Chapter 11 - ERP Systems

Question 1

___________ are multiple module software packages that evolved primarily from traditional
manufacturing resource planning (MRP II) systems.

Answer 1

ERP systems

Question 2

The _______________ coined the term ERP, which has become widely used in recent years.

Answer 2

Gartner Group

Question 3

The objective of ERP is:

Answer 3

to integrate key processes of the organization such as order entry, manufacturing, procurement and accounts payable, payroll, and human resources.

Question 4

Under this approach, a database management system is used to provide minimal technological advantage over flat-file systems.

Answer 4

closed database architecture

Question 5

ERP functionality falls into two general groups of applications:

Answer 5

core applications and business analysis applications

Question 6

________________ are those applications that operationally support the day-to-day activities of the business. If these applications fail, so does the business. Typical examples include, but are not limited to, sales and distribution, business planning, production planning, shop floor control, and logistics

Answer 6

Core applications

Question 7

Core applications are also called ___________________.

Answer 7

online transaction processing (OLTP) applications

Question 8

A ____________ is a database constructed for quick searching, retrieval, ad hoc queries, and ease of use

Answer 8

data warehouse

Question 9

__________________ includes decision support, modeling, information retrieval, ad hoc reporting/analysis, and what-if analysis.

Answer 9

Online analytical processing (OLAP)

Question 10

An ERP system could not exist without having a data warehouse. TRUE OR FALSE.

Answer 10

FALSE

Question 11

Organizations that have not implemented an ERP may deploy data warehouses. TRUE OR FALSE.

Answer 11

TRUE

Question 12

Most ERP systems are based on the ______________

Answer 12

client-server model

Question 13

Most ERP systems are based on the ______________

Answer 13

client-server model

Question 14

The ___________________ is a form of network topology in which a user’s computer or terminal (the client) accesses the ERP programs and data via a host computer called the server.

Answer 14

client-server model

Question 15

Two basic architectures of a client-server model are the _____________________.

Answer 15

two-tier model and the three-tier model

Question 16

In a typical __________ the server handles both application and database duties. Client computers are responsible for presenting data to the user and passing user input back to the server. Some ERP vendors use this approach for local area network (LAN) applications for which the demand on the server is restricted to relatively small population of users.

Answer 16

two-tier model

Question 17

The database and application functions are separated in the _______________. This architecture is typical of large ERP systems that use wide area networks (WANs) for connectivity among the users. Satisfying client requests requires two or more network connections. Initially, the client establishes communications with the application server.

Answer 17

three-tier model

Question 18

___________ consist of large numbers of relatively simple transactions, such as
updating accounting records that are stored in several related tables.

Answer 18

OLTP events

Question 19

When implementing an ERP system that will include a data warehouse, a clear distinction needs to be made between the competing types of data processing:

Answer 19

OLTP and OLAP

Question 20

____________ is the aggregation or roll-up of data. For example, sales offices data can be rolled up to districts and districts rolled up to regions

Answer 20

Consolidation

Question 21

____________ permits disaggregating data to reveal the underlying details that explain
certain phenomena. For example, the user can drill down from total sales returns for
a period to identify the actual products returned and the reasons for their return.

Answer 21

Drill-down

Question 22

__________________ enables the user to examine data from different viewpoints. One
slice of data might show sales within each region. Another slice might present sales
by product across regions. This is often performed along a time axis to
depict trends and patterns.

Answer 22

Slicing and dicing

Question 23

____________ allow users to analyze complex data relationships. The physical database itself is organized in such a way that related data may be rapidly retrieved across
multiple dimensions. These servers need to be efficient when storing and processing multidimensional data.

Answer 23

OLAP servers

Question 24

OLAP can be characterized as online transactions that:

Answer 24

• Access very large amounts of data (e.g., several years of sales data).
• Analyze the relationships among many types of business elements such as sales, products, geographic regions, and marketing channels.
• Involve aggregated data such as sales volumes, budgeted dollars, and dollars spent.
• Compare aggregated data over hierarchical time periods (e.g., monthly, quarterly, yearly).
• Present data in different perspectives such as sales by region, by distribution channel, or by product.
• Involve complex calculations among data elements such as expected profit as a function of sales revenue for each type of sales channel in a particular region.
• Respond quickly to user requests so they can pursue an analytical thought process without being stymied by system delays.

Question 25

The difference between OLAP and OLTP

Answer 25

OLTP applications support mission-critical tasks through simple queries of operational databases. OLAP applications support management-critical tasks through analytical investigation of complex data associations that are captured in data warehouses

Question 26

The ____________ is the set of activities associated with moving goods from the raw materials stage to the consumer

Answer 26

supply chain

Question 27

_________________ links all of the partners in the chain, including vendors, carriers, third-party logistics companies, and information systems providers.

Answer 27

Supply Chain Management

Question 28

When the data warehouse is organized for a single department or function, it is often called a ________.

Answer 28

data mart.

Question 29

The process of data warehousing involves:

Answer 29

1. extracting
2. converting
3. standardizing an organization’s operational data from ERP and legacy systems and loading it into a
   central archive—the data warehouse

Question 30

When the data warehouse is organized for a single department or function, it is often called a _____________.

Answer 30

data mart.

Question 31

___________ is the process of selecting, exploring, and modeling large amounts of data to uncover relationships and global patterns that exist in large databases but are hidden among the vast number of facts.

Answer 31

Data mining

Question 32

This involves sophisticated techniques that use database queries and artificial intelligence to model real-world phenomena from data collected from the warehouse.

Answer 32

Data mining

Question 33

The data warehousing process has the
following essential stages:

Answer 33

• Modeling data for the data warehouse
• Extracting data from operational databases
• Cleansing extracted data
• Transforming data into the warehouse model
• Loading the data into the data warehouse database

Question 34

_________________ is the process of collecting data from operational databases, flat files, archives, and external data sources.

Answer 34

Data extraction

Question 35

A technique called changed _________ can dramatically reduce the extraction time by capturing only newly modified data.

Answer 35

data capture

Question 36

A key feature of a data warehouse is that the ______________________.

Answer 36

data contained in it are in a nonvolatile, stable state.

Question 37

________________ involves filtering out or repairing invalid data prior to being stored in the warehouse.

Answer 37

Data cleansing

Question 38

A data warehouse is composed of:

Answer 38

detail and summary data.

Question 39

Reasons for employing a data warehouse:

Answer 39

1. Internal Efficiency
2. Integration of Legacy Systems
3. Consolidation of Global Data

Question 40

_______________ is an OLAP feature of data mining tools available to the user.

Answer 40

Drill-down capability

Question 41

The primary reason for data warehousing is to _____________________________.

Answer 41

optimize business performance

Question 42

Fields of Applications of Data Mining

Answer 42

Banking/Investments
Health Care and Medical Insurance
Marketing

Question 43

___________ is the system’s ability to grow smoothly and economically as user requirements increase.

Answer 43

Scalability

Question 44

________________________ is the ability to increase system capacity at an acceptable incremental cost per unit of capacity without encountering limits that would demand a system upgrade or replacement

Answer 44

Smooth and economical growth

Question 45

_______________________ pertain to volume-related activities such as transaction processing volume, data entry volume, data output volume, data storage volume, or increases in the user population.

Answer 45

User requirements