Exam 21: Bonus A: Using Technology to Manage Information

The Edutext Company has adopted a system that allows its employees to use Windows-based applications.Each user has a machine that resembles a desktop PC.However,these desktop machines lack the processing power to perform all the tasks themselves,so they are connected to a server that stores the programs and data and provides the actual processing power.Edutext is using a system known as a(n):

Which of the following individuals would be most excited by an announcement that their firm is switching to a thin-client network?

What are the four characteristics of useful information?

Shareware is software that allows two or more workers to share the same computer by logging on under different names.

The first step a manager should take to cope with information overload is to:

One of the most revolutionary effects of computer networks is that they give employees the ability to do much of their work at home.

The amount of information managers receive each day:

Shareware software is software that is not protected by a copyright.

Manager Minnie Hope is overwhelmed by information overload.Unfortunately,in this day of the Internet,cell phones,and instant messaging,there is little she can do to control this problem.

A firm would consider establishing a virtual private network if it wanted to:

Although Tucker Lentz has used a computer for several years,he has never worried about computer viruses.However,a computer-savvy friend recently told him that a new wave of viruses had been reported.Tucker is wondering whether he should pay more attention to this threat,and if so,what he can do to protect his computer.Which of the following represents the best advice for Tucker?

Useful information has three defining characteristics: (1) it is easily accessible, (2) it is efficiently organized, and (3) it is simple to manipulate.

Mini-Case Cy Burspace first began working for Qwikbilt Enterprises in the mid 1970s as a business technology specialist.Today,he is the department head for the company's information systems department.Cy is well known and respected by everyone in the company,and his coworkers recently threw a party to honor his 30^th year with Qwikbilt.Cy did a lot of reminiscing at the party,telling the newer employees how things were done in the "old days," and comparing them to newer methods. "I'm still amazed at how things have changed.When I first came to Qwikbilt,we had a central computer to handle everything.It took up a whole room,but all it really did was generate financial reports for management," said Cy."Today,most employees have their own personal computer,and all these PCs are hooked up to a network.All of this connectivity has led to big improvements in our operations.For example,if a production worker wants to find out how many units of a particular component we have in inventory,or wants the name and address of a particular supplier who sells us that component,he or she can get the information in the blink of an eye.In fact,we have even given our suppliers and customers access to our network so that we can share information and provide them with better service.That change has really helped us compete against the bigger firms." "Now," Cy continued,"Most of the workers in my department don't even have to be at the office to be connected.We have cellular phones,laptop computers,PDAs with Wi-Fi technology,and pagers so we can do much of our work from home or while we are on the road." A new employee asked Cy if he was ready to retire."No way," he said."I'm in the middle of a major project right now.We're trying to design a single entry point for people to use when logging on to the Qwikbilt network.We want to set it up so that the log on procedure identifies different types of users and automatically gives them access to the types of resources they need.For example,customers who logged on would be allowed to place orders,check on the status of previous orders,and interact with our technical support staff,but would not have access to other,more proprietary parts of our network.We think this approach will be more convenient for everyone.And," he continued,"Once I finish that project,the marketing department has asked me to work on developing better ways to store and analyze the vast amounts of data we collect.So my work is cut out for me for quite a while yet." -Cy's new project to provide a single entry point to his company's network that identifies users and allows them access to the areas of the network they need indicates that he is working on a(n):

Most e-mail messages are automatically encrypted to protect them from being intercepted and read by hackers.

As the result of the terrorist attacks on September 11,2001,managers of most major corporations have become much more willing to give the government extensive access to information about problems with electronic communication such as viruses and attacks by hackers.

Information mainly used for security purposes such as fingerprinting and retinal scans is known as:

Jonathon is a sales rep with a large technology company.He is celebrating today because he just closed a large deal,which means a very large commission.Even the finance department is thrilled because Jonathon used __________ to review the credit history of this customer to be sure the deal would be a profitable one for the company.

Jason Hart was recently informed by his bank that someone illegally broke into the bank's computer system and gained access to information about customer account numbers and ATM access codes.The bank is recommending that Jason and other customers change their account numbers and access numbers for security reasons.The bank and Jason are victims of a:

Software Central is a small new company that allows firms to rent access to a variety of popular business productivity software programs and business services via the Internet.Recent evidence suggests that Software Central is likely to grow rapidly as it finds widespread acceptance for its services.

In the 1970s business technology was known as data processing.