IS 3310 Final Exam Essay Questions
What are the different types of networks? • Define an analog and a digital signal. • Distinguish between a LAN, WAN, CAN and MAN
Analog signal- continuous signal that contains time-varying quantities Digital signal- a signal in which the original info is converted into a string of bits before being transmitted LAN- (local area network) connects a few computers, all computers in one building, or several buildings in close proximity WAN- (wide area network) span broad geographical distances - regions, state, continent, globe CAN- (campus area network) larger than LAN, usually on a university campus to connect labs, libraries, and different academic units MAN- (metropolitan area network) spans a metropolitan network- city & its main suburbs
How do business intelligence and business analytics support decision making? • Define and describe business intelligence and business analytics. • List and describe the elements of business intelligence environment. • List and describe the analytics functionalities provided by BI systems. • Define predictive analytics and location analytics and give 2 examples of each. • List each of the types of business intelligence users and describe the kinds of systems that provide decision support for each type of user. • Define and describe the balanced scorecard method and business performance management
Business Intelligence- data and software tools for organizing, analyzing, and providing access to data to help managers and other enterprise users make more informed decisions. Business Analytics- the process of analyzing data to produce of the meaningful reports and track the progress of the business using key indicators of performance. Business intelligence and Analytics promise to deliver correct, nearly real-time information to decision makers, and the analytical tools help them quickly understand the information and take action Data from the Business Environment- both structured and unstructured data must be integrated and organized so they can be analyzed and used by human decision makers. Business Intelligence Infrastructure- must have a powerful database system that captures all relevant data to operate the business Business Analytics Toolset- tools to analyze data and produce reports, respond to questions by managers, and track the progress of the business using key indicators of performance Managerial users and methods- Business intelligence hardware and software are only as intelligent as the human beings who use them. Business Strategy, performance management, balanced score card, and forecasts. Delivery Platform- MIS, DSS, EIS User Interface- people learn quicker from a visual representation of data such as: reports, dashboards, scorecards, desktop, mobile, social media Production Reports- pre-defined reports based on industry specific requirements Parameterized reports- users enter several parameters in a pivot table to filter data Dashboards/Scorecards- visual tools for presenting performance data defined by users. Ad hoc query/search/report creation- allow users to create their own reports based on queries and searches Drill Down- the ability to move from a high level summary to a more detailed view. Forecasts, scenarios, models- capabilities for linear forecasting Predictive Analysis- use statistical analysis, data mining techniques, historical data, and assumptions about future conditions to predict future trends and behavior patterns. Ex: Insurance companies running driver safety checks; Rental companies running a credit check Location Analytics- the ability to gain business insight from the location component of data. Ex: Marketing uses location data to determine which geographic location to mobile market; Utility Company using location data to access power outages in a specific area Senior Executives- use BI to monitor firm activities using visual interfaces like dashboards and scorecards. Middle Managers- most likely to use BI data and software by entering queries and organizing data along different dimensions. Operational Employees- will be looking for mainly pre-packaged reports Balanced Scorecard Method- framework for operationalizing a firm's strategic plan by focusing on measurable outcomes on 4 different levels of firm performance: financial, business process, customer, learning and growth. BPM- attempts to systematically translate a firms strategies into operational targets. Once strategies and targets are defined, a set of key indicators are developed to measure progress.
What are the principle issues in managing hardware and software technology? • Explain why managers need to pay attention to capacity planning and scalability of technology resources. • Describe the nine cost components used to calculate the TCO of technology assets. • Identify the benefits and challenges of using outsourcing, cloud computing services and mobile platforms. • Explain why software localization has become an important management issues for global companies.
Capacity planning: process of predicting when a computer hardware system becomes saturated Scalability: ability of a computer, product, or system to expand to serve a large number of users w/o breaking down -ensures firm has enough computing power for its current and future needs 9 cost components 1. Training 2. Hardware acquisition 3. Infrastructure 4. Software acquisition 5. Instillation 6. Support 7. Space & Energy 8. Downtime 9. Maintenance Outsourcing: delegates jobs to outside source less to worry about;data leakage Cloud computing: cost savings for small and medium sized businesses; data leakage, organizational & technology issues Mobile platforms: gains in productivity from employees; increase costs from integrating devices into firm's IT infrastructure Software localization: interfaces can be costly & messy to build, translation of menu bars, commands, etc., must consider differences in local cultures & business processes
What are the alternative methods for building information systems? • Define the traditional systems lifecycle and describe its advantages and disadvantages for systems building. • Define information system prototyping and describe its benefits and limitations. List and describe the steps in the prototyping process. • Define end-user development and explain its advantages and disadvantages. • Describe the advantages and disadvantages of developing information systems based on application software packages. • Define outsourcing. Describe the circumstances in which it should be used for building information systems. List and describe the hidden costs of offshore software outsourcing. • Explain how businesses can rapidly develop e-business applications. • Describe the issues that must be addressed when developing mobile applications.
SDLC- phased approach to building a system, dividing systems development into a series of stages. One stage is completed before the next is began. Advantages: Good for large Complex Systems that require formal and rigorous requirements. Disadvantage: Time consuming and expensive Prototyping- consists of building an experimental system rapidly and inexpensively for end users to evaluate. Benefits: Users interact with the prototype to get a better idea of their information requirements. Limitations: only intended as a preliminary model Steps: 1) Identify the users basic requirements- The system designer ( usually an information systems specialist) works with the user only long enough to capture the user's basic information needs. 2) Develop and initial prototype- The system designer creates a working prototype quickly, using tools for rapidly generating software. 3) Use the Prototype- The user is encouraged to work with the system to determine if the prototype meets his or her needs and to suggest improvements for the prototype. 4) Revise and Enhance the prototype- The system builder notes all changes the user requests and refines the prototype accordingly. After the prototype has been revised, the cycle returns back to step 3. Steps 3 and 4 are repeated until the user is satisfied. End-user development allows end users, with little or no formal assistance from technical specialists, to create simple information systems, reducing the time and steps required to produce a finished application. Advantages: - End users can assess data, create reports, and develop simple applications on their own, with little or no help from professional systems analysts or programmers. - Allows users to specify their own business needs - Improves info. Gathering - Higher level of user involvement and satisfaction with the system Disadvantages: - Cannot easily handle the processing of large number of transactions - Cannot easily handle applications with extensive procedural logic and updating requirements - Systems are created rapidly, without formal development methodology, testing, and documentation. Advantages: - Saves time and money Disadvantages: - If extensive customization is required then it can be time consuming and expensive Outsourcing- delegating work to external organizations that specialize in the work needed. Circumstance: If a firm does not want to use its own internal resources to build or operate information systems. Hidden Costs of offshore software outsourcing: - Coping with cultural differences that drain productivity - Human resource issues - Terminating or relocating domestic employees. - Costs for identifying, evaluating, switching, and monitoring vendors - By using a Responsive design or a HTML5 to automatically change layouts according to platform. - Customer Analysis - Developing mobile applications by simplifying tasks into a app focused on usability - Apps must be optimized for specific tasks they are to perform - Keeping it simple (not too many tasks) - Designing mobile app for usability - Saving resources such as: screen space, bandwidth, memory, processing, data entry, and user gestures. - Security issues
What are the principal e-commerce business and revenue models? • Name and describe the principal e-commerce business models. • Name and describe the e-commerce revenue models
The principal e-commerce business models (1) e-tailer- sells physical products to consumers or business (2) transaction broker- saves users money and time by processing online sales transactions and generating a fee each time a transaction occurs (3) market creator- provides a digital environment where buyers and sellers can meet, search for products, display products, and establish prices for those products (4) content provider- creates revenue by creating digital content such as news, music, photos, or videos (5) community provider- provides an online meeting place where people with similar interest can communicate and find useful information (6) portal- provides initial point of entry to the web along with specialized content and other services (7) service provider- provides web 2.0 applications such as photo sharing , video sharing , and user generated content services. The e-commerce revenue models (1) advertising revenue model- a web site generates revenue by attracting a large audience of visitors who can then be exposed to advertisements (2) sales revenue model- companies earn revenue by selling goods, information, or services to customers (3) subscription revenue model- web site offering content or services charges a subscription fee for access to some or all of its offerings on an ongoing bases (4) fee/freemium revenue model- firms offer basic services or content for free, while charging a premium for advanced special features (5) transaction fee revenue model- a company receives a fee for enabling or executing a transaction (6) affiliate revenue model- web sites send visitors to other websites in return for a referral fee or percentage of the revenue from any resulting sales
Security isn't simply a technology issues, it's a business issue. What is the business value of security and control? • Explain how security and control provide value for businesses. • Describe the relationship between security and control and recent U.S. government regulatory requirement and computer forensics.
-w/o security and control, a business can crumble due to loss of info and data that is needed for operations -security keeps away hackers and other unauthorized individuals; also keeps individual's confidential information safe -control is the measures a company takes in order to keep their assets straight. if a company has poor control, data used for sales can be inaccurate, which leads to decrease in productivity and efficiency - Hippa- makes sure companies in the health care industry comply with security and privacy - Gramm- Leach - Bliley Act- makes companies providing financial services protect customer data - Sarbanes- Oxley Act- makes certain that publicly traded companies protect their investors. - Computer Forensics is the collection and analysis of company data can be retrieved and used as evide
What are the core problem-solving steps for developing new information systems? • List and describe the problem-solving steps for building a new system. • Define information requirements and explain why they are important for developing a system solution. • List the various types of design specifications required for a new information system. • Explain why the testing stage of systems development is so important. Name and describe the three stages of testing for an information system. • Describe the roles of documentation, conversion, production, and maintenance in systems development
1) Define and Understand the problem 2) Develop Alternative Solutions 3) Choose the Best Solution 4) Implement the solution Information Requirements- identify who needs what info, when, where, and how. Information requirements defines the objectives of the new or modified system and develops a detailed description of the functions the system must perform. Output Input User Interface Database Processing Manual Procedures Security and Controls Conversion Training and Documentation Organizational Changes Systems are tested to ensure it produces the right results and fuctions according to detailed design specifications. 1) Unit testing- detailed testing of individual computer programs 2) System Testing- tests the performance of the information system as a whole 3) Acceptance Testing- final certification that system is ready to be used in production. Documentation- showing how the system works from a technical and end user standpoint Conversion-changing from the old system to the new one Production- Users and specialists review the solution to determine how well ot met objectives and decide on further revision and modification Maintenance- changes in hardware, software, or procedures to a production system to correct errors, meet now requirements, or improve processing efficiency
What are the unique features of e-commerce, digital markets, and digital goods? • Name and describe four business trends and three technology trends shaping e-commerce today. • List and describe the eight unique features of e-commerce. • Define a digital market and digital goods and describe their distinguishing features
4 Business Trends Shaping E-Commerce Today (1) social networking- a massive online audience which is attractive to marketers (2) online advertising- which is growing at twice the rate of TV or print marketers (3) online newspapers and media-these have adapted to interactive models and some are subscription based (4) online entertainment- these offer things such as television, movies, books, and sports 3 Technological Trends Shaping E-Commerce Today (1) Social commerce- the use of social networks (2) mobile commerce- use of wireless devices to promote consumer to consumer, business to consumer, and business to business (3) local commerce- using GPS enabled devices to promote geographic location business to consumers 8 Unique Features of E-Commerce (1) ubiquity- internet technology is available everywhere your home, work and elsewhere. Mobile devices extend this service to local areas and merchants (2) Global reach- the technology reaches across national boundaries around the world (3) Universal standards- one set of technology standards, namely internet standards (4) Richness- video, audio and text messages are possible (5) Interactivity- technology works through interaction with the user (6) Information Density- technology reduces information cost and raises quality (7) Personalization- allows for personalized messages to be delivered to individuals and groups (8) Social Technology- supports content generation and social networking digital market- marketplace created by a computer and communications technology that link buyers and sellers. Its distinguishing features include reduced information asymmetry, search cost, transaction cost, and menu cost along with the ability to change prices based on market conditions. Digital goods- goods that can be delivered via a digital network. Its distinguishing features include extremely low cost of delivery once the product has been produced.
How will a four-step method for business problems solving help you solve the information system-related problems? • List and describe each of the four steps for solving business problems. • Give some examples of people, organizational, and technology problems found in businesses. • Describe the relationship of critical thinking to problem solving. • Describe the role of information systems in business problems solving.
4 Steps for Business Problems Solving 1. Problem identification 2. Solution design 3. Solution evaluation and choice 4. Implementation People: lack of employee training, poor management, and indecisive management Organizational: political conflict, outdated business processes, unsupportive culture and attitudes Technology: outdated software, aging hardware, and rapid technology change/failure to adopt new technology Critical thinking is the sustained suspension of judgment with an awareness of multiple perspectives and alternatives. Critical thinking assists in problem solving because it helps one become aware of the organizational, people, and technological perspectives Information systems contain information that will help managers make well informed decisions on how to solve business problems
What specific principles for conduct can be used to guide ethical decisions? • List and describe the five steps in an ethical analysis • Identify and describe six ethical principles.
5 Steps in an Ethical Analysis: 1. Identify and clearly describe the facts 2. Define the conflict/ethical dilemma and identify the higher-order values involved 3. Identify the stakeholders 4. Identify the options that you can reasonably take 5. Identify the potential consequences of your options 6 Ethical Principles: 1. "The Golden Rule": Do unto others as you would had them do unto you 2. Immanuel Kant's Categorical Imperative: If an action is not right for everyone to take then it is not right for anyone 3. Descartes' Rule of Change: If an action cannot be taken repeatedly, it is not right to take at all 4. Risk Aversion Principle: Take the action that produces the least harm or the least potential cost 5. Utilitarian Principle: Take the action that receives the higher or greater value 6. "No Free Lunch" rule: Assume that virtually all tangible and intangible objects are owned by someone unless there is a specific declaration otherwise
Why are information systems so essential for running and managing a business today? What exactly is an information systems? How does it work? What are its people, organization, and technology components? • List and describe the six reasons why information systems are so important for business today. • List and describe the organizational, people and technology dimensions of information systems. • Define an information system and describe the activities it performs. • Distinguish between data and information and between information systems literacy and computer literacy. • Explain how the Internet and the World Wide Web are related to the other technology components of information systems.
6 Reasons Why IS are so Important for Business 1. Survival- able to withstand change in the industry 2. Operational efficiency- improved efficiency of operations 3. New products, services, & business models- how a business produces, sells, and delivers 4. Improved decision making- companies have pool of data to help them make informed decisions 5. Customer/supplier intimacy- knowing wants/needs of customers and providing them well 6. Competitive advantage- 1 step ahead of competition Organizational: knowing structure, history, and culture of a company People: skilled people to build and maintain IS Technology: used w/in the company (bar code scanners, tablets, etc.) Informations System- a set of interrelated components that collect, process, store, and distribute information that supports decision making, coordinating, and control in an organization. - input, output, processing, and feedback Data: unorganized raw data Information: data that has been shaped so that it is meaningful and useful IS literacy: understanding the organization, people, and technology aspects of IS Computer literacy: focuses primarily on knowledge of information technology Internet: has created a new universal technology platform on which to build new products, services, strategies, and business models WWW: uses universally accepted standards for storing, retrieving, formatting, and displaying information in a page format on the internet
How do systems serve different management groups in a business? • Define business intelligence systems. • Describe the characteristics of transaction processing systems (TPS) and role they play in a business. • Describe the characteristics of management information systems (MIS), decision support systems (DSS), and executive support systems (ESS) and explain how each type of system helps managers make decisions.
Business Intelligence Systems- data and software tools for organizing, analyzing, and providing access to help managers and other enterprise users make more informed decisions TPS- sales, receipts, cash deposits, payroll, credit decisions, etc. These characteristics keep track of daily transactions for a business MIS- provides middle managers with reports on the organization's current performance DSS- supports non-routine decision making; focuses on problems that are unique and rapidly changing ESS- help senior managers address non-routine decisions requiring judgement, evaluation, and insight because there's no agreed on procedure for arriving at a solution
How do customer relationship management systems help firms achieve customer intimacy? • Define customer relationship management and explain why customer relationships are so important today. • Describe how partner relationship management (PRM) and employee relationships management (ERM) are related to customer relationship management (CRM). • Describe the tools and capabilities of customer relationship management software for sales, marketing and customer service. • Distinguish between operational and analytical CRM
Customer relationship systems examine customers from a multifaceted perspective. These systems use a set of integrated applications to address all aspects of the customer relationship including customer service, sales, and marketing. Customer relationships are more important today than ever before because a competitive advantage based on an innovative new product or service is often very short lived, and companies are realizing that their best advantage may just be the relationship they have with the customers. -PRM uses many of the some data, tools, and systems as CRM to enhance collaboration between the company and its selling partners. If the company does not sell directly to its customers, these systems help connect the distributors to the customers. -ERM software deals with employee issues that are closely related to CRM, such as setting objectives, employee performance management, performance based compensation, and employee training. Sales for automation (SFA) modules in CRM systems help increase sales productivity by focusing efforts on the most profitable customers. This software assembles information about customers past purchases to help salespeople personalize recommendations. -CRM's also support marketing campaigns by providing the capabilities for capturing prospect and customer data, providing product information, qualifying leads for marketing, and scheduling and tracking direct marketing mailings and emails. They also include tools for analyzing marketing and customer data, identifying profitable and unprofitable customers, designing products, and identifying opportunities. CRM's also provide the tools to increase the efficiency of call centers, help desks, and customer support staff. -Operational CRM provides customer facing applications such as tools for sales, call and customer support, and marketing automation -Analytical CRM includes applications that analyze customer data generated by operational CRM to improve business performance
What are the principles of a database management system? • Define a database management systems (DBMS), describe how it works, and explain how it benefits organizations. • Define and compare the logical and physical view of data. • Define and describe the three operations of a relational database management system. • Name and describe the three major capabilities of a DBMS
Database management system- A specific type of software for creating, storing, organizing, and accessing data from a database. Relieves the end users or programmer from the task of understanding where and how the data are actually stored Logical view- presents data as end users or business specialists would perceive them Physical view- shows how data are organized and structured on physical storage media, such as hard disk 1. Select operation creates a subset consisting of all records (subset of rows) in the file that meet stated criteria. 2. Join operation combines relational tables to provide the user with more information that is available in individual tables. 3. Project operation creates a subset consisting of columns in a table, permitting the user to create new tables that contain only the information required 1. data definition- specify the structure of the content of the database; create database tables and define the characteristics of the fields in each table 2. data dictionary- document information about the database; automated/manual file that stores definitions of data elements and their characteristics 3. data manipulation language- add, change, delete, and retrieve the data in the database
What are the different types of decisions and how does the decision-making process work? • List and describe the different decision-making levels and decision-making groups in organizations, and their decision-making requirements. • Distinguish between an unstructured, semi structured, and structured decision. • List and describe the stages in decision making.
Decisions may be structured, semistructured, or unstructured, with structured decisions clustering at the operational level of the organization and unstructured decisions at the strategic level. Decision making can be performed by individuals or groups and includes employees as well as operational, middle, and senior managers. There are four stages in decision making: intelligence, design, choice, and implementation
How do enterprise systems help businesses achieve operational excellence? • Define an enterprise system and explain how enterprise software works. • Describe how enterprise systems provide value for a business
Enterprise systems feature a set of integrated software modules and a central database that enables data to be shared by many different business processes Enterprise software is designed to support the best business practices that have been used to date. Changing and altering this software to conform to certain companies can be expensive, and ineffective by downgrading the software. -Enterprise systems provide value for businesses by increasing operational efficiency and by providing firm-wide information to help managers make better decisions. -Larger companies with locations worldwide use these systems to enforce standard practices so that all locations perform in the same way
How does a relational database organize data? • Define and explain the significance of entities, attributes, primary and key fields. • Define a relational database and explain how it organizes and stores information. • Explain the role of entity-relationship diagrams and normalization in database design. • Define a relational DBMS system.
Entities- person, place, or thing which we store and maintain information (customers, suppliers, employees, orders, products, etc.) Attributes- each entry has specific characteristics (supplier name & address) Primary field- field identified in a table as holding the unique identifier of the table's records Key field- field identified in a record as holding the unique identifier for that record Relational database- organize data into 2 dimensional tables w/ columns & rows; tables in relational database have 1 to 1, 1 to many, & many to many relations o A schematic used to clarify table relationships in a relational database. o Most important piece of information provided is the manner in which two tables are related to each other. o Normalization is the process of streamlining complex groups of data to minimize redundant data elements and awkward many to many relationships and increase stability and flexibility. • Easy to maintain & minimizes duplicate data Relational DBMS system- A specific type of software for creating, storing, organizing, and accessing data from a database; recognizes relations among stored data
What ethical, social, and political issues are raised by information systems? • Explain how ethical, social, and political issues are connected and give some examples. • List and describe the key technological trends that heighten ethical concerns. • Differentiate between responsibility, and accountability, and liability.
Ethical: individual must choose a course of action, often in a situation in which 2 or more ethical principles are in conflict Social: spring from ethical issues; societies develop expectations in individuals about correct course of action Political: spring from social conflict; concerned with using laws that prescribe behavior to create situations in which individuals behave correctly ex: Walmart (2012) - Walmart executives in Mexica accused of paying millions in bribes to Mexican officials in order to receive building permits. Under investigation by the Department of Justice IBM (2011) - settled SEC charges that it paid off South Korean and Chinese government officials w/ bags of cash over a 10 yr. period Key Technological Trends that Heighten Ethical Concerns: -computing power doubles every 18 months: more organizations depend on computer systems for critical operations -data storage costs rapidly decline: organizations can easily maintain detailed databases on individuals -data analysis advances: companies can analyze vast quantities of data gathered on individuals to develop detailed profiles of individual behavior -networking advances: copying data from one location to another and accessing personal data from remote locations are much easier -mobile device growth impact: individual phones may be tracked w/o user consent or knowledge Responsibility: key element of ethical action; accept the potential costs, duties, and obligations for the decisions you make Accountability: feature of systems and social institutions; mechanisms are in place to determine who took responsible action, and who is responsible Liability: extends responsibility to the area of laws; feature of political systems in which a body of laws is in place that permits individuals to recover the damages done to them by other actors, systems, or organizations
What is the role of information systems function in a business? • Describe how the information systems function supports a business. • Compare the roles played by programmers, systems analysts, information systems managers, the chief information officer (CIO), chief security officer (CSO), and the chief knowledge officer (CKO)
IS department is the formal organization unit responsible for IT services. It's responsible for maintaining the hardware, software, data storage, and networks that comprise the firm's IT infrastructure programmers- highly trained technical specialists who write the software instructions for computers system analysts- principal liaisons between the IS groups and the rest of the organization; translate business problems and requirements into information requirements and systems information systems managers- leaders of teams of programmers and analysts, project managers, physical facility managers, telecommunications managers, or database specialists CIO- senior manager who oversees the use of IT in the firm; integrating IT into the firm's business strategy CSO- in charge of IS security and enforcing the firm's info security policy CKO- responsible for firm's knowledge management program; helps design programs and systems to find new sources of knowledge
What are the components of IT infrastructure? • Define information technology (IT) infrastructure and describe each of the components?
IT Infrastructure- the hardware, software, network resources and services required for the existence, operations and management of and enterprise IT environment Computer hardware- technology for computer processing, data storage, input, and output Computer software- includes system and application software; system software manages the resources and activities of the computer, application software applies the computer to a specific task for the end user Data management technology- specialized software for storing and organizing data Networking/telecommunications technology- provides data, voice, and video connectivity to employees, customers, and suppliers Technology services- describes the people that are needed to maintain and manage infrastructure components;
How does Porter's competitive forces model help companies develop competition strategies using information systems? • Define Porter's competitive forces model and explain how it works. • List and describe four competitive strategies enabled by information systems that firms can pursue. • Describe how information systems can support each of these competitive strategies and give examples. • Explain why aligning IT with business objectives is essential for strategies use of systems.
Porter's competitive forces model- most widely used model for understanding competitive advantage; shows the strategic positions and strategies of the firm and how they are determined and affected by competition with traditional competitors as well as new market entrants, substitute products/services, suppliers, and customers 4 Competitive Strategies 1. low cost leadership: use IS to achieve lowest operational costs and lowest prices (Walmart: efficient customer response system) 2. product differentiation: using IS to enable new products and services or greatly changing the customer convenience in using your existing products and services (Nike: mass customization) 3. focus on market niche: use IS to enable a specific market forces and serve a narrow target market better than competitors (Hilton Hotels' OnQ system) 4. strengthen customer and supplier intimacy: use IS to tighten linkages w/ suppliers and develop intimacy w/ customers (strong linkage increase switching costs, Amazon.com) Aligning IT w/ business objectives is essential because IS are most successful when the technology is aligned. Increases success rate
