Information Technology & Systems (MB231): January 2006

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Question Paper

Information Technology & Systems (MB231): January 2006

Section A : Basic Concepts (30 Marks)
· This section consists of questions with serial number 1 - 30.
· Answer all questions.
· Each question carries one mark.
· Maximum time for answering Section A is 30 Minutes.
1. Which of the following softwares runs on the background of the user’s computer screen, letting him
know when his friends or coworkers are online?
(a) Buddy list (b) Telecommunication software
(c) DBMS software (d) Telecommunication control software
(e) Network software.
< Answer >
2. Which of the following type of file(s) can be copied using File Transfer Protocol?
I. Graphic.
II. Video.
III. Audio.
(a) Only (I) above (b) Only (II) above
(c) Only (III) above (d) Both (I) and (II) above
(e) All (I), (II) and (III) above.
< Answer >
3. In World Wide Web, the documents are formatted in a script called
(a) HTML (b) VB Script (c) Shell Script
(d) Java Script (e) C Shell Script.
< Answer >
4. What is the range of integer constant in C language?
(a) -216 to 216 (b) 0 to 216 -1 (c) -215 to 215 (d) 0 to 215 -1 (e) -215 to 215 -1.
< Answer >
5. In a C program, Mr. Suresh initialized ‘a’ and ‘b’ as 50, 50 respectively.
a = a++ + ++b;
b = b++ + ++a;
What will be the values of ‘a’ and ‘b’ after executing the above statements?
(a) 103, 153 (b) 102, 154 (c) 104, 154 (d) 103, 155 (e) 102, 153.
< Answer >
6. Which of the following functions can be effectively used to so lve problems where the solution is found
by repetitively applying the same solution to subsets of the problem?
I. Recursive.
II. Static.
III. Main.
(a) Only (I) above (b) Only (II) above
(c) Both (I) and (II) above (d) Both (II) and (III) above
(e) All (I), (II) and (III) above.
< Answer >
7. In C language , the structure definition is terminated with
(a) Semicolon (b) Colon (c) Comma (d) Period (e) Slash.
< Answer >
8. In C language, which of the following functions is used to read an integer from a file?
(a) getc() (b) putc() (c) getw() (d) putw() (e) rewind().
< Answer >
9. Which of the following statements is/are false about Ring topology?
I. In ring network, the system depends entirely on the central host.
II. Ring network remains operational even if one computer in the network fails.
III. The main advantage of ring network is a substantial reduction in the cost of cabling.
< Answer >
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(a) Only (III) above (b) Both (I I) and (III) above
(c) Both (I) and (II) above (d) Both (I) and (III) above
(e) All (I), (II) and (III) above.
10. An ATM switch breaks voice, video and other data into fixed cells of
(a) 51 bytes (b) 52 bytes (c) 53 bytes (d) 54 bytes (e) 55 bytes.
< Answer >
11. Which of the following blocks contains the information about the entire disk in an UNIX file system?
(a) Boot Block (b) Super Block (c) I-node Block (d) Data Block (e) First Block.
< Answer >
12. In OSI reference model, which of the following layers provides network transparency to the end users?
(a) Network layer (b) Physical layer (c) Presentation layer
(d) Application layer (e) Transport layer.
< Answer >
13. Which of the following commands in Novell Netware Operating System deletes trustee rights from a
directory?
(a) NCOPY (b) REMOVE (c) SALVAGE (d) REVOKE (e) FLAG.
< Answer >
14. The mechanism used to break the output into two parts in UNIX is known as
(a) Piping (b) Tee (c) Parsing
(d) Redirection (e) Command substitution.
< Answer >
15. Which of the following is/are true about digital transmission technology?
I. It provides higher transmission speeds.
II. It transmits multiple types of communications simultaneously on the same circuit.
III. It transfers larger amounts of information.
(a) Only (I) above (b) Only (II) above
(c) Both (II) and (III) above (d) Both (I) and (III) above
(e) All (I), (II) and (III) above.
< Answer >
16. In telecommunication networks, which of the following is/are true about telecommunication media?
I. Twisted pair cables are twisted together to reduce the noise.
II. The insulation in the coaxial cable minimizes the interference from other signals.
III. The disadvantage of fiber optic cable is slicing of the cable to make the connections.
(a) Only (I) above (b) Only (II) above
(c) Both (II) and (III) above (d) Both (I) and (II) above
(e) All (I), (II) and (III) above.
< Answer >
17. Which of the following collaborative work management tools helps in generating Gantt charts?
(a) Task an d project management (b) Workflow system
(c) Calendaring and scheduling tools (d) Knowledge management
(e) System flow analysis.
< Answer >
18. Which of the following protocols in TCP/IP Reference Model is a reliable connection oriented protocol
that allows a byte stream originating on one system to be delivered without error to any other system in
the network?
(a) Transmisson Control Protocol (b) User Datagram Protocol
(c) File Transfer Protocol (d) HyperText Transfer Protocol
(e) Internet Protocol.
< Answer >
19. In C language, array index starts with
(a) 0 (b) 1 (c) 2 (d) –1 (e) 0 or 1.
< Answer >
20. How many categories of functions are present in C language?
(a) 2 (b) 3 (c) 4 (d) 1 (e) 5.
< Answer >
21. In C program, the arguments used in the calling function are called
(a) Active arguments (b) Passive arguments
(c) Actual arguments (d) Formal arguments
(e) Dummy arguments.
< Answer >
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22. Mr. Ramesh, the production manager in a reputed pharmaceutical company, asked his subordinate Mr.
Suresh to provide him details of the first quarter sales in comparison with the overall sales for the year
end ed March 31, 2005. Which of the following charts is helpful to him in this case?
(a) Line Chart (b) Bar Chart (c) Column Chart (d) Pie Chart (e) Row Chart.
< Answer >
23. Mr. Harish, working as an Economist in an MNC, is asked by the sales manager to provide him the
details about how a repeated change in the price of the product affects sales and purchasing power of
the customers. Which of the following types of analytical modeling will be helpful for Harish in this
case?
(a) Value analysis (b) Sensitivity analysis (c) Goal seeking analysis
(d) Optimization analysis (e) Time-series analysis.
< Answer >
24. Elektron Inc. wants to automate the entire production process by replacing the existing system. Which
of the following determines the willingness and ability of the management, employees, customers,
suppliers, and others to operate, use and support a proposed information system?
(a) Organizational feasibility (b) Economic feasibility
(c) Technical feasibility (d) Operational feasibility (e) Systems feasibility.
< Answer >
25. Which of the following commands in Novell Netware Operating System recover the deleted files that
have not be en purged?
(a) NCOPY (b) REMOVE (c) SALVAGE (d) REVOKE (e) FLAG.
< Answer >
26. The main goal of database modeling is to eliminate redundant data by breaking each table into smaller
tables. This process is referred to as
(a) Structuring (b) Randomizing (c) Analyzing
(d) Normalizing (e) Actualizing.
< Answer >
27. Which of the following registers holds the address of next instruction to be executed?
(a) Memory address register (b) Memory buffer register
(c) Program control register (d) Accumulated register
(e) Instruction register.
< Answer >
28. A kernel is a
(a) Spread sheet software (b) Application software (c) Firewall
(d) Memory resident program (e) Virus.
< Answer >
29. Which of the following is/are the applications of Wide Area Network (WAN)?
I. Transaction acquisition.
II. Electronic Data Interchange (EDI).
III. LAN-to-LAN connections.
(a) Only (I) above (b) Only (II) above
(c) Only (III) above (d) Both (I) and (II) above
(e) All (I), (II) and (III) above.
< Answer >
30. At which level of data abstraction, each record is described by a type definition and the interrelationship
among these record types is defined?
I. Physical level.
II. Logical level.
III. View level.
(a) Only (I) above (b) Only (II) above (c) Only (III) above
(d) Both (II) and (III) above (e) All (I), (II) and (III) above.
< Answer >
END OF SECTION A
Section B : Caselets (50 Marks)
This section consists of questions with serial number 1 – 8.
Answer all questions.
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Marks are indicated against each question.
Detailed explanations should form part of your answer.
Do not spend more than 110 - 120 minutes on Section B.
Caselet 1
Read the caselet carefully and answer the following questions:
1. What do you think are the underlying causes of the IT management failures in Washington, D.C.?
(7 marks) < Answer >
2. What can Washington, D.C, learn from Philadelphia’s solution to their formal IS problems?
(6 marks) < Answer >
3. Do you think that CTO Michael Hernon’s plans will solve Washington, DC’s IT crisis? Why or why not?
(6 marks) < Answer >
Because the medicaid computer doesn’t talk to the welfare computer, the district of Columbia mistakenly pays $34
million to 20,000 people. Meanwhile, flaws in another system cause the nearly bankrupt city to overpay hospitals by
$35 million.
Across town, school administrators use the main financial system to report to the public and the U.S. Congress. But,
The Washington Post recently revealed, the administration keep a private set of books on another system to pay tens of
millions of dollars to school officials ordered laid off by the City Council.
And that’s just the tip of the fiscal and IT mismanagement iceberg that has hit the capital city of the United States. Here
are some other IT mismanagement stats:
· Mission-critical applications run on 286-based PCs housed in condemned buildings.
· Redundant computer centers run at 40 percent of capacity, wasting million of dollars.
· Systems highly visible to the public fail constantly because of ancient equipment.
· A procurement process choking on red tape stalls badly needed new systems.
· The city’s 80 data networks don’t connect to one another.
· There are no disaster recovery plans, no performance metrics for IS, and no IS budget.
Just 100 miles north of Washington, D.C., the city of Philadelphia has risen from the ashes of its former near
bankruptcy. In 1992, the city was projecting a deficit of $200 million for the year. Businesses and residents were
fleeing. Labor unions were out of control and city services stank.
The city’s information systems mirrored that sorry state and, in fact, looked a lot like those in Washington, D.C., today.
Many city departments had their own IS shops or had no automation at all. Systems were old and poorly supported and
layers of bureaucracy stifled efforts to improve them. There were few performance measures for IS, and the central
Philadelphia Computing Center was about as user-unfriendly as a service organization could be.
But beginning in 1992 reform Mayor Edward Rendell balanced the budget three years running without cutting services
or raising taxes. In just two years, Philadelphia saved $450 million through outsourcing, services consolidation, labor
union concessions, and technology initiatives. The New York Times called the city's success “one of the most stunning
turnarounds in history”.
To make IS more service-oriented, New CIO, John Carrow appointed four portfolio managers - senior, non -technical
people to coordinate among IS users in government and the public. IS also moved away from traditional process-based
and the public. IS also moved away from traditional process based performance measures - such as numbers of
transactions processed - to results-based performance measures such as the percentage of help desk r equests resolved by
telephone and the number of users trained.
Automation spread throughout Philadelphia government and in four years, the number of computer users increased
from 3,000 to 12,000, all connected by a new fiber -optic wide area network. Meanwhile, newly centralized software
purchases saved the city millions of dollars through volume discounts.
Today, Washington, D.C is at the crossroads Philadelphia stood at six years ago- characterized by fiscal distress,
mismanagement, lack of discipline and antiquated systems. But observers say the capital city could follow the road to
health, right behind Philadelphia.
Philadelphia officials say Washington, D.C., could emulate the city's success. Indeed, new Chief Technology Officer
Michael Hernon’s agenda mirror Philadelphia’s recent past. The former CTO of the city of Boston, Hernon says he’ll
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centralize and standardize IS, overhaul key applications, modernize computer and communications systems, eliminate
redundant facilities, develop performance based metrics for IS, streamline procurement processes, beef up training, and
move aggressively to solve the year 2000 problems of D.C.’s outdated information systems.
Caselet 2
Read the caselet carefully and answer the following questions:
4. Describe two example s of ‘sophisticated computers, telecommunications, robotics and other information age
technologies’ replacing human beings in business organizations and production.
(7 marks) < Answer >
5. Explain how, according to the passage, new technologies are affecting the organizational structures of business.
(7 marks) < Answer >
6. Discuss why one of the main effects of new information technologies may be to shorten the workforce rather than
the working week.
(8 marks) < Answer >
The global economy is undergoing a fundamental transaction in the nature of the work that will reshape civilization in
the 21st century. Sophisticated computers, telecommunications, robotics and other information age technologies are fast
replacing human beings in virtually every sector and industry. British businesses have reported more downsizing and
corporate restructuring in the past two years than any other country. Many jobs are never coming back. Blue-collar
workers, secretaries, receptionists, clerical workers, sales clerks, bank tellers, telephone operators, librarians,
wholesalers and middle managers are just a few of the many occupations destined for virtual extinction.
Earlier industrial technologies replaced the physical power of human labour, substituting machines for bodies and
brawn. The new computer-based technologies promise a replacement of the human mind itself, substituting thinking
machines for human beings across the entire gamut of economic activity. The restructuring is most apparent in
manufacturing. By the year 2020, less than 2 percent of the global workforce will be engaged in factory work. Over
the next quarter-century, we will see the total elimination of the assembly -line workers would find new job
opportunities in the service sector. Now, however, the service sector is also beginning to automate, eliminating vast
numbers of white-collar workers in the process. In banking, insurance and the wholesale and retail sectors, companies
are deconstructing. They are eliminating layer after layer of management and infrastructure, replacing the traditional
corporate pyramid and mass white-collar workforces, with small highly skilled work teams, using state-of-the art
software and telecommunication technologies.
Caselet 3
Read the caselet carefully and answer the following questions:
7. How does Sony use entertainment to promote its products at its website?
(5 marks) < Answer >
8. How is Java helping to make Sony one of the most popular web sites?
(4 marks) < Answer >
Sony Online Venture isn’t playing around with its popular online games and electronic commerce site. The New Yorkbased
unit of Sony Corporation – giant in electronics, movies and videos – is using Java to rev up and differentiate its
World Wide Web site. Sony is taking its successful game sites into a new realm by turning its fairly static single-user
games into interactive, multimedia ventures with fast-paced animation and graphics.
And so far it is working. Sony was the most popular entertainment Web site of 1997 among all sites accessed from
home PCs, according to Media Metrix, a media research firm. Sony’s web site www.sony.com showcases its movies,
videos and electronics products by dazzling users with multimedia entertainment such as its game show sites.
The Web is being viewed more and more as an entertainment platform and consumers demand very different things
from their entertainment than from buying a book online, “People expect something more just because it’s Sony, so
we’ve got to give it to them. We can do that with Java.” Sony is building server-side Java applications that manage the
multimillion-page site. The media company also is intalling Java Web servers that shoot information in dynamic pages
from databases to users.
But Sony’s popular games sites, with 60 percent growth in their audience and a total of 2.9 million users will get the
most attention. Sony is souping up its online Jeopardy site, which has become one of the most popular games on the
Internet. By midyear, the site is slated for an update that will turn it from a fairly static game into a dynamic
multiplayer experience in which players have animated representations and are able to see four or five different camera
angles. That gives them views from around the “studio” depending on who is asking or answering questions.
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The online version of the most popular game show in the world, Wheel of Fortune, will undergo a similar Java-based
overhaul. “We had to make the site Sony quality,” said Bob Mason, a developer at Art Technology Group, Inc., a Java
development house in Boston that is working on Sony’s site. “We couldn’t do that with HTML (Hypertext Markup
Language) or dynamic HTML. We needed Java to make it dynamic.”
END OF SECTION B
Section C : Applied Theory (20 Marks)
This section consists of questions with serial number 9 - 10.
Answer all questions.
Marks are indicated against each question.
Do not spend more than 25 -30 minutes on section C.
9. A decision table helps a computer program decide which action to take in a particular condition. What is a
decision table? Explain its advantages and disadvantages.
(10 marks) < Answer >
10. Modern connectivity would not have been possible without the various telecommunication media that have
evolved. Describe the various telecommunication medias along with their functions.
(10 marks) < Answer >
END OF SECTION C
END OF QUESTION PAPER
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Suggested Answers
Information Technology & Systems (MB231): January 2006
Section A : Basic Concepts
1. Answer : (a)
Reason: Buddy list software runs on the background of the user’s computer screen, letting him know
when his friends or coworkers are online. So, option (a) is the answer.
< TOP >
2. Answer : (e)
Reason: Graphic, video and audio files can be copied using FTP. So, option (e) is the answer.
< TOP >
3. Answer : (a)
Reason: In World Wide Web, the documents are formatted in a script called HTML So, option (a) is
the answer.
< TOP >
4. Answer : (e)
Reason: The range of integer constant in C language is –32768 to 32767.So option (e) is the answer.
< TOP >
5. Answer : (e)
Reason: a = a++ + ++b
b = b++ + ++a
After Ist statement
a = 101, b = 51
After 2nd statement
b = 153, a = 102
So option (e) is the correct answer.
< TOP >
6. Answer : (a)
Reason: Recursive functions can be effectively used to solve problems where the solution is found by
repetitively applying the same solution to subsets of the problem. So option (a) is answer.
< TOP >
7. Answer : (a)
Reason: Structure definition should terminate with semicolon. So option (a) is the answer.
< TOP >
8. Answer : (c)
Reason: getw() is a function is used to read an integer from the file. So option (c) is the answer.
< TOP >
9. Answer : (d)
Reason: Ring network remains operational even if one computer in the network fails. So option (d) is
answer. This network does not rely on the host computer for its operations and there is no
substantial reduction in the cost of cabling.
< TOP >
10. Answer : (c)
Reason: ATM switch breaks voice, video, data into fixed cells of 53bytes and routes it to its next
destination on the network. so option ( c) is answer.
< TOP >
11. Answer : (b)
Reason: Super block contains the information about the entire disk in an UNIX file system. So option
(b) is the answer.
< TOP >
12. Answer : (d)
Reason: In OSI reference model, application layer provides network transparency to the end users. So
option (d) is answer.
< TOP >
13. Answer : (d)
Reason: The REVOKE command in Novell Netware Operating System deletes trustee rights from a
directory. So option (d) is the answer.
< TOP >
14. Answer : (b)
Reason: Tee mechanism used to break the output into two parts in an UNIX operating system. So
option (b) is the answer.
< TOP >
15. Answer : (e) < TOP >
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Reason: Digital transmission technology provides the higher transmission speeds. It transmits
multiple types of communications simultaneously on the same circuit. It transfers larger
amounts of information. So option (e) is answer.
16. Answer : (e)
Reason: Twisted pair cables are twisted together to reduce the noise. The insulation in the coaxial
cable minimizes the interference from other signals. The disadvantage of fiber optic cable is
slicing of the cable to make the connections. So option (e) is answer.
< TOP >
17. Answer : (a)
Reason: Task and project management helps in generating Gantt charts. So option (a) is answer.
< TOP >
18. Answer : (a)
Reason: Transmisson Control Protocol in TCP/IP Reference Model is a reliable connection oriented
protocol that allows a byte stream originating on one system to be delivered without error to
any other system in the network. So option (a) is the answer.
< TOP >
19. Answer : (a)
Reason: In C program array index starts with 0. So option (a) is the answer.
< TOP >
20. Answer : (b)
Reason: Three categories of functions present in C language are functions with no arguments and no
return values, functions with arguments and no return values and functions with arguments
and return values. So option (b) is answer.
< TOP >
21. Answer : (d)
Reason: Arguments used in the calling function are called formal arguments. So option (d) is answer.
< TOP >
22. Answer : (d)
Reason : Spreadsheet charts are diagrammatic representations of the data presented in a spreadsheet.
(a) Line charts are used to represent time series.
(b) Bar charts comprise of vertical bars that show comp arison of items.
(c) Column charts provide a ready comparison between separate items.
(d) Pie charts are used to compare parts of whole.
(e) Row charts are not defined.
Hence option (d) is the correct answer.
< TOP >
23. Answer : (b)
Reason : (a) Value analysis is not relevant to the answer.
(b) Sensitivity analysis is used to observe how repeated changes in a single variable affect
other variables.
(c) In Goal-seeking analysis repeated changes are made to selected variables until a chosen
variable reaches a target value.
(d) Optimization analysis is used for finding an optimum value for selected variables, given
certain constraints.
(e) Time-series analysis is not related to analytical modeling.
So option (b) is the answer.
< TOP >
24. Answer : (d)
Reason : Option (d) is the correct answer.
(a) Organizational feasibility focuses on how well a proposed information system supports
the objective of an organization and its strategic plan for information systems.
(b) Economic feasibility is concerned with whether expected savings, increased revenue,
increased profits and other types of benefits will exceed the costs of developing and
operating a proposed system.
(c) Technical feasibility can be considered satisfactory if reliable hardware and software
capable of meeting the needs of proposed system can be acquired or developed by the
business, in the required time.
(d) Operational feasibility determines the willingness and ability of the management ,
employees, customers, suppliers, and others to operate, use and support a proposed
information system.
< TOP >
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(e) Systems feasibility is not defined.
25. Answer : (c)
Reason : The SALVAGE command in Novell Netware Operating System recover the deleted files that
have not been purged. So option (c) is the answer.
< TOP >
26. Answer : (d)
Reason : The process of eliminating redundant data by breaking each table into smaller tables is
known as normalizing.
So option (d) is the correct answer.
< TOP >
27. Answer : (c)
Reason : The program control register holds the address of next instruction to be executed. So option
(c) is the answer.
< TOP >
28. Answer : (d)
Reason : A kernel is a memory resident supervisor program, which is an essential portion of operating
system copied into primary memory when the computer is switched on. So option (d) is the
correct answer.
< TOP >
29. Answer: (e)
Reason: The applications of Wide Area Network (WAN) are transaction acquisition, Electronic Data
Interchange (EDI) and LAN-t o-LAN connections. So option (e) is the answer.
< TOP >
30. Answer : (b)
Reason : At the logical level, each record is described by a type definition and the interrelationship
among these record types is defined. So option (b) is the answer.
< TOP >
Section B : Caselets
Caselet 1
1. The general scenario of information technology especially in the federal administration is a picture of apathy,
neglect and confusion. There are several causes that have resulted in such a situation:
a) The various federal networks in Washington DC, being the national capital, would be expected to be a
wired up place. However the 80 data networks present do not connect to one another due to which, the
government mistakenly releases funds in millions of dollars resulting in a loss to the state exchequer.
b) Most of the critical applications that help run the government machinery is used on archaic computer
systems which themselves are housed in very old buildings. That is, there is no security howsoever that if
such systems were to fail, the government would not stop functioning.
c) Due to the operation of low technology computer centers, for official work, millions of dollars of the
taxpayer’s money are wasted as on an average such computer centers work only to 40% capacity.
d) The bureaucracy is by far the biggest hindrance to any development work initiated to redress the ills of the
system. Any new proposal involving substantial capital expenditure would have to go through endless
bureaucratic wrangles, which ultimately defeats the purpose of the development.
e) Ever and above all, what ever IT infrastructure is there, it is not properly measured for its performance. Nor
there are any contingency plans in cases of system failures. Information systems budgets are absent which
very- vividly show that information technology and its benefits is something whose true potential has not
yet been realized in the federal capital.
< TOP >
2. What Philadelphia faced during its IS problem is very similar to what Washington, D.C. faces today. The
problem being characterized by fiscal distress, mismanagement, lack of discipline and the presence of antiquated
systems.
More than anything what Washington needs to learn from the Philadelphia experience is that a measure of
discipline hardship and commitment would definitely redress the sorry state that they are in presently.
Washington can learn how Philadelphia in spite of not reducing service or increasing taxes was able not to
overspend. It should also learn how the Philadelphia civic authority was able to achieve immense cost savings by
means of outsourcing services consolidation of services, concessions to labor unions and different technology
initiative as well as how to implement this back home.
They should also take note of How CIO, John Carrew had appointed four key people to coordinate among IS
users in government and the public and how it evolved itself from a process based performance measurement
system to a result based performance measurement system.
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Washington policy makers should also learn from how technology can be an impediment especially when it is
not up to date. They would do well to learn how Philadelphia rapidly modernized it IS systems' in different
departments, that saw the number of computer users increase by 400%.
< TOP >
3. I think the agenda of the CTO is very correct in principle and in the right direction. This is because he has
identified the ills plaguing the system as they are presently. His plan to centralize all IS function is good from the
view that presently the 80 or so data networks are isolated and millions of dollars are wasted due to this in terms
of mistaken payments and benefits. Also he has charted out plans of modernize the present computer system with
new and technologically superior information systems that would minimize the risk of IS failure, unlike now.
Redundancy of existing systems wastes millions of dollars, which would be effectively stemmed once the new
plan is in place. Thus the new plan is definitely going to benefit Washington DC in crisis.
< TOP >
Caselet 2
4. Two examples of human beings being replaced in business organizations are the use of robots in automobile
production and the introduction of ‘hole-in-the wall’ cash machines by banks. In the age of mechanization,
unskilled and semi-skilled workers performed repetitive tasks such as welding together the body panels of a car.
In modern automobile factories computer-controlled robots now perform this task. Mean while in the banking
industry, bank cashier are being made redundant as an increasingly large number of customers obtain cash from a
cash machine rather than by passing a cheque across a bank counter. Related developments in electronic banking
for example via teletext and the Internet, may soon make branch banks obsolet e leading to a further reduction of
employment in the banking industry.
< TOP >
5. The passage refers to the ‘delayering’ of business organizations. This means that layer of middle and junior
management, together also with certain categories of production worker, are no longer needed. Some of these
changes are occurring because IT enables information to pass efficiently upwards and downwards through the
vertical structure of a business, without the need to be filtered, processed and reorganized by managers in the
middle of a business hierarchy. As is often noted, the traditional ‘fall’ organizational pyramid employing a mass
of ‘white-collar’ or office workers is giving way to a ‘flatter’ structure based on small highly-skilled professional
work teams, using state-of-the-art software and telecommunication technologies. Related developments (which
are not however mentioned in the passage) include the growth 'teleworking' (working from home via an
IT/telecommunication link), ‘hot-desking’ (whereby employees share facilities in much smaller offices on their
less frequent visits to business premises) and the emergence of the ‘virtual office’ and indeed the ‘virtual
organizations’ (as IT/telecommunications links dispense completely with the need to maintain anything other
than the minimum business premises for the organization).
< TOP >
6. Besides having a great effect upon the organization structure of many businesses, as the passage indicates
information technology is also significantly affecting the organization’s production. New skills are required and
many old skills, which predated the IT revolution, have become redundant. Inevitably, this means that businesses
must layoff workers who are surplus to current needs, or who are personally incapable of adopting new skills.
Information technology can greatly improve labour productivity i.e. output per worker. IT enables firms to adopt
more capital-intensive and less labour intensive methods of production. Of course it is possible that some
markets will expand so fast that businesses in these industries actually increase their overall demand for labour,
despite increasing the role of capital relative to labour in the production process. However this is not a realistic
scenario for many industries. In these less labour will be demanded as a result of the application of IT to
productive processes. Obviously in this situation one possible employment strategy would be for a firm to
employ the same number of workers with each employee working fewer hours per week. Perhaps equally
obviously this strategy is frequently recommended by trade unions. From a business’s point of view however,
this would be unattractive if workers earned the same wage or salary for undertaking significantly less work. As
a result of rising wage and production costs, the businesses that adopted shorter working weeks become
uncompetitive, losing markets to their competitors who had not shortened the working week. This would be most
damaging in industries where IT simultaneously enables production to move to low -wage countries in the
developing world or eastern Europe. Also, it may often simply not be viable to shorten the working week when
the application of IT destroys completely a particular type of job. However, there may be circumstances in which
shortening the working work is economically attractive for employers. These include the replacement of fulltime
workers by part-time employees; the replacement of employees by self employed or ‘freelance’ workers;
and working mothers (or indeed fathers) joining a job-sharing scheme. From an employer's point of view,
schemes such as these can increase the flexibility of the labour force without resulting in an increased overall
wage bill.
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Caselet 3
7. Sony is the most popular entertainment website among all sites accessed from home. It provides movies, videos
and electronics products by dazzling users with multimedia entertainment. The web is being viewed more and
more as an entertainment platform and consumers demand very different things from their entertainment. This
will also allow Sony to push the products and provide information about these products.
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8. Sony is building server-side Java applications that manage the multinational-page site. The company is also
installing Java -web severs that short information in dynamic pages from databases to users. The users can able
to access information very quickly from Java-web server. Jav a is helping Sony to make their website more
interactive and dynamic so that they build relationships with the customers.
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Section C: Applied Theory
9. Decision tables are used to outline a set of conditions that a computer program might encounter, and to indicate
what action should be performed for each condition. They are used to define clearly and concisely the statement
of a problem in a tabular form. When the computer has to make a large number of decisions, or if there are a
large number of different branches within a program, decision tables are particularly useful. However, the
following steps are necessary preconditions for constructing a decision table:
1. Properly define the problem that has to be solved by the computer
2. List out all the conditions to be tested in the problem
3. List out the corresponding actions that should be taken with each combination of conditions.
4. Form a decision table using the two lists.
A typical decision table consists of six parts (see Figure). The first part contains the conditions. The second part
of the table, known as the ‘condition stub’, describes the conditions that exist in the program. Thus, the contents
of the condition stub correspond to the conditions contained in the decision symbols of a flow chart. The third
part, known as the ‘action stub’, contains the action statements, which correspond to the respective conditions.
Figure
Table Heading Decision Rules
Condition Stub Condition Entries
Action Stub Action Entries
While condition statements reveal the probable states of the input data, action statements describe the possible
actions by the computer system. Action entries contain the actual conditions and the actions taken by the
computer. The condition entries correspondingly branch out from decision symbols.
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10. Telecommunication Media
Telecommunication media includes twisted-pair wires, coaxial cables and fiber optic cables, which link the
devices in a network physically. Terrestrial microwaves, communication satellites, cellular phone systems and
wireless LANs use microwave and other radio waves. In addition, there are infrared systems, which use infrared
rays to transmit and receive data.
The various functions of telecommunication transmission media such as twisted-pair wire, co -axial cable, fiber
optics, microwave and satellites are as follows:
Twisted-pair wire: This consists of copper wire twisted into a pair and it is the most widely used media for
telecommunications today. Such networks can transmit both voice and data.
Coaxial cable: This consists of a sturdy copper or aluminum wire wrapped with spacers to insulate and protect it.
This insulation minimizes the chance of interference from other signals, and distortion of the signals that the
cable carries. A group of coaxial cables may be bundled together in a big cable for ease of installation. These
allow high-speed data transmission and are used as an alternative for twisted pair wire lines in high-service
metropolitan areas, for cable TV systems.
Fiber Optics: These use cables consisting of one or more hair thin filaments of glass fiber wrapped in a
protective jacket. They can, conduct light pulses generated by lasers at transmission rates as high as 30 billion
bits per second. These cables provide substantial size and weight reductions as well as increased speed and
greater carrying capacity. As they do 'not generate, and are not affected by electromagnetic radiation, multiple
fibers can be placed in the same cable. The only 4isadvantage is the difficulty of splicing the cable to make
connections. This, however, is a security advantage and limits line tapping.
Territorial microwave: This involves earthbound microwave systems that transmit high -speed radio signals
between the relay stations spaced approximately at 30 miles. Microwave antennas, placed on top of buildings,
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towers, hills and mountain peaks, carry out the transmission from one station to another.
Communications Satellites: They also use microwave radio as a telecommunications medium, but they are
placed in stationary geosynchronous orbits. These are powered by solar panels and transmit microwave signals at
a rate of several hundred million bits per second. Communications satellites are mainly used for voice and video
transmission where high speed transmission of large volumes of data is required. Many large corporations and
other users have developed satellite networks, using satellite dish antennas known as VSAT (Very Small
Aperture Terminal) to connect their distant work areas.
Cellular phone system
They use several radio communication technologies. Computers and other communication processors coordinate
and control the transmission of signals for mobile phone users as they move from one place to another. The
integration of cellular and other mobile radio technologies such as packet radio and the emergence of personal
telephone communication satellite systems are expected to accelerate in the near future.
Wireless LANs
A wireless LAN eliminates or greatly reduces the need for wires and cables. Thus, it becomes much easier to set
up, relocate and maintain a LAN. LAN radio may either involve a high frequency radio technology similar to
digital cellular or a low frequency radio technology called spread spect rum. The other wireless LAN technology
is called infrared because it uses beams of infrared rays to establish network links between the various LAN
components.