Utah State University

ACCT 61

Chapter 11-Enterprise Resource Planning Systems

TRUE/FALSE

1)The primary goal of installing an ERP system is reducing system maintenance costs.

 

 

 

2. The recommended data architecture for an ERP includes separate operational and data warehouse databases.

 

 

 

3. A closed database architecture shares data easily.

 

 

 

4. ERP systems support a smooth and seamless flow of information across organizations.

 

 

 

5. OLAP stands for on-line application processing.

 

 

 

6. The primary goal of installing an ERP system is achieving business process reengineering to improve customer service, reduce production time, increase productivity, and improve decision-making.

 

 

 

7. Day-to-day transactions are stored in the operational database.

 

 

 

8. Data mining typically focuses on the operational databases.

 

 

 

9. Companies are more likely to modify an ERP to accommodate the company than to modify company processes to accommodate the ERP.

 

 

 

10. If a chosen ERP cannot handle a specific company process bolt-on software may be available.

 

 

 

11. Core applications are also called OLAP.

12. The client/server model is a form of network technology in which user computers, called clients, access ERP programs and data via a host computer called a server.

 

 

 

13. A data warehouse is a relational or multi-dimensional database that may require hundreds of gigabytes of storage.

 

 

 

14. Drill-down capability is an OLAP feature of data mining tools.

 

 

 

15. Supply-chain management software is a type of program that supports efforts relative to moving goods from the raw material stage to the customer.

 

 

 

16. In two-tier architecture, the database and application functions are separated.

 

 

 

17. Slicing and dicing permits the disaggregation of data to reveal underlying details.

 

 

 

18. Data entered into the data warehouse must be normalized.

 

 

 

19. OLAP includes decision support, modeling, information retrieval, and what-if analysis.

 

 

 

20. Efficient supply-chain management provides firms with a competitive advantage.

 

 

 

21. The big-bang approach involves converting from old legacy systems to the new ERP in one implementation step.

 

 

 

22. In a two-tier architecture approach is used primarily for wide area network (WAN) applications.

 

 

 

23. Data cleansing is a step performed by external auditors to identify and repairing invalid data prior to the audit.

 

 

MULTIPLE CHOICE

 

1. Goals of ERP include all of the following except

a.	improved customer service
b.	improvements of legacy systems
c.	reduced production time
d.	increased production

 

 

2. Core applications are

a.	sales and distribution
b.	business planning
c.	shop floor control and logistics
d.	all of the above

 

 

3. Data warehousing processes does not include

a.	modeling data
b.	condensing data
c.	extracting data
d.	transforming data

 

 

4. Which of the following is usually not part of an ERP’s core applications?

a.	OLTP applications
b.	sales and distribution applications
c.	business planning applications
d.	OLAP applications

 

 

5. Which of the following is usually not part of an ERP’s OLAP applications?

a.	logistics
b.	decision support systems
c.	ad hoc analysis
d.	what-if analysis

 

 

6. Which of the following statements is least likely to be true about a data warehouse?

a.	It is constructed for quick searching and ad hoc queries.
b.	It was an original part of all ERP systems.
c.	It contains data that are normally extracted periodically from the operating databases.
d.	It may be deployed by organizations that have not implemented an ERP.

 

 

7. Which of the following statements is not true?

a.	In a typical two-tier client server system, the server handles both application and database duties.
b.	Client computers are responsible for presenting data to the user and passing user input back to the server.
c.	In three-tier client server architecture, one tier is for user presentations, one is for database

	and applications, and the third is for Internet access.
d.	The database and application functions are separate in the three-tier model.

 

 

 

8. Which statements about data warehousing is not correct?

a.	The data warehouse should be separate from the operational system.
b.	Data cleansing is a process of transforming data into standard form.
c.	Drill-down is a data-mining tool available to users of OLAP.
d.	Normalization is an requirement of databases included in a data warehouse.

 

 

9. Which statement about ERP installation is least accurate?

a.	For the ERP to be successful, process reengineering must occur.
b.	ERP fails because some important business process is not supported.
c.	When a business is diversified, little is gained from ERP installation.
d.	The phased-in approach is more suited to diversified businesses.

 

 

10. Which statement is true?

a.	ERPs are infinitely scalable.
b.	Performance problems usually stem from technical problems, not business process reengineering.
c.	The better ERP can handle any problems an organization can have.
d.	ERP systems can be modified using bolt-on software.

 

 

11. Auditors of ERP systems

a.	need not worry about segregation of duties.
b.	may feel that the data warehouse is too clean and free from errors.
c.	find independent verification easy.
d.	need not worry about system access since the ERP determines it.

 

 

12. Legacy systems are

a.	old manual systems that are still in place.
b.	flat file mainframe systems developed before client-server computing became standard.
c.	stable database systems after debugging.
d.	advanced systems without a data warehouse.

 

 

13. A data mart is

a.	another name for a data warehouse.
b.	a database that provides data to an organization’s customers.
c.	an enterprise resource planning system.
d.	a data warehouse created for a single function or department.

 

 

14. Most ERPs are based on which network model?

a.	peer to peer

b.	client-server
c.	ring topology
d.	bus topology

 

 

 

15. On-line transaction processing programs

a.	are bolt-on programs used with commercially available ERSs.
b.	are available in two models–two-tier and three-tier.
c.	handle large numbers of relatively simple transactions.
d.	allow users to analyze complex data relationships.

 

 

16. Supply chain management software

a.	is typically under the control of external partners in the chain.
b.	links all of the partners in the chain, including vendors, carriers, third-party firms, and information systems providers.
c.	cannot be integrated into an overall ERP.
d.	none of the above

 

 

17. The setup of a data warehouse includes

a.	modeling the data
b.	extracting data from operational databases
c.	cleansing the data
d.	all of the above

 

 

18. Extracting data for a data warehouse

a.	cannot be done from flat files.
b.	should only involve active files.
c.	requires that the files be out of service.
d.	follows the cleansing of data.

 

 

19. Data cleansing involves all of the following except

a.	filtering out or repairing invalid data
b.	summarizing data for ease of extraction
c.	transforming data into standard business terms
d.	formatting data from legacy systems

 

 

20. Separating the data warehouse from the operations databases occurs for all of the following reasons except

a.	to make the management of the databases more economical
b.	to increase the efficiency of data mining processes
c.	to integrate legacy system data into a form that permits entity-wide analysis
d.	to permit the integration of data from diverse sources

 

SHORT ANSWER

1. Define ERP.

 

2. Define the term “core applications” and give some examples.

 

 

 

3. Define OLAP and give some examples.

 

 

4. What is “bolt-on” software?

 

 

5. What is SCM software?

 

 

6. What is a data warehouse?

 

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7. What is the “Big-Bang” approach?

 

 

8. Describe the two-tier client server model.

 

 

9. What is the client-server model?

 

 

10. What is scalability?

 

 

11. What is data mining?

 

 

12. Why do ERP systems need bolt-on software? Give an example.

 

 

13. How can a firm acquire bolt-on software? What are the options?

 

 

14. Why does data need to be “cleansed”?

 

 

15. What are the basic stages of the data warehousing process?

 

 

16. Describe the three-tier client server model.

 

 

17. Why must a data warehouse include both detail and summary data?

 

 

 

18. How does a data warehouse help the external auditor perform the audit?

 

 

19. What is the closed database architecture?

 

20. What is meant by the OLAP term - consolidation

 

 

21. What is meant by the OLAP term - Drill-down?

 

22. What is meant by the OLAP term - Slicing and dicing?

 

 

ESSAY

 

1. How are OLTP and OLAP different? Give examples of their use.

 

 

 

2. Why does the data warehouse need to be separate from the operational databases?

 

 

3. If an auditor suspected an “unusual” relationship between a purchasing agent and certain suppliers, how could “drill-down” be used to collect data?

 

 

4. Why must an organization expect the implementation of an ERP to disrupt operations?

 

 

5. Scalability has several dimensions. What are they? What do they mean for ERP installation?

 

 

6. Distinguish between the two-tier and three-tier client server model. Describe when each would be used?