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The role of a DSS is to provide support to the decision-maker during the process of
making a decision.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 3
2.
p. 3
p. 4
3.
4.
The DSS should always be under the ultimate control of the user.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 3
5.
p. 3
6.
7.
8.
A highly unstructured decision is one where the objectives of the situation are often
conflicting, the alternatives available to the decision maker are difficult to isolate or
determine, and the effect of a particular course of action or selection of an alternative
carries with it a high degree of uncertainty.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 7
9.
The user interface of a DSS performs activities related to problem recognition and
generation of interim or final solutions.
Difficulty:
Hard
Reference:
p. 9
10.
The data management component of a DSS is where the activities associated with the
retrieval, storage and organization of the relevant data for the particular decision
context are managed.
Difficulty:
Hard
Reference:
p. 9
11.
The data management component of a DSS is responsible for maintaining the logical
independence of the data.
Difficulty:
Hard
Reference:
p. 12
12.
The model library stores and manages all solver algorithms within a DSS.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 15
13.
14.
Rules, heuristics and constraints are stored within a knowledge base of a DSS.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 16
15.
16.
17.
Knowledge engineers are specially trained to interact with domain experts for the
purposes of acquiring all of the knowledge the expert has in a particular domain and
all of the relationships among that knowledge.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 18
18.
The model base contains the various statistical, financial, mathematical, and other
quantitative models used in performing the variety of analytical capabilities in a DSS.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 14
19.
Silver proposed a method of DSS classification based upon the attributes of the
problem-solving context.
Difficulty:
Hard
Reference:
p. 25
20.
Hypertext systems are useful for knowledge bases that are document based.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 27
The realization of the benefits to be derived from using a DSS is dependent upon
which of the following?
a. The decision maker
b. The context of the decision
c. The design of the DSS
d. All of the above.
Difficulty:
22.
Easy
Reference:
p. 6
Easy
Reference:
p. 5
25.
p. 4
24.
Reference:
23.
Easy
Medium
Reference:
p. 7
Medium
Reference:
p. 7
26.
27.
Medium
Reference:
p. 9
Easy
Reference:
p. 12
30.
p. 7
29.
Reference:
28.
Medium
Easy
Reference:
p. 13
Medium
Reference:
p. 15
31.
Which of the following best describes the function and purpose of the inference
engine?
a. It is the subsystem responsible for the acquisition and construction of
knowledge rules.
b. It is a component of a DSS that is specifically intended to allow the user to
access the internal components of that system in a relatively easy fashion and
without having to know specifically how everything is put together or how it
works.
c. It is a program module that activates domain knowledge and performs
inferencing to work toward a solution or conclusion based upon the values for
the facts given and the relationships or rules associated with them.
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
32.
Easy
Reference:
p. 22
Medium
Reference:
p. 8
35.
p. 18
Which of the following are the two primary support orientations for a DSS?
a. Data-centric and model-centric
b. Procedural and non-procedural
c. Programmed and non-programmed
d. Simulated and actual
Difficulty:
34.
Reference:
The person who may work closely with the decision maker to assist in
interpreting and explaining the DSS output is called the:
a. domain expert.
b. intermediary.
c. domain operator.
d. knowledge generator.
Difficulty:
33.
Hard
Easy
Reference:
p. 3
Medium
Reference:
p. 5
36.
Gorry and Scott Mortons framework for decision support classifies types of
decisions as:
a. simplified and complex.
b. structured, semi-structured, and unstructured.
c. supported, semi-supported, and unsupported.
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
37.
Easy
Reference:
p. 20
Medium
Reference:
p. 23
40.
p. 7
39.
Reference:
38.
Easy
Hard
Reference:
p. 25
Which type of decision support system keeps track of a large amount of disparate
documents?
a. Hypertext system
b. Document encyclopedia
c. Silver junction system
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 27
Essay Questions
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
How does knowledge get into the DSS? How can it be retrieved
and organized as useful information?
49.
50.
Chapter 2
Decisions and Decision Makers
True-False Questions
21.
The decision maker is considered both an element and participant in the decision.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 35
22.
23.
24.
A typical decision is often made using the exact order suggested by a normative
model of decision making and tends to use all of the steps contained in the model.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 35
25.
Two examples of group decision making are organizational committees and juries.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 39
26.
27.
p. 41
28.
The reason there are so many different types of DSSs is that there are many different
types of decisions.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 37
29.
30.
31.
32.
When conflict exists in either goals or approaches to the decision then Delbecq would
classify that as the need for a creative decision.
Difficulty:
Hard
Reference:
p. 55
33.
When a novel approach is needed to handle the complexity of the problem, then
Delbecq would classify that as the need for a negotiated decision.
Difficulty:
Hard
Reference:
p. 54
34.
35.
36.
The most clear-cut phase in the decision making process is the design phase.
Difficulty:
Hard
Reference:
p. 58
37.
38.
p. 63
p. 67
39.
40.
22.
Easy
Reference:
pp. 38-39
Hard
Reference:
p. 41
25.
pp. 36-37
24.
Reference:
23.
Easy
Medium
Reference:
p. 44
Medium
Reference:
p. 55
26.
27.
Medium
Reference:
p. 55
Easy
Reference:
p. 36
The term used to describe the manner in which a manager makes decisions is called:
a. decision methodology.
b. decision model.
c. decision style.
d. cognitive style.
Difficulty:
30.
pp. 54-55
29.
Reference:
28.
Medium
Easy
Reference:
p. 41
In any problem context, before any effective investigation of alternative solutions can
be conducted, the decision maker must first:
a. establish the available resources.
b. determine the best solution.
c. define the problem.
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 37
31.
A decision in which many people may serve to influence the final decision but only
one decision maker has the authority and responsibility to make the decision is called
a:
a. unilateral decision.
b. bilateral decision.
c. negotiated decision.
d. unanimous decision.
Difficulty:
32.
Reference:
p. 39
Which of the following involves factors relating to the forces acting on the decision
maker in the course of making the decision?
a. Problem space
b. Problem style
c. Problem context
d. Decision style
Difficulty:
33.
Medium
Easy
Reference:
p. 41
Which of the following best describes the basic characteristics of the directive
decision style? A directive decision style is characterized by:
a. a high need for structure in the problem context combined with a relatively low
tolerance for context ambiguity and a tendency to function best in a verbal setting
rather than through written communication or other multichannel media.
b. a relatively greater tolerance for context ambiguity, a tendency toward the need for
greater volumes of information and the consideration of large sets of alternatives,
and a preference for written communication media.
c. a long-term thinker with a high tolerance for ambiguity and a tendency to be much
more of a people person.
d. conflict-averse with a tendency to rely on meetings and consensus for
communicating to and organizing subordinates.
Difficulty:
Medium
Reference:
p. 42
34.
Which of the following best describes the basic characteristics of the analytical
decision style? An analytical decision style is characterized by:
a. a high need for structure in the problem context combined with a relatively low
tolerance for context ambiguity and a tendency to function best in a verbal setting
rather than through written communiqu or other multichannel media.
b. a relatively greater tolerance for context ambiguity, a tendency toward the need for
greater volumes of information and the consideration of large sets of alternatives,
and a preference for written communication media.
c. a long-term thinker with a high tolerance for ambiguity and a tendency to be much
more of a people person.
d. conflict-averse with a tendency to rely on meetings and consensus for
communicating to and organizing subordinates.
Difficulty:
35.
Medium
Reference:
p. 42
Which of the following best describes the basic characteristics of the conceptual
decision style? The conceptual decision style is characterized by:
a. a high need for structure in the problem context combined with a relatively low
tolerance for context ambiguity and a tendency to function best in a verbal setting
rather than through written communiqu or other multichannel media.
b. a relatively greater tolerance for context ambiguity, a tendency toward the need for
greater volumes of information and the consideration of large sets of alternatives,
and a preference for written communication media.
c. a long-term thinker with a high tolerance for ambiguity and a tendency to be much
more of a people person.
d. conflict-averse with a tendency to rely on meetings and consensus for
communicating to and organizing subordinates.
Difficulty:
36.
Medium
Reference:
p. 43
Which of the following best describes the basic characteristics of the behavioral
decision style? The behavioral decision style is characterized by:
a. a high need for structure in the problem context combined with a relatively low
tolerance for context ambiguity and a tendency to function best in a verbal setting
rather than through written communiqu or other multichannel media.
b. a relatively greater tolerance for context ambiguity, a tendency toward the need for
greater volumes of information and the consideration of large sets of alternatives,
and a preference for written communication media.
c. a long-term thinker with a high tolerance for ambiguity and a tendency to be much
more of a people person.
d. conflict-averse with a tendency to rely on meetings and consensus for
communicating to and organizing subordinates.
Difficulty:
Medium
Reference:
p. 44
37.
38.
p. 50
Medium
Reference:
p. 57
40.
Reference:
Which of the following is not included in the Keen and Scott Morton classification of
decision-making perspectives?
a. Process-oriented perspective
b. Knowledge-engineer perspective
c. Political perspective
d. Rational manager perspective
Difficulty:
39.
Easy
Hard
Reference:
p. 59
Hard
Reference:
p. 59
Essay Questions
41.
42.
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
56.
57.
58.
List and briefly describe the forces that can act on a problem
context and on a decisionmaker during the course of making a
decision.
List the advantages of using heuristics.
Chapter 3
Decisions in the Organization
True-False Questions
41.
p. 88
42.
43.
44.
p. 90
45.
Strategic decisions are typically made at the middle management level and approved
by senior management.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 91
46.
47.
48.
An organization can either have an internal fit or external fit but may not have both
simultaneously.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 93
49.
50.
While an organization may be greater than the sum of its parts, it does not allow its
members to collectively pursue and achieve greater goals than they could by acting
individually.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 91
51.
The line personnel who make decisions regarding day-to-day activities relating to
production or services are called operations personnel.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
pp. 90-91
52.
A good external fit suggests a culture that is shaped to both the organizations
strategy and its marketplace.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 93
53.
Internal fit refers to the match between an organizations culture and its leaders.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 93
54.
Informal power is the term used to define how a manager exercises authority and
whether he or she wishes to exercise the power available to them.
Difficulty:
Hard
Reference:
p. 95
55.
p. 95
56.
57.
58.
20.
Medium
Reference:
p. 90
Medium
Reference:
p. 92
23.
pp. 88-89
22.
Reference:
21.
Easy
Medium
Reference:
p. 92
Medium
Reference:
p. 88
24.
25.
Hard
Reference:
p. 88
Of the various factors affecting organizational decisions, the concept of group roles
is best described as:
a. the relationships between the actual point of decision (the person or persons
actually making the decision) and the participants in the decision-making
process.
b. each member of a decision-making body has one or more specified purposes that
can affect both the nature of the decision strategy employed as well as the scope
of decision types assigned.
c. the process employed by a decision-making body can impact the type of
decisions that can be effectively made by that body which can conversely affect
the method or process that must be used to make those types of decisions.
d. issues relating to shared meaning among constituents, individual and collective
social pressures, genres and prescriptions regarding behavior, personal beliefs,
and potential sanctions.
Difficulty:
Hard
Reference:
p. 89
26.
Of the various factors affecting organizational decisions, the circular nature of group
process is best described as:
a. the relationships between the actual point of decision (the person or persons
actually making the decision) and the participants in the decision-making
process.
b. each member of a decision-making body has one or more specified roles that can
affect both the nature of the decision strategy employed as well as the scope of
decision types assigned.
c. the process employed by a decision-making body can impact the type of
decisions that can be effectively made by that body which can conversely affect
the method or process that must be used to make those types of decisions.
d. issues relating to shared meaning among the constituents, individual and
collective social pressures, genres and prescriptions regarding behavior, personal
beliefs, and potential sanctions.
Difficulty:
27.
Hard
Reference:
p. 89
Of the various factors affecting organizational decisions, the concept of group norms
is best defined as:
a. the relationships between the actual point of decision (the person or persons
actually making the decision) and the participants in the decision-making
process.
b. each member of a decision-making body has one or more specified roles that can
affect both the nature of the decision strategy employed as well as the scope of
decision types assigned.
c. the process employed by a decision-making body can impact the type of
decisions that can be effectively made by that body which can conversely affect
the method or process that must be used to make those types of decisions.
d. issues relating to shared meaning among the constituents, individual and
collective social pressures, genres and prescriptions regarding behavior, personal
beliefs, and potential sanctions.
Difficulty:
Hard
Reference:
p. 90
28.
Reference:
p. 91
29.
Cultures that tend to minimize individual initiative and risk taking, such as those of
a product-driven orientation:
a. tend to support a more centralized decision-making emphasis where operating
procedures, policies, schedules, etc. are all prescribed from a central authority.
b. tend to adopt more routine technologies that provide additional stability to the
organization.
c. tend to adopt nonroutine technologies that require adaptability.
d. Both a and b.
Difficulty:
Medium
Reference:
p. 93
30.
31.
p. 93
Medium
Reference:
p. 92
33.
Reference:
32.
Medium
Easy
Reference:
p. 94
The concept which states that an individual will eventually be promoted to their
level of incompetence is known as the:
a. Law of Incompetence.
b. Parretto Principle.
c. Peter Principle.
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
Hard
Reference:
p. 91
34.
35.
Easy
Reference:
p. 95
Medium
Reference:
p. 96
38.
p. 97
37.
Reference:
36.
Easy
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 91
Easy
Reference:
p. 91
Essay Questions
39.
40.
41.
42.
59.
Chapter 4
Modeling Decision Processes
True-False Questions
59.
The typical decision-maker, more often than one might imagine, fails to formally and
concisely identify the problem at hand before beginning the process of solving it.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 103
60.
A problem is defined as the difference between the current state of affairs and the
desired state of affairs.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 103
61.
62.
One way to determine what the real underlying problem is to expore the reasons why an
alternative is viable.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 103
63.
The priorities of a decision maker are determined by the size of the solution.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 104
64.
The priorities of a decision maker are affected by the scope of the problem.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 104
65.
A designer must never revise a decision made at one point in the process to account for
a change made in another.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
pp. 105-106
66.
67.
68.
69.
70.
Although the solution may be obvious, problem structures always have a clear
beginning.
Difficulty:
Hard
Reference:
p. 112
71.
Medium Reference:
p. 115
72.
73.
In a deterministic model, a variable can have multiple values and must therefore be
described by a probability function.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 114
74.
In a stochastic model, no variable can take on more than one value at a given time.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 114
75.
According to Howards test of clarity, the events of every model should be fully
determined without interpretation.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 119
76.
77.
Hayes Model Base Rule is used to determine the appropriate forecasting technique for
DSSs.
Difficulty:
Hard
Reference:
p. 129
78.
22.
Easy
Reference:
p. 104
Easy
Reference:
pp. 106-108
25.
p. 103
Which of the following is not a tool for modeling the structure of a problem?
a. Problem analysis case
b. Decision tree
c. Influence diagram
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
24.
Reference:
23.
Medium
Hard
Reference:
p. 108
Medium
Reference:
p. 114
26.
27.
Reference:
p. 121
Easy
Reference:
p. 124
Easy
Reference:
p. 113
The concept of __________ suggests that while a probability may be derivable, its
accuracy may not be acceptable under any circumstances.
a. subjective probability
b. logical probability
c. long-run probability
d. stochastic probability
Difficulty:
31.
Easy
30.
p. 120
29.
Reference:
28.
Hard
Medium
Reference:
p. 123
Easy
Reference:
p. 129
32.
33.
Medium
Reference:
p. 130
Medium
Reference:
p. 131
Which of the following is not a suitable technique for eliciting numerical subjective
probability estimations that can then be combined with other estimates using the laws of
probability?
a. Direct forecasting
b. Odds forecasting
c. Ad hoc forecasting
d. Comparison forecasting
Difficulty:
36.
p. 129
35.
Reference:
Rather than a single probability estimation we might benefit from an estimation of the
worst-case scenario and the best-case scenario. Properly constructed, we can say that the
actual probability estimate lies somewhere between these two values. This range of
values is referred to as a ________.
a. probability estimation
b. t-test
c. logical probability
d. confidence interval
Difficulty:
34.
Easy
Hard
Reference:
p. 129
A model in which at least one of the variables in the model is uncertain and must be
described by some probability function is known as a:
a. static model.
b. stochastic model.
c. deterministic model.
d. dynamic model.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 114
37.
A model which focuses on the mathematical precision with which various outcomes can
be predicted is referred to as a(n):
a. static models.
b. dynamic models.
c. simulation models.
d. abstract models.
Difficulty:
38.
p. 113
Hard
Reference:
p. 119
In any choice there is a(n) _____ probability of at least one alternative being selected and
there is an ____ probability of any particular one being selected.
a. unequal, equal
b. 0%, unequal
c. 100%, equal
d. 100%, unequal
Difficulty:
40.
Reference:
39.
Easy
Hard
Reference:
p. 121
Which type of forecasting presents the decision maker with a choice between
participating in one or two lottery-type games?
a. Comparison forecasting
b. Odds forecasting
c. Direct probability forecasting
d. Calibration forecasting
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 126
Essay Questions
41.
42.
60.
61.
62.
Chapter 5
Group Decision Support and Groupware Technologies
True-False Questions
79.
A group can be defined as a simple collective entity that is independent of its members.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 141
80.
81.
82.
83.
In a chain network, each participant can communicate with the decision maker at the
center but not with each other.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 144
84.
85.
86.
87.
The chain network displays a high degree of centrality and is appropriate for routine or
recurring decisions with high-probability outcomes.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 144
88.
The circle network serves as the basis for the group and committee MDM structures and
is often employed in situations where negotiation or consensus must be the basis for the
final decision.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
pp. 144-145
89.
When the expertise of the decision maker is critical, then the most appropriate decision
structure is a committee.
Difficulty:
Hard
Reference:
p. 146
90.
In group decision making, the factor that has the greatest impact is the size of the group.
Difficulty:
Hard
Reference:
p. 147
91.
Think-tank is the term referred to as a mode of thinking that people engage in when
their desire to fit in overrides their decision-making ability.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 148
92.
93.
94.
95.
96.
97.
98.
Nominal group techniques works best when there is a single decision maker structure.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 165
Medium
Reference:
p. 145
22.
23.
24.
Reference:
p. 146
Which of the following is not true regarding the relationship between group size and its
affect on MDM?
a. Participant interaction increases as the size increases.
b. Affective relationships tend to decrease as size increases.
c. Central leadership tends to increase as size increases.
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
25.
Easy
Hard
Reference:
p. 148
Which of the following communication networks displays a high degree of centrality and
is appropriate for routine or recurring decisions with high-probability outcomes?
a. Wheel
b. Chain
c. Circle
d. Completely connected
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 144
26.
Which of the following is not considered one of the four basic types of communication
networks?
a. Wheel
b. Chain
c. Circle
d. Semi-connected
Difficulty:
27.
Easy
Reference:
p. 144
Easy
Reference:
pp. 144-145
A mode of thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive
ingroup, where the members striving for unanimity overrides their motivation to
realistically appraise alternative courses of action is known as:
a. structured decision making.
b. groupthink.
c. team MDM.
d. MDM analysis.
Difficulty:
30.
p. 145
Which of the following network structures serves as the basis for the group and
committee MDM structure and is often employed in situations where negotiation or
consensus must be the basis for the final decision?
a. Wheel
b. Chain
c. Circle
d. Completely connected
Difficulty:
29.
Reference:
Which of the following networks is most appropriate when routine or recurring decisions
are being made?
a. Wheel
b. Chain
c. Circle
d. Completely connected
Difficulty:
28.
Easy
Easy
Reference:
p. 148
Medium
Reference:
p. 153
31.
32.
Medium
Reference:
p. 154
Medium
Reference:
p. 154
Which of the following is not one of the four basic approaches that have been identified
through which MDM support can be provided?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Process support
Process structure
Task support
Organizational structure
Difficulty:
35.
p. 153
A(n) ____ is a system under the control of one or more decision makers that assists in the
activity of decision making by providing an organized set of tools intended to impart
structure to portions of the decision-making situation and to improve the ultimate
effectiveness of the decision outcome.
a. ODSS
b. GSS
c. GDSS
d. DSS
Difficulty:
34.
Reference:
33.
Medium
Medium
Reference:
p. 155
Process support
Process structure
Task support
Task structure
Difficulty:
Medium
Reference:
p. 155
36.
______ focuses on mechanisms that serve to govern the various communication activities
among participants including the pattern of interaction, the timing, and sometimes even
the content.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Process support
Process structure
Task support
Task structure
Difficulty:
37.
p. 155
Process support
Process structure
Task support
Task structure
Difficulty:
Medium
Reference:
p. 155
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
None of the above.
Difficulty:
39.
Reference:
______ involves the application of mechanisms that can select, organize, or even derive
information and knowledge that is specifically relevant to the task or decision at hand.
a.
b.
c.
d.
38.
Medium
Medium
Reference:
p. 157
The _____________ MDM systems are designed to reduce uncertainty that can evolve
from an MDM problem-solving activity. Both process and task structuring mechanisms
are typically found in this class of MDM support.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
None of the above.
Difficulty:
Medium
Reference:
p. 157
40.
The _____________ system contains all of the features of its predecessors and expands
the support mechanisms through an increase in process structuring techniques intended to
control participant interaction.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
None of the above.
Difficulty:
Medium
Reference:
p. 157
Essay Questions
41.
42.
63.
64.
65.
Chapter 6
Executive Information Systems
True-False Questions
99.
p. 174
101. An EIS is a unique DSS designed exclusively to analyze the operations of a firm.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 174
102. An EIS can be designed and built quickly because it only deals with summarized
information.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 175
103. A sales report showing revenue against forecast targets along with projections for the
next two quarters is an example of an EIS output.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 176
104. The ability to perform drill down analysis is an important feature of an EIS.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 176
105. A well designed EIS will replace the need for MIS applications
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 176
106. A well designed EIS replaces the need for all other DSSs within an organization
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 176
107. Executives spend more time on disturbance management than organizational staffing.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
pp. 178-179
108. The majority of executive time is spent in some form of disturbance management
activity.
Difficulty:
Hard
Reference:
pp. 178-179
109. The total study method, critical success factor method or key indicator method could be
used to define an EIS
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
pp. 182-183
110. An EIS normally requires unique hardware configurations, making them expensive to
build.
Difficulty:
Hard
Reference:
p. 184
111.
p. 185
112. An organization that does not wish to build their own EIS can purchase one off-theshelf.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 185
113. In the structural perspective of the EIS development framework, the focus is on people
and data as they relate to the EIS.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 188
114. The structural perspective of the EIS development framework builds upon the elements
and their relationships contained within the structural model and adds a time dimension
to the framework. In this component, the various activities and sequences of events are
delineated and actual project management issues relating to time, critical path, and
milestones are established.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
pp. 188-189
115. The dialog system of an EIS contains an action language where the user is directed in
how to use the system, and learns where the various commands and elements of
manipulation are contained and processed.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 189
116. The knowledge base in an EIS is the sum of what the executive knows about using the
system and all of the support mechanisms designed to assist in its use.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 190
117. Two organizational limitations of an EIS are time bias and loss of managerial
synchronization.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 191
22.
Easy
Reference:
p. 175
Easy
Reference:
p. 178
25.
p. 175
24.
Reference:
23.
Easy
Medium
Reference:
p. 178
Medium
Reference:
p. 182
26.
Which method for determining executive needs primarily uses traditional TPS
and MIS applications as it source of information?
a. Null method
b. Normal method
c. By-product method
d. Total study method
Difficulty:
27.
Medium
Reference:
p. 182
Medium
Reference:
p. 183
30.
p. 182
29.
Reference:
Which method for determining executive needs could best be described by the
phrase management by walking around?
a. Null method
b. Normal method
c. By-product method
d. Total study method
Difficulty:
28.
Medium
Method
Reference:
p. 183
Easy
Reference:
p. 182
31.
Using an EIS to explore the underlying data used to compile the current ratio
would be an example of which of the following activities?
a. Compilation
b. Aggregation
c. Drill down analysis
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
32.
Easy
Reference:
p. 178
Medium
Reference:
p. 188
35.
p. 176
34.
Reference:
33.
Hard
Easy
Reference:
p. 184
The ____________ portion of the EIS development framework builds upon the
elements and their relationships contained within the structural model and adds a
time dimension to the framework. In this component, the various activities and
sequences of events are delineated and actual project management issues relating
to time, critical path, and milestones are established.
a. structural
b. development process
c. dialog system
d. knowledge base
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 189
36.
37.
p. 189
Easy
Reference:
p. 190
39.
Reference:
38.
Easy
Easy
Reference:
p. 180
Managers at various levels are given authority to manage and deploy assets from
a predetermined allocation and based upon a control mechanism such as a budget
or operational plan. The authority to deploy those assets and the various behind
the scenes activities to obtain them normally performed by top executives is
associated with which of the following activities?
a. Entrepreneurial
b. Disturbance management
c. Resource allocation
d. Negotiation
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 180
40.
Easy
Reference:
p. 180
Essay Questions
41.
42.
66.
67.
68.
Chapter 7
Expert Systems and Artificial Intelligence
True-False Questions
119. An Expert System is designed to solve a specific knowledge domain problem.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 208
120. Artificial Intelligence can be defined as the study of how to make computers do things
that people do better.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 208
121. Reverse reasoning begins with a series of subproblems and builds into one cohesive
problem statement.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 208
122. All expert systems are based upon the use of reverse reasoning.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 208
123. The first artificial intelligence system was referred to as LISP.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 208
124. Categorization involves the creation of a loose set of hierarchies where lower-level
pieces of information inherit characteristics from a higher-level category.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 209
125. Reasoning by expectations uses components of heuristics and categorization.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 210
138. The inference engine performs deductions or inferences based on rules or facts. In
addition, it is capable of performing inexact or fuzzy reasoning based on probability or
pattern matching.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 220
22.
Easy
Reference:
p. 210
Medium
Reference:
p. 209
25.
p. 209
24.
Reference:
23.
Easy
Medium
Reference:
p. 210
Which of the following forms of knowledge can be encoded via a rule set?
a. Procedural knowledge
b. Declarative knowledge
c. Inferential knowledge
d. All of the above.
Difficulty:
Medium
Reference:
p. 212
26.
Which of the following represents entities as nodes and the arcs that connect the
nodes represent relationships?
a. Object network
b. Frames
c. Knowledge network
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
27.
Medium
Reference:
p. 214
Hard
Reference:
p. 215
30.
p. 213
29.
Reference:
28.
Medium
Medium
Reference:
p. 215
Which branch of AI most closely resembles how the human brain operates?
a. Genetic algorithms
b. Neural networks
c. Machine learning
d. Rete algorithms
Difficulty:
Medium
Reference:
p. 217
31.
32.
Easy
Reference:
p. 219
Medium
Reference:
p. 210
35.
p. 216
34.
Reference:
33.
Easy
Easy
Reference:
p. 220
Medium
Reference:
p. 220
36.
The ES component which provides the ES user with an area of working memory
to use as a workspace for the various other components of the ES is the:
a. dialog system.
b. user interface.
c. knowledge base.
d. blackboard.
Difficulty:
37.
Hard
Reference:
p. 224
Easy
Reference:
p. 224
Which of the following is not a criterion for the evaluation of an expert system?
a. The system should be responsive and easy to use.
b. The knowledge base should contain generally accepted knowledge.
c. The explanatory facility should be user-friendly.
d. All of the above are criteria.
Difficulty:
40.
p. 222
39.
Reference:
38.
Medium
Easy
Reference:
p. 226
Easy
Reference:
p. 228
Essay Questions
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
Chapter 8
Knowledge Engineering and Acquisition
True-False Questions
139. Both knowledge engineers and system analysts have the same goal; to create a
thorough specification of an information system that can be successfully
implemented.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 238
140. Knowledge engineers need to have a high degree of domain knowledge combined
with a broad set of system development skills.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 238
141. Each expert system is a one-of-a-kind system and its success is predicated on the skill
of the KEs to extract knowledge that is deeply hidden in the mind of a human expert.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 238
142. Data are facts, measurements, or observations with or without context.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 240
143. Apples and oranges are an example of data.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 240
p. 240
157. Interviewing is probably the most widely used and familiar of all KA techniques.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 247
158. Validation is concerned with whether or not the system we built conforms to its
original specifications.
Difficulty:
Hard
Reference:
p. 254
22.
Medium
Reference:
p. 240
Easy
Reference:
p. 240
25.
p. 240
24.
Reference:
23.
Easy
Medium
Reference:
p. 241
Easy
Reference:
p. 240
26.
27.
Hard
Reference:
p. 241
Hard
Reference:
p. 242
Descriptive
Assimilative
Reasoning
None of the above.
Difficulty:
30.
p. 241
29.
Reference:
28.
Medium
Hard
Reference:
p. 242
Easy
Reference:
p. 243
31.
32.
Medium
Reference:
p. 248
Easy
Reference:
p. 247
When using the ___________ approach to KA, the expert encodes his or her own
expertise and knowledge and enters it directly into the computer system. In this
regard, the expert is serving two roles: expert and KE.
a. expert-driven
b. KE-driven
c. machine-driven
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
35.
p. 245
34.
Reference:
33.
Hard
Easy
Reference:
p. 245
Easy
Reference:
p. 254
36.
37.
Easy
Reference:
p. 248
Hard
Reference:
p. 250
The knowledge validation measure that defines how credible the knowledge is is
referred to as:
a. depth.
b. breadth.
c. face validity.
d. robustness.
Difficulty:
40.
p. 254
39.
Reference:
38.
Medium
Hard
Reference:
p. 254
The knowledge validation measure that defines the impact of changes in the
knowledge base on the quality of the outputs is referred to as:
a. sensitivity.
b. appeal.
c. adaptability.
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
Hard
Reference:
p. 254
Essay Questions
41.
42.
69.
70.
What are the benefits and limitations of the repertory grid method
of knowledge gathering?
71.
Chapter 9
Machines That Can Learn
True-False Questions
159. Neural computing involves processing information by means of changing states of
networks formed by interconnecting extremely large numbers of simple processing
elements that interact with one another by exchanging signals.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 260
160. Fuzzy logic allows for the partial description of a rule.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 261
p. 261
162. The human language has evolved to allow for the conveyance of meaning through
semantic approximation rather than precise content
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 261
163. Fuzzy logic deals with the likelihood that something has a particular property while
probability deals with the degree to which a particular property is present in something
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 261
164. Fuzzy logic is a new development in the computing industry that emerged as a result of
the development of Internet search engines.
Difficulty:
Hard
Reference:
p. 262
165. Fuzzy logic can deal with any degree of change in input.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 262
166. When continuous variables are involved, traditional rule-based systems tend to provide
more accurate results than fuzzy logic.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 264
167. Fuzzy logic allows for the modeling of contradiction within a knowledge base.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 265
168. One of the limitations of a fuzzy logic system is that each rule is dependant upon all of
the other rules in the knowledge base.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 266
169. Under highly complex situations, fuzzy logic rules are highly verifiable.
170. Artificial neural networks are simple computer-based programs whose primary
function is to construct models of a problem space based upon trial and error.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 266
171. The transmission of signals from one neuron to another in an artificial neural network
occurs at the neural synapse via a complex chemical process in which specific
substances, called neurotransmitters, are released from one side of the synaptic
junction.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
pp. 266-267
172. The ANN involves an interconnected system of nodes called neurodes that are
associated with one or more weighted connections that are equivalent to human neural
synapses, inside the memory of a digital computer. The construction of the ANN is one
of multiple layers with the connections running between the layers.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 267
173. The basic structure a typical neurode consists of is a set of weighted input connections,
a bias input, a state function, a nonlinear transfer function, and an output connection.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 268
174. The purpose of a state function is to consolidate the weights of the various inputs to the
neurode into a single value that can be passed to the transfer function for processing.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 269
175. The primary purpose of the learning paradigm is to serve as the vehicle by which the
summed information is passed on as output.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 271
176. An advantage of automated neural nets is the elimination of the need for direct input
from experts.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 273
177. The GAs smallest unit is called a chromosome. The chromosome represents the
smallest unit of information in the problem domain and can be thought of as the basic
building block for a possible solution.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 276
178. The GAs smallest unit is called a gene. The gene represents the smallest unit of
information in the problem domain and can be thought of as the basic building block
for a possible solution.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 276
22.
Hard
Reference:
p. 261
Hard
Reference:
p. 265
25.
p. 261
24.
Reference:
23.
Easy
Hard
Reference:
p. 265
Easy
Reference:
p. 266
26.
In the human brain, the transmission of signals from one neuron to another occurs at a
junction referred to as the:
a. transmitters.
b. neurides.
c. neurodes.
d. synapses.
Difficulty:
27.
Medium
Reference:
p. 267
Easy
Reference:
p. 268
30.
p. 267
29.
Reference:
28.
Easy
Easy
Reference:
p. 267
The ANN layer that relays the final results of the net is referred to as the:
a. input layer.
b. output layer.
c. hidden layer.
d. neural layer.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 267
31.
The __________ in an ANN is where the processing and transformation of the input
signal takes place and where the type of output signal is determined.
a. input layer
b. output layer
c. hidden layer
d. neural layer
Difficulty:
32.
Medium
Reference:
pp. 268-269
Medium
Reference:
p. 269
The function in an ANN which serves as the vehicle by which the summed information
is passed on as output is called the:
a. transfer function.
b. state function.
c. memory function.
d. neural function.
Difficulty:
35.
p. 267
34.
Reference:
The _____________ is not normally connected to the ANN and is assumed to have an
input value of 1.0 for the state function. Its purpose is to allow for the individual
adjustment of the firing threshold of the neurode to facilitate the final adjustment of the
ANN following the learning process.
a. input layer
b. bias input
c. state function
d. output connection
Difficulty:
33.
Medium
Easy
Reference:
p. 269
The actual procedure used by a neural network to find the appropriate weight settings is
referred to as its:
a. transfer function.
b. state function.
c. weight seeking function.
d. learning paradigm.
Difficulty:
Medium
Reference:
p. 271
36.
37.
Easy
Reference:
p. 274
Medium
Reference:
p. 276
In a genetic algorithm, the smallest unit of information in the problem domain is called
a:
a. chromosome.
b. gene.
c. neuron.
d. synapse.
Difficulty:
40.
p. 273
A computer program that employs a set of adaptive processes that mimic the concept of
survival of the fittest by regenerating recombinants of itself in response to a calculated
difference between the networks guess and the desired solution state is known as a:
a. neural network.
b. artificial life system.
c. genetic algorithm.
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
39.
Reference:
38.
Hard
Easy
Reference:
p. 276
Medium
Reference:
p. 277, 279
Essay Questions
41.
42.
72.
73.
74.
Chapter 10
The Data Warehouse
True-False Questions
179. According to Inmon, a data warehouse is a subject-oriented, integrated database
designed to support DSS functions where the data is volatile and relevant.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 295
180. A data warehouse is typically physically separated from transaction processing
systems.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 295
181. Only a small fraction of the data that is captured, processed and stored in the
enterprise is actually ever made available to executives and decision makers.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 295
182. The most common component of a data warehouse environment is the operational
data store.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 295
183. A data mart is a subset of a data warehouse.
184. The essence of the data warehouse concept is a recognition that the characteristics
and usage patterns of operational systems used to automate business processes and
those of a DSS are fundamentally similar and symbiotically linked.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 295
185. One difference between data warehouses and operational data stores is the presence
of metadata.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 297
186. Metadata are data about data.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 297
187. Metadata are detailed data that has been aggregated and condensed into a more useful
form.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 297
188. The very essence of the DW environment is that the data contained within the
boundaries of the warehouse are integrated. This integration manifests itself through
consistency in naming convention and measurement attributes, accuracy, and
common aggregation.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 299
189. The time horizon for data in the data warehouse is typically significantly longer than
operational data sores.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 301
190. One of the benefits of integrated data is the establishment of a common unit of
measure for all synonymous data elements from dissimilar databases.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 300
191. According to Inmon, because data warehouses are highly de-normalized, they are
highly redundant.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 303
192. One objective of the data warehouse environment is to minimize the impact on
operational systems.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 303
193. The end user in a data warehouse environment deals directly with the application
messaging layer.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 305
194. The process management layer in a data warehouse can be thought of as a scheduler.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 305
195. The processes needed to prepare the data to be loaded into a data warehouse are
performed in the data staging layer.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 305
196. A data warehouse topology requires a centralized data warehouse that is accessed by
one or more decision support tools.
Difficulty:
Hard
Reference:
p. 306
197. One of the most important factors in the development of a data warehouse is a
comprehensive architectural framework.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 313
198. Transformation mapping metadata records how data from operational data stores and
external sources are transformed on the way into the warehouse.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 310
22.
Hard
Reference:
p. 295
Easy
Reference:
p. 296
25.
p. 295
24.
Reference:
23.
Easy
Hard
Reference:
p. 296
Easy
Reference:
p. 298
26.
The essence of the data warehouse environment is that the data contained within the
boundaries of the warehouse are _____________
a. integrated
b. consistent
c. streamlined
d. accurate
Difficulty:
27.
Medium
Reference:
p. 301
Medium
Reference:
p. 302
The _______________________ represents the source data for the DW. This layer is
comprised, primarily, of operational transaction processing systems and external
secondary databases.
a. information access layer
b. operational and external layer
c. data access layer
d. process management layer
Difficulty:
30.
p. 299
Which of the following activities would not normally be associated with a data
warehouse?
a. Loading
b. Updating
c. Accessing
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
29.
Reference:
The concept of time variant data implies which of the following statements?
a. Data are simply assumed to be accurate as of some moment in time and not
necessarily right now.
b. Data are assumed to be accurate at the moment they were loaded into the data
warehouse.
c. Data are assumed to vary over time.
d. Both a and b
Difficulty:
28.
Easy
Easy
Reference:
p. 303
Which layer of the data warehouse architecture does the end user deal directly with?
a. Data access layer
b. Application messaging layer
c. Information access layer
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
Medium
Reference:
p. 303
31.
32.
Easy
Reference:
p. 307
Medium
Reference:
p. 305
35.
p. 304
Which layer within the data warehouse architecture focuses on scheduling tasks that
must be accomplished to build and maintain the data warehouse and data directory
information?
a. data access layer
b. process management layer
c. application messaging layer
d. none of the above
Difficulty:
34.
Reference:
33.
Medium
Easy
Reference:
p. 306
Medium
Reference:
p. 305
36.
The ____________________ is where the actual data used for decision support
throughout the organization are located.
a. information access layer
b. operational and external layer
c. physical data warehouse layer
d. process management layer
Difficulty:
37.
Medium
Reference:
p. 305
Medium
Reference:
p. 310
40.
p. 305
The process that records how data from operational data stores and external sources
are transformed on the way into the warehouse is referred to as:
a. summarization algorithms.
b. transformation mapping.
c. back propagation.
d. extraction history.
Difficulty:
39.
Reference:
The final component of the DWA is the __________________. This layer includes
all of the processes necessary to select, edit, summarize, combine and load data
warehouse and information access data from operational and/or external databases.
a. data staging layer
b. operational and external layer
c. physical data warehouse layer
d. process management layer
Difficulty:
38.
Medium
Medium
Reference:
p. 311
Medium
Reference:
pp. 310-311
Essay Questions
41.
42.
75.
76.
77.
Chapter 11
Data Mining and Data Visualization
True-False Questions
199. Data mining is a set of activities used to find new, hidden, or unexpected patterns in
data.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 326
200. A synonym for data mining is information sifting and discovery (ISD).
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 326
201. Data mining is a business solution, not a technology.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 327
202. One of the primary reasons for the rise in data mining popularity is the everincreasing volume of data that require processing.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 328
203. The broad category of software decision-making technology that enables
multidimensional analysis is referred to as OLAP.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 329
204. ROLAP organizes and analyzes data as an n-dimensional cube. The ROLAP cube can
be conceptually thought of as a common spreadsheet with two extensions: (1) support
for multiple dimensions and (2) support for multiple concurrent users.
205. One of the primary advantages of ROLAP versus MOLAP is it results in performance
improvements for data access.
Difficulty:
Hard
Reference:
p. 331
206. MOLAP provides support for concurrent users.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 331
207. Sparcity can significantly increase the storage requirements of a MOLAP hypercube
by requiring that space be allocated for all cells rather than just the ones that contain
data values.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 331
208. MOLAP is well-suited to handle large numbers of detailed data.
Difficulty:
Hard
Reference:
p. 331
209. ROLAP databases typically contain both summary and detail data.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 331
210. The ROLAP structure contains a large number of normalized tables.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 332
211. The central table in a star schema is a dimension table.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 332
212. Data mining methods can be classified in two ways: by the function they perform or
by their class of application.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 333
213. The classification approach to data mining searches all details or transactions from
operational systems for patterns with a high probability of repetition.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 333
214. The association approach to data mining is intended to discover rules that define
whether an item or event belongs to a particular subset of data.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 333
215. The sequencing approach to data mining relates events in time, based on a series of
preceding events.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 334
216. The clustering approach to data mining is useful when there is a need to create
partitions in order to discover patterns in the data.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 335
217. Data mining does not use statistical techniques because the complex patterns in data
do not lend themselves to linear regression analysis.
Difficulty:
Hard
Reference:
p. 336
218. Two new categories of data mining are text mining and Web mining.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 338
22.
Hard
Reference:
p. 327
Easy
Reference:
p. 326
Which of the following is a reason for the growth in popularity of data mining?
a. Increased volume of data
b. Increased awareness of the inadequacy of the human brain to process multifactorial
dependencies or correlations
c. Increased affordability of machine learning
d. All of the above.
Difficulty:
25.
p. 326
The set of activities used to find new, hidden, or unexpected patterns in data is referred to
as:
a. data warehousing.
b. data mining.
c. data transformation.
d. data aggregation.
Difficulty:
24.
Reference:
23.
Easy
Easy
Reference:
p. 328
The term _________ has been generally agreed to represent the broad category of
software technology that enables decision makers to conduct multidimensional analysis
of consolidated enterprise data.
a. OLAP
b. MOLAP
c. ROLAP
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 329
26.
27.
Easy
Reference:
p. 331
Medium
Reference:
p. 331
Which term is used to refer to a basic database operation that links rows of two or more
tables by one or more columns in each table?
a. n-cube analysis
b. table link
c. table join
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
30.
p. 331
In a ________________, the data are stored as a multidimensional array where each cell
in the array represents the intersection of all of the dimensions. Using this approach, any
number of dimensions may be analyzed simultaneously and any number of
multidimensional views of the data can be created.
a. hyperion cube
b. hypercube
c. stochastic cube
d. correlation cube
Difficulty:
29.
Reference:
28.
Easy
Medium
Reference:
p. 331
Easy
Reference:
p. 332
31.
Which of the following is not considered one of the four major categories of processing
algorithms and rule approaches?
a. Classification
b. Association
c. Sequence
d. Principal components analysis
Difficulty:
32.
Medium
Reference:
p. 334
Medium
Reference:
p. 335
___________________ methods are used to relate events in time, such as the prediction
of interest rate fluctuations or stock performance, based on a series of preceding events.
Through this analysis, various hidden trends can be discovered that are often highly
predictive of future events.
a. Association
b. Linkage analysis
c. Sequencing
d. Clustering
Difficulty:
35.
p. 333
There are some cases where it is difficult or impossible to define the parameters of a
class of data to be analyzed. In these cases, _____________ methods can be used to
create partitions so that all members of each set are similar according to some metric or
set of metrics thus creating a set of objects grouped together by virtue of their similarity
or proximity to each other.
a. association
b. linkage analysis
c. sequencing
d. clustering
Difficulty:
34.
Reference:
Which data mining technique utilizes linkage analysis to search operational transactions
for patterns with a high probability of repetition?
a. Association
b. Cluster
c. Sequence
d. Principal components analysis
Difficulty:
33.
Easy
Medium
Reference:
p. 334
Easy
Reference:
p. 336
36.
A common example of the use of association methods where a retailer can mine the data
generated by a point-of-sale system, such as the price scanner you are familiar with at the
grocery store is referred to as:
a. sequencing.
b. linkage analysis.
c. clustering.
d. market basket analysis.
Difficulty:
37.
Easy
Reference:
p. 351
Medium
Reference:
p. 345
An orderly hierarchy of items and item categories that divides each item into a basket
analysis is referred to as a:
a. cluster analysis.
b. taxonomy.
c. multi dimensional market basket analysis.
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
40.
p. 334
39.
Reference:
The process by which numerical data is converted into meaningful images is referred to
as:
a. data mining.
b. data warehousing.
c. data visualization.
d. data aggregation.
Difficulty:
38.
Medium
Hard
Reference:
p. 348
Easy
Reference:
pps. 350-351
Essay Questions
41.
42.
78.
79.
80.
Chapter 12
Designing and Building the Data Warehouse
True-False Questions
219. The first step in planning a data warehouse is to define the information requirements of the
organization.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 383
220. The enterprise model consists of a number of separate models integrated together to
provide a comprehensive view of the organization.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 384
221. The corporate process model describes the entities generated by the elementary processes
carried out by the enterprise.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 384
222. The corporate data model represents a highly structured description of the elementary
processes within the enterprise that identify the interrelationships among the different
processes.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 384
223. The long term benefit of an enterprise data warehouse is the increased integration of
business processes throughout the organization.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 384
224. A top-down data warehouse design focuses on making use of data available in the current
operational systems.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
pp. 384-385
225. A bottom-up approach to data warehouse brings more benefit to a data warehouse project
than a top-down approach.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 385
226. Horizontal integration is the means by which the application designer ensures that the
software application is congruent with the stated business requirements.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 385
227. Enterprise integration ensures that each application is fully integrated within its own
boundaries.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 385
228. Vertical integration ensures that consistent data definitions occur across the entire
organization.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 386
229. One of the most significant data warehouse critical success factors is strong management
support.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 386
230. Organizational culture can have an impact on their readiness to develop a data warehouse
because data warehouse development implies cross departmental cooperation and
information sharing.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 388
231. One common approach to data warehouse project prioritization is to rank initiatives by
impact on the information technology organization.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 390
232. One low cost approach to determining data warehouse feasibility is to develop a proof of
concept.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 391
233. When the initial scope of a project continues to expand to incorporate new features this is
referred to as feature expansion.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 392
234. The first step in developing a data warehouse is to determine the project scope.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 392
235. A project benefit that can be identified with certainty and expressed in dollars is said to be
an intangible benefit.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 396
236. The ability to introduce new products would be considered an intangible project benefit.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 396
237. The ability to be proactive in identifying legal issues, thereby foregoing potential financial
penalties that might impact a firm would be considered an intangible project benefit.
Difficulty:
Hard
Reference:
p. 397
238. Economic feasibility measures share one concept in common the time value of money.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 399
Which of the following data warehouse design approaches implies a strategic rather
than operational perspective?
a. Bottom-up approach
b. Top-down approach
c. Central approach
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
22.
Easy
Reference:
p. 385
Easy
Reference:
p. 385
__________ ensures that there is consistent definition of data and processes across the
organization.
a. Horizontal integration
b. Vertical integration
c. Enterprise integration
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
25.
p. 384
_________ seeks to ensure that each application under development is fully integrated
within its own boundaries and to eliminate any inconsistencies in the final software
product.
a. Horizontal integration
b. Vertical integration
c. Enterprise integration
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
24.
Reference:
When the application designer ensures that the software application is in harmony with
the business requirements, this is referred to as:
a. horizontal integration.
b. vertical integration.
c. enterprise integration.
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
23.
Easy
Easy
Reference:
p. 386
Which of the following is not a data warehouse project readiness assessment factor?
a. Strong sponsorship
b. A compelling business motivation
c. An analytic organizational culture
d. All of the above are factors.
Difficulty:
Medium
Reference:
pp. 386-388
26.
Which of the following is considered a key question to the success of a data warehouse
initiative?
a. What are the key performance indicators used for each of the key business
initiatives?
b. What is the potential impact on each of the existing performance metrics with
improved access to higher-quality business process information?
c. What does management consider to be the key strategic business initiatives?
d. All of the above.
Difficulty:
27.
Medium
Reference:
p. 390
Easy
Reference:
p. 391
__________ occurs when the initial scope of a project continues to expand as new
features are incorporated into the project.
a. Feature creep
b. Hope creep
c. Scope creep
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
30.
p. 390
Which term refers to the process of developing a relatively low cost prototype to
demonstrate that a data warehouse will achieve the perceived benefits?
a. Proof of prototype
b. Proof of concept
c. Proof of benefit
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
29.
Reference:
28.
Easy
Easy
Reference:
p. 392
Easy
Reference:
p. 394
31.
32.
Easy
Reference:
p. 396
Easy
Reference:
p. 396
35.
p. 394
A(n) _________ benefit can be directly associated with a project but is not easily
expressed in dollars.
a. intangible
b. tangible
c. enterprise
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
34.
Reference:
A(n) ________ benefit can be identified with certainty and is easily expressed in
dollars.
a. intangible
b. tangible
c. enterprise
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
33.
Easy
Hard
Reference:
p. 396
Hard
Reference:
p. 397
36.
37.
Hard
Reference:
p. 402
Medium
Reference:
p. 402
40.
p. 399
____________ determines the point where the benefits of a project equal its costs.
a. Net present value
b. Breakeven analysis
c. Internal rate of return
d. All of the above.
Difficulty:
39.
Reference:
38.
Easy
Medium
Reference:
p. 407
Easy
Reference:
p. 410
Essay Questions
41.
42.
81.
82.
What are the benefits realized through a sound data warehouse architecture?
83.
Chapter 13
Decisions in the Organization
True-False Questions
239. A system can be defined as a series of interrelated elements with an identifiable
boundary, that work together to achieve a common goal.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 425
240. The concept of synergy states that the whole is equal to the sum of the parts.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 425
241. A system contains three components: interrelated elements, internal inputs, and
subsystems.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 425
242. Another name for a system element is a subsystem.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 425
243. Boundaries imply that systems can be distinguished via their relationship to other
systems.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 425
244. Elements that are not contained within the boundary of a system are part of the
system environment.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 425
245. The system environment is not part of the system itself.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 425
246. A self contained system that has very little interaction with the external environment
is referred to as an adaptive system.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 427
247. Closed systems are perpetual and self-sustaining.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 427
p. 427
249. Function composition is the process of breaking down systems into more discreet
subsystems.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 428
250. A DSS is considered to be a closed system because all of the data stores used are selfcontained.
Difficulty:
Hard
Reference:
p. 430
251. One of the advantages of a DSS is that the end-user is always contained with the
boundaries of the system, resulting in greater system control.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 430
252. A service level agreement provides a detailed description of each service provision
along with reporting requirements for each party to the agreement.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 434
253. Information relevance is synonymous with information precision.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 436
254. The standard for information to be considered timely is that it must be available to
the user within 48 hours.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 437
255. Information consistency refers to how quickly and easily its intended user can figure
out what to do with it.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 438
256. Information system architecture is a detailed plan that addresses the make, model and
characteristics of each physical unit in a system.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 440
257. One of the unique features of a DSS is that the data is highly specialized and rarely
used by anyone other than the person who created it.
Difficulty:
Hard
Reference:
p. 440
258. Scalability is the degree to which a platform can be expanded to accommodate
increases in processing requirements.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 440
22.
Reference:
p. 425
Easy
Reference:
p. 426
Medium
Reference:
p. 426
26.
Easy
25.
p. 425
24.
Reference:
23.
Easy
Medium
Reference:
p. 427
Easy
Reference:
p. 427
27.
The process of continually redefining a system into smaller, more discrete subsystems
in referred to as:
a. system identification.
b. functional decomposition.
c. requirements definition.
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
28.
Reference:
p. 430
Easy
Reference:
p. 431
Easy
Reference:
p. 434
32.
Hard
31.
p. 428
30.
Reference:
29.
Medium
Easy
Reference:
p. 436
Medium
Reference:
pp. 438-439
33.
Information that matches the needs of the decision maker is said to be:
a. timely.
b. accurate.
c. relevant.
d. precise.
Difficulty:
34.
Easy
Reference:
p. 436
Medium
Reference:
p. 438
37.
p. 435
___________ is the degree to which similar pieces of information are stored and
presented in a similar and predictable fashion.
a. Consistency
b. Precision
c. Accuracy
d. Relevance
Difficulty:
36.
Reference:
__________ refers to the maximum accuracy with which a piece of information can be
represented.
a. Correctness
b. Precision
c. Consistency
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
35.
Easy
Easy
Reference:
p. 440
Which of the following refers to the degree to which information can be delivered to
the exact locus of a decision?
a. Interoperability
b. Compatibility
c. Scalability
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 440
38.
39.
Reference:
p. 440
The issue of ________ focuses on the degree to which a DSS under design will interact
effectively with other organizational systems.
a. interoperability
b. compatibility
c. scalability
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
40.
Medium
Medium
Reference:
p. 440
Easy
Reference:
p. 442
Essay Questions
41.
42.
Briefly describe three issues that affect DSS information system architecture.
84.
85.
86.
Chapter 14
Designing and Building Decision Support Systems
True-False Questions
259. Because there is no one best DSS, it stands to reason that there is no one best way to
design and build one either.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 450
260. Because of the unique requirements of a DSS, the only way to construct one is with a
DSS generator.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 450
261. A DSS generator is an application system that eliminates the need for programming
of thousands of individual instructions or codes in the design and construction of a
DSS.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 451
262. A common perspective with regard to system design and development is found in the
system development life cycle (SDLC) approach. The SDLC portrays the process as
a series of iterative and recursive phases, each with its own set of required inputs,
activities, and deliverables.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 452
263. The primary advantage of an SLDC approach to DSS design is that it is the most
adaptive methodology to handle the sometimes rapidly changing system
specifications.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 453
264. An alternative to the SDLC approach is ROMC Analysis. This approach focuses the
analysis effort on developing understandings of read operations (R), overflows (O),
memory maps (M), and continuous data flow (C).
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 453
265. Functional category analysis results in the design of a DSS from the categorization of
end-user interviews.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 454
266. Three primary categories of system requirements for the DSS can be established: (1)
functional requirements, (2) interface requirements, and (3) coordination
requirements.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 457
267. The functional requirements for the DSS focus on the DSSs capacity for storage,
recall, and production of knowledge useful to the problem context.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 457
268. The coordination requirements focus on the communication capabilities of the DSS.
During this phase, the designer must determine the various channels and methods of
communication that will be made available to the DSS user and the conditions under
which they will be made available.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 457
269. The determination of specific physical components, structure, and development
platforms is made during the system construction stage of the DSS development
process.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 457
270. The goal of the system implementation phase is to test, evaluate, and deploy a fully
functional and documented DSS. During this phase, a major activity is the final
determination and evaluation of the degree to which the DSS meets the users needs.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 458
271. The DSS developer must possess the knowledge to develop the computer-based
application but normally does not need to be knowledgeable about the details
surrounding the problem under study.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 459
272. Two basic types of prototyping have proved effective in the development of DSSs:
iterative prototypes and reusable prototypes.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 460
273. Prototyping can be beneficial in the development of a DSS because the immediate
nature of user response and feedback regarding system functionality can result in
greater senior management support.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 461
274. End users are those individuals who fall outside the confines of the formally defined
IS department or function within an organization.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 463
275. An advantage of end-user development DSS applications is a reduction in time to
deliver resulting in lower cost.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 464
276. An area of risk with end-user developed DSS applications is a potential lack of
security measures built into the system.
277. The concept of the information center (IC) arose to address the need for end-user
support in the design and development of computer-based applications.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 465
278. DSS development tools are classified as either primary development tools or DSS
generators.
Difficulty:
Hard
Reference:
p. 466
An application system that eliminates the need for programming of thousands of individual
instructions or code in the design and construction of a DSS is called a(n):
a. DSS development system.
b. DSS generator.
c. DSS analyzer.
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
22.
Medium
Reference:
p. 452
Hard
Reference:
p. 453
An alternative to the SDLC approach which focuses the analysis effort on developing
understandings of representations, operations, memory aids, and controls is called:
a. SDLC II.
b. ROMC.
c. RAID.
d. CSF.
Difficulty:
25.
p. 451
Which of the following is not true of the SDLC approach in DSS development?
a. It brings a necessary structure and discipline to the DSS development process.
b. It is flexible in its development approach.
c. It is common where formal relationships exist between the developer and end user.
d. All of the above are true.
Difficulty:
24.
Reference:
A common perspective with regard to system design and development is found in the
_____________ approach which portrays the process as a series of iterative and recursive
phases, each with its own set of required inputs, activities, and deliverables.
a. DSS programming language
b. ROMC
c. SDLC
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
23.
Easy
Easy
Reference:
p. 453
A methodology for the design of a DSS that focuses on the identification of specific
functions necessary for the development of a particular DSS from a broad list of available
functions including selection, aggregation, estimation, simulation, equalization, and
optimization is called:
a. functional category analysis.
b. ROMC.
c. SDLC.
d. SDLC II.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 454
26.
Which of the following would not be considered a primary category of the systems
analysis phase of DSS development?
a. Functional requirements
b. Interface requirements
c. Technical requirements
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
27.
Medium
Reference:
p. 457
Medium
Reference:
p. 457
The requirements for a DSS that include the timing of events associated with the decisionmaking process, the facilitation of the access to relevant information, and the integration of
various modeling tools contained with the DSS are called the:
a. functional requirements.
b. interface requirements.
c. technical requirements.
d. coordination requirements.
Difficulty:
30.
p. 457
The requirements which focus on the communication capabilities of the DSS are called
the:
a. functional requirements.
b. interface requirements.
c. technical requirements.
d. coordination requirements.
Difficulty:
29.
Reference:
The set of specifications for the DSS which focuses on the DSSs capacity for storage,
recall, and production of knowledge useful to the problem context is known as the:
a. functional requirements.
b. interface requirements.
c. technical requirements.
d. coordination requirements.
Difficulty:
28.
Hard
Medium
Reference:
p. 457
Which design phase uses iterative prototyping to make refinements to the system based
upon feedback received from testing and user involvement?
a. System design
b. System construction
c. Implementation
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
pp. 457-458
31.
32.
Reference:
p. 457
33.
Medium
Easy
Reference:
p. 457
The goal of the _________________ phase is to test, evaluate, and deploy a fully
functional and documented DSS. During this phase, a major activity is the final
determination and evaluation of the degree to which the DSS meets the users needs.
a.
b.
c.
d.
system design
system construction
system implementation
incremental adaptation
Difficulty:
34.
Reference:
p. 458
The final stage in the DSS development process is ________. It involves the continual
revisiting of the activities from earlier stages in an effort to the capabilities of the DSS
based upon the knowledge gained as a result of its use.
a. system requirements revision
b. system installation
c. system implementation
d. incremental adaptation
Difficulty:
35.
Easy
Medium
Reference:
p. 458
Hard
Reference:
p. 459
36.
37.
Hard
Reference:
p. 461
Medium
Reference:
p. 464
The ___________________ are the lowest level of DSS development technology. In this
category, we find the programming languages, code and text editors, graphics development
applications, and database query mechanisms employed during the development of either a
DSS generator or a specific DSS application.
a. primary development tools
b. DSS generators
c. specific DSS applications
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
40.
p. 460
39.
Reference:
38.
Medium
Easy
Reference:
p. 467
Easy
Reference:
p. 467
Essay Questions
41.
42.
87.
88.
List and briefly describe the two types of prototypes. Compare their
advantages and limitations.
89.
List the factors that are related to the quality of the user interface.
Chapter 15
Implementing and Integrating Decision Support Systems
True-False Questions
279. Implementation is probably the most important and critical step in the entire DSS
design process because without a successful implementation, the greatest DSS ever
created will go unused or even unnoticed.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 478
280. Implementation is a static process, occurring at the end of DSS development.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 479
281. The Lewin-Schein theory of change is structured and rigid.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 479
282. The essence of the Kolb-Frohman model is the assumption that the probability of
successful implementation will result from a specific pattern of actions by the users
and managers.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 479
283. Alter suggested that the initial impetus behind the development of a DSS can be
categorized via: (1) user stimulus, (2) managerial stimulus and (3) environmental
stimulus.
Difficulty:
Hard
Reference:
p. 481
284. The Service with a Smile implementation pattern is the most common approach for a
DSS.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 482
285. The logic behind user satisfaction as a measure of success is that the users will view a
DSS as favorable if it is perceived to be effective in supporting the decision-making
process. The more effective the system appears to be, the more satisfied the users will
be with the system.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 485
286. The number of times a DSS was accessed is the most effective metric of its success.
Difficulty:
Hard
Reference:
p. 485
287. Davis developed a method of measuring user satisfaction of information systems
based upon perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 485
288. Perceived usefulness focuses on the attitudes of the user with regard to the degree to
which the system is perceived to bring utility or value to the activity within which it
is used.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 485
289. Perceived ease-of-use focuses on the degree to which the users of the system perceive
the task to be easy to do.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 485
290. One method of assessing the success of a DSS is to focus on the technical
functionality of the system.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 486
291. Utilizing the ratio of direct cost to direct benefit is an example of using
organizational success measures to assess a DSS.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 486
292. Integrating the DSS into the organization simply means that the new application is
merged into the existing computing infrastructure such that the appearance of a
seamless architecture appears to the user.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 494
293. In functional integration, the various decision support functions with the DSS are
integrated and linked to those of the existing infrastructure. This linking includes
providing common menu access, inter- and intra-application transfer of data and
tools, and a common application interface at the same desktop client or workstation.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 494
294. Physical integration involves the architectural bundling of the hardware, software,
and data communication characteristics associated with the new DSS into the existing
set of physical systems.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 494
p. 494
296. One of the least common problems faced during the implementation and integration
of virtually any computer-based information system, including DSS, is the resistance
by certain individuals or groups to the changes associated with the new system.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 495
297. Resistance to change can result from a number of different factors, including fear of
the unknown.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 495
298. Managers represent the single resistance group to the implementation of a DSS,
because they fear a loss of importance.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 497
_________________ is probably the most important and critical step in the entire
DSS design process because without its success, the greatest DSS ever created
will go unused or even unnoticed.
a. Design
b. Implementation
c. Requirements Analysis
d. Physical Design
Difficulty:
22.
Easy
Reference:
p. 479
Medium
Reference:
p. 481
25.
p. 478
24.
Reference:
According to this theory, the process of change occurs in three basic steps:
unfreezing, moving, and refreezing.
a. Kolb-Frohman
b. Structuration
c. Contingency
d. Lewin-Schein
Difficulty:
23.
Easy
Medium
Reference:
p. 481
One common measure of success suggests that users will view a DSS as
favorable if it is seen as effective in supporting the decision-making process. This
measure is known as:
a. perceived usefulness.
b. perceived ease of use.
c. user satisfaction.
d. system use.
Difficulty:
Medium
Reference:
p. 485
26.
The ________________ construct focuses on the attitudes of the user with regard
to the degree to which the system is perceived to bring utility or value to the
activity within which it is used.
a. perceived usefulness
b. perceived ease-of-use
c. user satisfaction
d. system use
Difficulty:
27.
Medium
Reference:
p. 485
Hard
Reference:
p. 482
30.
p. 485
29.
Reference:
The ________________ construct focuses on the degree to which the users of the
system perceive the tool to be easy to use.
a. perceived usefulness
b. perceived ease-of-use
c. user satisfaction
d. system use
Difficulty:
28.
Medium
Easy
Reference:
p. 483
Which DSS implementation pattern is associated with users who are looking to
buy a product?
a. Join hands and circle around
b. Service with a smile
c. R&D
d. Used car salesperson
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 482
31.
32.
p. 487
Easy
Reference:
p. 487
34.
Reference:
33.
Easy
Medium
Reference:
p. 488
This category measures the factors that contribute to the organizational aspects of
the DSS. This category is primarily quantitative in nature and includes measures
focusing on increases in revenue, cost reductions, increases in training
effectiveness, increases in competitive advantages, and changes in productivity,
among many others.
a. System performance
b. Task performance
c. Business opportunities
d. Evolutionary aspects
Difficulty:
Medium
Reference:
p. 488
35.
The degree to which the DSS adapts to changes within the problem context and
environment is the focus of this category of performance measurement. Inherent
in providing support to ill-structured decisions and problem-solving tasks are the
changes that can occur in the users decision-making behavior, problem
characteristics, and circumstances. The ability of a DSS to adapt to these
dynamics is often a function of the original development tool selected and the
ability of the user to make necessary changes to data or models.
a. System performance
b. Task performance
c. Business opportunities
d. Evolutionary aspects
Difficulty:
36.
p. 488
Hard
Reference:
p. 489
The process by which the new DSS application is merged into the existing
computing infrastructure such that the appearance of a seamless architecture
appears to the user is called:
a. design.
b. maintenance.
c. implementation.
d. integration.
Difficulty:
38.
Reference:
37.
Medium
Easy
Reference:
p. 494
In __________ integration, the various decision support functions with the DSS
are integrated and linked to those of the existing infrastructure. This linking
includes providing common menu access, inter- and intra-application transfer of
data and tools, and a common application interface at the same desktop client or
workstation.
a. physical
b. functional
c. technical
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
Medium
Reference:
p. 494
39.
40.
Medium
Reference:
p. 494
Which of the following is a factor that can lead to resistance to change within an
organization?
a. Fear of the unknown
b. Differing perceptions
c. Conservationism
d. All of the above.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 496
Essay Questions
41.
42.
What are the seven steps of the process of change in the KolbFrohman Model?
90.
91.
92.
Chapter 16
Creative Decision Making and Problem Solving
True-False Questions
299. Creativity involves the translation of our unique gifts, talents, and vision into some
form of external reality that is both new and useful.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 504
300. Creativity can involve the combining of existing objects intended for one purpose
into some other completely different purpose.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 504
301. Intelligence combines thinking and learning.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 505
305. The psychoanalytic perspective argues that creativity is nothing more than a natural
response to stimuli within our individual environments and that certain combinations
of stimuli can lead to more creative behavior than other combinations.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 508
306. The process orientation view sees creativity as a property of a thought process that
can be acquired and improved through instruction and practice.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 508
307. Logical thinking is perhaps the most common, most widely used, and most often
recommended approach to solving a problem. This method of thinking is rooted in
the model-building and quantitative methods of management science and is an
integral part of the design and development of a computer-based DSS.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 509
308. Lateral thinking is based upon the premise that the human mind naturally processes
and stores information in accordance with a specific pattern of thought and action.
Because of this logical categorization process, the mind becomes hindered in any
attempt to change these recognized patterns of thought. Lateral thinking disrupts
these patterns through the introduction of discontinuity.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 509
309. Three major activities promote lateral thinking processes: (1) creativity, (2) analysis
and (3) initiative.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 509
310. Exaggeration can be used as a method of change.
Difficulty:
Hard
Reference:
p. 510
311. The most common method of introducing change from outside the problem context is
to use analogies.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 510
312. Opposite thinking takes the position that certain elements within a problem context
are more critical to any solution outcome.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 511
313. Critical thinking is a method of problem solving where the decision-maker simply
takes the perspective of someone other than himself or herself. This is a form of
standing in anothers shoes. Using this method, a decision maker can often gain
insight into why a particular problem exists in the first place.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 511
314. One of the most common barriers to creativity is a result of problem solvers making
assumptions regarding potential outcomes that are untrue.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 513
315. Creative thought can be inhibited by criticism.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 514
22.
Easy
Reference:
p. 504
Medium
Reference:
p. 508
The _______________ perspective argues that creativity is nothing more than a natural
response to stimuli within our individual environments and that certain combinations of
stimuli can lead to more creative behavior than other combinations.
a. psychoanalytic
b. behavioral
c. process orientation
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
25.
p. 505
24.
Reference:
23.
Hard
Medium
Reference:
p. 508
Medium
Reference:
p. 508
26.
Which of the following is not considered one of the five basic categories of ways of
thinking?
a. Logical
b. Lateral
c. Critical
d. Intuition
Difficulty:
27.
Medium
Reference:
p. 509
Medium
Reference:
p. 509
This method of thinking takes the position that there exists certain elements within a
problem context that are most crucial to the significance of any solution outcome.
a. Logical
b. Lateral
c. Critical
d. Intuition
Difficulty:
30.
p. 509
This method of thinking is based upon the premise that the human mind naturally
processes and stores information in accordance with a specific pattern of thought and
action.
a. Logical
b. Lateral
c. Critical
d. Intuition
Difficulty:
29.
Reference:
28.
Easy
Medium
Reference:
p. 511
Medium
Reference:
p. 511
31.
Which of the following is not a major activity available to promote lateral thinking?
a. Evaluation
b. Alternatives
c. Provocation
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
32.
Hard
Reference:
p. 509
Easy
Reference:
pp. 513-514
35.
p. 509
34.
Reference:
33.
Medium
Easy
Reference:
p. 513
Hard
Reference:
p. 515
36.
37.
Medium
Reference:
p. 516
Easy
Reference:
p. 517
The _________ technique requires the user to write down attributes of a problem, list as
many alternative options under each attribute as possible, and then consider all possible
combinations and permutations of the alternatives.
a. Osborns idea checklist
b. morphological forced connections
c. analytic hierarchy process
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
40.
p. 515
39.
Reference:
Which category of problem solving techniques contains two goals: (1) divergent thinking
and (2) the generation of ideas?
a. Serendipity
b. Free association
c. Brainstorming
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
38.
Easy
Medium
Reference:
p. 518
Which of the following is not an element of the general form of the model for the
Analytic Hierarchy Process?
a. Criteria
b. Alternatives
c. Decision
d. All of the above are elements.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 520
Essay Questions
41.
42.
93.
94.
List and briefly describe the three major activities in promoting lateral thinking
processes.
95.
Chapter 17
Intelligent Software Agents, BOTS, Delegation, and Agency
True-False Questions
319. Delegation involves the discretionary authority to autonomously act on behalf of
another.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 530
320. An autonomous agent takes on the responsibility of completing a task that is
delegated to you.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 530
321. Delegation enables you to take on more responsibility
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 530
p. 531
327. Intelligent software agents on the Internet and intranets are moving towards
personalization and diversification.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 533
328. The concept of agency consists of techniques, concepts, and applications to
personalize, customize, elaborate, delegate, and catalyze the processes in the online
marketplace.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 535
329. Supplier-driven agency relies primarily on pull technologies.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 535
p. 546
337. A helper agent is designed to assist a user in an autonomous manner without human
intervention.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 547
338. Consumer recommendations can be presented to people through the use of
automated collaboration filtering.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 551
When you agree to take on the responsibility for completing a task from another,
you act as a(n) _____________.
a. delegate
b. independent agent
c. autonomous agent
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
22.
Easy
Reference:
p. 531
Easy
Reference:
p. 533
25.
p. 530
24.
Reference:
Software that knows a users interests and can act autonomously on their behalf
is referred to as:
a. an intelligent agent.
b. a script file.
c. artificial intelligence.
d. All of the above.
Difficulty:
23.
Easy
Medium
Reference:
p. 535
Hard
Reference:
p. 535
26.
_________ answers the question of what an agent is, as well as the mathematical
formalisms for representing and reasoning about the properties of agents.
a. Agent theory
b. Agent architecture
c. Agent Language
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
27.
Easy
Reference:
p. 537
Easy
Reference:
p. 537
Which types of agents represents two orthogonal concepts: the ability for
autonomous execution and the ability to perform domain-oriented reasoning?
a. AIMA
b. MuBOT
c. Hayes-Roth
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
30.
p. 537
29.
Reference:
28.
Easy
Hard
Reference:
p. 539
Hard
Reference:
p. 539
31.
Which types of agents are computational systems that inhabit some complex
dynamic environment and act autonomously, and by doing so realize a set of
goals for which they are designed?
a. Maes
b. Foner
c. Wooldridge-Jennings
d. FAQ
Difficulty:
32.
Easy
Reference:
p. 540
Medium
Reference:
p. 541
35.
p. 539
34.
Reference:
33.
Hard
Medium
Reference:
p. 541
Easy
Reference:
p. 542
36.
37.
Easy
Reference:
p. 546
Easy
Reference:
p. 547
Which of the following is not an attribute role of agents within the Gaia
methodology?
a. Permissions
b. Protocols
c. Use cases
d. Activities
Difficulty:
40.
p. 544
Which type of agent is designed to facilitate and assist with online shopping
activities?
a. Helper agent
b. Shopping agent
c. Watcher agent
d. Learning agent
Difficulty:
39.
Reference:
38.
Medium
Medium
Reference:
p. 558
Which of the following is used by UML to model the world as relations between
entities using static class diagram format?
a. Protocol diagram
b. Architecture diagram
c. Ontology diagram
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
Medium
Reference:
p. 561
Essay Questions
41.
42.
96.
97.
98.
Chapter 18
Decision Support in the Twenty-First Century
True-False Questions
1.
2.
3.
One of the significant advantages of DSSs is that they are completely secure and can
therefore be accessed across any network.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 577
4.
One area of future DSS growth is advanced data management capabilities, including
support for hypertext and multimedia.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 577
5.
Virtual reality can potentially alter the manner in which users are trained to use
information systems.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 578
6.
Two major issues that will impact the future of expert systems are knowledge
management and virtual databases.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 578
7.
A high performance storage system (HPSS) is software that is useful for the
management of large rule sets.
Difficulty:
Medium Reference:
p. 579
8.
The ultimate design goal for expert system knowledge acquisition is to enable the
user to encode their own knowledge.
Difficulty:
Easy
Reference:
p. 580
9.
10.
12.
Medium
Reference:
p. 576
Easy
Reference:
p. 577
Which of the following is not an issue that is crucial to the future of expert
systems?
a. Knowledge management
b. Network simulation
c. AI requirements for intelligent databases
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
15.
p. 575
14.
Reference:
_____________ is the term that describes the phenomena of data doubling every
year, while at the same time a typical knowledge analyst can only absorb 5% of
the data.
a. Online analytical processing
b. Information overload
c. Virtual information analysis
d. None of the above.
Difficulty:
13.
Easy
Medium
Reference:
p. 578
Medium
Reference:
p. 579
16.
17.
Easy
Reference:
p. 581
Medium
Reference:
p. 583
20.
p. 580
19.
Reference:
18.
Easy
Easy
Reference:
p. 584
Hard
Reference:
p. 590
Essay Questions
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.