Ch 5

Question 1

what is a system

Answer 1

a group of interacting interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. it has boundary to separate itself from the enviroment, it can take input, process it, and produce output.

ex. university, human body, eco syst

Question 2

what is an information system

Answer 2

a group of interrelated components that takes data as input, process the data and produce a variety of output. an info system consists of hardware, software, procedures, and date

ex. aurora, umlearn

Question 3

what are 4 characteristics of useful information

Answer 3

accurate
timely (current)
relevant
comprehensive (or complete)

Question 4

what is a busines process

Answer 4

a series of activities, tasks, or steps designed to produce a product or service

Question 5

what are the 3 components of a business process

Answer 5

what needs to be done (tasks or activities)

in what order (order of tasks)

deliverable (product or service)

Question 6

what are the 2 views of information systems

Answer 6

functional - by department

cross-functional - business process

Question 7

what are functional information systems

Answer 7

accounting
marketing
sales
human resources

Question 8

what are cross functional information systems

Answer 8

enterprise resource planning system (ERP)

Question 9

what are some common types of IS

Answer 9

accounting
CRM (customer relationship management)
SCM (supply chain management)

Question 10

what are some advantages of the Silo or Functional perspective

Answer 10

allows optimization of expertise

groups like functions together for transfer of knowledge

Question 11

what are some disadvantages of the Silo or Functional perspective

Answer 11

sub optimization (reinvent wheel; gaps in communication; bureaucracy)

tend to lose sight of overall organizational objectives

Question 12

what are 5 attributes of processes

Answer 12

beginning and end

inputs and outputs

a process to convert inputs into outputs

metrics to measure effectiveness

they cross functions

Question 13

what are three types of flows for business processes

Answer 13

physical goods and or services

money

data and information

Question 14

How do business processes relate to data/information

Answer 14

they use data/info and create data/info

Question 15

what is the relationship between BP and IS

Answer 15

IS is used to support (automate, streamline) BP

Question 16

what is business process reengineering

Answer 16

when there are changes to BP or steam lined business

Question 17

what are advantages of ERP systems

Answer 17

timely access to data/info

increased information accuracy

support for multiple languages/currencies

summarization of data at diff levels

enforcing controls

detailed record keeping

Question 18

what are issues/challenges with ERP

Answer 18

it is very complex - may require changing BP, standardising, or customize process

expensive (licesnes, cust, testing, deploy, training, manitance/upgrades)

takes a long time to be usable and during that time needs may change