Question 1

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

Accepted Answer

enterprise systems may be loosely or partially integrated

Question 2

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

Accepted Answer

An enterprise is indeed an organization or business entity that is established to carry out specific activities, often involving systematic and industrious efforts to achieve particular goals or objectives.

Question 3

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

Accepted Answer

not for profit organizations are established to achieve a particular undertaking involving industrious, systematic activity, therefore they are enterprises.

Question 4

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

Accepted Answer

although computer technology is an important component of modern information systems, information systems are much broader in scope.

Question 5

Integration is the combination of parts into a whole.

Accepted Answer

Integration involves bringing together different components or elements to form a unified whole, often used in various contexts such as mathematics, technology, and organizational processes.

Question 6

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

Accepted Answer

An enterprise information system encompasses all the methods and channels through which information is shared, processed, and received within an organization, including interactions with business partners.

Question 7

Data redundancy leads to data inconsistency.

Accepted Answer

Data redundancy can cause data inconsistency because having multiple copies of the same data can lead to discrepancies if not all copies are updated simultaneously.

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.

Accepted Answer

a uniform implementation of a single ERP software package is likely to have more solid connections; bridges need to be built between the various packages in a best of breed implementation

Question 9

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

Accepted Answer

In stovepiped operations, information is typically siloed within departments, and communication between these silos often occurs at higher management levels rather than directly between functional areas.

Question 10

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

Accepted Answer

such decisions are usually mandated from top management

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.

Accepted Answer

Assigning building space to mix employees from different departments encourages interaction and collaboration, helping to break down silos or "stovepipes" within an organization.

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.

Accepted Answer

"Paving the cowpaths" refers to automating a process without improving or redesigning it, potentially perpetuating inefficiencies.

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.

Accepted Answer

Ford's approach was a radical reengineering, not a simple automation of existing processes

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.

Accepted Answer

The REA (Resources, Events, Agents) ontology emphasizes modeling the fundamental economic activities of an enterprise rather than tailoring the system to specific decision-making views.

Question 15

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

Accepted Answer

such systems are value 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.

Accepted Answer

The REA (Resources, Events, Agents) enterprise ontology is designed to provide a framework for modeling business processes and information systems by defining common constructs that can be applied across various enterprises.

Question 17

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

Accepted Answer

Event-driven systems are designed around the concept of events, which are representations of actual activities or changes in state within the system.

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.

Accepted Answer

The REA (Resource-Event-Agent) ontology emphasizes using real-world economic phenomena as base objects, whereas SAP software in 1999 included artificial constructs, which REA discourages.

Question 19

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

Accepted Answer

Most organizations often focus on technical skills and specific tasks, such as keystrokes and transactions, because they are easier to measure and train, whereas business and people processes require more complex, nuanced training that is often overlooked.

Question 20

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

Accepted Answer

changing business processes requires people to change, which causes a host of problems

Quiz 1: An Introduction to Integrated Enterprise Information Systems