信息系统

Week21. What are the four commonfunctions of an Information System?Input – gathering & capturing dataProcessing –converting ortransferring data into useful outputsStorage: retains input data and retrieves stored dataOutput-producing Docs & Reports2. What is the differencebetween Data & Information?Data is the raw material for creating information.It is a collection of single isolated factsInformation is processed data that has been organized, structured or processed to give it meaning & relevance3. Why are businesses investing so much in Information Systems and Technologies?Operational ExcellenceInformation systems and technologies can be important in achieving higher levels of efficiency and productivity in business operations.New Products, Services and Business ModelsInformation systems and technologies help to create new products and services, as well as new business models.Customer and Supplier intimacyCustomers generally respond to good service and quality products by returning and purchasing more.The more a business engages its suppliers, the better and more eagerly the suppliers will provide their services and products.Improved Decision MakingInformation systems and technologies make it possible for managers to use real- time data from the marketplace when making decisions.Competitive Advantage- being more efficient than your competitors- charging less for superior products- Better relationships with customers and suppliersSurvivalBusinesses invest in information systems and technologies because they are necessary, whether driven by industry level change or government regulation, for doing business4. What are the five components of an Information System?data storagehardwaresoftwarepeopleproceduresWeek31. Describe the main Businessfunctions of any Organisation.Accounting the control and monitoring of financial issues such as income, expenditure and budgeting and much moreOperations / Production /Manufacturing - this type of system tracks details relating to raw products which come into the business, details of themanufacturing process and details of outgoing completed products and wastage. Marketing & Sales - a business needs to know how their individual products are selling and what future there is for the products. The system that produces thereceipt for the customer can also collect immediate data that will allow product management and forecasting of sales.Human Resources - businesses must deal with everything to do with the people in the organisation: their position, pay, personal development and training.Research & Development - organisations must work towards continuouslyimproving their products and processes to remain competitive within the market.2. What is a TPS?Transaction Processing System:records information about daily routine transactions at the operational level of managementprovides information for use at higher management levels.What is a MIS?Management Information System: summaries for regular reports at middle management level: budgets, inventory control, process management.What is a DSS?Decision Support Systems: can produce highly detailed custom reports based on:the information in an o rganisation’stransaction processing systemdata from other sources: cost analysis, profitability analysis.What is an ESS?Executive Support SystemUsed by senior management to address strategic issues and long term trends.3. What is an Expert System?Give an example.An expert system performs tasks that normally would be done by a human, such as medical diagnoses, mechanical diagnostics or for loan approvals.After analysing relevant data, some expert systems recommend a course of action which a person then can consider taking.Called expert systems, because they are for use by experts in the fieldMedical diagnosis systems are expert systems used by medical doctors and surgeonsComputer Aided Design (CAD) systems are expert systems used by engineers, architects, etc.4. Explain what the following are:Internet:The network of all connected computer networks in the world.Uses Telephone lines, cables, optic-fibres, satellites, radio waves and microwaves.Intranet:An organisation’s private networkVisible only within the organisationRequires permissions to accessExtranet:An Intranet that permits access to authorised external users and users with distant login capabilitiesGenerally used to facilitate business transactions over the Internet.5. Describe the 6 main steps ofinformation flow in an Organisation.Research: Collection of the raw dataData entry: Entry of data into the systemStorage: Storing the data for immediate and future useRetrieval and Manipulation: Recovering the information for useDisplay: Displaying the informationArchive: Long term storageWeek41. What are the 4 major steps inthe research & analysis process?DEFINE: purpose, objectives, criteriaCOLLECT: information fromprimary & secondary sourcesANALYSE & EVALUATE: information against defined criteria- data modelling, forecastingPRESENT: findings, conclusions & recommendations2. List 2 examples of Primary Sources of Information.Own recordsSelf-collected data (your own interviews and questionnaires etc.)3. List 2 examples of SecondarySources of Information.Any data created by someone else – mass mediaTexts/Internet data /Online Journals/Reports4. Define the term “quantitativedata” and provide 2 examples.Numerical data:StatisticsCosts/Expenses5. Define the term “qualitativedata” and provide 2 examples.Primary, descriptive Data:InterviewsQuestionnaires6. What is “Plain English”?Simple and straightforwardlanguage7. Explain the main principles behind Plain English writing.It considers the needs of the readerIt gets the message across quicklyIt is simpleIt is clearIt is well plannedIt is well presentedIt is carefully edited8. Provide an overview of the main sections of any Report or major Proposal.Executive SummaryIntroductionFindings & AnalysisRecommendationsConclusion9. What is the six- step approach to finalising a report?PurposePlanningResearchAnalysisStructureWriting10.What is “notation”?Explain the difference between a footnote, a citation and an endnote.Notation – acknowledgement of source of informationFootnote – a system of reference notation where information is placed at the bottom of the pageCitation – tells the reader where the information came from e.g. the Harvard Author date reference systemEndnote-Notation placed at the end of the works.11. Briefly explain the term“Bibliography”.A listing of the sources used in preparing a piece of writing and listed at the endof the work.A bibliography lists all sourcesconsulted in preparing the work–both primary & secondary.12. What is the main aim of Ergonomics?minimise the mismatch that occursbetween the person and the jobmatch the capabilities of humans and the requirements of the job they are expected to perform.13. What are the main workstation ergonomic considerations?ChairMonitorKeyboardMouseDocument holdersLumbar pads/pillowsArm restsGlareEye strainFootrestsWrists padsKeyboard traysLaptops14. What is OHS? Explain its role in the workplace.Occupational Health and Safety:refers to legislation that ensures that policies and procedures that are employed at workplaces, involve the health, safety and welfare of all employees.Week51. Describe the main types of Information Systems within an organisation.Sales & MarketingManufacturing & ProductionFinance & AccountingHRMTransaction Processing SystemsMISSupply Chain ManagementCustomer Relations Management Systems2. Explain how a business can achieve a competitive advantage with an Information System.Information systems will impact abusiness.they keep track of informationimportant to a business.how accessible this is affects thebusiness.3. Describe Porter’s model for understanding competitiveadvantage.Focuses on the impact of competition within an industry, the substitution of products, new businesses, the suppliers and customers.As a business becomes alert to these issues the chances of developing a significant lead increases.In Porter’s model the strategic position of the organisation is also d etermined by 4 forcesnew market entrantssubstitute productsCustomerssuppliers.The Value ChainOrganisations analyse the structure of their industry and using that analysis they formulate a competitive strategy.They then need to organise and structure the organisation to implement their strategy.For example if the competitive strategy is to be a “Cost leader”, then business activities need to be developed to be as economically advantageous as possible.A value chain is a network of value-creating activities4. Using examples describe 4 basic competitive strategies.Become the low cost supplierDevelop differentiated,innovative products and servicesTarget a niche: geography, industry, product/serviceEmploy differentiated businessmethods and approaches.5. What is Just in Time strategy?Just-in-Time is an ordering strategy.It is a strategy for managing materials in a project that ensures those materials become available when they are needed to support activities.Part of Supply Chain Management6. What is Supply Chain Management?Supply Chain Management Systems integrate the primary in-bound logistics business activity.The SCM applications have features andfunctions to source, order and settle.Sourcing function:Find vendorsWho have products we needWho will give us a favourable priceWho are reliable regarding scheduleand qualityWho will stand behind their productOrdering function:Send and receiveRequests for informationQuotesProposalsOrdersSettlement Function:ProcessReceipt of goodsReconciling goods received withpurchase orders0Schedule of payment7. What is Business Process Management?BPM is a way of looking at and then controlling the processes that are present in an organization. It is an effective methodology to use in times of crisis to make certain that processes are efficient and effective.The steps in BPM are:AnalyzeRe-design and modelImplementMonitorManageAutomate8. What is Customer Relationship Management?Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a model for managing a company’sinteractions with current and future customers. It involves using technology to organize, automate, and synchronize sales, marketing, customer service, and technical support.Week61. What is a file, a record, a field?Files consist of related records.Records consist of related fields.Fields consist of related characters.Files must contain a key field–afield where each record’s occurrence is unique.2. What are the differentmethods of organizing a file?Sequential file – records are organized one after the other and each record must be scanned to until the desired record is located.Direct or Random file – records are not necessarily stored in sequence and can be accessed directly.Indexed file – records are stored in one file and the organization of those records is stored in a second file. To use an indexed file both files, the data file and the index file, must be used together.3. What are the advantages anddisadvantages of file processing?AdvantagesSimple to use.DisadvantagesProcessing data in more than one relatedfile.Difficult to access data from more than one file at a time.Dependency between programs and data.4. What is a database? What doesit contain?A database is a collection of integrated records. The records are integratedbecause relationships between rows are represented.A database is a collection of related files containing records on people, places, orthings. One of the most successful databases in modern history is the telephone book.5. What are the advantages anddisadvantages of using a database? AdvantagesDuplication of data is reduced.Easier to process different groups of data.Not dependent on the organization of data in the database.DisadvantagesExpensive.More vulnerable than file processing.Can be complex to develop.6. What is a DBMS?A Database Management System is a program used to create, process andadminister a database.DBMS and a Database are two different things.A DBMS is a software program; a database is a collection of tables, relationshipsand metadata.7. What are the four main organizational elementsof a Database Management System environment? Describe each briefly.Data administration – to define information requirements for the companyData planning & modelling methodology-to determine scope of data planning Database technology & management methodology – to establish the physical databaseUsers – community who access the database8. Can you identify some types of data you might find presented on amultidimensional database?An OLAP (Online Analytical Processing) - Analysis of car sales by a number of variables such:ModelColourDealershipTime9. What is Data Warehousing? What is a Data Mart?A data warehouse is like a distributor in a supply chain. It takes the data from thedata operational systems and purchased data; cleans, processes & locates it.If the data warehouse is like the distributor in a supply chain, then a data mart is like a retail store in a supply chain.A data mart is a data collection, smaller than the data warehouse that addressesthe particular part of functional area of the business.10. What is Data Mining?Looks at data in a new way to discover new useful informationUses very sophisticated tools and complex mathematicsCalled Mining because it drills down to discover trends and information that are not presently knownWeek81. What is an Electronic Commerce System?An information system that provides e-commerce capabilities for an organization. 2. Describe the main InternetApplications for E-CommerceRetailManufactureFinancialAuctions3. What strategic Impact has E-Commerce hadon Business?Describe the advantages.Set-up costs relatively cheapReduced cost and time to the end userNo storefront - flexible worldwide office environmentSupply Chain efficiency is greatly enhancedCurrent information -prices changed quicklyReduced cost of data and Information24 hour access for customersDescribe the disadvantages.Accessible to those with computers onlyLoss of customer face-to-face contactPeople have a fear of technology includingsecurityProduct and pricing could be exposed tocompetitorsSecurity needs to be developed to prevent exposing private information Expensive if an expert webmaster is employed4. What are the different E-Commercepayment systems?Credit & Debit CardsAccumulated balance digitalpayment systemStored value payment systemE-cash5. What are the main E- Commercestyles? Describe each style.Business-to-Business (B2B)Business-to-Customer (B2C)Customer-to-Customer (C2C)6. What is an Inter OrganisationalSystem (IOS)?An Inter Organisational System (IOS) is an information system shared by one or more suppliers and customers.7. Give an example of an IOS.The most common IOS' are Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) systems which provide for the transfer of data between businesses8. What types of data can be sent via an EDI system?Purchase order data 0Shipping dataInvoice dataProduct description dataPrice list dataInsurance data9. List the benefits and problems of an EDI system.Benefits of EDI:SpeedData entry errors are reducedProblems with EDI:Organizational participationTechnical problems must be solvedCan be expensive10. What is M-Commerce?Mobile phone commerce across the internet, i.e.: shopping using a cell phone, a tablet or other portable electronic device11. What is a blog?A blog is a web page where people can share views, discussions, reports etc.Week 91. Define the term “network”.A network is the joining of two or more computers through cables or radio waves and other equipment, for the purpose of sharing information and to build a system of communication.2. What are the two main network systems?Local Area Network (LAN)Wide Area Network (WAN)3. List the main methods of Network Connection.Network cards, modems and Telephone linesInterfered with voice conversationsDSL (Digital Subscriber Lines)Telephone lines without interference with voiceADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Lines)Used cabling and is faster than dial upSDSL (Symmetrical Digital Subscriber Lines)Fast speeds and equal upload and download times.4. List the main NetworkTopologies.StarBusStar-Bus (hybrid)RingMeshProvide a short explanation of each Network Topology.Star TopologyA very common topology - all devices are connected to a central hub. All nodes communicate across the network by passing data through the hub. Data packets travel through the hub and are sent to the attached nodes and then they reach their destinations. Some hubs – known as intelligent hubs can monitor the data traffic and prevent collisions.Bus TopologyAll devices are connected to a central cable, called the bus or backbone. A special device called a terminator is attached at the cable’s start and end points to stop network signals so they do not bounce back down the cable.Hybrid TopologyCombinations of the other topologiesRing TopologyConnects the network in a circular chain with each node connected to the next one. The last node connects to the first, completing the ring. Each node examines the data as it travels through the ring. If the data (known as a token) is not addressed to the node that is examining it, that node passes it to the next node. There is no danger of collisions because only one packet of data travels the ring at a time.Mesh TopologyDevices are connected with many redundant interconnections between network nodes. In a true mesh topology every node has a connection to every other node in the network. The big advantage is that data can never fail to be delivered, the disadvantage is that it is expensive to set up.5. What is the term Modem short for?Modulate / Demodulate6. Why are Modems required when two computers need to exchange data over standard telephone lines?Telephone lines are analogue while computers are digital.7. What does DSL stand for?Digital Subscriber Line8. What is a MAC Address?A MAC (Media Access control) address is a physical hardware address assignedto each device that has the capability of connecting to a network.The MAC address is something that is assigned in the chip on the device and is not something the user can change.9. What is an IP Address?Internet Protocol：provided by the Internet service providerThe Internet Protocol (IP) is the method or protocol by which data is sent from one computer to another on the Internet.Each computer (known as a host) on the Internet has at least one IP address that uniquely identifies it from all other computers on the Internet.Week101. What is netiquette?Netiquette is in short a versionof digital manners.Netiquette provides the rules people should follow when performing various tasks online.2. Describe various forms of unethical use of I.T.Misuse of privacy &confidentiality ofinformationMisuse of softwareThe unethical use of someone else’s computerIgnoring l egal issues of the ownership of information and copyrightElectronic profiling –collection, distribution and use of a person’s private informationIdentity theft –claiming another person’sidentity3. How can these be overcome?Notice/Awareness/consentConsumers must be given notice of businesses information practices before the collection of personal information.Access/ParticipationConsumers must be able to access their personal information. And to challenge the validity of the data.Virus and Spyware protectionFirewallEncryptionIntrusion DetectionBackup4. What is social networking?The interaction of people connected by social interests, friendships, business associations or some other trait that is supported by web technology.It has 2 fundamental functions –communication & social collaboration.5. What value does socialnetworking add to a business?Can strengthen relationshipsbetween customersAvenue for surveys and feedbackShowcase new products6. What are the risks of using social networking and user generated content?Junk & crackpotsInappropriate contentUnfavourable reviews7. What are commonly known as the five moral dimensions of the Information Age?Information rights and obligationsProperty rights and obligationsAccountability and controlSystem qualityQuality of lifeWeek 111. What is a Firewall?A device that blocks unauthorised accessto an organisation's local area network.A firewall can reside on the administrative computer, the server that acts as theLAN's gateway to the Internet.The firewall keeps track of every file entering or leaving the local area network in order to detect the source of viruses and other problems that might enter thenetwork.2. What are the major security threats to information systems?VirusesTrojansWormsSpoofing & Phishing 0Spyware / AdwareCrackers3. What Are the Key Elements in a Computer Operating Security System?Passwords / Password strengthEncryptionAnti-virus / Malware Protection:Viruses, Trojan horses, worms are collectively known as "malware."4. Suggested SafeguardsRestrict AccessLock It Up;Protect Your Lifelines – connectionsUse encryption softwareFirewallsAntivirus software5. What role do the police have in managing Cyber Crime?Responsibilities which fall under this category are often referred to as high tech crime, computer crimes or cybercrimes.Technology-enabled crime encompasses:Crimes committed directly againstcomputers and computer systems.The use of technology to commit or facilitate the commission of traditional crimes.Week 121. Describe the different types ofInformation System change within an Organization.Re-engineeringDramatic changes and possible loss of jobsAutomationThe most common documents go from paper toelectronicOperational ProceduresUpgrading of procedures to meet the current situation2. Describe in detail the “Systems Development Life Cycle” (SDLC)System Planning - researchSystem AnalysisSystem designImplementationSystem Maintenance3. What are the main installation methods used with SDLC?Direct ConversionOne system replaces the other immediately andcompletelyIf there are problems there is no going back to the old system while they are fixed Pilot ConversionA small section of the system is installed and tested firstUsually as a stand-alone system that will not affectthe rest of the system Phased ConversionStage by stage installationIs dependent on how closely integrate the parts of the system are related Parallel ConversionBoth old and new system work simultaneouslyThe old is gradually phased outVery expensiveProvides a safety net4. What is a Data Flow Diagram?A tool many analysts use to show the flow ofdata in an information system.The diagram uses symbols with different shapes to indicate how data flows in the system. These are:Process – a rounded corner rectangleExternal entity – a rectangleData store – an open rectangleData flow – an arrow5. What is an Entity Relationship Diagram?An entity is something about which data isstored in a database.A relationship is an association betweenentities.An entity-relationship diagram shows the entities and relationships between entities in a database.6. What is Prototyping?Prototyping involves a Systems Analyst:Using informal and incomplete requirements fora system.Developing a prototype, which is a partial version of the system that acts like the real system but may not perform all the required functions of the system.Testing the prototype.7. What are the Advantages of using an Information System?Economical decisions can be determined more accurately with information from many areas available through appropriate systems.Relevant information can be provided quickly to theappropriate people to make decisions.Flexibility is improved in decision-making, as information is available to many staff members at one time.The data will be more reliable or trustworthy due to being current.Establishing validation rules ensures the reliability of data input and source accuracy.Some sources of data can be verified. This may happen through a dialogue box asking if you trust the source listed. The user then has the option of accepting or rejecting the source.Security can restrict unauthorised users through the establishment of usernames and passwords and other security initiatives.Both simple and complex information is available.Results that are expected can be proven; hiddenresults that were not thought of can be provided.Timely and current information can be accessed, as it is required.8. What are the disadvantages of using an Information System?Failure of the system:Hardware can become faulty, stop or work incorrectly.Software can become out of date so it is important to ensure the latest upgrades available are installed regularly.Human error:While we can have limits on what can be entered errors within those limits can still be entered.Incorrect original dataIncorrect recording of the results。