Business Applications

Question 1

Define “e-business.”

Answer 1

Any business process that relies on electronic dissemination of information or on automated transaction processing.

Question 2

Identify five risks of e-commerce .

Answer 2

1. Risk of system unavailability,
2. Security and confidentiality risks,
3. Authentication risks,
4. Nonrepudiation risks,
5. System integrity risks.

Question 3

Identify three risks of not implementing e-commerce systems.

Answer 3

1. Customers move online,
2. Limited growth,
3. Limited markets.

Question 4

E-commerce depends on trust in two parties. Please identify them.

Answer 4

1. Trading partner,

2. The trading site or service provider.

Question 5

Define “e-commerce.”

Answer 5

Transactions between the organization and its trading partners.

Question 6

What is business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce?

Answer 6

This involves selling goods and services directly to consumers, almost always using the Internet and web-based technology. B2C e-commerce relies heavily on intermediaries or brokers to facilitate the sales transaction.

Question 7

Define business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce.

Answer 7

The electronic processing of transactions between businesses. Includes electronic data interchange (EDI), supply chain management (SCM) and electronic funds transfer (EFT).

Question 8

What are customer relationship management (CRM) systems?

Answer 8

Technologies that facilitate managing e-relationships with clients. Both biographic and transaction information about existing and potential customers is collected and stored in a database. The CRM provides tools to analyze the information and develop personalized marketing plans for individual customers.

Question 9

Define “electronic data interchange (EDI).”

Answer 9

The system-to-system exchange of business data (e.g., purchase orders, confirmations, invoices, etc.) in structured formats that allow direct processing of the data by the receiving system.

Question 10

Define “electronic funds transfer (EFT).”

Answer 10

A technology for transferring money from one bank account directly to another without the use of paper money or checks. Reduces the time and expense required to process checks and credit transactions.

Question 11

Define “token-based payment systems.”

Answer 11

Electronic cash, smart cards (cash cards), and online payment systems (e.g., PayPal); similar to electronic fund transfer (EFT), but governed by different laws.

Question 12

Define “electronic wallets.”

Answer 12

Software programs that allow the user to manage credit cards, user names, passwords, and address information in an easy-to-use, centralized location (e.g., RoboForm).

Question 13

Define “supply chain management (SCM).”

Answer 13

The process of planning, implementing, and controlling the operations of the supply chain: the process of transforming raw materials into a finished product and delivering that product to the consumer. Supply chain management incorporates all activities from the purchase and storage of raw materials, through the production process, into finished goods through to the point-of-consumption.

Question 14

What are operational systems?

Answer 14

These systems support the day-to-day activities of the business (purchasing of goods and services, manufacturing activities, sales to customers, cash collections, payroll, etc.) Also known as transaction processing systems (TPS).

Question 15

Define management information systems.

Answer 15

Systems designed to support routine management problems based primarily on data from transaction processing systems.

Question 16

What are decision support systems (DSS)?

Answer 16

These systems provide information to mid- and upper-level management to assist them in managing nonroutine problems and in long-range planning. Unlike MISs, DSSs frequently include external data in addition to summarized information from the TPS and include significant analytical and statistical capabilities.

Question 17

What are data-driven decision support systems (data-driven DSS)?

Answer 17

These systems process large amounts of data to find relationships and patterns that are useful in decision making.

Question 18

What is the purpose of executive support systems (ESS) and strategic support systems (SSS)?

Answer 18

A subset of decision support systems (DSS) especially designed for forecasting and making long-range, strategic decisions. As such, they have a greater emphasis on external data. Sometimes called “DSS for dummies.”

Question 19

What is a data warehouse?

Answer 19

A database for organizational decision making. Data from the live databases are copied to the warehouse so that data can queried without reducing the performance (i.e., speed) or stability (i.e., reliability) of the live systems.

Question 20

What is data mining?

Answer 20

Searching data in a warehouse to discover patterns and relationships in historical data.

Question 21

What is a knowledge work system?

Answer 21

Knowledge work systems facilitate the work activities of professional-level employees (engineers, accountants, attorneys, etc.) by providing information relevant to their day-to-day activities (e.g., how the company has handled specific types of audit exceptions) and/or by automating some of their routine functions (e.g., computer-aided systems engineering [CASE] packages used by programmers to automated some programming functions).

Question 22

Describe a flat file system.

Answer 22

Early information technology systems used flat file technology. Flat files are characterized by independent programs and data sets, high degrees of data redundancy, and difficulty in achieving cross functional reporting. BAD

Question 23

Describe the concept of knowledge management (KM).

Answer 23

Attempts to ensure that the right information is available at the right time to the right user. A variety of practices attempt to electronically capture and disseminate information throughout the organization. Knowledge management practices seek specific outcomes, including shared intelligence, improved performance, competitive advantage, and more innovation.

Question 24

Define “knowledge base (or knowledgebase)”.

Answer 24

A component of a knowledge management system. A special type of database designed for retrieval of knowledge. It provides the means to collect and organize the information and develop relationships among information components.

Question 25

Define “expert system (knowledge-based system)”

Answer 25

A computer program that contains subject-specific knowledge derived from experts. The system consists of a set of rules that are used to analyze information provided by the user of the system. Based on the information provided, the system recommends a course of action.

Question 26

Define “data mart”.

Answer 26

A specialized version of a data warehouse that contains data that is pre-configured to meet the needs of specific departments. Companies often support multiple data marts within their organization.

Question 27

Define “drill down”.

Answer 27

Concept associated with data warehouses. The ability to move from summary information to more granular information (i.e. viewing an accounts receivable customer balance and drilling down to the invoices and payments which resulted in that balance).

Question 28

Define “slicing and dicing” as it relates to data warehouses.

Answer 28

The ability to view a single data item in multiple dimensions; for example, the sale of VCRs might be viewed by product, by region, by time period, by company, etc.

Question 29

Define mobile computing.

Answer 29

Transportable computing devices. That is, computing devices that can be carried from place to place.

Question 30

Define malicious app.

Answer 30

An app that collects and transmits user data to a third party.

Question 31

Define view-only access.

Answer 31

Permitting a user to view, but not change, a file.

Question 32

Identify items that should be included in user training in mobile applications.

Answer 32

Organizational policies, password maintenance and protection, when and how to use mobile devices, procedures for lost or stolen devices.

Question 33

Identify three characteristics of the small business computing environment.

Answer 33

1. Exclusive use of microcomputers and laptops (e.g., there may be no servers), 2. Outsourced IT, 3.poor segregation of duties.

Question 34

Identify five risks of user-developed systems.

Answer 34

1. Not integrated with existing systems, 2. Inadequate testing and documentation, 3. Poor data input controls, 4. Poor system design, 5. Management may rely on these systems without knowing their risks.