Chapter 1: Business Information Systems: An Overview TRUE/FALSE 1) The terms “data” and “information” mean the same thing

Question

Chapter 1: Business Information Systems: An Overview

TRUE/FALSE

1) The terms “data” and “information” mean the same thing.

2. To become data, information is manipulated through tabulation, addition, subtraction, division, or any other operation that leads to greater understanding of a situation.

3. Every system has a single goal.

4. Increasingly, companies are implementing open information systems that can be linked to other systems owned by business partners such as suppliers and clients.

5. It is important to remember that computers can only carry out instructions that humans give them.

6. Input is the information an IS produces and displays in the format most useful to an organization.

7. The computer processes data through output devices.

8. Transaction processing systems (TPSs) are the most widely used information systems.

9. Many ERP systems are used by service representatives in combination with a telephone.

10. ISs whose purpose is to glean from raw data relationships and trends that might help organizations compete better are called business intelligence (BI) systems.

11. GISs are often used to manage daily operations as well as for planning and decision making.

12. While accounting systems focus on recording and reporting financial changes and states, the purpose of marketing systems is to facilitate financial planning and business transactions.

13. Programmers often advance directly to become project leaders.

14. In the capacity of project leaders, senior systems analysts are put in charge of several analysts and programmers.

15. Project leaders seek and allocate resources, such as personnel, hardware, and software, which are used in the development process.

16. Since access to information often connotes power, the DBA must be astute not only technologically but politically as well.

17. The rapid spread of the Web, intranets, and extranets has minimized the stature of the organizational Webmaster.

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. ____ is the raw material in the production of information.

a.	Data	c.	Managing
b.	Decision making	d.	Programming

2. Just as raw materials are processed in manufacturing to create useful end-products, so raw data is processed in information systems to create useful ____.

a.	data	c.	input
b.	information	d.	programs

3. Simply put, a ____ is an array of components that work together to achieve a common goal, or multiple goals, by accepting input, processing it, and producing output in an organized manner.

a.	plan	c.	project
b.	process	d.	system

4. ____ records sums owed to the organization and by whom.

a.	Accounts payable	c.	Accounts programmable
b.	Accounts receivable	d.	Accounts writable

5. A(n) ____ interfaces and interacts with other systems.

a.	closed system	c.	initial system
b.	final system	d.	open system

6. Thinking of an organization in terms of its suborganizations or subsystems—called ____—is a powerful management approach.

a.	organization thinking	c.	systems thinking
b.	organization validating	d.	systems validating

7. The ____ of a modern business shows a network of information subsystems that exchange information with each other and with the world outside the system.

a.	information list	c.	specific map
b.	information map	d.	total system

8. Several trends have made the use of ____ very important in business; among them, the variety and ingenuity of computer programs have increased.

a.	data maps	c.	information systems
b.	information lists	d.	total systems

9. In today’s world, organizations must continuously ____ hardware, software, and the skills of their employees to stay competitive.

a.	downsize	c.	specify
b.	share	d.	upgrade

10. A ____ is a business event: a sale, a purchase, the hiring of a new employee, and the like.

a.	compromise	c.	process
b.	contract	d.	transaction

11. Storage devices constitute one of the ____ basic components of the computer system within an IS.

a.	three	c.	five
b.	four	d.	six

12. The term “____” refers to the sequence of activities involved in producing a product or service.

a.	activity board	c.	supply board
b.	activity chain	d.	supply chain

13. The main goals of ____ systems are to increase the quality of customer service, reduce the amount of labor involved in serving customers, and learn as much as possible about the preferences of individual customers.

a.	CRM	c.	MIS
b.	ERP	d.	TPS

14. Business intelligence applications access large pools of data, usually transactional records stored in large databases called ____.

a.	data warehouses	c.	demographic data
b.	decision data	d.	supply chains

15. ____ have been used to provide service via the Web, such as helping residents find locations of different services on a city map or plan travel routes.

a.	BIs	c.	GISs
b.	DSSs	d.	MISs

16. In ____, information systems help organize budgets, manage cash flow, analyze investments, and make decisions that could reduce interest payments and increase revenues from financial transactions.

a.	accounting	c.	finance
b.	e-commerce	d.	marketing

17. ____’s purpose is to pinpoint the people and organizations most likely to purchase what the organization sells and to promote the appropriate products and services to those people and organizations.

a.	Accounting	c.	Finance
b.	E-commerce	d.	Marketing

18. ____ systems mainly help in record-keeping, employee evaluation, and employee benefits.

a.	Accounting	c.	Human resource (HR) management
b.	Financial	d.	Marketing

19. Spam now makes up about ____ percent of all e-mail.

a.	20	c.	60
b.	40	d.	80

20. Many IT professionals start their careers as programmers, or programmer/analysts, and then are promoted to ____, positions that require a broad range of skills.

a.	network administrators	c.	systems administrators
b.	network analysts	d.	systems analysts

21. A ____ is partly involved in the analysis of business needs and ISs, but the greater part of the job involves setting up business applications.

a.	database analyst	c.	programmer/analyst
b.	database programmer	d.	systems administrator

22. A ____ is responsible for researching, planning, and recommending software and systems choices to meet an organization’s business requirements.

a.	database designer	c.	project manager
b.	programmer	d.	systems analyst

23. A ____ is responsible for the databases and data warehouses of an organization—a very sensitive and powerful position.

a.	database administrator	c.	project leader
b.	database programmer	d.	project manager

24. A ____ is responsible for developing or acquiring database applications and must carefully consider how data will be used.

a.	DBA	c.	programmer
b.	database programmer	d.	systems analyst

25. A ____ is highly involved in the implementation of SCM systems, because they access corporate databases.

a.	DBA	c.	programmer
b.	database programmer	d.	systems analyst

26. In most organizations the chief security officer (CSO) reports to the ____.

a.	chief administrative officer (CAO)
b.	chief information officer (CIO)
c.	chief information security officer (CISO)
d.	systems executive officer (SEO)

27. A major challenge for ____ is the misperception of other executives that IT security is an inhibitor rather than an enabler to operations.

a.	CIOs	c.	CTOs
b.	CSOs	d.	Webmasters

28. You might find organizations where there are both a CIO and a ____ and one reports to the other.

a.	CEO	c.	CTO
b.	CSO	d.	Webmaster

COMPLETION

1. Data is the raw material in the production of ____________________.

2. Raw data is rarely meaningful or useful as ____________________.

3. Often, a system consists of several ____________________—components of a larger system—with subgoals, all contributing to meeting the main goal.

4. An accounting system that records accounts receivable, accounts payable, and cash flow is ____________________ if it receives its payroll figures from the payroll system.

5. An information system (IS) consists of all the components that work together to ____________________ data and produce information.

6. In a computer-based information system, computers collect, store, and process data into information, according to instructions people provide via computer ____________________.

7. The most widely used ____________________ device is the video display, or video monitor, which displays output visually.

8. ____________________ devices and communications lines transfer data and information over various distances.

9. An SCM is a(n) ____________________ because the systems that support each business process are connected to each other to form one large IS.

10. ____________________ systems are often linked to Web applications that track online shopping and process online transactions.

11. A(n) ____________________ relies on artificial intelligence techniques to support knowledge-intensive decision-making processes.

12. Some GISs that support operations use information from ____________________ satellites, especially to show the current location of a vehicle or person on a map or to provide directions.

13. ____________________ ISs provide information that helps management decide how many sales representatives to assign to specific products in specific geographical areas.

14. When visiting a commercial Web site, chances are the site installs a little file, called a(n) “____________________,” on your computer’s hard disk.

15. Unlike many other occupations, the job of a(n) ____________________ often involves the creation of new systems or the modification of existing ones.

16. Attacks on corporate ____________________ by hackers and computer viruses have made the DBA’s job more difficult.

17. A(n) ____________________ is responsible for creating and maintaining the organization’s Web site and its intranet and extranet pages.

18. In most cases when you encounter both positions in one organization, the CTO reports to the ____________________.

19. A person who holds the position of CIO must have both technical understanding of current and developing ____________________ technologies and business knowledge.

ESSAY

1. Describe closed systems and open systems.

2. Define information systems.

3. Name and describe the most widely used type of information system.

4. What are the characteristics of business intelligence systems?

5. What is the purpose of financial systems?