Chapter 2 - Business Processes Flashcards
what is a business process
set of activities that are necessary to complete a response to a stimulus applied to an organization
what is an example of stimulus
customer orders products
what is an example of set of activities
employee picks the products from inventory
what is an example of a response
products are delivered to customer
response is
the actions that the organization takes as a result of the stimulus
a business process is a network of
activities
resources
facilities
information
a business process is best thought of as a system and is sometimes referred to as a
business system
is managing inventory a business process?
yes
is purchasing an important activity in the inventory management process
yes
(T/F) understanding, modelling, and redesigning business processes are a big part of what business analysts do
true
system analysis and design
modelling and design activities
what is the goal of system analysis and design
to develop an understanding of how an organization works
activities
transform resources and info of one type into resources and info of another type
e.g. payment activity transforms quantity received and shipping invoice info into a supplier payment; the payment activity has rules and procedures that it follows for doing this
can consist of purely manual actions (people following procedures), automated or controlled procedures used by computers a combination of manual and automated procedures
resources
items of value
e.g. case of milk, person working, customer’s cash
both suppliers and customers - since they both have value and are NOT under direction and control
facilities
structures used within the business process
resources can be stored within facilities
facilities might include factories, pieces of equipment, trucks, filing cabinets, inventories, databases
information
activities use info to determine how to transform the inputs received into outputs produced
knowledge derived from data, where the term data is defined as recorded facts or figures
data presented in a meaningful context
data processed by operations
a difference that makes a difference
according to software industry standards organization called the Object Management Group (OMG) created a standard set of terms and graphical notations for documenting business process called
Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN)
information is
knowledge derived from data
data is
recorded facts or figures
individual wage is _____
average wage is derived from the individual wages so average wage is _____
individual wage is data
average wage is information
information is data presented
in a meaningful context
information is processed data; that is,
information is processed by performing operations
we do something to data to produce information
information defined by Gregory Bateson
the difference that makes a difference
(T/F) new info, even if it doesn’t make a difference to your decision is still information
false - it does not make a difference so it is not info
characteristics of good information
accurate information - correct and complete that have been processed correctly
timely
relevant to
- context
- subject
just barely sufficient
worth its cost
accurate info
info that is factual and verifiable
(T/F) IS becomes a waste of time and money as users develop workarounds to avoid inaccurate data?
true
(T/F) over time, info may lose its level of accuracy and can sometimes create serious problems
true
timely information
info that is produced in time for its intended use
(T/F) in some cases, developing systems that provide info in near real-time is much more difficult and expensive than producing info a few hours later
true
relevant information
relevant to SUBJECT and CONTEXT
sufficient information
adequate information to perform the task but just barely
(T/F) the higher you rise in management, the more info you will be given and the more info you will need to dissect
false - the more info you will need to ignore
worth its cost
when an appropriate relationship exists between the cost of information and its value
(T/F) any time a good is moved or a service is provided, data and info are always created
TRUE
moving something from one place to another creates new information about the location of that thing
during the move, the thing may change ownership (data) or may itself be modified (data)
(T/F) any time there is a physical flow, there is the potential to capture a flow of info
true
(T/F) we always collect info when we have the potential to do so
false - only when we need to collect
(T/F) the business process generates info by bringing together important items of data in a context
true
business process management
the process of generating information that will be useful for management and strategy decisions
a field of management that promotes the development of effective and efficient processes through continuous improvement and innovation
(T/F) Often innovation in business processes are developed by integrating information technology into a business process
true
total quality management
a business process improvement method focused on improving quality
six sigma
a business process improvement method developed by Motorola that focuses on developing QUALITY
lean production
a manufacturing method focused on using resources as EFFICIENTLY as possible
(T/F) Well-run organizations do not constantly seek better ways of providing goods and services to their customers
FALSE - they constantly seek
(T/F) information about the business process is always the starting point for understanding what can and should be changed
true
(T/F) the more you are able to understand business processes, the WORSE you will be able to successfully manage the process
false
the outermost components, hardware and people are ______
actors - they take actions
the software and procedures are both ______
a set of instructions
data’s role in IS
forms the bridge between computer side and human side
an activity in a business process being handled by an automated system means that
work formerly done by people who followed procedures has been changes so that computers now do that work by following instructions in software
automated system
an information system in which the hardware and software components do most of the work
manual system
an information system in which the activity of processing information is done by people, without the use of automated processing
decisions occur at three levels
operational: day-to-day (short term) managerial strategic (long term)
transactional processing systems (TPS)
an information system that supports operation decision making
managerial decisions
decisions that concern the allocation and use of resources
management information systems
IS that help businesses achieve their goals and objectives
strategic decisions
decisions that concern broader-scope, organizational issues
2 decisions making processes
structured
unstructured
structured decision
a type of decision for which there is a formalized and accepted method for making the decision
standard method
unstructured decision
a type of decision for which there is no agreed-on-decision-making method
operational level tend to be
structured
managerial level tend to be
structured and unstructured
strategic level tend to be
unstructured
typical steps in decision-making process
intelligence gathering
formulation of alternatives
choice implementation
review
intelligence gathering
the first step in the decision-making process in which decision makers determine what is to be decided, what the criteria for selection will be, and what data are available
alternatives formulation
a step in the decision-making process in which decision makers lay out various alternatives
implementation
a step in the decision-making process in which decision makers implement the alternatives they have selected
review
the final step in the decision-making process, in which decision makers evaluate results of their decision and, if necessary, repeat the process to correct or adapt the decision
