Deck 5: Decision Support Systems

Question 1

Which of the following is NOT a useful means of assessing the accuracy of secondary data?

A) The cost of the data.
B) The source of the data.
C) The sponsor of the research.
D) The data collection methods.
E) The presentation of the data.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which of the following is TRUE?

A) Secondary data is always available.
B) You should only resort to secondary data if primary data is unavailable.
C) Primary data collection saves time and money.
D) Some types of marketing research rely almost exclusively on secondary data.
E) Any needed secondary data can be found on the internet.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Once a problem has been carefully defined, research projects should begin with:

A) A careful search for a marketing research agency.
B) A comprehensive primary data collection effort.
C) A careful search for existing secondary data.
D) All of the above are correct.
E) None of the above are correct.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The systems approach to marketing research is most accurately compared to a:

A) Flashbulb.
B) Candle.
C) Strobe light.
D) Lantern.
E) Flame.

Question 5

Putting systems in place that provide marketing research data on an ongoing basis is called:

A) The project approach.
B) The systems approach.
C) The automated approach.
D) The repetitive approach.
E) The scientific approach.

Question 6

Which of the following statements are TRUE about the problems that commonly arise with secondary data?

A) They are never available when you need it.
B) They do not completely fit the problem.
C) They are too expensive to collect.
D) They are not totally accurate.
E) Both B and D.

Question 7

Which of the following is a general rule of marketing research data sources?

A) Secondary data should only be used when it is impossible to collect primary data.
B) Primary data should always be collected.
C) Look for secondary prior to collecting primary data.
D) Primary AND secondary data should always be used.
E) None of these statements are true.

Question 8

Which of the following is an example of secondary data?

A) An online survey to gather demographic information on product purchasers
B) Existing data compiled from product warranty registration cards
C) Published industry statistics
D) All of the above are types of secondary data
E) Only B and C are secondary data

Question 9

Which of the following is NOT an example of internal secondary data?

A) Customer inquiries
B) Customer complaints
C) U.S. Department of Commerce reports
D) Sales invoices
E) Product registration card data

Question 10

A big advantage of the Systems approach over the Project approach is:

A) Current information is available when managers need it.
B) Systems automatically gather all needed information.
C) The Systems approach requires no special software or programming.
D) The Project approach yields less accurate data.
E) The Systems approach better anticipates future informational needs.

Question 11

With secondary data, who incurs the expense of collecting it?

A) The user of the secondary data
B) The government
C) No one - secondary data by definition is always free.
D) Taxpayers.
E) The original compiler of the information.

Question 12

Poor fit of secondary data is usually due to which of the following problems?

A) Different units of measurement.
B) Different class definitions.
C) Age of the data.
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.

Question 13

Research that has been collected in such a way that the results will support a particular position is often referred to as research.

A) Sponsored
B) Biased
C) Advocacy
D) Persuasive
E) Supporting

Question 14

A big disadvantage of the Systems approach is:

A) It takes managers a long time to get data.
B) Managers are limited to the information that is available in the database.
C) The databases lack historical information.
D) Collection of data is a manual, time-consuming process.
E) All of the above are true.

Question 15

A key distinction of a Marketing Information System (MIS) is that:

A) The information is accurate.
B) It can only be used by marketing managers.
C) Information is collected on a regular basis.
D) It does not involve focused reports
E) The information is used in making marketing decisions

Question 16

Which of the following are ways to judge the accuracy of secondary data?

A) Consider the source of the data
B) Look at the sponsor of the research that yielded the secondary data
C) Look for evidence that the research was done properly
D) All of the above are correct
E) Only B and C are correct.

Question 17

Secondary data can exist:

A) Inside the organization only.
B) Outside the organization only.
C) Inside or outside the organization.
D) From government agencies only, such as the Census Bureau.
E) None of the above are correct.

Question 18

The challenge of having a Marketing Information System (MIS) be effective is:

A) To train managers on its use.
B) To justify the cost of the system.
C) To protect the data in the system from hackers.
D) To get accurate reports from the system.
E) To identify in advance the data that managers will need to ensure it gets in to the system.

Question 19

Marketing Information Systems (MIS) produce______________reports based on data held in an organization's database(s).

A) Regular, customized
B) Regular, standardized
C) Random, customized
D) Random, standardized
E) None of the above are correct

Question 20

Sales and cost data are promising internal secondary data for many research problems. In B2B contexts, the is a gold mine of information.

A) Sales invoice
B) Packing slip
C) Inventory report
D) General ledger
E) Accounts Payable report

Question 21

While reviewing the customer database, the manager of Arthur's Auto Center has a preconceived idea of how the database works and is able to see the interesting and worthwhile applications of the data. Such an idea is called a(n):

A) Hypothesis
B) Model
C) Manipulation
D) Procedure
E) System

Question 22

All of the following terms are associated with the dialog system EXCEPT:

A) Modeling system
B) Data mining
C) Parallel processing
D) Language system
E) All of the terms above are associated with the dialog system

Question 23

Which of the following is NOT one of the modules of a typical Decision Support System (DSS)?

A) Customer information
B) General economic and demographic information
C) Employee information
D) Competitor information
E) Industry information

Question 24

Data should only be added to a Decision Support System (DSS) database if they:

A) Do not violate privacy protection.
B) Are relevant marketing data.
C) Can be put into a truly accessible form.
D) All of the above are reasons to add data to a DSS database.
E) Only B and C are reasons to add data to a DSS database.

Question 25

Data systems most commonly hold information relating to:

A) Existing customers.
B) Prospective customers.
C) Competitors.
D) Suppliers.
E) All of the above may be held in a data system

Question 26

A firm might be expected to initiate a specific research project to supplement the DSS in which of the following situations?

A) Information is needed on projected inflation rates over the next five years.
B) Information is needed on initial consumer response to the introduction of a new product.
C) Information is needed to evaluate the past performance of one of the company's wholesale distributors.
D) Information is needed to determine next year's goals for the company sales force.
E) Information is needed to forecast demographic needs.

Question 27

Which of the following is an example of using the modeling system of a DSS?

A) To enable brand managers to make better marketing mix decisions.
B) To help bankers make stronger credit decisions.
C) To guide managers when they make new product development decisions.
D) To assess alternative marketing plans for motion pictures before they are released.
E) All of the above are valid examples.

Question 28

Many firms have the position of CIO on their organization charts. The primary role of the person filling this position______________is to:

A) Assist the Vice President of Marketing
B) Concentrate on the technical aspects of programming within the DSS.
C) Gather relevant data for the DSS data base.
D) Serve as the liaison between the marketing department and other departments such as finance, production and accounting
E) Run the company's information and computer systems like a business

Question 29

The data system for a Decisions Support System (DSS) would hold data from:

A) A standard source in a standard form.
B) A standard source in a variety of forms.
C) A variety of sources in a standard form.
D) A variety of sources in a variety of forms.
E) None of the above.

Question 30

The component of a Decision Support System that allows users to manipulate the data and conduct analysis is known as the:

A) Data system.
B) Model system.
C) Dialog system.
D) Information system.
E) Research system.

Question 31

A marketing______________is one way of visually presenting relevant marketing information to a manager.

A) guide
B) book
C) control panel
D) dashboard
E) display

Question 32

The element of a Decision Support System (DSS) that clearly separates it from a Marketing Information System (MIS) is its:

A) Data system
B) Model system
C) Dialog system
D) Security system
E) Backup system

Question 33

The set of procedures and methods for the regular planned collection, analysis and presentation of information for use in making marketing decisions. This describes:

A) Decision Support Systems
B) Marketing Information Systems
C) Research projects
D) Verbal presentations
E) Written presentations

Question 34

A concern about the expanding number of commercial databases and corporate information systems is the issue of:

A) Privacy
B) Accuracy
C) Cost
D) Access
E) Compatibility

Question 35

What is the primary difference between a Marketing Information System (MIS) and a Decisions Support System (DSS)?

A) Ease of use.
B) Cost of implementation.
C) A DSS uses software that allows managers to more fully utilize available information to assist in making decisions.
D) The ability to produce standardized reports.
E) Access to information in a corporate database.

Question 36

Which executive is typically in charge of information to ensure that it is used in support of strategic thinking?

A) CEO
B) COO
C) CFO
D) CIO
E) CMO

Question 37

Which of the following components is part of a Decision Support System (DSS)?

A) Data System
B) Model System
C) Dialog System
D) All of the above are components of a DSS
E) Only A and B are part of a DSS

Question 38

The primary purpose of dialog systems is to allow the marketing manager to:

A) Write programs to control the flow of information between various modules in the DSS.
B) Communicate via electronic mail with her sales team.
C) Interact with the DSS to target and manipulate relevant information contained in the DSS data base.
D) Collect data from primary sources and add it to the data base.
E) Collect data from secondary sources and add it to the data base.

Question 39

What system relies most on the production of preformatted reports?

A) Decision Support Systems
B) Marketing Information System
C) Research project
D) Intelligence gathering system
E) Marketing analysis system

Question 40

One of the most important uses of a Decision Support System (DSS) in marketing is:

A) Accounts Receivable Visualization
B) Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
C) Revenue Automation
D) Marketing Information Systems (MIS)
E) Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Question 41

Knowledge that resides inside employees' heads is often referred to as______________knowledge.

Question 42

Primary data make up most of the data included in the systems approach to marketing research.

Question 43

Compare and contrast DSS and MIS.

Question 44

There are two basic ways marketing research can gather marketing intelligence.

Question 45

Effective MIS or DSS systems are often difficult to implement for which of the following reasons?

A) People tend to resist change.
B) Decision makers don't want to tell others what factors they use.
C) Decision makers don't want to share how they combine factors to make decisions.
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.

Question 46

Sales and cost data compiled in the normal accounting cycle represent a promising source of external secondary data.

Question 47

Knowledge management is an effort to randomly collect organizational knowledge and make it accessible to others.

Question 48

One of the easiest tasks when designing and implementing a Marketing Information System (MIS) is to identify in advance the data that managers will need so you can get it into the system.

Question 49

The CIO serves as liaison between the firm's top management and its information systems department.

Question 50

Discuss at least four common reasons that have restricted the adoption of a MIS.

Question 51

The most significant advantages of______________data is the time and money they can save.

Question 52

The common problem with secondary data is that it is sometimes difficult (or impossible) to judge their
________________.

Question 53

When using secondary data, the task of assessing accuracy is more difficult.

Question 54

A big advantage of the systems approach over the project approach is current information needed for normal operations is available when managers need it.

Question 55

Looking for evidence that the research was done properly is a way to gauge the accuracy of secondary data.

Question 56

One of the most important uses of a Decision Support System in marketing is______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ relationship management.