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Description
Flashcards by warrenj3000, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by warrenj3000
about 10 years ago
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| Question | Answer |
| What is an information system? | An information system is the collaboration of people, organization and technology to solve business challenges. |
| Explain each characteristic of an information system | The people aspect of an information system would be the managers and IT specialist who make the information system operate. The organizational component of the informations system consist of ways of people to collaborate efficiently, services like email, Facebook, file sharing services, and generally any type of device or system that allows people to work smarter and faster together. The technological component of the informations system consist of systems in place to make the work of an organization easier and more efficient. With technology people are allowed to spend more time working on the problem to the big picture solution rather than worry about small manually gathering data or storing it. |
| List the difference between data and information | Data as an example would be months of statistics with no conclusion on how to strategize, information on the other hand has a purpose it is obvious there is a conclusion to be made about what you know from the information |
| Explain how the Internet and the World Wide Web are related to the other technology components of information systems | The Internet and information systems now go hand in hand in the business world, from cloud computing to online collaboration as a team to solve organizational problems, and even automatic updates and messaging for organization the internet is becoming the heart of business. |
| List and describe each of the four steps for solving business problems | The first step in solving business problems is problem identification which involves team members communicating and agreeing that there is a problem, defining the problem, finding the causes of the problem, and eventually what can be done given the resources available. The second step in solving business problems is solution design which include the team thinking of the many possibilities to solve the problem. Often the team will consider as many solutions as possible to fully understand the scope of the issue. The third step in solving business problems is Choice, which include evaluating cost, feasibility given resources and skills available to firm, and length of time needed to implement solution. The fourth and final step is solution implementation, which include building or purchasing solution, testing the solution, training employees with solution, change in management, measurement of outcomes, feedback and evaluation of outcomes, sometimes reevaluation as the solution does not always work. |
| Describe the relationship of critical thinking to problem solving | The link between problem solving and critical thinking is the ability to think about all of your available options readily available and the options that are much harder to come up with, to weight all of the options with different perspectives in mind and confidently pick the strategy that will succeed. |
| Describe the role of information systems in business problem solving | Information system has a vital role in business problem solving, in today’s business world every professional will ultimately use information systems to solve their personal part of the business problem, from accountants using accounting software to keep track of transactions, marketing using statistical databases from past years to forecast future decisions, and managers communicating with employees and organizing work responsibilities with online systems. |
| What are the implications of globalization when you have to look for a job? What can you do to prepare yourself for competing in a globalized business environment? | Globalization has greatly reduced the advantages of first world countries to find jobs in business. Other countries in lesser states are paid much lower wages to do the same job. With globalization there is much more competition, now you are not only competing with other American workers but you could also be competing with workers from India. To better prepare yourself to compete in a global market, more education is always a plus the more you know the more you can benefit a company and the more value you will hold. Completing an internship shows companies that you are competent in the job you want and less training is needed. Learning another language can be a great way to compete in a global market as you will be able to compete in other countries where English is not the main language spoken. |
| Define globalization | The process of international integrating arising from the interchange of world views, products, ideas, and other aspects of culture. |
| Define business intelligence systems | Systems that assist managers analyze current and past information to predict future events. |
| Describe the characteristics of transaction processing systems (TPS) and role they play in a business | Answer routine questions and to track the flow of transactions through the organization. Monitor status of internal operations and firm’s relationship with external environment. Major producer of information to other systems. |
| Describe the characteristics of management information systems (MIS) | Provide weekly, monthly, annual results, but may enable drilling down into daily or hourly data Typically not very flexible systems with little analytic Capability |
| Describe how the information systems function supports a business | Information systems functions support a business by providing information storage and the methods to analysis said data. Informations systems functions assist managers and CEOs in decision making to better the company’s future. Information systems assist in business processes, mundane task that would take many man hours to complete but now can be automated by information systems functions, with this you get your precious man hours going towards bettering the company. |
| what do chief knowledge officers (CKO) do for companies? | The chief knowledge officer is a corporate title for the person responsible for overseeing knowledge management within an organization. The CKO position is related to, but broader than, the CIO position. The CKO's job is to ensure that the company profits from the effective use of knowledge resources. Investments in knowledge may include employees, processes and intellectual property; a CKO can help an organization maximize the return on investment on those investments. |
| Define Porter’s competitive forces model and explain how it works. | Porter’s competitive forces model is way for manager’s to look at the competition for their companies’ products. In many cases managers look at competition in a narrow way, when in reality competition is dynamic and broad. Your company faces threats from other businesses with same product, new entrants into the market that will try and take a piece of the pie, your company also faces threats from substitute products, as well as buyer’s and suppliers bargaining power in reference the leverage your company has over them in regards to choice and price . In general the porter model is a way of looking at any company regardless of the product they supply and determining what their competition is and how they could possible increase profitability. With Porter’s model you can pinpoint where your competitive weakness is and use this information to make improvements to increase your company’s worth. |
| List and describe four competitive strategies enabled by information systems that firms can pursue. | Low-Cost leadership – a company can use information systems to achieve the lowest operational cost and the lowest prices Product differentiation - Use information systems to enable new products and services, or greatly change the customer convenience in using your existing products and services Focus on market niche- Use information systems to enable specific market focus, and serve narrow target market better than competitors Strengthen customer and supplier intimacy- Strong linkages to customers and suppliers increase switching costs and loyalty. |
| Describe how information systems can support each of these competitive strategies and give examples | Low-Cost leadership- terminate jobs which could be done with information systems which reduces overhead, automatic supplier alerts when products are needed. Product differentiation- give increased support over competitors with current model of product. Add features to current model of product, innovate and do thing with future products that competitors are not. Focus on market niche- examine the market for a product which is needed by the population but is being overlooked due to more popular product ideas. Use statistical analysis to determine needs that are not being met. Strengthen customer and supplier intimacy- Permits suppliers to decide how and when to ship supplies to plants, allowing more lead time in producing goods. |
| Explain why aligning IT with business objectives is essential for strategic use of systems | Over 75% of businesses fail at this task, which by aligning your IT with business objective you put your company far and above the majority of competition. Also you are able to effectively measure your company’s efforts and worth. |
| Define and describe the value chain model. | A value chain is a chain of activities that a firm operating in a specific industry performs in order to deliver a valuable product or service for the market. The model identifies specific, critical leverage points where a firm can use information technology most effectively to enhance its competitive position. The value chain model views the firm as a series of basic activities that add a margin of value to a firm’s products or services. The activities are categorized as either primary or support activities. Primary activities are most directly related to production and distribution of the firm’s products and services, which create value for the customer. Support activities make the delivery of primary activities possible and consist of organization infrastructure |
| Explain how the value chain model can be used to identify opportunities for information systems. | information systems can be used at each stage of the value chain to improve operational efficiency, lower costs, improve profit margins, and forge a closer relationship with customers and suppliers. Organizations can use information systems to help examine how value-adding activities are performed at each stage of the value chain. Information systems can improve the relationship with customers (customer relationship management systems) and with suppliers (supply chain management systems) who may be outside the value chain but belong to an extended value chain. Information systems can help businesses track benchmarks in the organization and identify best practices of their particular industries. After analyzing various stages in the value chain, an organization can devise a list of candidate applications for information systems |
| Define the value web and show how it is related to the value chain. | A value web is a collection of independent firms that use information technology to coordinate their value chains to collectively produce a product or service. It is more customer driven and operates in a less linear fashion than the traditional value chain. The value web is a networked system that can synchronize the business processes of customers, suppliers, and trading partners among different companies in an industry or in related industries. |
| Explain how the value web helps businesses identify opportunities for strategic information systems | network systems can synchronize the value chains of business partners within an industry to respond rapidly to changes in supply and demand. Giving a major competitive advantage for product availability. |
| Describe how the Internet has changed competitive forces and competitive advantages. | The Internet increases the accessibility, storage, and distribution of information and knowledge for organizations; nearly any information can be available anywhere at any time. The Internet increases the scope, depth, and range of information and knowledge storage. It lowers the cost and raises the quality of information and knowledge distribution. That is, it lowers transaction costs and information acquisition costs. By using the Internet, organizations may reduce several levels of management, enabling closer and quicker communication between upper levels of management and the lower levels. The Internet also lowers agency costs. It’s common knowledge that a company that doesn’t take advantages of the internet is at an automatic competitive advantage. |
| How do information systems help businesses use synergies, core competencies, and network-based strategies to achieve competitive advantages? | A large corporation is typically a collection of businesses that are organized as a collection of strategic business units. Information systems can improve the overall performance of these business units by promoting synergies and core competencies. Using information from one department such as banking IE past sales records for the marketing department IE using past information to look at trends in market to develop marketing strategy for future. |
| Describe how promoting synergies and core competencies enhances competitive advantages. | The concept of synergy is that when the output of some units can be used as inputs to other units, or two organizations can pool markets and expertise, these relationships lower costs and generate profits. In applying synergy to situations, information systems are used to tie together the operations of disparate business units so that they can act as a whole. A core competency is an activity for which a firm is a world-class leader. In general, a core competency relies on knowledge that is gained over many years of experience and a first-class research organization or simply key people who stay abreast of new external knowledge. Any Information system that encourages the sharing of knowledge across business units enhances competency. |
| Explain how businesses benefit by using network economics. | In a network, the marginal costs of adding another participant are almost zero, whereas the marginal gain is much larger. The larger the number of participants in a network, the greater the value to all participants because each user can interact with more people. The availability of Internet and networking technology has inspired strategies that take advantage of the abilities of the firm to create networks or network with each other. In a network economy, information systems facilitate business models based on large networks of users or subscribers that take advantage of network economies. Internet sites can be used by firms to build communities of users that can result in building customer loyalty and enjoyment and build unique ties to customers, suppliers, and business partners. |
| Define and describe a virtual company and the benefits of pursuing a virtual company strategy. | A virtual company uses networks to link people, assets, and ideas, enabling it to ally with other companies to create and distribute products and services without being limited by traditional organizational boundaries or physical locations. One company can use the capabilities of another company without being physically tied to that company. The virtual company model is useful when a company finds it cheaper to acquire products, services, or capabilities from an external vendor or when it needs to move quickly to exploit new market opportunities and lacks the time and resources to respond on its own. |
| Explain how disruptive technologies create strategic opportunities. | More than anything disruptive technologies forces your company to grow and think beyond the scope of your current product, if something new in the industry makes your product obsolete you must adapt or die. Studying disruptive technologies and expanding before you lose your slice of the pie is the best strategy. |
| List and describe the various type of computers available to business today. | NHPC (normal houshold personal computer) -Has versatile functionality used for anything from gaming to internet browsing BOPC (business and office personal computer)- functionality is key here for business perfect for browsing web creating spread sheets and using applications like PowerPoint and Vsio for presentations PASC (public allowed super computer)- sometimes at large incorporations and at airports, able to perform dense calculations that other normalized computers would not be able to perform due to inefficient hardware, this is an option usually only available to massive corporations due to cost. |
| explain a 2 tier architecture | A two tier architecture is usually just a presentation layer and data store layer. These can be on 1 tier (1 machine) or 2 tiers (2 machines) to achieve better performance by distributing the work load. |
| explain a n tier architecture | a n-tier architecture usually puts something between the presentation and data store layers such as a business logic layer or service layer. Again, you can put this into 3 or more “up to n tiers” depending on how much money you have for hardware and how much load you expect. |
| Define the client/server model of computing | The term Client/Server is used to describe a computing model for the development of computerized systems. This model is based on distribution of functions between two types of independent and autonomous processes: Server and Client. A Client is any process that requests specific services from the server process. A Server is a process that provides requested services for the Client. Client and Server processes can reside in same computer or in different computers linked by a network. When Client and Server processes reside on two or more independent computers on a network, the Server can provide services for more than one Client. In addition, a client can request services from several servers on the network without regard to the location or the physical characteristics of the computer in which the Server process resides. The network ties the server and client together, providing the medium through which the clients and the server communicate. |
| what is a Mobile digital platform? | The hardware/software environment for laptops, tablets, smartphones and other portable devices. |
| define Nanotechnology | the branch of technology that deals with dimensions and tolerances of less than 100 nanometers, esp. the manipulation of individual atoms and molecules. |
| define Grid computing | the collection of computer resources from multiple locations to reach a common goal. |
| define Cloud computing | the practice of using a network of remote servers hosted on the Internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than a local server or a personal computer. This is good for business because the flexibility in technology, reliability, scalability, as well as the cost-savings measures. |
| define Autonomic computing | refers to the self-managing characteristics of distributed computing resources, adapting to unpredictable changes while hiding intrinsic complexity to operators and users. |
| define Virtualization | in computing, refers to the act of creating a virtual (rather than actual) version of something, including but not limited to a virtual computer hardware platform, operating system (OS), storage device, or computer network resources. |
| define Green computing | is the study and practice of environmentally sustainable computing or IT. This can include "designing, manufacturing, using, and disposing of computers, servers, and associated subsystems—such as monitors, printers, storage devices, and networking and communications systems — efficiently and effectively with minimal or no impact on the environment |
| define HTML5 | a markup language used for structuring and presenting content for the World Wide Web and a core technology of the Internet. |
| define Multicore processing | A multi-core processor is a single computing component with two or more independent actual central processing units, which are the units that read and execute program instructions. |
| Explain why open source software is so important today and its benefits for business | Open sources is incredibly important today because with open source you are getting much better quality product. If you have a software company with a hand full of developers versus open sources where you have hundreds even thousands working on several projects your products will be statistically better. With open source you are usually able to try the product before you buy the full version which is crucial to keeping overhead down when solving organization problems. |
| define Cloud computing | the practice of using a network of remote servers hosted on the Internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than a local server or a personal computer. This is good for business because the flexibility in technology, reliability, scalability, as well as the cost-savings measures |
| define a Mashup | is a web page, or web application, that uses content from more than one source to create a single new service displayed in a single graphical interface. For example, you could combine the addresses and photographs of your library branches with a Google map to create a map mashup. This is good for business because a company to save time for employees by giving them the availability to web applications such as the ones built for SFA. This application took a mashup of pictures, information, and graphs to give their employees an edge over other firms. |
| define an Application | An application is a program, or group of programs, that is designed for the end user. The application is a custom designed piece of software for the used to perform ma specific task. Applications are good for businesses because they allow employees to save time, rather than perform specific calculations for data entry as an example a software developer could write an application to simple have the employee input some numbers and have the calculation done automatically which saves time and money. |
| Define a database management system | Specific type of software for creating, storing, organizing, and accessing data from a database |
| explain how a DBMS works | software that permits centralization of data and data management so that businesses have a single consistent source for all their data needs. Data definition capability, a data dictionary capability, and a data manipulation language. The data definition language specifies the structure and content of the database. The data dictionary is an automated or manual file that stores information about the data in the database, including names, definitions, formats, and descriptions of data elements. |
| what is the main benefit of a DBMS to an organization | its ability to separate the logical and physical views of data. |
| Define and compare the logical and physical view of data. | The DBMS relieves the end user or programmer from the task of understanding where and how the data are actually stored by separating the logical and physical views of the data. The logical view presents data as end users or business specialists would perceive them, whereas the physical view shows how data are actually organized and structured on physical storage media, such as a hard disk. |
| Define and describe the three operations of a relational database management system. | Select operation creates a subset consisting of all records in the file that meet stated criteria. In other words, select creates a subset of rows that meet certain criteria. Joint operation combines relational tables to provide the user with more information that is available in individual tables. Project operation creates a subset consisting of columns in a table, permitting the user to create new tables that contain only the information required |
| Name and describe the three major capabilities of a DBMS | The data definition language specifies the structure and content of the database. The data dictionary is an automated or manual file that stores information about the data in the database, including names, definitions, formats, and descriptions of data elements. The data manipulation language, such as SQL, is a specialized language for accessing and manipulating the data in the database. |
| Define a data warehouse and describe how it works. | A data warehouse is a database with archival, querying, and data exploration tools (i.e., statistical tools) and is used for storing historical and current data of potential interest to managers throughout the organization and from external sources (e.g., competitor sales or market share). The data originate in many of the operational areas and are copied into the data warehouse as often as needed. The data in the warehouse are organized according to company-wide standards so that they can be used for management analysis and decision making. Data warehouses support looking at the data of the organization through many views or directions. The data warehouse makes the data available to anyone to access as needed, but it cannot be altered. A data warehouse system also provides a range of ad hoc and standardized query tools, analytical tools, and graphical reporting facilities. The data warehouse system allows managers to look at products by customer, by year, by salesperson, essentially different slices of the data. Normal operational databases do not permit such different views. |
| Define business intelligence and explain how it is related to databse technology. | Powerful tools are available to analyze and access information that has been captured and organized in data warehouses and data marts. These tools enable users to analyze the data to see new patterns, relationships, and insights that are useful for guiding decision making. These tools for consolidating, analyzing, and providing access to vast amounts of data to help users make better business decisions are often referred to as business intelligence. Principal tools for business intelligence include software for database query and reporting tools for multidimensional data analysis and data mining. |
| Describe the capabilities of online analytical processing (OLAP). | Data warehouses support multidimensional data analysis, also known as online analytical processing (OLAP), which enables users to view the same data in different ways using multiple dimensions. Each aspect of information represents a different dimension. OLAP represents relationships among data as a multidimensional structure, which can be visualized as cubes of data and cubes within cubes of data, enabling more sophisticated data analysis. OLAP enables users to obtain online answers to ad hoc questions in a fairly rapid amount of time, even when the data are stored in very large databases. Online analytical processing and data mining enable the manipulation and analysis of large volumes of data from many perspectives, for example, sales by item, by department, by store, by region, in order to find patterns in the data. Such patterns are difficult to find with normal database methods, which is why a data warehouse and data mining are usually parts of OLAP. OLAP represents relationships among data as a multidimensional structure, which can be visualized as cubes of data and cubes within cubes of data, enabling more sophisticated data analysis. |
| Define data mining, describe what types of information can be obtained from its, and explain how does it differs from OLAP. | Data mining provides insights into corporate data that cannot be obtained with OLAP by finding hidden patterns and relationships in large databases and inferring rules from them to predict future behavior. The patterns and rules are used to guide decision making and forecast the effect of those decisions. The types of information obtained from data mining include associations, sequences, classifications, clusters, and forecasts. |
| would knowledge of information systems help you compete in a job market? | Knowledge of information systems will definitely help you compete in a global market, by knowing more about the technical working of a business you became more valuable because you are able to train other employees who may not know the systems, it cost less money or none to train you on those systems, and you are able to bring another perspective to the organization to solve problems. |
| Serve middle managers Support non-routine decision making E.g., What is impact on production schedule if December sales doubled ? Often use external information as well from TPS and MIS | a decision support systems (DSS) |
| Serve senior managers Address strategic issues and long-term trends E.g., What products should we make in five years? Address non-routine decision making Provide generalized computing capacity that can be applied to changing array of problems Draw summarized information from MIS, DSS, and data from external events. Typically use portal with Web interface, or digital dashboard, to present content. | Executive Support Systems (ESS) |
| build the software and information systems which the corporation as a whole will use as a tool to better the company with. | Programmers |
| work to improve on hardware and software already built. With their knowledge of computers they can make systems and physical computers faster and more efficient which makes the company faster and more efficient. | System analysts |
| design information systems and improve on information systems already built, their main responsibility is to maintain the system and fix errors that may come up. | Information systems managers |
| is responsible for the technological direction of a company. Proposes budgets for programs and projects, purchases and upgrades equipment, supervises computer specialists and IT workers, and presides over IT-related projects. The chief security officer is responsible for securing an organization's physical and digital security. | The chief information officer |
| impact of globalization | more competition globally, diverse supply chain which means many companies developing technologies and parts world wide, the internet has brought global together. |
| True or false a business model describes how a company delivers, and sells a product or service to create wealth. | true |
| true or false IT infrastructure technology is the set of physical devices required to operate the entire enterprise | false |
| true or false the dimensions of information systems are people, organization, and information technology | true |
| true or false an IT infrastructure provides the platform on which the firm can build its information system | true |
| true or false an understanding of enterprise-wide systems for customers relationship management is one of the skills relevant to careers in marketing | true |
| true or false in cloud computing rapid elasticity refers to the ability of computing resources to be quickly altered to meet demand | true |
| true or false XML is limited to describing how data should be presented in the form of web pages, HTML can perform presentation, communication, and storage of data | false |
| true or false web mining is the discovery of useful patterns on the web | true |
| true or false DBMS simplify how end users work with databases by separating the logical and physical views of the data | true |
| true or false operation level manufacturing systems deal with the firms long term manufacturing goals such as where to locate a new plant | false |
| true or false the object oriented database is the most common type of database | false |
| true or false OLAP is a key tool of BI | true |
| true or false a hub is a networking device that connects network components and is used to filter and forward data to specified destinations on the network | false |
| true or false circuit switching makes much more efficient use of the communications capacity of a network than does packet switching | false |
| true or false two computers using TCP/IP can communicate even if they are based on different hardware and software platforms | true |
| true or false the domain name systems DNS converts domain names to IP addresses | false |
| The type of logical database model that treats data as if they were stored in two-dimensional tables is the | relational database |
| the method of slicing digital messages into parcels, transmitting them along different communication paths, and reassembling them at their destinations is called | packet switching |
| in the telecommunication network architecture a protocol is | a standard set of rules and procedures for control of communications in a network |
| in the domain name http://myspace.blogging.com what are the root top level second level and third level domains respectively | . com blogging myspace |
| access is a | DBMS for desktop computers |
| in a relational database, the three basic operations to develop useful sets of data are | select, project, and join |
| businesses use ___ tools to search and analyze unstructured data sets such as emails and memos | text mining |
| which of the following is a type of optical disk storage cd-rom hard drive usb flashdrive magnetic tape | cd-rom |
| two categories of fourth-generation languages are: | Graphics language, application software package. |
| describe the efforts of companies to reduce the power and cooling cost of maintaining their technology assets | green computing |
| running a java program on a computer requires | a java virtual machine to be installed on the computer |
| which of the following statements is not true of cloud computing it consist of three types of services cloud infrastructure cloud platform and cloud it removes the concern about data and systems security for business | it removes the concern about data and systems security for business |
| software that manages the resources of the computer is called | system software |
| What is the most important benefit of an enterprise application? | Enabling a company to work collaboratively with customers and suppliers. |
| use internet technology for a private company network | intranets |
| all of the following industries have been severely disrupted by the internet except | pc manufacturer |
| the internet raises bargaining power of customers by | making information available to everyone |
| expand on the follow acronyms | AND GO |
| ERP | Enterprise resource planning |
| LAN | Local area network |
| CRM | Customer relationship management |
| SQL | Structured Query Language |
| HTTP | Hypertext Transfer Protocol |
| XML | Extensible Markup Language |
| DBMS | data base management system |
| RFID | Radio-frequency identification |
| list the five major components of IT infrastructure | cloud computing data center manager Server Virtualization Remote Monitoring Electronic Records Management |
| what does VPN stand for? | virtual private network (VPN) |
| what are the Types of Business Information Systems | A functional perspective: Identifying systems by their major business function A constituency perspective: Identifying systems in terms of the major organizational groups that they serve |
| true or false compared to fiber optic cable, coaxial cable has higher transmission speed | false |
| true or false transaction processing systems are the basic business systems that serve the operational level of the organization | true |
| true or false in the value chain model primary activities are most directly related to the production and distribution of the firm's products and services that create value for the customer | true |
| true or false client/server computing is the most widely used form of centralized processing | false |
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