Experiencing MIS, 5/E David Kroenke solutions manual and test bank
| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . | Collaborative Information Systems for Student Projects |
| LEARNING OBJECTIVES |
1. Explain the IS requirements for student project collaborations.
2. Discuss how to use collaboration tools to improve team communication.
3. Describe how to use collaboration tools to share content.
4. Explain how to use collaboration tools to manage tasks.
5. Determine which collaboration information system is right for your team.
| CHAPTER OUTLINE |
§ What are the IS requirements for student project collaborations?
§ Required features
§ Nice-to-have features
§ Collaboration tool characteristics
§ How can you use collaboration tools to improve team communication?
§ How can you use collaboration tools to share content?
w Shared content with no control
w Shared content with version management on Google Drive
w Shared content with version control
§ How can you use collaboration tools to manage tasks?
w Sharing a task list on Google Grid
w Sharing a task list using Microsoft SharePoint
§ Which collaboration information system is right for your team?
w The minimal collaboration tool set
w The good collaboration tool set
w The comprehensive collaboration tool set
w Choosing the set for your team
w Don’t forget procedures and people!
| USING YOUR KNOWLEDGE |
CE2-1. Evaluate Q1. Based on your experience as a team member, do you agree that the three requirements are mandatory for a collaborative team? Justify your answer. Modify those requirements in any way you see fit to better describe your own collaborative team experience. Do you find any of the nice-to-have requirements unnecessary? Would you add any others? Do you think any of the collaboration tool characteristics requirements are unnecessary? Would you add any?
Student responses will vary depending on their specific prior experiences with collaborative teams and collaborative information systems. In your discussion, emphasize the value of feedback and iteration to teams, but also emphasize that the team members must have the skills to accept critiques, criticism, and revisions of their work. In some student teams, the focus is strictly on fulfilling a requirement and not necessarily producing the highest quality work product possible through the collaborative efforts of the team members. As a result, student teams might not recognize the value of content sharing. In addition, students may be reticent about holding other team members accountable for their tasks, so project planning and management may not be high on their list of requirements. (LO: 1, Learning Outcome: Explain how IS can enhance systems of collaboration and teamwork, AACSB: Reflective Thinking Skills)
CE2-2. Based on your answers to question CE2-1, revise the list in Figure CE2-1 so that it is appropriate for your team experience. Discuss your revised list with others and describe any changes they would make to it.
Student responses will vary. If students omit any of the required features listed in CE2-1, insist that they justify that omission and are prepared to defend their position. It is important that students recognize the value of these features even though using them will require that students alter their approach to team projects. (LO: 1, Learning Outcome: Explain how IS can enhance systems of collaboration and teamwork, AACSB: Reflective Thinking Skills)
CE2-3. Choose one of the three alternatives described in Q5 for use by your collaborative team. To do so, answer the following questions (if possible, answer these questions with your team):
- Using your and your teammates’ answers to question CE2-2, create your team’s list of requirements.
The list of collaboration requirements will vary among student groups. You should push your students to discover the benefits of tools beyond the “minimal” set in Figure CE2-21, since this set consists of tools students probably already use. (LO: 5, Learning Outcome: Explain how IS can enhance systems of collaboration and teamwork, AACSB: Use of Information Technology)
- Create a list of criteria for selecting collaboration tools and creating a collaboration IS. Start with the items in the first column of Figure CE2-21, but add, modify, or delete items depending on your answer to question CE2-3a.
The list of criteria for selecting collaboration tools will vary among student groups. You should push your students to discover the benefits of tools beyond the “minimal” set in Figure CE2-16, since this set consists of tools students probably already use. (LO: 1, Learning Outcome: Explain how IS can enhance systems of collaboration and teamwork, AACSB: Use of Information Technology)
- Score the three alternatives in Q5 against your requirements and your criteria. If you wish, change any of the elements of those three alternatives to create a fourth alternative. Score it as well.
The scoring of the three alternative tool sets in Q5 will vary depending on the students’ answers to parts ‘a’ and ‘b’. (LO: 5, Learning Outcome: Explain how IS can enhance systems of collaboration and teamwork, AACSB: Use of Information Technology)
- Based on your answer to question CE2-3c, select a collaboration tool set. Explain your selection.
The selection of a specific tool set will vary among the student groups. Look for some recognition that despite the learning curve, there are strong reasons for gaining skills in using tools from the “comprehensive” tool set. If students do not recognize this, push them to explain why they feel this way. (LO: 5, Learning Outcome: Explain how IS can enhance systems of collaboration and teamwork, AACSB: Use of Information Technology)
- Given your answer to question CE2-3d, how will you construct your collaboration IS? Specifically, what procedures will you need to develop and how will your team members obtain training? Will you need to have any special jobs or roles for your team members? If so, describe them.
Procedures will be important to the group’s success in using their selected collaboration tool set because people are likely to fall back into old familiar patterns (the “minimal” tool set) without some commitment to change. Students should commit to going through training together as a team, possibly using online training resources like Lynda.com. At least initially, the team should appoint someone to monitor the group’s use of the tools and help ensure the successful adoption of the new ways of working together collaboratively. (LO: 5, Learning Outcome: Explain how IS can enhance systems of collaboration and teamwork, AACSB: Use of Information Technology)
Experiencing MIS, 5e (Kroenke)
Chapter 2: Business Processes, Information Systems, and Information
Multiple Choice
1) A ________ is a network of activities for accomplishing a business function.
A) workgroup
B) task force
C) business portfolio
D) business process
Answer: D
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 2
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
2) In swimlane format, ________ are specific tasks that need to be accomplished as part of a business process.
A) repositories
B) resources
C) activities
D) databases
Answer: C
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 2
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
3) A ________ is a subset of the activities in a business process that is performed by an actor.
A) sequence flow
B) resource
C) data flow
D) role
Answer: D
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 2
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
4) Activities within a business process are shown in ________.
A) circles
B) rectangles
C) squares
D) diamonds
Answer: B
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 2
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
5) According to the business process modeling notation standard, the start of a business process is symbolized by a ________.
A) circle having a thick border
B) circle having a narrow border
C) square having a thick border
D) square having a narrow border
Answer: B
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 2
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
6) Which of the following statements is true about roles in a business process?
A) Activities of a business process are made up of roles.
B) An employee can be associated with only one particular role.
C) The name of the role is written at the top of the swimlane.
D) A given role should be fulfilled by just one person.
Answer: C
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter LO: 2
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
7) Which of the following statements is true of swimlane formats?
A) Roles are written at the top of a swim lane as names can be ambiguous.
B) Each swimlane shows the activities to be performed by one actor.
C) An information system cannot fulfill a role by itself.
D) A particular role may be fulfilled by many people.
Answer: D
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter LO: 2
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
8) According to the business process modeling notation, the end of a business process is symbolized by a ________.
A) circle having a thick border
B) circle having a narrow border
C) square having a thick border
D) square having a narrow border
Answer: A
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 2
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
9) A(n) ________ is a collection of data that is stored within business records.
A) repository
B) role
C) activity
D) resource
Answer: A
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 2
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
10) ________ represent the movement of data from one activity to another.
A) Data charts
B) Data buses
C) Data modules
D) Data flows
Answer: D
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 2
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
11) According to the business process modeling notation standard, an activity with a boxed plus sign inside it indicates a ________.
A) subprocess
B) data flow
C) sequence flow
D) data repository
Answer: A
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 2
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
12) Which of the following statements is true about business process modeling notation?
A) Sequence flows are indicated by dashed lines.
B) Data flows are indicated by solid labeled lines.
C) A subprocesss is indicated by a rectangle with a circle inside it.
D) The medium of data delivery is unimportant in a BPMN diagram.
Answer: D
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter LO: 2
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
13) ________ is the ratio of benefits to costs.
A) Effectiveness
B) Efficiency
C) Scalability
D) Performance rating
Answer: B
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 3
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
14) Which of the following statements is true of business processes?
A) Process effectiveness is determined by the ratio of benefits to costs.
B) An effective business process enables an organization to accomplish its strategy.
C) If two versions of a business process create the same benefit, then the higher cost one is more efficient.
D) Cost of infrastructure is not included under cost of business process.
Answer: B
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter LO: 3
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
15) The outermost components of the IS framework ________.
A) can take action
B) are the costliest components in the framework
C) form a bridge between the human and computer sides
D) represent sunk costs
Answer: A
Difficulty: Moderate
AACSB: Information Technology
Chapter LO: 3
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
16) The software and procedure components of the IS framework are both ________.
A) actors
B) sets of instructions
C) the outermost components
D) bridges between the human side and the computer side
Answer: B
Difficulty: Moderate
AACSB: Information Technology
Chapter LO: 3
Course LO: Describe the components of an information system (IS)
17) The ________ component of the IS framework provides instructions for people.
A) procedure
B) software
C) information
D) data
Answer: A
Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: Information Technology
Chapter LO: 3
Course LO: Describe the components of an information system (IS)
18) In an IS framework, ________ is the bridge between the computer side on the left and the human side on the right.
A) hardware
B) software
C) information technology
D) data
Answer: D
Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: Information Technology
Chapter LO: 3
Course LO: Describe the components of an information system (IS)
19) Which of the following pairs consists of the two actors in an information system?
A) software and hardware
B) procedures and people
C) data and software
D) hardware and people
Answer: D
Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: Information Technology
Chapter LO: 3
Course LO: Describe the components of an information system (IS)
20) When work that was formerly done by people has been moved to computers, it is said to be ________.
A) outsourced
B) automated
C) documented
D) systematized
Answer: B
Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: Information Technology
Chapter LO: 3
Course LO: Describe the components of an information system (IS)
21) Automation of a process activity consists of moving work from the ________ of the symmetrical five-component framework.
A) computer side to the human side
B) data side to the procedures side
C) human side to the computer side
D) software side to the hardware side
Answer: C
Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: Information Technology
Chapter LO: 3
Course LO: Describe the components of an information system (IS)
22) Which of the following statements is true of using an information system to improve process quality?
A) The quality of performance analysis remains the same with the implementation of an information system.
B) Development of information systems should be done solely by technical personnel.
C) Information systems can improve process efficiency but not process effectiveness.
D) A process that uses a labor saving information system may not be efficient.
Answer: D
Difficulty: Moderate
AACSB: Information Technology
Chapter LO: 3
Course LO: Describe the components of an information system (IS)
23) ________ is defined as recorded facts or figures.
A) Information
B) Substance
C) Data
D) Content
Answer: C
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 4
Course LO: Describe the components of an information system (IS)
24) John's height is 6 feet 3 inches. This is an example of ________.
A) data
B) information
C) a record
D) content
Answer: A
Difficulty: Moderate
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Chapter LO: 4
Course LO: Describe the components of an information system (IS)
25) The fact that Joe works 9 hours per day is an example of ________.
A) a record
B) content
C) information
D) data
Answer: D
Difficulty: Moderate
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Chapter LO: 4
Course LO: Describe the components of an information system (IS)
26) Which of the following refers to information that is based on correct and complete data and has been processed correctly, as expected?
A) relevant information
B) measurable information
C) accurate information
D) timely information
Answer: C
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 5
Course LO: Describe the components of an information system (IS)
27) A monthly report that arrives 6 weeks late is an example of information that is not ________.
A) timely
B) relevant
C) accurate
D) sufficient
Answer: A
Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Chapter LO: 5
Course LO: Describe the components of an information system (IS)
28) Which of the following is a characteristic of good information?
A) It must be freely available.
B) It must be more than just barely sufficient.
C) It must be based on incomplete data.
D) It must be contextually relevant.
Answer: D
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter LO: 5
Course LO: Describe the components of an information system (IS)
29) Which of the following statements is true about data characteristics of quality information?
A) Information systems that produce real time data are less expensive than those that produce data at a later time.
B) The timeliness of information can be measured against events.
C) Accurate information can be conceived from inaccurate data.
D) Data that appears on any Web page is reliable.
Answer: B
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter LO: 5
Course LO: Describe the components of an information system (IS)
30) As the CEO of a call center, which of the following information is good information for you?
A) hourly variance reports of performance parameters in each queue
B) daily reports of call abandons due to system downtime
C) lists of stationery usage consolidated weekly
D) department-level averages of revenue generation figures
Answer: D
Difficulty: Moderate
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Chapter LO: 5
Course LO: Describe the components of an information system (IS)
31) ________ information is information that directly pertains both to the context and to the subject.
A) Timely
B) Relevant
C) Measurable
D) Expensive
Answer: B
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 5
Course LO: Describe the components of an information system (IS)
32) Which of the following statements is true regarding the characteristics of good information?
A) Information needs to be more than just barely sufficient for the purpose for which it is generated.
B) Information must hold an appropriate relationship between its cost and its value.
C) Accurate information can be based on incomplete data.
D) Good information is just recorded facts and figures.
Answer: B
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter LO: 5
Course LO: Describe the components of an information system (IS)
True or False
1) Members of a team in a company need to understand business processes since they need to evaluate new technologies.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 1
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
2) To design an improved process, it is necessary to understand the existing process.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 1
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
3) A role is a subset of activities in a business process.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 2
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
4) Swimlane format is a graphical arrangement in which all of the activities for a given role are shown in a single vertical lane.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 2
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
5) In some business processes, a role can be fulfilled by an information system.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: Information Technology
Chapter LO: 2
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
6) According to the business process modeling notation standard, the start of a business process is symbolized by a circle having a thick border.
Answer: FALSE
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 2
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
7) According to the business process modeling notation standard, the end of a business process is symbolized by a circle having a narrow border.
Answer: FALSE
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 2
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
8) According to the business process modeling notation standard, solid lines between activities are called sequence flows.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 2
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
9) A collection of files on the Internet is a repository.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: Information Technology
Chapter LO: 2
Course LO: Describe the components of an information system (IS)
10) Data flows represent the movement of data from one activity to another.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 2
Course LO: Describe the components of an information system (IS)
11) A repository can be printed records stored in a shoebox or a collection of files in the cloud.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: Information Technology
Chapter LO: 2
Course LO: Describe the components of an information system (IS)
12) Buyers read vendor and product data from the vendor data repository, but they don't write data to it.
Answer: FALSE
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 2
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
13) Process quality can be measured in two dimensions: process effectiveness and process efficiency.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 3
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
14) An effective business process enables an organization to accomplish its strategy.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 3
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
15) Effectiveness is the ratio of benefits to costs.
Answer: FALSE
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 3
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
16) An activity is considered automated when it is characterized by people following procedures.
Answer: FALSE
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 3
Course LO: Describe the components of an information system (IS)
17) The outermost components of the symmetrical five-component framework of an IS are data and procedures.
Answer: FALSE
Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: Information Technology
Chapter LO: 3
Course LO: Describe the components of an information system (IS)
18) In the five-component framework of an IS, the actors are hardware and people.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: Information Technology
Chapter LO: 3
Course LO: Describe the components of an information system (IS)
19) In the five-component framework of an IS, data is the bridge between the computer side and the human side.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: Information Technology
Chapter LO: 3
Course LO: Describe the components of an information system (IS)
20) In an IS framework, data is considered to be a part of the computer side.
Answer: FALSE
Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: Information Technology
Chapter LO: 3
Course LO: Describe the components of an information system (IS)
21) In an IS framework, software and procedure components are both sets of instructions.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: Information Technology
Chapter LO: 3
Course LO: Describe the components of an information system (IS)
22) Procedures act as the bridge between the computer and human sides of the five-component framework of an IS.
Answer: FALSE
Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: Information Technology
Chapter LO: 3
Course LO: Describe the components of an information system (IS)
23) Automation is the process in which instructions for humans are transferred to instructions for hardware.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: Information Technology
Chapter LO: 3
Course LO: Describe the components of an information system (IS)
24) Automation moves work from the software component to the data component.
Answer: FALSE
Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: Information Technology
Chapter LO: 3
Course LO: Describe the components of an information system (IS)
25) One of the major benefits of an information system is labor savings.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: Information Technology
Chapter LO: 3
Course LO: Explain how IS can be used to gain and sustain competitive advantage
26) Information systems can improve process efficiency but not process effectiveness.
Answer: FALSE
Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: Information Technology
Chapter LO: 3
Course LO: Explain how IS can be used to gain and sustain competitive advantage
27) The major benefit of using an information system is that the data stored in databases and other repositories can readily be processed to produce information.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: Information Technology
Chapter LO: 4
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
28) Data that is summed is called information.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 4
Course LO: Describe the components of an information system (IS)
29) Information is data presented in a meaningful context.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 4
Course LO: Describe the components of an information system (IS)
30) Information is data processed by grouping, comparing, or other similar operations.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 4
Course LO: Describe the components of an information system (IS)
31) Data is knowledge derived from information.
Answer: FALSE
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 4
Course LO: Describe the components of an information system (IS)
32) Average wage is knowledge that can be derived from the data of individual wages.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 4
Course LO: Describe the components of an information system (IS)
33) As long as information is relevant and timely, it need not always be complete.
Answer: FALSE
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 5
Course LO: Discuss best practices for selecting, evaluating, and managing information systems projects
34) Data delivered with active graphics need not be cross-checked for accuracy.
Answer: FALSE
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 5
Course LO: Discuss best practices for selecting, evaluating, and managing information systems projects
35) Accurate information is information that is based on correct and complete data, and has been processed correctly.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 5
Course LO: Discuss best practices for using and managing databases
36) Users develop work-arounds when data from an information system is unreliable.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 5
Course LO: Discuss best practices for using and managing databases
37) Timeliness of information can be measured against events.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 5
Course LO: Discuss best practices for using and managing databases
38) The quality of thinking determines the quality of the information that is produced.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 5
Course LO: Discuss best practices for using and managing databases
39) Just barely sufficient information is information that is sufficient for the purpose for which it is generated.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 5
Course LO: Discuss best practices for using and managing databases
40) Relevant data are those which aptly pertain both to the context and to the subject.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 5
Course LO: Discuss best practices for using and managing databases
41) All data about an organization are relevant to the higher management.
Answer: FALSE
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 5
Course LO: Explain how information systems can be used to assist in decision making
42) For data to be worth its cost, an appropriate relationship must exist between the cost of data and its value.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 5
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
43) Information systems should not be subject to the same financial analyses to which other assets are subjected.
Answer: FALSE
Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: Information Technology
Chapter LO: 5
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
Essay
1) What is a business process? Define activities.
Answer: A business process is a network of activities for accomplishing a business function. Activities are specific tasks that need to be accomplished as part of the process.
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 2
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
2) Briefly describe activities and roles in swimlane format.
Answer: Swimlane format is a graphical arrangement in which all of the activities for a given role are shown in a single vertical lane. Each swimlane has activities, which are specific tasks that need to be accomplished as part of the process. A role is a subset of the activities in a business process that is performed by an actor, which is a person, group, department, organization, or information system. The name of the role is written at the top of a swimlane, not people's names. This is because a given role may be fulfilled by many people, or the organization may change the people who are assigned to a given role.
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 2
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
3) Briefly describe a repository.
Answer: A repository is a collection of data that is stored within a business process. A repository can be a cardboard box, a notebook, a list, an Excel spreadsheet, a database, or even a collection of databases. For the purpose of documenting a business process, the particular medium in which repository data is stored is unimportant.
Difficulty: Moderate
AACSB: Information Technology
Chapter LO: 2
Course LO: Discuss best practices for using and managing databases
4) Briefly describe data flows.
Answer: According to the business process modeling notation (BPMN), the labeled dashed lines are called data flows. They represent the movement of data from one activity to another. The data can be delivered via email, text message, over the phone, by fax, or by some other means. In a BPMN diagram, the medium of the data delivery is also unimportant.
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter LO: 2
Course LO: Discuss best practices for using and managing databases
5) Describe the process of automation against the background of the five-component framework of an information system.
Answer: The five components of an information system are hardware, software, data, procedures, and people. They are arranged symmetrically in the framework. The outermost components, hardware and people, are both actors; they take action. The software and procedure components are both sets of instructions: Software is instructions for hardware, and procedures are instructions for people. Finally, data is the bridge between the computer side on the left and the human side on the right. When an activity in a business process is handled by an automated system, it means that work formerly done by people following procedures has been moved so that computers now do that work by following instructions in software. Thus, the automation of a process activity consists of moving work from the right-hand side of the five-component IS framework to the left.
Difficulty: Moderate
AACSB: Information Technology
Chapter LO: 3
Course LO: Describe the components of an information system (IS)
6) Describe the benefits of using an information system to store vendor and product-related data.
Answer: In order to select a vendor, a buyer has to gather data about vendors and products, make analyses of costs and margins, and store the results of those analyses. If an information system (IS) is not used to store these results, accessing past records and results will require a manual search. An IS makes the process of finding reliable data and reports faster and more reliable, improving the efficiency and quality of the business process.
Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: Information Technology
Chapter LO: 3
Course LO: Describe the components of an information system (IS)
7) Define information.
Answer: The most common definition of information is that information is knowledge derived from data.
Difficulty: Easy
Chapter LO: 4
Course LO: Describe the components of an information system (IS)
8) Explain data with an example.
Answer: Data is defined as recorded facts or figures. The facts that an employee of an organization earns $17.50 per hour and that another employee of the same organization earns $25.00 per hour are examples of data.
Difficulty: Easy
AACSB: Information Technology
Chapter LO: 4
Course LO: Describe the components of an information system (IS)
9) Describe accurate information. Why is an information system providing accurate information crucial to an organization?
Answer: Good information is accurate information, which is based on correct and complete data, and it has been processed correctly as expected. Accuracy is crucial; business professionals must be able to rely on the results of their information systems. The IS function can develop a bad reputation in an organization if a system is known to produce inaccurate data. In such a case, the information system becomes a waste of time and money as users develop work-arounds to avoid the inaccurate data.
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter LO: 5
Course LO: Discuss best practices for using and managing databases
10) Explain the importance of timeliness of information in an organization.
Answer: Good information requires that data be available in time for its intended use. A monthly report that arrives 6 weeks late is most likely useless. In such a case, the data has arrived long after the decisions that needed that information have been made. An information system that sends a poor customer credit report after the goods have been shipped is unhelpful and frustrating. Notice that timeliness can be measured against a calendar (6 weeks late) or against events (for example, before shipping).
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter LO: 5
Course LO: Discuss best practices for using and managing databases
11) In some cases, developing systems that provide data in near real time is much more difficult and expensive than producing data a few hours later. Provide an example that supports this statement.
Answer: A person who works in marketing needs to be able to assess the effectiveness of new online ad programs. He wants an information system that will not only deliver ads over the Web, but one that will also enable him to determine how frequently customers click on those ads. In this case, determining click ratios in near real time will be very expensive; saving the data in a batch and processing it some hours later will be much easier and cheaper.
If the user can manage with data that is a day or two old, the system will be easier and cheaper to implement.
Difficulty: Moderate
AACSB: Information Technology
Chapter LO: 5
Course LO: Discuss best practices for using and managing databases
12) Describe relevant data. Explain the importance of relevant data in an organizational context.
Answer: Relevant data is data that directly pertains to both the context and the subject. Considering context, a CEO needs data that is summarized to an appropriate level for his job. A list of the hourly wage of every employee in the company is unlikely to be useful. More likely, the CEO needs average wage information by department or division. A list of all employee wages is irrelevant in this context.
Data should also be relevant to the subject at hand. If data about short-term interest rates is required to find a possible line of credit, then a report that shows 15-year mortgage interest rates is irrelevant.
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter LO: 5
Course LO: Discuss best practices for using and managing databases
13) Explain the importance of just barely sufficient data in the information age we live in.
Answer: Just barely sufficient data is data that is sufficient for the purpose for which it is generated, but just barely so. We live in an information age; one of the critical decisions that each of us has to make each day is what data to ignore. The higher one rises into management, the more data one will be given, and because there is only so much time, the more data one will need to ignore. So data should be sufficient, but just barely.
Difficulty: Moderate
AACSB: Information Technology
Chapter LO: 5
Course LO: Discuss best practices for using and managing databases
14) What are the costs associated with data? When is data considered to be worth its cost?
Answer: Data is not free. There are costs for developing an information system, costs of operating and maintaining that system, and costs of time and salary for reading and processing the data the system produces. For data to be worth its cost, an appropriate relationship must exist between the cost of data and its value.
Difficulty: Moderate
Chapter LO: 5
Course LO: Discuss best practices for using and managing databases
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