SCM 4250 Exam 1 Study

The HP case illustrates that after analytics are chosen to solve a problem, building a new decision model from scratch or purchasing one may not always be the best approach. Why is that? A. A related tool requiring slight modification may already exist B. Analytic models work better when they are built from scratch or purchased C. Decision models should never be purchased, only developed In house D. CIOs are more likely to allocate funds to new development

A related tool requiring slight modification may already exist

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

A retail sales system that processes customer sales transactions

Which of the following is correct? A. Collaboration across the supply chain partners can mitigate the bullwhip effect B. The make lever of the supply chain owns operation sensor data C. Points of Sale (POS) data needs to be shared between supply chain players for effective demand forecasting and supply planning D. All of the above

All of the above

Which of the following analytics approach is used to determine which products to carry in which stores based on buyer demographics, personality, perception, and other factors? A. Price optimization B. Assortment optimization C. Cross selling D. Segmentation

Assortment optimization

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

Because analytical-oriented managers produce better results over time

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. Cognitive limits affect both the recall and use of data by decision makers C. The most talented and effective managers do not have cognitive limitations D. All organizational decision-making requires data beyond human cognitive limits

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

The software that manages the DSS database and enables relevant data to be accessed by DSS application programs is called A. CRM B. KWS C. ERP D. DBMS

DBMS

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

Data to information to decision to actions

All of the following statements about decision style are true EXCEPT: A. Heuristic styles can also be democratic B. Decision styles may vary among lower-level managers C. Decision styles are consistent among top managers D. Autocratic styles are authority based

Decision styles are consistent among top managers

Q: All of the following statements about the decision implementation phases are true EXCEPT A. ERP, CRP, and BPM tools can all help track decision implementation B. Implementation is every bit as important as the decision itself C. Employees need only the decisions from the CEO, not the rationale D. ES and KMS can help in training and support for decision implementation

Employees need only the decisions from the CEO, not the rationale

A well-designed data warehouse means that user requirements do not have to change as business needs change.

False

Business intelligence systems typically support solving a certain problem or evaluate an opportunity, while decision support systems monitor situations and identify problems and/or opportunities, using analytic methods

False

Data warehouse administrators (DWAs) do not need strong business insight since they only handle the technical aspect of the infrastructure.

False

Data warehouses are subsets of data marts.

False

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

False

GPS tags monitor inventory on shelves and in-transit coordinating with current stock levels for automatic order replenishment

False

Generating alternatives manually is often necessary in the model-building process. The best option for the decision makers is to generate as many of these alternatives as is conceivable

False

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

False

Large companies, especially those with revenue upwards of $500 million consistently reap substantial cost savings through the use of hosted data warehouses.

False

Make is the supply chain lever responsible for moving things we sell

False

Moving the data into a data warehouse is usually the easiest part of its creation.

False

OLTP systems are designed to handle ad hoc analysis and complex queries that deal with many data items.

False

Organizations seldom devote a lot of effort to creating metadata because it is not important for the effective use of data warehouses.

False

Point-of-Sale (POS) is not a source of big data

False

Qualitative elements of a problem cannot be incorporated into formal decision models, so one can only seek to minimize their impact.

False

Sentiment Analysis is a merchandising approach that involves deciding which products to carry in which stores based on local demographics, etc.

False

Since the business environment involves considerable uncertainty, a manager cannot use modeling to estimate the risks resulting from specific actions

False

Subject oriented databases for data warehousing are organized by detailed subjects such as disk drives, computers, and networks.

False

Target Marketing recognizes a one-size-fits-all approach and tries to please all customers with the same product

False

The "Make" side of the supply chain is essentially sourcing or purchasing

False

The "Move" lever in the supply chain is responsible for all activities and processes required to purchase goods and services from suppliers

False

The "Sell" side of the supply chain - Marketing - lags behind other parts of the supply chain in embracing big data opportunities

False

The "make" lever of the supply chain is essentially logistics

False

The "move" lever of the supply chain is essentially operations management

False

The ETL process in data warehousing usually takes up a small portion of the time in a data-centric project.

False

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

False

The three characteristics of big data are volume, velocity, and viscosity

False

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

False

Tools such as correlation and regression are not helpful in big data analytics

False

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. Fraud detection B. Customer segmentation C. Customer profitability D. Channel optimization

Fraud detection

Groupthink in a decision-making environment occurs when A. Group members all accept a course of action without thinking for themselves B. Group members accept the same timeframe for problem solving without complaining C. Group members are all working together for the firm's success D. Group members all use the same analytic tools without having a choice

Group members all accept a course of action without thinking for themselves

How does the use of cloud computing affect the scalability of a data warehouse? A. Cloud computing vendors bring as much hardware as needed to users' offices. B. Hardware resources are dynamically allocated as use increases. C. Cloud vendors are mostly based overseas where the cost of labor is low. D. Cloud computing has little effect on a data warehouse's scalability.

Hardware resources are dynamically allocated as use increases.

Which of the following decisions is key to quality management? A. Identify product defects B. Optimize inventory C. Predict customer behavior D. Generate customer demand

Identify product defects

What kind of data warehouse is created separately from the enterprise data warehouse by a department and not reliant on it for updates? A. Public data mart B. Sectional data mart C. Independent data mart D. Volatile data mart

Independent data mart

Which of the following statements is incorrect? A. Marketing decisions generally fall into 3 categories or the 3PL (preference, price, product) B. The market segmentation means, breaking down the entire consumer market into the subdivision of customers who share the similar set of needs and wants and have more or less related characteristics C. Retail Link is an internet-based tool created by Wal-Mart, which allows suppliers to access point of sale data and other important information D. All of the above

Marketing decisions generally fall into 3 categories or the 3PL (preference, price, product)

What class of DSS incorporates simulation and optimization? A. Data-driven DSS B. Communication-driven/Group DSS C. Model-driven DSS D. Knowledge-driven DSS

Model-driven DSS

All of the following statements about risk in decision making are correct EXCEPT: A. Most decision makers are pessimistic about decision outcomes B. All business decisions incorporate an element of risk C. Methodologies are available for handling extreme uncertainty D. Decision makers frequently measure risk and uncertainty incorrectly

Most decision makers are pessimistic about decision outcomes

Prescriptive BI capabilities are viewed as more powerful than predictive ones for all of 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. Prescriptive models generally build on (with some overlap) predictive ones D. Only prescriptive BI capabilities have monetary value to top-level managers

Only prescriptive BI capabilities have monetary value to top-level managers

In the design phase of decision making, selecting a principle of choice or criteria means that A. Optimality is not the only criterion for acceptable solutions B. If an objective model is used with hard data, all decision makers will make the same choice C. Using well-designed models guarantees you success in real life D. Risk acceptability is a subjective concept and plays little part in modeling

Optimality is not the only criterion for acceptable solutions

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

Pure Big Data systems do not involve fault tolerance

..... enables companies to keep track of inventory quantities and their locations A. RFID B. Scheduling C. Vendor managed inventory D. POS

RFID

Which of the following online analytical processing (OLAP) technologies does NOT require the precomputation and storage of information? A. MOLAP B. ROLAP C. HOLAP D. SQL

ROLAP

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. Adaptive actions B. Anticipative actions C. Retroactive actions D. Reactive actions

Retroactive actions

Which of the following analytics techniques is used to understand customer options that are expressed on web sites? A. Association rules mining B. Collaborative filtering C. Sentiment analysis D. RFM

Sentiment analysis

For the majority of organizations, a daily accounts receivable transaction is a(n): A. Structured decision B. Managerial control decision C. Strategic decision D. Unstructured decision

Structured decision

When an accounts payable department improves their information system resulting in faster payments to vendors, without the accounts receivable department doing the same, leading to a cash flow crunch, what can we say happened in decision-theoretic terms? A. Cash flow problems B. Profit minimization C. Suboptimization D. Optimization

Suboptimization

Big Data often involves a form of distributes storage and processing using Hadoop and MapReduce. One reason for this is A. Big Data systems have to match the geographical spread of social media 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. Centralized storage creates too many vulnerabilities

The processing power needed for the centralized model would overload a single computer

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-will-be" queries, not "what to do" queries D. They answer "what to do" queries, not "what-if" queries

They answer "what-is" queries, not "what will be" queries

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 up-to-date executive insights B. To provide a 360-degree view of the organization C. To be able to assess internal operations D. To aggregate performance metrics in an understandable way

To provide up-to-date executive insights

In which stage of extraction, transformation, and load (ETL) into a data warehouse are data aggregated? A. Transformation B. Extraction C. Load D. Cleanse

Transformation

A normative model examines all the possible alternatives in order to prove that the one selected is best

True

A supply chain can be viewed as a system of cross-organizational business processes

True

Because of performance and data quality issues, most experts agree that the federated architecture should supplement data warehouses, not replace them.

True

Big Data provides more granularity for customer segmentation

True

Big data analytics helps organizations increase supply chain visibility

True

Big data analytics tools such as GPS enable logistics companies to keep track of disruptive events in order to optimize routes and control fuel consumption

True

Collaborative filtering refers to the recommendation algorithm for cross-selling

True

Conjoint analysis provides insights into product design

True

Demand forecasting uses POS data to predict customer demand and optimize supply decisions

True

Facility location Is an example of a decision made by the operations people

True

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

True

One way an operational data store differs from a data warehouse is the recency of their data.

True

Q: A data warehouse can support the intelligence phase of decision making by continuously monitoring both internal and external information, looking for early signs of problems and opportunities through a web-based enterprise information portal or dashboard

True

RFID Technology can help companies automate inventory replenishment decisions

True

RFID technology enables companies to monitor customers movements in real time

True

Since a descriptive model checks the performance of the system for only a subset of all possible alternatives, there is no guarantee that a selected alternative will be optimal

True

The "islands of data" problem in the 1980s describes the phenomenon of unconnected data being stored in numerous locations within an organization.

True

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

True

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

True

Uncovering the existence of a problem can be achieved through monitoring and analyzing of the organization's productivity level. The derived measurements of productivity are based on real data.

True

Walmart uses big data analytics to link the entire chain from Buy to Sell

True

With the use of big data analytics, Amazon is able to predict purchases before they happen.

True

Without middleware, different BI programs cannot easily connect to the data warehouse.

True

All of the following are benefits of using models for decision support EXCEPT: A. You can find out probable outcomes of an action before actually taking it B. It is easier to manipulate a model than a real system C. Using well-designed models always guarantees you success in implementation D. The cost of a model is usually much lower than manipulating the system in implementation

Using well-designed models always guarantees you success in implementation

The "single version of the truth" embodied in a data warehouse such as Capri Casinos' means all of the following EXCEPT A. decision makers get to see the same results to queries. B. decision makers have the same data available to support their decisions. C. decision makers get to use more dependable data for their decisions. D. decision makers have unfettered access to all data in the warehouse.

decision makers have unfettered access to all data in the warehouse.

When querying a dimensional database, a user went from summarized data to its underlying details. The function that served this purpose is A. dice. B. slice. C. roll-up. D. drill down.

drill down.

Which approach to data warehouse integration focuses more on sharing process functionality than data across systems? A. extraction, transformation, and load B. enterprise application integration C. enterprise information integration D. enterprise function integration

enterprise application integration

Which data warehouse architecture uses metadata from existing data warehouses to create a hybrid logical data warehouse comprised of data from the other warehouses? A. independent data marts architecture B. centralized data warehouse architecture C. hub-and-spoke data warehouse architecture D. federated architecture

federated architecture

All of the following statements about metadata are true EXCEPT A. for most organizations, data warehouse metadata are an unnecessary expense B. there may be ethical issues involved in the creation of metadata C. metadata gives context to reported data D. metadata helps to describe the meaning and structure of data

for most organizations, data warehouse metadata are an unnecessary expense

All of the following are benefits of hosted data warehouses EXCEPT A. better quality hardware B. frees up in-house systems C. smaller upfront investment D. greater control of data

greater control of data

Which data warehouse architecture uses a normalized relational warehouse that feeds multiple data marts? A. independent data marts architecture B. centralized data warehouse architecture C. hub-and-spoke data warehouse architecture D. federated architecture

hub-and-spoke data warehouse architecture

Data warehouses provide direct and indirect benefits to using organizations. Which of the following is an indirect benefit of data warehouses? A. better and more timely information B. extensive new analyses performed by users C. simplified access to data D. improved customer service

improved customer service

All of the following are true about in-database processing technology EXCEPT A. it pushes the algorithms to where the data is. B. it makes the response to queries much faster than conventional databases. C. it is often used for apps like credit card fraud detection and investment risk management. D. it is the same as in-memory storage technology.

it is the same as in-memory storage technology.

Which of the following BEST enables a data warehouse to handle complex queries and scale up to handle many more requests? A. use of the web by users as a front-end B. parallel processing C. Microsoft Windows D. a larger IT staff

parallel processing

When representing data in a data warehouse, using several dimension tables that are each connected only to a fact table means you are using which warehouse structure? A. star schema B. snowflake schema C. relational schema D. dimensional schema

star schema

A Web client that connects to a Web server, which is in turn connected to a BI application server, is reflective of a A. one tier architecture. B. two tier architecture. C. three tier architecture. D. four tier architecture.

three tier architecture.