Using Information Technology to Increase Performance

Question 1

Information vs Data

Answer 1

Data is the raw, unsummarized and unanalyzed facts. Examples of data include volume of sales, levels of costs, number of customers, etc.

Information is data that has been organized in a meaningful fashion, such as in a graph, chart or report.

Question 2

Business intelligence (BI)

Answer 2

the set of tools and techniques used by managers to

transform data into meaningful information.

Question 3

Four factors determine the usefulness of information to a manager:

Answer 3

• Quality
• Timeliness
• Completeness
• Relevance

Question 4

What determines the quality of information?

Answer 4

Accuracy and reliability

Question 5

Usefulness of Information: Timeliness

Answer 5

Information that is timely is available when it is required to allow managers to make decisions.

Question 6

Usefulness of Information: Completeness

Answer 6

Information that is complete gives managers everything they need to exercise control, achieve coordination, and make effective decisions.

Question 7

Usefulness of Information: Relevance

Answer 7

Information that is relevant is useful and suits a manager’s needs and circumstances.

Question 8

Information technology (IT)

Answer 8

the set of methods or techniques for acquiring, organizing, storing, manipulating, and transmitting information.

Question 9

Management information systems

Answer 9

a specific form of IT that mangers utilize to generate the specific detailed information they need
to perform their roles effectively.

Question 10

Managers achieve control over organizational activities by:

Answer 10

• Establishing measurable standards of performance or goals.
• Measuring actual performance.
• Comparing actual performance standards or goals.
• Evaluating results and taking corrective actions, if warranted.

Question 11

Information Technology for Coordinating

Answer 11

Coordinating department and divisional activities to achieve organizational goals is an important responsibility of management

Question 12

Product Life Cycle

Answer 12

the way demand for a product changes in a predictable pattern over time

Question 13

Product Life Cycles

Answer 13

• Embryonic Stage – Stage where the product
  has yet to gain widespread acceptance and
  demand for it is minimal.
• Growth Stage – Stage where many consumers are entering the market and buying the product for the first time, and demand increased rapidly.
• Maturity Stage – Stage where market demand peaks because most customers have already bought the product.
• Decline Stage – Stage where sales start to decline and the product is no longer in high demand.

Question 14

Computer Networking

Answer 14

the exchange of information through a group or network of interlinked computers

Question 15

Servers

Answer 15

computers designed to process requests and

deliver data to other (client) computers over a local network or the Internet

Question 16

Cloud Computing

Answer 16

is when data and applications can be stored at one or more offsite data centers and accessed over the Internet

Question 17

Cloud Computing: Advantages

Answer 17

• Reduced software cost
• Improved security
• Flexible storage capacity
• Ease of access to documents and files

Question 18

Cloud Computing: Disadvantages

Answer 18

• Possible security issues
• Stability of network and systems
• Control of data and how it is accessed

Question 19

Six type of management information systems that

are extremely helpful to managers

Answer 19

• Transaction-Processing Systems
• Operations Information Systems
• Decision Support Systems
• Artificial Intelligence and Expert Systems
• Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP)
• E-Commerce Systems

Question 20

Transaction-Processing Systems

Answer 20

information systems designed to handle large volumes of routine recurring transactions

Question 21

Operations Information Systems

Answer 21

are information systems that gather, organize, and summarize comprehensive data in a form that managers can use in their non-routine coordinating, controlling, and decision-making tasks

Question 22

Decision Support Systems

Answer 22

are interactive computer-based management

information systems that managers can use to make non-routine decisions

Question 23

Executive support systems

Answer 23

• Executive support systems are a sophisticated version of a decision support system that is designed to meet the needs of top managers
• Executive support systems are often used to link top managers virtually so they can function as a team, which is often called a group decision support
  system

Question 24

Artificial Intelligence

Answer 24

• Artificial intelligence is a behavior performed by a machine that, if performed by a human being, would be called “intelligent.”
• Artificial intelligence has made it possible to write programs that can solve problems and perform simple tasks

Question 25

Expert Systems

Answer 25

A management information system that employs human knowledge, embedded in a computer to solve problems that ordinarily require human expertise.

Question 26

Enterprise resource planning systems (ERP)

Answer 26

are multimode application software packages that coordinate the functional activities necessary to
move products from the design stage to the final customer stage

Question 27

E-commerce

Answer 27

refers to the buying and selling of goods and services online using IT and the Internet.

Question 28

Business to Consumer (B2C)

Answer 28

Buying and selling online between business and consumer using IT and the Internet.

Question 29

Business to Business (B2B)

Answer 29

Buying and selling online between businesses using IT and the Internet to link and coordinated supply chains.

Question 30

B2B Marketplaces

Answer 30

are Internet-based trading platforms set up to connect buyers and sellers in an industry.

Question 31

Strategic alliance

Answer 31

an agreement in which manager’s pool or share their organization’s resources and know-how with a foreign company, and the two organizations share the rewards and risks of starting a new venture

Question 32

B2B networks

Answer 32

a series of global strategic alliances that an organization creates with suppliers, manufacturers, and
distributors to produce and market a product

Question 33

Knowledge Management System

Answer 33

are company-specific virtual information systems that systematizes the knowledge of its employees and facilitates the sharing and integrating of their expertise

Question 34

Virtual Organizations

Answer 34

are companies in which employees are linked to

an organization’s centralized database by computers, faxes, and videoconferencing and rarely meet face-to-face

Question 35

Information is at risk from the following

Answer 35

• Hackers who break into computer networks
• Employees who steal proprietary information
• IT departments that are not concerned enough about computer security and safeguarding

Question 36

IT Security Challenges:

Answer 36

• Computer Viruses
• Phishing
• Cyberterrorism