Deck 15: ERP Systems and E-Commerce

Question 1

Activities in the sales showroom are typically considered front-office activities.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems originated as front-office applications designed for supply chain optimization, customer relationship management, and sales force automation.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Bolt-on applications are typically used for back-office functions such as accounting and human resources.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

One condition that must be met to establish a database orientation is that data must be stored only once, in a way that all authorized decision makers can access the data.

Question 5

As long as a system includes a database, it automatically meets the database orientation goal.

Question 6

A best of breed ERP system is more likely than a single source ERP system to completely satisfy the criteria for a database orientation.

Question 7

Horror stories abound of ERP software implementations for which the business processes did not match the software.

Question 8

A semantic orientation in an enterprise system requires the use of an accounting module that includes debits, credits, and accounts.

Question 9

Pattern-based system design facilitates automated reasoning by intelligent software interfaces to the enterprise system.

Question 10

Pattern-based system design facilitates integration of systems between enterprises.

Question 11

Most ERP software-based systems are intentionally designed in conformance with the REA pattern.

Question 12

ERP systems usually represent an attempt to accomplish inter-enterprise integration.

Question 13

Best of breed enterprise system implementations install different ERP software applications that best meet the needs of different areas of the enterprise.

Question 14

Most E-commerce activity is B2C (business to consumer).

Question 15

Consideration of ERP systems and REA patterns for B2C electronic commerce is not significantly different from B2C mail order or telephone order commerce.

Question 16

In B2C electronic commerce, the primary differences enabled by electronic technology are the breaking down of time, place, and form barriers.

Question 17

The REA enterprise ontology as introduced in this textbook is primarily externally focused, because it links external agents to events, and is therefore an ideal solution for integrated inter-enterprise systems.

Question 18

XBRL (extensible business reporting language) is a standard by which enterprises exchange transaction level data, similar to electronic data interchange (EDI).

Question 19

Which of the following typically enables ERP systems to incorporate front-office applications such as supply chain optimization, customer relationship management, and sales force automation?

A) Bolt-on applications
B) Single-source ERP implementations
C) Best-of-breed ERP implementations
D) Legacy applications
E) None of the above

Question 20

Which of the following is an example of a back-office activity or system?

A) A customer ordered merchandise from the enterprise's web site.
B) A purchasing agent placed an order with a supplier for equipment needed in the manufacturing plant.
C) A receiving clerk at the loading dock unloaded boxes of raw materials from a supplier's delivery truck.
D) A payroll clerk entered hours worked by each employee for last week into the information system.
E) A vice president of finance met with a bank loan officer to discuss a proposed financing agreement.

Question 21

On which orientations do ERP systems and the REA enterprise ontology match exactly?

A) Database orientation
B) Semantic orientation
C) Structuring orientation
D) They match exactly on all three orientations
E) They do not match exactly on any of the three orientations

Question 22

Which of the following is one of the conditions that must be met to satisfy a database orientation?

A) Objects in the system's conceptual model should correspond as closely as possible to objects in the underlying reality.
B) A pattern should be used to design the foundation for the enterprise system.
C) Data must be stored at their most primitive levels, at least for a defined time period.
D) The system should be designed according to industry best practices at the task level.
E) Data that are needed at different levels of aggregation for different decisions should be stored in the system in both their disaggregated form and in their aggregated forms.

Question 23

Which of the following is an example of primitive level data?

A) The actual unit selling price of an inventory item
B) The dollar amount of a sale that included three different inventory items
C) The accounts receivable balance for a specific customer
D) The dollar balance of a cash account
E) The total dollar amount sold by a salesperson during a specified time period

Question 24

The goal that requires objects in a system's conceptual model to correspond as closely as possible to objects in the underlying reality is called a

A) Database orientation
B) Semantic orientation
C) Structuring orientation
D) Correspondence orientation
E) Duality orientation

Question 25

Which of the following is NOT one of the five major reasons companies implement enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems?

A) To integrate financial information
B) To integrate customer order information
C) To standardize and speed up manufacturing processes
D) To reduce inventory
E) To maintain unique workflow processes

Question 26

Best practices are best described as

A) The use of different ERP software components for different business functions
B) Supplemental systems that are implemented along with ERP systems to accomplish some functionality that is not present in the ERP system
C) Modular systems that allow different areas of a business to communicate with each other
D) Procedures, methods or processes that have consistently produced successful results
E) Components of ERP software that require customization of the software

Question 27

Supplemental systems that are implemented along with ERP systems to accomplish some functionality that is not present in the ERP systems are called

A) Best practices systems
B) Best of breed systems
C) Bolt-on applications
D) Reference applications
E) ERP modules

Question 28

Which of these terms refers to the use of different ERP applications for different business functions? For example, if a company decides to use SAP R/3 for manufacturing, Peoplesoft for human resources, and Oracle Apps for all other functions, this is described as the use of

A) Process enterprise applications
B) Hodge-podge applications
C) Bolt-on applications
D) Best practice applications
E) Best of breed applications

Question 29

Enterprise application integration (EAI) software is used primarily

A) To connect modules within a single-source ERP implementation
B) For the inhouse creation of integration programs
C) To connect non-integrated software applications by building bridges from the applications to a central hub
D) To consolidate financial information for corporate reporting
E) To wrap each data field in a container that identifies what is inside the wrapper, so even if the data fields are different, the containers in which they are enclosed fit together

Question 30

Which of the following statements best describes the origination and development of ERP systems and the REA ontology?

A) ERP systems and the REA ontology both originated with an inward focus and have recently shifted to an outwardly organized supply chain perspective.
B) ERP systems and the REA ontology both originated with an inward focus and have remained inwardly focused.
C) ERP systems originated with an inward focus whereas the REA ontology originated with an outwardly organized supply chain perspective.
D) The REA ontology originated with an inward focus whereas ERP systems originated with an outwardly organized supply chain perspective.
E) ERP systems and the REA ontology both originated with an outwardly organized supply chain perspective.

Question 31

In B2C E-commerce, the primary differences as compared to non-electronic B2C commerce are the breaking down of time, place, and form barriers. In this statement, the form barrier is referring to

A) Consumer access to certain business information is no longer restricted to a limited set of hours.
B) Consumers need not physically transport themselves to business locations to engage in transactions with the businesses.
C) Consumers can shop from the comfort of their easy chairs with a few clicks of a mouse.
D) Shoppers can obtain product information and products from suppliers around the globe.
E) Business no longer need to be a particular size or type to attract and satisfy customers.

Question 32

The need to shift from an intra-enterprise view to include an inter-enterprise view in designing information systems is driven primarily by

A) B2C E-commerce
B) B2B E-commerce
C) Both B2B E-commerce and B2C E-commerce
D) Although this need exists, neither B2C E-commerce nor B2B E-commerce drove this need.
E) There was no need to shift from an intra-enterprise view to include an inter-enterprise view in designing information systems.

Question 33

Which of the following statements is true with regard to EDI?

A) EDI is primarily used for B2C E-commerce
B) EDI refers to electronic data exchange in any format, including e-mail
C) EDI lowered costs for many small suppliers but raised costs for larger firms
D) From its inception, EDI was standardized across industries
E) EDI originally required the use of proprietary VAN (value added network) connections

Question 34

What is CPFR?

A) A business technique whereby trading partners agree upon a joint plan and sales forecast; they monitor the extent to which the plan and forecast are met, replenishing inventory as needed and they recognize and respond to any exceptions
B) A business technique whereby trading partners administer artificial resuscitation as needed
C) A business technique whereby one trading partner communicates to the other what replenishment they need and the other trading partner responds to that demand
D) A business technique whereby one trading partner communicates to the other what replenishment they have available for the other and the other partner responds as to whether the available items suit its needs
E) A business technique that attempts to assign costs to products for resale

Question 35

Inter-enterprise view integration at the value system level

A) Is seamless even for systems that are built with different types of building blocks
B) Is as simple as intra-enterprise view integration
C) Attempts to connect transaction cycles within an enterprise
D) Is complicated by the fact that entities labeled as sales/collection phenomena by one enterprise are labeled as acquisition/payment phenomena for the trading partner
E) Attempts to connect bolt-on applications to existing ERP systems

Question 36

Which of the following statements best describes the comparative functions of XBRL and ebXML?

A) XBRL and ebXML both have the same goal - to standardize the presentation of financial statement line items.
B) XBRL has as its goal the facilitation of transaction level data exchange whereas ebXML is a tagging system tailored to financial statement line items.
C) XBRL is a tagging system tailored to financial statement line items, whereas ebXML has as its goal the facilitation of transaction level data exchange.
D) XBRL bases its tag wrappers on REA constructs whereas ebXML bases its containers on chart of account codes
E) XBRL and ebXML both base their tag wrappers/containers on REA constructs.

Question 37

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of ebXML?

A) EbXML stands for Extensible Business Exchange Markup Language.
B) EbXML is a set of specifications that provides a standard method by which enterprises may communicate data in common terms.
C) EbXML is similar to EDI but attempts to specify constructs at a higher semantic level.
D) EbXML expects many variations of each business document used in business exchanges therefore it focuses on the events underlying the documents.
E) Many of the containers used in EbXML are based on REA constructs.

Question 38

What term is often used in business to describe activities or systems that are seen and used only by people within enterprises and not by external business partners?

Question 39

What is the purpose of bolt-on applications?

Question 40

Which feature used to compare ERP software and REA-based systems precludes the use of accounting artifacts such as debits, credits, and accounts as base objects in the system?

Question 41

Which feature used to compare ERP software and REA-based systems demands the use of a pattern as a foundation for the enterprise system to facilitate automated reasoning by intelligent software interfaces to the system?

Question 42

What term is used to describe an implementation that uses different ERP software applications, each of which best meets the need of a different area of the enterprise?

Question 43

What is the difference between intra-enterprise system integration and inter-enterprise system integration?

Question 44

What is the primary software mechanism by which Fortune 100 firms integrate data within a single enterprise?

Question 45

What are the two most general forms of electronic commerce, and which form is most e-commerce activity?

Question 46

What two technologies invented over a century ago are believed by many to be the advent of e-commerce?

Question 47

List the three orientations used in the textbook to compare some of the goals of ERP software-based systems and REA-based systems. Explain what each orientation requires and state the extent to which typical ERP systems meet the specified criteria.

Question 48

What are the five major reasons enterprises implement ERP systems?

Question 49

What three barriers are broken down by B2C e-commerce? Explain how each is broken.

Question 50

Does B2C e-commerce create a need for enterprises to change their systems focus from an intra-enterprise view to an inter-enterprise view? Why or why not?

Question 51

Explain the basic considerations involved in inter-enterprise view integration to support collaborative planning, forecasting, and replenishment (CPFR), using the REA enterprise ontology as a starting point.