FOCUSED REVISION FOR EXAMINATION

Focused Revision for Examination

1.          Internet and the World Wide Web

·         The physical and the technical networks are the primary focus of the internet. The set of the content which can be accessed within those physical and technical networks is the focus of the World Wide Web (, 2004). The significance of the interne is that it can be used as a communication device, a market, an information system and a manufacturing tool. The internet give rise to a wider marketplace and consumers of different locations are given equal access to the marketing material of the company.

2.          Organizational levels of an organization and their Information Systems

·         The organization consists of the lower and the higher levels. Activities at the lower level involve the capturing of source data, performance of transaction processes and the preparation of operational management reports. The higher level on the other hand is focused on preparing informational reports for the top middle and top management that assist in the accomplishment of the organization’s objectives.

3.          Public Infrastructure

·         Any infrastructural capital which is under public ownership or such which capital asset is not firm specific is referred to as a Public Infrastructure. Public works can be considered the nearest equivalent which describes not just the structures but as well as the maintenance function and the accounting treatment and agencies.

4.          Businesses websites as part of strategic plan

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  A Web site is widely used in different industries today. It serves as a start up point to try another way of advertising to potential customers ( 2000, ).Sites are constantly updated and improved to accommodate and attract visitors. This in effect brings the customers an enjoyable experience and a closer relationship.

  
  

5.          The difference between Information, Data and Knowledge

·         According to system theorist , data is raw and can exist in any form that may be usable or not. When a data is given meaning by way of relational connection, it then becomes information.  The appropriate collection of this information in such a way that the intent is to become useful is referred to as the knowledge. In simple terms data are symbols that can processed into useful forms to become information that can be applied to acquire knowledge. Given this, it can be asserted that the three are interconnected (, 2004)

6.          The difference between the Internet an Intranet and an Extranet

·         The physical and technical networks are the focus of the internet. Intranet on the other hand is an infrastructure that is based on the internet standards and technologies in which the sharing of content within a limited and well defined group is supported. Like the intranet, the content of the extranet is shared by a specific group only that it crosses certain enterprise boundaries (, 1998).

7.          Process, Enterprise and Application Management

·         The activities that make up the planning and monitoring of the processes are termed as the Process Management. Enterprise Management on the other hand characterizes the process of leading the personnel and directing the organization by deploying and manipulating the resources. By Application Management, the availability of network applications in an organization is managed by software.

8.          Moore’s Law and Metcalfe’s law.

·         Moore’s Law states that the numbers of transistors that can be packed into a silver of silicon will double every twelve months. It can be argued based in his concept that the transformation of things in smaller forms will make everything better simultaneously. Metcalfe’s Law states that the square number of users of a specific system is proportional with the value of a telecommunications network (, 2007). The law explains the effects of network effects of communication technologies and other networks such as the internet and the World Wide Web.

9.          Multidimensional reporting

·         Multidimensional reporting involves different, dynamic views of a certain data. The data is looked at different dimensions like sales by region, sales by sales representative, and sales by product category, etc. In a spreadsheet or database for example, the views are provided in pivot table enabling the quick switching between them (, 2007). The problem with this kind of report arises when someone created it and another person wants to look at another dimension or point of view.

10.     The supply chain, value chain, distribution chain and marketing chain.

·         A supply chain encompasses the coordination of all the system of an organization, people, information and systems that makes up the movement of a product from its physical manner from the supplier to the end consumer. It links the value chain through activities that transforms the raw materials into finished products for the consumer. With the distribution chain, the product is passed down the chain to the next organization until it finally reaches the consumer.

11.     Fundamental business equation relating revenue, costs and profit

·         The fundamental equation shows that when the prices differ from the costs of production, the investment and the saving differ. The deviation of the prices from long run-equilibrium is equal to the differences between the investment and savings acquired with every unit of a product.

12.     The common main functional areas of most businesses

·         The functional areas of a business include the Human Resources, Finance, Production and Operations, Administration/IT Support, Research and Development, Marketing/Sales and the Customer Services. All of which plays an important role in ensuring that the business is run properly.

13.     The difference between LAN, MAN, WAN and GAN

·         Local Area network (LAN) is a computer network that covers a specific geographic area like home, office, or a group of buildings. LAN’s are typically connected by a network referred to as the Wide Area network (WAN). Additional services linking LANS together are offered by service providers such as the Metropolitan Area Network (MAN). On the other hand, Generic Access Network (GAN) is the telecommunication system which uses same dual-mode mobile phones to allow seamless roaming and handover between LAN and WAN (, 2007).

14.     Functions of TPS

·         Transaction Processing System (TPS) is an information system which functions to collect, store, modify and retrieve the transactions of an organization (, 2007). The TPS processing serve as a support to the operations of the organization. The fast performance and rapid response acquired through this system allows the organization to meet its information needs for every transaction.

15.     The differences between Peer-to-Peer and Client-Server architecture

·         The client server network architecture is an application in which the client is separated from a server. By this, the client requests are sent to the server which stores all the data. A peer-to-peer computer network relies on the bandwidth of the participants in the network. It odes not have the notion of clients or servers but the peers function as both the client and the server. File sharing is the one of the useful purpose of such networks.

16.     Porter’s Five Forces Model

·         The Porter’s five forces provide a framework for business management that determines the attractiveness of the market. These forces affect the ability of the company to serve its customers and ultimately to make a profit. The model includes the bargaining power of the customers, the bargaining power of suppliers, the threat of new entrants, the threat of substitute products and the intensity of competitive rivalry.

17.     The difference between structured and unstructured decision making

·         Structured decision making are routine types of decisions because the decision maker already knows the solution and the outcome for such. At some instances, managers are faced with making decisions that may affect the business drastically. Such decisions are unstructured and the appropriate solution or outcome is unknown to the decision maker.

18.     The meaning of all acronyms such as CRM, SQL, MIS, MAN, TPS

·         The organization’s activities are planned, scheduled and controlled through an integrated information system known as the Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Structured Query Language (SQL) is a computer language which is used to create, retrieve, update and delete data in a database management system. Management Information Systems (MIS) covers the application of people, activities, technologies and procedures to business problems. Transaction Processing System (TPS) is an information system which functions to collect, store, modify and retrieve the transactions of an organization. Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) is a service that links LANS together.

19.     The reason for the growth of the Internet in business purposes

·         The driving forces behind the major adjustments in the business environment are global competition, continuous restructuring of organizations and the acceleration of technological changes. To solve these future problems and remain competitive, the business has to develop new opportunities with the use of advanced computer systems. The internet is a mechanism that facilitates communication, data integration, marketing and advertising which is why the demand for its use is increasing.

20.     The overview of how businesses acquire new computing systems

·         Computing systems are essential for the business to facilitate the data processing. In modern computing, programming with statistical systems is done by users and if the system is not quite what is needed then it is modified. New technologies in computing systems such as software for computing with data help to meet the challenges and the needs of businesses.

 

 

References

 

Books

 

Internet Sources

 

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