PGDM Sem - I (2020-2022) End Term Examination

Subject: Information Systems and Business Analytics Marks: 60

Date Of Exam: / DAY: 23/01/2021 Specialization:
Duration: 3 Hours Time: 11.00 am to 2.00 pm
Instructions
Section 1 is compulsory and would carry 10 marks.
Section 2 is compulsory and would carry 10 marks
Section 3: Answer any 4 out of the 6 questions. (10 marks each)

Q. No Section 2: Case Study ( Compulsory) 10 Marks

1 CO1,CO2, Plastic Components, Inc. (PCI) is a manufacturing company known for its
CO3,CO4, revolutionary automated production facilities. However, even with this
CO5,CO6 incredible production automation, PCI still had issues with processes such as
scheduling, inventory, and measuring manufacturing costs. The company
was using Excel spreadsheets and even doing calculations by hand to keep
these essential workflows up and running.

This method of business was a bottleneck in integrating various processes

like manufacturing, sales & distribution, procurement, finance and HR
process.

After all, manufacturing responds to an order from sales and produces a

product for which accounting and finance sends an invoice. A production
manager sends an e-mail to the human resources department requesting five
new employees. When the marketing department decides on a new
advertising campaign, a copy of the brochure is included in all employees’
pay envelope at the end of the month. Once a week all department managers
meet with the executive staff and review statistics from last month’s
business.

What’s the problem? Many times, departments fail to fully communicate

with all the other departments about every process that is taking place in a
company. They don’t do it on purpose but forget how important total
communication about every process and every piece of data is. Sales send an
order to manufacturing with a shipment date that can’t possibly be met.
Accounting and finance pays a bill for supplies that production never
ordered. Human resources holds a training class that interferes with a rush
production job.

Page 1 of 4
 To resolve all these issues PCI is looking for Enterprise-wide solution which
will allows every functional area to share every process and every piece of
data across the organisation.

A business can select specific processes in specific areas but eventually

everything the company does will be shared across all lines.

I. As a Business Consultant analyse the challenges in the case and

propose a solution. Do you think ERP would resolve the issues? If
yes explain the concept of Enterprise Resource planning Software
II. Explain the Business Value of ERP for Business in terms of
following

 Management: How ERP helps management with decision making,

with a comprehensive view of performance across all functional
areas.
 A more uniform organization: How ERP creates more disciplined
approach to business throughout the entire firm, regardless of
physical location and/or organizational structure.
 Give some examples of current ERP software in the market

Q. No Course Section 3: Answer any 4 out of the 6 questions given below. Each 40 Marks
Outcomes question carries 10 marks
CO1,CO2, Businesses today are faced with two very stark realities—the world is hyper-
2 CO3 competitive, and data drive it. Companies that have the best information
make the fewest mistakes, which in turn help them to stay ahead of the pack

Every organization has huge volumes of data and businesses use efficient
methods to turn their data into usable information. As every area of research
becomes data-intensive, emphasis is shifting from data generation to data
analysis and this has led to the development of big data.

Today’s digital society, through the explosion of Big Data has produced a
ton of information. The challenge is to make any sense of all this data.

As from the Business Management domain, do you think Business

Analytics is essential dimension for today’s industries?

Explain Scope of Analytics in any one of the following industries in terms

of following parameters.

I. Current Challenges of the sector

II. Scope of Analytics to address these challenges with business case
example

Industries: 1) Retail 2) Banking & Finance 3) Insurance 4) Healthcare 5)

Food & Beverage 6) Transportation & Hospitality 7) Manufacturing 8)
Telecom
Page 2 of 4
3 CO1,CO2, By the year 2021, cloud computing will be more accessible, agile, and
CO3,CO4, competitive in the fast-paced customer landscape. The forthcoming years
CO5 will set more practical applications for Blockchain, IoT Artificial
Intelligence, and so on. Currently, cloud computing is the reigning champion
when it comes to transforming businesses and implementing the right model
of choice to digitalize IT infrastructure.

The investments in this technology have taken a huge leap over the past
years. As per Forrester Research, the global public cloud infrastructure
market will grow 35 percent to $120 billion in 2021 to take the center stage
in the recovery from the pandemic. Furthermore, according to Gartner, the
percentage of worldwide IT spend on the Cloud will speed up in 2021..

The rapid development of technology has provided a lot of alternative

solutions for many companies in running and developing their businesses.
Now more and more companies are starting to build their business model by
relying on Cloud Computing, which has now become a new technology
trend.

I. Explain some of the major benefits of Cloud Computing for

businesses.
II. Explain various types of cloud computing like Private, Public and
Hybrid cloud

4 CO1,CO2, From a business perspective, an information system provides a solution to a

CO3,CO4, problem or challenge facing a firm and provides real economic value to the
CO5 business. The decision to build or maintain an information system assumes
that the returns on this investment will be superior to other investments in
buildings, machines, or other assets.

To fully understand information systems, a manager must understand the

broader Organization, Management, and Information Technology
dimensions of systems and their power to provide solutions to challenges and
problems in the business environment. Explain these three dimensions of IS
with an example.
5 CO1,CO2 A typical organization is divided into operational, middle, and upper level.
The information requirements for users at each level differ. Towards that
end, there are number of information systems that support each level in an
organization.

Explore the different types of information systems, the organizational level

that uses them and the characteristics of the particular information system
with an example.

 Transaction Processing System (TPS)

 Management Information System (MIS)
 Decision Support System (DSS)
 Executive Support System (ESS)

Page 3 of 4
6 CO1,CO2, HR analytics and employee data are often cited as an important tool for
CO3 understanding the role of people in creating value in organizations,
particularly through the measuring and performance reporting. This
understanding can help HR determine where the organization shines and
where there is room for improvement.

Explain some of the ways you think HR Analytics can benefit the
organizations in those terms.
7 CO1,CO2, Write Short note on the following (any two)
CO3,CO4,
CO5,CO6 1. Application of Blockchain Technology in one of the Industries
2. DSS
3. Descriptive vs Predictive Analytics
4. Business value of SMAC

Page 4 of 4