MIS 260 – Exam #1 Review Sheet

Flashcards covering key vocabulary from Chapters 1, 2, 5, and Technology Guides 1 & 2 of the Fall 2025 MIS 260 Exam #1 Review Sheet.

Information Technology

Any computer-based tool that people use to work with information and support the information and information-processing needs of an organization.

Information System

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

Informed User

A person knowledgeable about Information Systems and Information Technology.

Noise

In unwanted signals often used in data communication that can degrade data quality or interfere with information processing.

Data (or data items)

Raw facts or observations that lack meaning and are not transformed or organized for a particular purpose.

Information

Data that has been organized, processed, and presented in a given context so that it can be meaningful and useful.

Knowledge

Data and information that have been organized and processed to convey understanding, experience, accumulated learning, and expertise as they apply to a current problem or activity.

Computer-based Information System (CBIS)

An information system that uses computer technology to perform some or all of its intended tasks.

Hardware

Physical devices such as the processor, monitor, keyboard, and printer that together accept, process, and display data and information.

Software

A set of instructions/programs that enables the hardware to process data.

Database

A collection of related files or tables containing data.

Network

A connecting system (wire or wireless) that permits different computers to share resources.

Procedures

The instructions for combining hardware, software, databases, and network components to process information and generate the desired output.

People

Individuals who use the hardware and software, interface with the data, and make use of the information system; includes IT professionals and users.

Application program (a.k.a. 'app')

A computer program designed to support a specific task or a business process.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

Information systems that integrate all functional areas of an organization (e.g., accounting, finance, marketing, human resources, operations) to provide a common data source and unified processes.

Transaction Processing System (TPS)

Information systems that support the monitoring, collection, storage, and processing of data from the organization's basic business transactions (e.g., sales, purchases, payroll).

E-Commerce systems

Information systems that support business-to-consumer (B2C), business-to-business (B2B), and consumer-to-consumer (C2C) electronic transactions.

Knowledge workers

Professional employees such as financial and marketing analysts, engineers, and lawyers who are experts in a particular subject area and create information and knowledge as part of their work.

Business analytics (BA)

A field of study that uses data, statistical, and quantitative analysis, explanatory and predictive modeling, and fact-based management to drive decision-making.

Expert System (ES)

Information systems that attempt to mimic human expertise by applying knowledge from a specific domain to solve problems.

Dashboards (or digital dashboards)

A BI system that provides a quick, summary-type graphical presentation of key performance indicators (KPIs) and other metrics, often with drill-down capabilities.

Cognitive computing

A type of artificial intelligence (AI) that attempts to simulate human thought processes, reasoning, and learning.

Competitive advantage

An advantage over competitors in some measure, such as cost, quality, or speed; it leads to higher-than-average returns.

Business process

A collection of related, structured activities or tasks that produce a specific service or product (or serve a particular goal) for a particular customer or market.

Process data

Data generated through the execution of business processes.

Transaction data

Data that describes business events or transactions, such as purchases, sales, or payments.

Robotic process automation (RPA)

Technology that uses software robots (bots) to automate repetitive, rules-based, and high-volume digital tasks typically performed by humans.

Market pressures

Business pressures generated by the global economy, intense competition, the changing nature of the workforce, and powerful customers.

Globalization

The integration and interdependence of economic, social, cultural, and ecological facets of life, enabled by rapid advancements in information technology.

Changing nature of the workforce

A market pressure reflecting demographic changes such as diversity, aging populations, and the rise of knowledge workers, impacting skill sets and organizational structures.

Powerful customers

Customers who have significant influence over businesses due to factors like increased consumer sophistication, product customization, and access to information, leading to higher expectations.

Technology pressures

Business pressures created by technological innovation and obsolescence, and information overload.

Technological innovation & obsolescence

A technology pressure characterized by the rapid introduction of new and improved technologies, which can quickly render existing technologies outdated or inefficient.

Information overload

A technology pressure caused by the vast and increasing amount of data and information available to individuals and organizations, making it difficult to process and utilize effectively.

Societal, political, & legal pressures

Business pressures arising from social responsibility, government regulations, protection against terrorist attacks, and ethical issues.

Organizational social responsibility or individual social responsibility

A societal pressure concerning an organization's or individual's commitment to ethical behavior and contributing to economic development while improving the quality of life for its workforce, families, local community, and society at large.

Compliance with government regulations

A legal pressure to adhere to laws and rules established by governmental bodies, such as those related to financial reporting, privacy, and public safety.

Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX)

A federal law that established sweeping auditing and financial regulations for public companies to help protect shareholders, employees, and the public from accounting errors and fraudulent financial practices.

USA Patriot Act

A federal law that significantly expanded the search and surveillance powers of federal law-enforcement and intelligence agencies.

Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (Financial Modernization Act of 1999)

A federal law that requires financial institutions to explain their information-sharing practices to customers and to safeguard sensitive data.

Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)

A federal law that gives individuals rights over their health information and sets rules and limits on who can look at and receive health information (Privacy Rule) and requires security for electronic health information (Security Rule).

Protection against terrorist attacks

A societal and political pressure for organizations and governments to implement measures to safeguard systems, data, and infrastructure from malicious acts.

Ethical issues (Ethics)

A societal pressure that refers to the principles of right and wrong that individuals and organizations use to guide their behavior.

Competitive strategy

Statements that identify a business's approach to compete, its goals, and the plans and policies required to achieve those goals.

Porter’s Competitive Forces Model

A framework for understanding the competitive intensity and attractiveness of an industry, analyzing five forces that shape it.

Threat of entry of new competitors

One of Porter's forces: The ease with which new companies can enter an industry and pose a threat to existing firms.

Bargaining power of suppliers

One of Porter's forces: The power that suppliers have to increase prices or reduce the quality of their goods and services.

Bargaining power of customers

One of Porter's forces: The influence that buyers have to demand lower prices, higher quality, or more services from sellers.

Threat of substitute products or services

One of Porter's forces: The likelihood that customers will switch to alternative products or services from outside the industry.

Rivalry among existing firms in the industry

One of Porter's forces: The intensity of competition among current players in the market.

Data governance

An approach to managing information across an entire organization, ensuring data is available, usable, integrated, and secure.

Master data

A set of core data (e.g., customer, product, employee, vendor, geographic location, and so on) that spans an enterprise's information systems.

Transactional data

Data that describes business events or transactions often associated with specific dates and times.

Bit

The smallest unit of data manipulated by a computer; represented as a binary digit, either 0 or 1.

Byte

A group of eight bits that represents a single character.

Character

A single letter, number, or symbol that can be represented by a byte in a computer system.

Field

A column in a database table that represents an attribute of an entity.

Record

A row in a database table which represents a single instance of an entity, comprising values for multiple fields.

Table/File

A collection of related records, organized in rows (records) and columns (fields) in a database.

Database

An organized collection of structured information, or data, typically stored electronically in a computer system.

Relational database model

A database model that structures data in tables (relations) where each table consists of rows (records) and columns (attributes), and tables are related by common fields.

Entity

A person, place, thing, or event in the real world about which data is collected and stored in a database.

Instance

A specific, unique representation of an entity (e.g., a particular customer or a specific product).

Attribute

A characteristic or quality of an entity (e.g., customer name, product price); represented as a field in a database table.

Primary key

A field in a database table that uniquely identifies each record and cannot contain null values.

Secondary key

A field that has some identifying information but typically does not uniquely identify a record.

Foreign key

A field in one table that refers to the primary key in another table, used to establish and enforce a link between the data in two tables.

Structured data

Data that is highly organized and follows a clear format, typically stored in relational databases (e.g., numbers, dates, groups of words and numbers).

Unstructured data

Data that does not have a predefined data model or is not organized in a predefined manner (e.g., text from documents, videos, audio files, social media posts).

Big data

Diverse, high-volume, high-velocity information assets that require new forms of processing to enable enhanced decision making, insight discovery and process optimization.

Variety (Big Data)

One of the characteristics of Big Data, referring to the diverse types of data that need to be managed, including structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data.

Volume (Big Data)

One of the characteristics of Big Data, referring to the immense quantities of data generated and stored, often too large for traditional database systems.

Velocity (Big Data)

One of the characteristics of Big Data, referring to the speed at which data is generated, captured, processed, and analyzed.

Data warehouse

A repository of historical data that is organized by subject to support decision makers in the organization.

Data mart

A low-cost, scaled-down version of a data warehouse that is designed for a particular line of business or a department.

Online transaction processing (OLTP)

Processing of transactions (e.g., purchases, payments) in real-time or near real-time, often involving a large number of concurrent users.

Online analytical processing (OLAP)

A set of capabilities for analyzing large amounts of data from various perspectives, often performed on data warehouses or data marts.

Multi-dimensional structure

A way of organizing data in data warehouses and data marts, allowing for analysis across multiple business dimensions (e.g., product, region, time).

Knowledge Management (KM)

A process that helps organizations manipulate important knowledge that comprises part of the organization's memory, usually in an unstructured format.

Knowledge

In the context of KM, facts, information, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education.

Intellectual capital

The intangible assets of an organization, including knowledge, expertise, and relationships, that contribute to its value and competitive advantage. Also known as human capital.

Explicit knowledge

Knowledge that can be easily articulated, codified, transferred, and stored in documents, databases, or procedures.

Tacit knowledge

Knowledge that is subjective, experiential, and difficult to articulate or codify; often resides in an individual's mind as intuition, insights, or personal skills.

Hardware

The physical devices that constitute the computer system, including the CPU, primary and secondary storage, input/output technologies, and communication technologies.

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

The 'brain' of the computer, which performs the actual computations and executes program instructions.

Primary storage

Internal storage that holds data and instructions for current processing; it is volatile (e.g., RAM).

Secondary storage

External storage that stores data and programs for future use; it is nonvolatile (e.g., solid state drive, hard disk).

Input technologies

Devices that accept data and instructions from the user or from another computer system (e.g., keyboard, mouse, scanner).

Output technologies

Devices that present data and information to the user (e.g., monitor, printer, speakers).

Communication technologies

Devices and systems that enable the transmission of data and information between computers and other electronic devices (e.g., network access cards, modems).

Supercomputers

The fastest and most powerful computers, used for complex computational tasks in scientific research and engineering.

Mainframe computers

Large, high-performance computers used for mission-critical applications by large organizations requiring high reliability and security.

Midrange computers or servers

Computers designed to support numerous users simultaneously and to manage large amounts of data, often acting as a central hub for networks or supporting specialized applications.

Microcomputers

Small, general-purpose computers designed for individual users; also known as personal computers (PCs).

Laptop and notebook computers

Portable personal computers that are smaller and lighter than traditional desktops, designed for mobile use.

Tablet computers

Mobile computers that are larger than smartphones and typically operated via a touchscreen.

Wearable computers

Miniature electronic devices that are worn on the body and often provide augmented reality or data tracking functions (e.g., smartwatches, fitness trackers).

Human data-entry

Input methods where humans manually enter data into a system, such as typing on a keyboard or using a mouse.

Gesture recognition

Input technology that enables computers to interpret human gestures, such as hand movements, as commands.