ISM 525 Quiz 1

In the strategy of product differentiation, information systems are used to enable new products and services.

True

Information supplied by an enterprise system is structured around cross-functional business processes.

True

Perhaps the most important role of all is the end user. True False

True

Which of the following industries has a low barrier to entry? airline automotive computer chip restaurant national retailer

restaurant

A hotel reservation system is a typical example of a management information system.

False it is a transaction processing systems

IT governance refers to the way an organization design, develop and organize its various information systems. In the real world, which of the following mode is the most popular one: all information systems are well integrated so that data can be easily shared among different systems and business units. the central IS department develop all the systems; business units copy and operate the systems at their local level. systems are developed by local business units to meet their unique information needs. Network mode: system development and operation occur in an integrated and coordinated fashion across all units. some systems are centralized, and some are decentralized.

Federal mode: some systems are centralized, and some are decentralized.

Operational management is responsible for directing the day-to-day operations of the business and therefore needs transaction-level information.

True

Supply chain management systems are more externally oriented than enterprise systems.

True

The _________ model is used to describe the interaction of external forces that affect an organization's strategy and ability to compete. competitive advantage competitive forces demand control network economics

competitive forces

Senior management uses finance and accounting information systems to: decide where to locate new facilities. plan long-term profits. control the firms' financial resources. forecast sales trends.

control the firms' financial resources. or control the firms' financial resources.

According to agency theory, the firm is viewed as a(n): "Nexus of contracts" among self-interested individuals. entrepreneurial endeavor. task force organization that must respond to rapidly changing environments. unified, profit-maximizing entity.

"Nexus of contracts" among self-interested individuals.

An example of raw data from a national chain of automobile stores would be: an average of 13 Toyotas are sold daily in Kentucky. 30 percent increase in Toyota RAV 4 sales during September in Kentucky. 1 Toyota RAV4 sold March 3, 2005 in Louisville, Kentucky. all of the above.

1 Toyota RAV4 sold March 3, 2005 in Louisville, Kentucky.

Which of the following best illustrates the use of information systems to focus on market niche? A restaurant chain analyzing local sales figures to determine which menu items to serve. A department store creating specialized products for preferred customers. A clothes manufacturer expanding its offerings to new styles. A bookseller selling an e-book reader that reads only the bookseller's books. A car manufacturer's Web site that lets you customize the features on the car you are purchasing.

A department store creating specialized products for preferred customers.

There is little variation in returns on IT investment across firms.

False

Which type of system would you use to change a production schedule if a key supplier was late in delivering goods? ESS DSS MIS TPS

TPS

In order to understand how a specific business firm uses information systems, you need to know something about the hierarchy and culture of the company.

True

An example of a business using information systems to attain operational excellence is: Citibank's ATMs. the Mandarin Oriental hotel's customer-preference tracking system. Wal-Mart's Retail Link system. Verizon's Web-based digital dashboard. Apple Inc.'s iPod.

Wal-Mart's Retail Link system.

The fundamental set of assumptions, values, and ways of doing things that has been accepted by most of a company's members is called its: culture values atmosphere environment organizational context

culture

A(n) _______________________ collects data from various key business processes and stores the data in a single, comprehensive data repository, usable by other parts of the business. enterprise system management information system automatic reporting system transaction system

enterprise system

These systems often deliver information to senior executives through a portal, which uses a Web interface to present integrated personalized business content: decision-support systems. management information systems. transaction processing systems. executive support systems.

executive support systems.

Verizon Corporation's use of a Web-based digital dashboard to provide managers with precise real-time information illustrates which business objective? improved flexibility improved decision making competitive advantage survival customer and supplier intimacy

improved decision making

Internet technology: increases the difference between competitors because of the wide availability of information. imposes a significant cost of entry, due to infrastructure requirements. makes it easy to sustain operational advantages. makes it easy for rivals to compete on price alone.

makes it easy for rivals to compete on price alone.

The Internet raises the bargaining power of customers by: making more products available. making information available to everyone. creating new opportunities for building loyal customer bases. lowering transaction costs.

making information available to everyone.

Network economics: balances the high cost of adding new members to a community against the lower cost of using network infrastructure. applies the law of diminishing returns to communities of users. sees the cost of adding new members as inconsequential. applies traditional economics to networked users.

sees the cost of adding new members as inconsequential.

To what competitive force did the printed encyclopedia industry succumb? positioning and rivalry among competitors low cost of entry customer's bargaining power substitute products or services over the Internet

substitute products or services over the Internet

The principal liaison between the information systems groups and the rest of the organization is a(n): information systems manager programmer systems analyst database administrator

systems analyst

Thomas Friedman's declaration that the world was now "flat" meant that global capitalism is homogenizing culture and business practices throughout the world. the global economy is increasingly commanded by fewer and larger corporations. global shipping rates have reached historic lows. globalization is starting to offer less advantage to large corporations. the Internet has reduced the economic advantages of developed countries.

the Internet has reduced the economic advantages of developed countries.

The costs for firms operating on a global scale have been drastically reduced by: the decreasing price of computers. the emergence of digital firms. the Internet. investments in organizational complementary assets. the rise of digital content.

the Internet.

The costs incurred when a firm buys on the marketplace what it cannot make itself are referred to as: agency costs. transaction costs. switching costs. procurement.

transaction costs.

These systems are typically a major source of data for other systems: decision-support systems. transaction processing systems. executive support systems. management information systems.

transaction processing systems

Which type of system would you to use to determine what trends in your supplier's industry will affect your firm the most in five years? TPS ESS MIS DSS

ESS

What is the most important benefit of an enterprise application? Enabling business functions and departments to share information Enabling cost-effective, e-business processes Enabling a company to work collaboratively with customers and suppliers Enabling speed of communicating

Enabling business functions and departments to share information

You have been hired by Inspiration Inc, to help improve their profit margin. Inspiration Inc. is a business communications consultancy that services many clients in different industries throughout the United States. The end products of the company are customized recommendations for the best use of a client's existing resources for improving internal communications, typically delivered via documentation in different media. The company has approximately 100 consultants, all of whom are located in their central headquarters in Chicago. What system do you recommend to improve the company's business processes and increase their profit margin? Marketing system, for improving sales levels KMS, for minimizing redundant work on similar clients Extranet, to enable quick collaboration over the Internet , minimize the time spent communicating with the client, and minimize the amount of paperwork needed. CRM, to maintain easily accessible customer records to minimize the time spent looking for client data

Extranet, to enable quick collaboration over the Internet , minimize the time spent communicating with the client, and minimize the amount of paperwork needed.

Information technology (IT) consists of all the hardware that a firm needs to use in order to achieve its business objectives, whereas information systems consist of all the software and business processes needed.

False

Management information systems typically support nonroutine decision making.

False

Networking and telecommunications technologies, along with computer hardware, software, data management technology, and the people required to run and manage them, constitute an organization's: IT infrastructure. information system. data management environment. networked environment.

IT infrastructure.

The emergence, for Amazon.com, of new competitors in the sphere of online shopping illustrates what disadvantage posed by the use of information systems to achieve competitive advantage? Law of diminishing returns The Internet enables the production or sales of substitute products or services. Internet shopping produces cost transparency. Internet technologies are universal, and therefore usable by all companies.

Internet technologies are universal, and therefore usable by all companies.

An example of synergy in business is: Blockbuster combining traditional video rental with online video rental. Amazon's use of the Internet to sell books. Wal-Mart's order entry and inventory management system to coordinate with suppliers. JP Morgan Chase's merger with Bank One Corporation, which provided JP Morgan with a network of retail branches in new regions.

JP Morgan Chase's merger with Bank One Corporation, which provided JP Morgan with a network of retail branches in new regions.

Which type of system would you use to determine the five suppliers with the worst record in delivering goods on time? TPS DSS ESS MIS

MIS

A manufacturer of deep-sea oil rigs may be least concerned about this marketplace force: Traditional competitors Product differentiation New market entrants Low number of suppliers

New market entrants

In network economics, the more people that use Microsoft Office software and related products, the greater its value.

True

Which of the following statements about collaboration is not true? One business benefit of collaboration is improved innovation. In business, a collaboration can last as little as a few minutes. Business collaboration relies on the formation of informal groups and teams that are assigned a specific task or goal. Businesses need special systems for collaboration. Successful collaboration can be achieved through technology regardless of the organization's culture or structure.

Successful collaboration can be achieved through technology regardless of the organization's culture or structure.

You have been hired by a non-profit agency to implement a system to handle their donations. The system must be able to handle and record telephone, SMS, and Internet donations, provide up-to-the-minute reports, and create highly customizable mailing lists. In addition, event fundraisers need to be able to quickly access a donor's information and history. Which of the following systems will best meet these needs? TPS with ESS capabilities TPS with MIS capabilities TPS with DSS capabilities TPS DSS with MIS capabilities

TPS with MIS capabilities

In the value chain model, primary activities are most directly related to the production and distribution of the firm's products and services that create value for the customer.

True

Which of the following best describes the primary reason for implementing a new information system, from a business perspective?

The system will create new value for the firm, beyond its costs.

Pricing analysis is an example of: a sales and marketing information system serving senior management. a sales and marketing information system serving middle management. a finance and accounting information system serving middle management. a finance and accounting information system serving senior management.

a sales and marketing information system serving middle management.

Apple Computer dominates the online legal music sales industry primarily because of a failure of recording label companies to: modernize their information value chain. adopt a new business model. invest in technology. invest in complementary assets.

adopt a new business model.

Mr. Smith is an IS manager at a construction firm called SkyRoofing. He examined a recently implemented ordering system and found that few sales representatives used the system for preparing quotes. He decided to provide a training workshop for sales representatives to learn how to use the system. His decision is based on a __ view of the system. systematic technical socio-technical behavioral political

behavioral

Overproduction or underproduction of goods and services, misallocation of resources, and poor response times are often the results of a firm's having: poor relationships with suppliers. lack of information. poor relationships with customers. inadequate information. surplus of information.

inadequate information.

Amazon's use of the Internet as a platform to sell books illustrates a tactical use of information services for: low-cost leadership. product differentiation. strengthening customer intimacy. focusing on market niche.

low-cost leadership.

A relocation control system that reports summaries on the total moving, house-hunting, and home financing costs for employees in all company divisions would fall into the category of: knowledge management systems. transaction processing systems. executive-support systems. management information systems.

management information systems.

In a business hierarchy, the level that is responsible for monitoring the daily activities of the business is: middle management. operational management. knowledge workers. production management. service workers.

operational management.

Converting raw data into a more meaningful form is called: capturing input feedback processing organizing

processing

Citibank first introduced ATMs in retail banking in 1977. Other banks followed the move and provided ATMs to their customers to keep up with Citibank. Today, virtually all banks in the states provide ATM services to retail banking customers. This phenomena best illustrates which business objective of information systems? customer and supplier intimacy New products, services, and business models competitive advantage Operational excellence survival

survival

According to research on organizational resistance, the four components that must be changed in an organization in order to successfully implement a new information system are technology, people, culture, and structure. tasks, technology, people, and structure. environment, organization, structure, and tasks. organization, culture, management, and environment. costs, tasks, structure, and management.

tasks, technology, people, and structure.