INF1505 EXAM PACK.

INF1505 EXAM PACK. Introduction To Business Information Systems. Whichoneofthefollowingstatementsregardingthedatacomponentofaninformationsystemis INCORRECT? 1.Thedatacomponentofaninformationsystemisconsideredtheinputtothesystem 2.Datacanbecollectedindifferentforms,suchasaggregatedordisaggregated 3.Generally,therearethreesourcesofdata:internal,externalandgenerated 4.Typicallydatahasatimeorientation Answer: 3. Generally,therearethreesourcesofdata:internal,externalandgenerated QUESTION1.5.a.3 Thedatacomponentofaninformationsystemisconsideredthe______________tothesystem 1.Input 2.Output Answer: 1. Input 1.5.cProcess Thepurposeofaninformationsystem'sprocesscomponentisgeneratingthemostusefultypeofinformationfor makingdecisions.Thiscomponentgenerallyincludestransactionprocessingreportsandmodelsfordecision analysisthatcanbebuiltintothesystemoraccessedfromexternalsources. Aninformationsystemcanincludeawiderangeofmodelstosupportalllevelsofdecisionmaking.Usersshould beabletoqueryaninformationsystemandgenerateavarietyofreports.Inaddition,aninformationsystemshould beabletogrowwiththeorganizationsouserscanredefineandrestructuremodelsandincorporatenew informationintotheiranalyses. QUESTION1.5.c.1 Whichcomponentofaninformationsystemgenerallyincludestransactionprocessingreportsandmodels fordecisionanalysisthatcanbebuiltintothesystemoraccessedfromexternalsources? 1.Process 2.Information 3.Data 4.Knowledge Answer: 1. Process 1.5.dInformation Althoughtheymightseemthesame,dataandinformationaredifferent.Dataconsistsofrawfactsandbyitselfis difficulttouseformakingdecisions.Information—theoutputofaninformationsystem—consistsoffactsthathave beenanalyzedbytheprocesscomponentand,therefore,aremoreusefultotheMISuser.Forexample,XYZ Company'stotalsaleslastmonthwere$5,000,000.Thisnumberisdata,becauseitdoesnottellyouhowthecompany performed.Diditmeetthesalesgoal?Didsalesincreaseordecreasefromthepreviousmonth?Howdidthecompany performagainstitstopcompetitors?Thesequestionsandmorecanbeansweredbytheinformationthatan informationsystemprovides. Thequalityofinformationisdeterminedbyitsusefulnesstousers,anditsusefulnessdeterminesthesuccessofan informationsystem.Informationisusefulifitenablesdecisionmakerstomaketherightdecisioninatimelymanner. Tobeuseful,informationmusthavethefollowingqualities:  Timeliness  Integrationwithotherdataandinformation  Consistencyandaccuracy  Relevance Ifinformationlacksanyofthesequalities,theresultsareincorrectdecisions,misallocationofresources,and overlookedwindowsofopportunity.Ifthesystemcannotgiveusersaminimumlevelofconfidenceinitsreliability,it willnotbeusedorusersmightdismissthereportsitgenerates.Informationmustprovideeitherabaseforusersto exploredifferentoptionsorinsightintotasks. Anotherfactoraffectingtheusefulnessofinformationistheinformationsystem'suserinterface.Becausethis interfacemustbeflexibleandeasytouse,mostinformationsystemsmakeuseofgraphicaluserinterfaces(GUIs), withfeaturessuchasmenusandbuttons.Tobeuseful,informationsystemsshouldalsoproduceinformationin differentformats,includinggraphics(e.g.,piechartsandbargraphs),tables,andexceptionreports,whichhighlight informationthatisoutsideaspecifiedrange.Supplyinginformationinavarietyofformatsincreasesthelikelihoodof usersunderstandingandbeingabletousetheinformation.Notethat,inadditiontotheformalinformationthatan informationsystemgenerates,usersneedtobeabletomakeuseofinformalinformation—suchasrumors, unconfirmedreports,andstories—whensolvingproblems. Theultimategoalofaninformationsystemistogeneratebusinessintelligence(BI),describedearlierinthischapter. Asyouwilllearnthroughoutthisbook,manydifferenttools,techniques,andtypesofinformationsystemtechnologies areusedtogenerateBI. QUESTION1.5.d.1 Thequalityofinformationisdeterminedbyits__________tousers 1.Usefulness 2.Accessibility 3.Availability 4.Integrity Answer: 1. Usefulness QUESTION1.5.d.2 Inaninformationsystem,informationmusthavewhichofthefollowingquality(qualities)? a.Accuracy b.Timeliness c.Formality d.Relevance 1.A,B,D 2.A,B,C,D 3.B,C,D 4.C Answer: 1. A,B,D 1.6.aTheImportanceofInformationSystems Informationisthesecondmostimportantresource(afterthehumanelement)inanyorganization.Timely,relevant, andaccurateinformationisacriticaltoolforenhancingacompany'scompetitivepositioninthemarketplaceand managingthefourMsofresources:manpower,machinery,materials,andmoney. Tomanagetheseresources,differenttypesofinformationsystemshavebeendeveloped.Althoughallhavethe majorcomponentsshowninExhibit1.3,theyvaryinthekindofdatatheycollectandtheanalysestheyperform. Thissectiondiscussessomemajortypesofinformationsystems,focusingonthetypesofdataandanalysisused ineach. Apersonnelinformationsystem(PIS)orhumanresourceinformationsystem(HRIS)isdesignedtoprovide informationthathelpsdecisionmakersinpersonnelcarryouttheirtasksmoreeffectively.Webtechnologieshave playedamajorroleinimprovingtheefficiencyandeffectivenessofHRdepartments.Forexample,intranetsare oftenusedtoprovidebasicHRfunctions,suchasemployeescheckinghowmuchvacationtimetheyhaveleftor lookinguphowmuchtheyhaveintheir401(k)plans.Intranetsreducepersonnelcostsandspeedupresponsesto commonemployeerequests.AswewilldiscussinChapter7,anintranetisanetworkwithinanorganizationthat usesInternetprotocolsandtechnologiesforcollecting,storing,anddisseminatingusefulinformationthatsupports businessactivitiessuchassales,customerservice,humanresources,andmarketing.Themaindifferencebetween anintranetandtheInternetisthatintranetsareprivateandtheInternetispublic.APIS/HRISsupportsthefollowing actions,amongothers: Choosingthebestjobcandidate Schedulingandassigningemployees Predictingtheorganization'sfuturepersonnelneeds Providingreportsandstatisticsonemployeedemographics Allocatinghumanandfinancialresources InformationTechnologiesatUPS Establishedin1907,UnitedParcelService(UPS)isnowaglobalcompanyworth$49.7billion.Itusesa sophisticatedinformationsystemtomanagethedeliveryofmorethan14millionpackagesaday.Thecompany usesseveraltypesofnetworksinitsoperations—particularly,GPSandwirelessnetworks.ItsGPSnetworkincludes analgorithmthathashelpeddriversreducethenumberofleftturnstheyhavetotake,particularlyoncommercial roads.This,alongwithavehicletelemetricsystem,hasreducedthenumberofaccidentsanddeliverytimes,thus savingthecompanyover20millionmilesayear. Tobetterservecustomers,UPShasdevelopedUPSDeliveryIntercept,aWeb-basedservicethatallowscustomers tointerceptandreroutepackagesbeforetheyaredelivered,thusavoidingpotentiallycostlymistakesandwasted timeandcosts.UPScallsthetechnologybehindthisservicePackageFlowTechnology,whichisalsousedtomap efficientroutesfordriversandmarkpackagesforspecialhandling.KurtKuehn,seniorvicepresidentofworldwide salesandmarketing,says,“InnovationslikePackageFlowTechnologyandserviceslikeUPSDeliveryInterceptare keycomponentsofUPS'sdrivetotreateachofourmillionsofcustomersasifthey'reouronlycustomer.We're constantlyworkingonnewandinnovativewaystoharnesstechnologytohelpourcustomersmeettheirunique needs.”Footnote Alogisticsinformationsystem(LIS)isdesignedtoreducethecostoftransportingmaterialswhilemaintainingsafe andreliabledelivery.ThefollowingareafewexamplesofdecisionssupportedbyanLIS: Improvingroutinganddeliveryschedules Selectingthebestmodesoftransportation Improvingtransportationbudgeting Improvingshipmentplanning TheinformationboxfeaturingUPSshowsusesofinformationsystemsandinformationtechnologies,particularly logisticsinformationsystems. Amanufacturinginformationsystem(MFIS)isusedtomanagemanufacturingresourcessocompaniescanreduce manufacturingcosts,increaseproductquality,andmakebetterinventorydecisions.MFISscanperformmanytypes ofanalysiswithahighdegreeoftimelinessandaccuracy.Forexample,managerscoulduseanMFIStoassessthe effectonfinalproductcostsofa7percentincreaseinrawmaterialsordeterminehowmanyassembly-lineworkers areneededtoproduce200automobilesinthenext3weeks.HerearesomedecisionsthatanMFISsupports:  Orderingdecisions  Productcostcalculations  Spaceutilization  Thebidevaluationprocessusedwithvendorsandsuppliers  Analysisofpricechangesanddiscounts Thegoalofafinancialinformationsystem(FIS)istoprovideinformationtofinancialexecutivesinatimelymanner. AnFISisusedtosupportthefollowingdecisions,amongothers:  Improvingbudgetallocation  Minimizingcapitalinvestmentrisks  Monitoringcosttrends  Managingcashflows  Determiningportfoliostructures Inaddition,marketinginformationsystems(MKISs)areusedtoimprovemarketingdecisions.AneffectiveMKIS shouldprovidetimely,accurate,andintegratedinformationaboutthemarketingmix(price,promotion,place,and product).HerearesomedecisionsthatanMKISsupports: Analyzingmarketshare,sales,andsalespersonnel Salesforecasting Priceandcostanalysisofitemssold QUESTION1.6.a.1 Fromthelistbelow,howmanyareNOTdecisionsthatamanufacturinginformationsystem(MFIS) supports? a.Orderingdecisions b.Productcostcalculations c.Spaceutilization d.Selectingthebestmodeoftransport e.Determiningportfoliostructures f. Salesforecasting 1.2 2.3 3.5 4.6 Answer: 2. 3 1.6.cPorter'sFiveForcesModel:UnderstandingtheBusinessEnvironment HarvardBusinessSchool'sMichaelPortercreatedacomprehensiveframeworkcalledtheFiveForcesModelfor analyzinganorganization,itspositioninthemarketplace,andhowinformationsystemscouldbeusedtomakethe organizationmorecompetitive.Thefiveforces,showninExhibit1.4,are:  Buyerpower  Supplierpower  Threatofsubstituteproductsorservices  Threatofnewentrants  Rivalryamongexistingcompetitors.