175. (p. 597) The use of knowledge technology should result in a(n):
A. greater reliance on mainframe computers.
176. (p. 598) In order to compete successfully in the future, businesses must design information systems that:
A. improve current business methods.
177. (p. 596) Sales manager Stephen Edmonson has just finished reading a printout of some statistics showing how
his company’s sales performance compares to that of competing firms. The statistics summarize a mass of raw
figures into a few meaningful measures that Stephen will use to determine whether he needs to change his sales
strategy. The statistics in the printout are:
D. an example of how managers have a tendency to oversimplify by reducing complex issues into a few simple
numbers.
178. (p. 597) Which of the following decisions would clearly suggest that Valmax Financial Services wants to
move toward virtualization?
D. It trains all of its workers on the use of virtual reality equipment.
179. (p. 596) Since 1988, Bigbux National Bank has tried to make use of new technologies to expand the services
it offers to its customers. For example, depositors can obtain updated financial information about their accounts
and handle certain types of transactions whenever they wish simply by visiting the bank’s website and providing
a user name and password. The type of technology Bigbux National Bank uses to provide these services is
known as:
A. data processing.
180. (p. 597) Which of the following observations would be the strongest evidence that Kaytee Corporation has
adopted knowledge technology?
D. Kaytee has initiated a program that allows each employee to sign up for advanced training in the use of
spreadsheets, word processors, graphics programs, and other types of software.
181. (p. 597-598) Jamie Mueller has just begun working for Quotech, Inc. Her job requires her to perform a variety
of bookkeeping and clerical tasks at a workstation. Quotech has training software on its workstations that can
answer many of the questions Jamie has about what to do on her new job, and how to do it. The software is so
good that she seldom has to ask her supervisor for help. It even tracks the way Jamie performs certain tasks, and
offers suggestions to improve her productivity. This software is an example of:
A. the use of a technique called computer aided production (CAP) that is becoming increasingly important in
high tech industries.
182. (p. 598) Jonathon is a sales rep with a large technology company. He is celebrating today because he just
closed a large deal, which means a very large commission. Even the finance department is thrilled because
Jonathon used __________ to review the credit history of this customer to be sure the deal would be a profitable
one for the company.
D. business process information
183. (p. 599) Transaction data gathered at the point of sale is known as:
D. personal preference data.
184. (p. 599) Data from RFID devices, miniature cameras, and wireless access used to understand where people or
items are located is called:
D. business process information.
185. (p. 599) Information mainly used for security purposes such as fingerprinting and retinal scans is known as:
D. public data.
186. (p. 600) The amount of information managers receive each day:
A. is never enough; when it comes to managerial decision-making, there is no such thing as too much
information.
187. (p. 600) Two of the characteristics of useful information are:
D. flexibility and durability.
188. (p. 600) High quality information is:
D. subjective and unique.
189. (p. 601) A __________stores data on a single subject over a specific period of time.
D. data packet
190. (p. 601) ___________ looks for hidden patterns and unknown relationships among the data a firm has
accumulated.
A. Tracking software
191. (p. 600) A major problem with the rapid expansion in the amount of information available to managers is
that:
D. the need to gather this information has resulted in greater levels of bureaucracy.
192. (p. 600) The first step a manager should take to cope with information overload is to:
A. obtain a good database management system and use it to organize information more efficiently.
193. (p. 601) A firm would use data mining if it wanted to:
A. store copies of crucial data in several different locations to protect against its loss during disasters such as
earthquakes, floods, or terrorist attacks.
194. (p. 600) Joan Carlson is a marketing manager for a chain of clothing stores. She recently received a newsletter
that contained some timely and reliable information about trends in men’s clothing for next season.
Unfortunately, Joan’s store sells only women’s clothes. The information in the newsletter was not useful to Joan
because it lacked:
A. redundancy.
195. (p. 600) Gregory Bowman is a manager who wants to be well informed. Like many managers, however, he is
often overwhelmed by information overload. Which of the following would probably be the most useful first
step for Gregory to take in order to deal with this problem?
D. establish a “time budget” with a specified time period set aside each day for reading reports, studies and
other sources of information
196. (p. 601) Data mining would be most helpful to a manager that wants to:
197. (p. 601) Doris Cargile has been given the responsibility to find ways to store and organize the huge amount of
data her firm has collected (and continues to collect) over the years. Which of the following would Doris be
most likely to set up to handle this responsibility?
A. push technology
198. (p. 601) Perry Black has convinced top management at his company that they can use data mining techniques
to develop new marketing strategies. One of the keys to the success of Perry’s suggestion is:
A. obtaining a powerful mainframe computer that can perform sophisticated statistical analysis on huge
amounts of data.
199. (p. 602) A(n) ________ is a company wide network that is based on Internet-like technology, but is closed to
public access.
A. enternet
200. (p. 602) A company can use a(n) __________ to prevent unauthorized outsiders from accessing information
D. tripwire
201. (p. 602) A(n) _________ is a semiprivate network that uses Internet technology to enable more than one
company to access the same information or to allow people on different servers to collaborate.
D. alternet
202. (p. 602) Many businesses choose to open their intranets to other selected organizations through the use of:
A. crossnets.
203. (p. 602) One of the most common reasons firms make use of an extranet is to:
A. prevent employees from using the Internet for private purposes on company time.
204. (p. 602) The advantages of electronic data interchange are no longer limited to large companies, because even
small firms can exchange and process data such as orders, invoices, and payments using:
D. integrated software suites.
205. (p. 603) A(n) ___________ serves as an entry point to a variety of resources on an organization’s information
network.
A. personal information manager
206. (p. 602) One of the problems with extranets is that they:
D. have no ability to handle common e-mail protocols.
207. (p. 603) A(n) ____________ is a private data network that creates secure connections over regular Internet
lines.
A. extranet
208. (p. 604) _________ is a new system that is designed to overcome the speed limitations of the Internet and
support heavy-duty applications such as videoconferencing and distance education.
D. Ultranet
209. (p. 603) ___________ technology uses cable modems, digital subscriber lines, fixed wireless, and satellites to
provide users with significantly faster Internet connections than are provided by traditional 56k modems.
A. Widebeam
210. (p. 603) A key element of Internet2 is:
D. the high speed Resource Allocation Prioritizer (hsRAP).
211. (p. 602) A firm that wanted to enable its employees to use and share data without allowing outsiders to gain
access could do so by establishing a(n):
A. extranet.
212. (p. 602) The key difference between an intranet and an extranet is that an intranet:
A. uses technology based on current Internet standards, while an extranet uses technology based on Internet2.
213. (p. 602) The organizations that benefit the most from an intranet are the ones that:
A. publish information on the intranet that all employees can access.
214. (p. 603) A company that wanted to provide a single, unified entry point to its network that would allow
different types of users access to different types of resources could do so by establishing a(n):
D. mainframe network.
215. (p. 604) Compared to the Internet, a major advantage of Internet2 is that it:
A. can be accessed even by people without computers; all that is needed is a simple, inexpensive receiver, a
television set, and a standard telephone line.
D. prevent employees from gaining access to the Internet for personal use.
217. (p. 602) The most likely reason a firm would decide to establish an extranet would be the desire to:
218. (p. 602) Which of the following is the best assessment of the impact extranets have had on the way small
businesses operate?
A. As yet, extranet technology has had little impact on small businesses, because the technology is too new and
expensive.
219. (p. 603) A firm would consider establishing a virtual private network if it wanted to:
D. simulate a network before it became operational in order to identify any security leaks.
220. (p. 604) For the past several years, scientists and engineers at Equatech, Inc. have relied on the Internet to
keep in touch with their peers at various universities and research organizations. In recent years these
researchers have become frustrated because the increasing congestion on the Internet has disrupted their
attempts to communicate and collaborate with colleagues at other institutions. Which of the following
developments would be most likely to help Equatech’s researchers overcome this problem? Equatech should:
A. set up an intranet.
221. (p. 603) A firm would be most likely to establish an enterprise portal if it wanted to:
D. search for hidden patterns and unknown relationships among data stored in different information systems.
222. (p. 604) Lernital University is connected to Internet2, and several professors in its school of engineering are
engaged in a research project that makes extremely heavy use of the bandwidth this connection provides. In
fact, the engineering professors would like to get even more bandwidth. Given the way its designers set up
Internet 2, the researchers at Lernital:
D. can install a simple bandwidth amplification card in each computer that compresses data, thus allowing it to
flow more rapidly.
223. (p. 604) Moore’s Law says that the capacity of computer chips _________ every year or so.
A. increases by 20 percent
224. (p. 604) __________ includes computers, pagers, printers, fax machines, and cellular phones.
D. Infomedia
225. (p. 605) In recent years, a major trend has been a movement from:
A. network systems to mainframe systems.
226. (p. 605) ________ is the term used to refer to the wireless network technology that is becoming increasingly
available.
227. (p. 605) In older computer systems, a central computer, known as a(n) _________ performed all of the tasks
and sent the results to terminals that could not perform the tasks themselves.
D. network controller
228. (p. 605) In a ___________ computing system, the tasks are performed by personal computers using
information stored in databases controlled by a server.
A. mainframe
229. (p. 605) Network computing systems are also known as:
A. mainframe systems.
230. (p. 606) A(n) __________ is a hybrid of mainframe and network computing in which applications and data
reside on a server which is connected to client machines that look like desktop PCs, but lack the processing
power to handle the data and applications on their own.
D. extranet system
231. (p. 606) Many __________, which ran software at data centers and rented software services to customers,
went out of business after the Web boom cooled off.
A. enterprise portals
D. database program
233. (p. 605) Which of the following statements about network computer systems is most accurate? Network
computing systems:
D. are easy to implement and require few organizational changes.
234. (p. 606) The reluctance of CIOs to trust their organization’s critical data to a firm that does not have a track
record helps explain why:
A. many managers suffer from infoglut.