adms 2511 midterm prep

what is an information system

A system that collects, processes, stores, analyzes, and disseminates information for a specific purpose.

What are the five components of an information system?

Hardware, software, database, network, and people.

What is a Decision Support System (DSS)?

Interactive system for complex, non-routine decision-making.

What is an Executive Information System (EIS)?

Provides summarized data and trends for senior executives.

What is Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)?

Integrated system that unifies all departments on one platform.

What are Functional Area Information Systems (FAIS)?

Systems designed for specific business functions (e.g., HR, accounting, marketing).

what is an example of SIS?

fed ex real time package tracking system

What is a Management Information System (MIS)?

Provides routine reports for managerial decision-making.

What is a Knowledge Management System (KMS)?

Captures and shares knowledge within an organization.

What are Transaction Support Systems used for?

Recording and tracking daily business operations.

What are the main benefits of IS to managers?

Better decision-making, coordination, and planning.

What are cross-functional processes?

Processes that span multiple departments (e.g., order fulfillment).

What are the three components of a business process?

Inputs, resources, and outputs.

What is the Digital Economy?

An economy where digital technologies (internet, mobile, cloud) drive production, trade, and consumption.

What is the difference between functional area IS and enterprise IS?

Functional area IS supports specific departments; enterprise IS supports the entire organization.

What is the role of IS in a global organization?

Enable global communication, coordination, and data sharing.

What are the three major business pressures?

Market pressures, technology pressures, and societal/political/legal pressures.

What is a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system?

Manages customer data and relationships to improve satisfaction and loyalty.

what are two examples of physical controls?

backup generators, and guards and locks

what are 2 examples of access controls

biometrics, and automatic log off feature

what are 2 examples of deliberate attacks

alien software and identity theft

what are 2 examples of administrative controls

background checks, and training 

what are 2 examples of application controls

safeguards built into programs, and output restriction

what are two examples of communication controls

encryption of data in transit(https), and anti malware software

what is master data 

core, semi-permanent data that describes key entities repeatedly used across transactions. 

example : hotel location, employee ID

what is transaction data ?

records specific business events or activities that change frequently

example: payment confirmation, guest check in

what are the 3 Vs of big data?

volume, velocity, variety

what is cloud computing ? 

using remote servers via the internet to store, manage and process data (instead of local servers) 

what are 3 characteristics of cloud computing

1) on demand self service

2) broad network access

3) utility pricing

what is OLTP

day to day transactions

what is OLAP

analytical transactions 

what is virtualization?

running multiple OSs on one machine

what is cloud infrastructure

remote servers providing storage and processing power

what are the 3 types of software

system, application, and firmware

what is primary storage

temporary storage used by CPU for active tasks

what is secondary storage

permanent, long term data storage

example is ssds or hard drives

what is open source

freely available code

what are output devices

speakers, printers, monitors

what are input devices

keyboard, mouse and barcode

what are processing devices

CPU, and it executes instructions

what is a DBMS

data base management system; software for creating, storing and managing data

what are primary activites in porters value chain

inbound logistics, outbound logistics, marketing and sales and services such as support/warranties

what are support activities in porters value chain 

tech development, procurement, firm infrastructure, HR

What does bandwidth measure?

The data-transmission capacity of a network (bps, Mbps, Gbps).

What are protocols?

Rules governing communication between devices

what is LAN

Local Area Network covering a small area such as a store or office.

Define WAN

Wide Area Network connecting multiple sites or cities.

What is a MAN?

Metropolitan Area Network—links offices within a city.

What is a PAN?

Personal Area Network—Bluetooth between phone and laptop.

Difference between Internet, Intranet, and Extranet?

Internet = public; Intranet = internal; Extranet = shared access with partners.

Compare wired vs wireless networks.

Wired = secure & stable (Ethernet); Wireless = mobile but less secure (Wi-Fi, 5G).

What does a firewall do?

Filters and blocks unauthorized traffic entering or leaving the network

What is a VPN?

Virtual Private Network that encrypts communication for remote access.

What is encryption?

Scrambling data so only authorized users can read it.

memory hierarchy

registers, cache, ram, secondary storage

what are the data base keys

primary, foreign, and secondary key

what is a primary key

uniquely identifies a record

example: student ID

what is a foreign key

connects records between tables

what is a secondary key

used for searching/sorting 

what is the role of input devices

to accept data and convert it to machine readable form

what is the role of output devices

to present data in human readable form

what is the role of CPU

interprets and executes instructions

what is the role of storage devices

store data and programs

what are porters competitive strategies

cost leadership, differentiation, customer orientation, innovation, operational effectiveness

what is a logic bomb

Hidden code that activates destructive actions under specific conditions

what is a virus

Malicious code that attaches to another program to spread

what is a worm

Malicious code that replicates and spreads on its own

what is a super computer

the fastest computer at any given time

what is a wearable

A miniature computer worn by a person allowing the users to multitask.

what is a fat client

A computer that offers full functionality without having to connect to a

network.

what is a thin client

A computer that does not offer the

full functionality of a fat client.

what is a propriety software

is purchased software that has restrictions on its use, copying,

and modification.

what is a software

A set of computer programs that

enable the hardware to process data.

what is documentation

Written description of the

functions of a software program.

what are computer programs

The sequences of instructions for the computer, which comprise software.

what are hybrid clouds

are composed of public and private clouds that remain unique entities, but are nevertheless tightly integrated.

server farms

Massive data centres, which may contain hundreds of thousands ofnetworked computer servers

what is extensible markup language (XML)

A computer language that makes it easier to exchange data among a variety of applications and to validate and interpret these data.

on premise computing

A model of IT management in which companies own their IT infrastructure (their software, hardware, networks, and data management) and maintain it in their data centres.

private clouds

IT infrastructures that are accessible only by a single entity or by an exclusive group

who are knowledge workers

Professional employees such as financial and marketing analysts, engineers, lawyers, and accountants, who are experts in a particular subject area and who create information and knowledge, which they integrate into the business.

what is a database

A collection of related files or

tables containing data.

what are expert systems

An attempt to duplicate the work of human experts by applying reasoning capabilities, knowledge, and expertise within a specific domain.

what is a network

A connecting system (wireline or wireless) that enables multiple computers to share resources.

interorganizational information systems

(IOSs)

Information systems that connect two

or more organizations.

what is a software

A program or collection of programs

that enable the hardware to process data.

what are data items

An elementary description of things, events, activities, and transactions that are recorded, classified, and stored but are not organized to convey any specific meaning.

what is digital transformation

The business strategy that leverages IT to dramatically improve employee, customer, and business partner relationships; support continuous improvement in business operations and business processes; and develop new business models and businesses.

what is digital divide

The gap between those

who have access to information and

communications technology and those who

do not.

what is a value system

A stream of activities that includes the producers, suppliers, distributors, and buyers, all of whom have their own value chains.

make to order

The strategy of producing

customized products and services

what is a value chain

sequence of activities through which the organization’s inputs, whatever they are, are transformed into more valuable outputs, whatever they are.

mass customization

A production process in which items are produced in large quantities but are customized to fit the desires of each customer.

electronic surveillance 

Tracking people’s activities with the aid of computers.

what is denial of service attack

An attacker sends so many information requests to a target computer system that the target cannot handle them successfully and typicallycrashes

trojan horse

Software programs that hide in other computer programs and reveal their designed behaviour only when they are activated.

what are cookies 

are small amounts of information that websites store on your computer, temporarily or more or less permanently.

what is TLS (transport layer security)

is an encryption standard used for secure transactions such as credit card purchases and online banking. TLS encrypts and decrypts data between a Web server and a browser end to end.

what is business continuity recovery

is the chain of events linking planning to protection and to recovery.

what is an information systems audit 

is an examination of information systems, their inputs, outputs, and processing.

It can also include an assessment of the efficiency and effectiveness of the system.