Mixed Deck — All MIS Topics Flashcards

In a relational database, a foreign key is used to:

Answer: Establish a link between two related tables

A foreign key in one table references the primary key of another table, enforcing referential integrity between related records.

A company's CIO wants a real-time dashboard showing KPIs across all departments. Which system is most appropriate?

Answer: Executive Information System (EIS)

An EIS (also called ESS) is designed to give executives summarized, real-time KPI views drawn from multiple organizational systems.

The practice of outsourcing IT infrastructure and services over the internet, paying only for resources consumed, best describes which computing model?

Answer: Utility computing / Cloud computing

Cloud (utility) computing delivers IT resources on demand over the internet with pay-per-use pricing.

What is the role of an ERP consultant during implementation?

Answer: To provide expertise in configuring and deploying the ERP system

ERP consultants provide specialized expertise in system configuration, best practices, and implementation methodology to guide successful deployments.

A DSS that recommends optimal solutions rather than just presenting data is called:

Answer: Prescriptive DSS

A prescriptive DSS goes beyond describing or predicting situations to actively recommending optimal courses of action.

Which networking device operates at Layer 3 of the OSI model and directs traffic between different networks?

Answer: Router

Routers operate at the Network layer (Layer 3) and forward packets between separate networks using IP addresses.

Which business continuity concept defines the maximum tolerable period that a system can be down before causing unacceptable business impact?

Answer: Recovery Time Objective (RTO)

RTO specifies the maximum acceptable downtime after a disruption before the business suffers critical consequences.

An organization uses software agents to automatically execute stock trades when market conditions meet predefined criteria. This is best described as:

Answer: Intelligent agent / automated system

Intelligent agents autonomously monitor conditions and execute actions—such as trades—when specified rules or thresholds are met.

Which SDLC phase involves gathering and documenting what the new system must do?

Answer: Requirements analysis

The requirements analysis phase involves gathering, analyzing, and documenting the functional and non-functional requirements the new system must satisfy.

Why is heavy ERP customization generally discouraged?

Answer: It makes future software upgrades costly and complex

ERP customization modifies the vendor's source code, making future software upgrades costly and complex to apply.

What kind of office application software is most effective for managing an employee's travel expenses?

Answer: Spreadsheet

Spreadsheet software, like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets, is specifically designed for organizing, analyzing, and calculating numerical data in rows and columns. It is highly effective for managing expenses, budgets, and financial records due to its ability to perform calculations, sort data, and create charts. This makes it ideal for tracking an employee's travel expenses.

Which ERP module manages accounts payable, accounts receivable, and general ledger?

Answer: Financial Accounting module

The Financial Accounting module in ERP handles core accounting functions including accounts payable, accounts receivable, and general ledger.

Which ethical framework in IT focuses on the outcomes of decisions — choosing the action that produces the greatest good for the greatest number of people?

Answer: Utilitarian ethics

Utilitarian ethics evaluates actions by their consequences, favoring decisions that maximize overall benefit and minimize harm across all stakeholders.

In business analytics, regression analysis is primarily used to:

Answer: Understand the relationship between variables and predict numerical outcomes

Regression analysis examines the relationship between dependent and independent variables to understand how changes in predictors affect outcomes and make numerical predictions.

What does 'parallel conversion' mean in SDLC implementation?

Answer: Running old and new systems simultaneously until the new system is verified

Parallel conversion runs both the old and new systems simultaneously, comparing outputs until confidence in the new system is established before fully switching.

In ERP terminology, what is a 'module'?

Answer: A specific functional area covered by the ERP system

ERP modules are distinct functional components covering specific business areas like finance, HR, manufacturing, or procurement.

A bank's fraud detection system flags transactions that deviate from a customer's normal spending patterns. This is an example of:

Answer: Anomaly detection using machine learning

Anomaly detection algorithms learn baseline behavior and flag statistically unusual events, a common machine learning application in fraud detection.

Which type of information system is specifically designed to support the decision-making needs of senior executives?

Answer: Executive Information System (EIS)

An Executive Information System (EIS) provides senior executives with easy access to internal and external information relevant to strategic goals.

In project management for IS, what does a 'Gantt chart' display?

Answer: Project tasks and their scheduled durations on a timeline

A Gantt chart is a bar chart that shows project tasks, their durations, and start/end dates on a horizontal timeline.

In ERP systems, master data refers to:

Answer: Core reference data like customers, vendors, and products

Master data in ERP refers to core, non-transactional reference entities like customers, vendors, products, and employees that all transactions reference.