CIS 4093 Chapter 1

33) Business intelligence (BI) can be characterized as a transformation of A) data to information to decisions to actions. B) Big Data to data to information to decisions. C) actions to decisions to feedback to information. D) data to processing to information to actions.

A) data to information to decisions to actions.

1) Computerized support is only used for organizational decisions that are responses to external pressures, not for taking advantage of opportunities.

Answer: FALSE

10) Due to the fact that organizations seek to store greater amounts of data than ever before, the cost per byte of computer-based data storage devices is rapidly rising.

Answer: FALSE

11) Computerized information systems help decision makers overcome human cognitive limitations in assembling and processing varied information. However, this is of little use in most analytical applications.

Answer: FALSE

13) The term decision support system is a very specific term that implies the same tool, system, and development approach to most developers.

Answer: FALSE

15) One of the four components of BI systems, business performance management, is a collection of source data in the data warehouse.

Answer: FALSE

17) The use of dashboards and data visualizations is seldom effective in finding efficiencies in organizations, as demonstrated by the Seattle Children's Hospital Case Study.

Answer: FALSE

19) Pushing programming out to distributed data is achieved solely by using the Hadoop Distributed File System or HDFS.

Answer: FALSE

2) The complexity of today's business environment creates many new challenges for organizations, such as global competition, but creates few new opportunities in return.

Answer: FALSE

6) In today's business environment, creativity, intuition, and interpersonal skills are effective substitutes for analytical decision making.

Answer: FALSE

8) Due to the fact that business environments are now more complex than ever, trial-and-error is an effective means of arriving at acceptable solutions.

Answer: FALSE

9) Group collaboration software has proved generally ineffective at improving decision-making.

Answer: FALSE

12) In the Gorry and Scott-Morton framework of structured, semi-structured, and unstructured decisions, computerized decision support can bring benefits to unstructured decisions.

Answer: TRUE

14) The access to data and ability to manipulate data (frequently including real-time data) are key elements of business intelligence (BI) systems.

Answer: TRUE

16) Actionable intelligence is the primary goal of modern-day Business Intelligence (BI) systems vs. historical reporting that characterized Management Information Systems (MIS).

Answer: TRUE

18) The use of statistics in baseball by the Oakland Athletics, as described in the Moneyball case study, is an example of the effectiveness of prescriptive analytics.

Answer: TRUE

20) Volume, velocity, and variety of data characterize the Big Data paradigm.

Answer: TRUE

3) In addition to deploying business intelligence (BI) systems, companies may also perform other actions to counter business pressures, such as improving customer service and entering business alliances.

Answer: TRUE

4) The overwhelming majority of competitive actions taken by businesses today feature computerized information system support.

Answer: TRUE

5) PCs and, increasingly, mobile devices are the most common means of providing managers with information to directly support decision making, instead of using IT staff intermediaries.

Answer: TRUE

7) In a four-step process for decision making, managers construct a model of the problem before they evaluate potential solutions.

Answer: TRUE

37) How are descriptive analytics methods different from the other two types? A) They answer "what-if?" queries, not "how many?" queries. B) They answer "what-is?" queries, not "what will be?" queries. C) They answer "what to do?" queries, not "what-if?" queries. D) They answer "what will be?" queries, not "what to do?" queries.

B) They answer "what-is?" queries, not "what will be?" queries.

28) The deployment of large data warehouses with terabytes or even petabytes of data been crucial to the growth of decision support. All the following explain why EXCEPT A) data warehouses have enabled the affordable collection of data for analytics. B) data warehouses have enabled the collection of decision makers in one place. C) data warehouses have assisted the collection of data for data mining. D) data warehouses have assisted the collection of data from multiple sources.

B) data warehouses have enabled the collection of decision makers in one place.

34) In answering the question "Which customers are most likely to click on my online ads and purchase my goods?", you are most likely to use which of the following analytic applications? A) customer profitability B) propensity to buy C) customer attrition D) channel optimization

B) propensity to buy

31) For the majority of organizations, a daily accounts receivable transaction is a(n) A) strategic decision. B) structured decision. C) unstructured decision. D) managerial control decision.

B) structured decision.

22) In the Magpie Sensing case study, the automated collection of temperature and humidity data on shipped goods helped with various types of analytics. Which of the following is an example of predictive analytics? A) real time reports of the shipment's temperature B) warning of an open shipment seal C) location of the shipment D) optimal temperature setting

B) warning of an open shipment seal

26) Why are analytical decision making skills now viewed as more important than interpersonal skills for an organization's managers? A) because interpersonal skills are never important in organizations B) because personable and friendly managers are always the least effective C) because analytical-oriented managers produce better results over time D) because analytical-oriented managers tend to be flashier and less methodical

C) because analytical-oriented managers produce better results over time

23) Which of the following is NOT an example that falls within the four major categories of business environment factors for today's organizations? A) globalization B) increased pool of customers C) fewer government regulations D) increased competition

C) fewer government regulations

35) In answering the question "Which customers are likely to be using fake credit cards?", you are most likely to use which of the following analytic applications? A) channel optimization B) customer segmentation C) fraud detection D) customer profitability

C) fraud detection

38) Prescriptive BI capabilities are viewed as more powerful than predictive ones for all the following reasons EXCEPT A) prescriptive BI gives actual guidance as to actions. B) understanding the likelihood of certain events often leaves unclear remedies. C) only prescriptive BI capabilities have monetary value to top-level managers. D) prescriptive models generally build on (with some overlap) predictive ones.

C) only prescriptive BI capabilities have monetary value to top-level managers.

27) Business environments and government requirements are becoming more complex. All of the following actions to manage this complexity would be appropriate EXCEPT A) hiring more sophisticated and computer-savvy managers. B) deploying more sophisticated tools and technique. C) seeking new ways to avoid government compliance. D) avoiding expensive trial and error to find out what works.

C) seeking new ways to avoid government compliance.

40) Big Data often involves a form of distributed storage and processing using Hadoop and MapReduce. One reason for this is A) centralized storage creates too many vulnerabilities. B) the "Big" in Big Data necessitates over 10,000 processing nodes. C) the processing power needed for the centralized model would overload a single computer. D) Big Data systems have to match the geographical spread of social media.

C) the processing power needed for the centralized model would overload a single computer.

29) Which of the following statements about cognitive limits of organizational decision makers is true? A) Only top managers make decisions where cognitive limits are strained. B) The most talented and effective managers do not have cognitive limitations. C) All organizational decision-making requires data beyond human cognitive limits. D) Cognitive limits affect both the recall and use of data by decision makers.

D) Cognitive limits affect both the recall and use of data by decision makers.

39) Which of the following statements about Big Data is true? A) Data chunks are stored in different locations on one computer. B) Hadoop is a type of processor used to process Big Data applications. C) MapReduce is a storage filing system. D) Pure Big Data systems do not involve fault tolerance.

D) Pure Big Data systems do not involve fault tolerance.

32) All of the following may be viewed as decision support systems EXCEPT A) an expert system to diagnose a medical condition. B) a knowledge management system to guide decision makers. C) a system that helps to manage the organization's supply chain management. D) a retail sales system that processes customer sales transactions.

D) a retail sales system that processes customer sales transactions.

25) Which of the following activities permeates nearly all managerial activity? A) planning B) controlling C) directing D) decision-making

D) decision-making

30) For the majority of organizations, evaluating the credit rating of a potential business partner is a(n) A) strategic decision. B) structured decision. C) unstructured decision. D) managerial control decision.

D) managerial control decision.

21) In the Magpie Sensing case study, the automated collection of temperature and humidity data on shipped goods helped with various types of analytics. Which of the following is an example of prescriptive analytics? A) real time reports of the shipment's temperature B) warning of an open shipment seal C) location of the shipment D) optimal temperature setting

D) optimal temperature setting

24) Organizations counter the pressures they experience in their business environments in multiple ways. Which of the following is NOT an effective way to counter these pressures? A) reactive actions B) anticipative actions C) adaptive actions D) retroactive actions

D) retroactive actions

36) When Sabre developed their Enterprise Data Warehouse, they chose to use near-real-time updating of their database. The main reason they did so was A) to provide a 360 degree view of the organization. B) to aggregate performance metrics in an understandable way. C) to be able to assess internal operations. D) to provide up-to-date executive insights.

D) to provide up-to-date executive insights.