Enterprise Systems for Management, 2e (Motiwalla/Thompson)
Chapter 1 Introduction to Enterprise Systems for Management
1) The Hershey’s example shows the complexity of implementing ERP systems in organizations.
2) In the early days of ERP implementation, management clearly understood the magnitude of
organizational issues to consider before and during ERP implementations.
3) ERP systems are not much different from conventional software packages like Microsoft
Office.
4) ERP implementations usually go beyond technical issues, to include people, process and
change issues.
5) eBusiness is an adaptive technology as opposed to ERP which is a disruptive technology.
6) During the input phase of an Information System, the people components are most prominent.
7) No single information system can support all the needs of a business.
8) At the mid-management level, functions are highly structured and the resources are
predefined.
9) Quantitative requirements are usually much greater at the operational level.
10) Strategic level functions are usually more unstructured.
11) Because of the increasing pressure of global competition, businesses are becoming less
integrated and more compartmentalized.
12) The goal of an ERP system is to integrate data and support all the major functions across the
organization.
13) One problem with ERP systems is that they do not update data in real-time.
14) Historically, each department had its own separate computer system that was designed for
the specific tasks in that department.
15) In the 1960s and 1970s organizations first began to focus on developing integrated,
enterprise systems.
16) ERP systems grew primarily out of MRP and MRP II.
17) ERP II expanded to include B2B functions and EDI.
18) ERP systems today have evolved to the more flexible mainframe and centralized legacy
application architecture.
19) ERP systems usually don’t require businesses to change their business processes.
20) It is generally easier for an organization to modify the ERP software to fit their existing
business processes.
21) A database is considered to be one of the key components of an ERP system.
22) When ERP software is purchased from a vendor, this is known as a “vendor-driven”
architecture.
23) The architecture of the ERP system is determined well before the ERP software is chosen.
24) One benefit of implementing an ERP system is that the implementations are usually quite
similar from one organization to another.
25) The physical architecture of an ERP system focuses on the efficiency of the system.
26) The most important lesson learned by Hershey in their ERP implementation was that they
should proceed slowly so that nothing is left out during the implementation.
27) ERP systems are a specific kind of enterprise system to integrate data across all major
functions of an organization.
28) A goal of ERP systems is to make information flow be both dynamic and immediate.
29) ERP and e-Business are diverse technologies.
30) In the tiered architecture of an ERP system, the ERP software is actually loaded onto the data
tier.
31) The lowest tier of the ERP tiered architectures is where the database server is located.
32) e-Business is an example of a non-disruptive technology.
33) In a tiered ERP architecture, users interact with the system via the presentation logic tier.
34) ERP represents a(n) adaptive technology.
35) On corporate intranets, ERP functionality is delivered using no internet-based protocols.
36) One roadblock for ERP systems is that they require a substantial investment in order to be
successful.
37) As opposed to e-Business systems, ERP systems are focused more on internal process
integration.
38) An ERP system implementation is less complex than a typical Information System
implementation.
39) At the start of an ERP implementation, it is important that clear and well-defined data design
be communicated to the organization.
40) A(n) ________ is defined as a series of tasks or activities grouped to achieve a business
function or goal.
A) software design
B) system prototype
C) business process
D) information system
41) Checking inventory is an example of a(n):
A) software function.
B) system function.
C) database.
D) business process.
42) When an ERP system is upgraded, this means that the IT staff will have to upgrade not only
the existing application, but also any ________ they have made.
A) modifications
B) protections
C) designs
D) decisions
E) clarifications
43) An Information System includes each of the following except:
A) software.
B) culture.
C) hardware.
D) data.
44) An ERP architecture consists of both a physical architecture and a(n):
A) labor component.
B) system architecture.
C) database.
D) logical architecture.
E) system documentation.
45) All of the following are components of an ERP system except:
A) tools.
B) hardware.
C) processes.
D) people.
E) databases.
46) The general goal of an Information System is to convert data into useful:
A) procedures.
B) tools.
C) information.
D) data flows.
47) A(n) ________ is a dynamic sub-organization that can be created and eliminated depending
on need.
A) strategic group
B) Business Unit
C) department
D) matrix group
E) IT group
48) Which of the following is not a component of an Information System?
A) hardware
B) people
C) data
D) software
E) output
49) ERP systems are ________ which means they can be accessed using a web client.
A) functional
B) cross-functional
C) real-time
D) integrated
E) web-enabled
50) The concept of ________ means that clean data can be entered once and then reused across
all applications.
A) cross-data reports
B) data integration
C) real-time access
D) data flows
E) system integration
51) During the 1960s and 1970s most organizations designed their systems in a ________
manner.
A) interrelated
B) cross-functional
C) componentized
D) silo
E) cohesive
52) ERP systems integrate a business’ processes across their:
A) system boundaries.
B) functional dependencies.
C) value chain.
D) sales activities.
53) ERP vendors embed ________ in their software.
A) components
B) data
C) protocols.
D) best practices
E) upgrades
54) A “vanilla” ERP implementation is when the organization decides to implement the ERP
software:
A) “as is.”
B) quickly.
C) with B2B capabilities.
D) without complex interfaces.
E) with special additions.
55) ERP system implementation failures are often caused by lack of attention to the business
processes and the ________ components.
A) interrelated
B) hardware
C) software
D) database
E) people
56) The ________ approach to implementing an ERP system helps organizations lower the long-
term maintenance of the ERP application.
A) RAD
B) layered
C) waterfall
D) data flow
57) ERP systems help to increase the efficiency of the organization and worker productivity by
providing a ________ for all corporate data, information, and knowledge.
A) network
B) platform
C) architecture
D) central repository
E) decentralized archive
58) In the tiered architecture, the ERP application is stored on the ________ tier.
A) presentation logic
B) business logic
C) middleware
D) data
E) hardware
59) A strong commitment from ________ is critical for the success of an ERP system.
A) people
B) vendors
C) management
D) users
E) system administrators
60) ________ an ERP system during the implementation increases the cost of the system and
increases the implementation risks.
A) Integrating
B) Diagramming
C) Delaying
D) Outsourcing
E) Modifying
61) A ________ implementation involves considerable modifications to the ERP software.
A) chocolate
B) vanilla
C) cross-functional
D) vendor-driven
E) web-enabled
62) Because they lack the skill sets and time necessary to develop it ________, most
organizations choose to purchase ERP software from a vendor.
A) in-house
B) efficiently
C) modularized
D) organically
E) cross-functionally
63) An organization must first do a ________ to help narrow down the ERP vendors to a select
few.
A) system analysis
B) needs assessment
C) vendor review
D) performance review
64) ________ is the time from “go live” to about 90 days after, or until the number of issues and
problems have been reduced.
A) Implementation
B) Rationalization
C) Analysis
D) Stabilization
E) Testing and Debugging
65) One of ERP Systems’s goals is to make information flow between ________ and the system.
A) accounting
B) finance
C) production
D) marketing
E) all of the above
66) In the ERP systems, they must meet the organizational needs in todays’s competitive
environment to be:
A) cross functional, dynamic, and siloed.
B) mono functional, dynamic and global.
C) cross functional, dynamic and global.
D) cross functional, static and global.
E) none of the above
67) Business organizations have become ________.
A) more complex
B) less complex
C) easier to manage
D) more layered
E) all of the above
68) The CEO of a firm probably requires less quantity of information but a very high ________
of information.
A) amount
B) quality
C) cost
D) transfer
E) none of the above
69) As organizations grew they tended to create a hodge-podge of siloed information systems
that lacked ________.
A) analysis
B) modularity
C) diversity
D) integration
E) none of the above
70) A(n) ________ system is an integrated information system that supports all the functions of
the enterprise in real-time.
A) Silo
B) ERP
C) Decentralized
D) Management
E) none of the above
71) An ERP system works on a(n) ________ database that allows various departments to share
information and communicate with each other.
A) silo
B) ERP
C) single
D) archive
E) none of the above
72) As opposed to ERP systems, e-Business systems are focused more on integrating ________
processes.
A) external
B) hardware
C) internal
D) software
E) none of the above
73) One benefit of ERP systems is that by having standard user interfaces, less ________ of
employees is required.
A) numbers
B) management
C) quality
D) training
E) none of the above
74) It is not uncommon for employees to ________ the changes in their roles and department
boundaries due to the new ERP system.
A) embrace
B) resist
C) request
D) sabotage
E) none of the above
75) Making modifications to the ERP software will ________ the investment in the system and
introduce higher implementation risk.
A) increase
B) decrease
C) simplify
D) reinforce
E) none of the above
76) List and briefly describe three different benefits of an ERP system.
77) List and briefly discuss three problems with ERP systems.
78) What are the risks and benefits of making modifications to a purchased ERP package?
79) What are the main steps in a typical ERP implementation methodology?
80) What criteria should be used when selecting an ERP software vendor?
81) What is the go live phase of an ERP project? How does an organization prepare for this
critical phase?
82) What is the Capability Maturity Model and how does it help gauge a company’s readiness for
an ERP implementation?
83) What is meant by “change management” and why is it important for ERP projects?
84) List and briefly describe three trends for ERP systems in the near future.
85) What are the most important issues that organizations should consider when implementing
an ERP system?