Information Technology & Systems (MB231): July 2005

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Question Paper

Information Technology & Systems (MB231): July 2005

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. Vison Operations have been constructing a new plant for the production of cycles. The company CEO
has conducted a meeting of the managers of all the departments and explained them the details of the
project using a flowchart. The parallelogram shaped symbol used in the flowchart indicates
(a) Input or output (b) Processing (c) Decision
(d) Predefined process (e) Flow Direction.
< Answer >
2. Mr. Ravi, writing a ‘C’ program, wants to print the student name, enrollment number and marks of 10
students. So, which of the following can be used to group these data items of different data types under
a common name?
(a) Loop (b) Structure (c) Array (d) Storage Class (e) Function.
< Answer >
3. Sandra, an experienced ‘C’ programmer wants to develop a new application for Bus reservation system.
The application uses 20 variables and 40 functions. In which of the following ways does she have to
define variables to retain their values even after the control is transferred to the calling function?
(a) Auto (b) Static (c) Extern (d) Register (e) Global.
< Answer >
4. ABN AMRO Bank uses separate systems for the collection of data across the world. The bank is
finding difficulty in consolidating the data. Which of the following will help the bank in consolidating
the data across disparate systems?
I. Data warehousing.
II. Data mining.
III. Data dictionary.
(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 >
5. Dataquest is a small company that makes animated 3-D graphics for local television stations. There are
10 employees in the company, each with a computer. Four of the employees are animators, while the
rest are in sales, accounting and management. To keep the animators' work from interfering with others,
the company sets up two separate networks, one for the animators and one for the rest of the company.
Which of the following devices interconnects networks, so that message can be routed to its
destination?
(a) Modems (b) Multiplexers (c) Routers (d) Hubs (e) Decoders.
< Answer >
6. 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
ended 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 >
7. 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 >
8. 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,
< Answer >
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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.
9. Nagesh, a Web designer, working on UNIX operating system wants to both backup and restore files, to
or from tapes or diskettes.Which of the following commands in Unix can be useful to him?
(a) cd (b) pwd (c) ls (d) tar (e) mkdir.
< Answer >
10. Visontech Inc. is using a network of 40 computers without any login password for the users, which is
resulting in leakage of important information. To avoid this problem in the future, which of the
following controls can the system administrator use?
(a) Procedural controls (b) Biometric controls
(c) Output controls (d) Input controls (e) Facility controls.
< Answer >
11. Mr. Ganapati is writing a spreadsheet program in which he has to use a group of commands at different
parts of the program. So which of the following can be used to replace the group of commands to
decrease the length of the program?
(a) Keyword (b) Function (c) Constant (d) Procedure (e) Macro.
< Answer >
12. Mr. Bawachi, wrote a ‘C’ program for displaying first 20 even numbers. But after executing the
program the answer was shown with decimal numbers. Which of the following data type characters was
used in the program for printing?
(a) % f (b) % x (c) % h (d) % i (e) % u.
< Answer >
13. Enigma Systems uses a network of computers running on Novell Netware Operating System. The
system administrator does not know who is accessing the local operating system or server. So which of
the following devices can help the administrator in this case?
(a) Redirector (b) Modem (c) Repeater (d) Router (e) Bridge.
< Answer >
14. Cola Inc. has introduced a new beverage in India, China and Sri Lanka at the same time. But the brand
was not doing well in some parts of India and China. So which of the following reports will help the
sales manager in taking immediate remedial measures and save costs to the organization?
(a) Planning reports (b) Exception reports
(c) Periodic scheduled reports (d) Push reports (e) Edit reports.
< Answer >
15. 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 >
16. Mr. Srinivas, working as a junior programmer at Converges Inc. wants to write program logic for an
application using imitation code. Which of the following tools is helpful for him?
(a) Flowchart (b) Decision Table (c) Pseudocode
(d) Compiler (e) Interpreter.
< Answer >
17. Genesis Inc. uses OSI Network Architecture for communication with other systems. So which of the
following layers of this model is responsible for detecting and correcting errors in the transmission of
data?
(a) Transport Layer (b) Network Layer (c) Data Link Layer
(d) Session Layer (e) Application Layer.
< Answer >
18. In a ‘C’ program, Mr. Narendra used three variables and one of them is ‘int’. After the compilation, the
syntax error was shown. So which of the following rules with respect to variables in C language is
violated?
(a) Variables should begin with a letter
(b) Variables are case sensitive
(c) Variable names should not be keywords
(d) Spaces are not allowed
(e) Underscores are allowed in defining variable names.
< Answer >
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19. Mr. Malya, working in Dishnet Services Inc., a leading Internet Service Provider in India. If Malya
wants to know when his friends or coworkers are online, then which of the following Internet services
can help him?
(a) File Transfer Protocol (b) Internet Telephony (c) Internet Fax
(d) Internet Paging (e) Usenet.
< Answer >
20. Mr. Gopal, working on a ‘C’ program has to test more than one condition to arrive at the right decision.
So which of the following operators will be helpful for him?
(a) Increment operators (b) Bitwise operators (c) Arithmetic operators
(d) Logical operators (e) Assignment operators.
< Answer >
21. Which of the following statements in ‘C’ language will help Mr. Surya, to test the value of a given
variable against a list of case values and when a match is found, a block of statements associated with
that case is executed?
(a) switch (b) break (c) for (d) while (e) if-else.
< Answer >
22. In which of the following types of multitasking does the operating system regain control, when an
application stops running and crashes?
I. Co-operative multitasking.
II. Pre-emptive multitasking.
III. Virtual multitasking.
(a) Only (I) above (b) Only (II) above (c) Only (III) above
(d) Both (I) and (II) above (e) Both (I) and (III) above.
< Answer >
23. In virtual memory, program instructions and data are divided into units of fixed size called
(a) Buses (b) Pages (c) Threads (d) Tasks (e) Registers.
< Answer >
24. Which of the following is a software component that consists of models used in computational and
analytical routines that mathematically express relationships among variables?
(a) Transaction Processing System (b) Decision Support System
(c) Accounting Information System (d) Marketing Information System
(e) Human Resource Information System.
< Answer >
25. It is better to store Shell statements and Unix commands, that are to be executed on a regular basis, in
files called Shell _____.
I. Scripts.
II. Packages.
III. Procedures.
(a) Only (I) above (b) Only (II) above
(c) Both (I) and (II) above (d) Both (I) and (III) above
(e) All (I), (II) and (III) above.
< Answer >
26. A cache that is included in latest microprocessor chips to improve secondary cache performance is
called
(a) Unified cache (b) Level 1 (L1) cache (c) Level 2 (L2) cache
(d) Primary cache (e) Backside cache.
< Answer >
27. Which of the following is not true about Data Warehouse?
(a) It is a repository of information gathered from multiple sources, stored under a unified schema, at
a single site
(b) Once gathered, the data is stored for a long time, permitting access to historical data
(c) Data Warehouse gives the user a single consolidated interface to data, making decision-support
queries easier to write
(d) By accessing information for decision-support from a Data Warehouse, the decision-maker
ensures that online transaction-processing systems are not affected by the decision-support
workload
(e) Data Warehouse cannot be further subdivided.
< Answer >
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28. The ability to increase system performance gradually as the work load grows, by adding more
processors is called
(a) Reliability (b) Scalability (c) Resource sharing
(d) Compatibility (e) Applicability.
< Answer >
29. Which of the following transfers the given instruction to the kernel for execution after successful
syntactical verification?
(a) CPU (b) File system (c) Disk manager (d) RAM (e) Shell.
< Answer >
30. Periodic preparation of data and periodic processing in groups are called
I. Batch processing.
II. Online processing.
III. Large scale processing.
(a) Only (I) above (b) Only (II) above
(c) Both (I) and (II) above (d) Both (I) and (III) above
(e) All (I), (II) and (III) above.
< Answer >
END OF SECTION A
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Section B : Caselets (50 Marks)
This section consists of questions with serial number 1 – 7.
Answer all questions.
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. Classify and describe the problems Nike encountered when it installed the i2 supply chain software. What role did
the i2 software play in the failure of Nike's new supply-chain management system?
(8 marks) < Answer >
2. Did Nike manage the i2 project well? Who or what do you blame for the failure of the project? Explain.
(6 marks) < Answer >
Nike, Inc., is the world's number one athletic shoemaker, with 500,000 workers in 55 countries and sales topping 40
percent of the athletic shoe market. The company went through a phenomenal growth spurt from 1996 through 1999,
with its annual sales reaching $9 billion in 2000. And yet during 2000 and 2001 the company encountered financial
problems and its reputation was seriously damaged.
Many reasons have been suggested for the Nike's recent decline. One reason for Nike's problems that everyone,
including Nike, agrees on, has been the overproduction of some unpopular shoes and the underproduction of other
popular designs. Nike blames both the new supply-chain software it installed and i2 Technologies Inc., the maker of
that software, for these production errors.
Dallas, Texas-based, i2 is a major supply-chain software vendor. The company has been highly successful, with many
customers both large and small. i2's supply-chain software is designed to improve the management of inventory,
production, shipping, and sales forecasting. Nike turned to i2 because it wanted to be able to respond more quickly to
shoe market changes by being able to plan production schedules and begin production of a new line of shoes in one
week rather than taking a full month after demand shifts. The system is supposed to help predict demand so that the
company could better plan and control the production of existing products. Thus, Nike would be able to more quickly
reduce the production of shoes that have gone out of style, leaving the company with fewer unwanted shoes, while
increasing its production of shoe styles that are rising in demand.
Nike had previously made a major commitment to this type of software by installing an SAP supply-chain management
system in the late 1990s. However, the systems were problem ridden and, in Nike's view, inadequate, leading to Nike's
second attempt, this time with i2.
The key element of the i2 project was to aid in speedily forecasting market changes. In addition, it was also to automate
and make efficient the way Nike manufactures, ships, and sells its shoes, and thereby lowering operating costs. Even
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, recognized the potential of that type of software when he said, "New
technologies for supply-chain management can perceive imbalances in inventories at a very early stage—virtually in
real time." He added it "can cut production promptly in response to the developing signs of unintended inventory
building."
However, that type of software raises many questions. Very few companies can prove any real payoffs from supplychain
management systems. Moreover, supply-chain projects are costly and time consuming.
Not only did Nike recognize that the project would be difficult after its SAP experience, but so did i2. "We knew going
in that it was going to be a tough implementation", said Katrina Roche, i2's chief marketing officer, "because the
apparel industry tends to be very complex and because Nike had tried other [supply chain tool] vendors and they didn't
work out." The $400 million project, part of which was to install the i2 software, began in June 2000.
The problems became public when Nike miscalculated future demand for its shoes, and Nike officials blamed the i2
supply-and-demand-planning (supply-chain) software, claiming that it did not perform as expected. Nike made the
problem public on February 27, 2001, when it warned of a profit drop at the end of its fiscal third quarter (the next day).
A Nike spokeswoman said that, i2 software "didn't deliver on performance or functionality". Philip Knight, the Nike
chairman and CEO, commented that Nike "experienced complications arising from the impact of implementing our new
demand and supply planning systems and processes." However Knight did insist that his company would fix the
problem and achieve big savings.
Nike ran into financial problems when it ordered suppliers to produce too many shoe styles that were declining in
popularity, and it did not order enough of the newer models for which the popularity had sharply increased. Orders for
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some of the less popular shoes were sent to the factories twice—once by the old order-management system and once by
the new system—whereas orders for the newer models "fell through the cracks". Foot Locker, the largest Nike shoes
retailer in the United States, had to reduce prices on such shoes as Nike's Air Garnett III, which had become a slowselling
shoe and now had to be sold at about $90 instead of about $140. The company also was late in delivering many
of its more popular shoes because of their late production. As a result Nike had to ship them by plane at $4 to $8 a pair
compared to 75 cents for shipping by boat, according to Shanley.
At the February 27 informational meeting, Nike said their estimated profit for the quarter would decline from about 50
to 55 cents per share to about 35 to 40 cents. It also announced that the inventory problems would persist for the next
six to nine months while the company sold off the overproduction. It further announced that the problems would cost
$80 million to $100 million in sales for that quarter.
i2 had a very different view on the source of Nike's problems. Brady, an i2 spokesman said, "Think of all the possible
permutations, and it becomes a complex and challenging job to get the system implemented." He claimed that i2
software accounts for only about 10 percent of Nike's $400 million supply-chain project. He pointed out that SAP and
Siebel Systems Inc. are also involved with the system, and Nike's stated cost ($400 million) also includes hardware.
Brady added, "There is no way that software is responsible for Nike's earnings problem." The company claimed that the
major problem with the software was Nike's customization. i2 said it did all the required specialized customization
work that Nike requested. The customized software then had to be linked with Nike's other back-end systems. However,
Roche maintained, "We recommend that customers follow our guidelines for implementation—we have a specific
methodology and templates for customers to use—but Nike chose not to use our implementation methodology." She
believed Nike saw the i2 methodology as too rigid and so did not use it. Jennifer Tejada, i2's vice president of
marketing, also said that i2's software had been too heavily customized. Tejada raised another issue when she said her
company always urges its customers to deploy the system in stages, but Nike went live to thousands of suppliers and
distributors simultaneously. Roche also said that Nike converted to the new software too early. She claimed Nike
started to enter data for its forthcoming spring 2001 line before the cutover to the i2 software was completed. "The
solution wasn't stable at the time they started using it."
Caselet 2
Read the caselet carefully and answer the following questions:
3. What problems did A&P have with its business? What management, organization, and technology factors
contributed to these problems?
(8 marks) < Answer >
4. How would implementing new systems change the way A&P ran its business?
(8 marks) < Answer >
5. Do you think the Great Renewal project was successful? Why or why not?
(6 marks) < Answer >
A&P, the "granddaddy" of grocery store chains in the United States, was founded in 1859 and has been a leader right
from the start. However, by 1990 its sales were no longer growing, and it was facing stiff competition from such giant
chains as Safeway and Kroger.
In 1993, 34-year old Christian Haub became the CEO of A&P. Haub is a member of the family that owns Germany's
Tengelmann Group, which in turn holds 53 percent of A&P. Tengelmann is one of the 10 largest retailers in the world,
with annual sales of about $25 billion. Haub immediately began to address A&P's problems. He launched a program he
named the "Great Renewal" and rapidly closed more than 100 "underperforming" stores, while establishing a number of
"superstores". Next he reorganized management into regional divisions, and in mid-1999 he hired Nicholas L. Ioli as
A&P's senior vice president and CIO. Ioli, with strong and active support from Haub, immediately embarked on a
project to reconstruct and modernize the company, including its whole supply chain.
A&P was facing a number of serious problems in addition to its stagnant sales. Its obsolete information technology
infrastructure was composed of a complex web of stitched-together old legacy systems. The company was primarily
using 12-20 year old software running on two large mainframe computers. "We had extremely antiquated systems, from
finance to merchandising to store and warehousing systems", explained Ioli. The company had fragmented distribution
systems, resulting in little knowledge of what sells in which stores. Moreover, A&P's supply chain was not using the
Web to work better and more inexpensively. The company also had outdated, ineffective business processes, such as
not having systems to analyze data from either customers or suppliers.
The grocery business operates on high volumes of transactions and tiny profit margins of 1 to 2 percent of sales. In
addition to traditional competitors, A&P was losing market share to new types of stores, such as Wal-Mart, that had
entered the grocery business as part of their attempt to meet most home needs. Also the company was facing a
challenge from discount club stores, such as Sam's Club, and from convenience stores such as 7-Elevens.
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Haub's plan to revive A&P called for using new information systems to refocus the company on serving customers
better and managing inventory more efficiently. Management expected the new systems to save about $325 million
over four years by decreasing operating costs while making desirable products more easily available to customers. It
also hoped the systems would eliminate inefficiencies in its supply chain. After that, Haub expected the project to result
in an increase of $100 million annual pretax operating profits.
In March 2000, the company launched a $250 million project for a four-year redesign of its information systems. In
describing the planned project, A&P estimated that, of the $250 million, 35 percent would be technology costs, whereas
the remaining 65 percent would be for training, communications, and managing and measuring performance. One
objective was to enable customers to use self-checkout lines to save time. Customers would even be able to order on the
Web, for example, they could order at work and pick up merchandise on the way home. Ioli expects the company to
have store-specific data so that it can serve local customers. The project would also address A&P's technical staffing
problems. Management plans to double A&P's IT department, from 150 people to 300. In addition, they will outsource
noncore IT functions, which depend on the old legacy systems, so that A&P staff time is not wasted on such tasks. The
project is planning for a Web-enabled, e-commerce supply chain and the modernization of other systems as well,
replacing up to 95 percent of current applications. Ioli also expects to supervise training and other large-scale, changemanagement
programs. Haub named the project "Great Renewal II" and set it up as a shared-risk partnership.
Ioli quickly turned to IBM as a consultant and partner for the Great Renewal project. Developing software was a major
challenge, partly because there is very little prewritten software available for the grocery business. Most grocery
retailers have to write their own software, which would be extremely time consuming and expensive for A&P. If the
company did try to use the best prewritten software commercially available, it would have to create additional software
to link different portions of the system together so that they could communicate with each other. Creating this interface
software would consume a great deal of time in a project that needed to be completed rapidly. Another possible solution
was an enterprise system to integrate data and business processes for different functions. However, no ERP system had
ever been designed specifically for the grocery business with its special problems, such as its need to move perishable
items (fruits, vegetables, milk, ice cream, and meats) rapidly through the supply chain. ERP software could not handle
situations where some products had to be shipped back to suppliers if they were not up to quality standards—or where
some products had to be thrown out if they were rotten. Many products have to be purchased regionally. As a result,
this would be "the first attempt to strategically reengineer a company and get as close to an ERP as we can" in the
grocery industry, said Ioli. However, he added, "We believe the technology and functionality will allow us to move
ahead of the competition."
A&P wanted a core system where all of its item and merchandising information would reside; it also wanted
functionality for category management, merchandising, procurement, promotion, pricing, and forecasting, including the
perishable side of the grocery industry. Management selected Retek, a small Minneapolis-based software company that
had developed systems for European and Asian grocery chains and for other major retailers, such as Ann Taylor and
Eckard.
Retek provided a merchandising system that A&P could use to execute core merchandising activities; a demand
forecasting system to produce accurate forecasts for supply chain planning, allocation, and replenishment; a
merchandising planning application; a retail intelligence tool that identifies opportunities; and a data warehouse for
analyzing vast pools of transaction data to discern patterns of customer behavior and sales trends.
The core portion of the project, retail application development, was divided into three stages: purchasing,
merchandising, and inventory management. The first of the three development stages was scheduled to be completed by
December 2000, and the transportation system was actually operating in Canada by February 2001.
CEO Haub expressed disappointment in 2001 with how the company was executing its plans. In 2002 Ioli was replaced
as CIO by John Metzger, who had been in charge of logistics. A&P stopped using the term "Great Renewal" and started
talking about its "business process initiative". In early 2003 A&P, Retek, and IBM issued a press release announcing
the completion of the project, but declined to comment further.
The company continues to struggle, reporting losses of $25.1 million for fiscal year 2001; $71.9 million for fiscal year
2002 and $194 million for fiscal year 2003. A&P stock had lost half of its value since the Great Renewal Part Two was
announced.
Caselet 3
Read the caselet carefully and answer the following questions:
6. What people, hardware, software, data and network resources and sales information products do you recognize in
this example? What input, processing, output and storage do you recognize in the Vision Computers system?
(9 marks) < Answer >
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7. What are the business benefits of Vision Computers’ Internet telephone and Web marketing system?
(5 marks) < Answer >
Vision Computers, Inc., sells $ 3 millions worth of computer products per month over the Internet. But to grow, it
constantly needs to distinguish itself from other online vendors. “All the computer sites look the same to the end user.”
Said Jonathan Bumba, sales director at Vision Computers in Torrance, California.
Vision Computers recently introduced a new call center technology which it says adds competitive advantage by
bringing its site closer to customers. Vision Computers began using Network MCI Click’n Connect from MCI
Communications to make it easy for customers to reach a live customer service agent at Vision Computers call center.
Customers can click on a special icon on Vision Computers’ World Wide Web site and speak through their computer to
a sales agent using the same link that got them to the Web site.
The connection requires the power and memory capacity of at least an Intel 486-based PC with microphone and
speakers, and Internet connection of 28.8 K bits/sec, or faster, and special software. MCI gives end user a free
download of NetSpeak Corp’s Mini-Web phone software, which works with proprietary technology in MCI’s network
to integrate the switched telephone network with the Internet.
The calls arrive at Vision Computers on an MCI toll-free number and enter the company’s 300-person call center. They
are then routed to an agent who can view the same Web page that the customer sees. With Click’ n Connect, Vision
Computers can “bridge the relationship gap that is often created by Internet usage”, Bumba said. “It has definitely
helped our bottom line.”
Reginald Randles, an account executive who works on commission making phone sales for Vision Computers, said that
customers use the service to get more information from a live agent after accessing the Web page and to find something
they saw on the site. “The customer and I are both working on the same pages, if you will”, Randles said, “It’s
definitely a sales tool.” The service also has beefed up customer interest in the Web site, he said.
Vision Computers has seen a “dramatic increase” in the dollar amount of each order taken over the Internet and the
number of return customers since the MCI service was installed, Bumba said. And the percentage of incoming calls
from customers that are converted to sales is above the industry average of 25 percent - probably because customers are
connecting to a sales agent quicker than before.
END OF SECTION B
Section C : Applied Theory (20 Marks)
This section consists of questions with serial number 8 - 9.
Answer all questions.
Marks are indicated against each question.
Do not spend more than 25 -30 minutes on section C.
8. One of the strengths of C programming language is that C functions are easy to define and use. The users can
themselves define functions for their convenience, and these functions may then be used by many other programs.
This means that a C programmer can build on what others have already done, instead of starting over, from
scratch.
With reference to the above context, briefly explain various types of user-defined functions in C programming
language, with suitable examples.
(10 marks) < Answer >
9. Data models are mainly used to specify the overall logical structure of a database and to provide higher level
description of the implementation. In this context, discuss the various categories of data models.
(10 marks) < Answer >
END OF SECTION C
END OF QUESTION PAPER
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Suggested Answers
Information Technology & Systems (MB231): July 2005
Section A : Basic Concepts
1. Answer : (a)
Reason : Parallelogram shaped symbol in a flowchart represents data input or output. So option (a) is
the answer.
< TOP >
2. Answer : (b)
Reason : Structure is used to group data items that are related to each other and of different data types
under a common name. So option (b) is the correct answer.
< TOP >
3. Answer : (b)
Reason : Option (b) is the correct answer. A static variable retains its value even after the control is
transferred to the calling function.
< TOP >
4. Answer : (a)
Reason : Data mining is a technique designed to detect patterns in the data (financial data). Data
warehousing is used to consolidate the data across disparate systems. Data dictionary stores
information about information that is essential to management as a business resource. So
option (a) is the correct answer.
< TOP >
5. Answer : (c)
Reason : (a) A modem is a device that converts digital signals from input/output devices into
appropriate frequencies at a transmission terminal and converts them back into digital
signals at a recurring terminal.
(b) A multiplexer merges the transmissions of several terminals at one end of
communications channel, while a similar unit separates the individual transmissions at
the receiving end.
(c) Routers are specialized computers that send your messages and those of every other
Internet user speeding to their destinations along thousands of pathways. A router
interconnects networks based on different rules or protocols, so that message can be
routed to its destination.
(d) Hubs provide automatic switching among connections called ports for shared access to
a network resource.
(e) Decoder is a hardware or software that translate a coded signal back to its original
form.
So option (c) is the answer.
< TOP >
6. 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 comparison 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 >
7. 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.
< TOP >
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(e) Time-series analysis is not related to analytical modeling.
So option (b) is the answer.
8. 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.
(e) Systems feasibility is not defined.
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9. Answer : (d)
Reason : Backup is the procedure for copying system data from the permanent medium such as hard
disks to removable medium such as diskettes and tapes. The tape archive (tar) command is
used for both backup and restore of files, to or from tapes or diskettes. So option (d) is the
correct answer.
(a) Not the correct command.
(b) Not the correct command.
(c) Not the correct command.
(e) Not the correct command.
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10. Answer : (d)
Reason : (a) Procedural controls are the methods that specify how an organization’s computer and
network resources should be operated for maximum security.
(b) Biometric controls are the security measures that measure the physical traits which
make each individual unique.
(c) Output controls are developed to ensure that information products are correct and
complete, and are available to authorized users in a timely manner.
(d) Input controls can be used in the form of login passwords and other security codes can
be used for the authorized access to the system.
(e) Facility controls protect an organization’s computing and network facilities from loss
or destruction.
So option (d) is the correct answer.
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11. Answer : (e)
Reason : In a spreadsheet program, a macro can be used to execute a set of operations that
accomplishes a specific task. So option (e) is the correct answer.
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12. Answer : (a)
Reason : Mr. Bawachi used %f, a data type character used for printing the floating values. So option
(a) is the answer.
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13. Answer : (a)
Reason : A redirector is a device at the client workstation that determines whether requests made by a
user are for the local operating system or for a server on the network.
Hence, from above discussion, we can infer that option (a) is correct.
Option (b) is incorrect. A modem is a device that converts digital signals from input/output
devices into appropriate frequencies at a transmission terminal and converts them back into
digital signals at a recurring terminal.
Option (c) is incorrect. Repeater amplifies the signal received from one segment of network
and sends the amplified signal to other segments.
Option (d) is incorrect. Router builds inter-networks, in which networks that use different
topologies and protocols are interconnected.
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Option (e) is incorrect. Bridge is used to add one network station to another station to
increase the distance of a network.
14. Answer : (b)
Reason : Option (b) is correct because Exception reports are generated only in exceptional situations.
The information content may or may not be included in periodic reports. Such reports help
the managers to take immediate remedial measures and save costs to the organization.
Option (a) is incorrect because planning reports are not relevant to the answer.
Option (c) is incorrect because Periodic scheduled reports use a pre-specified format,
designed to provide managers with information on a regular basis.
Option (d) is incorrect because in Push reports, information is pushed to a manager's
workstation.
Option (e) is incorrect because Edit reports describe errors detected during processing.
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15. 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.
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16. Answer : (c)
Reason : Pseudocode is the program design tool that makes use of "imitation code" for writing the
logic of a program. So option (c) is the correct answer.
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17. Answer : (c)
Reason : Data Link Layer of OSI Reference Model is responsible for establishing an error-free
communications path between computers over the physical channel. It performs checksum
Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) to detect and correct errors in the transmission of data. So
option (c) is the correct answer.
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18. Answer : (c)
Reason : ‘int’ is a key word in a ‘C’ language that cannot be declared as a variable. So option (c) is
the answer.
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19. Answer : (d)
Reason : Internet Paging, also known as “Buddy List” software, runs on the background of the user's
computer, letting him/her know when his friends or coworkers (only those who are
registered) are online.
Hence, from above discussion, we can infer that option (d) is correct.
Option (a) is incorrect. File Transfer Protocol is an Internet Standard developed to exchange
files. So, it is not applicable here.
Option (b) is incorrect. Internet Telephony is the mechanism of carrying out telephonic
conversations over the Internet. So, it is not applicable here.
Option (c) is incorrect. Internet Fax is the mechanism of sending faxes through computers
connected over the Internet. So, it is not applicable here.
Option (e) is incorrect. Usenet is a system where messages about any subject can be posted
and other people on the Internet can reply to them. So, it is not applicable here.
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20. Answer : (d)
Reason : Option (d) is the correct answer. Logical operators are used to test more than one condition
and make a decision.
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21. Answer : (a)
Reason : C has a built-in multiway decision statement called switch. The switch statement tests the
value of a given variable against a list of case values and when a match is found, a block of
statements associated with that case is executed.
(b) The break statement at the end of each block signals the end of a particular case and
prompts exit from the switch statement.
(c) for does not test the value of a given variable against a list of case values.
(d) while does not test the value of a given variable against a list of case values.
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12
(e) if-else does not test the value of a given variable against a list of case values.
22. Answer : (b)
Reason : One of the important functions of an operating system that dramatically affects the overall
quality of its performance is the way it manages program execution.
(I) In cooperative multitasking, users can run two or more programs. Here the foreground
application gains the control of the CPU and keeps this control until the program’s task
is finished.
(II) Pre-emptive multitasking enables the operating system to regain control if an
application stops running and crashes.
(III) Virtual multitasking is not a function of operating system.
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23. Answer : (b)
Reason : Managing the computer’s memory is an important operating system function. The operating
system gives each running program its own portion of the memory called partition. In virtual
memory, programs, instructions and data are divided into units of fixed size called pages.
(a) Circuits that carry data from one component to another are called buses. A bus has
many parallel circuits so that many bits can travel at once.
(c) Programmers divide a program into distinct tasks called threads.
(e) Registers are the special memory units used to retain information on a temporary basis,
which are not considered to be part of the main memory.
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24. Answer : (b)
Reason : Decision support systems are a major category of management support systems which
provide direct support to the decision-makers, with the use of what if analysis, optimization
models etc. These are computer based information systems that provide interactive
information support to managers during the decision making process. DSS is a software
component that consists of models used in computational and analytical routines that
mathematically express relationships among variables. So option (b) is the correct answer.
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25. Answer : (d)
Reason : When a group of commands has to be executed on a regular basis, it is better to store them in
a file. All such files are called (I) shell scripts, shell programs, or (III) shell procedures.
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26. Answer : (e)
Reason : Backside cache is the cache that is included in latest microprocessor chips to improve
secondary cache performance.
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27. Answer : (e)
Reason : Large companies are scattered over a large geographical area, each of which may generate a
large volume of data. Large retail chains have shops at hundreds of sites, and insurance
companies may have data from thousands of local branches. Data Warehouses may be
subdivided into Data Marts, which hold specific subsets of data from the warehouse.
(a) A Data Warehouse is a repository of information gathered from multiple sources,
stored under a unified schema, at a single site.
(b) Once gathered, the data is stored for a long time, permitting access to historical data.
(c) Data Warehouse gives the user a single consolidated interface to data, making decisionsupport
queries easier to write.
(d) By accessing information for decision-support from a Data Warehouse, the decisionmaker
ensures that online transaction-processing systems are not affected by the
decision-support workload.
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28. Answer : (b)
Reason : (a) Not relevant.
(b) This is the correct answer. Scalability is the ability to increase system performance
gradually as the workload increases.
(c) Management uses resource sharing to make all programs, equipment, and data available
to anyone on the network without regard to physical location of the resource and the
user.
(d) Not relevant
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13
(e) Not relevant.
29. Answer: (e)
Reason : The shell can be considered as the sleeping beauty of the system, even though it acts as an
interpreter when one tries to interact with machine. When the user issues an instruction, the
shell acquires it first. Before executing the command, it sees whether the command line is in
a form which the system can understand. If it is not, then it processes the request to recreate
a simplified command line. After having found a correct instruction, it leaves the jobs of
command execution to the kernel.
(a) CPU is Central Processing Unit
(b) File system will not transfer the instructions to the kernel for execution after syntactical
verification.
(c) Disk manager will not transfer the instructions to the kernel for execution after
syntactical verification.
(d) RAM is Random Access Memory.
So option (e) is the correct answer.
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30. Answer : (a)
Reason : Information system that process data generated from the occurrence of business transactions
are termed transaction processing systems. A cycle of basic transaction processing activities
is: (1) Data entry, (2) Data Processing, (3) Database Updation, (4) Report generation, (5)
Inquiry Processing. For processing transactions and updating master files in data processing,
three different methods are used. Batch Processing, Online real-time processing and Online
batch processing.
I. Periodic preparation of data and periodic processing in groups are called Batch
processing.
II. This is online entry with subsequent processing in batches.
III. Not relevant.
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14
Section B : Caselets
1. Nike miscalculated future demand for its shoes which resulted in the over production of some unpopular shoes and
underproduction of other popular shoes.
Nike ran into financial problems when it ordered suppliers to produce too many shoe styles that were declining in
popularity, and it did not order enough of the newer models for which the popularity had sharply increased.
Orders for some of the less popular shoes were sent to the factories twice—once by the old order-management
system and once by the new system—whereas orders for the newer models "fell through the cracks".
Foot Locker, the largest Nike shoes retailer in the United States, had to reduce prices on such shoes as Nike's Air
Garnett III, which had become a slow-selling shoe and now had to be sold at about $90 instead of about $140.
The company was also late in delivering many of its more popular shoes because of their late production. As a
result Nike had incurred additional transportation costs.
The estimated profit for the quarter would decline from about 50 to 55 cents per share to about 35 to 40 cents.
The company announced that the inventory problems would persist for the next six to nine months while the
company sold off the overproduction.
It further announced that the problems would cost $80 million to $100 million in sales for that quarter.
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2. Nike did not manage the project well and it is responsible for the failure of the project. The reasons are:
• i2 software asked Nike to deploy the system in stages, but Nike went live to thousands of suppliers and
distributors simultaneously.
• i2 recommended Nike to follow the guidelines for implementation and asked to use the specific methodology
and templates, but Nike chose not to use i2’s implementation methodology.
• i2's software had been too heavily customized.
• Nike converted to the new software too early without proper testing.
• Nike started using i2 software to enter data for its forthcoming spring 2001 line before the cutover to the i2
software was completed. "The solution wasn't stable at the time they started using it."
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3. By 1990, A&P’s sales were no longer growing, and it was facing stiff competition from such giant chains as
Safeway and Kroger.
The grocery business operates on high volumes of transactions and tiny profit margins of 1 to 2 percent of sales.
In addition to traditional competitors, A&P was losing market share to new types of stores, such as Wal-Mart, that
had entered the grocery business as part of their attempt to meet most home needs.
Also the company was facing a challenge from discount club stores, such as Sam's Club, and from convenience
stores such as 7-Elevens
Management, organization, and technology factors:
It had obsolete information technology infrastructure, composed of a complex web of stitched-together old legacy
systems.
The company was primarily using 12- to 20-year old software running on two large mainframe computers.
It used antiquated systems, from finance to merchandising to store and warehousing systems.
The company had fragmented distribution systems, resulting in little knowledge of what sells in which stores.
A&P's supply chain was not using the Web to work better and more inexpensively.
The company also had outdated, ineffective business processes, such as not having systems to analyze data from
either customers or suppliers.
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4. The new system would enable customers to use self-checkout lines to save time.
Customers would even be able to order on the Web, for example, they could order at work and pick up
merchandise on the way home.
The company would be able to decrease operating costs while making desirable products more easily available to
customers.
The company would also be able to serve customers in a better way and manage inventory more efficiently.
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The company would have store-specific data so that it can serve local customers.
With the new system, the company could outsource noncore IT functions, which depended on the old legacy
systems, so that A&P staff time is not wasted on such tasks.
A Web-enabled, e-commerce supply chain would eliminate inefficiencies in the supply chain.
The company could also supervise training and other large-scale, change-management programs, thus addressing
A&P’s technical staffing problems.
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5. The project was unsuccessful as the company is not able to execute its plans properly. The company continues to
struggle, reporting losses of $25.1 million for fiscal year 2001; $71.9 million for fiscal year 2002 and $194 million
for fiscal year 2003.
The reason undeveloping software was a major challenge, partly because there is very little prewritten software
available for the grocery business. Most grocery retailers have to write their own software, which would be
extremely time consuming and expensive for A&P. If the company did try to use the best prewritten software
commercially available, it would have to create additional software to link different portions of the system
together so that they could communicate with each other. Creating this interface software would consume a great
deal of time in a project that needed to be completed rapidly. Another possible solution was an enterprise system
to integrate data and business processes for different functions. However, no ERP system had ever been designed
specifically for the grocery business with its special problems, such as its need to move perishable items (fruits,
vegetables, milk, ice cream, and meats) rapidly through the supply chain. ERP software could not handle
situations where some products had to be shipped back to suppliers if they were not up to quality standards—or
where some products had to be thrown out if they were rotten. Many products have to be purchased regionally.
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6. The following are the major entities involved in the Vision Computers’ business:
i) People: The sales team and the end customer are the people involved in the setup.
ii) Hardware: The hardware is the machine configuration of the users, e.g. It is at least an Intel 486-based PC
with microphone and speakers on the customer’s end.
iii) Software: The software for Internet connectivity (Web browsers) and the NetSpeak Corp’s Mini-Web phone
software. The Web phone software works towards integrating the switched telephone network with the
Internet.
iv) Data: The data involved in the setup are the customer requirements and the stock available at the company’s
end.
v) Network Resources: The network resources used in the entire set-up are the MCI Click ’n Connect from
MCI communications and the World Wide Web.
The following are the major activities occurring in the Vision Computers System:
i) Input: The input is the requested product and its configuration desired by the customer.
ii) Processing: Processing involves noting the requested product, checking for its availability and notifying the
customer regarding the features and availability.
iii) Output: Output is the information resulting from the processing. It is conveyed to the customer.
iv) Storage: The customers need to store the NetSpeak Corp’s Mini-Web phone software on their systems. This
would require them to have at least an Intel 486-based PC with microphone and speakers.
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7. Vision Computers’ Internet telephone and Web marketing system has the following business benefits:
i) By carrying out business in such a manner Vision Computers distinguishes itself from the other online
vendors, thereby, giving the company a competitive edge.
ii) The MCI Click ’n Connect software ensures a ‘round the clock’ presence in the market.
iii) The presence of a live sales-agent on the site acts as a great ‘sales tool’, drastically cutting down the
expenses.
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Section C: Applied Theory
8. The various types of user-defined functions in C programming language are briefly explained below:
(i) Functions with no arguments and no return values
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When a function has no arguments, it does not receive any data from the calling function. When the called
function does not return a value, the calling function does not receive any data. Therefore, there is no data
transfer between the calling function and the called function. As there is nothing to be returned, the return
statement is optional.
(ii) Functions with arguments but no return values
In this category, the calling function reads data from the terminal and passes it to the called function.
For example,
printline (ch)
value (p, r, n)
are the two functions that have arguments called ch, p, r and n. These are called formal arguments. The
calling function can send values to these arguments using function calls containing appropriate arguments.
For example, the function call
value (200, 0.215, 7)
would send the values 200, 0.215 and 7 to the function value (p, r, n) and assign 200 to p, 0.215 to r and 7 to
n. These values 200, 0.215 and 7 are called actual arguments. They become the values of formal arguments
inside the called function.
The actual and formal arguments should match with each other in number, type and order. The values of
arguments are assigned to the formal arguments on a one-to-one basis, starting with the first argument.
(iii) Functions with arguments and return values
Here, two way communication takes place between the calling program and the called program. The values
of arguments are passed to the calling function and the function result is passed back to the called function.
The following program illustrates this point.
main( )
{
float p, ir, a;
int period;
printf("Enter principal amount, interest rate and period");
amount = value (p, ir, period);
printf(" \n %f \ + %d \ + %f \n", p, ir, period, amount);
}
value(prn, r, n)
int n;
float prn, r;
{
int year;
float sum;
sum = p; year = 1;
while(year ≤ n)
{
sum = sum * (1 - r);
year = year + 1;
}
return(sum);
}
The following events occur when the function call
amount = value (p, ir, period);
is executed.
a. The call function transfers the control along with the values of actual arguments to the function value
where the formal arguments prn, r and n are assigned the values of p, ir and period.
b. The called function, value, is executed till the return (sum); statement is encountered. The value of
sum is passed back to the function call in main ( ).
c. The calling statement is executed and the returned value is assigned to amount.
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9. DATA MODELS
Data models are mainly used to specify the overall logical structure of a database and to provide a higher-level
description of the implementation. Data models fall into three different categories – object-based logical models,
record-based logical models and physical models.
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Network Model
Data in the network model is represented by collections of records, and relationships among data are represented
by pointers. Pointers store the location or address of files and records. The records in the database are organized as
collections of arbitrary graphs. The network model is the oldest database management system model. The first
network model was developed by GE in the mid 60s and was called Integrated Data Store (IDS). Network
databases enable many-to-many relationships. For example, a salesman record may include sales by a specific
product category. However, the management may want to categorize sales on the basis of different regions. Thus,
data in the same field can be captured both on the basis of region and product. These models may be suitable for
handling voluminous transactions but are not suited for handling adhoc requests. The relational model provides ad
hoc request flexibility.
Hierarchical Model
In a hierarchical model data and relationships among data are represented by records and links. It differs from the
network model in the sense that the records are organized as collection of trees rather than as arbitrary groups.
The hierachical model is designed to handle large transaction-based applications like sales-order processing, check
processing, inventory updating, patient billing, insurance file maintenance, etc. The advantages of these
applications are a large, well-defined master file of information and a large number of well-structured transactions
that are processed repeatedly.
Relational Model
In a relational database, data in several files is related through the use of a common key field. Each record in the
file has the same key field but unique key field contents. The field can thus be used to identify a record. The
computer uses this key field as an index to locate records without having to read all the records in the files.
A relational DBMS is generally a two-dimensional table. Each row corresponds to a record, while each column
corresponds to a field. In the relational database model, unique keys or primary keys are used to access records in
a table. A relational database structure can link a customer file and an accounts receivable file, by using a common
field, such as the customer account number field. The user can then request a report consisting of fields from both
the customer and the accounts receivable record.
In a relational database, data is stored only once. As a relational DBMS can work with many filed and relate all
the data, many databases can be created and focused on different themes.
Record-Based Logical Model (RBLM)
Record-based logical models are used for describing data at the logical and view levels. Record-based models are
so named because the database is structured in fixed format records of several types i.e., each record type defines a
fixed number of fields or attributes and each field is usually of a fixed length. Widely accepted record-based
models are the relational, network and hierarchical models.
RBLM is used both to specify the overall logical structure of the database and to provide higher level description
of the implementation.
Object-Based Logical Models (OBLM)
Object-based logical models (OBLM) are also used for describing data at the logical and view levels. However,
they differ from RBLM as they provide flexibility in structuring and allow data constraints to be specified
explicitly. The Entity Relationship (E-R) model falls under OBLM. It is based on the perception of a real world
that consists of a collection of basic objects called entities and their inter relationships (association). An entity may
be a person, a book or something abstract such as a loan or a holiday.