Deck 2: Global E-Business and Collaboration

Question 1

An example of a cross-functional business process is

A) identifying customers.
B) transporting the product.
C) creating a new product.
D) assembling a product.
E) paying creditors.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

A relocation control system that reports summaries on the total moving, house hunting, and home financing costs for employees in all company divisions would fall into the category of

A) knowledge management systems.
B) transaction processing systems.
C) executive support systems.
D) management information systems.
E) decision support systems.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

What are cross-functional business processes?
Give an example.

Answer 3

Cross-functional processes are those that require input, cooperation, or coordination between the major business functions in an organization. For instance, when a salesman takes an order, the major business functions of planning, production, inventory control, shipping, accounting, and customer relations will all be involved before the order is completed.

Question 4

One example of a business process is shipping a product to a customer.

Question 5

A(n) ________ is typically a major source of data for other systems.

A) transaction processing system
B) management information system
C) executive support system
D) decision-support system
E) knowledge management system

Question 6

The term "management information systems" designates a specific category of information systems serving

A) integrated data processing throughout the firm.
B) transaction process reporting.
C) employees with online access to historical records.
D) the information technology function.
E) middle management functions.

Question 7

A(n) ________ is a set of logically related activities for accomplishing a specific business result.

Question 8

A business process in the ________ function is producing bills of material.

A) finance and accounting
B) human resources
C) manufacturing and production
D) research and development
E) sales and marketing

Question 9

What is the connection between organizations, information systems, and business processes?

Question 10

You would use a(n) ________ in order to determine which of your suppliers has the best and worst records for keeping to your production schedule?

A) MIS
B) TPS
C) UPS
D) DSS
E) CRM

Question 11

Your aunt has asked you for your suggestions to make her business, a local sandwich shop, more efficient. Describe at least three types of business processes that a sandwich shop has. Can any be better coordinated through the use of information systems?

Question 12

Non-typical business problems with causes and effects that are rapidly changing are typically handled by which type of information system?

A) MIS
B) TPS
C) ESS
D) DSS
E) KMS

Question 13

The ________ function is responsible for identifying customers.

A) finance and accounting
B) human resources
C) manufacturing and production
D) sales and marketing
E) distribution and logistics

Question 14

Identifying customers is a business process handled by the human resources function.

Question 15

Which type of system would you use to forecast the return on investment if you used new suppliers with better delivery track records?

A) ESS
B) TPS
C) MIS
D) CRM
E) DSS

Question 16

________ systems are especially suited to situations in which the procedure for arriving at a solution may not be fully defined in advance.

A) Management information
B) Transaction processing
C) Decision-support
D) Knowledge management
E) Resource planning

Question 17

Which level of the organization are ESS specifically designed to serve?

A) operational
B) end-user
C) middle management
D) senior management
E) knowledge workers

Question 18

You have been hired by a non-profit agency to implement a system to handle their donations. The system must be able to handle and record telephone, SMS, and Internet donations, provide up-to-the-minute reports, and create highly customizable mailing lists. In addition, event fundraisers need to be able to quickly access a donor's information and history. Which of the following systems will best meet these needs?

A) TPS
B) TPS with DSS capabilities
C) TPS with MIS capabilities
D) TPS with ESS capabilities
E) DSS with MIS capabilities

Question 19

If your main supplier was late in delivering goods, which type of system would you use to update your production schedule?

A) ESS
B) TPS
C) MIS
D) DSS

Question 20

To monitor the status of internal operations and the firm's relations with the external environment, managers need ________ systems.

A) decision-support
B) knowledge
C) transaction processing
D) management information

Question 21

Which of the following systems would you expect to deliver integrated, personalized business content through a Web portal interface?

A) transaction processing systems
B) executive support systems
C) management information systems
D) decision-support systems
E) supply chain management systems

Question 22

An ESS's digital ________ displays an array of charts and graphs of a business's key performance indicators.

Question 23

Decision-support systems are most commonly used by the operations management level of an organization.

Question 24

For nonroutine decision making, senior managers rely on management information systems.

Question 25

Using the Internet to buy or sell goods is called

A) e-commerce.
B) e-business.
C) an intranet.
D) an extranet.
E) digital commerce.

Question 26

Operational managers use ESS primarily to solve specific problems.

Question 27

An organization's MIS and DSS supply an ESS with summarized information.

Question 28

Most TPSs use sophisticated mathematical models or statistical techniques.

Question 29

________ applications integrate information from multiple functions and business processes to enhance the performance of the organization as a whole.

Question 30

A Web interface used to present integrated personalized business content to users is called a(n) ________.

Question 31

Cross-functional systems are being phased out in favor of systems that support business processes within a single functional group, such as human resources.

Question 32

Transaction-level information is essential for operational management to be able to direct the day-to-day operations of the business.

Question 33

DSS are used by managers to make decisions about problems that are unusual and not easily specified in advance.

Question 34

Which of the following is a highly structured decision?

A) creating a new product
B) estimating the effect of changing costs of supply materials
C) calculating the best trucking routes for product delivery
D) granting credit to a customer
E) forecasting new industry trends

Question 35

Business ________ applications allow managers to interactively work with current and historical data to discover patterns and trends to help their decision.

Question 36

You would use an MIS to help determine if your business should introduce a new product line.

Question 37

Supply chain management systems are described as a(n) ________ system because they manage information that flows between different companies.

Question 38

To forecast trends in your supplier's industry that could affect your firm over the next five years, you would use a(n)

A) ESS.
B) TPS.
C) MIS.
D) DSS.
E) KMS.

Question 39

DSS use internal information as well as information from external sources.

Question 40

Executive support systems are information systems that support the

A) long-range planning activities of senior management.
B) knowledge and data workers in an organization.
C) decision making and administrative activities of middle managers.
D) day-to-day processes of production.
E) transactional needs of the organization.

Question 41

What is the most important function of an enterprise application?

A) increasing speed of communicating
B) enabling business functions and departments to share information
C) enabling a company to work collaboratively with customers and suppliers
D) enabling cost-effective e-business processes
E) enabling inventory and supply chain management

Question 42

________ systems are also known as enterprise systems.

A) Resource planning
B) Enterprise resource planning
C) Enterprise support
D) Management information
E) Decision-support

Question 43

Which of the following is the greatest obstacle in enabling collaboration between employees at different, distant corporate locations?

A) privacy
B) permissions
C) time zones
D) language
E) corporate culture

Question 44

Which of the following types of system helps coordinate the flow of information between the firm and its suppliers and customers?

A) intranet
B) extranet
C) KMS
D) TPS
E) TPS

Question 45

________ enable management to make better decisions regarding organizing and scheduling sourcing, production, and distribution.

A) SCMs
B) TPSs
C) KMSs
D) ERPs
E) MISs

Question 46

The four major enterprise applications are

A) SCMs, CRMs, DSSs, and KMSs.
B) SCMs, CRMs, ESSs, and KMSs.
C) enterprise systems, SCMs, DSSs, and CRMs.
D) enterprise systems, SCMs, CRMs, and KMSs.
E) TPSs, MISs, DSSs, and ESSs.

Question 47

You have been hired by Inspiration Inc., to help improve their profit margin. Inspiration Inc. is a business communications consultancy that services many clients in different industries throughout the United States. The end products of the company are customized recommendations for the best use of a client's existing resources for improving internal communications, typically delivered via documentation in different media. The company has approximately 100 consultants, all of whom are located in their central headquarters in Chicago. What system do you recommend to improve the company's business processes and increase their profit margin?

A) extranet, to enable quick collaboration over the Internet, minimize the time spent communicating with the client, and minimize the amount of paperwork needed
B) CRM, to maintain easily accessible customer records to minimize the time spent looking for client data
C) KMS, for minimizing redundant work on similar clients
D) marketing system, for improving sales levels
E) TPS, to help manage all daily activities and transactions

Question 48

FWO's use of SharePoint for project management is an example of using information systems to achieve which business objective?

A) customer and supplier intimacy
B) survival
C) improved decision making
D) operational excellence

Question 49

You manage the IT department at a small startup Internet advertiser. You need to set up an inexpensive system that allows customers to see real-time statistics such as views and click-throughs about their current banner ads. Which type of system will most efficiently provide a solution?

A) CRM
B) enterprise system
C) extranet
D) intranet
E) MIS

Question 50

Which type of system integrates supplier, manufacturer, distributor, and customer logistics processes?

A) collaborative distribution system
B) supply-chain management system
C) reverse logistics system
D) enterprise planning system
E) transaction processing system

Question 51

Apex Vacuum, a family-owned manufacturer of budget vacuums, has grown exponentially over the last few years. However, the company is having difficulty preparing for future growth. The only information system used at Apex is an antiquated accounting system. The company has one manufacturing plant located in Arkansas; and three warehouses, in Arkansas, Delaware, and California. The Apex sales force is national, and Apex purchases about a third of its vacuum parts and materials from a single overseas supplier. You have been hired to recommend the information systems Apex should implement in order to maintain their competitive edge. However, there is not enough money for a full-blown, cross-functional enterprise application, and you will need to limit the first step to a single functional area or constituency. What will you choose, and why?

Question 52

A(n) ________ system collects data from various key business processes and stores the data in a single, comprehensive data repository, usable by other parts of the business.

A) transaction
B) enterprise
C) automatic reporting
D) management information
E) knowledge management

Question 53

Which of the following systems is designed to support organization-wide process coordination and integration?

A) decision-support systems
B) management information systems
C) CRM systems
D) enterprise applications
E) supply chain management systems

Question 54

To manage relationships with your customers, you would use a(n) ________ system.

A) CRM
B) MIS
C) CLE
D) CLU
E) KMS

Question 55

You have been hired to work with 10 salespeople from different branches of a national business in creating an online training site for new sales employees. Identify six collaboration tools that are available to help the team work together. Which single tool would be the most helpful for the project, in your opinion, and why?

Question 56

Identify and discuss the major types of information systems that serve the main management groups within a business. What are the relationships among these systems?

Question 57

The retail home improvement chain you work for, DIY Discount, has noticed that one of its brands of faucets is not selling nearly as well as anticipated. What information systems of the business will you use to determine the reason for the poor sales?
Discuss what information you will retrieve from which system. Which of the information systems will be most important for your analysis?
Which of the systems will be least important?

Question 58

A(n) ________ social networking tool creates business value by connecting the members of an organization through profiles, updates, and notifications that are tailored to internal corporate uses.

A) cloud-based
B) social-commerce
C) collaborative
D) remote, asynchronous
E) enterprise

Question 59

Using ________ to enable government relationships with citizens, businesses, and other arms of government is called e-government.

A) the Internet and networking technologies
B) e-commerce
C) e-business
D) any computerized technology
E) telecommunications

Question 60

To consolidate the relevant knowledge and experience in the firm and make it available to improve business processes and management decision making, you would use a(n)

A) TPS.
B) extranet.
C) KMS.
D) CRM.
E) MIS.

Question 61

Supply chain management systems are more externally oriented than enterprise systems.

Question 62

Global firms can collaborate from different locations at the same time using synchronous collaboration tools.

Question 63

All of the following statements regarding IBM Notes are true except which one?

A) It began as an e-mail and messaging client.
B) It is a widely used collaboration tool at larger firms.
C) It provides capabilities for wikis and microblogging.
D) It provides tools for full version control of all company documentation.
E) It is designed to provide security for sensitive corporate information.

Question 64

Which of the following decisions requires knowledge based on collaboration and interaction?

A) How long will it take to manufacture this product?
B) Should we work with outside vendors on new products and services?
C) In which geographical locations are our products garnering the most sales?
D) Which product design is the most efficient for the user in terms of energy use?
E) How can we produce this product more cheaply?

Question 65

Which of the following statements about collaboration is not true?

A) In business, a collaboration can last as little as a few minutes.
B) Business collaboration relies on the formation of teams that are assigned a specific task or goal.
C) Successful collaboration can be achieved through technology regardless of the organization's culture or structure.
D) One business benefit of collaboration is improved innovation.
E) Businesses need special systems for collaboration.

Question 66

A key word in social business is "conversations."

Question 67

Which of the following is not one of the four main classifications for collaboration tools identified by the space/time matrix?

A) synchronous/colocated
B) same time/remote
C) different time/remote
D) remote/colocated
E) same time/same place

Question 68

Which of the following tools would you use to evaluate and choose a collaboration tool for your organization?

A) virtual meeting system
B) cloud collaboration
C) IBM Notes
D) the collaboration matrix
E) the time/space collaboration and social tool matrix

Question 69

________ allows you to communicate with avatars using text messaging.

A) A virtual world
B) Screen sharing
C) Collaborative writing
D) A large audience Webinar
E) Telepresence

Question 70

Which of the following is not a business benefit of collaboration?

A) improved quality
B) improved financial performance
C) improved customer service
D) improved innovation
E) improved compliance with government regulations

Question 71

________ is a collaboration tool that supports remote (different place), synchronous (same time) collaboration.

A) Video conferencing
B) E-mail
C) A MUD
D) A wall display
E) A virtual world

Question 72

In ________, digital technology and the Internet are used to execute the major business processes in the enterprise.

A) e-commerce
B) e-business
C) enterprise applications
D) MIS
E) SCM

Question 73

An example of a remote, synchronous collaboration tool is a Skype conference call using VOIP and webcams.

Question 74

The principal liaison between the information systems groups and the rest of the organization is a(n)

A) programmer.
B) information systems manager.
C) systems analyst.
D) CTO.
E) CIO.

Question 75

Describe at least two benefits of using enterprise systems.

Question 76

Production tasks are coordinated through the use of social networks in social business.

Question 77

A ________ is a senior manager who oversees the use of IT in the firm.

A) CEO
B) CFO
C) CIO
D) CTO
E) CKO

Question 78

A Web site that allows citizens to file taxes online is a form of ________.

Question 79

All of the following are reasons for the increased business focus on collaboration and teamwork, except for

A) the need for creating innovative products and services.
B) growth of "interaction" jobs.
C) greater global presence.
D) the need for more efficient work hierarchies.
E) the need to reduce communication costs.

Question 80

You have been hired by an international architectural firm, with offices in Singapore, Paris, and Mumbai. The firm would like architects and draftspeople from different teams to be able to collaborate efficiently. How will you determine what the best collaboration tools are for their needs?