Deck 12: Planning for Electronic Commerce

Question 1

Higher costs for broadband access and computer hardware play a major role in the costs of business Web sites.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

ROI measurements can be biased in a way that gives undue weight to costs.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Operational partners are responsible for staffing the internal team.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

When companies began establishing their presence on the Web, the typical Web site was a static brochure that was updated frequently with new information.

Question 5

Operating an electronic commerce site can become a source of competitive advantage for a company.

Question 6

Many electronic commerce initiatives have returned benefits that were not foreseen by their planners.

Question 7

For many companies, one of the largest and most significant costs associated with electronic commerce initiatives is the cost of not undertaking such an initiative.

Question 8

ROI focuses on benefits that cannot be predicted.

Question 9

TCO techniques measure the amount of income that will be provided by a specific current expenditure.

Question 10

Venture sponsors provide all or most of the startup funds.

Question 11

A key part of creating a business plan for electronic commerce initiatives is the process of identifying potential benefits.

Question 12

Sometimes a content manager offers seed money, management advice, and marketing assistance.

Question 13

Many companies create Web sites to build brands or enhance their existing marketing programs.

Question 14

One of the first Internet incubators was Idealab.

Question 15

Project management was developed by IBM.

Question 16

Most changes in the cost of hardware are upward.

Question 17

The best way to manage any complex electronic commerce implementation is to use formal management techniques.

Question 18

When measuring the achievements of the internal team of an electronic commerce project, measurements must be a monetary value.

Question 19

A successful business plan for an electronic commerce initiative should include activities that identify the initiative's specific objectives and link those objectives to business strategies.

Question 20

The keys to successful implementation of any information technology project are planning and execution.

Question 21

_____ is an example of a return on investment technique.

A)Downstream strategy
B)Revenue analysis
C)TCO
D)Net present value

Question 22

Today, the postimplementation audit is used by most organizations to gather lessons learned from both successful and unsuccessful projects.

Question 23

____ strategies can be used to improve the value that the business provides to its customers.

A)Cost reduction
B)Downstream
C)Upstream
D)Purchasing

Question 24

Information systems development projects are more likely to succeed than other types of projects, such as building construction.

Question 25

Hiring another company to provide the outside support for all or part of a project is called ____.

A)outsourcing
B)internal development
C)portfolio managing
D)project management

Question 26

Most project management software packages do a very good job of consolidating activities across multiple projects.

Question 27

____ are usually banks or venture capitalists that sometimes offer money, but are more likely to offer experience gained from guiding other start-ups that they have funded.

A)Venture sponsors
B)Operational partners
C)Outsourcing firms
D)Equity partners

Question 28

In ____, the company identifies specific portions of the project that can be completely designed, developed, implemented, and operated by another firm that specializes in a particular function.

A)partial outsourcing
B)late outsourcing
C)early outsourcing
D)fast venturing

Question 29

____ strategies focus on reducing costs or generating value by working with suppliers or inbound shipping and freight service providers.

A)Downstream
B)Leveling
C)Cross-functional
D)Upstream

Question 30

A(n)____ is a company that offers start-up companies a physical location with offices, accounting and legal assistance, computers, and Internet connections at a very low monthly cost.

A)early outsource firm
B)incubator
C)call center
D)venture capital firm

Question 31

The development times for most electronic commerce projects are relatively short.

Question 32

____ is measured by the ease of expansion of bandwidth, disk space, and additional software (database, traffic analysis, and so on)that can be added to an account as it grows.

A)Functionality
B)Scalability
C)Backup and recovery
D)Reliability

Question 33

In many electronic commerce projects, the company outsources the initial site design and development to launch the project quickly.This approach is called ____.

A)partial outsourcing
B)late outsourcing
C)fast venturing
D)early outsourcing

Question 34

The ____ is the existing company that wants to launch an electronic commerce initiative.

A)equity partner
B)venture sponsor
C)operational partner
D)outsourcing partner

Question 35

____ provide the venture sponsor with knowledge of industry best practices.

A)Database administrators
B)Call centers
C)Operational partners
D)Equity partners

Question 36

In ____, an existing company that wants to launch an electronic commerce initiative joins external equity partners and operational partners that can offer the experience and skills needed to develop and scale up the project very rapidly.

A)partial outsourcing
B)change management
C)late outsourcing
D)fast venturing

Question 37

Which of the following techniques measures the amount of income that will be provided by a specific current expenditure?

A)revenue analysis
B)cost analysis
C)TCO
D)ROI

Question 38

____ are firms, such as system integrators and consultants, that have experience in moving projects along and scaling up prototypes.

A)Operational partners
B)Venture sponsors
C)Venture capitalists
D)Equity partners

Question 39

The ____ of an electronic commerce implementation includes the costs of hardware, software, design work outsourced, salaries and benefits for employees involved in the project, and the cost of maintaining the site once it is operational.

A)TCO
B)change management cost
C)top line cost
D)opportunity cost

Question 40

Electronic commerce initiatives are, in general, more successful than other types of information systems implementations.

Question 41

A ____ is a formal review of a project after it is up and running.

A)postimplementation audit
B)team review
C)system review
D)network review

Question 42

The ____ should be a member of the internal team that sets the objectives for the project in case specific proposals for plan modifications and additional funding need to be made later on.

A)business manager
B)account manager
C)application specialist
D)content creator

Question 43

A(n)____ keeps track of multiple Web sites in use by a project or keeps track of the projects that will combine to create a larger Web site.

A)project manager
B)account manager
C)business manager
D)Web programmer

Question 44

Measurements that companies can make to assess the value of benefits are often called ____________________.

Question 45

Major investments in equipment, personnel, and other assets are called ____________________.

Question 46

____________________ was the incubator that helped companies such as CarsDirect.com, Overture, and Tickets.com get started.

Question 47

Most electronic commerce sites require a(n)____ function to support activities such as transaction processing, order entry, inquiry management, or shipment logistics.

A)audit
B)database administration
C)system administration
D)network operations

Question 48

For years, ____________________ outsourcing has been the standard for allocating scarce information systems talent to projects.

Question 49

Today, project managers use specific application software called ____________________ software to help them oversee projects.

Question 50

____ design and write the database-driven Web pages.

A)Content creators
B)Web graphics designers
C)Content editors
D)Web programmers

Question 51

____________________ management is a technique in which each project is monitored as if it were an investment in a financial portfolio.

Question 52

Managers and accountants use the term ____________________ to describe the foregone benefits that a company could have obtained from an electronic commerce initiative that they chose not to pursue.

Question 53

____ help design and implement customer relationship management activities in the electronic commerce operation.

A)Network operators
B)Customer service personnel
C)Systems administrators
D)Content editors

Question 54

____ is a collection of formal techniques for planning and controlling the activities undertaken to achieve a specific goal.

A)Account management
B)Business planning
C)Project management
D)Web programming

Question 55

Most large businesses have ____ who maintain accounting, human resources, and logistic software.

A)applications specialists
B)project managers
C)account managers
D)business managers

Question 56

The ____ staff functions include load estimation and load monitoring, and designing and implementing fault-resistant technologies.

A)call center
B)system administration
C)database administration
D)network operations

Question 57

Stock is sold to the public in an event called a(n)_________________________.

Question 58

______________________________ techniques provide a quantitative expression of whether the benefits of a particular investment exceed their costs.

Question 59

Partial outsourcing is also called ____________________ outsourcing.

Question 60

A(n)____ is a person with specific training or skills in tracking costs and the accomplishment of specific objectives in a project.

A)business manager
B)account manager
C)project manager
D)application specialist

Question 61

____________________ techniques include communicating the need for change to employees, as well as other tactics designed to help employees feel that they are part of the change.

Question 62

The ____________________ is responsible for implementing the elements of the business plan and reaching the objectives set by the internal team.

Question 63

The Web ____________________ designer must ensure that the Web pages on the site are visually appealing, easy to use, and make consistent use of graphics elements from page to page.

Question 64

A(n)_________________________ is a person trained in art, layout, and composition and who also understands how Web pages are constructed.

Question 65

Briefly discuss three built-in biases in the ROI technique that can lead managers to make poor decisions.

Question 66

What are the most important factors to evaluate when selecting a hosting service?

Question 67

____________________ purchase existing material and adapt it for use on Web sites.

Question 68

The ____________________ version is the "under construction" version of a Web site.

Question 69

The ____________________ version of a Web site is the full operating version of the site that is available to customers and other visitors.

Question 70

What is the purpose of an incubator?

Question 71

The process of helping employees cope with changes in the workplace is called ____________________.

Question 72

Provide a brief description of fast venturing, one of the techniques used to implement the partial outsourcing strategy.

Question 73

A(n)____________________ is a company that handles incoming customer telephone calls and e-mails for other companies.

Question 74

____________________ creators are responsible for writing original content for Web sites.

Question 75

A postimplementation audit is also called a(n)____________________.

Question 76

List seven general areas of staffing that are most important to the success of an electronic commerce initiative.

Question 77

The _________________________ is responsible for the system's reliable and secure operation.

Question 78

______________________________ tracks the details of how each project is accomplishing its specific goals.

Question 79

The ____________________ version of a Web site has features that have passed testing and must be viewed by an internal audience in order to gain approval.

Question 80

In project ____________________, the CIO assigns a ranking for each project based on its importance to the strategic goals of the business and its level of risk.