Homework answers / question archive / Chapter 10: Decision Support and Expert Systems   TRUE/FALSE        1)   A decision is easy to make when one option will clearly bring about a better outcome than any other

Chapter 10: Decision Support and Expert Systems   TRUE/FALSE        1)   A decision is easy to make when one option will clearly bring about a better outcome than any other

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TRUE/FALSE

 

     1)   A decision is easy to make when one option will clearly bring about a better outcome than any other.

 

 

     2.   Mathematicians call a sequence of steps a parameter.

 

 

     3.   Most mathematical and physical problems are unstructured.

 

 

     4.   The majority of problems in the business world are structured.

 

 

     5.   Stock investment, weather forecasting, and medicine are domains of unstructured or semistructured decision making.

 

 

     6.   The terms “decision support systems” and “expert systems” are mentioned more and more frequently in recent years.

 

 

     7.   A DSS might use a database created specially for that system, but DSSs are usually linked to databases used for other purposes as well, such as purchasing, shipping, billing, and other daily transactions.

 

 

     8.   A fixed variable model constantly changes.

 

     9.   A private business might develop a linear regression model to estimate future sales based on past experience.

 

   10.   All DSS models are business-oriented.

 

   11.   A small change in price per unit might result in a dramatic increase in sales, which means sales volume has a high sensitivity to product price.

 

   12.   You might be familiar with sensitivity analysis from using word processors.

 

   13.   Many government agencies offer decision support systems on the Web.

 

 

   14.   When one passenger on an airplane pays a third of what another paid for the same flight, this is the result of recommendations the airline receives from a DSS whose purpose is to maximize revenue.

 

 

   15.   A good risk is a person or institution that is likely to default on a loan.

 

 

   16.   Artificial intelligence (AI) is so called because it focuses on methods and technologies to emulate how humans learn and solve problems.

 

 

   17.   Neural nets have been very effective in detecting fraud of many types.

 

 

   18.   A GIS might be used to help a housing developer determine where to invest by tracking and displaying population changes on a map, highlighting in color increases of more than 10 percent over the past 3 years.

 

 

   19.   Neural nets allow employees to bring up thousands of maps from a central repository on their own PCs.

 

 

   20.   In government work, an FIS allows a city clerk to bring up a map of the neighborhood of a resident, zoom in on the resident’s house pictured on the map, click on the picture, and receive information such as real-estate taxes owed and paid over the past several years.

 

 

MULTIPLE CHOICE

 

     1.   Businesses use ____ to analyze data.

a.	models	c.	references
b.	documents	d.	plans

 

 

 

     2.   A(n) ____ is one for which there is no algorithm to follow to reach an optimal solution.

a.	unstructured discussion	c.	structured problem
b.	unstructured problem	d.	structured report

 

 

 

     3.   A ____ is one that is neither fully structured nor totally unstructured.

a.	half structured problem	c.	semistructured problem
b.	limited structured problem	d.	superstructured problem

 

 

 

     4.   Although the use of ____ typically increases with the level of management, the systems are used at all levels, and often by nonmanagerial staff.

a.	accounting systems	c.	SCM systems
b.	CRM systems	d.	DSSs

 

 

 

     5.   You should realize that some components of a computer-based decision aid, such as databases, might already be in place when a new ____ is developed.

a.	DBMS	c.	CAD system
b.	GIS	d.	DSS

 

 

 

     6.   The majority of DSSs comprise three major components: a data management module, a model management module, and a ____.

a.	full management module	c.	dialog module
b.	global module	d.	diagram module

 

 

 

     7.   When organizations use a supply chain management (SCM) or ____, the databases of such systems provide the data for the DSS.

a.	document management system(DMS)
b.	customer relationship management (CRM) system
c.	geographic information system (GIS)
d.	global positioning system (GPS)

 

 

 

     8.   A ____ is one that is automatically adjusted based on changing relationships among variables.

a.	dynamically modified model	c.	fixed variable model
b.	constantly modified model	d.	static model

 

 

 

     9.   ____ or models might be unique to a certain industry or even to an individual business.

a.	Patterns	c.	References
b.	Data sheets	d.	Agendas

 

 

 

   10.   Among the general statistical models, a(n) ____ model is the best-fit linear relationship between two variables, such as sales and the money spent on marketing.

a.	exponential curve	c.	quadratic
b.	linear regression	d.	logarithmic statistical

 

 

 

   11.   Some models can be expressed as a curve, rather than a(n) ____.

a.	s shape	c.	straight line
b.	bell shape	d.	step function

 

 

 

   12.   The ____ prompts the user to select a model, allowing the user to access the database and select data for the decision process or to set criteria for selecting such data.

a.	model management module	c.	information management module
b.	data management module	d.	dialog module

 

 

 

   13.   As an increasing number of DSSs are available for use through the Internet, some ____ are especially designed to be compatible with Web browsers.

a.	data management modules	c.	model management modules
b.	information management modules	d.	dialog modules

 

 

 

   14.   A(n) ____ is almost always affected by more than one parameter.

a.	schema	c.	outcome
b.	impression	d.	agenda

 

 

 

   15.   Outcomes rarely respond in equal measure to changes in ____.

a.	data sheets	c.	indexes
b.	parameters	d.	units

 

 

 

   16.   ____ are an excellent tool for building both the data and the models that decision support systems need, and therefore they make excellent tools for building decision support software.

a.	Spreadsheets	c.	Data lists
b.	Data sheets	d.	Base lists

 

 

 

   17.   A growing number of organizations implement software applications that produce decisions automatically and in ____.

a.	real time	c.	modules
b.	parallel	d.	line with forecasts

 

 

 

   18.   Some companies offer ____ specifically designed to analyze shoppers’ behavior at their sites based on captured data such as pages viewed, options clicked, and the sequence of pages shoppers view.

a.	SCMs	c.	data warehouses
b.	GISs	d.	DSSs

 

 

 

   19.   An increasing amount of ____ in the financial services and many other industries are made automatically and in real time.

a.	data automation	c.	decision agenda
b.	materials management	d.	decision making

 

 

 

   20.   For some banks, if your credit score is in the 500s or even 600s on a scale of ____, you are not considered a good credit risk.

a.	0–800	c.	200–1000
b.	350–850	d.	350–1000

 

 

 

   21.   When using a DSS or a(n) ____, the user enjoys the knowledge and experience that have been accumulated by other people over many years.

a.	accounting system	c.	expert system
b.	human intelligence system	d.	human resource management system

 

 

 

   22.   It is not always possible to exploit expertise by coupling quantitative data from a database with decision models, so in such cases, an ____ might be required.

a.	experienced system	c.	expert system
b.	experimental system	d.	expertise system

 

 

 

   23.   A ____ is a specific area of knowledge.

a.	neural network	c.	domino
b.	domain	d.	protocol

 

 

 

   24.   Rather than containing a set of IF-THEN rules, more sophisticated ESs use programs called ____, which are designed to mimic the way a human brain learns.

a.	neural networks	c.	communication networks
b.	power rules	d.	sensitivity analysis

 

 

 

   25.   Medical ____ help diagnose patients and suggest treatments.

a.	expert systems	c.	model systems
b.	ERPs	d.	data management modules

 

 

 

   26.   Like other similar institutions, the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) has a special department to prevent ____ of the securities under its supervision.

a.	inside training	c.	insufficient trading
b.	insider trading	d.	insider tracking

 

 

 

   27.   General Electric Corp. developed a(n) ____ that helps nonexperts to identify common metals and alloys outside laboratories.

a.	prospector system	c.	expert system
b.	neural network	d.	metalloy system

 

 

 

   28.   HTML and ____, the primary languages used to compose and retrieve Web pages, support the presentation of pictures with marked areas, which makes them ideal for retrieval of marked maps.

a.	XML	c.	SGML
b.	HTTP	d.	SML

 

 

 

   29.   Clicking different areas of a map can zoom in and out as well as bring up related information in the form of other maps or text, utilizing the ____ capabilities of the Web to the fullest.

a.	hypertext	c.	multimedia
b.	video	d.	hypergraphic

 

 

 

   30.   ____ are applications that combine features of two or more online applications.

a.	Databases	c.	Spreadsheets
b.	Mashups	d.	Graphics

 

 

 

COMPLETION

 

     1.   Whenever more than one possible action is available, a(n) ____________________ must be made.

 

 

     2.   In the ____________________ phase of decision making, decision makers collect facts, ideas, and beliefs.

 

 

     3.   A(n) ____________________ is one in which an optimal solution can be reached through a single set of steps.

 

     4.   Mathematicians call a sequence of steps a(n) ____________________ and the categories of data that are considered when following those steps parameters.

 

     5.   A(n) ____________________, is a computer-based information system designed to help managers select one of many alternative solutions to a problem.

 

 

     6.   A DSS’s ____________________ is a database or data warehouse that provides the data for the intelligence phase of decision making.

 

 

     7.   To turn data into useful information, the system utilizes its ____________________, which offers a single fixed model, a dynamically modified model, or a collection of models from which either the DSS or the user selects the most appropriate one.

 

     8.   The part of the DSS that allows the user to interact with it is called the ____________________.

 

     9.   You can use a DSS to perform ____________________ analyses on multiple parameters at the same time.

 

 

   10.   In airlines, the purpose of ____________________ DSSs is to find the proper pricing to maximize the overall revenue from selling seats for each flight.

 

 

   11.   Many banks use automated ____________________ aids to determine a client’s creditworthiness.

 

 

   12.   A(n) ____________________ is developed to emulate the knowledge of an expert to solve problems and make decisions in a relatively narrow domain.

 

 

   13.   Expert systems and neural networks are two techniques researched and implemented in a field called ____________________.

 

   14.   An ES uses a(n) ____________________, which is a collection of facts and the relationships among them.

 

 

   15.   A(n) ____________________ is software that combines data that is input by the user with the data relationships stored in the knowledge base.

 

   16.   In most ESs, the knowledge base is built as a series of ____________________ rules.

 

   17.   An ES is constructed with a set of rules, but as data on real successes and failures of decisions is accumulated and fed into the system, the ____________________ refines the rules to accomplish a higher success rate.

 

   18.   Insurance companies use ____________________ nets to detect fraudulent claims both from the insured party and from health-care providers.

 

   19.  

Because medicine is one of the most unstructured domains, it is not surprising that many of the early ____________________ were developed to help doctors with the diagnosis of symptoms and treatment advice.

 

   20.   In addition to diagnostic ____________________, some hospitals use systems that help discern which tests or other initial treatment a patient should receive.

 

ESSAY

 

     1.   Describe the three phases of decision making.

 

 

     2.   Give examples of structured and semistructured problems.

 

 

     3.   What are the three major components of DSSs, and what do they do?

 

 

     4.   How do DSSs help in tax planning?

 

     5.   How do DSSs help in Web site planning and adjustment?