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Using MIS, 7e (Kroenke) Chapter 7  Processes, Organizations, and Information Systems 7

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Using MIS, 7e (Kroenke)

Chapter 7  Processes, Organizations, and Information Systems

7.1   True/False Questions

1) Both structured processes and dynamic processes are formally defined processes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

2) Structured processes are standardized processes that involve day-to-day operations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

3) Placing an order is an example of a structured process.

 

 

 

 

 

 

4) Structured processes are adaptive processes that change structure rapidly and readily.

 

 

 

 

 

 

5) Dynamic processes are usually more specific than structured ones.

 

 

 

 

 

 

6) Using social networking sites to generate buzz about a company's new product line is an example of a dynamic process.

 

 

 

 

 

 

7) Dynamic processes support operational activities.

 

 

 

 

 

8) A workgroup process exists to enable workgroups to fulfill the charter, purpose, and goals of a particular group or department.

 

 

 

 

 

 

9) Lead generation and lead tracking are processes concerning the sales and marketing department.

 

 

 

 

 

 

10) Order and account tracking are business processes concerning the operations department.

 

 

 

 

 

 

11) A workgroup information system is an organizational structure where a separate department is established by the organization to support and manage its information system.

 

 

 

 

 

 

12) The procedures for using workgroup information systems need to be understood only by the IT department of an organization.

 

 

 

 

 

 

13) Workgroup information systems typically support 10 to 100 users.

 

 

 

 

 

 

14) Enterprise processes span an organization and support activities in multiple departments.

 

 

 

 

 

15) The solutions to problems in an enterprise system usually involve a single department of the organization.

 

 

 

 

 

 

16) CRM is an example of a structured inter-enterprise information system.

 

 

 

 

 

 

17) In inter-enterprise information systems, procedures are simple and generally not documented or formalized in any way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

18) Inter-enterprise information systems support one or more inter-enterprise processes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

19) Process efficiency is a measure of the ratio of process outputs to inputs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

20) The structure of a process has no bearing on its efficiency.

 

 

 

 

 

 

21) Adding process resources increases process effectiveness, but it adds costs.

 

 

 

 

 

22) Changing the structure of a process always involves a change in resources as well, even if it is only a simple reordering of tasks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

23) Information systems improve process quality by augmenting the actions of the human who is performing that activity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

24) An information silo is a condition that exists when data are isolated in separated information systems.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

25) Workgroups can develop information systems for their own needs, but, over time, they would result in information silos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

26) The problems of duplicated data, disjointed systems, limited information, and inefficiencies are solved by spreading the data across multiple databases.

 

 

 

 

 

 

27) Business process reengineering is the activity of altering existing and designing new business processes to take advantage of new information systems.

 

 

 

 

 

 

28) Business process reengineering is a quick process, but it is exceedingly expensive.

 

 

 

 

 

29) In the customer acquisition phase of the customer life cycle, an organization categorizes its customers according to value and attempts to win back high-value customers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

30) Relationship management processes increase the value of existing customers by selling them more product.

 

 

 

 

 

 

31) CRM systems incorporate accounting, manufacturing, inventory, and human resources applications.

 

 

 

 

 

 

32) The primary purpose of an ERP system is integration.

 

 

 

 

 

 

33) Enterprise application integration is a suite of applications, a database, and a set of inherent processes for consolidating business operations into a single, consistent, computing platform.

 

 

 

 

 

 

34) Converting to an ERP system is not nearly as disruptive as converting to an EAI system.

 

 

 

 

 

 

35) An ERP solution consists of application programs, databases, and business process procedures but does not include training and consulting.

 

 

 

 

 

36) Choosing an ERP solution that has applications that function close to the organization's requirements is critical to its successful implementation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

37) An ERP solution includes a database design, initial configuration data, and the company's operational data.

 

 

 

 

 

 

38) A trigger is a computer program stored in a database that is used to enforce business rules.

 

 

 

 

 

 

39) Triggers and stored procedures are not components of an ERP solution.

 

 

 

 

 

 

40) The inherent processes that are defined in an ERP solution are known, by some ERP vendors, as process blueprints.

 

 

 

 

 

 

41) ERP vendors sometimes train an organization's employees to become in-house trainers in training sessions called train the trainer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

42) Industry-specific solutions contain program and database configuration files but not the process blueprints that apply to ERP implementations in specific industries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

43) SAP and Oracle are the highest ranked ERP vendors in the market.

 

 

 

 

 

 

44) In enterprise systems, a single department manager is solely in charge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

45) Gap identification is a major task when implementing enterprise systems.

 

 

 

 

 

 

46) Transitioning to a new enterprise system requires careful planning and substantial training.

 

 

 

 

 

 

47) Inter-enterprise silos can solve the problems of workgroup information silos but not those of enterprise silos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

48) Operational efficiency can be increased by avoiding the usage of integrated data to analyze an organization's day-to-day activities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

49) A supermarket must choose to use distributed systems to analyze buying patterns of their customers efficiently.

 

 

 

 

 

7.2   Multiple-Choice Questions

 

1) ________ are formally defined, standardized processes that involve day-to-day operations.

A) Dynamic processes

B) Unstructured processes

C) Structured processes

D) Kinetic processes

 

 

 

 

 

 

2) Which of the following is an example of a structured process?

A) deciding on the location of a new store

B) solving the problem of excessive product returns

C) purchasing raw materials

D) using social media to create buzz about a new product

 

 

 

 

 

 

3) ________ are flexible, informal, and adaptive processes that normally involve strategic and less specific managerial decisions and activities.

A) Operational processes

B) Dynamic processes

C) Inherent processes

D) Structured processes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4) Which of the following is an example of a dynamic process?

A) Samsung accepts a return of a defective television from its dealer.

B) Starbucks places an order for coffee beans from its local supplier.

C) Amazon.com hires customer service representatives to help customers with their online order.

D) Nike uses Facebook and Twitter to generate buzz about its new line of running shoes.

 

 

 

 

 

5) Which of the following is a characteristic of dynamic processes?

A) They are adaptive processes that change structure rapidly and readily.

B) They are usually formally defined and documented.

C) They support operational and managerial decisions and activities.

D) They are standardized processes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

6) Which of the following workgroup processes is related to sales and marketing?

A) lead tracking

B) order management

C) customer support

D) accounts receivable

 

 

 

 

 

 

7) Which of the following workgroup processes is related to operations?

A) account updating and tracking

B) sales forecasting

C) finished goods inventory management

D) treasury and account management

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8) Which of the following workgroup processes is related to manufacturing?

A) order entry and tracking

B) finished goods inventory management

C) product and brand management

D) planning and scheduling

 

 

 

 

 

9) Which of the following workgroup processes is related to customer service?

A) assessment

B) account tracking

C) sales forecasting

D) accounts payable

 

 

 

 

 

 

10) Which of the following workgroup processes is related to human resources?

A) lead tracking

B) customer support

C) assessment

D) order management

 

 

 

 

 

 

11) Which of the following information systems minimizes data duplication among departments?

A) departmental information systems

B) workgroup information systems

C) personal information systems

D) enterprise information systems

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12) Which of the following statements is true regarding workgroup information systems?

A) They are easy to change.

B) They minimize data duplication among departments.

C) They can be operated without training.

D) They support 10 to 100 users.

 

 

 

 

 

13) ________ processes span an organization and support activities in multiple departments.

A) Enterprise

B) Inter-enterprise

C) Strategic

D) Reactive

 

 

 

 

 

 

14) Which of the following statements about enterprise information systems is true?

A) The procedures are not documented but are understood within the group.

B) They do not require users to have any formal training.

C) They are very difficult to change.

D) They support 10 to 100 users.

 

 

 

 

 

 

15) The information system that a restaurant uses to order supplies and ingredients from its suppliers is an example of a(n) ________.

A) enterprise information system

B) personal information system

C) inter-enterprise information system

D) departmental information system

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

16) Which of the following statements about a structured inter-enterprise information system is true?

A) Its problem solutions affect multiple organizations.

B) It is flexible and easily adaptable to organizational changes.

C) It increases data duplication among departments.

D) It does not require users to have any formal training.

 

 

 

 

 

17) ________ is an example of an inter-enterprise information system.

A) CRM

B) PRIDE

C) ERP

D) EAI

 

 

 

 

 

 

18) The two dimensions of process quality are ________.

A) efficiency and effectiveness

B) performance and reliability

C) conformance and durability

D) perception and serviceability

 

 

 

 

 

 

19) ________ is a measure of the ratio of process outputs to inputs.

A) Process effectiveness

B) Process efficiency

C) Process conformance

D) Process reliability

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

20) Process ________ is a measure of how well a process achieves organizational strategy.

A) efficiency

B) conformance

C) effectiveness

D) reliability

 

 

 

 

 

21) Information systems improve process quality by ________.

A) duplicating data

B) entirely replacing human activity

C) changing the work culture

D) controlling process flow

 

 

 

 

 

 

22) Which of the following conditions exist when data are isolated in separated information systems?

A) information overload

B) encapsulation

C) information silo

D) data segregation

 

 

 

 

 

 

23) When an organization has inconsistent duplicated data, it is said to have a problem of ________.

A) information silo

B) data integrity

C) error of omission

D) data segregation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

24) Tony requests for a credit approval of $25,000 and instead gets $15,000 approved as customer credit. Which of the following problems caused by information silos is most likely the reason behind it?

A) data duplication

B) isolated decisions

C) limited information

D) disjointed processes

 

 

 

 

 

25) ________ is the activity of altering existing and designing new business processes to take advantage of new information systems.

A) Business process modeling

B) Business process reengineering

C) Business process outsourcing

D) Enterprise resource planning

 

 

 

 

 

 

26) ________ are predesigned procedures for using software products.

A) Inherent processes

B) Triggers

C) Modules

D) Service descriptions

 

 

 

 

 

 

27) ________ is a suite of applications, a database, and a set of inherent processes for managing all the interactions with the customer, from lead generation to customer service.

A) Business process reengineering

B) Customer relationship management

C) Enterprise resource planning

D) Customer lifecycle management

 

 

 

 

 

 

28) Which phase of the customer life cycle focuses on sending messages to the target market to attract customer prospects?

A) relationship management

B) loss/churn

C) marketing

D) customer acquisition

 

 

 

 

 

29) Which phase of the customer life cycle focuses on increasing the value of existing customers by selling them more product?

A) marketing

B) customer acquisition

C) relationship management

D) loss/churn

 

 

 

 

 

 

30) Which phase of the customer life cycle categorizes customers according to value and attempt to win back high-value customers?

A) loss/churn

B) customer acquisition

C) relationship management

D) marketing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

31) ________ is a suite of applications called modules, a database, and a set of inherent processes for consolidating business operations into a single, consistent, computing platform.

A) Enterprise resource planning

B) Customer relationship management

C) Enterprise application integration

D) Business process reengineering

 

 

 

 

 

 

32) The primary purpose of an ERP system is ________.

A) customization

B) duplication

C) integration

D) customer acquisition

 

 

 

 

 

33) Enterprise application integration is a ________.

A) suite of software applications that consolidates existing systems by providing layers of software that connect applications together

B) strategy that uses business process management to radically enhance the customer service experience from any customer base

C) suite of applications called modules, a database, and a set of inherent processes for consolidating business operations into a single, consistent, computing platform

D) suite of applications, a database, and a set of inherent processes for managing all the interactions with the customer, from lead generation to customer service

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

34) Which of the following statements is true of enterprise application integration?

A) It leads to data duplication because each application has its own database.

B) It connects system "islands" via a new layer of software.

C) It leverages existing systems and enhances the capabilities of functional applications.

D) It prevents existing applications from communicating and sharing data.

 

 

 

 

 

 

35) The major benefit of enterprise application integration is that it ________.

A) minimizes the requirement for formalized procedures

B) acts as a cost effective alternative to ERP, with greater capabilities

C) utilizes a centralized database

D) enables organizations to use existing applications

 

 

 

 

 

 

36) An ERP solution does not include ________.

A) a database design

B) a company's operational data

C) initial configuration data

D) stored procedures

 

 

 

 

 

37) A(n) ________ is a computer program stored within a database that runs to keep the database consistent when certain conditions arise.

A) stored procedure

B) index

C) trigger

D) transaction

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

38) A stored procedure is a ________.

A) program stored in a database that keeps the database consistent when certain conditions arise

B) history of actions executed by a database management system

C) computer program stored in a database that is used to enforce business rules

D) data structure that improves the speed of data-retrieval operations in a database

 

 

 

 

 

 

39) The inherent processes defined in an ERP solution are known, by some ERP vendors, as ________.

A) database transactions

B) stored procedures

C) transaction logs

D) process blueprints

 

 

 

 

 

 

40) ERP vendors train an organization's employees, called Super Users, to become in-house ERP trainers in training sessions called ________.

A) train the trainer

B) top-down training

C) on-the-job training

D) employ the employer

 

 

 

 

 

41) ERP training falls into two broad categories, one of which is training on how to use the ERP application software. Which of the following activities is a part of this category?

A) obtaining top-level management support

B) steps for using the applications to accomplish the activities in processes

C) dealing with employee resistance to the new system

D) preparations for organizational changes

 

 

 

 

 

 

42) To reduce the substantial work that needs to be done to customize an ERP application to a particular customer, ERP vendors provide ________.

A) service descriptions

B) industry-specific solutions

C) inherent processes

D) DIY modules

 

 

 

 

 

 

43) The two top-ranked ERP vendors are ________.

A) Epicor and Oracle

B) SAP and Oracle

C) Microsoft Dynamics and Infor

D) Microsoft Dynamics and SAP

 

 

 

 

 

 

44)  AX, Nav, GP, and Solomon are the four major ERP products of ________.

A) Oracle

B) SAP

C) Microsoft Dynamics

D) Epicor

 

 

 

 

 

45) Which of the following ERP products did Infor acquire?

A) Solomon

B) GP

C) Epicore 9

D) Baan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

46) Which ERP vendor acquired PeopleSoft and Siebel?

A) Oracle

B) Infor

C) Epicor

D) SAP

 

 

 

 

 

 

47) When implementing new enterprise systems, usually the only solution for resolving process issues and providing enterprise process management is to ________.

A) develop committees and steering groups

B) reinforce employees' sense of self-efficacy

C) establish clear and absolute contractual guidelines

D) communicate the need for change to the employees

 

 

 

 

 

 

48) Since the features and functions of complex products like CRM or ERP are not easy to identify, ________ is a major task when implementing enterprise systems.

A) virtualization

B) encapsulation

C) gap identification

D) data duplication

 

 

 

 

 

49) Which of the following is an effective and acceptable technique to overcome employee resistance while implementing new enterprise systems?

A) giving employees ultimatums and deadlines

B) paying employees straight-out for transitioning to the new system

C) coercing employees to learn the new system

D) conducting contests with cash prizes

 

 

 

 

 

 

50) ________ refers to a person's belief that he or she can be successful at his or her job.

A) Self-appraisal

B) Self-actualization

C) Self-efficacy

D) Self-elevation

 

 

 

 

 

 

51) Joseph wishes to increase the operational efficiency of his new startup. What should Joseph do?

A) Joseph should use integrated data stored in his firm's central database to analyze its day-to-day activities.

B) Joseph should avoid analyzing his firm's distribution systems as they do not play a role in its daily activities.

C) If Joseph plans to support formally defined and documented activities in his firm, he should use a dynamic planning system over a structured planning system.

D) If Joseph plans to include less specific and fluid activities in his firm, he should use a structured planning system over a dynamic planning system.

 

 

 

 

 

52) Carla, a restaurateur who is new to the field, meets a veteran chef and restaurateur, Giovanni. Carla wishes to analyze the purchasing pattern of her customer base. Which of the following is most likely to be a piece of sound advice that Giovanni would offer Carla?

A) Carla should use her restaurant's distributed systems to know more about her customers' buying patterns.

B) Carla should avoid using the restaurant's integrated system to analyze her customers' purchasing patterns.

C) Carla should support strategic and less structured managerial decisions to ensure that standardization occurs.

D) Carla should support less specific and fluid managerial decisions to ensure that standardization occurs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7.3   Essay Questions

 

1) Define structured processes and list their characteristics.

 

 

 

 

2) Define dynamic processes and list their characteristics.

 

 

 

3) Define workgroup processes, enterprise processes, and inter-enterprise processes.

 

 

 

 

4) Define enterprise information systems and describe its characteristics.

 

 

 

 

5) Describe inter-enterprise information systems.

 

 

 

 

6) What are the two dimensions of process quality? How can organizations improve process quality? How do information systems improve process quality?

 

 

 

 

7) List the problems associated with information silos.

 

 

 

 

 

8) What is the fundamental problem of information silos? How can this problem be remedied?

 

 

 

 

9) What are the four phases of the customer life cycle? Briefly describe each phase.

 

 

 

10) Define ERP. What is the primary purpose of an ERP system?

 

 

 

 

 

11) List the functions of enterprise application integration (EAI).

 

 

 

12) Explain the nature of the database component of an ERP solution.

 

 

 

13) Describe the two categories of ERP training.

 

 

 

14) What are the four challenges of implementing new enterprise systems?

 

 

 

 

 

15) How should organizations manage employee resistance to change, in the context of new enterprise systems?