Deck 1: An Introduction to Integrated Enterprise Information Systems

Question 1

Enterprise information systems are either completely integrated or not integrated at all; there are no degrees of integration.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

An enterprise is an organization established to achieve a particular undertaking involving industrious, systematic activity.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The definition of enterprise excludes non-for-profit organizations.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

The concept information system is synonymous with the concept computer technology.

Question 5

Integration is the combination of parts into a whole.

Question 6

All paths by which enterprise employees and business partners impart, process, and receive information are included in the enterprise information system.

Question 7

Data redundancy leads to data inconsistency.

Question 8

A best of breed ERP software implementation generally results in connections that are more solid than those resulting from a uniform implementation of a single ERP software package.

Question 9

In stovepiped operations, information flows between functional areas primarily at the top.

Question 10

Decisions to rebuild systems are usually made cooperatively between middle-management personnel from various functional areas.

Question 11

Assignment of building space such that employees from different departments are located next to each other is one means by which companies have attempted to break down enterprise stovepipes.

Question 12

Automation of an existing manual business process without consideration as to whether the process could be redesigned and made more efficient is referred to as paving the cowpaths.

Question 13

The effort exerted by Ford Motor Company in replacing its three-way match with a reengineered acquisition/payment process is an example of paving the cowpaths.

Question 14

One premise of the REA enterprise ontology is that base objects in an enterprise information system should not be reflective of selected views (decision-making needs) but instead should reflect underlying activities in which the enterprise engages.

Question 15

Systems containing foundational building blocks that represent a particular view of data are event-driven.

Question 16

One purpose of the REA enterprise ontology is to define constructs common to all enterprises and demonstrate how those constructs may be represented in an integrated enterprise information system.

Question 17

Systems whose foundational building blocks are representations of the actual underlying activities are event-driven.

Question 18

One of the differences O'Leary discovered between SAP software in 1999 and the REA enterprise ontology is that SAP contained many artificial constructs as base objects, a practice REA discourages.

Question 19

Most organizations are better at keystroke and transaction training than they are at business and people processes education.

Question 20

Customizing ERP software to fit business processes is problematic; however, changing business processes to fit the software is relatively simple.

Question 21

The separation of specialized functional areas as opposed to integration across functional areas is also called a(an)

A) stovepipe approach
B) events-driven approach
C) value-driven approach
D) clean-slate approach
E) strategic alignment approach

Question 22

An enterprise information system is

A) synonymous with computer technology
B) an organization established to achieve a particular undertaking involving industrious, systematic activity
C) the network of all communication and processing channels used by an organization
D) a computer program written to process business transactions
E) a paved cowpath

Question 23

An enterprise is

A) the network of all communication and processing channels used by an organization
B) a component of a computer system
C) an individual with a clever idea for how to satisfy a market need
D) an organization established to achieve a particular undertaking involving industrious, systematic activity
E) a state of balance between opposing forces

Question 24

The combination of parts into a whole is

A) Integrity
B) Integration
C) Interrogation
D) Introspection
E) Interference

Question 25

Which of the following describes the highest degree of integration

A) Information from one system is rekeyed into another system .
B) Information from one system is downloaded into a generic format and then uploaded into another system.
C) Information is captured and processed in a best of breed ERP software implementation.
D) Information is captured and processed by a uniform ERP software package.
E) Each of the above describes an equivalent degree of integration.

Question 26

Which of these terms refers to the use of different ERP applications for different business functions? For example, if a company decides to use SAP R/3 for manufacturing, Peoplesoft for human resources, and Oracle for all other functions, this is described as

A) Process enterprise.
B) Hodge-podge.
C) Bolt-ons.
D) Best practices.
E) Best of breed.

Question 27

An integrated enterprise information system is

A) An impossible dream.
B) A set of communication and processing channels in a business organization, combined to form one network by which information is gathered, processed, and disseminated.
C) A loose arrangement of rules and plans for an association of individuals or corporations formed for a capital-intensive project.
D) A panel for controlling a network of electric circuits.
E) A semi-organized conglomeration of many diverse software companies.

Question 28

Pewter Fancies uses a credit management software package to support its credit department's decisions. Pewter Fancies has a marketing information system to support its marketing department's decisions. Pewter Fancies uses a general ledger software program to support its accounting function. This is an example of:

A) Stovepiped operations leading to stovepiped systems.
B) Reengineered business processes.
C) An integrated, events-driven information system.
D) Diversification of the enterprise portfolio to minimize investment risk.
E) The three-way match internal control, similar to that implemented by Ford Motor Company.

Question 29

Kandy Queen Inc. wanted to streamline one of its workflow processes. The workflow process required information to flow between three different departments, each of which used separate software packages. None of the departments was willing to change software packages therefore the reengineering project was abandoned. This is an example of:

A) The use of artificial constructs as base objects.
B) A domain ontology.
C) A consequence of irrelevant information.
D) Stovepiped systems perpetuating stovepiped operations.
E) Keystroke and transaction training.

Question 30

Which of the following individuals is described in Chapter One as a champion of re-engineering?

A) Matthew Hansen
B) Michael Hammer
C) Miles Cushing
D) Michelle Ford
E) Malcolm McCarthy

Question 31

Paving the cowpaths is best explained as

A) Obliterating outdated processes and starting over.
B) Using the power of modern information technology to radically redesign business processes.
C) Embedding outdated processes in silicon and software.
D) Eliminating duplication of effort in collecting, maintaining, and reporting information.
E) Both A and B above.

Question 32

After re-engineering its accounts payable workflow as described in Chapter 1, Ford Motor Company reduced its accounts payable staff by

A) 10 percent.
B) 20 percent.
C) 50 percent.
D) 75 percent.
E) 80 percent.

Question 33

What results did Ford Motor Company achieve as a result of reengineering its accounts payable workflow?

A) Ford was able to respond to vendor invoices on the same day they were received.
B) Ford achieved an 85 percent reduction in head count in its accounts payable area.
C) Ford improved accuracy of inventory information, with fewer discrepancies between the physical inventory records and the financial inventory records.
D) Although the accuracy of Ford's financial inventory records improved, the accuracy of its physical inventory records decreased.
E) Ford ended up missing many early payment discounts.

Question 34

Who proposed the REA accounting model as an alternative to debits and credits?

A) Hammer
B) Wheatley
C) Ford
D) Anderson
E) McCarthy

Question 35

The purpose of the REA enterprise ontology is to

A) Define constructs common to all enterprises and demonstrate how those constructs may be represented in an integrated enterprise information system.
B) Dictate the workflow by which an enterprise must process business transactions.
C) Model artificial constructs such as debits and credits in a computer readable format.
D) Demonstrate the ability of traditional general ledger accounting systems to meet all business decision-making needs.
E) Provide keystroke and transaction training to enterprise employees.

Question 36

The study of what things exist is called

A) Oncology
B) Ontology
C) Ophthalmology
D) Ontogeny
E) Ornithology

Question 37

Systems containing foundational building blocks that represent a particular view of data are described in Chapter One as

A) Event-driven.
B) Rule-driven.
C) View-driven.
D) Practice-driven.
E) Principle-driven.

Question 38

Systems whose foundational building blocks are representations of the actual underlying activities are described in Chapter One as

A) Event-driven.
B) Rule-driven.
C) View-driven.
D) Practice-driven.
E) Principle-driven.

Question 39

One objective of ERP software is to

A) Provide business-and-people processes education to enterprise employees.
B) Eliminate the use of people to enter data into the system.
C) Store information one time in a disaggregated format from which it can be retrieved by many different users for use in many different types of decisions.
D) Disconnect information flows between the enterprise and its business partners to reduce the possibility of system contamination by viruses or worms.
E) Minimize the amount of data available to executives to avoid the problem of managers suffering from an overabundance of irrelevant information.

Question 40

What does it mean for operations to be stovepiped?

Question 41

Besides computer technology, what are information systems comprised of?

Question 42

Why does integration of enterprise information system components bear more resemblance to integration of children's toy building blocks than to integration of jigsaw puzzle pieces?

Question 43

What are some approaches that may be taken to allow data from one software package to be used in another software package in an enterprise information system?

Question 44

What labels besides stovepipes are used to describe relatively isolated functional areas in which decisions are often made without realization of how they may affect the other functional areas?

Question 45

Why might an enterprise randomize office assignments so that, for example, a marketing employee's office is between those of a production engineer and an accountant?

Question 46

The embedding of outdated processes in silicon and software is also called

Question 47

What were the pros and cons of Ford Motor Company's reengineering of its accounts payable function for its vendors?

Question 48

What criticism does Malcolm Wheatley levy at ERP training?

Question 49

On what have most failed ERP software implementations been blamed?

Question 50

Describe the degrees to which systems may be integrated in an enterprise-wide information system.

Question 51

Describe the process of reengineering. In your description, identify whether artificial constructs or natural phenomena should be the focus of a reengineering effort.