Suggested Answers with Examiner's Feedback Page of 13 Question Paper Management Information Systems (MC261) : April 2008 Section A : Basic Concepts (30 Marks)        This section consists of questions with serial number - 30        Answer all questions        Each question carries one mark        Maximum time for answering Section A is 30 Minutes     The data in the DSS database (a) Are provided by middle management (b) Use data mining (c) Are based on system models (d) Generally copies of production databases (e) Are provided by Top-level management In an organization business processes produce (a) Product (b) Knowledge (c) Information (d) Project (e) All of the above Which of the following is the type of electronic commerce that involves consumers selling directly to consumers? (a) B2C (b) B2B (c) C2C (d) Virtual Storefront (e) Electronic bartering Which one of these best describes the role of a manager? (a) Attending meetings, attending corporate luncheons, disciplining staff, representing the company (b) Planning, organizing, coordinating, making decisions, controlling (c) Maintaining a rigid position in the hierarchy to prevent customer complaints from coming to the attention of the Board (d) Supervising the work of  junior staff (e) Maintaining the work flow and coordination of the work Systems that maintain employee records: track employee skills, job performance, and training; and support planning for employee compensation and career development best describes (a) Sales and marketing information systems (b) Manufacturing and production information systems (c) Finance and accounting information systems (d) Human resources information systems (e) Economic systems Top managers use a , as a combination of MIS and DSS, to support their decision making (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) GIS ESS Expert System GDSS TPS An example of input of an information system would be (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) Sales trend forecast Inventory report Customer’s information Summary of customer’s preferences analyses None of the above Which of the following is not a key information system component? (a) (b) Design stability Data file://C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Desktop\Question Paper\Group F\Ma 02/07/2008 Suggested Answers with Examiner's Feedback (c) (d) (e) Page of 13 Data flow Processing logic Input and output Which of the following is not one of the four major classes of information systems? (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) Decision support system Collaboration system Management information system Expert system Transaction processing system 10.Drawing on diverse yet predictable data resources to aggregate and summarize data is characteristic of (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) Management replication system Management information system Expert system Decision support system Collaboration system 12.Making repeated changes to selected variables until a chosen variable reaches a target value is called as (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) Management information system Decision support system Expert systems Transaction processing system Collaboration system 11.Which of the following replicates the decision-making process rather than manipulates information? (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) What- if analysis Sensitivity analysis Goal-Seeking analysis Optimization analysis Process analysis 13.What level of decision is appropriate for a manufacturing industry, if it involves rearranging the work area, altering production schedules, changing inventory methods or expanding quality control measures? (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) Operational Tactical Strategic Both (a) and (c) All of the above 14.The purpose of decision support systems is to (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) Replace a manager’s judgment during the decision-making process Provide a predefined sequence of analysis during the process of problem solving Provide interactive assistance during the process of problem solving Automate a manager’s decision-making process All of the above 15.Electronic data interchange, E-mail, Extensible Markup Language (XML), Fax and Market size are the examples related to which of the following Hubs? (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) Collaboration Hubs Aggregator Hubs Translator Hubs Broker Hubs Both (a) and (b) above 16.Strategic changes often involve (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) Applying for funds from a bank before changes are considered Laying off old employees before changes are made Hiring new IS teams before any of the competitors Implementing new technology before any of the competitors All of the above 17.When developing and choosing strategies, you must always remember that (a) (b) Innovations are free from risks and often not carry high capital costs Innovations carry low capital costs and always lead to a successful business file://C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Desktop\Question Paper\Group F\Ma 02/07/2008 Suggested Answers with Examiner's Feedback (c) (d) (e) Page of 13 Innovations can be risky and often carry high capital costs Innovations always take away money from other projects Innovation carry low capital costs and often risky 18.The Insurance renewal rate calculation system which has a standard set of decision rules uses (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) Representation models Accounting models Suggestion models Optimization models Data analysis systems 19.Information systems can facilitate supply chain management by (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) Group Consensus Guided Brainstorming Brainstorming Closed Question Open Questions 21.What is the interactive, computer-based information system that collects data on transactions and operations? (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) Tracking the status of orders Rapidly communicating orders Providing product specifications Processing orders All of the above 20.Delphi method and group norming are examples of (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) Transaction processing system Decision support system Executive information system Expert system MIS 22.Banks are very much dependent on technology to provide better customer service In order to automate operations and reduce the transaction time banks has to use information technology Which type of quadrant in the information planning grid will best suit the above given example? (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) Turnaround Factory Strategic Support All of the above 23.A marketplace that is created by computer and communications technologies, that link many buyers and sellers define as (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) Mobile commerce The internet Digital markets The world wide web Electronic commerce 24.Using advanced graphics and communications to address unstructured decision making is an example of an information system at (a) The operational level (b) The knowledge level (c) The management level (d) The strategic level (e) All of the above 25.A model of decision making stating that organizations are not rational and that decisions are solutions that become attached to problems for accidental reasons best describes the (a) Irrational model of decision making (b) Bureaucratic model of decision making (c) Organizational model of decision making (d) Systematic model of decision making (e) "Garbage can" model of decision making 26.The most successful solutions or problem-solving methods that have been developed by a specific organization file://C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Desktop\Question Paper\Group F\Ma 02/07/2008 Suggested Answers with Examiner's Feedback Page of 13 or industry best describes (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) Best practices Knowledge management Standard operating procedures Explicit knowledge Business objectives 27.Which of the following is a network of facilities for procuring materials, transforming raw materials into intermediate and finished products and distributing the finished products to customers? (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) Supply chain Production chain Distribution chain Value chain Primary chain 28.Why computer projects in MIS need to be carefully managed? (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) Computer professionals are rather disorganized people Many specialist skills are needed, which have to be coordinated MIS systems are powerful bits of software that make decisions The hardware is complex to be set All of the above 29.The process of helping users, see patterns and relationship in large amounts of data by presenting the data in graphical form is called (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) GIS Data visualization DSS An optimization model MIS 30.The most common models in a DSS software system are (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) Libraries of statistical models Statistical graphs from multiple information sources Optimization models OLAP tools    OLTP tools   END OF SECTION A     Section B : Problems/Caselets (50 Marks)          This section consists of questions with serial number –          Answer all questions          Marks are indicated against each question          Detailed workings/explanations should form part of your answer          Do not spend more than 110 - 120 minutes on Section B     What is the role of the MIS in an organization and its impact on the organization’s functions? ( 10 marks) Explain the different categories of key variables What are the steps that can help in identifying key variables? ( 10 marks)     Caselet       Read the caselet carefully and answer the following question: What were the organizational impacts of the LAN and how well were they managed? How successful were the Royal Mail in managing the implementation of the LAN? ( 15 marks)     The Post Office is a group of core businesses that form the UK’s national postal system It operates as a public corporation and is owned, but not managed, by the Government Its businesses are: (1) Royal Mail: the letters business, (2) Post Office Counters Limited: the retail business and (3) Parcelforce: the parcels business It also file://C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Desktop\Question Paper\Group F\Ma 02/07/2008 Suggested Answers with Examiner's Feedback Page of 13 runs Subscription Services Limited, which provides a portfolio of services to UK businesses The group as a whole has recorded a profit for the last 19 years, and is one of the few national postal administrations to operate without government subsidy In 1994, following a review set up two years earlier, the Government published a discussion paper that set out proposals for the future of the Post Office Mr PETER LILLEY, trade and industry secretary, used an Adam Smith Conference on postal services to make clear yesterday, that his proposals to inject more competition into the Post Office did not amount to wholesale privatization While restating his determination to liberalize postal services, he frequently referred to the government’s commitment to a nation-wide letter service with a uniform, affordable price structure Following a prolonged and intense public debate the Government decided, in 1995, to drop plans for Royal Mail/Parcelforce privatization from its then current legislative programme but in the following year announced it was relaxing some of the financial restraints to allow the Post Office businesses to compete for new business The Post Office is to shed more than 15,000 jobs as a result of increased automation in its sorting offices The reductions will cut the number of sorting office staff by a third and will be implemented within the next three years They are in addition to 2,000 redundancies among middle managers in the past six months Details of the job losses are incorporated in confidential minutes of the Post Office Board which heard a Union leaders fear that the reductions could also lead to the closure of a number of the 40 large sorting offices Workers at three London offices have been warned to expect a decision on their future by the end of next month The work of at least one, King Edward’s near St Paul’s Cathedral, is almost certain to be relocated The Post Office said yesterday, it was a question of ‘technology replacing jobs’ The     machinery would enable Royal Mail to cope with an expected 18 per cent growth in business in the next five years It was also expected to improve the quality of service by three percentage points to 93 per cent Productivity in letter delivery had improved, with a rise of 50 per cent in the numbers of items handled in the past 10 years The increase in the volume of mail has allowed the Post Office the breathing space to adjust its staffing requirements without the need for any compulsory redundancies The Royal Mail was about to embark on a “business development” - restructuring that would reduce the 64 postal districts that existed then to new geographical divisions What was then the Newcastle upon Tyne postal district would soon become the North Eastern postal division The concerns are related to the introduction of a Local Area Network in the Newcastle upon Tyne postal district/North Eastern postal division office A Local Area Network (LAN) had been introduced in the Newcastle upon Tyne postal district 18 months earlier and was intended to link together different locations in the Newcastle area and to provide a gateway to other Post Office LAN’s nation wide Initially use of this system was restricted to senior (board level) managers but with the impending restructuring and expected privatization use of the LAN was extended to other levels in the organization Initially there were 37 terminals in the Newcastle area and at ‘remote sites’ The Newcastle LAN could also be used to link to another 20 Post Office LAN’s in different parts of the country The system integrated elements of personnel, administration, recruitment and data on human resource utilization with data on costing and the volume of business transactions   END OF CASELET   Caselet           Read the caselet carefully and answer the following questions: “It is one thing to have ownership of your own computer systems but another to accept the responsibilities of ownership such as data integrity, security and overall risk management.” This was a statement made by the financial director of hospitals at a regional medical conference attended by Medclinic management Indicate how Medclinic would ensure that its ‘responsibilities of ownership’ are properly carried out? ( marks) An initial investigation of other medical centres similar to Medclinic has revealed that some have opted for a minicomputer supporting a series of terminals while others have adopted an information technology approach based on networked personal computers Explain these two configurations and briefly discuss their suitability for Medclinic’s file://C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Desktop\Question Paper\Group F\Ma 02/07/2008 Suggested Answers with Examiner's Feedback Page of 13 operations ( marks) The Medclinic Health Centre is located in a small market town with a population of   approximately 10,000 The centre provides general medical care plus limited support services such as a small operating theatre, a laboratory for specimen testing and a radiography unit for X-rays Medical care is on a day care only basis there being no facilities for overnight hospitalisation Longer stay medical care is provided at the regional hospital some 30 miles away The centre is staffed by 10 doctors on a shift basis, who also provide emergency cover when the centre is closed on Sunday and during the night The doctors are supported by four nurses Administrative systems which include patient records, staff records, and substantial correspondence between doctors, patients and consultants are undertaken by two full time and four part-time secretaries The centre operates an appointment system for patients seeking non-urgent treatment The system is operated by 12 part-time receptionists working on a shift system In addition, the centre employs a radiographer and three laboratory technicians The laboratory technicians are also responsible for ordering, maintaining and issuing drugs       from the stocks held at the centre At present time the payroll, income receipts and expenditure payments procedures for the Medclinic centre are undertaken on the mainframe system at the regional hospital computer centre All Medclinic centre administrative, text and record keeping procedures are operated manually There is, however, a terminal link between the centre and the regional hospital which is used to input accounting transaction data, order drugs and transmit medical statistical data for national health monitoring The Medclinic centre and all medical centres under the regional hospital will soon be responsible for their own financial affairs The senior doctors at Medclinic see this as an opportunity to computerize not only the financial systems which will now be necessary but many of Medclinic’s administrative and record keeping procedures The doctors are fully supported in this initiative by the nursing and administrative staff The support staff feel overwhelmed by the present volumes of paperwork but are very apprehensive at the prospect of taking responsibility for Medclinic’s financial and associated systems     END OF CASELET   END OF SECTION B file://C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Desktop\Question Paper\Group F\Ma 02/07/2008 Suggested Answers with Examiner's Feedback Page of 13   Section C : Applied Theory (20 Marks)          This section consists of questions with serial number -          Answer all questions          Marks are indicated against each question          Do not spend more than 25 -30 minutes on Section C   List the decisions involved in each phase of the management process, starting from planning to control? ( 10 marks) Explain about the integration of multi technique tools used in the construction of DSS ( 10 marks)   END OF SECTION C   END OF QUESTION PAPER file://C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Desktop\Question Paper\Group F\Ma 02/07/2008 Suggested Answers with Examiner's Feedback Page of 13 Suggested Answers Management Information Systems (MC261) : April 2008 Section A : Basic Concepts   Answer Reason B The data in the DSS database use data mining C In an organization business processes produce Information B B2B is the type of electronic commerce that involves consumers selling directly to consumers B Planning, organizing, coordinating, making decisions, controlling describe the role of a manager D Systems that maintain employee records; track employee skills, job performance, and training; and support planning for employee compensation and career development best describes human resources information systems B Top managers use a ESS as a combination of MIS and DSS, to support their decision making C An example of input of an information system would be Customer’s information A Design stability is not a key information system component B Collaboration system is not one of the four major classes of information systems B Drawing on diverse yet predictable data resources to aggregate and summarize data is 10 characteristic of decision support systems D Decision support system replicates the decision-making process rather than anipulates 11 information C Making repeated changes to selected variables until a chosen variable reaches a target 12 value is called as Goal-Seeking analysis A Operational level of decision is appropriate for a manufacturing industry if it involves 13 rearranging the work area, altering production schedules, changing inventory methods, or expanding quality control measures D The purpose of decision support systems is to Automate a manager’s decision-making 14 process C Electronic data interchange, E-mail, Extensible Markup language (XML) and Fax and 15 market size are the examples related to the Translator Hubs D Strategic changes often involve Implementing new technology before any of your 16 competitors B When developing and choosing strategies, we must always remember that Innovations 17 carry low capital costs and always lead to a successful business C The Insurance renewal rate calculation system which has a standard set of decision rules 18 uses Suggestion models A Information systems can facilitate supply chain management by Tracking the status of 19 orders A Delphi method and group norming are examples of Group Consensus 20 A Transaction processing system is the interactive, computer-based information system that 21 collects data on transactions and operations C Strategic type of quadrant in the information planning grid will best suit the above given 22 example C A marketplace that is created by computer and communications technologies that link 23 many buyers and sellers defines a digital markets D The strategic level is an example of an information system that uses advanced graphics 24 and communications to address unstructured decision making E A model of decision making stating that organizations are not rational and that decisions 25 are solutions that become attached to problems for accidental reasons best describes the garbage can model of decision making A The most successful solutions or problem-solving methods that have been developed by a 26 specific organization or industry best describes best practices A Supply chain is a network of facilities for procuring materials, transforming raw materials 27 into intermediate and finished products, and distributing the finished products to   < TOP > < TOP > < TOP > < TOP > < TOP > < TOP > < TOP > < TOP > < TOP > < TOP > < TOP > < TOP > < TOP > < TOP > < TOP > < TOP > < TOP > < TOP > < TOP > < TOP > < TOP > < TOP > < TOP > < TOP > < TOP > < TOP > < TOP > file://C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Desktop\Question Paper\Group F\Ma 02/07/2008 Suggested Answers with Examiner's Feedback 28 B 29 B 30 A Page of 13 customers Many specialist skills are needed, which have to be coordinated because computer < TOP > projects in MIS need to be carefully managed Data Visualization is a process which helps the users to see patterns and relationship in < TOP > large amounts of data in a graphical form < TOP > Libraries of statistical models are the most common models in a DSS software system   file://C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Desktop\Question Paper\Group F\Ma 02/07/2008 Suggested Answers with Examiner's Feedback Page 10 of 13 Section B : Problems Role of MIS in an organization: < TOP > The management information system ensures that proper data is collected from various sources, processed and subsequently sent to all the destinations that require the information It fulfills the information needs of a person, a group of persons, the managers and the top management It satisfies their needs through the following systems such as query systems, analysis systems, decision support systems and modeling systems It helps in strategic planning, management control, operational control and transaction processing Impact of MIS In an organization, the management of marketing, finance, production and personnel will become efficient with a good MIS support The functional managers can be informed about the progress, achievements and shortfalls in the activity and targets By providing the information about the probable trends in the various business aspects, the manager can be kept alert and it helps in forecasting and long-term perspective planning The manager’s attention can be brought to a situation that will make him to take an action or a decision in the matter We can classify key variables broadly into the following categories such as strategy, structural, < TOP > process and environmental If there is similarity between the different variables, performance of an organization will be improved             Strategy variables refer to the long-term choices concerning the programs, goals, policies and action plans that are formulated by an organization             Structural variables can be studied in terms of the structure of the organization: centralized or decentralized form of organization and the organizational autonomy Thus they represent the organizational arrangements and the distribution of authority and relationships             Process variables refer to processes that influence the behavior of the employees towards the achievement of organizational goals Some examples of process variables are the participation, monitoring and control, human resource development and motivation             Environmental variables help in understanding the scope, diversity and uncertainty relating to an organization When all these variables are perfectly aligned then can organization can achieve congruence of its performance with its goals The following steps will help in the identification of the key variables:             Identification of decision variables             Interactions with the environment             Implications for the control structure             Key success and the control paradigm The introduction of a Local Area Network in the Newcastle upon Tyne postal district/North < TOP > Eastern postal division and consists of interviews with eight members of staff there A Local Area Network (LAN) had been introduced in the Newcastle upon Tyne postal district 18 months earlier and was intended to link together different locations in the Newcastle area and to provide a gateway to other Post Office LAN’s nation wide Initially use of this system was restricted to senior (board level) managers but with the impending restructuring and expected privatisation use of the LAN was extended to other levels in the organisation At the time of the interviews there were 37 terminals in the Newcastle area and at ‘remote sites’ The Newcastle LAN could also be used to link to another 20 Post Office LAN’s in different parts of the country The system integrated elements of personnel, administration, recruitment and data on human resource utilisation with data on costings and the volume of business transactions All Medclinic centre administrative, text and record keeping procedures are operated manually < TOP > The Medclinic centre and all medical centres under the regional hospital will soon be responsible for their own financial affairs The senior doctors at Medclinic see this as an opportunity to computerise not only the financial systems which will now be necessary but many of Medclinic’s administrative and record keeping procedures The doctors are fully supported in this initiative by the nursing and administrative staff The support staff feel overwhelmed by the present volumes of paperwork but are very apprehensive at the prospect of taking responsibility for Medclinic’s financial and associated systems The mainframe system which was used at the regional hospital computer centre is helpful in < TOP > preparing payroll, income receipts and expenditure payments for the Medclinic centre file://C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Desktop\Question Paper\Group F\Ma 02/07/2008 Suggested Answers with Examiner's Feedback Page 11 of 13 A terminal link between the centre and the regional hospital which is used to input accounting transaction data, order drugs and transmit medical statistical data for national health monitoring Section C: Applied Theory The management process is executed through a variety of decisions taken at each step of planning, < TOP > organizing, staffing, directing, coordinating and control and the MIS aids decision making The objective of the MIS is to provide information for a decision support in the process of management The decisions required to be taken through the above mentioned steps are tabulated as under: Management Steps   Planning Organization Staffing Directing Coordinating Controlling Decision to be taken   A selection from the following various alternatives such as strategies, resources ,methods etc A selection of a combination out of several combinations of the goals, people, resources, method and authority To provide a proper manpower complement To choose a method from the various methods of directing the efforts in the organization To make a choice of the tools and the techniques for coordinating the efforts for optimum results To make a selection of the exceptional conditions and the decision guidelines Five types of multi technique integration of tools are used in the construction of the DSS It is < TOP > relevant whenever multiple knowledge management techniques are employed within the bounds of a single DSS These techniques may be integrated within a single tool or across multiple tools These five integration styles have various advantages and disadvantages relative to each other It is not unusual for more than one of them to be employed in a single DSS.  These tools involving:            Knowledge - represented in a certain format (K)            Knowledge manipulation-depends on a certain format             Program - devised to manipulate knowledge organized in a certain way (part or whole of a PPS)            Knowledge transfer- from one repository to another (possibly reorganizing it) The five technique tools are 1.      Integration via knowledge format conversion 2.      Integration via a clipboard 3.      Integration via a common format 4.      Integration via nesting 5.      Synergistic integration Integration via knowledge format conversion            Conversion utility or import/export facility            As number of programs increase, number of utilities becomes large            Knowledge transfer takes time and effort            Knowledge manipulation requires program switching            PPS may be developed to handle transfers and switching            Redundancy can lead to consistency problems file://C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Desktop\Question Paper\Group F\Ma 02/07/2008 Suggested Answers with Examiner's Feedback Page 12 of 13            Integration via a clipboard            Common intermediate format (“clipboard”)            It requires fewer conversion utilities            Knowledge transfer involves “cut/copy” and “paste”            Programs may be able to directly manipulate clipboard contents            Knowledge manipulation equerries program switching            Redundancy can lead to consistency problems Integration via a Clipboard  Integration via a common format            All programs designed to manipulate common format            No knowledge transfer required            Program switching still needed            Reduces redundancy/consistency problems             Difficult/inefficient to devise a single format for diverse software functionality (difficult to implement-single format required for universal processing) Integration via nesting Prior approaches use knowledge as “glue” that binds diverse software functionality’s Alternative is to incorporate functionality’s of diverse techniques into a single tool One way to this is to nest capabilities within a single program One dominant component, plus secondary components switching among programs No need for knowledge transfer.   Must know the dominant technique and dominant component constrains use of others file://C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Desktop\Question Paper\Group F\Ma 02/07/2008 Suggested Answers with Examiner's Feedback Page 13 of 13 Synergistic integration Alternative to nesting is synergistic integration It is a single program without a dominant functionality It can be used independent of others, but without switching It can use multiple techniques in a single operation thus traditional dividing lines among techniques blur One program that manipulates knowledge represented in multiple formats (even for a single request) It avoid limitations of being restricted to a single format Combination Select tools and integrate across them using foregoing approaches Select tool in which needed techniques are integrated   < TOP OF THE DOCUMENT >   file://C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Desktop\Question Paper\Group F\Ma 02/07/2008 ... fulfills the information needs of a person, a group of persons, the managers and the top management It satisfies their needs through the following systems such as query systems, analysis systems, ... Accounting models Suggestion models Optimization models Data analysis systems 19 .Information systems can facilitate supply chain management by (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) Group Consensus Guided... Management Information Systems (MC261) : April 2008 Section A : Basic Concepts   Answer Reason B The data in the DSS database use data mining C In an organization business processes produce Information