IS 2000
Chapter 1: Introduction to MIS and Organizational Strategy
Q: What is Moore’s Law and why is it important to business professionals?
A: Moore’s Law states that the number of transistors per square inch on an integrated chip doubles every 18 months. Because of this exponential growth, the cost of data communications and data storage is essentially zero, driving continuous technological trends and business transformations.
Q: Why is Introduction to MIS an essential class in business?
A: It teaches students how to apply emerging information technology to business processes, develop critical non-routine skills (abstract reasoning, systems thinking, experimentation, and collaboration), and understand how IT drives organizational strategy and competitive advantage.
Q: What is Management Information Systems (MIS)?
A: MIS is the management and use of information systems that help organizations achieve their strategies. It encompasses three core elements: processes, information systems, and information.
Q: How does MIS relate to organizational strategy?
A: Organizational strategy determines competitive strategy, which dictates value chains and business processes. MIS provides the information systems and processes required to support and execute these organizational strategies efficiently.
Q: What are Porter's Five Forces that determine industry structure?
A:
Threat of substitute products or services
Bargaining power of suppliers
Bargaining power of buyers
Threat of new entrants
Rivalry among existing competitors
Q: What are Porter's four competitive strategies?
A:
Cost Leadership (Industry-wide): Lowest cost across the industry (e.g., Walmart).
Differentiation (Industry-wide): Superior product/service across the industry (e.g., Apple).
Cost Focus (Focus segment): Lowest cost within a specific industry segment (e.g., Southwest Airlines).
Differentiation Focus (Focus segment): Superior product/service within a specific industry segment (e.g., Select niche luxury brands).
Key Terms & Concepts:
Abstract Reasoning: The ability to make and manipulate models.
Systems Thinking: The ability to model components of a system to connect inputs and outputs into a sensible whole.
Experimentation: Making a reasoned analysis of an opportunity, envisioning potential solutions, evaluating possibilities, and developing the most promising ones.
Information Age: An era where production, distribution, and control of information are primary drivers of the economy.
Chapter 2: Business Processes, Information Systems, and Information
Q: What is a business process, activity, role, and actor?
A:
Business Process: A network of activities for accomplishing a business function.
Activity: Specific tasks that need to be accomplished within a process (e.g., checking inventory, generating an invoice).
Role: A subset of activities in a business process performed by an actor.
Actor: A person, group, or department that performs a specified role.
Q: What is BPMN and what are swimlanes?
A: BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation) is a standard set of terms and graphical symbols used to document business processes. Swimlanes simplify complex diagrams by organizing activities into distinct visual rows/columns assigned to specific roles or actors.
Q: Why do organizations standardize business processes?
A: Standardization enforces best practices, reduces errors, lowers operational costs, improves process quality, and makes employee training easier.
Q: What are the five components of an information system (IS)?
A:
Hardware: Computer devices and peripherals.
Software: Applications and operating systems.
Data: Raw facts and figures.
Procedures: Instructions for human operators to follow when using an IS.
People: Users and administrators of the IS.
Q: What is a procedure and what are its two main types?
A: A procedure is a set of instructions for a person to follow when operating an IS. It links people to the system.
Prescriptive Procedures: Strict step-by-step rules.
Supportive Procedures: Flexible guidelines that assist decision-making.
Q: How do structured processes differ from dynamic processes?
A:
Structured Processes: Formally defined, standardized processes involving daily operations (e.g., customer ordering, payroll). IS support is rigid and operational.
Dynamic Processes: Flexible, informal, and adaptive processes involving strategic or unstructured activities (e.g., social media marketing, strategic planning). IS support is fluid and collaborative.
Q: What is information and how does it differ from data?
A: Data consists of raw facts, statistics, or items recorded without interpretation. Information is data presented in a meaningful context or processed by summing, ordering, or averaging so that it adds value to the receiver. Information exists in the mind of the human who interprets data.
Q: What are necessary data characteristics for good information?
A: Accurate, timely, relevant (to context and subject), just sufficient, and worth its cost.
Chapter 3: Networks and the Cloud
Q: What are the primary types of computer networks?
A:
PAN (Personal Area Network): Connects devices around a single person (e.g., Bluetooth devices).
LAN (Local Area Network): Connects computers residing at a single geographic location.
WAN (Wide Area Network): Connects computers at different geographic locations across wide areas.
The Internet: A network of networks connecting LANs, WANs, and individual users globally.
Q: What are key network protocols and their roles?
A:
Protocol: A standard set of rules that control data communication between devices.
IEEE 802.3 (Ethernet): Protocol used for wired LAN connections.
IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi): Protocol used for wireless LAN connections.
IP Address: A numerical label assigned to each device connected to a network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication.
Domain Name: A human-readable name mapped to a numeric IP address.
Q: What is three-tier architecture?
A: An architectural model dividing Web applications into three tiers:
User Tier: Client computers running web browsers.
Server Tier: Web servers and application servers that handle business logic.
Database Tier: DBMS storing and retrieving application data.
Q: What is the Cloud, and what are its key defining characteristics?
A: The Cloud is the elastic leasing of pooled computer resources over the Internet.
Elastic: Dynamically adjusting leased resources up or down quickly based on demand.
Pooled: Many different organizations share the same physical hardware through virtualization.
Q: Compare Cloud-based hosting vs. In-house hosting.
A:
Cloud: Low capital outlay, rapid deployment, flexible/elastic capacity, managed security updates, but relies on internet connectivity and vendor control.
In-House: High initial investment, requires ongoing maintenance and staff, but offers full control over data location and security.
Q: What are the three primary cloud service offerings?
A:
SaaS (Software as a Service): Provides operating systems and application software (e.g., Google Workspace, Office 365, Salesforce).
PaaS (Platform as a Service): Provides hosted computers, an operating system, and DBMS for development (e.g., Microsoft Azure, AWS Elastic Beanstalk).
IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service): Provides bare server host computers or data storage (e.g., Amazon S3, Amazon EC2).
Chapter 6: Information Systems Security
Q: What is Information Systems Security and what key trade-offs exist?
A: IS security is the process of protecting information systems and data from unauthorized access or damage. Organizations must balance security controls against operational convenience, speed, and cost.
Q: Define Threat, Vulnerability, Safeguard, Target, and Risk.
A:
Threat: A person or organization that seeks to obtain or alter data or other IS assets illegally.
Vulnerability: An opportunity or weakness in system procedures, design, or implementation that can be exploited.
Safeguard: Any measure taken to block a threat from obtaining an asset.
Target: The asset that is desired by the threat.
Risk: The probability that a threat will exploit a vulnerability and cause loss.
Q: What are common security threats and potential losses?
A: Threats stem from human errors, computer crime, and natural disasters. Potential losses include data disclosure, data modification, computer service interruption (e.g., Denial-of-Service / DoS), and physical asset destruction.
Q: What security terms and concepts relate to authentication and safeguards?
A:
Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Verifying identity using two distinct methods (e.g., password + mobile phone code).
Symmetric Encryption: The same key is used to encrypt and decrypt data.