Term
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Definition
| The development and use of information systems that help businesses achieve their goals and objectives |
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Term
| How do different types of IS relate to different kinds of collaboration? |
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Definition
| Together they can be used to organize your knowledge and finish projects. Any type of IS can be used with any collaboration to better fit the companies needs. Remember some types of IS are wiki’s, podcasts, etc. |
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Term
| What is the difference between structured and unstructured decisions? |
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Definition
| A structured decision is one for which there is an understood and accepted method for making the decision - An unstructured decision is one for which there is no agreed on decision making method |
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Term
| What is the difference between automation and augmentation? |
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Definition
| Automated information systems are those in which the hardware and software components do most of the work - Augmentation information systems are those in which humans do the bulk of the work |
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Term
| What five forces determine industry structure? |
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Definition
| Bargaining power of customers, threat of substitutions, bargaining power of suppliers, threat of new entrants, rivalry |
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Term
| What is competitive strategy? |
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Definition
| The adoption of a unique position in the marketplace through targeting a specific market and marketing mix |
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Term
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Definition
| A value chain is a network of value-creating activities |
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Term
| What process should a manager use for establishing a budget? |
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Definition
| Determine base requirements, then forecast requirement changes during the budget period, and lastly prepare the budget |
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Term
| What is the purpose of a database? |
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Definition
| The purpose of a database is to keep track of things |
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Term
| What are the components of the entity-relationship data model? |
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Definition
| Attributes, Identifiers, Relationships, Entities |
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Term
| How is a data model transformed into a database design? |
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Definition
| Normalization process of converting poorly made tables in to good tables and process creating relationships |
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Term
| What is the purpose of a firewall? |
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Definition
| To prevent unauthorized network access |
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Term
| What is a VPN and why is it important? |
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Definition
| A VPN is a Virtual Private Network, which uses the internet to provide peer-to-peer activity via encrypted tunnels |
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Term
| How do functional systems relate to the value chain? |
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Definition
| Each functional system is related to the value chain silos on information |
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Term
| How do cross-functional systems relate to the value chain? |
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Definition
| Cross functional systems overcome to problems of functional system like CRM and ERP |
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Term
| What is the difference between a functional application and a functional system? |
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Definition
| A functional application is a computer program that provides features and functions necessary to support a particular business activity. A functional system is an information system having the five components of all information systems: hardware, software, data, procedures, and people. |
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Term
| What are the characteristics of customer relationship management (CRM) systems? |
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Definition
| They support business process of attracting, managing, and selling to customers. They also support all direct value chain activities |
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Term
| What are the characteristics of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems? |
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Definition
| They integrate sales, ordering, customer service, and tracking |
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Term
| How do interorganizational information systems provide competitive advantages? |
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Definition
| They allow for supply chain visibility which helps to reduce common supply chain problems like the bullwhip effect and help all members of the supply chain to focus on the same goal |
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Term
| How will the increasing use of interorganizational information systems change organizational structures? |
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Definition
| The outsourcing of IOS developing could enable the rise of e-organizations. IOS also moves the focus away from just an individual organization. Instead, IOS focus on creating value along the entire supply chain by improving collaboration, work specialization, information sharing, and quickness of response. |
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Term
| What is three-tier architecture? |
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Definition
| Three-tier architecture refers to the three different classes of computers, the user tier, sever tier, and database tier. |
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Term
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Definition
| A supply chain is a network of organizations and facilities that transforms raw materials into products delivered to customers |
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Term
| What is the bullwhip effect? |
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Definition
| The bull whip effect is a phenomenon in which the variability in the size and timing of orders increases at each stage up the supply chain |
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Term
| How does EDI facilitate data exchange? |
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Definition
| It standardizes common communications via document exchange |
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Term
| How does XML facilitate data exchange? |
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Definition
| Similar to EDI, but a more modern, simpler way |
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Term
| How do BI systems provide competitive advantages? |
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Definition
| They provide competitive advantages by improving decisions through the use of reporting, data-mining, knowledge management, and expert systems. |
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Term
| What are the purpose and components of a data warehouse? |
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Definition
| The purpose of a data warehouse is to extract and clean data from operational systems and other sources, and to store and catalog that data for processing by BI tools. The components of a data warehouse include: operational databases, other internal data, external data, data extraction/cleaning/preparation programs, data warehouse metadata, data warehouse database, data warehouse DBMS, and BI tools |
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Term
| What is a data mart and how does it differ from a data warehouse? |
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Definition
| A data mart is a data collection that is created to address the needs of a particular business function, problem, or opportunity. A data mart differs from a data warehouse because it is used to only to store specific data for a specific business function, such as inventory history to determine the optimal inventory layout. A data warehouse stores everything. |
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Term
| How does RFM analysis classify customers? |
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Definition
| RFM analysis is a way of analyzing and ranking customers according to their purchasing patterns. It considers how recently a customer has ordered, how frequently a customer orders, and how much money the customer spends per order. |
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Term
| How does market-basket analysis identify cross-selling opportunities? |
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Definition
| Market-basket analysis is a data-mining technique used for determining sales patterns. It shows the products that customers tend to buy together. In marketing transactions, the fact that customers who buy product X also buy product Y creates a cross-selling opportunity. |
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Term
| What are the five phases of the systems development life cycle? |
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Definition
| System definition, requirements analysis, component design, implementation, and system maintenance |
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Term
| How is an information system implemented? |
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Definition
| Two ways: you can convert it through phases and methods one step at a time, or one big roll out all at once. However, big roll outs tends be to more problematic. |
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Term
| What are problems with the SDLC? |
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Definition
| Failure to plan properly and having to go pack to previous phases to correct issues that arise. SDLC is modeled after a waterfall (i.e. one directional), however in real life you usually need to go back and change things that were previously done. |
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Term
| How does systems development vary according to project scale? |
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Definition
| Smaller projects use one program and seldom have IT professionals. Big projects have many programs and use IT professionals and their skill set |
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Term
| How does a work-breakdown structure drive project management? |
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Definition
| GNAT charts break down hierarchy of tasks and milestones. |
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Term
| What is object oriented-development? |
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Definition
| A type of application development that is modeled around objects rather than actions |
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Term
| What IS-related job positions exist? (just list and explain three jobs) |
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Definition
Computer Technician – installs software and repairs computers, equipment, and networks
Database Administrator – Manages and protects the database(s)
Programmer – Designs and writes computer programs |
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Term
| What are tangible and intangible costs and benefits? |
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Definition
| Tangible costs and benefits are directly measurable in dollar terms. Intangible costs and benefits are difficult, if not impossible, to fix with a dollar value. |
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Term
| What cost/benefit techniques are used to evaluate IT projects? |
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Definition
| Payback analysis, net present value, and return on investment |
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Term
| How can technical safeguards protect against security threats? |
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Definition
| Through the use of identification and authentication (i.e. usernames and passwords, smart cards, or biometrics), encryption, firewalls, and malware protection |
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