Deck 13: The International Dimension

Question 1

Which of the following statements is true of the impact of globalization on value chains and business processes?

A) International companies are now required to conduct sales and marketing efforts entirely in the parent country.
B) Companies prefer to perform all their processes in-house, as it is more cost-effective than outsourcing.
C) Manufacturing of a product is frequently distributed throughout the world.
D) Increased globalization calls for greater attention to promotional aspects of the marketing mix instead of focusing on the quality of the product.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

An order processing functional system located in the United States operates in English and reflects the practices and culture of the United States. Its manufacturing systems business partner located in Taiwan, operates in Chinese and reflects the business practices and culture of Taiwan. They do not accommodate language, business, or their cultural differences into a single system. From the above scenario, which of the following statements is true about the functional systems?

A) The order processing functional system will eventually be forced to operate in Chinese to reflect the business practices and culture of Taiwan.
B) The use of enterprise systems, such as ERP, would complicate the existing situation and thus increase data isolation.
C) Lack of integration will be extremely disadvantageous to the manufacturing systems unit but not to the order processing unit.
D) The systems can operate independently as long as there is an adequate data interface between them.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Enterprise systems, such as ERP, solve the problems of data isolation by integrating data into a database that provides a comprehensive and organization-wide view. This would require ________.

A) all processes to be located in the same geographical place
B) the company to standardize on a single language
C) backshoring processes to the home country
D) the company to customize its product offerings

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which of the following statements is true of global databases?

A) A single database increases data integrity problems.
B) A single database makes it possible to have an integrated view of the operations of an organization.
C) When using a single database to process data, data transmission speeds are extremely high.
D) The processing of a single database that resides in a single location is referred to as distributed database processing.

Question 5

International organizations have more IS and IT assets, and those assets are exposed to more risk and greater uncertainty.

Question 6

A ________ is a network of organizations and facilities that transforms raw materials into products delivered to customers.

A) legacy system
B) flat organization
C) shell corporation
D) supply chain

Question 7

Which of the following statements is true of a supply chain?

A) All members of the supply chain of a firm must have close geographical proximity.
B) Every supply chain should include suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and customers.
C) Each organization in a chain is connected to just one company up and down the chain.
D) A supply chain includes transportation companies, warehouses, and inventories.

Question 8

When a firm is localizing a computer program, which of the following should it avoid?

A) translating the user interface
B) retaining forms and reports that have labels
C) adjusting the sorting order for different character sets
D) redrawing and translating diagrams

Question 9

A supply chain is a network of organizations and facilities that transforms raw materials into products delivered to customers.

Question 10

Distributed database processing refers to the processing of multiple databases that reside in a single location.

Question 11

The business processes that support the competitive strategies of the multinational companies tend to be simpler and easier to implement, as they are isolated from one another.

Question 12

Unlike business processes, information systems procedures need not reflect local cultural values and norms.

Question 13

The bullwhip effect increases the overall profitability of the supply chain.

Question 14

Which of the following components of an IS is the easiest to adapt to internationalization?

A) hardware
B) user interfaces
C) procedures
D) data

Question 15

The bullwhip effect is a phenomenon in which the variability in the size and timing of orders decreases at each stage of the supply chain.

Question 16

The global economy has intensified rivalry by increasing product and vendor choices and by accelerating the flow of information about price, product, availability, and service.

Question 17

Technical and data safeguards change for international information systems.

Question 18

The process of making a computer program work in a second language is called ________ software.

A) virtualizing
B) collaborative filtering
C) localizing
D) distributing

Question 19

Two locations that are diverse in terms of business practices and language can operate independently if there is an adequate data interface between the information systems used in each location.

Question 20

Distributed database processing refers to the processing of ________.

A) a single database that resides in multiple locations
B) multiple databases that reside in a single location
C) only those databases that contain copies of the same data items
D) only those databases that are divided into nonoverlapping segments

Question 21

How are international processes likely to be developed to overcome the challenges presented by the processes inherent in IS applications?

Question 22

Which of the following best describes the bullwhip effect?

A) the value of a telecommunications network is proportional to the square of the number of users connected to the system
B) the performance improvement to be gained from using some faster mode of execution is limited by the fraction of the time the faster mode can be used
C) the variability in the size and timing of orders increases at each stage up the supply chain, from customer to supplier
D) improvements in technology lead to new applications, which result in new markets and industries

Question 23

To overcome challenges in international information systems, some organizations develop alternative versions of the system that supports different processes in different countries. This results in ________.

A) supply chain practices being copied from the organization's parent country
B) low maintenance expense for IS
C) system design challenges
D) a standard for business processes that meets all requirements

Question 24

Explain how managing a global IS development project will involve challenges in the areas of time, quality, and costs.

Question 25

List the issues that need to be addressed when localizing a computer program.

Question 26

Briefly explain the two major ways in which thinking about competitive strategies has changed in the emerging global economy.

Question 27

How can information reduce or eliminate the bullwhip effect?

Question 28

International outsourcing is most advantageous ________.

A) when control on all aspects of its operations is essential for a firm
B) for those firms that have a strong presence in the domestic market
C) when domestic production costs are low
D) for functions that need to be operational 24/7

Question 29

Which of the following statements is true of international IS project management?

A) Quality standards are identical across cultures.
B) The rate of development is uniform across countries.
C) Effective communication among team members is expensive.
D) The scope and requirements definition for international IS is very easy.

Question 30

The principal planning task for an international IS organization is to ________.

A) localize software packages to focus on quantity more than quality
B) setup IS departments for every process in all of its branches
C) integrate the organization's information systems with the outsourced vendors' information systems
D) align IT and IS resources with the organization's competitive strategy

Question 31

The bullwhip effect ________.

A) is not related to erratic consumer demand
B) forces distributors, manufacturers, and suppliers to carry smaller inventories that do not have the capacity to meet requirements
C) increases the overall profitability of the supply chain
D) can be eliminated by restricting access to consumer-demand information to only a few participants in the supply chain