Management Information System

1. What is Planning? Components of Organizational Planning.

Ans: Planning: Planning Bridge the gap from where we are, to where want
to go. Planning means
setting an organizational goals and deciding how best to achieve them.
---Griffin
Components of Organizational Planning:
Strategic Planning
Deals with the development of an organizations mission, goals, strategic
and policies
Begins with strategic visioning questions
Tactical Planning
The setting of objecting and the development of procedures, rules,
schedules and
budgets
Operational Planning
Done on a short-term basis to implement and control day-to-day operations
2. Strategic Positioning Matrix.
Ans: A strategic positioning matrix can help a company identify where to
concentrate its use of
Internet technologies to gain a competitive advantage with E-business and Ecommerce. The
quadrants of the matrix represent:
Cost and Efficiency Improvements : This quadrant represents a low
amount of internal
company, customer, and competitor connectivity and use of IT via the
Internet and other networks.
Strategy: Focus on improving efficiency and lowering costs by using the
Internet and the World
Wide Web as a fast, low-cost way to communicate and interact with
customers, suppliers, and
business partners.
Example: The use of E-mail, chat systems, discussion groups, and a
company Web site.
Performance Improvement in Business Effectiveness : A company
has a high degree of
internal connectivity and pressures to substantially improve its business
processes, but external
connectivity by customers and competitors is still low.
Strategy: Make major improvements in business effectiveness.
Example: Widespread internal use of Internet-based technologies like
Intranets can substantially
improve information sharing and collaboration within the business and with
its trading partners.

 Global Market Penetration : A company that enters this quadrant of the

matrix must capitalize
on a high degree of customer and competitor connectivity and use of IT.
Strategy: Develop E-business & E-commerce applications optimize
interaction with customers &
build market share.
Example: E-commerce websites with value-added information services &
extensive online
customer support.
Created by- Redwan Ferdous 1

Management Information System

Product and Service Transformation : A company and its customers,
suppliers, and
competitors are extensively networked. Internet-based technologies,
including E-commerce
websites, E-business Intranets and extranets must now be implemented
throughout the companys
operations and business relationships.
Strategy: Develop and deploy new Internet-based products and services
that strategically
reposition it in the marketplace.
Example: Use the Internet for electronic commerce transaction processing
with customers at
company Web sites, and E-commerce auctions and exchanges for suppliers.
3. What is Implementation? Short discuss Implementation
Information Technology.
Ans: Implementation: A process of carrying out the plans for change in ebusiness strategies and
applications that were developed during the planning process.
Implementation Information Technology: Implementing new e-business
strategies requires
managing the effects of major changes in key organizational dimensions
such as business
processes, organizational structures, managerial roles, employee work
assignments, and stakeholder
relationships that arise from the deployment of new e-business systems.
Many businesses have undergone multiple major reorganization since the
early 1980s
Business process reengineering
Installation and upgrade of an ERP system
Upgrading legacy systems to be Y2K compliant
Creating shared services centers
Just-in-time manufacturing
Sales force automation
Contract manufacturing

 Sales force automation

Contract manufacturing
The introduction of euro currency
E-Business is the latest organizational change
4. What is Change Management? Key Dimension of Change
Management.
Ans: Change Management: Managing the process of implementing major
changes in information
technology, business processes, organizational structure, and job
assignments to reduce the risks
and costs of change, and optimize its benefits.
Key Dimension of Change Management:
5. What is System Thinking? Show the System Thinking Example.
Created by- Redwan Ferdous 2

Management Information System

Ans: System Thinking: System thinking as follows:
Seeing the forest and trees in any situation
Seeing interrelationships among systems rather then liner cause-and-effect
chains
Seeing process of change among system rather than discrete snapshots of
change
Find the input, processing, output, feedback and control components
System Thinking Example:
6. System Development Lifecycle (SDLC).
Ans:
Created by- Redwan Ferdous 3

Management Information System

7. Prototyping Life cycle.
Ans:
8. What is a Project? Point of view Phases of Project Management.
Ans: Project:
Every project has
A set of activities with a clear beginning and end
Goals
Objectives
Tasks
Limitations or constraints
A series of steps or phases
Managing a project effectively requires
Process
Tools
Techniques
Phases of Project Management: There are five phases in most projects as
follows:

(i) Initiating/Defining:
State the problem(s) and/or goal(s)
Identify the objectives
Secure resources
Explore the costs/benefits in the feasibility study
(ii) Planning:
Created by- Redwan Ferdous 4

Identify an End
Users Business
Requirements
Develop
Business System
Prototypes
Revise the
Prototypes to
Better Meet
End User
Requirements
Use & Maintain
the Accepted
Business System
Maintenance Cycle
Prototyping Cycle
Investigation/Analysis: End user identifies
their business needs & assesses the
feasibility of several alternative
information system solutions.
Analysis/Design: End user & IS specialists
use application development tools to
interactively design & test prototypes of
information system components that
meet end user business needs.
Design/Implementation: The business
system prototypes are tested, evaluated
and modified repeatedly until end user
fined them acceptable.
Implementation/Maintenance: The
accepted business system can be
modified easily since most system
documentation is stored on disk.

Management Information System

Identify and sequence activities

Identify the critical path
Estimate the time and resources needed for project completion
Write a detailed project plan

(iii) Executing:
Commit resources to specific tasks
Add additional resources and/or personnel if necessary
Initiate work on the project
(iv) Controlling:
Establish reporting obligations
Create reporting tools
Compare actual progress with baseline
Initiate control interventions, if necessary
(v) Closing:
Install all deliverables
Finalize all obligations and commitments
Meet with stakeholders
Release project resources
Document the project
Issue a final report
9. Short discuss Major System Conversion Strategies.
Ans: Major System Conversion Strategies as follows:
(i) Direct conversion:
The simplest conversion strategy
The most disruptive to the organization
Sometimes referred to as the slam dunk or cold-turkey strategy
May be the only viable solution in cases of emergency implementation or if
the old and
new system cannot coexist
Has the highest risk of failure
Involves turning off the old system and turning on the new one
(ii) Parallel Conversion:
Old and new systems are run simultaneously until everyone is satisfied
Conversion to new system can be single cutover or phased cutover
Has the lowest risk, but the highest cost
Best choice where an automated system is replacing a manual one
(iii) Pilot Conversion:
Scenarios best suited to a pilot conversion
--Multiple business locations
--Geographically diverse locations
Advantages of single location conversion
--Can select a location that best represents the conditions across the
organization
--Less risky in terms of loss of time or delays in processing
--Can be evaluated and changed before further installations
(iv) Phased Conversion:
A phased or gradual conversion
--Takes advantage of both the direct and parallel approaches

--Minimizes the risks involved

--Allows the new system to be brought online as logically ordered functional
components
Created by- Redwan Ferdous 5

Management Information System

Disadvantages
--Takes the most time
--Created the most disruption to the organization over time
(v) Post-Implementation Activities:
The single most costly activity
--Correcting errors or faults in the system
--Improving system performance
--Adapting the system to changes in the operating or business environment
--Requires more programmers than does application development
--May exist for years
(vi) Systems Maintenance:
There are four basic categories of system maintenance
--Corrective: fix bugs and logical errors
--Adaptive: add new functionality
--Perfective: improve performance
--Preventive: reduce chances of failure
(vii) Post-Implementation Review:
Ensures that the newly implemented system meets the established
business objectives
--Errors must be corrected by the maintenance process
--Includes a periodic review/audit of the system as well as continuous
monitoring
10. What is Information Security? Business Benefits of good
Information Security.
Ans:
11. Describe the objective of Electronic Business System.
Ans: Electronic Business System:
Section I: Enterprise Business Systems;
Section II: Functional Business Systems
So, describe Enterprise Business System As follows:
Enterprise Application Integration: EAI software connects crossfunctional systems; Serves as
middleware to provide
Data conversion
Communication between systems
Access to system interfaces
Transaction Processing Systems: Cross-functional information systems
that process data resulting
from the occurrence of business transactions.

 Transactions include sales, purchases, deposits, withdrawals, refunds, and

payments
Online transaction processing (OLTP) is a real-time system that captures
transactions
immediately
Enterprise Collaboration Systems (ECS): EC systems are crossfunctional information systems
that enhance team and workgroup
Communication- sharing information with each other
Coordination- coordinating our individual work efforts and use of resources
with each other
Collaboration-working together cooperatively on joint projects and
assignments
Created by- Redwan Ferdous 6

Management Information System

12. Describe the Essential E-Commerce Architecture.
Ans:
13. What do you mean by Enterprise Collaboration Systems?
Describe the tools of Enterprise
Collaboration Systems (ECS).
Ans: Enterprise Collaboration System: Support communication,
coordination, and collaboration
among networked teams/workgroups.
ECS Tools as follows:
14. Describe Workflow management with example.
Ans:

15. Explain Financial Management System.

Created by- Redwan Ferdous 7

Management Information System

Ans: Supports business managers and professionals making decisions
concerning
Financing of a business
Allocation and control of financial resources within a business
16. Write about Electronic commerce and explain its categories.
Ans: E-commerce: E-commerce consists of the buying and selling of
products or services over
electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks.
Categories of E-commerce :
(i) Business-to-Business (B2B): B2B e-commerce is defined as
ecommerce between companies.
Example: Intel selling processor to Dell.
(ii) Business-to-Consumer (B2C): B2C e-commerce between companies
and consumers.
Example: Dell selling me a laptop.

(iii) Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C): C2C is e-commerce between private

individuals or
consumers. Example: Rahim buying an iPod from Karim on eBay.
(iv) Business-to-Government (B2G): B2G is defined as commerce
between companies & the
public sector. Example: Business pay taxes, sell goods & services to Govt.
agencies.
(v) M-commerce: M-commerce is the buying, selling of goods and services
through wireless
technology. Example: Mobile Ticketing, Mobile Banking.
17. What is CRM? Discuss the benefits of CRM. Narrate the three (3)
phases of CRM.
Ans: CRM: CRM uses IT to create a cross functional enterprise system that
integrates and
automates customer-serving processes.
Benefits of CRM:
Identify and target the best customers
Real-time customization and personalization of products and services
Track when and how a customer contacts the company
Provide a consistent customer experience
Provide superior service and support across all customer contact points
Three (3) phases of CRM:
1. Acquire: By doing a superior job of contact management, sales
prospecting, selling, direct
marketing, & fulfillment.
2. Enhance: By supporting superior service from a responsive networked
team of sales and service
specialists.
3. Retain: Help identify and reward your most loyal, profitable customers.
Three (3) phases of CRM
18. Define ERP? Discuss the Benefits and Challenges of ERP and
causes of ERP failures.
Created by- Redwan Ferdous 8

Acquire Enhance Retain

Management Information System

Ans: ERP: Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is a cross-functional enterprise

system that serves
as a framework to integrate and automate many of the business processes
that must be
accomplished within the manufacturing, logistics, distribution, accounting,
finance, and human
resources functions of a business.
Benefits and Challenges of ERP:
Quality and efficiency: ERP creates a framework for integrating and
improving a

companys internal business processes that result in significant

improvements in the quality
and efficiency of customer service, production, and distribution.
Decreased costs many companies report significant reductions in
transaction processing
costs and hardware, software, and IT support staff compared to the nonintegrated legacy
systems that were replaced by their new ERP systems.
Decision support ERP provides vital cross-functional information on
business
performance quickly to managers to significantly improve their ability to
make better
decisions in a timely manner across the entire business enterprise.
Enterprise agility ERP can be used in breaking down many former
departmental and
functional walls, which results in more flexible organizational structures,
managerial
responsibility, and work roles. The result is a more agile and adaptive
organization and
workforce that can more easily capitalize on new business opportunities.
Causes of ERP Failure:
Under-estimating the complexity of planning, development, training
Failure to involve affected employees in planning and development
Trying to do too much, too fast
Insufficient training
Insufficient data conversion and testing
Over-reliance on ERP vendor or consultants
19. Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Ans: Artificial intelligence (AI) is a science and technology based on
disciplines such as computer
science, biology, psychology, linguistics, mathematics, and engineering. The
goal of AI is to
develop computers that can think, as well as see, hear, walk, talk, and feel. A
major thrust of AI is
the development of computer functions normally associated with human
intelligence, such as
reasoning, learning, and problem solving.
20. Decision Support in Business
Ans: To succeed in business today, companies need information systems
that can support the
diverse information and decision-making needs of their managers and
business professionals. This
is accomplished by several types of management information, decision
support, and other

information systems. The Internet, intranets, and other Web-enabled

information technologies have
significantly strengthened the role that information systems play in
supporting the decision-making
activities of every manager and knowledge worker in business.
Created by- Redwan Ferdous 9