Typel (5marks each)

1. Write a note on the Impact of Information Systems on Society

2. Explain in brief the types of Information Systems
3. Explain the impact of Information Technology on organizations
4. Briefly Explain the technological trends that have raised ethical issues
5. Explain the following basic principles of Information Security: Availability and Integrity
6. Briefly Explain the term "Business Ethics"
7. Explain the steps involved in Ethical Analysis
8. Explain the following Ethical Principles: Golden Rule, Risk Aversion
9. Explain the following Ethical Principles: Utilitarian Principle. Fairness Approach
10. What is Information Security? Explain In brief
11. Briefly explain the role of Information Systems in an organization
12. Explain the benefits of Computer Based Information Systems?
13. Explain Business Strategy in brief
Type 2 (10 marks each)
1. What is an Information System? Explain the components of an Information System
2. Write a note on Competitive Advantage of an Organization
3. Explain Porters Five Forces Model
4. Write a note on Computer Based Information Systems
5. Explain the terms 'Strategy" and "Competitive Advantage. What Is the impact of Information Systems on an organization's
Strategy and Competitive Advantage
6. What are the security threats to Information Systems?
7. What measures can be taken by an organization to ensure Information Security?
8. Explain the terms related to Security Controls: Physical Control, Access Control and Communication Controls
1. Write a note on the Impact of Information Systems on Society
• Healthcare
– Improved Reach to remote locations
– Access to global best practices / Doctors
• Shopping
– Online Marketplaces: Convenient access to products not available locally
– Saving Time and Money
• Money Management
– Banking: Convenience, Security, Time Saving
– Investments: Price Discovery, Reduced Operations Cost, Time Saving
• Education
– Improved Reach: Quality Educational Content reaching remote locations
– Security: GPS in school bus etc
– Learn from anywhere and anytime
• Travel
– Convenience: reservation of Travel Tickets /Hotel Rooms etc
– Price/Location Discovery
– Improved Customer Service
• Politics
– Improved participation of citizen in government initiatives
– Better information flow between government and citizen: Transparency and
Accountability
– Faster processing of service requests by government authorities
• Case Study: Passport Seva Kendra , Tax : GST , Income Tax etc
• Social Media
– Connecting with friends, colleagues, potential recruiters/employees
– Flip Side: Adverse impact on physical and mental health
• Job Losses
– Computers replacing humans
• Privacy Issues
– When you do not see the product, you are the product !
– Someone is always watching/listening !
Q2]Explain in brief the types of Information Systems

• Executive Support System

– Help Senior Management with strategic decisions
– Integrates internal and external information
• Decision Support System
– Used to aid decision making
– Present users with choices and alternatives
• Management Information System
– Prepare reports that can be used by Managers (mostly
internal data)
– Helps Managers supervise activities, resolve problems, track
progress etc
• Office Support System
– Improve efficiency of personnel who process transactions
– E.g. MS Office etc
• Transaction Support System
– Process repetitive tasks accurately
– Billing, Payroll system etc
3. Explain the impact of Information Technology on organizations

• Faster Growth
– Faster processing of information = Seize opportunities faster
– Reduced Time-to-Market for new products
• Reduces Personnel Cost
– Leaner IT setup – Eliminate unnecessary jobs
– Easy to replicate. Reduced dependency on Human Skill/Intelligence
• Increases Efficiency and Accuracy
– Managing repetitive tasks becomes easier
– Improved/Fact-Based Decision Making
• Improves Flexibility
– Remove Boundaries: Tasks can be performed anywhere
– Remove Time Constraints: Tasks can be performed anytime
• Institutional Memory
– Access to older records saves time and helps in decision making
– Organizations dependency on particular individuals reduces
• Improved Engagement with Stake Holders
– Employees, Vendors, Customers, Shareholders, Regulators etc
– Improved Information Flow
– Time and Distance barriers reduced
• Compliance ( Accounting, Taxation etc)
– Timely and Accurate: Due to proper collection and dissemination of information
• Improved Communication
– Across Functions
– Across Geographical locations
4. Briefly Explain the technological trends that have raised ethical issues
5. Explain the following basic principles of Information Security: Availability and Integrity
Availability:
• Relevant Data is available to all those who need them (employees, customers, suppliers etc) at all
times and at permitted locations/devices
• System design should ensure sufficient capacity in order to cater to data demands from all authorized
users
• Denial of Service (DoS) can hamper availability. These have to be prevented/dealt with by teams
responsible for information security
• Availability can also be affected due to natural calamities, power outages etc. These can be dealt with
using principles of redundancy, load balancing etc

Integrity:
• To ensure that available data is accurate and reliable
• Unauthorized modification to the data (accidentally or maliciously) should not be allowed
• Without integrity, the cost of data collection, storage, processing and dissemination cannot be
justified
• Data can be altered either at storage space or during transit (network). Attacks at either should be
avoided/dealt with using access control, intrusion detection and encryption
• Loss of integrity can also happen unintentionally due to human errors. User training and proper
checks at software level and reduce such instances
6. Briefly Explain the term "Business Ethics“

Ethics in Business:
– Businesses are an integral part of the society, their actions can have a
profound impact on the society. Hence they are expected to act responsibly
i.e. in the larger interest of the society
– Business Ethics= Guidelines for
• The value system of the organization
• Conduct of its employees
• Decision Making - In the interest of the society at large
– Some Ethical Requirements are enforced by law. For Example:
• Minimum Wages, Worker Safety , Environmental Safety
• Restrictions on Insider Trading, Equal Opportunity Employment,
Prohibition of Child labor
• Further, Companies can have their own code of conduct that employees,
suppliers etc have to abide by

– Companies with strong ethical foundations are more likely to be favored by

employees, consumers, suppliers, shareholders and society at large. This is
crucial for long-term sustainability of the organization
7. Explain the steps involved in Ethical Analysis

Identify and describe the facts

– Who did ? What? To Whom? Where? When? And How?
• Define the conflict or dilemma and identify the higher order values
involved
– Higher Values= Freedom, Privacy, Free Enterprise etc
– For example: Reducing Advertising costs by collecting extensive individual data Vs
Respecting Individual Privacy
• Identify the stakeholders
– Parties who have interest in the outcome
• Identify the options that you can take
– May not please all parties involved, but still some options better than the others
– Being just is more important than pleasing everyone
• Identify the potential consequences of your actions
– What damage can the chosen action cause
– Can I choose this action consistently over time for similar cases?
8. Explain the following Ethical Principles: Golden Rule, Risk Aversion
9. Explain the following Ethical Principles: Utilitarian Principle. Fairness Approach
10. What is Information Security? Explain In brief

• Security = Freedom from Danger

• In context of Information Systems, danger implies threat to an organization’s
survival/growth/reputation due to:
– Destruction of Information: Organization cannot continue functioning normally due to non-availability to
data. The loss of data that was collected and analyzed over the years will be huge
– Modification of Information: Users will unknowingly work upon wrong data, this will result in
unexpected/undesirable outcomes
– Theft of Information: If the stolen information reaches competitors it will result in loss of business. Worse,
if the stolen information is personal information about customers, employees, suppliers etc, it can cause
havoc in their personal lives
• Information Security
– Protecting sensitive information from view/theft/modification/destruction by unauthorized people and
software
– Organizations strive to protect critical data pertaining to customers, transactions, intellectual property etc.
– Failure to ensure information security can result in:
• Tangible Losses: Monetary loss
• Intangible Losses: Loss of Reputation, Goodwill etc
• Ensuring Information Security:
– Prevention: Anticipate threats and set up policies for protection of premises, equipment, software and data
– Detection: Continuous monitoring to ensure timely detection of data theft/modification/destruction. This
can prevent further damage and allow the organization to take corrective action soon
– Recovery: Physical Infrastructure, Software and Data to be recovered from destruction due to natural
calamities or malicious attacks
11. Briefly explain the role of Information Systems in an organization
SAME AS Q3

12. Explain the benefits of Computer Based Information Systems?

• Some or all tasks are performed by computers
– Integration of Hardware, Software and Human elements

• Data Collection, Storage and Processing in Digital Format

• Information delivered in digital format

• Components of CBIS
– Hardware, Software, Databases, Networking, People, Procedures

• Benefits
– Tangible: Faster Business Growth, Accuracy, Processing Capacity,
Efficiency,
Cost Reduction
– Intangible: Data Analysis, Customer Engagement, Employee
Engagement,
Supplier Engagement, Competitive Analysis, Market Image
13. Explain Business Strategy in brief
Business Strategy:
– Detailed, Long-Term, Large-Scale, Dynamic plan for achieving
goals
– Provides direction, Sets Priorities
– “Where are we now? Where do we want to reach?” What
Course of Action is needed?
– How do we allocate resources: Money, Humans etc
– Ongoing Process: Organization has to adapt to changes
– Organization Structure follows Strategy
– A Department within the business can have its own strategy,
provided, it is aligned with
the overall business strategy
1. What is an Information System? Explain the components of an Information System
• Information System = Interrelated components working together in order to
– Collect
– Process
– Store
– Disseminate Information
• Objective of Information System is to support decision making in an
organization
• Components of Information System
– Hardware
– Software
– Data
– People
– Processes
• These components need to work together to benefit the organization
2. Write a note on Competitive Advantage of an Organization
• Competitive Advantage:
– Something that allows an organization to do better than its competitors ( Present
as well as Future). For example:
• Better Market Research: Understanding the Consumer
• Better R&D Facilities: New/Improved products in pipeline always
• Better Manufacturing: Quality/Quantity as per market demand
• Better Distribution Network: Reach more customers
• Better Personnel: High IQ,EQ,SQ. Team Players. Ambitious
• Better Supplier Network: Access to quality Raw Materials
• Better Communication: Top of the mind recall for products/services
• Better Customer Relationship Management: Brand Loyalty
– What do we mean by Outperformance?
• Revenue Growth
• Profitability
• Efficiency
– Outperformance comes from:
• Differentiation: Different & better goods/services
• Cost Advantage: Same goods/services as competition, but cheaper
– Gives the organization a favorable position in the industry
– Organizations should aim at building and sustaining competitive advantages
3. Explain Porters Five Forces Model
4. Write a note on Computer Based Information Systems
SAME AS Q12

5. Explain the terms 'Strategy" and "Competitive Advantage. What Is the impact of Information Systems on an organization's Strategy and
Competitive Advantage .

STRATEGY mean “a management information systems strategy is a plan for developing management information systems, which
maximize the ability of the organization to achieve its agreed objectives.”

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE refers to factors that allow a company to produce goods or services better or more cheaply than its rivals.

These factors allow the productive entity to generate more sales or superior margins compared to its market rivals.
• Inputs for Strategy Formulation
– External Data: Global Economy, Country’s Economy, Market, Competition,
Consumer etc
– Internal Data: Strengths and Weaknesses of the organization
• Implementation of Strategy
– Data Collection at relevant points
– Data Storage for future use and analysis
– Timely dissemination of data to relevant business units
• Review
– Internal: Planned v/s Achievement
– External: How things have changed in the environment
• Feedback
– Internal: What do we do to get back on track
– External: How do we adapt to the changes in the environment and sustain
leadership position
6. What are the security threats to Information Systems?
7. What measures can be taken by an organization to ensure Information Security?
8. Explain the terms related to Security Controls: Physical Control, Access Control and Communication Controls
1. Physical Controls:
– Control physical access to premises, devices: Gate, Security Guard, alarm, CCTV systems
– Design buildings that can survive earthquakes, fire etc.
– Have redundancy at hardware, data and power supply level ( if one location is damaged,
system can be up and running from other location having the same setup)

2. Access Controls: ID Card, Biometrics ( Fingerprint, Face Scan, Retina Scan etc.)
3. Communication Controls / Network Controls: Secure transfer of data over
network
– Firewalls: Filter data coming into the organization from the outside world
– Anti-Malware Systems/Anti-Virus
– White-listing and Black-Listing: Deciding which software/websites can be accessed by users
– Encryption: Converting plain text into a format which only the intended recipient can
understand
– Virtual Private Networking: Data is sent through public networks, but in encrypted form
– SSL Protocol: Encryption/decryption of data moving between browser and server
– Employee Surveillance Systems: Monitoring activities of employees like web surfing etc.