Managing And Using Information Systems A Strategic Approach 5th Edition – Test Bank

Complete Test Bank With Answers

 

 

Sample Questions Posted Below

 

File: chapter5TestBank.docx, Chapter 5, Information Systems and Managing Business Processes

Multiple Choice

• Which one of the following enterprise systems is social IT increasingly integrating with?

• ERP
• SCM
• PLM
• CRM
• SAP

Ans: d (easy)

Response: See page 155

2. This is an approach that links a company with providers of the raw components it needs to make a product or service, manufacture that product or service, and delivers it to customers.

a) Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

b) Supply Chain Management (SCM)

c) Product Lifecycle Management (PLM)

d) Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

e) Value Chain Management (VCM)

Ans: b  (Easy)

Response: See page 156

3. Businesses today link their customers and suppliers through a single network that optimizes cost and opportunities for all. This is possible because of all of the following reasons EXCEPT:

• Standardized communication networks (like the Internet)
• The availability of SCM enterprise systems
• The inability to coordinate workflow across organizational boundaries
• The globalization of business
• The ubiquity of IT

Ans: c (Medium)

Response: See page 156-157

4. Enterprise systems are useful for organizations seeking to do all of the following EXCEPT:

• Encourage duplication of data
• Centralize decision making
• Make effective use of organizational databases
• Unify operations
• Standardize processes

Ans: a (Hard)

Response: See page 158

5. Organizations use the enterprise system to drive the redesign of a business process (rather than the process driving the system implementation) for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:

• The organization is just starting out and has no defined processes.
• The business process itself is not seen as a competitive strategic advantage.
• There is little time or resources to deviate from best practices.
• The organization has highly specialized processes that are not seen as best practices.
• The needs of the business are met by the enterprise system.

Ans: d (Hard)

Response: See page 160-161

6. 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.

a) Technology 

b) Business reengineering approach

c) Functional 

d) Process Control

e) Business process

Ans: c (Medium)

Response: See page 137

7. This type of process reengineering uses a radical improvement method for change.

a) Business Process Reengineering  

b) System Development Engineering

c) Six Sigma 

d) System Quality Management

e) Total Quality Management

Ans: a (Medium)

Response: See page 5143

8. If an organization was going to make substantial changes to its customer service department, it would use this type of transformation tool. 

a) Business Process Reengineering (BPE)

b) Reengineering Process Control (RPC)

c) Engineering Control System (ECS)

d) Total Process Improvement (TPI)

e) System Process Control (SPC)

Ans: a (Medium)

Response: See page 144

9. These are comprehensive software packages that incorporate all modules needed to run the internal operations of a business.  They should include the following modules: Manufacturing, Accounting, Human Resources and Sales.

a) SCM systems

b) Groupware system

c) ERP systems  

d) CRM systems

e) PLM systems

Ans: c (Medium)

Response: See page 150

10. All of the following are characteristics of an ERP system EXCEPT:

a) ERP systems provide seamless integration of information flow across the organization.

b) ERP systems provide best practices for generic business processes.

c) ERP systems have evolved to support newer IT architectures.

d) ERP systems work “out of the box” with little configuration requirements. 

e) ERP systems are usually software packages purchased from a provider/vendor

Ans: d (Medium)

Response: See page 152-153

11. Middleware is software used to: 

a) connect processes running on different computer systems across a network.

b) integrate a computer’s operating system and its applications.

c) connect a computer system to the network.

d) support agile process redesign.

e) provide best business practices to ERP systems.

Ans: a (Medium)

Response: See page 153

12. 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?

• Business process management
• Radical redesign
• New product development
• Six sigma
• Product life cycle management

Ans: a (Medium)

Response: See page 146

13. All of the follow are negative outcomes found in a firm that is afunctional EXCEPT for: 

a) suboptimization

b) communication gaps

c) lose site of the business goals 

d) lost information

e) redundancy of expertise

Ans: e (Medium)

Response: See page 138

14. A company that wants to make incremental improvements to existing business processes would utilize which of the following?

a) Total quality management

b) Workflow management

c) Business process management

d) Business process reengineering

e) Enterprise resource planning

Ans:  a (Medium)

Response: See page 143

15. Which one of the following is NOT a quality associated with  agile and dynamic business processes?

a) Designed to support incremental improvement of processes

b) Relies on a high degree of IT

c) Allows for companies to take advantage of the latest innovations

d) Change requires significant redesign effort

e) Readily supports changing business requirements

Ans: d (Hard)

Response: See page 144-143

16. When would an organization elect to use BPR over TQM?

a) When they want to make small, incremental changes

b) When they need to attain aggressive improvement goals 

c) When they have time to refine their improvement goals

d) When there is not a need to make significant immediate changes

e) When they want the employees to have control over the changes

Ans: b (Hard)

Response: See page 144

17. Computer systems in the 1960s and early 1970s were typically designed around a specific departmental need and did not interface very well. These systems were designed to support:

• The functional perspective.
• The entire enterprise.
• The silo perspective.
• Incremental change.
• Social IT and mobile needs.

Ans; c (Medium)

Response: See page 150

18. The Six Sigma DMAIC process to improve an existing process includes all of the following EXCEPT:

a) Define

b) Measure

c) Analyze

d) Improve

e) Computerize

Ans: c (Hard)

Response: See page 144

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

a) Enterprise system

b) Workflow diagrams

c) SharePoint

d) Business Process Management systems

e) Integrated information systems

Ans:  d (Medium) Response: See page 146

20. All of the following are good metrics a firm can use to measure the success of a business process EXCEPT for: 

• A customer’s satisfaction with the quality of the product received
• The time elapsed from when the customer placed an order to the time the product is received
• The change demographics of a region.
• The number of orders the customer places in a given timeframe.
• Profitability of a goods
• Revenue received from a service

Ans: c (Hard)

Response: See page 139. 

21.  ERP systems are expensive for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:

a) The software is costly to purchase.

b) There is an enormous amount of work required to implement.

c) There are a number of hidden costs such as project management, training and support.

d) They require organizational changes and impact the way people work.

e) They do not require business process redesign.

Ans: e (Medium)

Response: See page 158-159

22. Apple Inc. has developed iTunes, a unique propriety software system that supports Apple’s need to delivery digital content to its customers.  Apple chooses to develop iTunes rather than use an existing enterprise system solution, most likely because:

• The critical process of content delivery is Apple’s strategic advantage.
• The ability to integrate with existing enterprise systems does not exist.
• It was too costly for Apple to purchase an enterprise system.
• Apple was not satisfied with the look and feel of existing enterprise systems.

Ans: a (Hard)

23. An effective workflow diagram should do all of the following EXCEPT:

• Map the sequence and details of a business process
• Identify all persons/roles who play a part in the process
• Use active verbs to describe activities
• Identify inputs and outputs of a process
• Try to mask the steps of a business process

Ans: e (Medium)

Response: See page 146

24. Sloan Valve Company redesigned their new product development process and as a result greatly reduced time-to-market as well as improved quality. Which one of the following enterprise systems supported Sloan’s transformation?

• ERP
• SCM
• PLM
• TQM
• NPD

Ans: c (Hard)

Response: See page 150

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

a) Advances in software usability and flexibility

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

c) Information is made available to all departments in the company

d) Advanced quering and reporting capabilities

e) Close integration with e-business technologies

Ans: b (Medium)

Response: See page 152

True/False

26. At the heart of how a business operates, you will find a collection of core business processes.

Ans: True

Response: See page 135

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

Ans: False

Response: See page 136.

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

Ans: True

Response: See page 150.

29. 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.

Ans: True

Response: See page 149

30. ERP systems are credited with establishing new business models, especially between a business and suppliers.

Ans: False

Response: See page 157

31. Sloane Valve’s efforts to redesign its new product development (NPD) process are classified as radical redesign.

Ans: True

Response: See page 145

32. Business processes are functional in nature and rarely cut across different departments in an organization.  

Ans: False (Medium)

Response: See page 140

33. The functional perspective keeps the “big picture” in view.

Ans: False (Medium)

Response: See page 140

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

Ans: True (Medium)

Response: See page 144

Short Answer

35. List one of the largest enterprise systems vendors as identified in this chapter.

Ans: SAP or Oracle (may also allow for Salesforce.com)

Response: See page 150.

36. What does SCM stand for?

Ans: Supply Chain Management

Response: See page 150.

37. The reason some supply chains are succumbing to the “neighborhood effect” in which factories are built closer to suppliers and consumers is to reduce _______ costs.

Ans: transportation

Response: See page 157

38. The enterprise system used to manage all information related to customer interactions is called_____.

Ans: CRM (customer relationship management)

Response: See page 154.

39. This is a set of information system tools used to enable information flow within and between processes across an organization.

Ans: Enterprise systems

Response: See page 148-149

40. This type of organizational structure (perspective) results in duplication of information, lack of coordination between departments, and lack of communication on a company wide basis. 

Ans: Silo or Functional

Response: See page 137

41. This is the tool that is used to help map a sequence of tasks that support a business process.

Ans : Workflow diagram

Response : See page 146

42. IS can impede change, particularly when the _________ don’t match the capabilities of the IS.

Ans: Business processes

Response: See page 136.

43. A business uses __________to measure the critical success dimensions of a business process.

Ans: Metrics

Response: See page 139.

Essay

44. Describe a business process by identifying the input to the process, some tasks associated with the process, the output of the process and a metric that could measure its effectiveness.

45. Outline how Zara demonstrates a strong sense of process perspective in comparison to other more traditional retailers who seem to have a silo perspective.

 

46. Identify the benefits a company can receive after successfully implementing a CRM system.

47. Explain why installing an enterprise system often requires the redesign of existing business processes and the impact this has on the organization.

48. Explain issues companies have with one another when linking systems in order to participate in an integrated supply chain.

Matching

49. Identify the specific components of the payroll business process.

Hours worked by employees for the pay period	Input
Determination of employee benefit costs	Task
Pay distributed to employees	Output
Accuracy/completeness of employee payments	Metric

50. Match the task of the order fulfillment process to the department that would most likely be responsible for completing the task.

Receipt of payment from the customer for the motorcycle	Accounting
Sale of a customized motorcycle to a customer	Sales
Manufacturing the customized motorcycle for the customer	Manufacturing
Packaging and shipping the customized motorcycle	Delivery

51. Associate the quality/perception of change to the appropriate change management strategy.

Continuous process improvement	Incremental change
Greater internal resistance	Radical change
Empowerment of the individuals	Incremental change
Challenging old assumptions	Radical change

Match the qualiging

52. Match the description below as belonging either to the functional (silo) perspective or the business process perspective.

Process perspective	Recognition that processes are cross-functional.
Process perspective	Managers are able to coordinate work to ensure the optimal creation of value for the organization.
Functional perspective	Without seeing the big picture, often a business is not as effective.
Functional perspective	Self-contained business units like accounting, marketing and sales allow an organization to optimize expertise.
Functional perspective	Communication gaps between departments are often wide and handoffs between departments are often a source of problems.

53. Order the tasks below as they would appear in a simple, linear workflow diagram for the procurement process. 

1st	Receive requirements for goods
2nd	Create and send a purchase order to a vendor for the needed goods
3rd	Receive the goods from the vendor
4th	Verify the vendor’s invoice
5th	Pay the vendor for the goods

54. Match the business process with the enterprise system that supports this process.

ERP	Financial management
ERP	Operations management
CRM	Customer services and support history
CRM	Loyalty program management
SCM	Demand planning and forecasting
SCM	Service parts planning
PLM	Innovation management

55. Match the scenario below to the enterprise system is represents.

SCM	Kimberly Clark, a consumer products company, uses this IS to provide end-to-end visibility of the supply process in real time.
CRM	Ritz Carlton uses this IS to capture information about guest preferences to enhance the customization of the services it provides its guests.
ERP	CEMEX uses this IS to standardize its manufacturing, accounting, procurement, finance and HR business processes.
PLM	Sloan Valve Company uses this IS to reduce the time-to-market for a new product to less than 12 months (down from 24 months).