Deck 6: Executive Information Systems

Question 1

An EIS is a special type of DSS designed to facilitate the analysis of information to support strategic decision-making.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

An EIS is designed to support the CEO of a firm

Answer 2

True

Question 3

An EIS is a unique DSS designed exclusively to analyze the operations of a firm.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

An EIS can be designed and built quickly because it only deals with summarized information.

Question 5

A sales report showing revenue against forecast targets along with projections for the next two quarters is an example of an EIS output.

Question 6

The ability to perform drill down analysis is an important feature of an EIS.

Question 7

A well designed EIS will replace the need for MIS applications

Question 8

A well designed EIS replaces the need for all other DSSs within an organization

Question 9

Executives spend more time on disturbance management than organizational staffing.

Question 10

The majority of executive time is spent in some form of disturbance management activity.

Question 11

The total study method, critical success factor method or key indicator method could be used to define an EIS

Question 12

An EIS normally requires unique hardware configurations, making them expensive to build.

Question 13

An EIS normally requires unique software components.

Question 14

An organization that does not wish to build their own EIS can purchase one "off-the-shelf".

Question 15

In the structural perspective of the EIS development framework, the focus is on people and data as they relate to the EIS.

Question 16

The structural perspective of the EIS development framework builds upon the elements and their relationships contained within the structural model and adds a time dimension to the framework. In this component, the various activities and sequences of events are delineated and actual project management issues relating to time, critical path, and milestones are established.

Question 17

The dialog system of an EIS contains an action language where the user is directed in how to use the system, and learns where the various commands and elements of manipulation are contained and processed.

Question 18

The knowledge base in an EIS is the sum of what the executive knows about using the system and all of the support mechanisms designed to assist in its use.

Question 19

Two organizational limitations of an EIS are time bias and loss of managerial synchronization.

Question 20

The development framework of an EIS is used to establish development guidelines.

Question 21

Which of the following is a computer-based system intended to facilitate and support the information and decision-making needs of senior executives by providing easy access to both internal and external information relevant to meeting stated goals of the organization?

A) EIS
B) ES
C) DSS
D) Data Warehouse

Question 22

Which of the following is a characteristic of an EIS?

A) Tailored to individual executives
B) Can present information in multiple formats
C) Provides tools to extract, filter and track critical information
D) All of the above.

Question 23

Which of the following is an activity performed by managers?

A) Staffing
B) Directing
C) Organizing
D) All of the above.

Question 24

Which of the following is not a common characteristic of executives?

A) They are future-oriented and focus on strategic activities.
B) They have narrow spans of control.
C) They are responsible for establishing policies.
D) They are concerned with internal and external issues.

Question 25

Which of the following is not a method for determining executive information needs?

A) Null method
B) Normal method
C) By-product method
D) Total study method

Question 26

Which method for determining executive needs primarily uses traditional TPS and MIS applications as it source of information?

A) Null method
B) Normal method
C) By-product method
D) Total study method

Question 27

Which method for determining executive needs could best be described by the phrase management by walking around?

A) Null method
B) Normal method
C) By-product method
D) Total study method

Question 28

Which method for determining executive needs gathers information from a sample of top-level executives concerning the totality of information needs?

A) Null method
B) Normal method
C) By-product method
D) Total study method

Question 29

Which method for determining executive needs is the most comprehensive?

A) Normal method
B) Key indicators method
C) Case study method
D) Critical success factors method

Question 30

The _______________ method for determining executive information needs is based on three basic notions: 1) The health of an organization can be determined by comparison to a set of key financial indicators; 2) organizations can be managed based on exception reporting where only those areas operating outside of a preestablished set of norms are of interest; 3) and technology is available to allow for flexible display of key indicator information in graphical form.

A) key indicator
B) critical success factor
C) normal
D) by-product

Question 31

Using an EIS to explore the underlying data used to compile the current ratio would be an example of which of the following activities?

A) Compilation
B) Aggregation
C) Drill down analysis
D) None of the above.

Question 32

When something unexpected occurs, particularly something that could materially and negatively impact the financial health of the organization, the immediate attention of executives and the deployment of resources are usually warranted. Executive activity during these periods is called:

A) entrepreneurial.
B) disturbance management.
C) resource allocation.
D) negotiation.

Question 33

Which of the following is not a component of an EIS development framework?

A) Structural perspective
B) Intelligent knowledge base
C) User-system dialog
D) None of the above.

Question 34

Which of the following would not be considered a benefit of a client/server environment?

A) Reduction of investment costs in new computer hardware
B) Establishment of a more flexible and responsive platform
C) Increased control over locally stored data
D) Multiple views of geographically dispersed data

Question 35

The ____________ portion of the EIS development framework builds upon the elements and their relationships contained within the structural model and adds a time dimension to the framework. In this component, the various activities and sequences of events are delineated and actual project management issues relating to time, critical path, and milestones are established.

A) structural
B) development process
C) dialog system
D) knowledge base

Question 36

The _______________ portion of an EIS contains an action language where the user is directed in how to use the system, and learns where the various commands and elements of manipulation are contained and processed. The action language element can be thought of as the incoming communication channel from the executive to the EIS.

A) structural
B) development process
C) dialog system
D) knowledge base

Question 37

The _________________ portion of an EIS is the sum of what the executive knows about using the system and all of the support mechanisms designed to assist in its use.

A) structural
B) development process
C) dialog system
D) knowledge base

Question 38

_______________ activities fall under the general heading of strategic planning tasks. Executives spent a significant portion of their time focusing on the selection, design, and implementation of improvements and projects intended to improve performance and initiate controlled change within the organization.

A) Entrepreneurial
B) Disturbance management
C) Resource allocation
D) Negotiation

Question 39

Managers at various levels are given authority to manage and deploy assets from a predetermined allocation and based upon a control mechanism such as a budget or operational plan. The authority to deploy those assets and the various behind the scenes activities to obtain them normally performed by top executives is associated with which of the following activities?

A) Entrepreneurial
B) Disturbance management
C) Resource allocation
D) Negotiation

Question 40

Executives are charged with the responsibility of representing the organization in both internal and external disputes. Typically, this role involves the resolution of disputes and conflicts and, thus, involves a significant amount of negotiation among the parties. This type of activity is called:

A) entrepreneurial.
B) disturbance management.
C) resource allocation.
D) negotiation.

Question 41

List the characteristics of an Executive Information System.

Question 42

List the Common Characteristics of Executives.