AK/ADMS 2511 - Management Information Systems – Practice Midterm
Covering Sessions 1 to 5 (Units 1 to 5 in the Internet Section)
This practice exam is structured to take two and a half hours. Since it is worth 75 marks,
you would allocate two minutes for each mark.
Question 1 - Multiple Choice Questions (35 marks – 70 minutes)
[Note that the real midterm will be handed out to you in parts.]
For best results, answer these questions before checking the solutions. For the actual
midterm examination, we will be using scantron sheets, so be sure to bring a pencil and
an eraser.
(Q1) Which of the following is an example of a data item?
A. an invoice
B. a student’s name
C. a sales analysis report
D. a forecast
(Q2) Your company has recently decided to replace computer equipment and change the
way its personnel in the field use their hardware. You have been asked to change the
high-level document that shows the information assets in the corporation. You are
updating the:
A. strategic plan for the business
B. information technology infrastructure description
C. information technology architecture document
D. information systems operational systems description
(Q3) BestPharm sells hardware and customized software to pharmacies and pharmacists
dealing with prescription interactions. Which of the following is a way that BestPharm
might deal with technological innovation or obsolescence?
A. make sure that its products are easy to use and use straight-forward language
B. have customers buy their hardware direct from hardware suppliers
C. be proactive and explain why its products are as good as competitors
D. always have current information about the interaction database available
(Q4) Which of the following best describes Friedman’s third flattener, development of
work flow software?
A. availability of user friendly internet browser software to the public
B. ability to upload content to the internet using open-source software
C. having another company perform internal functions for your company
D. enabling computer applications to interoperate without human intervention
1
(Q5) How do strategic systems provide for an effective organizational response to
business pressures? Such systems
A. increase market share or profits, or prevent competitors from entering their markets
B. decrease market share or profits, or prevent competitors from entering their markets
C. result in the organization dealing with customers at the transaction level
D. provide reports of accounts payable or other systems that aid in the decision making
process
(Q6) A financial analyst is an example of:
A. a knowledge worker
B. a clerical worker
C. an operational manager
D. a middle manager
(Q7) Which of the following employee groups would make use of business intelligence
(BI) software?
A. knowledge workers
B. executives
C. clerical staff
D. lower-level or operational managers
(Q8) Which of the following is a DSS (decision support system) characteristic? DSS
A. rely on existing corporate data and data flow
B. are relatively inflexible
C. support the use of simulations
D. have little analytical capability
(Q9) Procedures are an important component of computer-based information systems. In
this context, procedures are:
A. written, formal procedures telling employees what to do during their time at the
company
B. the instructions used by computer programs to execute programs and create the desired
screen displays and output
C. all instructions used to establish and maintain computer based systems so that they are
always available
D. instructions about how to combine hardware, software, databases and networks in
order to process and output information
(Q10) Programs could be used by the human resources department to screen job
applicants and to monitor employee turnover. Such programs would be called:
A. enterprise resource planning systems
B. decision support systems
C. office automation programs
D. application programs
2
(Q11) Using the framework for ethical issues, what type of issue does the following
question pertain to: “Who owns the data a company collects about its customers”?
A. privacy
B. property
C. accuracy
D. accessibility
(Q12) Principles used by the computer security profession to regulate itself and to guide
decision making are called:
A. a code of ethics
B. professional responsibility
C. professional standards
D. a privacy policy
(Q13) PIPEDA (Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act) requires
that organizations:
A. ensure that physical assets are protected from theft
B. individuals be prevented from accessing the information that they submit
C. establish both a privacy policy and procedures to ensure that the policy is adhered to
D. prevent all of their employees from accessing customer information
(Q14) What kind of a network is a virtual private network?
A. avoids the use of the internet, using dedicated lines
B. virtually impenetrable due to the type of cabling used
C. temporary because the organizational connection exists only during transmission
D. open only to users who belong to the network
(Q15) Actions to protect your credit cards and debit cards should be taken in the context
of:
A. the number of cards that you have
B. the frequency with which you surf the internet
C. how often you change your PIN (personal identification number)
D. your financial exposure
(Q16) If you are the victim of identify theft, one of the actions that you should take is:
A. shred all of your mail
B. file a detailed police report
C. shred all of your credit card statements
D. contact new credit card companies and get new credit cards
(Q17) The decimal number 7 requires:
A. one bit of storage
B. one byte of storage
C. two bits of storage
D. four bytes of storage
3
(Q18) Which of the following uses a series of logically related two-dimensional tables or
files to store information in the form of a database?
A. relational database
B. data warehouse
C. sequential file
D. expert system
(Q19) Relational databases can be slow if the tables created have too many data elements.
Which technique will help speed up data processing by streamlining the tables in a
elational database?
A. normalization
B. structured queries
C. object-oriented programming
D. query by example
(Q20) When contrasting functionally based systems to database management systems,
which one of the following is an advantage of functional or traditional systems?
A. data redundancy
B. lack of data sharing and availability
C. simplicity of operation
D. inadequate data security
(Q21) A logical record contains several fields of related data elements that pertain to an
event or an entity. What is a characteristic of the primary key field? It contains
A. the disk address of the record
B. the password that allows access to the record
C. the data dictionary item number
D. s unique identifier of the event or entity
(Q22) One of the purposes of an extranet is to
A. connect parts of the intranets of different organizations
B. provide public access to organizational data
C. place data packets inside another packet for secure communications
D. provide a cumulative store of subjective knowledge
(Q23) Darknets are private networks on the internet that can help enable freedom of
speech in countries where censorship exists. A feature of a darknet is that it:
A. avoids the use of the internet, using dedicated lines
B. is virtually impenetrable due to the type of cabling used
C. is temporary because the organizational connection exists only during transmission
D. is open only to users who belong to the network
4
(Q24) An internal system for only one organization, often using World Wide Web
standards best describes a(n):
A. local area network
B. value added network
C. wide area network
D. intranet
(Q25) A person’s name is an example of a:
A. record
B. database
C. field
D. byte
(Q26) Http://www.yorku.ca is a
A. network access protocol
B. URL (uniform resource locator)
C. Telnet site
D. FTP (file transfer protocol)
(Q27) The internet is being used to access a personalized gateway to information and
knowledge for a student alumni group. This gateway is called a(n):
A. affinity portal
B. corporate access point
C. software agent
D. mobile portal
(Q 28) Analog signals are digitized, sectioned into packets, and then sent over the
Internet. This process is called:
A. modulation
B. electronic chat room
C. monitoring and surveillance
D. voice over internet protocol
(Q29) Which of the following is a disadvantage of the Internet?
A. shopping can be faster and more convenient
B. offerings can change instantaneously
C. data sent via the Internet is not private
D. pricing can change instantaneously
(Q30) Which of the following items would be considered to be information?
A. building number
B. sales invoice
C. invoice number
D. supplier name
5
(Q31) A competitive strategy that concentrates on making customers happy is called a(n):
A. innovation strategy
B. operational effectiveness strategy
C. cost leadership strategy
D. customer-orientation strategy
(Q32) A common human mistake that can pose a large security problem at organizations
is:
A. damage due to fire
B. data corruption
C. poor passwords
D. power outage
(Q33) An example that illustrates data isolation is:
A. customer information in the sales systems cannot be accessed by other applications
B. duplicate payroll information is stored on multiple servers in remote locations
C. servers are isolated to improve security over confidential data files
D. data is copied onto multiple media and stored in backup libraries
(Q34) Which of the following organizes data by business dimension or subject so that the
data is consistent and non-volatile?
A. database management system
B. transaction processing system
C. sequential file system
D. data warehouse
(Q35) Service-oriented architecture involves the development of software that uses as an
access point the:
A. world wide web
B. internet
C. enterprise resource planning system
D. decision support system
6
Question 2 (22 marks – 44 minutes)
Our textbook, in Chapter 1, explains how the Internet is helping to bridge the digital
divide in Bangladesh. It states that “Bangladesh ... has 150 million people but only one
million land-line telephones. .. Cell phone use is exploding, with more than 16 million
cell phone subscribers. People are using cell phones to hook up to the Internet, gaining
access to services ... such as e-mail, weather reports, and health information.”
The text goes on to explain that a company called GrameenPhone has established cell
phone access centres where individuals without telephones can access the internet using
cell telephones for a fee. GrameenPhone is partly owned by Grameen Bank. These cell
phone centres have provided access to information and data communications in villages
where such access previously was not possible.
As a result, villagers in remote areas are now able to make use of the Internet to boost
their local economies. For example, farmers in rural areas are now able to use cell phones
to transact with customers and suppliers from other villages to buy and sell crops and
animals.
Required:
A)
Using the table below, describe data items, information and knowledge. Then,
provide an example of each that might be communicated (or accessed) by
Bangledishis using the cellular telephone networks described in the case.
(6 marks)
Description of data item, information
and knowledge
Example of each that might be communicated
by Bangladeshis using the cellular telephone
networks
Data Items:
Information:
Knowledge:
B)
How does the case illustrate the concept of globalization? (1 mark)
C)
In addition to cellular telephones, one of the cell phone access centres has decided
to make computing services (computing, printing, processing) available to
residents.
For each of the following information systems, describe the information system
and provide an example of how local business persons could use this type of
system. (8 marks)
7
Information system description
How local business persons could use the
system during the conduct of their business
Office automation system:
Decision support system:
Supply chain management system:
Electronic commerce system:
D)
A business computing service that provides computer services for a fee would
need privacy policy guidelines for its employees. For each of the following
categories of privacy policy, provide an example of what a computing centre
service business might include in its privacy policy. (3 marks)
Privacy policy
guideline category
Data Collection:
Data Accuracy:
Data
Confidentiality:
E)
Provide an example of what a computing centre service business
might include in its privacy policy
Describe four communication (network) controls that could be used by the
cellular telephone service centres to secure the movement of data across the
network. (4 marks)
Question 3 (18 marks – 36 minutes)
The federal government has many surplus goods, and also seizes goods for a variety of
reasons (at the international border, or stolen goods, for example). It recently set up a web
site called GCSurplus (Government of Canada Surplus) where individuals and
organizations can bid for and purchase these items. There are hundreds of items listed at
gcsurplus.ca, organized into product categories, including automobiles and computer
equipment.
Required:
A)
Why is it difficult for organizations like the Government of Canada to manage
data? (3 marks)
B)
Information about items listed at the gcsurplus.ca web site includes the following:
 Item description
 Item age
 Minimum bid price
 Current highest bid
 Expiry date for the bidding process
8
Using the information above, clearly describe the following terms and provide an
example from the case. Clearly explain why your example is appropriate.
(6 marks)
Term Description
(1 mark)
Example from the table
(1/2 mark)
Explanation stating why the
example is appropriate (1/2
mark)
Entity class:
Instance:
Attribute:
C)
For each of the following two types of network applications, describe the
application and explain how the federal government could use the application to support
the success of its surplus sales web site. (4 marks)
Network Application description
How the federal government could use the
application to support the success of the
surplus sales web site
Tagging:
RSS (Really simple syndication):
D)
For each of the following network technologies, explain how the federal
government could use the technology. (5 marks)
Network
technology
Bridge
Explain how the federal government could use the technology
Packet
switching
Client/server
computing
Extranet
Internet
service
provider
Effective Date: May 9, 2010
9