MIS 276 - Quiz 1-4 Answers

Which of the following organizations involved with Internet governance has the United States recently announced it would transition control of? A. IANA B. IGF C. ICANN D. NTIA

A. IANA Feedback: The transition isn't into private hands or to another government. The idea is to allow input from other governments while not allowing the IANA functions to be specifically controlled by any other government or intergovernmental agency such as the United Nations. It will have to be some sort of non-profit consortium organization with representatives from the major Internet powers like the U.S., the E.U., China and Russia.

________ refers to any disparity in relevant market information among parties in a transaction. A. Information asymmetry B. Ubiquity C. Information density D. A network effect

A. Information asymmetry Feedback: With e-commerce, information asymmetry is reduced. Preventing consumers from learning about costs, price discrimination strategies, and profits from sales becomes more difficult with e-commerce, and the entire marketplace potentially becomes highly price competitive. At the same time, online merchants gain considerable market power over consumers by using consumer personal information in ways inconceivable 10 years ago to maximize their revenues.

An example of a company using the content provider model is: A. Rhapsody. B. Dell. C. eBay. D. Priceline.

A. Rhapsody. Feedback: Entertainment providers (like Rhapsody, who offers a music streaming service) provide individualized information and entertainment content.

Which of the following is not true about the use of apps? A. Users still spend less time using apps than they do using desktops Web sites. B. Apps are easier to control and monetize than Web sites. C. Over 175 million people in the United States launch a smartphone app more than 60 times a day. D. The average U.S. consumer spends over 2 hours and 45 minutes a day using apps.

A. Users still spend less time using apps than they do using desktops Web sites. Feedback: In January of 2014, for the first time ever, Americans used apps more than desktop computers to access the internet.

All of the following might be part of a Web site's middle-tier layer except: A. a materials requirements planning (MRP) server. B. a mail server. C. a database server. D. an ad server.

A. a materials requirements planning (MRP) server. Feedback: An MRP server, which manages manufacturing resources for a firm, would be part of the back end layer associated with existing operational information systems.

All of the following are methods of improving the processing architecture of a Web site except: A. don't separate shopping cart and credit card processing onto a dedicated server. B. separating static content from dynamic content. C. reviewing ASP code for operating efficiency. D. examining your database search times in order to optimize the database schema.

A. don't separate shopping cart and credit card processing onto a dedicated server. Feedback: The firm might consider placing CPU intensive activities such as the shopping cart and credit card processing on a dedicated server to improve the processing performance of the e-commerce site.

Business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce in the United States: A. has grown at double-digit rates between 2010 and 2015. B. has leveled off as it confronts its own fundamental limitations. C. now constitutes over 40% of the overall U.S. retail market. D. generates less revenue than C2C e-commerce.

A. has grown at double-digit rates between 2010 and 2015. Feedback: B2C sales world wide are expected to exceed $2 trillion in 2016. Both the US and Global growth rate are expected to remain in the double digits (10+%) over the next few years. In fact, the global growth rate surpasses the US growth rate by 4-6%. B2C sales outpace C2C sales by 4.7 to 1. But, there is still significant growth potential as B2C ecommerce sales only represent about 10% product and service sales in the US.

Which of the following would you use to verify that links on Web pages are valid? A. site management tools B. FTP C. data capture tools D. HTTP

A. site management tools Feedback: By surveying the links on a web site, a site management tool can quickly report on "dead" hyperlinks found on your website.

The basic value proposition of community providers is: A. they offer a fast, convenient one-stop site where users can focus on their most important concerns and interests, share the experience with friends, and learn more about their own interests. B. they create a digital electronic environment for buyers and sellers to meet, agree on a price, and transact. C. they offer consumers valuable, convenient, time-saving, and low cost alternatives to traditional service providers. D. they increase customers' productivity by helping them get things done faster and more cheaply.

A. they offer a fast, convenient one-stop site where users can focus on their most important concerns and interests, share the experience with friends, and learn more about their own interests. Feedback: Community is, arguably, the fastest growing online activity. While many community sites have had a difficult time becoming profitable, many have succeeded over time, with advertising as their main source of revenue.

All of the following are major technology trends in e-commerce in 2014-2015 except: A. trillions of online interactions are captured, a flood of data, typically referred to as Big Data. B. computing and networking component prices are starting to rise as storage capacity becomes an issue on the internet. C. firms are turning to Web analytics to make sense out of Big Data. D. the mobile computing and communications platform creates a new platform for online transactions, marketing, advertising, and media viewing.

A. trillions of online interactions are captured, a flood of data, typically referred to as Big Data. Feedback: Ten to fifteen years ago, some technology experts were concerned that high growth rates of users and the storage of Big Data would create technology bottlenecks as the pace of growth would outpace computing power and the capabilities of networking components. This would result in elimination of a free internet where every aspect of the world wide web would be monitized in order to squelch the tons of so called "junk" data being generated by users. And, pricing for computing, access, storage and networking components would rise. Instead, just the opposite has happened. Technology has improved such that computing power has continued to advanced, storage has increased tremendously and become much cheaper, and networking components have become better and less expensive.

All of the following use an advertising revenue model except: A. Twitter. B. Amazon. C. Google. D. Yahoo.

B. Amazon. Feedback: Community providers and portals like twitter, Yahoo and Google commonly use advertising as a source of revenue. Whereas, Amazon acts as a e-tailer or market creator and generates revenue from the direct sale of goods or through transaction fees by bringing buyers and sellers together.

________ is a model of computing in which firms and individuals obtain computing power and software applications over the Internet, rather than purchasing and installing it on their own computers. A. Mobile computing B. Cloud computing C. P2P computing D. Client/server computing

B. Cloud computing Feedback: Cloud computing is offered by third party service providers who own and manage very large, scalable cloud computing centers that provide computing power, data storage, and high-speed internet connections to customers who are able to choose from a variety of options. The cloud computing model is the future of e-commerce for many small and medium sized firms who don't have the resources to support their own IT/IS staff.

Which of the following statements about Foursquare is not true? A. Foursquare began operating without a revenue model. B. Foursquare's Swarm app shows photos of people currently checked in around a particular neighborhood by pulling public photos of people from their Facebook profiles linked to their Foursquare accounts. C. Foursquare combines a social network business model with location-based technology. D. Foursquare has been able to command a high valuation from venture capital investors despite unimpressive revenue and profits.

B. Foursquare's Swarm app shows photos of people currently checked in around a particular neighborhood by pulling public photos of people from their Facebook profiles linked to their Foursquare accounts. Feedback: Foursquare has walked a fine line with privacy issues and some of their apps have raised red flags that have forced the company to backtrack on occasion. But, the Swarm app is not one of those issues. The purpose of Swarm is that it is a service that lets you know what places you might enjoy when you travel somewhere new.

Which of the following statements about responsive Web design (RWD) is not true? A. RWD makes it possible to design a Web site that automatically adjusts its layout and display according to the screen resolution of the device on which it is being viewed. B. RWD works best for sites that have complex functionality. C. RWD tools include HTML5 and CSS3. D. RWD can be costly, often requiring a complete redesign of the web site's interface.

B. RWD works best for sites that have complex functionality. Feedback: RWD inherits the size and complexity of a traditional desktop site, sometimes making it slow to load and perform on a mobile device.

Which of the following is not a primary activity in a firm value chain? A. operations B. accounting C. outbound logistics D. after-sales service

B. accounting Feedback: A firm value chain is the set of activities a firm engages in to create products from raw inputs and includes operations, logistics, sales, marketing and after sales service. While extremely important, the function of accounting is a secondary activity which allow the firm to establish and track metrics of performance.

The primary way a Web site is able to personalize the content presented to a visitor is through the use of: A. site management tools. B. cookies. C. accessibility rules. D. privacy policies.

B. cookies. Feedback: A cookie is a small text file placed on the user's computer that can contain information about the customer like the history of product views at your website.

All of the following are issues facing Pinterest except: A. spam. B. inability to retain users. C. copyright infringement. D. scams.

B. inability to retain users. Feedback: One problem that Pinterest doesn't have is the inability to retain users. It is the fastest social network website to reach 10 million users. As of 2014, almost 85% of the female pinners (80% of Pinterest users are women) are still active, a very high retention rate. But with 30 billion pins, copyright infringement is difficult to monitor and control. Pinterest has also been plagued by spam and scams. These are problems that are a work in process for the website.

SupplyOn, which is owned by industry giants Bosch (automotive components), Continental (tires and other automotive manufacturing) and Schaeffler (manufacturer of bearings) is an example of a(n): A. e-distributor. B. industry consortium. C. exchange. D. private industrial network.

B. industry consortium. Feedback: Industry consortia have been very common in Japan (known as keiretsu) for many years and allow firms to work together to management their supply chains in order to improve processes, lowering costs and increasing profitability. These digital networks once relied on proprietary technologies but now use the common backbone of the internet. This makes it much easier for different companies to connect their varied information systems together in order to do business with each other.

Which of the following is not a variation of the e-tailer business model? A. manufacturer-direct B. market creator C. virtual merchant D. bricks-and-clicks

B. market creator Feedback: The market creator involves businesses whose primary purpose is to use internet technology to create markets that bring buyers and sellers together.

All of the following are basic functionality provided by e-commerce merchant server software except: A. credit card processing. B. marketing software. C. a shopping cart. D. a product catalog.

B. marketing software. Feedback: Merchant server software (platforms) offer an integrated environment that provides a product catalog, a shopping cart and credit card processing. Marketing applications are typically not provided as part of the software (platform).

Which source of e-commerce revenues has grown from nearly zero prior to 2007 to an estimated $84 billion in 2014? A. B2B e-commerce B. mobile B2C e-commerce C. social e-commerce D. B2G e-commerce

B. mobile B2C e-commerce Feedback: Optimizing your e-commerce website to work well in mobile environments is critical to your success as an online firm.

Which of the following gives a business model the most credibility with outside investors? A. the firm's market strategy B. the firm's management team C. the firm's market opportunity D. the firm's value proposition

B. the firm's management team Feedback: A strong management team gives a model instant credibility to outside investors, immediate market-specific knowledge, and experience in implementing plans. A strong management team may not be able to salvage a weak business model, but the team should be able to change the model and redefine the business as needed to become or remain competitive.

E-commerce can be defined as: A. the digital enablement of transactions and processes within an organization. B. the use of the Internet, the Web, and mobile apps to transact business. C. any digitally enabled transactions among individuals and organizations. D. the use of any Internet technologies in a firm's daily activities.

B. the use of the Internet, the Web, and mobile apps to transact business. Feedback: In order to be considered an e-commerce presence the site must digitally facilitate the exchange of goods and services for remuneration (money, service in kind, goods in kind). It enables commercial transactions.

An IPv4 address is expressed as a: A. 32-bit number that appears as a series of four separate numbers separated by semicolons. B. 64-bit number that appears as a series of four separate numbers separated by semicolons. C. 32-bit number that appears as a series of four separate numbers separated by periods. D. 64-bit number that appears as a series of four separate numbers separated by periods.

C. 32-bit number that appears as a series of four separate numbers separated by periods. Feedback: The older IP address standard IPv4 appears as a series of four separate numbers. The addressing scheme supports up to about 4 billion addresses. The number of IP addresses needed to support the internet of things will easily outstrip this capacity. Therefore, the migration to the IPv6 standard.

Which of the following organizations coordinates the Internet's systems of unique identifiers, such as IP addresses and top-level domain systems? A. IAB B. IETF C. ICANN D. W3C

C. ICANN Feedback: ICANN or the internet corporation for assigned names and numbers is a non-profit organization working under a contract with the U.S. department of Commerce.

When talking about the physical elements of the Internet, the term redundancy refers to: A. transmitting multiple copies of a single packet to safeguard against data loss. B. delays in messages caused by the uneven flow of information through the network. C. multiple duplicate devices and paths in a network built so that data can be rerouted if a breakdown occurs. D. the use of tiered high-speed switching computers to connect the backbone to regional and local networks.

C. multiple duplicate devices and paths in a network built so that data can be rerouted if a breakdown occurs. Feedback: The internet backbone has been likened to a giant pipeline that transports data around the world in milliseconds. Connections to other continents are made via a combination of undersea fiber-optic cable and satellite links. The internet backbone has built-in redundancy so that if one part breaks down, data can be rerouted to another part of the backbone.

Which of the following statements about cloud computing is not true? A. A private cloud typically has a single tenant. B. Hybrid clouds offer both public and private cloud options. C. Public clouds are the most well-known type of cloud computing model. D. A private cloud must be located on a customer's cloud server.

D. A private cloud must be located on a customer's cloud server. Feedback: Third party providers also offer private cloud hosting services

________ verifies that the business objectives of the system as originally conceived are in fact working. A. Unit testing B. Implementation testing C. System testing D. Acceptance testing

D. Acceptance testing Feedback: Acceptance testing requires that the firm's key personnel and managers actually use the system as installed on a test internet or intranet server. As much as 50% of the e-commerce presence effort can be consumed by testing and rebuilding. The quality of the initial design will have a significant effect on these avoidable costs.

All of the following offer Web site building tools except: A. WordPress B. Wix C. Weebly D. Apache

D. Apache Feedback: Apache is open source web server software and not a web site builder service.

Under the B2B business models ________ create and sell access to digital markets. A. Market creators B. E-distributors C. Portals D. E-procurement firms

D. E-procurement firms Feedback: Firms such as Ariba have created software that helps large firms organize their procurement process by creating mini-digital markets for a single firm. Ariba creates custom-integrated online catalogs (where supplier firms can list their offerings) for purchasing firms. This is commonly known as value chain management software.

The protocol that enables the transmission of voice and other forms of audio communication over the Internet is called: A. VTP. B. IPTP. C. IP. D. VoIP.

D. VoIP. Feedback: VoIP can be used over a traditional handset as well as a mobile device. VoIP avoids the long distance charges imposed by traditional phone companies.

A system design has two main components: A. business objectives and technology requirements. B. a behavioral design and a technological design. C. front-end systems and back-end systems. D. a logical design and a physical design.

D. a logical design and a physical design. Feedback: The logical design describes the flow of information at your e-commerce site while the physical design translates the logical design into physical components.

Over the past decade, the number of exchanges has: A. greatly increased. B. stayed about the same. C. increased slowly but steadily. D. diminished sharply.

D. diminished sharply. Feedback: In theory, exchanges make it significantly less expensive and time consuming to identify potential suppliers, customers and strategic partners. But, exchanges have had a difficult time convincing thousands of suppliers to move into singular digital markets where they face powerful price competition, and an equally difficult time convincing businesses to change their purchasing behavior away from trusted long-term trading partners. As a result, the number of exchanges has diminished sharply in the past decade.

Advantages of dynamic page generation include all of the following except: A. easy online market segmetation B. nearly cost-free price discrimination. C. easier to change the contents of a database than to change the coding of an HTML page. D. disables the use of content management systems which slow down system performance.

D. disables the use of content management systems which slow down system performance. Feedback: Dynamic page generation enables the use of a content management system (CMS). A CMS allows content to be created and managed by non-technical employees.

The ________ allows a natural language expression, such as Google.com to represent a numeric IP address. A. assigned numbers and names (ANN) system B. Internet protocol addressing schema C. uniform resource locator system D. domain name system

D. domain name system Feedback: Your domain name is extremely important and part of your brand as an e-commerce firm.

All of the following are characteristics of HTML5 except: A. ability to access built-in functionality of mobile devices, such as GPS and swiping. B. use of CSS3. C. a video element that replaces plug-ins such as Flash, QuickTime, and RealPlayer. D. support for digital rights management.

D. support for digital rights management. Feedback: In the past, media companies developed their own copy protection standards. These were enforced through their own media players. Because HTML5 does not require plug-ins to play video, there currently isn't a standard way of protecting intellectual video content through HTML5. In the meantime, developers will not fully commit to HTML5 and will instead create hybrids that take advantage of HTML features while incorporating proprietary DRM.

All of the following are characteristics of Web 2.0 sites and applications except: A. they tend to attract large audiences that provide marketers with extraordinary opportunities for targeted marketing and advertising. B. many of them are currently only marginally profitable, and their business models are unproven despite considerable investment. C. they tend to rely on user- and consumer-generated content. D. the amount of content has made search capability more difficult which may undermine their success.

D. the amount of content has made search capability more difficult which may undermine their success. Feedback: Actually, one of the keys of the success of Web 2.0 is the continued ease of search capability. In fact, search engine optimization (SEO - the process of affecting the visibility of a website or a web page in a search engine's unpaid results) has become an essential part of e-commerce marketing strategy and tied to many streams of revenue generation.

The emergence of mobile, social, and local e-commerce occurred during the Consolidation period of e-commerce. True False

False Feedback: The introduction of mobile computing, social media commerce and local e-commerce began in 2007 and represents the reinvention period of e-commerce.

The fact that e-commerce is conducted on the basis of universal standards reduces search costs for consumers. True False

True Feedback: By creating a single, one-world marketspace, where prices and product descriptions can be inexpensively displayed for all to see, price discovery becomes simpler, faster, and more accurate.

A firm that is first to market in a particular area and that moves quickly to gather market share is referred to as a(n) ___________ .

first mover Feedback: First mover advantage is when a market can be quickly be captured by the first commercial interest entering the market. This advantage was fairly common during the invention period of e-commerce. Today, first mover advantage is less likely to occur unless it is accompanied by sustainable competitive advantage. Some aspect of the new venture that creates sales and gobbles up market share that can't be easily replicated by other companies attempting to enter the same marketplace.