Exam 21: Bonus A: Using Technology to Manage Information

In order for information to be useful to managers,it must satisfy only two criteria: it must be timely,and it must be easy to manipulate.

____________ are raw,unanalyzed,and unorganized facts and figures.

Telecommuting is popular with workers,but it is costly for businesses.

A(n)_________ is a semiprivate network that uses Internet technology to enable more than one company to access the same information or to allow people on different servers to collaborate.

Major retail firms such as Wal-Mart have used data mining to customize the product offerings for each store.

Your company uses a network computing system.In many respects this system works well,but the high cost and hassle of installing,maintaining,and upgrading software on all of the computers on the network is becoming a major concern.Your boss has asked you for advice.Identify and describe an approach you would suggest to your boss to deal with this issue.

Information is data that has been processed and organized so that it can be used for managerial decision-making.

A computer virus is a piece of programming code that is inserted into other programming code with the intention of causing some unexpected,and usually undesirable,event for the user of the software.

Even high-tech companies that specialize in computer-related products and services often outsource technology training.

The current trend in business is to move from networked computer systems toward more centralized information management systems that rely on powerful mainframe computers.

Network computing systems are also known as:

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." -When Cy first came to work for Qwikbilt,the application of business technology was called:

Public domain software is software that is free for the taking.

In today's technological environment,the typical chief information officer (CIO)spends the majority of his or her time overcoming glitches and making sure the organization's information system is up and running.

Data from RFID devices,miniature cameras,and wireless access used to understand where people or items are located is called:

RFID devices collect biological data.

Interactive intranet applications can save money and increase revenue by reducing paper handling and enabling faster decision-making.

Firms that create interactive applications for their intranets generally enjoy a higher rate of return than firms that simply publish information on their intranets.

The Critical Infrastructure Protection Board was established after the terrorist attacks of September 11,2001 as part of the Office of Homeland Security.

Jamie Mueller has just begun working for Quotech,Inc.Her job requires her to perform a variety of bookkeeping and clerical tasks at a workstation.Quotech has training software on its workstations that can answer many of the questions Jamie has about what to do on her new job,and how to do it.The software is so good that she seldom has to ask her supervisor for help.It even tracks the way Jamie performs certain tasks,and offers suggestions to improve her productivity.This software is an example of: