AK/ADMS 2511 - Management Information Systems – Practice Midterm Covering Sessions 1 to 4 (Units 1 to 4 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 (50 marks – 100 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 invoiceB. a student’s nameC. a sales analysis reportD. 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 businessB. information technology infrastructure descriptionC. information technology architecture documentD. 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 languageB. have customers buy their hardware direct from hardware suppliersC. be proactive and explain why its products are as good as competitorsD. always have current information about the interaction database available

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(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 publicB. ability to upload content to the internet using open-source softwareC. having another company perform internal functions for your companyD. enabling computer applications to interoperate without human intervention

(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 marketsB. decrease market share or profits, or prevent competitors from entering their marketsC. result in the organization dealing with customers at the transaction levelD. 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 workerB. a clerical workerC. an operational managerD. a middle manager

(Q7) Which of the following employee groups would make use of business intelligence (BI) software?

A. knowledge workersB. executivesC. clerical staffD. lower-level or operational managers

(Q8) Which of the following is a BI (business intelligence system) characteristic?

A. rely on existing corporate data and data flowB. are relatively inflexibleC. support complex, non-routine decisionsD. have little analytical capability

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(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 companyB. the instructions used by computer programs to execute programs and create the desired screen displays and outputC. all instructions used to establish and maintain computer based systems so that they are always availableD. instructions about how to combine hardware, software, databases and networks in order to process and output information

(Q10) Functional programs used by the human resources department to screen job applicants and to monitor employee turnover would be called:

A. enterprise resource planning systemsB. decision support systemsC. office automation programsD. application programs

(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. privacyB. propertyC. accuracyD. accessibility

(Q12) Principles used by the computer security profession to regulate itself and to guide decision making are called:

A. a code of ethicsB. professional responsibilityC. professional standardsD. a privacy policy

(Q13) PIPEDA (Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act) requires that organizations:

A. ensure that physical assets are protected from theftB. individuals be prevented from accessing the information that they submitC. establish both a privacy policy and procedures to ensure that the policy is adhered toD. prevent all of their employees from accessing customer information

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(Q14) What kind of a network is a virtual private network?

A. avoids the use of the internet, using dedicated linesB. virtually impenetrable due to the type of cabling usedC. temporary because the organizational connection exists only during transmissionD. 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 haveB. the frequency with which you surf the internetC. 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 mailB. file a detailed police reportC. shred all of your credit card statementsD. contact new credit card companies and get new credit cards

(Q17) The decimal number 7 requires:

A. one bit of storageB. one byte of storageC. two bits of storageD. four bytes of storage

(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 databaseB. data warehouseC. sequential fileD. 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 relational database?

A. normalization B. structured queries C. object-oriented programming D. query by example

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(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 redundancyB. lack of data sharing and availabilityC. simplicity of operationD. 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 recordB. the password that allows access to the recordC. the data dictionary item number D. s unique identifier of the event or entity

(Q22) A person’s name is an example of a:

A. recordB. databaseC. fieldD. byte

(Q23) Http://www.yorku.ca is a:

A. network access protocolB. URL (uniform resource locator)C. Telnet siteD. FTP (file transfer protocol)

(Q24) 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 portalB. corporate access pointC. software agentD. mobile portal

(Q 25) Analog signals are digitized, sectioned into packets, and then sent over the Internet. This process is called:

A. modulationB. electronic chat roomC. monitoring and surveillanceD. voice over internet protocol

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(Q26) Which of the following is a disadvantage of the Internet?

A. shopping can be faster and more convenientB. offerings can change instantaneouslyC. data sent via the Internet is not privateD. pricing can change instantaneously

(Q27) Which of the following items would be considered to be information?

A. building numberB. sales invoiceC. invoice numberD. supplier name

(Q28) A competitive strategy that concentrates on making customers happy using personalized web sites is called a(n):

A. innovation strategyB. operational effectiveness strategyC. cost leadership strategyD. customer-orientation strategy

(Q29) A common human mistake that can pose a large security problem at organizations is:

A. damage due to fireB. data corruptionC. poor passwordsD. power outage

(Q30) An example that illustrates data isolation is:

A. customer information in the sales systems cannot be accessed by other applicationsB. duplicate payroll information is stored on multiple servers in remote locationsC. servers are isolated to improve security over confidential data filesD. data is copied onto multiple media and stored in backup libraries

(Q31) Which of the following organizes data by business dimension or subject so that the data is consistent and non-volatile?

A. database management systemB. transaction processing systemC. sequential file systemD. data warehouse

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Q32) A communications processor that connects dissimilar networks by translating from one set of protocols to another is called a(n):

A. routerB. gatewayC. embedded local area network (LAN)D. bridge

Q33) Chevron, an international oil company has national networks. It uses high-speed central networks to which multiple smaller networks (such as LANs or smaller WANs) are connected to stay connected. These high-speed central networks are called:

A. gatewaysB. bridgesC. backbone networksD. switch networks

Q34) Employees at the Granko Company are heavily involved in research and development. They keep an eye on what is happening with their competitors by using software that searches several search engines at once and integrates the findings. Their software is called a(n):

A. search engineB. decision support systemC. artificial intelligenceD. metasearch engine

Q35) Chevron corporation offers a personalized, single point of access through a web browser to critical information. Employees access their employee data, customers access their past buying history, while suppliers access status of deliveries. Chevron provides access to information that is located both inside and outside of the organization. This portal is called a(n):

A. commercial portalB. corporate portalC. affinity portalD. industrywide portal

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Q36) Major Company prides itself in having fast response time on its extranet and intranet. It uses development techniques that speed up response time and increase user satisfaction. Once such technique, called AJAX:

A. is used to describe keywords or pieces of important information to facilitate classificationB. enables construction of business applications using web services rather than dedicated computing equipmentC. permits users to select and combine almost any device, from personal computers to mobile phonesD. allows portions of web pages to reload with fresh data instead of reloading the entire web page

Q37) Franjette is a writer who has a series of novels published. As she works on a new book, she sends out emails to her subscribers, letting them know about changes to her blog. Her subscribers are alerted to her new content. Franjette is using:

A. Really simple syndicationB. Social networkingC. Tagging D. Aggregation processing

Q38) Sam has a web site made up of popular jokes and comics. He takes parts of content from numerous other web sites and mixes them together to create mixed-up jokes and video trailers. Same is using a technique called a(n):

A. RSS (really simply syndication)B. podcastC. mashupD. videocast

Q39) Which of the following is an advantage of telecommuting?

A. employer increased productivity and retention of skilled employeesB. increased feelings of isolation from fellow employeesC. possible loss of fringe benefits such as employee lunches at the cafeteriaD. the potential for slower promotions due to reduced face time

Q40) The data life cycle follows the sequence of: collection, storage, processing and usage. Which of the following examples is related to processing?

A. software is used to provide trend analysis and predict future purchasesB. data is entered or scanned using hand-held devicesC. data is reorganized or manipulated to calculate other informationD. transactions are retained on hard disk drives

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Q41) The data life cycle follows the sequence of: collection, storage, processing and usage. Which of the following examples is related to storage?

A. software is used to provide trend analysis and predict future purchasesB. data is entered or scanned using hand-held devicesC. data is reorganized or manipulated to calculate other informationD. transactions are retained on disk drives

Q42) The data life cycle follows the sequence of: collection, storage, processing and usage. Which of the following examples is related to usage?

A. software is used to provide trend analysis and predict future purchasesB. data is entered or scanned using hand-held devicesC. data is reorganized or manipulated to calculate other informationD. transactions are retained on hard disk drives

Q43) The data life cycle follows the sequence of: collection, storage, processing and usage. Which of the following examples is related to collection?

A. software is used to provide trend analysis and predict future purchasesB. data is entered or scanned using hand-held devicesC. data is reorganized or manipulated to calculate other informationD. transactions are retained on hard disk drives

Q44) ABC Company has determined that there is a high risk of intrusion to its secure web site. Accordingly, the company has implemented anti-virus, anti-spam and monitoring software that is updated daily, and monitored using both software and people. ABC Company is engaging in:

A. risk analysisB. risk mitigationC. risk acceptanceD. risk transference

Q45) ABC Company has a variety of processing controls in its accounting programs. These controls add up data and compare to other files, do calculations, and provide edit checks on input. These controls are called:

A. identification cardsB. physical controlsC. logical controlsD. access controls

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Q46) HAL Limited would like to improve the quality of its control environment. Accordingly, the company should:

A. implement policies and procedures that describe supervision practicesB. check the assignment of payroll system access passwordsC. improve editing programs over the accuracy of the date fieldD. implement manager approval of payroll wage rates for new factory employees

Q47) POM Corporation is using software to help analyze the potential causes for equipment failures. The software has been developed by using the knowledge of numerous repair persons who have been with the company for many years and are now near retirement. The repair maintenance diagnosis system is likely a(n):

A. business intelligence systemB. management information systemC. executive digital dashboardD. expert system

Q48) MPPY Corporation has a large data warehouse with historical information going back ten years. The data warehouse includes customer name and current address, as well as purchase details such as item quantity, item description and price. The marketing department would like to do its own data analysis of the data warehouse to decide which products to market together. The marketing department would likely use a(n):

A. expert systemB. transaction processing systemC. office automation systemD. business intelligence system

Q49) Which of the following reports pertaining to payroll information was likely produced by a management information system?

A. employees who have worked more than 60 hours in the last weekB. hours worked, by employee, showing wage rates and gross payC. projections of labour costs if wage rates are increased by ten percentD. impact on the labour force of adding a new production line

Q50) Kitchen Aid mixers, well-known high-volume-produced kitchen devices, are available in a variety of colours. When ordered online, you can select your colour, whereas if you buy it in the store you can usually only select between white and brushed steel. The option of selection by colour online is an example of:A. mass customizationB. niche marketingC. vertical marketingD. make-to-order

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Question 2 (10 marks – 20 minutes)

Greenville Hospital is a modern facility that prides itself on having accurate patient information and well integrated accounting systems. The hospital is always looking for new ways to use computer systems so that its medical staff can spend more time with patients. The hospital has an up-to-date hardware and software infrastructure using wire-based systems.

Required:

A) For each of the following information system types provide a definition and an example system, explaining how the example system could be used by Greenville Hospital. (4 marks)

TPS – Transaction Processing SystemDSS – Decision Support System

B) Following is an extract of information from Greenville Hospital’s payroll database.

Employee number

Employee name Wage rate per hour

Regular hours worked

Overtime hours worked

54624 Amalie Smith 10.00 40 554968 Harrison Chan 15.00 40 069002 Cindy Flaherty 14.00 40 6

To document the data model for payroll, describe the following three components of the data model and provide an example from the table that illustrates the characteristics of the component. (6 marks)

Describe component of data model Example from table the characteristics of the component

Primary keyAttributeEntity

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Question 3 (15 marks – 30 minutes)

Chevron Corporation is a large multi-national energy corporation with over $200 billion in sales. In Canada, Chevron operates as Texaco, which includes head office, manufacturing and distribution, and retail gasoline stations. In information technology alone, the company employs about 3,500 people, has about 10,000 servers and processes a million email messages daily.

Required:

A) Our textbook describes four general categories of ethical issues that are relevant to information technology (privacy, accuracy, property and accessibility). For each of these issues, describe how the issue is pertinent to information technology, and provide one example of how these issues might pertain to Chevron or Texaco. (8 marks)

Description of general category of ethical issue relevant to information technology

Examples of how these issues might pertain to Chevron or Texaco

Privacy

Accuracy

Property

Accessibility

B) Describe two network protocols that a Chevron/Texaco could deploy in its networks. (2 marks)

C) For each of the following types of networks, explain how Chevron/Texaco could use the network. (3 marks)

Type of network (no description needed)

Explanation of how Chevron/Texaco could use the network. [Note that each example must be different and be clearly illustrative of the nature of the network.]

Wide area network (WAN)Value-added network (VAN)Extranet

D) Explain how a Chevron or Texaco employee could use a smart phone and a network application for the process of discovery. (2 marks)

End of practice exam (Effective date: May 10, 2011)

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