Aimee Birnbaum
INSS 300
Management Information Systems- Final Exam
Multiple choice:
Q1. B
Q2. B
Q3. D
Q4. C
Q5. B
Q6. D
Q7. D
Q8. B
Q9. A
Q10. A
Q11. D
Q12. C
Q13. E
Q14. B
Q15. B
Q16. E
Q17. C
Q18. A
Q19. B
Q20. E
Q21. C
Q22. A
Q23. C
Q24. A
Q25. B
Question #2.
a. Businesses use the concept of a value chain to identify how they can offer more to their
customers than their competition. Through value chain analysis, Giant would look at the
different areas of performance, such as buying the raw materials, storing them in a
warehouse, marketing finished products to consumers, and overall customer service after
purchases, and see where they can fine tune processes to make sure that things run
smoothly. By performing this type of analysis, Giant Food Store is trying to enhance the
perceived value that the customers have for their products. If customers perceive the value
of Giant’s products and services included to be higher than a competitors, such as Safeway,
then the customers would return to shop there again, thereby increasing Giant’s
competitive advantage.
b. An expert system is a knowledge-based system which is programmed to solve problems,
specifically those having to do with diagnostics. This type of system is usually built for a
specific area such as medically related. An expert system is programmed by an expert in the
field who inputs the many different situations that may come up and provides the
appropriate diagnosis. They can be extremely helpful in the course of regular day-to-day life;
however, the expert system will never be able to behave exactly like the expert himself.
Although the system is programmed to react like the expert, its limitations exist in the fact
that it is not human and does not have any mental capacity aside from what it was
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Aimee Birnbaum
INSS 300
programmed to do. Therefore, if an unusual problem comes up that the system was not
previously programmed to accommodate, it will not be able to react appropriately, whereas
the doctor himself would either know what the solution is or look up the answer if he does
not know.
c. Before hiring new employees, it is the common practice of businesses to check into the
background to identify potential problems. There are many ethical considerations to take
into effect to determine how much an employee should be researched. The consequences
of the decision will be tremendous- this employee will be working for your business.
Society’s opinion of the matter is that it is normal and common practice to perform a
general background check and fingerprinting of prospective employees. The likelihood of
effect is that there is a moderate probability of harm if you don’t have this person checked
out and little to no harm if he is checked out. The time to consequences is unknown. The
relatedness is that I identify with the business if there is harm. The reach of result could be
wide if the person turns out to be harmful. After considering all of the variables, I think that
the business should check into the new employee the generally accepted amount, but not
overkill.
Question 3:
a. I would advise that Viacom International use the ERP system, enterprise resource planning.
This system hosts a variety of software, specifically for the departments that Viacom
requires: marketing, sales, manufacturing, human resource, and finance. The ERP system
allows for the information to travel across to all departments and is always available for
access. The reason that ERP systems are so beneficial is that they take all of the information
systems of the business and join them together with a single goal in mind.
b. Although the company has high hopes and expectations for the system’s capabilities,
Viacom International should be prepared that the change does not happen suddenly. It
takes a long time to get used to the different system, integrate it properly, and really make
sure that this is the best system for the business to use. It also depends a lot on what the IT
culture and the overall structure the business has to begin with, how fast this new system
will be incorporated.
Question 4:
a. The first emerging technology is VOIP, voice over internet protocol. This makes calling
available over the internet. In this case, it was a mixture of this and identification of these
travelers by what they have, their car as well as plane tickets on which the plane was due to
board soon. The mixture of these technologies called the travelers to arrange alternative
plans.
b. The second emerging technology used in the example is biometric security, in which the
camera recognizes them and allows them to pass through security. Biometric security in this
case used facial recognition, or who you are, as a means of identification.
c. The third emerging technology is biometrics, which uses your physiological characteristics as
a means of identification. In this case, it used the voices of the customers, automatic speech
recognition, and informed them of their seat assignment on the plane.
d. The fourth and final emerging technology was a form of biometrics, in which they were
identified by what they had. The barcode of their airline tickets was linked to the luggage
which they identified with and received upon scanning the ticket.
Question 5:
There are four steps involved in digital forensics that P&B would use to look into the
questionable John Does. First is collection. M&B would collect all relevant files such as emails,
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Aimee Birnbaum
INSS 300
voicemails, USB devices, cell phones, fax machines, and anything else that may provide evidence. Next is
preservation. They make a forensic image copy of John Doe’s computer and all of the files contained on
it. This is an exact copy of all of the information stored in the computer. This will help M&B in
discovering whether of not John Doe indeed altered military files. Next is the authentication process in
which they ensure that no evidence was made up or missing in the process. Finally, comes the analysis
stage in which the computer forensics expert interprets all of the information. He looks at where the
data is on the computer and all of the history of activity on John’s computer. Based on this he is able to
tell whether or not John Doe actually fiddled with military records and what should be done as a result.
Question 6:
a. Primary key of ice cream table: ice_cream_type
Primary key of ingredient table: ingredient_name
Foreign key of ingredient table: ice_cream_type
Foreign key of ice cream table: none
b. The relationship between ice cream types and ingredients is a m:m relationship. This is
because the many different flavors of ice cream can have several different ingredients in
one flavor; additionally, some of the ingredients in the ice cream can belong to more than
one flavor.
c. SELECT Ice_cream_types; years_first_offered FROM ICECREAM table WHERE order by date
Question 7:
With the onset of so much modern technology, portability is a huge factor nowadays in helping
a company tap into new markets and ultimately gain competitive advantage. People always want to
have information available to them, 24/7, at their fingertips. With no constraint of being able to access
information only while sitting at one’s work desk, business and commerce can flourish and reach even
greater heights. Portability can help a company tap into new markets. By using social networking sites,
business can attract entirely new target markets that they were never serving and find this a way to
increase their profits. Additionally, they can get customer feedback and find ways based on this advice
to add value to the current services with which they are providing customers and this can help them
gain competitive advantage. In a previous question I discussed the concept of the value chain in relation
to competitive advantage. Portability will make it even easier to add value, whether it is customers
suggesting ways on social networking sites, or just with the vast amount of information available, and in
this way companies and businesses can add to the value as well as perceived value of its products and
gain a greater competitive advantage.
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