
What are Friedman's Three Eras of Globalization? Globalization 1.0 Globalization 2.0 Globalization 3.0
Globalization 1.0: Countries - globalize b/c their countries were; ex: countries acquiring colonies in 1800s Globalization 2.0: Companies - globalize b/c companies sell products across world from 1800s to 2000s; ex: McDonald's Globalization 3.0: Individuals and Groups - globalize b/c they have access to websites to sell products across the world; ex: anyone from 2000s to today
How to answer "what if" questions: what excel function should be used?
Goal Seek
Name some companies that only exist b/c of the Web
Google Netflix Facebook Ebay Yahoo
Explain the combinatorial pillar of technology growth
Info technology can be combined in many ways to develop more innovative products (can create new software using the same old components)
Explain the exponential pillar of technology growth
Info technology has been exponentially improving for the past several decades b/c computers are getting faster and faster every year
What game did that robot called Watson beat the world champion in?
Jeopardy
Explain Moor's Law and why it happens
Moors law: speed of technology doubles every couple of years Why: the number of transistors in microprocessors (electronic chips) are growing at an exponential rate
What is a nested function and how should they be read?
Nested function: a function inside a function Always should be read from the inside out - compute the most inner function first, then compute outward functions
Can an entity only have one instance? Ex: If a firm has one warehouse, is the warehouse an entity?
No - an entity must have multiple instances. If the firm has multiple warehouses, warehouse could be an entity if the firm wanted to store data about each warehouse
Is Microsoft Word a strategic info system?
No - everyone uses it
Is a bank with a website that allows customers to look at their account summary a strategic info system?
No - most banks provide this capability today
What's the difference b/w primary activities and supporting activities in Porter's value chain model?
Primary Activities - relate to product production and distribution Support Activities - relate to contributing to competitive advantage
Compute a 3D reference to sum cell E6 from Quarter 1 to Quarter 4
SUM('Quarter 1:Quarter4'! E6) Sum is the command 'Quarter1:Quarter 4'! is the range of worksheets to use in the computation E6 is the cell from each sheet that should be added
How does a business have a "strategic information system" and what are some examples?
Strategic info system means using an info system that provides the company a competitive advantage over others. Examples: Netflix suggestion system, Data mining systems used by Target, being the first in your industry to develop a mobile app that helps consumers
According to the online talk "Race with the Machine" by Erik Brynjolfsson, why can't technology be slowed down in the entire world?
Technology can be slowed down in one country, but then other countries are at a competitive advantage, since they're progressing more. Technology can't be slowed down in the whole world b/c countries don't work together like that
What did Erik B mean by "the great decoupling" in his talk "race with the machine"?
Technology is racing ahead, while leaving skilled workers behind and without jobs
Explain the difference b/w the two: 1) E14+E15/2 2) (E14+E15)/2
The first one says to do E15/2 first, then multiply by E14. AKA E14+ (E15/2) The second one says to add E14 and E15 first, then divide that by 2.
Does the internet work off the web or does the web work off the internet?
The web works off the internet
Example: If you're working in a sheet titled "Quarter 2", explain what kind of reference this is and what each part of the reference means: 'Quarter 1'!D6*(1+$B$50)
This is a 3D reference. We know this b/c another worksheet name is listed first. 1. 'Quarter 1'! - this is the worksheet name we're referring to 2. D6 - this is the cell address in quarter 1 sheet we're referring to 3. (1+$B$50) - taking cell D6 from quarter 1 sheet and multiplying it by (1+B50) in the current sheet (quarter 2 sheet)
To check your work, you may use Trace Dependents. What does this do?
Trace Dependence shows where that cell is later used in other cells
To check your work, you may use Trace Precedents. What does this do?
Trace Precedents shows the preceding cells that the chosen cell used for the computation
Collaborative consumption, sharing economy, and peer economy are all synonyms. True or False?
True
What's the difference b/w a web browser and a web server?
Web browser: Client searching for web page Web server: Serve the web pages to the client
When are information systems considered strategic?
When they provide a competitive advantage
Is Netflix's recommendation system a strategic info system?
Yes - no other movie website does this for you Netflix stores mass amounts of data on each person watching shows/ movies in order to make similar recommendations
Information System (IS) Definitoin
an organized combination of technology, along with people that is used to accomplish a specific organizational or personal objective
Information Technology (IT) Defintion
hardware, software, and media used to store, organize, retrieve, and communicate information
What does a function do?
provides an output for one or more inputs Excel ex: Function (Input 1, input 2,...) = output
