Deck 2: Information Systems for Competitive Advantage

Question 1

According to Porter, a firm achieves competitive advantage by:

A)creating a margin.
B)creating a value chain.
C)creating a value system.
D)creating value activities.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which dimension of competitive advantage uses cookies to store information about a user's transactions?

A)middle
B)tactical
C)operational
D)strategic

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which of the following is not an advantage of coordination for the MNC?

A)increased operating costs
B)keeping abreast of market needs worldwide
C)flexibility
D)increased efficiency and effectiveness

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which of the following is not part of a firm's supply chain?

A)stockholders
B)firm
C)suppliers
D)customers

Question 5

The following are just some of the constraints that GIS developers must address except for:

A)restrictions on data processing.
B)restrictions on hardware purchases and imports.
C)restrictions on graphics and icons.
D)restrictions on data communications.

Question 6

When a firm links its value chain to the value chains of other organizations the linkage creates a(n):

A)open- loop system.
B)cross functional system.
C)interorganizational system.
D)value system.

Question 7

The general systems model of a firm has the following resource flows except for:

A)virtual resource flow.
B)geographic resource flow.
C)physical resource flow.
D)firm's control mechanism.

Question 8

Which environmental element invests money in the firm?

A)customers
B)financial community
C)government
D)stockholders

Question 9

Which of the following are not environmental elements of all firms?

A)labor unions
B)materials
C)suppliers
D)customers

Question 10

The network that uses information to create competitive advantage is called a:

A)network chain.
B)value network.
C)value system.
D)value chain.

Question 11

What is the only resource that connects the firm with all of the environmental elements?

A)information
B)machines
C)money
D)material

Question 12

What type of resource includes computer hardware and software, information specialists, and users?

A)conceptual resources
B)information management
C)physical resources
D)information resources

Question 13

A firm that operates across products, markets, nations, and cultures is referred to as a(n):

A)strategic corporation.
B)multinational corporation.
C)global corporation.
D)enterprise.

Question 14

Which of the following is a virtual resource of the firm?

A)personnel
B)information
C)money
D)material

Question 15

The firm's information resources consist of the following except for:

A)information specialists.
B)suppliers.
C)software.
D)hardware.

Question 16

When information presents a complete picture of a problem, which dimension of information is in use?

A)relevancy
B)completeness
C)timeliness
D)accuracy

Question 17

Which environmental element provides skilled and unskilled workers for certain trades and industries?

A)human resources
B)labor unions
C)personnel
D)global community

Question 18

The term to describe the use of information to gain leverage in the marketplace is:

A)strategic advantage.
B)strategic objective.
C)competitive objective.
D)competitive advantage.

Question 19

Which of the following is/are not a primary value activity?

A)outbound logistics
B)inbound logistics
C)technology development
D)marketing and sales operations

Question 20

The following are environmental elements except:

A)government.
B)competitors.
C)suppliers.
D)employees.

Question 21

Which of the following is not one of the four basic dimensions of information?

A)efficiency
B)accuracy
C)relevancy
D)timeliness

Question 22

These products and services are marketed to the firm's _.

Question 23

Browsers often have , small files of information on the user's computer, that can store account numbers, passwords, and other information pertinent to the user's transactions.

Question 24

are organizations and individuals that exist outside the firm and that have a direct or indirect influence on it.

Question 25

is the movement of machine- readable data across national boundaries.

Question 26

Which of the following is not included in a SPIR?

A)itemized budget
B)goals of the information services unit
C)summarized work plan
D)executive summary

Question 27

In the information field, refers to the use of information to gain leverage in the marketplace.

Question 28

Which activity is defined as acquiring information, using it in the most effective way, and discarding it at the proper time?

A)operational management
B)knowledge management
C)tactical management
D)strategic management

Question 29

suggests that harm can come from having too much information.

Question 30

Which of the following is/are a support activity?

A)service activities
B)logistics
C)human resources management
D)marketing and sales operations

Question 31

Which environmental resource flow occurs more frequently than the others?

A)money flow from the government
B)material flow to suppliers
C)personnel flow to competitors
D)machine flow from suppliers

Question 32

Which environmental resource flow occurs less frequently than the others?

A)money flow to stockholders
B)material flow to customers
C)information flow from customers
D)money flow from the government

Question 33

A _ is one that has a fundamental effect in shaping the firm's operations.

Question 34

At which managerial level can managers specify how the strategic plans will be implemented?

A)strategic
B)middle
C)operational
D)tactical

Question 35

Which of the following is not a physical resource of the firm?

A)personnel
B)material
C)money
D)data

Question 36

When information pertains to the problem at hand, which dimension of information is in use?

A)timeliness
B)relevancy
C)completeness
D)accuracy

Question 37

A firm achieves a when it implements a strategy in a better way than its competitors.

Question 38

is the process of organizing a firm's information so that it can easily be captured, stored, processed, and used by decision makers.

Question 39

The firm is connected to its environmental elements by .

Question 40

Which of the following is concerned with obtaining such resources as materials and machines, which are used by primary activities?

A)service activities
B)operations
C)procurement
D)marketing and sales operations

Question 41

Technology development supports but does influence the primary activities of the firm.

Question 42

Knowledge management is the process of organizing a firm's information so that it can easily be captured, stored, processed, and used by decision makers.

Question 43

M is the value of the firm's products and services minus their costs, as perceived by the firm's customers.

Question 44

Legacy systems are incompatible or only partially compatible with current information technology.

Question 45

The physical resources of the firm include personnel, material, machines, and money.

Question 46

Firms create value by performing what Porter calls .

Question 47

In a larger system, the environmental elements are referred to as society.

Question 48

Information has relevancy when it pertains to the problem at hand.

Question 49

Management is guided in its decision making by the firm's physical resource flow.

Question 50

A tactical advantage is one that has a fundamental effect in shaping the firm's operations.

Question 51

When a firm's executives are fully committed to strategic planning, they do not need each business area to develop its own strategic plan.

Question 52

Cookies are small files of information on the firm's computers that store customer information.

Question 53

The physical resources of the firm are used to produce the products and services the firm provides to its customers.

Question 54

A multinational corporation is a firm that operates across products, markets, nations, and cultures.

Question 55

The information resources necessary to meet the objectives are one topic that should be included in each SPIR.

Question 56

supply the materials, machines, services, people, and information that the firm uses to produce its products or services.

Question 57

Coordinating information processing in the MNC causes the overall costs of operation to increase.

Question 58

The CIO is the manager of information services who contributes managerial skills to solving problems relating not only to the information resources but also to other areas of the firm's operations.

Question 59

An _ is one that deals with everyday transactions and processes.

Question 60

The leading proponent of competitive advantage is .

Question 61

Strategic planning for information resources is the concurrent development of strategic plans for information services and the firm so that the firm's plan reflects the support to be provided by information services.

Question 62

Operational advantage is one that deals with everyday transactions and processes.

Question 63

Tactical advantage is achieved when a firm implements a strategy in a better way than its competitors.

Question 64

Explain Porter's strategy for firms attempting to gain a competitive advantage.

Question 65

What are the advantages that accrue to the MNC because of good information processing capabilities and the ability to coordinate?

Question 66

The only resource that connects the firm with all of the environmental elements is information.

Question 67

Communication overload suggests that harm can come from too much information.

Question 68

Firms create value by performing value activities.

Question 69

A strategic advantage is one that has a fundamental effect in shaping the firm's products.

Question 70

The firm's business partners work together to create synergy.

Question 71

A global information system is an information system that consists of networks that do not cross national boundaries.

Question 72

Explain the four basic dimensions of information.

Question 73

The most publicized data communications restriction is that put on transborder data flows.

Question 74

What advice should a CIO take so he/she can position information services as a vital element to the firm?

Question 75

The CIO can position information services as a vital element in the organizational structure of the firm by focusing on keeping business processes as they are.

Question 76

Competitive advantage refers to the use of data to gain leverage over the competitors.

Question 77

What are the two core topics that should be included in every strategic plan for information resources?

Question 78

The firm exists for the purpose of making a profit.

Question 79

Interaction with technology can vary greatly among cultures.

Question 80

The feedback loop is composed of the physical resources.