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Summer Examinations, 2007/
Exam Code(s) 1BC1, 1BC2, 1BC3, 1BC4, 1BC5, 1CL
Exam(s) Bachelor of Commerce Bachelor of Commerce International (French) Bachelor of Commerce International (German) Bachelor of Commerce International (Spanish) Bachelor of Commerce International (Italian) Bachelor of Corporate Law
Module Code(s) MS
Module(s) Management Information Systems
Paper No. 1 Repeat Paper Special Paper
External Examiner(s) Professor Hans van der Heijden Internal Examiner(s) Professor J. F. Collins Dr. M. Lang, Dr. B. Donnellan, Mr. M. Hughes, Mr. S. Hill
Instructions: Candidates are required to answer a total of^ FOUR^ questions,
consisting of ONE QUESTION from EACH SECTION
Answers for EACH SECTION are to be written in a SEPARATE ANSWER BOOK
Duration 3 Hours No. of Answer books 4
Requirements : Handout MCQ Statistical Tables Graph Paper Other Material No. of Pages Department(s) Accountancy and Finance
SECTION A
Answers for EACH SECTION are to be written in a SEPARATE ANSWER BOOK. Please write the name of the section on the answer book cover.
Answer either Question 1 or Question 2
Question 1
a. Define “Management Information Systems”. 5 Marks
b. “The flat-world platform is the product of a convergence of the personal computer with fiber-optic cable with the rise of work flow software.” Thomas L. Friedman
Discuss the thesis proposed by Friedman that the world is flat. Do you agree or disagree with Friedman’s assessment that the world is flat? Be sure to justify your answer and where possible include current examples to support your justification. 15 Marks
c. Discuss any current flatteners not previously identified by Thomas Friedman.
5 Marks
Question 2
a. Discuss the history and evolution of supply chain management. In your answer, identify and discuss the business drivers, business philosophies and business pioneers that lead to the emergence of supply chain management as a key strategic priority for the modern organisation. 15 Marks
b. Explain the differences between Business Process Improvement and Business Process Reengineering.
10 Marks
continued…
SECTION C
Answers for EACH SECTION are to be written in a SEPARATE ANSWER BOOK. Please write the name of the section on the answer book cover.
Answer either Question 5 or Question 6
Question 5
Scrooge, Bean & Associates is a reputable firm of chartered accountants based in a small town in the West of Ireland. In recent times, they have begun to make substantial use of information technology to achieve efficiencies and improvements in their business operations. A lot of their communications with clients now take place via email, and an increasing number of the professional services they provide are at least partially Internet- based. Additionally, a lot of personal and sensitive data is stored on the office’s computers in spreadsheets, databases, documents, and other files.
You recently contacted this firm about the possibility of a summer job. They called you for an interview. At the interview, one of the senior partners asks you a question:
“ I see that you have studied information systems security. It’s not something that I know much about myself, but with all this talk in the media about computer security breaches, hacking, phishing, and everything else, I’m a bit worried about our own setup here. Can you please advise me, in plain and simple terms, about the potential threats to data security, and what we should do to safeguard ourselves legally and financially? ”
Answer this question. 25 Marks
Question 6
a. Information Systems Development (ISD) is a complex and inherently risky activity.
Discuss the main challenges of ISD in the modern context, and outline some of the methods and approaches that can be used to manage and control ISD projects.
20 Marks
b. In the design of relational databases (e.g. Microsoft Access), describe using examples what is meant by the concepts of “primary key” and “foreign key”. 5 marks
continued…
SECTION D
Answers for EACH SECTION are to be written in a SEPARATE ANSWER BOOK. Please write the name of the section on the answer book cover.
Answer either Question 7 or Question 8
Question 7
(a) “ Moving up through the organisational pyramid, users move from requiring transactional information to analytical information”
Discuss this statement, using diagrams where appropriate, to describe the enterprise view of Information and Information Technology.
16 Marks
(b) Outline, using examples, three quantitative models used by Decision Support Systems.
9 Marks
Question 8
(a) Briefly outline the three main links in a supply chain. 5 Marks
(b) Describe the role of Decision Support Systems in Supply Chain Management. 5 Marks
(c) “Information Technology’s primary role in Supply Chain Management is creating the integrations or tight processes and information linkages between functions within a firm”
Discuss this statement, using diagrams where appropriate. Your answer should include an overview of the integrated supply chain, visibility, consumer behaviour, competition and speed. 15 Marks
