Sample questions with Indicative Answers

Question 1
A. Convert the number (1,560)
10
to the binary, octal and hexadecimal systems.
B. Binary addition: (1010101)
2
(101000)
2

C. Binary subtraction: (1010101)
2
(101000)
2

D. Binary multiplication: (100011)
2
* (111)
2


Question 2
ow would the use oI computers be aIIected iI there were no GUIs and all operating systems still
used a command-driven interIace?

Question 3
Describe how inIormation systems have changed the way businesses operate and their products and
services.
Answer: Wireless communications, including computers, cell phones, and PDAs, are keeping
managers, employees, customers, suppliers, and business partners connected in every way possible.
E-mail, online conIerencing, the Web, and the Internet, are providing new and diverse lines oI
communication Ior all businesses, large and small. Through increased communication channels and
decreased costs oI the communications, customers are demanding more oI businesses in terms oI
service and product, at lower costs. E-commerce is changing the way businesses must attract and
respond to customers.

Question 4
List and describe six reasons why inIormation systems are so important Ior business today.
Answer: Six reasons why inIormation systems are so important Ior business today include:
1. perational excellence
2. New products, services, and business models
3. Customer and supplier intimacy
4. Improved decision making
5. Competitive advantage
6. Survival

Question 5
Describe the relationship between inIormation systems and business processes.
Answer: InIormation systems automate manual business processes and make an organization more
eIIicient. Data and inIormation are available to a wider range oI decision makers more quickly
when inIormation systems are used to change the Ilow oI inIormation. Tasks can be perIormed
simultaneously rather than sequentially, speeding up the completion oI business processes.
InIormation systems can also drive new business models that perhaps wouldn`t be possible without
the technology.

Question 6
Explain how enterprise applications improve organizational perIormance.
Answer: An organization operates in an ever-increasing competitive and global environment. The
successIul organization Iocuses on the eIIicient execution oI its processes, customer service, and
speed to market. Enterprise applications provide an organization with a consolidated view oI its
operations across diIIerent Iunctions, levels, and business units. Enterprise applications allow an
organization to eIIiciently exchange inIormation among its Iunctional areas, business units,
suppliers, and customers.


Question 7
DeIine Porter`s competitive Iorces model and explain how it works.
Answer: This model provides a general view oI the Iirm, its competitors, and the Iirm`s
environment. Porter`s model is all about the Iirm`s general business environment. In this model,
Iive competitive Iorces shape the Iate oI the Iirm:
O traditional competitors
O new market entrants
O substitute products and services
O customers
O suppliers

Question 8
Describe what the competitive Iorces model explains about competitive advantage.
Answer: Some Iirms do better than other because they either have access to special resources that
others do not, or they are able to use commonly available resource more eIIiciently. It could be
because oI superior knowledge and inIormation assets. Regardless, they excel in revenue growth,
proIitability, or productivity growth, ultimately increasing their stock market valuations compared
to their competitors.

Question 9
DeIine IT inIrastructure Irom both a technology and a services perspective.
Answer:
O Technical perspective is deIined as the shared technology resources that provide the platIorm
Ior the Iirm`s speciIic inIormation system applications. It consists oI a set oI physical devices
and soItware applications that are required to operate the entire enterprise.
O Service perspective is deIined as providing the Ioundation Ior serving customers, working with
vendors, and managing internal Iirm business processes. In this sense, IT inIrastructure Iocuses
on the services provided by all the hardware and soItware. IT inIrastructure is a set oI Iirm-wide
services budgeted by management and comprising both human and technical capabilities.

Question 10
DeIine and describe the Iollowing: Web server, application server, multitiered client/server
architecture.
Answer:
O Web server: soItware that manages requests Ior Web pages on the computer where they are
stored and that delivers the page to the user`s computer.
O Application server: soItware that handles all application operations between browser-based
computers and a company`s back-end business applications or databases.
O ultitiered client/server architecture: client/server network in which the work oI the entire
network is balanced over several diIIerent levels oI servers.

Question 11
Name and describe the management challenges posed by IT inIrastructure.
Answer: Creating and maintaining a coherent IT inIrastructure raises multiple challenges including:
O aking wise inIrastructure investments: IT inIrastructure is a major capital investment Ior the
Iirm. II too much is spent on inIrastructure, it lies idle and constitutes a drag on Iirm Iinancial
perIormance. II too little is spent, important business services cannot be delivered and the Iirm`s
competitors will outperIorm the underinvesting Iirm
O Coordinating inIrastructure components: Iirms create IT inIrastructures by choosing
combinations oI vendors, people, and technology services and Iitting them together so they
Iunction as a coherent whole.
O Dealing with scalability and technology change: as Iirms grow, they can quickly outgrow their
inIrastructure. As Iirms shrink, they can get stuck with excessive inIrastructure purchased in
better times. Scalability reIers to the ability oI a computer, product, or system to expand to serve
a larger number oI users without breaking down.
O anagement and governance: involves who will control and manage the Iirm`s IT
inIrastructure.

Question 12
Describe the Ieatures oI a simple network and the network inIrastructure Ior a large company.
A simple network consists oI two or more connected computers. Basic network components
include computers, network interIaces, a connection medium, network operating system soItware,
and either a hub or a switch. The networking inIrastructure Ior a large company relies on both
public and private inIrastructures to support the movement oI inIormation across diverse
technological platIorms. It includes the traditional telephone system, mobile cellular
communication, wireless local-area networks, videoconIerencing systems, a corporate Web site,
intranets, extranets, and an array oI local and wide-area networks, including the Internet. This
collection oI networks evolved Irom two Iundamentally diIIerent types oI networks: telephone
networks and computer networks.

Question 13
List and describe the most common threats against contemporary inIormation systems.
The most common threats against contemporary inIormation systems include: technical,
organizational, and environmental Iactors compounded by poor management decisions.
O Technical: unauthorized access, introducing errors
O Communications: tapping, sniIIing, message alternation, theIt and Iraud, radiation
O Corporate servers: hacking, viruses and worms, theIt and Iraud, vandalism, denial oI service
attacks
O Corporate systems: theIt oI data, copying data, alteration oI data, hardware Iailure, and soItware
Iailure. Power Iailures, Iloods, Iires, or other natural disasters can also disrupt computer
systems.
O Poor management decisions: poor saIeguard design to protect valuable data Irom being lost,
destroyed, or Iall into the wrong hands.

Question 14
Name and describe the principal network topologies.
The principal network topologies include:
O Star topology: all devices on the network connect to a single hub and all network traIIic Ilows
through the hub.
O Bus topology: one station transmits signals, which travel in both directions along a single
transmission segment. All oI the signals are broadcast in both directions to the entire network,
with special soItware to identiIy which components receive each message.
O Ring topology: connects network components in a closed loop. essages pass Irom computer to
computer in only one direction around the loop and only one station at a time may tansmit.

Question 15
DeIine a supply chain and identiIy each oI its components.
A supply chain is deIined as a network oI organizations and business processes Ior procuring
materials, transIorming raw materials into intermediate and Iinished products, and distributing the
Iinished products to customers. It links suppliers, manuIacturing plants, distribution centers, retail
outlets, and customers to supply goods and services Irom source through consumption. Supply
chain management is the integration oI supplier, distributor, and customer logistics requirements
into one cohesive process.
Question 16
DeIine customer relationship management and explain why customer relationships are so important
today.
Customer relationship management: a business and technology discipline that uses inIormation
systems to coordinate all oI the business processes surrounding the Iirm`s interaction with its
customers in sales, marketing, and service.
Importance oI customer relationships: Globalization oI business, the Internet, and electronic
commerce have put more power in the hands oI customers. Companies are realizing that their only
enduring competitive strength may be their relationships with their customers. Some say that the
basis oI competition has switched Irom who sells the most products and services to who 'owns the
customer, and that customer relationships represent the Iirm`s most valuable asset.

Question 17
List and describe the challenges posed by enterprise applications.
Enterprise applications are very diIIicult to implement successIully. They require extensive
organizational change, expensive new soItware investments, and careIul assessment oI how these
systems will enhance organizational perIormance. Enterprise applications require both deep-seated
technological changes and Iundamental changes in business operations. Employees must accept
new job Iunctions and responsibilities. They must learn new work activities and understand how
data they enter into the system can aIIect other parts oI the company. Enterprise applications
introduce switching costs that make it very expensive to switch vendors. ultiple organizations will
share inIormation and business processes. anagement vision and Ioresight are required to take a
Iirm- and industry-wide view oI problems and to Iind solutions that realize strategic value Irom the
investment.

Question 18
Distinguish between e-business and e-commerce.
O E-business reIers to the use oI digital technology and the Internet to execute a Iirm`s business
processes. It includes internal business processes and processes Ior coordination with suppliers,
customers, business partners, and government regulators.
O E-commerce is a narrower part oI e-business dealing with the purchase and sale oI goods and
services over the Internet, including support activities such as marketing and customer support.

Question 19
List and describe the diIIerent levels oI decision-making and decision-making constituencies in
organizations. Explain how their decision-making requirements diIIer.
Each oI these levels has diIIerent inIormation requirements Ior decision support and responsibility
Ior diIIerent types oI decisions.
O Senior management deals mainly with unstructured decisions.
O iddle management deals with semistructured decisions.
O perational management deals with structured decisions.

Question 20
List and describe the stages in decision making.
Stages in the decision-making process include:
O Intelligence consists oI discovering, identiIying, and understanding the problems occurring in
the organization. Why is there a problem, where, and what eIIect it is having on the Iirm?
O Design involves identiIying and exploring various solutions to the problem.
O Choice consists oI choosing among solution alternatives.
O Implementation involves making the chosen alternative work and continuing to monitor how
well the solution is working.