Midterm Review

Question 1

Zara’s use of information recourses has given it a substantial advantage over its competitors.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

This risks of using information resources include all of the following except:

Answer 2

Missing cooperative opportunities

Question 3

Porter’s value chain framework suggests that a competitive advantage can stem from:

Answer 3

Lowering costs and adding value

Question 4

Kodak was once the largest supplier of photographic film. In 2004 it was dropped from the Dow Jones Industrial Average after having been listed for 74 years. Kodak failed to use IT to fend off which one of the following of Porter’s 5 competitive forces?

Answer 4

Threat of substitute products

Question 5

What is co-opetition?

Answer 5

Companies cooperate and compete at the same time

(Example: Microsoft builds laptops but also supplies their OS to other laptop makers)

Question 6

Sustaining competitive advantage

Answer 6

Resources must be difficult to transfer or relatively immobile

Question 7

Suppose Zara has a linked supply chain with Silk City, a fabric supplier. Zara and Silk City use IT to seamlessly exchange data, communicating requirements as well as delivery expectations. The relationship between Zara andterm-48 Silk City is best described as:

Answer 7

Strategic alliance

Question 8

L.L. Bean is an online/catalog retail company that aggressively uses tools like instant messaging to communicate with customers regarding potential purchases and uses Facebook for branding activities. This use of technology supports which strategy?

Answer 8

Social business strategy

Question 9

Organizations seek to gain a competitive advantage by differentiation, cost, or _________.

Answer 9

focus

Question 10

In which type of organizational structure is power distributed, and particularly suited for an environment that is dynamic and unstable?

Answer 10

Networked

Question 11

The dimensions of national culture include all of the following EXCEPT:

Answer 11

The acceptance of technology by society

Question 12

IS plays three important roles in management control processes. These processes are data collection, evaluation, and _______________.

Answer 12

communication

Question 13

Which one of the following is a valid statement?

Answer 13

Most jobs today have a significant information systems component.

Question 14

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) realized it did not have adequate policies, education or technology in place for remote workers when:

Answer 14

An employee whose laptop carrying unencrypted, sensitive military personnel information was stolen.

Question 15

ERP systems have all of the following characteristics except:

Answer 15

They are expensive but are easy to use.

Question 16

Enterprise systems are large information systems that provide the core functionality needed to run a business and share data across all divisions of the business.

Answer 16

True

Question 17

A manager must know enough about the IT architecture and IT infrastructure so that he or she can:

Answer 17

Make realistic use of IT and know what to expect from IT.

Question 18

Risks associated with cloud computing include all of the following EXCEPT:

Answer 18

Scalability
1. Increased dependency on third-party suppliers

2. Security
3. Retooling existing applications to move to the cloud
4. Lack of standards for virtual infrastructures

Question 19

If you receive an email that says it is from Sam Johnson, your boss, with an odd EXE file as an attachment, it could be dangerous for all of the following reasons except:

1. It could be dangerous because the email might be from Sam’s computer without his or her knowledge.
2. It could be dangerous because Sam gave someone his password once a long time ago.
3. It could be dangerous because the email might not really be from Sam.
4. It could be dangerous even if it was sent knowingly because Sam didn’t know a virus might be attached.

Answer 19

None of the above (indicating that all are true).

Question 20

Included in the five critical elements that are used to raise security in a firm are all of the following except:

Answer 20

Law enforcement

1. Infrastructure
2. Training
3. Policies
4. Investments

Question 21

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

Answer 21

managerial levers

Question 22

This framework is called the ____________________ because it relates business strategy with IS strategy and organizational strategy.

Answer 22

Information Systems Strategy Triangle

Question 23

A link between a firm’s IS strategy and organizational strategy focuses more on its external requirements than internal requirements.

Answer 23

True

Question 24

Different organization structures reflect the different organizational strategies that are used by firms to implement their business strategy.

Answer 24

True

Question 25

When using information technologies to collect data for the purpose of monitoring workers, a manager should do all of the following EXCEPT:

Answer 25

Require workers to complete additional tasks.

Question 26

Cognizant needed to reinvent its organizational structure many times to make sure that it properly facilitates the flow of information between employees.

Answer 26

True

Question 27

Which virtual team challenge is more difficult for managers to manage/manipulate since there may be a great deal of difference between groups and individuals?

Answer 27

Diversity

Question 28

Virtual teams and remote work have advantages but no known disadvantages over face-to-face teams and showing up at an office.

Answer 28

False

Question 29

The speed and magnitude at which organizations must make changes today continues to decrease as a result of technology.

Answer 29

False

Question 30

In this business structure the firm is a hierarchy organized around a set of functions. Each group has a core competency that it concentrates upon.

Answer 30

Functional

Question 31

A legacy system is all of the following, except:

Answer 31

A system that often holds the middle tier of a multiple-tier system.

Question 32

All of the following are reasons why a company may choose to use cloud computing for its IT infrastructure EXCEPT:

Answer 32

Reduce dependency on third-party suppliers

Question 33

On the black market, stolen data in a "kit" that contains credit card information plus social security number and medical information is worth:

Answer 33

between $100 and $1,000 per record

Question 34

A hacker who buys credit card information from hackers receives a short-term guarantee in case the card is declined.

Answer 34

True

Question 35

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 35

Destroy your business

Question 36

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

Answer 36

Differentiation

Question 37

Which one of the following is not considered to be a primary activity of the value chain of a firm?

Answer 37

Technology

Question 38

Which part of the value chain includes the manufacturing of goods?

Answer 38

Operations

Question 39

Organizational design is all about making sure that _________ are properly allocated, reflecting the structure of formal reporting relationships.

Answer 39

decision rights

Question 40

The use of performance data by managers is generally welcomed by workers and nonthreatening to workers when the data is used for compensation rather than to improve performance.

Answer 40

False

Question 41

IT has altered employees and the way they work by doing all of the following EXCEPT:

Answer 41

Providing distinct lines between work and play

Question 42

The concept of "jobs" is being replaced with the concept of work, requiring a framework that links the IS Strategy with the organization strategy to answer all of the following EXCEPT:

Answer 42

Who will develop the IS?

Question 43

_________________________ is an all-encompassing tool used for modeling, building, executing and monitoring business processes that go across organizational boundaries (and often systems).

Answer 43

Business Process Management systems

Question 44

The Six Sigma process received its name from:

Answer 44

Six standard deviations, or less than 3.4 deects per million

Question 45

_______________________ is the architecture where significant hardware, software and possibly even data elements reside on the Internet.

Answer 45

Web or Cloud-based architecture

Question 46

Mohawk's need for flexibility required a change to its IT architecture. SOA was chosen by Mohawk because Mohawk:

Answer 46

Needed to be able to scale up or down operations as called for by the market or by its own arrangements with suppliers.

Question 47

___ of breaches are caused by stealing a password

Answer 47

A very high percentage (around 80%)

Question 48

When the Office of Personnel Management was hacked, all of the following are true except:

Answer 48

The hackers gained access to the building to steal the records

Question 49

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

Answer 49

business strategy

Question 50

The "Managerial Levers" concept is useful for the following reasons:

Answer 50

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

Question 51

Traditional organizations have one of four types of organizational design. What are these four structure types?

Answer 51

Hierarchical, flat, matrix, networked

Question 52

Which organization structure typically assigns workers two or more supervisors in an effort to make sure multiple dimensions of the business are integrated?

Answer 52

Matrix

Question 53

The Technology Acceptance Model states that the two main drivers of system use are management mandates and incentives.

Answer 53

False

Question 54

All of the following are new types of jobs created by the growing reliance on technology EXCEPT:

Answer 54

Editors/writers

Question 55

Personnel often react more favorable to incremental change rather than radical change because incremental change gives them control and ownership of improvements.

Answer 55

True

Question 56

Enterprise Rent-A-Car was able to model and better understand how service requests were handled and then optimize the process, greatly benefiting the customer experience. Enterprise achieved this benefit using which tool?

Answer 56

Business Process Management (BPM)

Question 57

Which of the following best describes cloud computing?

Answer 57

Computing services that can be accessed on demand across the Internet

Question 58

An "evil twin" in the context of computer security is:

Answer 58

A counterfeit wifi connection in a hotel or coffee shop that appears to be genuine

Question 59

Spoofing is:

Answer 59

When the "from" address says the name/email address of a person different from who really sent it.

Question 60

A general manager should:

Answer 60

Understand the use and consequences of technologies relevant to the business

Question 61

A link between a firm's IS strategy and business strategy focuses more on its external requirements than internal requirements.

Answer 61

True

Question 62

Cognizant's organizational structure was ________, but realized as its organization grew and its services became more complicated that a __________ structure for the organization was more appropriate.

Answer 62

hierarchical, matrix

Question 63

If a technology is to be successfully implemented into an organization, either the technology must fit the organization's culture or the culture must be shaped to fit the behavioral requirements of the technology.

Answer 63

True

Question 64

As a result of increased flow of information, firms have seen an increase in middle managers.

Answer 64

False

Question 65

During an ice storm, JetBlue Airlines had an IT infrastructure that demonstrated which one of the following technical issues?

Answer 65

Scalability

Question 66

A computer's hardware and ____________ specify its platform.

Answer 66

system software

Question 67

In the Office of Personnel Management's case, the security breach made many people vulnerable to this.

Answer 67

Identity theft

Question 68

It usually takes ____ for someone in a firm to discover a security compromise in a system, after the evidence shows up in logs or alerts

Answer 68

Several months

Question 69

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 69

Differentiation

Question 70

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

Answer 70

False

Question 71

A link between a firm's IS strategy and business strategy focuses more on its external requirements than internal requirements.

Answer 71

True

Question 72

The ____________ view considers activities that create, deliver, and support a company's product or service.

Answer 72

Porter value chain

Question 73

All statements below are true about a matrix organization structure EXCEPT:

Answer 73

One weakness is that multiple dimensions of a business are not integrated well with a matrix organization.

Question 74

In which type of organizational structure will employees report to two or more supervisors?

Answer 74

Matrix

Question 75

This type of organizational structure is based upon the concepts of division of labor, specialization, and unity of command. Key decisions are made at the top and filter down through the organization.

Answer 75

Hierarchical

Question 76

To help employees accept new technologies like an information system, a manager will do all of the following EXCEPT:

Answer 76

Provide minimal rationale for the new system

Question 77

This model suggests that employee attitudes may change if they think the new system will help them to do more or better work for the same effort, and that it's easy to use. Employee participation in the system's design and implementation also helps.

Answer 77

Technology Acceptance Model (TAM)

Question 78

ERP systems are credited with establishing new business models, rather than simply making a firm improve its practices.

Answer 78

False

Question 79

Early computer systems were designed to support the silo perspective rather than a cross-functional business process approach.

Answer 79

True

Question 80

A small company in Des Moines wants to set up an IT infrastructure for its workforce. The company recently moved to an older building that has solid walls and ceilings. Furthermore, most of the staff likes the flexibility of moving around the open office space to perform work on their laptops. Which communication infrastructure makes most sense for this company?

Answer 80

Wireless

Question 81

An IT architecture with a high level of flexibility and agility will be in a position to support changing business needs.

Answer 81

True

Question 82

Firewalls can be either in hardware or software form.

Answer 82

True

Question 83

An "evil twin" in the context of computer security is:

Answer 83

A counterfeit wifi connection in a hotel or coffee shop that appears to be genuine

Question 84

Zara strategically uses information technologies to do all of the following EXCEPT:

Answer 84

Build silos of responsibilities with limited interaction between store managers, designers and market specialists

Question 85

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 on Facebook. In addition, photographers positioned at the resort post pictures on Facebook for the skier. This ski resort has worked hard to develop a strong:

Answer 85

Social business strategy

Question 86

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 86

Predict and respond to new opportunities

Question 87

A matrix organization:

Answer 87

-Was rare for quite a while but have become more common in recent years -Can involve multiple bosses and multiple teams -Requires quite a bit of communication to be successful

Question 88

Porter's five "Forces," are used so often in the text for analysis of IT applications, include all of the following except:

Answer 88

Switching costs

Question 89

The major difference between an ERP and ERP II system is this feature.

Answer 89

Information is made immediately available to external stakeholders using social and collaborative tools

Question 90

The main benefit of ________ is that users can work collaboratively to easily create and edit Web pages, and link them to useful resources.

Answer 90

Wiki

Question 91

At Zara, decision rights for ordering have been granted to whom?

Answer 91

Store managers