Q&A Hero

Q: An organization that wants to connect its systems with its partners and suppliers needs to have a robust ________ system in place. A) supply chain B) ERP C) DSS D) TPS

Q: The current generation of ERP systems does not work well with ________ architecture on legacy platforms. A) in-house B) distributed C) grid D) centralized E) cross-platform

Q: Hershey's ERP project failed initially because they failed to break their existing: A) chocolate bars. B) functional silos. C) cross-functional roles. D) hardware resources. E) software development patterns.

Q: Because of an ERP system, customers should be able to find out ________ the current status of their orders. A) eventually B) on the web C) in real-time D) quickly

Q: ERP systems come with built-in ________ for a variety of functions such as entering a customer order. A) tasks B) vendors C) processes D) users E) roles

Q: At the ________ level, ERP systems require organizations to focus on business processes rather than functions. A) presentation B) logical C) middleware D) physical E) hardware

Q: ERP systems are integrated, multi-module ________ software packages. A) network B) web-service C) database D) application E) platform

Q: Many benefits of integrated systems are ________ so they are difficult to quantify. A) financial B) operational C) intangible D) decisional E) tangible

Q: Because systems integration often involves sharing information across departments, this often creates ________ among the functional departments. A) power conflicts B) new opportunities C) network failures D) better decisions

Q: Because of the high initial setup costs for the integrated system, it is particularly crucial to have a strong commitment from: A) the consultants. B) the IT staff. C) top management. D) the employees.

Q: A side benefit of integration is that the organization is forced to ________ its hardware, software, and IT policies. A) review B) reengineer C) upgrade D) standardize

Q: Being able to approve a customer's credit application on the spot is an example of how integrated systems can provide better: A) resources. B) market research. C) information visibility. D) support.

Q: In general, the biggest benefits of implementing an integrated system include a reduction in inventory and ________ costs. A) personnel B) direct C) material D) silo E) indirect

Q: ________ tools are good for short-term integration of existing applications in the organization. A) Hardware B) Data integration C) Real-time access D) Business process integration E) Middleware

Q: The first step in systems integration is to take inventory of the various IT ________ being used in the organization. A) resources B) databases C) hardware components D) integrated systems E) web-enabled applications

Q: If there is a system failure or a major disaster it is crucial that a good ________ system for the integrated system be in place. A) hardware B) backup and recovery C) database D) crisis management E) electrical

Q: To avoid support and maintenance problems with the integrated system it is important to create a ________ IT help desk and support. A) strategic B) business C) centralized D) network E) distributed

Q: One step in the systems integration process is to develop a policy on whether older, ________ systems will be supported and maintained. A) business B) functional C) departmental D) legacy

Q: To get employees to do their task in a new way, managers must get them to shift their focus from achieving ________ goals to organizational goals. A) procedural B) departmental C) functional D) individual E) practical

Q: Business ________ reengineering involves changing the mindset of employees to do their tasks in a new way. A) software B) system C) process D) task E) function

Q: At the physical level, systems integration means providing seamless connectivity between ________ systems. A) software B) functional C) distributed D) heterogeneous

Q: Systems integration means allowing access to a shared data resource by people from different ________ areas of the organization. A) functional B) geographical C) decisional D) logical

Q: Information systems that are used for generating reports for mid-level managers are known as: A) ESS. B) DSS. C) databases. D) MIS.

Q: A(n) ________ provides a visual dashboard of strategic information to top-level management in real time. A) DSS B) TPS C) ESS D) OAS

Q: Operating systems and databases are examples of systems that support the end-users directly.

Q: Information systems support the major functional areas of a business including manufacturing, finance, accounting, human resources, and marketing.

Q: The distributed system architecture is very complex requiring careful planning and design.

Q: Today's information systems are based on a centralized architecture that allows sharing of applications and data resources between the end user and the server computers.

Q: The three major types of information system architectures include centralized, decentralized and distributed systems architectures.

Q: Heterogeneous or independent non-integrated systems create bottlenecks, interfere with productivity, and breed inaccurate data.

Q: A cross-functional task such as order processing involves interactions between sales, warehousing and accounting.

Q: Lower-level managers rarely focus on the day-to-day operations of the organization.

Q: CEOs and Presidents are involved in planning the long-term strategy of the organization.

Q: One consequence of making information more easily shared will be that integrated systems won't make it easier to get illegal access to the data.

Q: Getting employee buy-in on a systems integration project is very critical for the success of the integrated system.

Q: Functional department heads will probably lose control of the data they produce in an integrated system.

Q: The people issues are the most challenging in systems integration.

Q: Systems integration can't help employees at a lower levels make better decisions and feel more empowered and productive.

Q: Silos will probably not prevent customer service representatives from accessing customer data payment records in real-time.

Q: Expert systems are a type of Executive Support System to support top-level executives.

Q: Decision support systems take data from the TPSs in the organization to help managers make better decisions.

Q: Transaction processing systems are designed to support office workers.

Q: The manufacturing area has basically the same information needs and reporting requirements as the marketing area.

Q: A distributed architecture is good for ERP systems because they are flexible and scalable.

Q: A centralized computer architecture is based on using servers to share data and applications.

Q: In a decentralized computer architecture, every user is given a personal computer.

Q: The first generation of computer architecture was the decentralized approach.

Q: The distributed system architecture has been commonly used in organizations for quite some time.

Q: The functional model of POSDCORB (Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing, Coordinating, Reporting, Budgeting) dates back to the 1930s yet is still in use today.

Q: Silo environments help to foster enterprise decision-making and overall effectiveness.

Q: Functional silos deliver value through their cross-functional performance but are evaluated for their functional performance.

Q: Independent information systems are good for sharing data between users.

Q: Information systems that work independently and are grouped by the various functions and/or departments are known as silos.

Q: The business process view flattens the organization structure from a matrix to a hierarchical structure.

Q: The functional silo problem gave birth to BPR.

Q: When organizations get large and complex sharing of information happens only at higher levels of management.

Q: When organizations get large and complex they tend to break functions into larger units and assign one or more staff the responsibility for these activities.

Q: Organizations have horizontal and vertical divisions.

Q: The current classification of organizations into departments like Accounting and Human Resources shows how the organizational structure evolved by breaking complex tasks into smaller, manageable tasks.

Q: Mid-level managers typically focus on planning the long-term strategy of the organization.

Q: Until recently, information systems and organizations have evolved into functional silos.

Q: ERP systems allow organizations to integrate heterogeneous systems into one with an integrated database system.

Q: When systems are integrated they can share information in real-time.

Q: When data has to be manually re-entered from one system into another system, this indicates that the systems have seamless integration.

Q: What are the most important issues that organizations should consider when implementing an ERP system?

Q: List and briefly describe three trends for ERP systems in the near future.

Q: What is meant by "change management" and why is it important for ERP projects?

Q: What is the Capability Maturity Model and how does it help gauge a company's readiness for an ERP implementation?

Q: What is the go live phase of an ERP project? How does an organization prepare for this critical phase?

Q: What criteria should be used when selecting an ERP software vendor?

Q: What are the main steps in a typical ERP implementation methodology?

Q: What are the risks and benefits of making modifications to a purchased ERP package?

Q: List and briefly discuss three problems with ERP systems.

Q: List and briefly describe three different benefits of an ERP system.

Q: Making modifications to the ERP software will ________ the investment in the system and introduce higher implementation risk. A) increase B) decrease C) simplify D) reinforce E) none of the above

Q: It is not uncommon for employees to ________ the changes in their roles and department boundaries due to the new ERP system. A) embrace B) resist C) request D) sabotage E) none of the above

Q: One benefit of ERP systems is that by having standard user interfaces, less ________ of employees is required. A) numbers B) management C) quality D) training E) none of the above

Q: As opposed to ERP systems, e-Business systems are focused more on integrating ________ processes. A) external B) hardware C) internal D) software E) none of the above

Q: An ERP system works on a(n) ________ database that allows various departments to share information and communicate with each other. A) silo B) ERP C) single D) archive E) none of the above

Q: A(n) ________ system is an integrated information system that supports all the functions of the enterprise in real-time. A) Silo B) ERP C) Decentralized D) Management E) none of the above