Practice Questions
In Porter’s view, the performance of individual corporation is determined by the extent to which they cope with, and manipulate, the five key “forces” which make up the industry structure.
Describe those five key forces. (20 marks)
Knowledge must be represented efficiently, and in a meaningful way. Discuss this statement. (12 marks)
What four common functions do all managers perform? Briefly describe them . (10 marks)
List and briefly describe the disciplines that constitute the subject of artificial intelligence (AI) (5 marks)
Compare between
Homogeneous and heterogeneous
Structured and unstructured problems
Typical communication support and analytical support
(3x4 marks)
Discuss why information has to be managed? (10 marks)
Describe the five categories into which the applications for MIS fall (10 marks)
Describe the three essential skills that most managers require (6 marks)
Question 1 by Thanh Do [[email protected]] and Ms. Diep
[???]
In an organisation, information is very important. There is a lot of information within an organisation. It can be good or bad, new or old, suitable or not. An effective information manager must understand the context in which information is to be used is essential. Here are some main characteristics of information:
It is easy for you to find information which is related to your organisation. However, to find good information is not easy. Some characteristics of information can help you select appropriate information for your organisation. But it also depends upon the purpose for which it is required.
Question 2 by Mr. Hiep
Five key “Forces” which make up industry structure:
o The bargaining power of suppliers
o The bargaining power of buyers
o The threat of new entrants
o The threat of substitute products
o The Rivalry among existing Firms
(There is a diagram in the book that you need to copy. Sorry, but I cannot draw the diagram here. Page 57)
The bargaining power of suppliers:
Bargaining power implies the ability to set the selling price.
We depend on our suppliers for the inputs of production. The higher the level of supplier’s bargaining power, the less competitiveness our industry will be.
Example: In Vietnam, the Vietnam Electricity Company is monopolist in providing electricity to the whole country, so they have right to change price. Moreover all companies have no choice so it plays an important role in making up the industry structure.
The bargaining power of buyers:
The bargaining power of buyers is the ability of negotiating to set the price at their will.
If the bargaining power of buyers is high, they can decide some level price that they want to buy at. It leads to the changes in industry structure to resist and reduce the bargaining power of buyers.
Example: Rice product: in the past, rice price was set by the State. When buyers have right to set the price, it leads to the changes in this industry, competitiveness in the rice market is very low.
The threat of new entrants:
The industry structure is affected by the entry of new firms in same industry. When the threat of new entrants is high, the industry structure must be competitive (otherwise new firms will enter the market, and reduce the level of competitiveness).
Example: Telecommunication industry in Vietnam. Since the State allows Viettel to compete in the telecommunication market in Vietnam, the level of competition in the industry has become much higher, prices of telecommunication services have reduced, and the service quality has increased.
The threat of substitute products:
The threat of substitute products is similar to the case of the threat of new entrants. If our product can be substituted by many other products of other firms, the competitiveness of our product must be low. Hence, the higher the level of substitution of a product, the lower the level of competition.
Example: Transportation, before if we wanted to go to the South we would go by train. But now we can go to the South by plane. In order to compete with airline, railway companies have to improve service quality and reduce price.
The Rivalry among existing Firms:
The existence of rivalry among existing firms is certain. All the companies have to compete to get competitive advantages over the competitor through price, model, quality etc. Hence the rivalry among existing firms will contribute to how the industry is structured.
Example: The companies producing computer like IBM, ACER, COMPAQ, APPLE-MACINTOSH etc. They compete to get market share. In the same industry they have different ways of doing business to get competitive advantages over other competitors such as models of computer, platform support, price etc.
Question 3: by Ms. Nguyen Thuy [[email protected]]
Definitions
A Management Information System (MIS) is a computer-based system that makes information available to user with similar needs.
An Executive Support System (ESS) is a system that designed specifically for managers on the strategic planning level.
Differences in building the systems
1) Early applications of traditional MIS aim at providing information organisational-wide; that is the users of MIS consist of managers from all functional areas as well as non-managers of the firm. The manager uses the MIS primarily to signal problems or impending problems, and then to understand them by pinpointing their locations and causes.
In contrast, ESS is a later application of information system in solving problems at the top level of organisation and therefore to be called executive support system. Top managers use ESS to deal with strategic planning problems.
In developing MIS, information specialists would have to focus on the organisational structure of the whole organisation rather than specific needs of much smaller group of top managers as in the case of developing ESS.
2) Because MIS is not aimed at the specific needs of the individual problem solvers, its capability is often limited to solving structured problems. ESS in contrast has the capability to deal with unstructured problems.
In order to build an ESS, information specialists would have to develop skills and knowledge of how executives solve unstructured problems, and to work with users of the being-developed ESS to understand their specific information needs. Those required skills and knowledge are often specific to each problem and to each user, and therefore more time-consuming and complex to acquire. In contrast, MIS application can be off-the-shelf software, readily available and suitable for many types of organisations.
You can also develop by analysing the differences in the following aspects:
Sources of information
Output
Range of problems
Users of the system
Participants in developing the system
Question 4: Knowledge must be represented efficiently, and in a meaningful way. Discuss this statement. (12 marks)
(answered by Ms. Phan Thanh Nha [[email protected]])
Knowledge representation is very important. Solving problem, even apparently simple problem, requires lots of knowledge. Really understanding a single sentence requires extensive knowledge both of language and of the context. Solving problems in a particular domain generally requires knowledge of the objects in the domain and knowledge of how to reason in that domain- both of these types of knowledge must be represented.
Efficiency is important, as it would be impossible (or at least impractical) to explicitly represent every fact that you might ever need. There are just so many potentially useful facts, most of which you would never even think of. You have to be able to infer new facts from your existing knowledge, as and when needed, and capture general abstractions, which represent general features of sets of objects in the world.
Knowledge must be meaningfully represented so that we know how it related back to the real world. A knowledge representation schema provides a mapping from features of the world to a formal language. (The formal language will just capture certain aspects of the world, which we believe are important to our problem- we may miss out crucial aspects and so fail to solve our problem, like ignoring friction in a mechanics problem). Anyway, when we manipulate that formal language using a computer we want to make sure that we still have meaningful expressions, which can be mapped back to the real world.
Question 5: (by Mr. HaHaiNam - [email protected])
Five components of an expert system:
1. Knowledge base: A store of factual and heuristic knowledge. An ES tool provides one or more knowledge representation schemes for expressing knowledge about the application domain. Some tools use both frames (objects) and IF-THEN rules. In PROLOG the knowledge is represented as logical statements.
2. Reasoning engine: Inference mechanisms for manipulating the symbolic information and knowledge in the knowledge base to form a line of reasoning in solving a problem. The inference mechanism can range from simple backward chaining of IF-THEN rules to case-based reasoning.
3. Knowledge acquisition subsystem: A subsystem to help experts build knowledge bases. Collecting knowledge needed to solve problems and build the knowledge base continues to be the biggest bottleneck in building expert systems.
4. Explanation subsystem: A subsystem that explains the system's actions. The explanation can range from how the final or intermediate solutions were arrived at to justifying the need for additional data.
5. User interface: The means of communication with the user. The user interface is generally not a part of the ES technology, and was not given much attention in the past. However, it is now widely accepted that the user interface can make a critical difference in the perceived utility of a system regardless of the system's performance
Question 6: by Ms. Bui Thanh Nga [[email protected]]
Installation (also called system changeover) is the process of putting the new information system into production and retiring the old system. System changeover can be either a repaid or slow process, depending on which method you use
a. Parallel installations:
With the parallel installation, both the old and the new information systems are in full operation for some period of time. As data is generated and collected during the parallel period, it is input to both systems. The output generated by the new system is compared to the equivalent output from the old system. When everyone is satisfied that the new system is operating correctly, the old system is stopped.
b. Pilot installations:
With the pilot operation changeover method, you first implement the new system for only a subset of organization. During the pilot operation of the new system, the old system continues to operate for the entire organization, including the pilot site; thus pilot operation is a kind of semi parallel operation. After the system has been proven to operate successfully in the pilot site, it is then implemented in the rest of the organization, most often using the direct changeover method (the change from the old system to the new system occurs instantaneously. One the old system is used, the next day the new system is in operation and the old system is
discontinued).
Question 7: what four common functions do all managers perform? Briefly describe them.
By Mr. Dao, Viet Hung ([email protected])
Answer.
There are four management functions
+ Planning
+ Organizing
+ Leading
+ Controlling
Describe the above functions:
- Planning: is the process of determining in advance what should be accomplished (e.g. defining goals; establishing strategy; developing plans and the formulation by which they should be realized).
- Organizing: is the process of prescribing formal relationship among people and resources to accomplish goals e.g.: Determining what tasks are to be done, who is to do them, how the tasks are to be grouped, who reports to whom and where decisions are to be made, creation of structures and framework of standard procedures and policies
- Leading: Includes motivating subordinates, directing others, selecting the most effective communication channels, resolving conflicts
- Controlling is monitoring activities to ensure that they are being accomplished as planned and correcting any significant deviation.
Question 8 (answered by Ms. Thanh Van [[email protected]])
|
Characteristic |
Top management |
Middle management |
Operating management |
|
Focus on planning |
Heavy |
Moderate |
Minimum |
|
Focus on control |
Moderate |
Heavy |
Heavy |
|
Time frame |
One to five years |
Up to a year |
Day to day |
|
Scope of activity |
Extremely broad |
Entire functional area |
Single sub function or task |
|
Nature of activity |
Relatively unstructured |
Moderately structured |
Highly structured |
|
Level of complexity |
Very complex, many variables |
Less complex, better defined variables |
Straightforward |
|
Job measurement |
Difficult |
Less difficult |
Relatively easy |
|
Result of activity |
Plans, policies and strategies |
Implementation schedules, performance yardsticks |
End product |
|
Type of information utilised |
External |
Internal, reasonable accuracy |
Internal historical, high level of accuracy |
|
Mental attributes |
Creative, innovative |
Responsible, persuasive, administrative |
Efficient, effective |
|
Number of people involved |
Few |
Moderate number |
Many |
|
Departmental/divisional interaction |
Intra-division |
Intra-department |
Inter-department |
.
OK, here is only the suggestion. You have to write an essay-liked answer. However, due to the time (marks) given, I think you should concentrate on some points that most important.
Question 12 (answered by Ms. Phan Hong Duyen [[email protected]])
Common characteristics:
- OAS and DSS are two fundamental types of CBISs subsystem.
- Both of them improve productivity, accuracy, saving time, assist management in decision making. Adding, improve information flow efficiency and coordination of work
- Two systems are implemented as they are needed by individuals to meet their own unique needs, can be customized to comply with individual situation. And two systems can be tailored to the communication needs of each manager or among managers in the group DM.
Difference:
OAS:
- Definition: is an electronic system primarily concerned with communication of info to and from persons both inside and outsize the firm. It intended to facilitate all types of communication both oral and written.
- Who use OAS: is used by all of the people who work in offices: managers, professional, secretaries, clerical employees.
- Characteristic: OAS has no data processing capability, does not provide solution to making decision. Its use of the database is restricted to the Info content.
- Objective: Improve communication then improve decisions of manager have the potential to produce higher revenues. Because using OA application, the info, letter, reports, attitude or opinion can be transfer sooner, accuracy, in a better form and more attractive among members. Manager use OA application to communicate with other members of the problem solving team. Benefits of OA are cost displacement and value added.
- OA application: Word processing, E-mail, void mail, video conference, Fax…
- For example: Word Processing is the use of an electronic device that automatically performs may of the tasks necessary such as creating, editor, repair, formatting to prepare typed or printed document. E mail is the use of networked computer that allows users to send, storage, and receive messages.
DSS:
- Definition: is a tool or process whose utility is related to its ability to support decision making in the real world situation.
- Who used DSS: Assist managers in making decision.
- Characteristic: It not to provide the solution itself. Support the manager’s judgement rather than try to replace it to solve semi structured problem. It is directed towards use by users who are skilled in their subject. Help decision makers confront ill structured problems through direct interaction with data and analysis models.
- Objective: not to make the decision making process as efficient as possible. The main benefit of using a DSS is better decision.
- DSS application: report writing software, mathematical models or Group Decision Support System (GDSS).
- For example: GDSS try to improve communication among group member by providing stimulating environments. Mathematical models produce info as a result of simulations that involve with the components physical system of the firm or facets of its operations. It can be written in any procedural programming language.
