MIS

1. What is a supply chain? What is the purpose of supply chain management systems?
The supply chain is the sequence of the processes that are involved in the production and
also the distribution of goods. The purpose of supply chain management systems is to cut
excess costs and also to deliver the products to the customers faster. It involves the active
streamlining of a business's supply-side activities to maximize customer value and gain a
competitive advantage in the marketplace. The ultimate goal of any effective supply chain
management system is to reduce inventory (use JIT).

2. What is the purpose of cost accounting ISs?

The main purpose of cost accounting ISs is to manage the company’s expenditure by
classifying, collecting, and also recording all the production costs and also to control the
cost. It helps to determine the manufacturing cost of each product of the company and also
determine the organization is competitive in selling a certain product or service.

3. What is the relationship between CAD and CAM systems?

CAM/CAD systems are used to design and manufacture prototypes, finished products. They
are also used in program manufacturing processes. CAD and CAM are the steps included in
the manufacturing of a product. CAD is the implementation of digital computers in
engineering design and production. It involves the use of computers for transforming the
elementary idea of a product into a detailed engineering design. CAM is the implementation
of computers in transforming engineering designs into end products.The technical
specifications and electronic drawings that result from computer-aided design can feed
computer-aided manufacturing systems that execute the assembly, cutting, welding, and
other activities involved in manufacturing.

4. What are the concerns in cash management, and how do cash management ISs help
financial managers?
The concern is to have enough cash on hand for operations while gaining the maximum
possible return on cash that is invested for the duration for which it is not needed for
immediate use. The main job of financial managers is to manage money efficiently.
Financial ISs help managers plan the allocation of cash to projects, making sure to make
payments on time, purchasing, payroll, and other purposes, allowing them to determine how
much cash can be invested for how long to maximize yield while not risking missing
payments. The systems take into consideration both anticipated cash-in flows and cash-
outflows.
5. What is the time to market? How have I affected time to market?
Time to market is the time period from conceiving an idea for a new product until its being
available to be delivered on the market. Time to market is both quantitative and qualitative.
It helps to shorten the time-to-market which helps an organization to exploit a strategic
position. Growing revenue, growing share, reducing R&D costs, and improving customer
satisfaction are some of the main reasons companies decide to shorten the time to market.

6. In brief, what is the purpose of customer relationship management systems?

The purpose of CRM is mainly to keep good relationships with customers. Its purpose are:
● To maintain a long relationship with customers from marketing through sales and other
customer services.
● To make new and loyal customers relationship and make strategies to make customer
happy within the company policies
● To understand customer requirement properly
● Troubleshooting on time
● Reduce the maintenance cost by time to timely update and elimination of useless
services.

7.What are the typical components of ERP systems?

The typical component of ERP system:

1. Manufacturing resource planning : This component provides information of product

specifications and manufacturing process related data.
2. Financial management: This component gathers data from various departments and
generates financial reports.
3. Human Resource component: This component keeps data regarding employee
information salary and performance. It helps the company to use employee’s talent in the
best manner.
4. Purchase: This component automates the process of purchasing raw materials , price
setting and billing.
5. Inventory management: It helps to manage stock in the warehouse.
6. Marketing, Sale and distribution: This component streamline the effective method of
marketing the product with competitors, place order, order scheduling.
7. Shipping and payment: This component takes care of delivery of the product and
payment. This is integrated with the company e-commerce website.

8. Although technologically the full linking of the SCM systems of suppliers and buyers
is feasible, many buyers are reluctant to do so. Why?

Technologically the full linking of the SCM systems of suppliers and buyers is feasible
many buyers are reluctant to do so because if two companies are dealing with each other,
they share their demand and price information. This information and other secrets can be
disclosed to their competitors to get benefits and companies can cheat with higher prices.

9.Why do the ERP installation and testing of systems require that experts be involved?
Why does the implementation of so many ERP systems face severe challenges or totally
fail?

The ERM system consists of very complex packages of software which need expert
assistance to install. The experts are professionally certified in the software by the vendor.
The software used in ERP systems requires modifications as per the requirements of clients,
the experts are dedicated to the ERP system so they do the work with accuracy and
efficiency.

Challenges in implementation of so many ERP systems:

● Implementation of so many ERP systems is not easy as it involves implementation of a
complex set of integrated software and they are developed on specific client requirement
● After the implementation is done , ERP systems require modification for smooth tuning
of the system that are organization specific.
● ERP applications are too much costly
● Installation and modification process takes a substantial amount of time.

10.What is EOQ? Which two problems do ISs that calculate EOQ help minimize?

EOQ( Economic order quantity) is a specific raw material’s ideal quantity that helps the
business to minimize holding and ordering cost with timely production of the item.

The EOQ of each item is calculated by separate program with considering several factors:
● Item’s cost
● Discount on large orders
● Storage cost of ordered items
● Shipping cost

The 2 problems:
● Understocking
● Missing production deadlin

11) What is JIT? How do MRP and MRP II systems help achieve JIT
JIT(just in time): the manufacturing strategy in which suppliers ship( arts directly to
assembly lines, saving the cost of warehousing raw materials, parts and subassemblies,
MRP and MRP II help JIT by planning how many product units are needed and when
keeping an inventory control. while MRP II plans out the entire manufacturing process,
quickly modifying schedules to accommodate orders, track production in real-time, and
fixes quality slippage

12) For the human resource managers of some organizations the entire web is a database
of candidates. How so?
By helping HR managers post position vacancy announcements for employees to peruse
and consider from their own PCs. Many companies refuse to receive paper applications
and resumes; recruiting officers can then use special software to scour a database for the
most qualified candidates. It’s known to reduce the time process spent on a typical search
from several hours to minutes

13) What information technologies play a crucial role in marketing?

The role of information technology is huge in marketing. For example, companies can
market their products through text, email, and Facebook instead of simply mailing flyers.
They also come up with more elaborate ways to market on the television and radio.

14) Many sales reps have no offices, yet they have access to huge resources, and their
productivity is great. Explain how that is possible.

It is possible for many sales representatives who have no office but access to huge resources
with great productivity with just a use of a PDA's/laptop. They can establish a wireless
connection to the internet, which enables sales people to check prices, confirm the
availability of the items in which a customer is interested and place an order away from the
office

15) What is RFID, and what role does it play in SCM?

RFID stands for Radio frequency identification is a technology that uses an electromagnetic
field to communicate with tags attached to the object. The main role of RFID in SCM is
with the tag of the item, it contains the maintenance history of products, which helps
optimize maintenance

Role of RFID in supply chain management:

RFID technology is used in the retail business to ensure supply chain efficiency and better
in-stock availability.

RFID tags are out on an individual product for tracking.

RFID tags contain circuitry that can record product information such as manufacturing date
and place, expiry date, out of the number, movement, and much other information.
RFID provides the security of the product by giving notification if someone leaves the place
with an RFID tagged item without payment

16) In the supply chain, shipping software helps mainly in two ways. What are they?

The supply chain, shipping software helps mainly in two ways, they are,
1. Shipping software helps by optimizing shipping time and the cost of labor, equipment use
and
2. Maintenance helps companies stay competitive

17) You establish a small shop that manufactures a single product that you sell by mail. You
purchase raw materials from several vendors and employ five full-time employees. For
which business functions would you certainly use the software?
As a small shop that manufactures a single product, I would use the following:
● Transaction Processing System: A small business processes transactions that result from
day-to-day business operations, such as the creation of paychecks and purchase orders,
using a transaction processing system, or TPS. The TPS, unlike a batch system, requires that
users interact with the system in real-time to direct the system to collect, store, retrieve and
modify data. A user enters transaction data by means of a terminal, and the system
immediately stores the data in a database and produces any required output.
● Management Information System: Small-business managers and owners rely on an
industry-specific management information system, or MIS, to get current and historical
operational performance data, such as sales and inventories data. For example, an MIS
report maybe a pie chart that illustrates product sales volume by territory or a graph that
illustrates the percentage increase or decrease in a product's sales over time. Hence, this
system will help my business manage sales and inventory.

● Decision Support System: It allows small-business managers and owners to use

predefined support operations planning and problem-resolution decisions. With DSS, we
find answers to specific questions as a means to evaluate the possible impact of a decision
before it is implemented. The answers to queries may take the form of a data summary
report, such as a product revenue by quarter sales report. To conduct an analysis, we use an
interface – a dashboard – to select a particular graphic representation of a key performance
indicator that measures the progress toward meeting a specific goal. For example, we use it
to get dashboard displaying a graphic representing the number of products manufactured on
a particular day or week

18) Which of the ISs you listed for Question 17 would you link to each other, and for what
purpose?

I would like to link the transaction process system and the management information system
because the TPS is the major source of data for other systems in an organization. Since they
record daily routine transactions in an organization, they aid managers in monitoring the
status of the operations and thus help in structured decision-making. MIS usually receives
and utilizes the data they get from the TPS.

19) Why is it so important to have a quick response to online investment ISs? Give two
examples of how such systems are critical.

It is important as it reduces the cost of processing, obtaining, and transmitting information

thus enabling the online investment companies to gain a competitive advantage and to
survive in the face of serious corporate threats.
20) Some experts say that ISs have great potential in manufacturing. Explain why. (hint:
consider business process reengineering.)
Manufacturing Information Systems assist companies in creating artificial intelligence that
simply cannot be acquired through other methods. These multi-use systems are integral to
many industries, including fashion, manufacturing, printing, packaging, hotel and
hospitality, construction, transportation, and more.

There is a type of Information System called the Business Process Reengineering (BPR)
which focuses on how main business elements are connected, and how they work with or
against each other, depending on the structure of relationships. It consists of some of its keo
components which include:
Benefits of MIS implementation on manufacturing might include:
● Streamlined product production
● Reduced costs, waste, and re-work
● Increased efficiency in set-up times
● Assessment of correct order priority
● Assignment and reassignment of inventory as necessary
● Evaluation of optimal times to turn machines on and off
● Scheduling and rescheduling equipment
● Embedding best practices
● Improving reaction time within the supply change management process
● Making and measuring parts
● Assigning personnel
● Moving inventory from one workstation to another
● Managing suppliers
● Embedding lean and six sigma thinking into your manufacturing process
● Improving efficiency
● Increasing transparency in record-keeping processes
● Audit preparation
● Increasing total output
21.) Over the past decade, banks and investment firms have offered many services that
would be impossible without ISs. Describe three such services and explain how IT makes
them possible.

- Example of IT Services offered by bank and Investment firms:

1 . Remote banking: Remote banking is an online service that banks offer to customers that
allows transactions like money transfer, online payment etc. over 24 hour between
geographically separated intermediates. The communication channels used to access remote
banking are modem, internet or mobile phones. Information technology is an important
medium for banking transactions. ISs helps implement reliable techniques of transaction and
risk Management. ATM services allow anytime anywhere cash withdrawal, remittances and
inquiry facilities.

2. Electronic clearing services: ECS is an information- enabled service that is used to

transfer funds electronically from one bank account to another bank account. It can be used
for payment for example distribution of dividends, interest, pension, bill payment, monthly
instalment of SIP etc

3. Equity: investment firms are companies that offer finance related services in the issuance
of security. Private equity funds, mutual funds, LIC etc. are some of investment services that
manage, sell and market funds to public, wRh the help of information technology
investment firms provide assistance of buying and selling securities, on-demand statement
listing the stock,periodic yield, to clients.Information technology helps the client to get
current news about finance, stock prices,commodity prices, currency exchange rate

22.ISs in both the manufacturing and service sectors often help to optimize. Give two
examples of what they optimize.
- Information system helps manufacturing and services centre to optimize:
Manufacturing and service sectors differ in their functional style and their requirements are
completely different that help to run thom smoothly. ISs are also different for both the
sectors and the same model cam servo both of them.
 Example of optimization in manufacturing sector:
- Let's take production management as an example for the manufacturing sector. Raw
material, product stock, inventory, staff can be considered as part of the Information system.
- IS can help in lowering the production cost and improving staff efficiency.
- Based on gathering data, decisions can be taken up.
- When to increase the production to meet the requirements and when to slow down .
When do we get the best price for raw materials.
- How much inventory should be maintained that won't incur the cost?
- How to make product defects free?
- All these processes can be streamlined and may give better results if information is
maintained properly.

Example of optimization in services:

- Let's take hotel business as an example:
- Enquiry about rooms availability ,booking the room , food habits feedback all these can
be part of the information system.
- To improve on customer experience hotel will have to work on customer feedback

23.) The web has significantly cut the cost of collecting data about shoppers and buyers.
Explain how.
- The prime objective of any business is to build a strong foundation of trust and loyalty in
between them and their customers. According to a study, it is also found that retaining old
customers is much cheaper than to have new customers. Thus, the only best way of
maintaining that is by understanding the customer’s needs well and offering them with best
quality services. With the entrance of technology, innovation has evolved and has made it
easy to interact with the customers, analyze them and customize their services accordingly.
This has provided them with great insights so as to put targeted marketing into place. These
ISs have made it even easier for businesses to study the market, update with trends,
understand their customers and provide them with better services.

24.) Sellers of consumer products argue that targeted marketing serves not only them but also
their consumers. How so?

- Targeted marking serves not only suppliers but also consumers:

Targeted marketing is the goal of the company towards a group of people that most likely
buy from them.
Suppliers collect data online about customers' buying habits, demographic, geographic,
psychographic, attitude, expenses, how frequently they buy particular products, competitor's
prices.
Target marketing serves customers in following manner:
• Consumers can browse data supplier's websites to get details regarding product detail,
availability.
• Suppliers give special offers for their loyal customers and let them know via electronic
media on time.
• Consumers can read reviews about products and companies and decide whether to buy the
product for the supplier or not.
• It saves consumer's time and effort.

25. If you had to evaluate your own subordinates, would you prefer to evaluate them in
written, open-ended form, or would you prefer to use employee evaluation software? Why?

Subordinate evaluations are part of a company's appraisal process where employees assess
the performance of their managers. Typically, a subordinate appraisal is part of what is
known as a 360-degree feedback system. This is where an employee is appraised by
managers, subordinates, colleagues, business partners and customers. Feedback from
supervised employees can be very useful to managers, their workers and the company.

Performance reviews have value for employees and employers alike, highlighting what is
and isn't working, and keeping everyone on the same page.

If I had to evaluate my own subordinates, I would prefer to evaluate them using employee
evaluation software as a quality performance management system delivers real-time reports
and enhances collaboration between employees and managers. The platform helps you
complete the process and stores the results for later review.
The true cost of performance reviews to your organization is the time managers and HR
staff spend gathering and writing the material that serves as the foundation for each review.
That's where performance management software can help.
This type of system allows managers and HR staff to set and monitor goals and to create
custom reviews. It automatically solicits responses from managers, employees and peers for
the review cycle. It also creates a process for an employee-centered review known as a "360
review." Employees can use the custom-built API platform to self-serve many of their HR
needs, which can save your team hours each week.
26. As an employee, would you prefer that your supervisor evaluate you with the aid of
employee evaluation software or without it? Why?

- I would recommend that my boss use software to measure my results because software
allows me to track my progress each month. As a worker, I can use the program to monitor
my progress and set business objectives. Most significantly, the app will provide an avenue
for workers to provide continuous input and discussion. Feedback is given immediately and
in real time.

27. Try to remember the last time you gave someone your personal data, such as an ID
number, email address, or a physical address. What was the reason for asking for the data?
Do you know how the data will be used by the receiver?

- I was asked to provide my phone number and name by a cashier at a supermarket. The
purpose was to store my name in the customer database management system so that I can
get updates about discounts or new products in the future. Moreover, having my data stored
in their database management system would help me avail discounts in the future as all the
transactions with the supermarket will be linked to my account.

28. Some consumer advocates argue that organizations should pay every individual
whenever they sell data about him or her to another organization, (They suggest 5 or 10
cents per sale.) Do you agree? Why?

- Yeah, under the statute, digital data should be considered as a property right. Businesses,
both known and unknown, have access to large quantities of personal data and benefit
greatly from them. These businesses benefit from the data they gather while not always
paying careful attention to its security.Companies must do a better job of informing
consumers that their data is being monitored and providing a simple opt-out choice.
Furthermore, as previously said, users must be told of how their data is being used, and it
must be treated as private property.After undergoing the “consent” procedure, for the
monetization part, data must be assessed first. There are certain criteria that need to be met
like:
● Dependability: Data must be valuable and accurate
● Relevance: Data must be relevant to business needs
● Segmentation: Segmentation makes data marketable
● Security/ Anonymity (If necessary): Insufficient security can lead to a loss of customer
trust and even legal trouble
After the data makes it through to all of these procedures, payment must be made to the
rightful owner.

29. Examine the list of precautions suggested in “Ethical & Societal Issues” for ensuring
minimum invasion of privacy when businesses use personal data. Which steps can be taken
without or with a minimal added cost? Which steps would you impose financial burdens on
businesses? Why?

- Precautions for ensuring minimum invasion of privacy when business uses personal data:
1. Purpose: Companies should specify the purpose of customer data collection and use the
data only for the purpose for which data is collected. They can be used for another purpose
only when the customer allows and authorized by law. 2. Relevance: Companies should use
customer's information only for their own purpose. 3. Accuracy: Companies should ensure
that all the information is correct. Sometimes people give wrong information, data entry
should be carefully and periodic verification should also take place. 4. Correctness of
records: To make sure the correctness of the customer information

periodical verification should take place, if data is not correct, it should be discarded
periodically from the record. Outdated information can create confusion. 5. Maintain
Security: companies should disclose sensitive information to only concerned people. Data
protection techniques like password, audit trail etc. should be used to ensure security and
extra precautions should be taken in online data transfer.

6. Time limitation: Time duration of the validity of the data should be fixed. 7. Scrutiny:
Observation and editing process for the information should be used. 8. Sole recording: If a
company is using any recording techniques, it should make sure that no other company
should use its benefit. For example if RFID is being used, RFID tags should be disable just
after purchase

- Steps to be taken to protect privacy:

- 1. If you are not sure about the intention of information use, do not share name, social
security number, address, and other private information.
- 2. Choose security numbers carefully that nobody can steal easily.
- 3. If necessary to share information, make sure that the information would not be shared
for any other purpose or to any other organization.
- 4. If any information is optional to fill, don't fill in the paper or online form.
- 5. Read terms and conditions carefully.