Chapter 2 - Business Processes

Question 1

what is a business process

Answer 1

set of activities that are necessary to complete a response to a stimulus applied to an organization

Question 2

what is an example of stimulus

Answer 2

customer orders products

Question 3

what is an example of set of activities

Answer 3

employee picks the products from inventory

Question 4

what is an example of a response

Answer 4

products are delivered to customer

Question 5

response is

Answer 5

the actions that the organization takes as a result of the stimulus

Question 6

a business process is a network of

Answer 6

activities
resources
facilities
information

Question 7

a business process is best thought of as a system and is sometimes referred to as a

Answer 7

business system

Question 8

is managing inventory a business process?

Answer 8

yes

Question 9

is purchasing an important activity in the inventory management process

Answer 9

yes

Question 10

(T/F) understanding, modelling, and redesigning business processes are a big part of what business analysts do

Answer 10

true

Question 11

system analysis and design

Answer 11

modelling and design activities

Question 12

what is the goal of system analysis and design

Answer 12

to develop an understanding of how an organization works

Question 13

activities

Answer 13

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

Question 14

resources

Answer 14

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

Question 15

facilities

Answer 15

structures used within the business process
resources can be stored within facilities
facilities might include factories, pieces of equipment, trucks, filing cabinets, inventories, databases

Question 16

information

Answer 16

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

Question 17

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

Answer 17

Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN)

Question 18

information is

Answer 18

knowledge derived from data

Question 19

data is

Answer 19

recorded facts or figures

Question 20

individual wage is _____

average wage is derived from the individual wages so average wage is _____

Answer 20

individual wage is data

average wage is information

Question 21

information is data presented

Answer 21

in a meaningful context

Question 22

information is processed data; that is,

Answer 22

information is processed by performing operations

we do something to data to produce information

Question 23

information defined by Gregory Bateson

Answer 23

the difference that makes a difference

Question 24

(T/F) new info, even if it doesn’t make a difference to your decision is still information

Answer 24

false - it does not make a difference so it is not info

Question 25

characteristics of good information

Answer 25

accurate information - correct and complete that have been processed correctly timely relevant to - context - subject just barely sufficient worth its cost

Question 26

accurate info

Answer 26

info that is factual and verifiable

Question 27

(T/F) IS becomes a waste of time and money as users develop workarounds to avoid inaccurate data?

Answer 27

true

Question 28

(T/F) over time, info may lose its level of accuracy and can sometimes create serious problems

Answer 28

true

Question 29

timely information

Answer 29

info that is produced in time for its intended use

Question 30

(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

Answer 30

true

Question 31

relevant information

Answer 31

relevant to SUBJECT and CONTEXT

Question 32

sufficient information

Answer 32

adequate information to perform the task but just barely

Question 33

(T/F) the higher you rise in management, the more info you will be given and the more info you will need to dissect

Answer 33

false - the more info you will need to ignore

Question 34

worth its cost

Answer 34

when an appropriate relationship exists between the cost of information and its value

Question 35

(T/F) any time a good is moved or a service is provided, data and info are always created

Answer 35

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)

Question 36

(T/F) any time there is a physical flow, there is the potential to capture a flow of info

Answer 36

true

Question 37

(T/F) we always collect info when we have the potential to do so

Answer 37

false - only when we need to collect

Question 38

(T/F) the business process generates info by bringing together important items of data in a context

Answer 38

true

Question 39

business process management

Answer 39

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

Question 40

(T/F) Often innovation in business processes are developed by integrating information technology into a business process

Answer 40

true

Question 41

total quality management

Answer 41

a business process improvement method focused on improving quality

Question 42

six sigma

Answer 42

a business process improvement method developed by Motorola that focuses on developing QUALITY

Question 43

lean production

Answer 43

a manufacturing method focused on using resources as EFFICIENTLY as possible

Question 44

(T/F) Well-run organizations do not constantly seek better ways of providing goods and services to their customers

Answer 44

FALSE - they constantly seek

Question 45

(T/F) information about the business process is always the starting point for understanding what can and should be changed

Answer 45

true

Question 46

(T/F) the more you are able to understand business processes, the WORSE you will be able to successfully manage the process

Answer 46

false

Question 47

the outermost components, hardware and people are ______

Answer 47

actors - they take actions

Question 48

the software and procedures are both ______

Answer 48

a set of instructions

Question 49

data's role in IS

Answer 49

forms the bridge between computer side and human side

Question 50

an activity in a business process being handled by an automated system means that

Answer 50

work formerly done by people who followed procedures has been changes so that computers now do that work by following instructions in software

Question 51

automated system

Answer 51

an information system in which the hardware and software components do most of the work

Question 52

manual system

Answer 52

an information system in which the activity of processing information is done by people, without the use of automated processing

Question 53

decisions occur at three levels

Answer 53

``` operational: day-to-day (short term) managerial strategic (long term) ```

Question 54

transactional processing systems (TPS)

Answer 54

an information system that supports operation decision making

Question 55

managerial decisions

Answer 55

decisions that concern the allocation and use of resources

Question 56

management information systems

Answer 56

IS that help businesses achieve their goals and objectives

Question 57

strategic decisions

Answer 57

decisions that concern broader-scope, organizational issues

Question 58

2 decisions making processes

Answer 58

structured | unstructured

Question 59

structured decision

Answer 59

a type of decision for which there is a formalized and accepted method for making the decision standard method

Question 60

unstructured decision

Answer 60

a type of decision for which there is no agreed-on-decision-making method

Question 61

operational level tend to be

Answer 61

structured

Question 62

managerial level tend to be

Answer 62

structured and unstructured

Question 63

strategic level tend to be

Answer 63

unstructured

Question 64

typical steps in decision-making process

Answer 64

intelligence gathering formulation of alternatives choice implementation review

Question 65

intelligence gathering

Answer 65

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

Question 66

alternatives formulation

Answer 66

a step in the decision-making process in which decision makers lay out various alternatives

Question 67

implementation

Answer 67

a step in the decision-making process in which decision makers implement the alternatives they have selected

Question 68

review

Answer 68

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