Chapter 1 Questions

Question 1

True or False

To avoid unwanted consequences, altering the IT Strategy requires adjustments to the organizational strategy.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

By using IS to achieve economies of scale and generate operating efficiencies, Walmart epitomizes which one of Porter’s generic strategies?

Answer 2

Cost Leadership

Question 3

True or False

A social business strategy needs to align itself with the organization’s IT strategy but not the business strategy.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

True or False

There has been accelerated competition among market leaders concurrent with the increases in the quality and quantity of IT investments.

Answer 4

True

Question 5

Technology guru Tim O’Reilly said this about the publishing industry: “To adapt, publishers need to cannibalize their own business, experimenting with new forms, new formats, and new business models.” This statement is consistent with:

Answer 5

Hypercompetition

Question 6

GE recognized that it could only sustain its competitive advantage for a limited time as competitors attempted to outmaneuver them. What was the model that Welch applied to help solve this problem?

Answer 6

Destroy your business

Question 7

Match the following goals with the UPS strategy it represents.
Business Strategy
IS Strategy
Organizational Strategy

Create technologies and logistics systems that support efficient flow information and packages worldwide.

Answer 7

IS Strategy

Question 8

Match the following goals with the UPS strategy it represents.
Business Strategy
IS Strategy
Organizational Strategy

Empower employees to ensure safe transport of goods and to value commitment to teamwork.

Answer 8

Organizational Strategy

Question 9

Match the following goals with the UPS strategy it represents.
Business Strategy
IS Strategy
Organizational Strategy

Securely provide specialized transportation and logistics services to individuals and businesses.

Answer 9

Business Strategy

Question 10

Through the use of various technologies, a ski resort tracks the slopes each customer skis and the times he or she skis them. Skiers then have the ability to view this information online, and can choose to seamlessly share their accomplishments of Facebook. In addition, photographers positioned at the resort post pictures of Facebook for the skier. The ski resort has worked hard to develop a strong ______

Answer 10

Social business strategy

Question 11

True or False

Apple’s introduction of the iPhone wile iPod sales were still very strong is an example of DYB.

Answer 11

True

Question 12

When a company’s business strategy and technology strategy are intertwined, this situation is known as ________.

Answer 12

convergence

Question 13

True or False

This IS strategy drives the business strategy.

Answer 13

False

Question 14

The “Managerial Levers” concept is useful for the following reasons:

a) Management can find what “levers” to push to force people to do what they want.
b) Management should not make a change unless they align multiple issues, such as tasks, measures, values, incentives, etc.
c) System investments need to be financially highly leveraged.
d) All of the above
e) None of the above

Answer 14

b) Management should not make a change unless they align multiple issues, such as tasks, measures, values, incentives, etc.

Question 15

A bank provides its customers mobile applications that significantly simplify traditional banking activities. For example, a customer can use a smartphone to take a picture of a check and electronically deposit into an account. This unique service demonstrates the bank’s desire to practice which one of Porter’s strategies?

Answer 15

Differentiation

Question 16

The managerial levers identifies the crucial, interrelated components for designing an organization. The components include all of the following EXCEPT:

Answer 16

Social media

Question 17

Which is not a question that can be used to understand organizational design?

Answer 17

Where is the organization’s headquarters located?

Question 18

The organization strategy should ideally _______ the IS strategy.

Answer 18

complement

Question 19

General managers should take an active role in decisions about information systems. This is vital because:

Answer 19

Information systems are designed to support business objectives.

Question 20

True or False

Once a firm is out of alignment, it does not mean that it has to stay that way.

Answer 20

True

Question 21

Significant changes in IS should trigger a reassessment of the ________.

Answer 21

business strategy

Question 22

True or False

Hypercompetition refers to where a firm obtains more than 5 strong competitors.

Answer 22

False

Question 23

Google has disrupted a number of industries, particularly the advertising and software industries. Google’s ability to quickly and aggressively provide new products and services is best described by:

Answer 23

The Hypercompetition Model

Question 24

The _________ is a plan articulating where a business seeks to go and how it expects to get there.

Answer 24

business strategy

Question 25

When an organization qualifies its product or service in a way that allows it to appear unique in the marketplace, this is called:

Answer 25

differentiation

Question 26

The plan an organization uses to provide information systems and service:

Answer 26

IS Strategy

Question 27

A general manger should:

Answer 27

Understand the use and consequences of technologies relevant to the business

Question 28

To remain competitive, an organization’s business strategy must adapt and respond to all of the following variables. Which variable in particular does IS help to determine.

Answer 28

The capabilities of the organization

Question 29

All of the following are likely causes of Kaiser Permanente’s difficulties before their new KPHealthConnect EXCEPT for:

a) Bonus incentives not matching strategy
b) The alignment of Information Systems Strategy Triangle
c) The failure of automated systems
d) The leadership and organizational culture
e) Patient service processes needing to be updated and streamlined

Answer 29

The failure of automated systems

Question 30

Organizational, cultural, and control variables are considered the __________ used by decision makers to effect change in their organization.

Answer 30

managerial levers

Question 31

Business strategies based on hypercompetition focus on customer satisfaction and profit maximization but also build in a component of business intelligence. Business intelligence helps an agile organization to:

Answer 31

Predict and respond to new opportunities

Question 32

The physical means by which information is exchanged among hardware components is called _________.

Answer 32

networking

Question 33

Which one of the following is NOT part of the information systems strategy matrix?

Hardware
Software
Networking
Personnel
Data

Answer 33

Personnel

Question 34

A social business strategy is designed to use social IT tools for all of the following EXCEPT:

Collaborating with stakeholders
Building deeper connections with stakeholders
Innovating with stakeholders
Excluding stakeholders
Networking with employees, customer and/or suppliers

Answer 34

Excluding stakeholders

Question 35

The managerial levers identifies the crucial, interrelated components for designing an organization. The components include all of the following EXCEPT:

Decision rights
Social media
Business processes
Incentives and rewards
Performance measurement and evaluation

Answer 35

Social media