Deck 11: Enterprise Resource Planning Systems

Question 1

Almost all ERP implementations involve an outside consultant.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

A data warehouse is a relational or multi-dimensional database that may require hundreds of gigabytes of storage.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Data mining typically focuses on the operational databases.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

In two-tier architecture, the database and application functions are separated.

Question 5

The primary goal of installing an ERP system is reducing system maintenance costs.

Question 6

Supply-chain management software is a type of program that supports efforts relative to moving goods from the raw material stage to the customer.

Question 7

The client/server model is a form of network topology in which user computers, called clients, access ERP programs and data via a host computer called a server.

Question 8

Data entered into the data warehouse must be normalized.

Question 9

If a chosen ERP cannot handle a specific company process bolt-on software may be available.

Question 10

Companies are more likely to modify an ERP to accommodate the company than to modify company processes to accommodate the ERP.

Question 11

ERP systems support a smooth and seamless flow of information across organizations.

Question 12

The recommended data architecture for an ERP includes separate operational and data warehouse databases.

Question 13

OLAP includes decision support, modeling, information retrieval, and what-if analysis.

Question 14

A closed database architecture shares data easily.

Question 15

Day-to-day transactions are stored in the operational database.

Question 16

Efficient supply-chain management provides firms with a competitive advantage.

Question 17

Drill-down capability is an OLAP feature of data mining tools.

Question 18

Slicing and dicing permits the disaggregation of data to reveal underlying details.

Question 19

Core applications are also called OLAP.

Question 20

OLAP stands for on-line application processing.

Question 21

The implementation of an ERP creates an environment with a single point of failure, which places the organization at risk.

Question 22

Which statement is true?

A) ERPs are infinitely scalable.
B) Performance problems usually stem from technical problems, not business process reengineering.
C) The better ERP can handle any problems an organization can have.
D) ERP systems can be modified using bolt-on software.

Question 23

Organizations using ERP systems employ an internal control tool called a role.

Question 24

In spite of the high technology employed in ERP systems, critical business controls such as a three way match always performed manually.

Question 25

Which of the following statements is not true?

A) In a typical two-tier client server system, the server handles both application and database duties.
B) Client computers are responsible for presenting data to the user and passing user input back to the server.
C) In three-tier client server architecture, one tier is for user presentations, one is for database and applications, and the third is for Internet access.
D) The database and application functions are separate in the three-tier model.

Question 26

An access control list specifies the user-ID, the resources available to the user, and the level of permission granted.

Question 27

Which statements about data warehousing is not correct?

A) The data warehouse should be separate from the operational system.
B) Data cleansing is a process of transforming data into standard form.
C) Drill-down is a data-mining tool available to users of OLAP.
D) Normalization is an requirement of databases included in a data warehouse.

Question 28

Data warehousing processes does not include

A) modeling data
B) condensing data
C) extracting data
D) transforming data

Question 29

Core applications are

A) sales and distribution
B) business planning
C) shop floor control and logistics
D) all of the above

Question 30

RBAC assigns access permissions to the role an individual plays in the organization rather than directly to the individual.

Question 31

The big-bang approach involves converting from old legacy systems to the new ERP in one implementation step.

Question 32

Data cleansing is a step performed by external auditors to identify and repairing invalid data prior to the audit.

Question 33

Which of the following is usually not part of an ERP's OLAP applications?

A) logistics
B) decision support systems
C) ad hoc analysis
D) what-if analysis

Question 34

In a two-tier architecture approach is used primarily for wide area network (WAN) applications.

Question 35

The role model assigns specific access privileges directly to individuals.

Question 36

A problem with RBAC is that managers tend to create unnecessary roles

Question 37

Which of the following is usually not part of an ERP's core applications?

A) OLTP applications
B) sales and distribution applications
C) business planning applications
D) OLAP applications

Question 38

Which statement about ERP installation is least accurate?

A) For the ERP to be successful, process reengineering must occur.
B) ERP fails because some important business process is not supported.
C) When a business is diversified, little is gained from ERP installation.
D) The phased-in approach is more suited to diversified businesses.

Question 39

Which of the following statements is least likely to be true about a data warehouse?

A) It is constructed for quick searching and ad hoc queries.
B) It was an original part of all ERP systems.
C) It contains data that are normally extracted periodically from the operating databases.
D) It may be deployed by organizations that have not implemented an ERP.

Question 40

Goals of ERP include all of the following except

A) improved customer service
B) improvements of legacy systems
C) reduced production time
D) increased production

Question 41

Which statement is LEAST accurate?

A) Implementing an ERP system has as much to do with changing the way an organization does business than it does with technology.
B) The big-bang approach to ERP implementation is generally riskier than the phased in approach.
C) To take full advantage of the ERP process, reengineering will need to occur.
D) A common reason for ERP failure is that the ERP does not support one or more important business processes of the organization

Question 42

Auditors of ERP systems

A) are concerned about segregation of duties just as they would be in traditional systems.
B) focus on output controls such as independent verification because internal processing controls are known to be correct since best practices are used..
C) routinely audit data in the data warehouse because it is know to be clean and free from errors.
D) need not review access levels granted to users since these are determined when the system is configured and never change.

Question 43

What is SCM software?

Question 44

Define the term "core applications" and give some examples.

Question 45

Supply chain management software

A) is typically under the control of external partners in the chain.
B) links all of the partners in the chain, including vendors, carriers, third-party firms, and information systems providers.
C) cannot be integrated into an overall ERP.
D) none of the above

Question 46

Most ERPs are based on which network model?

A) peer to peer
B) client-server
C) ring topology
D) bus topology

Question 47

What is "bolt-on" software?

Question 48

The setup of a data warehouse includes

A) modeling the data
B) extracting data from operational databases
C) cleansing the data
D) all of the above

Question 49

Define ERP.

Question 50

On-line transaction processing programs

A) are bolt-on programs used with commercially available ERSs.
B) are available in two models-two-tier and three-tier.
C) handle large numbers of relatively simple transactions.
D) allow users to analyze complex data relationships.

Question 51

Define OLAP and give some examples.

Question 52

What is a data warehouse?

Question 53

Extracting data for a data warehouse

A) cannot be done from flat files.
B) should only involve active files.
C) requires that the files be out of service.
D) follows the cleansing of data.

Question 54

A data mart is

A) another name for a data warehouse.
B) a database that provides data to an organization's customers.
C) an enterprise resource planning system.
D) a data warehouse created for a single function or department.

Question 55

Auditors of ERP systems

A) need not be concerned about segregation of duties because these systems possess strong computer controls.
B) focus on output controls such as independent verification to reconcile batch totals.
C) are concerned that managers fail to exercise adequate care in assigning permissions.
D) do not view the data warehouse as an audit or control issue at all because financial records are not stored there.
E) need not review access levels granted to users because these are determined when the system is configured and never change.

Question 56

Closed database architecture is

A) a control technique intended to prevent unauthorized access from trading partners.
B) a limitation inherent in traditional information systems that prevents data sharing.
C) a data warehouse control that prevents unclean data from entering the warehouse.
D) a technique used to restrict access to data marts.
E) a database structure that many of the leading ERPs use to support OLTP applications.

Question 57

Which of the following is NOT as a risk associated with ERP implementation?

A) A drop in firm performance after implementation because the firm looks and works differently than it did while using a legacy system.
B) Implementing companies have found that staff members, employed by ERP consulting firms, do not have sufficient experience in implementing new systems.
C) Implementing firms fail to select systems that properly support their business activities.
D) The selected system does not adequately meet the adopting firm's economic growth.
E) ERP's are too large, complex, and generic for them to be well integrated into most company cultures.

Question 58

Data cleansing involves all of the following except

A) filtering out or repairing invalid data
B) summarizing data for ease of extraction
C) transforming data into standard business terms
D) formatting data from legacy systems

Question 59

Legacy systems are

A) old manual systems that are still in place.
B) flat file mainframe systems developed before client-server computing became standard.
C) stable database systems after debugging.
D) advanced systems without a data warehouse.

Question 60

Separating the data warehouse from the operations databases occurs for all of the following reasons except

A) to make the management of the databases more economical
B) to increase the efficiency of data mining processes
C) to integrate legacy system data into a form that permits entity-wide analysis
D) to permit the integration of data from diverse sources

Question 61

How are OLTP and OLAP different? Give examples of their use.

Question 62

What is meant by the OLAP term "consolidation"?

Question 63

What is meant by the OLAP term "slicing and dicing"?

Question 64

Why does data need to be "cleansed"?

Question 65

What is the client-server model?

Question 66

Why are data in a data warehouse stored in unnormalized tables?

Question 67

How can a firm acquire bolt-on software? What are the options?

Question 68

What is scalability?

Question 69

What is meant by the OLAP term "drill-down"?

Question 70

What is the purpose of role- based governance systems?

Question 71

Describe the two-tier client server model.

Question 72

Why must a data warehouse include both detail and summary data?

Question 73

What are the basic stages of the data warehousing process?

Question 74

What is the closed database architecture?

Question 75

What should management do to assess the potential benefits from implementing an ERP?

Question 76

What is the "Big-Bang" approach?

Question 77

What is data mining?

Question 78

Why do ERP systems need bolt-on software? Give an example.

Question 79

Describe the three-tier client server model.

Question 80

Internal efficiency is cited as one reason for separating the data warehouse from the operational database. Explain.