Deck 12: Business Intelligence

Question 1

Management control is the acquisition and efficient use of resources in accomplishing organizational tasks.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

A manager's primary function is strategic planning.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Human intuition often plays a role in making unstructured decisions.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

KPI stands for key process information.

Question 5

In the implementation phase of the decision-making process, managers set criteria for the evaluation of alternative potential solutions.

Question 6

Goal-seeking analysis attempts to find the value of the inputs necessary to achieve a desired level of output.

Question 7

Corporate performance management (CPM) is involved with monitoring and managing an organization's performance according to its budget.

Question 8

Decision-support systems support only lower- and middle-level managers.

Question 9

Executive dashboards provide support primarily to analytical, quantitative types of decisions.

Question 10

The number of alternatives to be considered in decisions today is increasing.

Question 11

An executive dashboard is very user friendly, supported by graphics, provides exception reporting and drill down, and provides information related to critical success factors.

Question 12

The ratio between organizational inputs and outputs is an indication of the organization's productivity.

Question 13

_____ is the process by which organizational goals are achieved through the use of organizational resources.

A) Organizational decision making
B) Operations
C) Organizational strategy
D) Organizational productivity
E) Management

Question 14

Structured decisions address routine, repetitive problems for which standard solutions exist.

Question 15

In the choice phase of the decision-making process, managers construct a model that simplifies the problem.

Question 16

A group decision support system is an interactive, computer-based system that facilitates a group's efforts to find solutions to semistructured and unstructured problems.

Question 17

Modern information systems support all three managerial roles.

Question 18

Targeted marketing is a good example of the discovery of previously unknown or hidden patterns.

Question 19

Unstructured decisions require a combination of standard solution procedures and individual judgment.

Question 20

Which of the following is not a basic role of managers?

A) interpersonal
B) entrepreneurial
C) informational
D) decisional

Question 21

A company's annual employee evaluation best fits which type of decision?

A) unstructured
B) structured
C) semistructured
D) confrontational
E) wisdom

Question 22

________ decisions are more common at lower organizational levels.

A) Structured
B) Unstructured
C) Undocumented
D) Semistructured
E) Procedural

Question 23

Which of the following is not a characteristic of a structured decision?

A) It is routine.
B) It is repetitive.
C) Human intuition is not involved.
D) The first three phases of the decision-making process need not occur in any particular sequence
E) Standard solutions exist.

Question 24

Which of the following is not a characteristic of unstructured decisions?

A) They are complex.
B) They typically are fuzzy and unclear.
C) Standard solutions exist.
D) Human intuition is involved.
E) The first three phases of the decision-making process occur in no particular sequence.

Question 25

Calculating gross pay for hourly workers is an example of ________ decision making.

A) Structured
B) Unstructured
C) Undocumented
D) Semistructured
E) Procedural

Question 26

A large foreign automobile manufacturer is considering where to build a new manufacturing plant in the United States. They are making which type of decision?

A) structured
B) semistructured
C) unstructured
D) informational
E) wisdom

Question 27

In the _____ phase of the decision-making process, managers examine a situation and identify and define the problem.

A) implementation
B) choice
C) design
D) intelligence
E) consideration

Question 28

In the _____ phase of the decision-making process, managers construct a model that simplifies the problem.

A) implementation
B) choice
C) design
D) intelligence
E) consideration

Question 29

_____ is the efficient and effective execution of specific tasks.

A) Operational control
B) Management control
C) Strategic planning
D) Expertise
E) Wisdom

Question 30

_____ is the acquisition and efficient use of resources in accomplishing organizational goals.

A) Operational control
B) Management control
C) Strategic planning
D) Expertise
E) Wisdom

Question 31

Being an entrepreneur, disturbance handler, and negotiator is part of the _____ managerial role.

A) interpersonal
B) entrepreneurial
C) informational
D) decisional
E) confrontational

Question 32

Success in the _____ phase of the decision-making process results in resolving the original problem, and failure leads to a return to previous phases.

A) implementation
B) choice
C) design
D) intelligence
E) consideration

Question 33

Rank-and-file employees tend to make more _________ decisions.

A) Structured
B) Unstructured
C) Undocumented
D) Semistructured
E) Procedural

Question 34

The type of decision that can be made by following a definite procedure is called a(n) ______ decision.

A) structured
B) unstructured
C) undocumented
D) semistructured
E) procedural

Question 35

Decisions today are becoming _____ complex, due to _____ uncertainty in the decision environment.

A) less, decreased
B) more, decreased
C) less, increased
D) more, increased
E) neither more nor less, decreased

Question 36

Being a figurehead and leader is part of the _____ managerial role.

A) interpersonal
B) entrepreneurial
C) informational
D) decisional
E) confrontational

Question 37

In the _____ phase of the decision-making process, managers test potential solutions "on paper."

A) implementation
B) choice
C) design
D) intelligence
E) consideration

Question 38

Which of the following is not a reason why managers need IT support?

A) The number of alternatives is decreasing.
B) Decisions must typically be made under time pressure.
C) Decisions are becoming more complex.
D) There is a growing need to access remote information sources.
E) Decision makers are often based in different locations.

Question 39

When there is no well-understood or agreed-on procedure for making a decision, the decision is said to be:

A) undocumented
B) structured
C) unstructured
D) semistructured
E) documented

Question 40

Which type of decision requires a combination of standard solution procedures and individual judgment?

A) structured
B) semistructured
C) unstructured
D) informational
E) wisdom

Question 41

_____ provides users with a view of what is happening, whereas _____ addresses why it is happening.

A) Multidimensional data analysis, structured query language
B) Data mining, multidimensional data analysis
C) Data mining, expert system
D) Multidimensional data analysis, neural networks
E) Multidimensional data analysis, data mining

Question 42

Searching for valuable business information in a database, data warehouse, or data mart is referred to as _____.

A) structured queries
B) database queries
C) data mining
D) query by example
E) expert system queries

Question 43

Credit card companies would most likely use which of the following to check for fraudulent credit card use?

A) Data mining
B) Expert systems
C) Neural networks
D) Multidimensional data analysis
E) Structured query language

Question 44

Refer to the Opening Case - Quality Assurance at Daimler AG: Which of the following best describes Daimler's Quality Information System (QUIS)?

A) Users didn't have the right tools to access the data.
B) Information was easily evaluated together.
C) The platform had excess capacity.
D) The data for diagnostics were not available.
E) QUIS was used only by garages.

Question 45

Geocoding involves:

A) integrating maps with spatially oriented databases and other databases
B) encrypting spatial information
C) accessing geographical information
D) integrating organizational transactions with spatially oriented databases
E) programming spatially oriented databases

Question 46

Which of the following is not a characteristic of organizational decision support systems?

A) They affect multiple organizational units or corporate issues.
B) They cut across organizational functions or hierarchical layers.
C) They involve computer-based technologies.
D) They are standalone systems.
E) They involve communications technologies.

Question 47

Which of the following information systems are very user friendly, supported by graphics, and provide exception reporting and drill down?

A) decision support systems
B) digital dashboards
C) functional area information systems
D) group decision support systems
E) expert systems

Question 48

Refer to IT's About Business 12.1 - Adelaide Brighton Cement: Adelaide Brighton Cement decided to use a hosted system called myDIALS for incident hazard and reporting. Which of the following is not a reason for their choice?

A) The business intelligence application runs on Adelaide's servers.
B) The BI application runs on myDIALS servers.
C) The hosted system involved minimal risk.
D) The hosted system was less expensive than an ERP system.
E) Implementing the hosted system required no modifications to Adelaide's existing systems.

Question 49

Which of the following is not a characteristic of DSSs?

A) They support only lower- and middle-level managers.
B) They are easy to use and construct.
C) They can adapt to changing conditions.
D) They usually utilize quantitative models.
E) They support all phases of the decision-making process.

Question 50

Which capability of digital dashboards enables users to obtain the latest data available on key performance indicators or some other metric, ideally in real time?

A) Drill-down
B) Key performance indicators
C) Status access
D) Trend analysis
E) Exception reporting

Question 51

The management cockpit best exemplifies which type of system?

A) decision support system
B) expert system
C) digital dashboard
D) functional area information system
E) group decision support system

Question 52

Digital dashboards provide all of the following capabilities except:

A) drill-down
B) transaction processing
C) status access
D) key performance indicators
E) exception reporting

Question 53

A(n) _____ provides rapid access to timely information and direct access to management reports.

A) decision support system
B) expert system
C) neural network
D) digital dashboard
E) data warehouse

Question 54

Computer support is greatest for which of the following problems?

A) semistructured and strategic planning
B) unstructured and operational control
C) structured and operational control
D) semistructured and management control
E) structured and management control

Question 55

At the end of a semester, a student knows that she must achieve a grade of 81 or higher on her final exam to get an A in the course. She has just performed what kind of analysis?

A) What-if
B) Qualitative
C) Sensitivity
D) Goal-seeking
E) Simulation

Question 56

Today, geographical information systems are being combined with _____ to form geospatial technologies.

A) dashboards
B) global positioning systems
C) decision support systems
D) expert systems
E) neural networks

Question 57

_____ attempts to find the value of the inputs necessary to achieve a desired level of output.

A) What-if analysis
B) Qualitative analysis
C) Sensitivity analysis
D) Goal-seeking analysis
E) Simulation

Question 58

The primary distinguishing characteristic of geographical information systems is:

A) every record or digital object has a unique identifier
B) every record or digital object is visible to the user
C) every record or digital object must be accessed by programmers
D) every record or digital object has an identified geographical location
E) every record or digital object is encrypted

Question 59

Computer support is least for which of the following problems?

A) semistructured and strategic planning
B) unstructured and strategic planning
C) semistructured and management control
D) unstructured and operational control
E) structured and strategic planning

Question 60

A company wants to use data from past promotional mailings to identify people who would likely respond favorably to future mailings. This company would most likely use:

A) structured query language
B) multidimensional data analysis
C) neural networks
D) expert systems
E) data mining

Question 61

Refer to Closing Case -Norfolk Southern: Norfolk Southern used a data warehouse to manage the information that is accessible via business intelligence tools. Which of the following statements about Norfolk Southern's use of BI tools is not true?

A) The data in the data warehouse can be used by all departments in the company.
B) Norfolk Southern does not share its data with external customers.
C) The data were used to determine where to locate field offices.
D) The dashboard application uses visualization technology.
E) The data for the data warehouse come from operational systems.

Question 62

Speculate on the future of virtual reality applications in higher (college and university) education. Describe some possible applications.

Question 63

Shawn is doing some budgeting for his new start-up business. He has developed a budget in Excel using formulas, as he was taught to do in college. Which of the following statements is true?

A) If Shawn changes one of his assumptions, Excel will automatically recalculate the budget numbers.
B) Shawn would use sensitivity analysis to check the impact of changing his price.
C) Shawn would use roll-up to review his summary numbers.
D) Shawn would use what-if analysis to check the impact of changing his price and the commission he pays his sales people.
E) Shawn would use goal-seeking analysis to examine the impact of changing his forecast of units sold.

Question 64

Refer to IT's About Business 12.2 - Kelley Blue Book: Which of the following is not a by-product of Kelley Blue Book's use of business intelligence data?

A) Integrated their data with third-party data
B) Improved the speed of estimates on their Web site
C) Helped owners determine the best time to sell
D) Enabled owners to forecast car prices
E) Quicker turnaround to publish a new book.

Question 65

Describe how your university could use a geographical information system in its admissions process. What value could your university gain from using such a system?

Question 66

Describe the phases in the decision-making process.

Question 67

Explain what data visualization technologies are, using examples.

Question 68

Explain why managers need IT support.

Question 69

Refer to IT's About Business 12.3 - Technology at NC State: Which of the following statements concerning IBM's "Big Data" analytics technology is not true?

A) It enabled university professionals to mine large amounts of structured data.
B) It made the process of finding partners more difficult due to information overload.
C) It successfully interfaced with the university's database.
D) It shortened the triage process.
E) It freed up time that enabled university professionals to launch new companies.

Question 70

Discuss the structure of problems, the nature of decisions, and the framework for computerized decision analysis.

Question 71

Sally is working for her uncle for the summer in the marketing department of Proctor & Gamble. She tells you she does data mining all day long. Which of the following statements is false?

A) Data mining can be used to prove assumptions.
B) Data mining is used to identify unknown patterns.
C) Data mining can explain why things happened.
D) Data mining can predict what will happen.
E) Data mining can be used to identify customers.

Question 72

Describe OLAP, and explain what a data cube is.

Question 73

Explain data mining, using examples.

Question 74

Explain how what-if analysis is employed, using examples.

Question 75

You've started an internship at the major hospital in your city. Your boss gave you ten minutes of training on the data warehouse that you have access to. The last thing she told you was to do some analysis on the Visit cube. Which of the following statements is false?

A) One dimension of the cube is (probably) day.
B) One dimension of the cube is (probably) treatment.
C) One dimension of the cube is (probably) doctor.
D) One dimension of the cube is (probably) month.
E) One dimension of the cube is (probably) patient.

Question 76

Refer to IT's About Business 12.4 - 1-800-CONTACTS: Which of the following is true about 1-800-CONTACTS's use of business intelligence technologies?

A) The Call Center Incentive index is used to determine the agents' vacation days.
B) The company updates the dashboard daily.
C) The executive dashboard provides both current and historical data.
D) The call center operators did not respond well to the dashboards.
E) The quality of the service calls did not improve despite the implementation of the dashboard.

Question 77

The use of BI is limited to large corporations.

Question 78

Describe how your university could use a decision support system in its admissions process.

Question 79

Discuss the information technologies that are available to support managers.

Question 80

Describe the three major roles of managers.