Information Technology & Systems (MB231): October 2005

 Information Technology & Systems (MB231): October 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.
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1.
Mr.Suresh and Mr.Ganapati studying Bachelor degree program in computer science are working on twocomputers in solving a ‘C’ program. After the completion of the program they have compiled theprogram. Which of the following components of the computer performs the compilation, though it doesnot actually process any data?
(a) Input unit (b) Output unit (c) Arithmetic and Logic Unit
(d) Storage unit (e) Control unit.
2.
Sadhana, a software engineer, working for Invensys, was asked by the team leader to explain the detailsof the new project using a flowchart. But she could not draw the whole process in a single flowchart. Sowhat type of symbol is useful for her in connecting to the next page?
(a) An Off Page Connector symbol (b) An on page connector symbol (c) Connector
(d) Parallelogram shaped symbol (e) Diamond shaped symbol.
3.
Mr. Naidu, working as an instructor in a software-training institute was asked by the students to explain the logic of a program. So which of the following program design tools is most appropriate inexplaining the logic of the program?
I. Flowcharts.
II. Decision tables.
III. Pseudocode.
(a) Only (I) above (b) Only (II) above
(c) Only (III) above (d) Both (I) and (II) above
(e) Both (I) and (III) above.
4.
Ms. Preeti is working as a lab coordinator in an engineering college. Which of the following commandsin UNIX can be used if she wants to maintain the accounts of all the current users?
(a) Who (b) Where (c) User (d) Display (e) Cduser.
5.
Mr.Suresh, an UNIX programmer, has been asked by his two colleagues, to copy some files in their directories. But he has copied them wrongly. So which of the following commands in UNIX might behelpful for Suresh in copying the files in respective directories without making a mistake?
(a) tar (b) cat (c) pwd (d) grep (e) mail.
6.
Vison operations, the pioneer in textile industry has been operating in more than 10 countries. Each ofthe locations uses their own networks with different communication architecture. So which of the following device is used to interconnect these networks?
(a) PABX (b) Centrex (c) Routers (d) PBX (e) Gateways.
7.
Tortex inc. has replaced its existing system with a new system but the new system is not functioning well due to inadequate testing. Which of the following stages of System Development Life Cycle(SDLC) is relevant to this?
(a) Systems investigation (b) Systems analysis
(c) Systems design (d) Systems implementation
(e) Systems maintenance.
8.
Which of the following layers provides appropriate data transmission formats and codes in OSIreference model?
(a) The data link layer (b) The network layer
(c) The transport layer (d) The session layer
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(e) The presentation layer.
9.
Which of the following networks have a single communications channel shared by all the machines onthe network?
I. Broadcast networks.
II. Point-to-Point networks.
III. Telecommunication networks.
(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.
10.
Vision group provides services to client workstations, and to client-server operating systems using Novell Netware Operating System. Which of the following features of Netware operating systemprovides both users and network administrators with a single integrated view of an entire network and the servers connected to it?
(a) Redirector
(b) Netware Core Protocol (NCP)
(c) Netware Loadable Module (NLM)
(d) Netware Directory Services (NDS)
(e) Netware protocol.
11.
Which of the following will not come under the category of telecommunication media?
(a) Twisted-pair wire
(b) Coaxial cable
(c) Fiber optics
(d) Multiplexers
(e) Wireless LANs.
12.
In a Database Management System, the physical level is
(a) The highest level of abstraction that describes how the data is actually stored
(b) Used to describe the customer data as a block of consecutive storage locations
(c) Used to describe each record by a type definition and the interrelationship among the records
(d) Users can see a set of application programs that hide details of the data types
(e) The highest level of abstraction that describes only a small part of the entire database.
13.
Which of the following is not a part of UNIX file system?
(a) Boot block (b) Super block (c) J block (d) I-node block (e) Data block.
14.
In UNIX, bootstrap is
(a) The software essential for starting the system
(b) The command used for starting the system
(c) The command used for allocating memory to different tasks
(d) A system file used to store the current users
(e) A system file used to store the current directories.
15.
Which of the following is not a feature of kernel in an UNIX operating system?
(a) File management
(b) Input/Output services
(c) Process scheduling and management
(d) Event handling
(e) Interrupt handling.
16.
Which of the following commands is used to list the files showing attributes in UNIX operatingsystem?
(a) ls –x (b) ls –l (c) ls –a (d) ls –t (e) ls –s.
17.
Which of the following commands is used to send blind carbon copies to the list of names in UNIXoperating system?
(a) mail-c (b) mail-v (c) mail-s (d) mail-b (e) mail-i
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The process of designating a system for the simultaneous transmission of two or more messages overthe same channel is called
(a) Multiplexing (b) Networking (c) Synchronizing
(d) Digitizing (e) Asynchronizing.
19.
Which of the following technologies allows mobiles to connect to the internet?
I. Bluetooth.
II. I-Mode.
III. WAP.
(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.
20.
Which of the following networks is also called ‘peer network’?
(a) Ring network (b) Bus network (c) Star network
(d) Local area network (e) Metropolitan area network.
21.
Which of the following protocols in TCP/IP Reference Model is used for client-server type request –reply queries and applications in which prompt delivery is more important than actual delivery?
(a) Transmisson Control Protocol
(b) User Datagram Protocol
(c) File Transfer Protocol
(d) HyperText Transfer Protocol
(e) Internet Protocol.
22.
Which of the following features of Novell Netware Operating System determines accessibility to the objects?
(a) NDS Security (b) Network Interface Cards
(c) Network Core Protocol (d) File System access rights (e) File attributes.
23.
Which of the following commands in Novell Netware Operating System permanently removes files thathave been marked for deletion?
(a) PURGE (b) REMOVE (c) SALVAGE (d) REVOKE (e) FLAG.
24.
Which of the following commands in Novell Netware Operating System opens a spool file that trapsdata for printing?
(a) CAPTURE (b) REMOVE (c) SALVAGE (d) REVOKE (e) FLAG.
25.
Which of the following commands in Novell Netware Operating System permits the alteration of thefile attributes?
(a) NCOPY (b) REMOVE (c) SALVAGE (d) REVOKE (e) FLAG.
26.
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.
27.
Which of the following storage devices has very slow access speed?
(a) Hard disk (b) CD-ROM (c) EPROM (d) DVD-ROM (e) Backup tape.
28.
Which of the following statements is/are true?
I. In cooperative multitasking, the user has to restart the computer when the application stops running and crashes.
II. In preemptive multitasking, the operating system regains control if an application stops running and crashes.
III. Multitasking operating systems enable a single user to work with two or more programs at once.
(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.
29.
Information systems that process data generated out of business transactions like sales, purchases,paymentsetcarecalled
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payments, etc. are called
(a) Transaction Processing Systems
(b) Management Information Systems
(c) Decision Support Systems
(d) Executive Information Systems
(e) Manufacturing Execution systems.
30.
Which of the following data models are used in describing the data at the logical and view levels?
I. Object based logical models (OBLM).
II. Record based logical models (RBLM).
III. Physical data base model.
(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.
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END OF SECTION A
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Section B : Caselets (50 Marks)
This section consists of questions with serial number 1 – 9.
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. What software applications are used at Boston market?
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2. Identify one information system component that is designed to help managers at each level.
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3. How does the computer system give Boston market an advantage over its competitors?
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Just when many analysts felt that the fast food market was completely saturated and closed to any major newcomers. Boston Market has moved into the last food market with a new way to roast chicken. In doing so, it created a new market segment of fresh convenient meals distinctive from casual-theme restaurants. Quality is also a distinguishing feature.
Boston Market Inc. is the largest restaurant chain specializing in rotisserie chicken. Founded in Newton. Massachusetts, in 1985, Boston Market began franchising in 1988. It first realized a profit in the second quarter of quarter of 1993. In October 1993, it topped $ 150 million in system-wide sales. As of January 1994, it had 241 units, 40 of which are company owned.
It reported $ 40 million in sales for 1993 and doubled in size to 400 outlets by December 1994.
Boston Market made headlines in November 1993 when its $ 42-million initial public offering was priced at $ 20. Only to see the shares change hands for as much as $ 51 on their first day of trading. Shared closed that day at $ 491/2 for a 143 percent paper profit for anyone who purchased in the initial market in two years. Only two months after its initial public offering. Boston Market filed plans for a $ 100-million convertible debt deal. Capital market professionals said that they could not remember a company ever coming back to the market with a convertible so quickly after its initial offering.
Boston Market roasts its chicken’s whole on a rotisserie instead of frying separate pieces as traditional chains do. The preparation techniques use a unique combination of marinades, dry rubs, and glazes to make signature flavors. The chicken is then marinated overnight in a secret sauce and rotisserie roasted in a brick-fired oven for more than two hours. This results in chicken with the convenience of fast food but without the grease. In addition to chicken, Boston Market offers mashed potatoes, an assortment of hot vegetable and a selection of deli salads. All food is prepared fresh, then roasted, steamed or baked. Using leftover chicken and vegetables for chicken potpies, old-fashioned chicken soup and two kinds of chicken salad maximizes resources. Customers can tell their orders in or they can stop by the restaurant and place their orders in person. Chalk-style boards overhead serve as a supplement to printed menus. The chicken rotates in full view of customers who are making their decisions. The core concept is that of a suburban restaurant serving home-style meals at reasonable prices. The chain prides itself on the diversity of its side dishes, featuring from 16 to 22 side dishes. Management is one of its strongest points of distinction.
Because it is a young company, Boston Market uses information technology to respond to changing consumer needs. Customer opinions about food service and cleanliness are entered through a touch screen application. Around 500 responses a week are received from each customer terminal Upcoming promotions will revolve around newsalads and sandwiches, lunch items and a children’s menu.
Boston Market Inc. is among the leaders in using information technology (IT) to improve its customer service. Correspondence and group decision-making is built upon a Lotus Notes application. All of Boston Market’s applications and databases are run from Unix based servers. This provides management with online access to information and helps to streamline all business processes.
The information systems area of Boston Market has gone a long way to integrate the information from the point-of-sale terminal with scheduling, inventory, sales analysis and recipe-tracking modules. An example how the system works
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would be when the POS terminal says 100 chicken sandwiches were sold. It sends an ASCII file to the program, which knows the recipes and can deduct 100 buns and 50 pounds of chicken from the inventory. It then looks over the inventory and automatically orders enough buns and chicken to be ready for projected demand for the rest of the day. Software also enables recipes to be standardized and tied to food costs. This allows ‘what-if analyses to be completed. For example, if the price of chicken goes up 10 cents a pound the owner can decide how to cover this cost. He or she can adjust the item cost or put less on the plate.
Although specialized hardware packages exist for the restaurant market, the major software developers are turning more to the PC, a low-priced, versatile platform.
Caselet 2
Read the caselet carefully and answer the following questions:
4. What obstacles did Barney’s have to overcome to successfully implement its database system?
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5. Why did Leo Rabinovitch feel it was important to stress that “OS/2 is under the covers in a way that the salesperson never really see it”?
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6. What are the advantages for a company like Barney’s to implement their new system on a new and developing operating system like OS/2?
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Retail merchants are always looking for better ways to keep track of their customers and to link the sales of items to the inventory and ordering processes. Barney's Inc. a New York specialty chain, has installed a sophisticated point-of-sale network system to accomplish these two goals.
To be successful specialized retail outlets require a clear understanding of their customer base. As competition for this market segment has increased, retailers have searched for non-intrusive ways to find out more about them. This enables the retailer to officer product promotions that specifically meet the customer’s buying habits.
Barney's customer profile system captures customer purchases at the point of sale and uses the data to offer customers more personalized service. Preliminary data is obtained from the credit card application. The record of purchases with the credit card enables an increasingly accurate portrayal of the customer to be developed.
Based on this record, smaller, more focused catalogs that specifically pinpoint a customer’s shopping habits can be mailed. Salespersons who are particularly turned into a customer's buying habits can begin a more suggestive selling campaign. For example, suit salespersons can call individuals who buy shirts from Barney’s and ask then why they do not buy their suits there. Equally important, salespersons can do a better job of contracting customers when their favorite new merchandise comes into the store or goes on sale. Salespersons can alsocall with birthday and anniversary greetings and the related sales information.
On a broader scale, the consolidated information provides important data for marketing and promotion analysis. By searching the collected information by product, the buyers receive feedback much sooner about what items sell and do not sell in the store.
The second benefit of the new system includes application software for inventory control, financial software and accounts receivable. Records are kept as each stock item is sold. Once a shipping unit of particular items has been purchased, a new order is sent directly to the distribution center. This greatly reduces “stockouts” and decreases the amount of time involved in the order-fulfillment process.
The third benefit of the system is the improved utilization of employees. The system enables more accurate accounts of sales per employee hours. This enables employee schedules to be adjusted to reflect the number of customer sales in a selling area at a particular time. Optimal sales-staff levels can be set. Better records can be kept of which salesperson is performing most successfully. Compensation and incentive packages can be adjusted quickly to more forcefully encourage the goals of the organization.
The OS/2 operating system was chosen because of its ability to perform multitasked operations. Multitasking enables a number of operations to be run concurrently. For Barney's, this means that multiple cash register terminals can feed into a single application controller that contains terminal data and merchandise information. Standard terminals can only conduct price and credit checks. The OS/2 functions enable these checks to occur while customer data is collected and analyzed and inventories are updated. The controller supports the point-of-sale terminal. It logs and stores each transaction and serves as the gateway to the outside world by communicating with the host to send out data and download pricing information and e-mail. The controller also dials out to the credit network and handles online credit authorizations.
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Leo Rabinovitch, vice-president of new product development at STS Systems, the Montreal-based systems-solution company that designed Barney's system, further justified the choice of OS/2 as the base platform.
The protected environment of OS/2 helps ensure the integrity of our applications. Implementation is much simpler because you do not have the RAM constraints you do in DOS.
There are great salespeople out there. This system will free them. At their terminals, they do not interact with the system at all OS/2 is under the covers in a way that the salespeople never really see it. This lets them be great sales people and makes the not-so-great salespeople do their jobs better.
Caselet 3
Read the caselet carefully and answer the following questions:
7. What is the need of a data warehouse for National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) and what might be the important characteristics of the proposed data warehouse?
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8. What features of the data warehouse will help National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) in analyzing the trading and payment patterns of members of exchange?
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9. Scalable information architecture will allow the information base to be extended and enhanced over time. Briefly explain the architecture of a data warehouse.
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Across the globe, developments in information, communication and network technologies have created paradigm shifts in the securities market operations. Technology has enabled organizations to build new sources of competitive advantage, bring about innovations in products and services, and to provide for new business opportunities. Stock exchanges all over the world have realized the potential of IT and have moved over to electronic trading systems, which are cheaper, have wider reach and provide a better mechanism for trade and post trade execution.
NSE is one of the largest interactive VSAT based stock exchanges in the world. Today it supports more than 3000 VSATs and is expected to grow to more than 4000 VSATs in the next year. The NSE network is the largest private wide area network in the country and the first extended C- Band VSAT network in the world. Currently more than 9000 users are trading on the real time-online NSE application. There are over 15 large computer systems which include non-stop fault-tolerant computers and high end UNIX servers, operational under one roof to support the NSE applications. This coupled with the nation wide VSAT network makes NSE the country's largest Information Technology user.
The challenge
The stock exchange needed a data warehouse to analyze trading and payment patterns of members of the exchange, based on well defined risk classes for risk containment and maintaining market integrity. With the diversity in data storage technologies, data semantics, and database management techniques across multiple applications, managing and integrating information was a major issue. Hence, there was a need for reports that required historical information to be retrieved and analyzed required huge amount of system resources and need less to say, the associated time.
NSE's requirements demanded an integrated, unified data pool that was truly subject-oriented, time-variant and nonvolatile. The Wipro team undertook the end-to-end implementation of this data warehouse from requirement analyses to final integration and user training. This included technical architecture design, tool selection, data extraction, metadata management, integration and training. The project was divided into two phases. The first focused on the risk containment application for the securities corporation, while the second phase involved the implementation of the upgrade path to the realization of the enterprise-wide data warehouse solution. The data-warehousing project has an initial size of more than 500 Gigabytes of data. It has the following features:
• A scalable information architecture that will allow the information base to be extended and enhanced over time
• Detailed analysis of member patterns, including trading, delivery and funds payment
• Fraud detection and sequence of event analysis
• Ease of reporting on voluminous historical data
• Provision for ad hoc queries and reporting facilities to enhance the efficiency of knowledge workers
Data mining to identify the co-relation between apparently independent entities.
END OF SECTION B
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Section C : Applied Theory (20 Marks)
This section consists of questions with serial number 10 - 11.
Answer all questions.
Marks are indicated against each question.
Do not spend more than 25 -30 minutes on section C.
10. Transaction Processing Systems comprise around 60 percent of a typical business information system. What is a transaction processing system? Explain in detail how this system functions in an organization.
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11. A small manufacturing company has two manufacturing units in two different states. The company has several raw material suppliers. The management is planning to connect the manufacturing units, suppliers and corporate office. What type of network the company should implement for its connection and why?
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END OF SECTION C
END OF QUESTION PAPER
Suggested Answers Information Technology & Systems (MB231): October 2005
Section A : Basic Concepts
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Answer : (e)
Reason : Option (e) is the correct answer. The control unit acts as a central nervous system for other components of the computer, though it does not actually process any data.
2.
Answer : (a)
Reason : Option (a) is the correct answer. An Off Page Connector in a flowchart is used to designate entry to or exit from a page.
3.
Answer : (a)
Reason : Option (a) is the correct answer. For beginners, a flowchart is useful in explaining the logic of a program because the logic can be easily understood when compared with decision tables or pseudocode.
4.
Answer : (a)
Reason : Option (a) is the correct answer. Who command in UNIX is used to maintain the account of all the current users.
5.
Answer : (c)
Reason : The pwd command in UNIX is used to find the current directory that is in use. So using pwd command he can identify the current directory and can copy the files in the respective directories successfully. So option (c) is the correct answer.
6.
Answer : (e)
Reason : A router interconnects networks based on different rules or protocols, so that message can be routed to its destination. Gateway interconnects the networks that use different communication architectures. So option (e) is the answer.
7.
Answer : (d)
Reason : The first step in systems development process is system investigation which includes the preliminary study of the proposed information system solutions to end user problems.
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Systems analysis describes what a system should do to meet the information needs of users while systems design specifies how the system will accomplish this objective. Systems implementation involves hardware and software acquisition, software development, testing of programs and procedures, development of documentation, and a variety of installation activities and education and training of end users and specialists who will operate the new system. Implementation involves the conversion of a present system to an improved system. Systems maintenance is the final stage of the system development cycle which involves the monitoring, evaluation, and modification of a system to make desirable or necessary improvements. So option (d) is the answer.
8.
Answer : (e)
Reason : The presentation layer provides appropriate data transmission formats and codes in OSI reference model. So option (e) is the answer.
9.
Answer : (a)
Reason : Broadcast networks have a single communications channel shared by all the machines on the network. So option (a) is the answer.
10.
Answer : (d)
Reason : Netware Directory Services (NDS) of Netware operating system provides both users and network administrators with a single integrated view of an entire network and the servers connected to it.
Hence, from above discussion, we can infer that option (d) is correct.
Option (a) is incorrect. A Redirector at the client workstation determines whether requests made by a user are for the local operating system or should be redirected to a server on the network. So, it is not applicable here.
Option (b) is incorrect. Netware Core Protocol (NCP) includes file access, file locking, resource tracking and allocating, event notification and other services to workstations that request them. So, it is not applicable here.
Option (c) is incorrect. Netware Loadable Module (NLM) includes services for name space support, internetworking, host connectivity, messaging services, communication services, etc. So, it is not applicable here.
Option (e) is incorrect. Netware Directory Services (NDS) is applicable here.
11.
Answer : (d)
Reason : Except (d) all the alternatives comes under the category of telecommunication media. Multiplexers are telecommunication processors. So option (d) is the answer.
12.
Answer : (b)
Reason : In a Database Management System at the physical level, a customer record can be described as a block of consecutive storage locations. So option (b) is the answer.
13.
Answer : (c)
Reason : Option (c) is the correct answer. The UNIX file system consists of four blocks: boot block, super block, I-node block and data block.
14.
Answer : (a)
Reason : The UNIX file system consists of four blocks: boot block, super block, I-node block and data block. The boot block contains the bootstrap, the software essential for starting the system. So option (a) is the answer.
15.
Answer : (d)
Reason : Except (d) all the other are features of kernel in an UNIX operating system. i.e, file management and security, input/output services, process scheduling and management, memory management and interrupt handling are the features of kernel in an UNIX operating system.
16.
Answer : (b)
Reason : The ‘ls-l’ command is used to list the files showing attributes of the fille in an UNIX operating system. So option (b) is the answer.
17.
Answer : (d)
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Reason : The ‘mail-b’ command is used to send blind carbon copies to the list of names in UNIX operating system. So option (d) is the anSwer.
18.
Answer : (a)
Reason : The process of designating a system for the simultaneous transmission of two or more messages or over the same channel is called multiplexing. So option (a) is the answer.
19.
Answer : (c)
Reason : The Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) allows mobiles to connect to the internet. So option (c) is the answer.
20.
Answer : (a)
Reason : A ring network is also called ‘peer network’. So option (a) is the answer.
21.
Answer : (b)
Reason : User Datagram Protocol in TCP/IP Reference Model is used for client-server type request –reply queries and applications in which prompt delivery is more important than actual delivery. So option (b) is the answer.
22.
Answer : (a)
Reason : NDS Security contains an ACL (Access Control List), which is a property determining who can access what objects and what they can do with the objects. So option (a) is the answer.
23.
Answer : (a)
Reason : The PURGE command in Novell Netware Operating System permanently removes files that have been market for deletion. So option (a) is the answer.
24.
Answer : (a)
Reason : The CAPTURE command in Novell Netware Operating System opens a spool file that traps data for printing. So option (a) is the answer.
25.
Answer : (e)
Reason : The FLAG command in Novell Netware Operating System permits the alteration of the file attributes. So option (e) is the answer.
26.
Answer : (c)
Reason : The program control register holds the address of next instruction to be executed. So option (c) is the answer.
27.
Answer : (e)
Reason : The access speed of a backup tape is very slow among the other storage devices. So option (e) is the correct answer.
28.
Answer : (e)
Reason : All the given statements are true. Multitasking operating systems enable a single user to work with two or more programs at once. In cooperative multitasking, the user has to restart the computer when the application stops running and crashes. In preemptive multitasking, the operating system regains control if an application stops running and crashes. So option (e) is the correct answer.
29.
Answer : (a)
Reason : Information systems that process data generated out of business transactions like sales, purchases, payments, etc. are called Transaction processing systems. So option (a) is the correct answer.
30.
Answer : (d)
Reason : Both Object Based Logical Models(OBLM) and Record Based Logical Models(RBLM) are used in describing the data at logical and view levels. Physical data models are used in describing the data at the lowest level.
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Section B : Caselets
1. In order to improve it’s customer service, correspondence and group decision-making Boston Market made use of the following software applications:
a. Touch screen application: This application enables Bostonto find out the changing needs of the consumer. The customers send their opinions about food, service and cleanliness through this application.
b. Lotus notes application: The Lotus notes application enabled better correspondence and group decision-making. Thus, improving the performance efficiency of the group.
All these applications are run from Unix based servers, which help the managers access to information online and helps them to streamline all business process.
2. The information system component that is designed by Boston market is the point-of sale terminals. It sends an ASCII file to the' program, which knows the recipes and can deduct 100 buns and 50 pounds of chicken from the inventory once it has 100 chicken sandwiches sold. It then checks the inventory and automatically orders enough buns and chicken to be ready for the projected demand for the rest of the day. Software also enables recipes to be standardized and tied to total costs. This system helps the manager to integrate the information with scheduling, inventory, sales analysis and recipe-backing modules.
3. The computer system provided Boston market an advantage over its competitors by improving the customer service, operations, and the distribution. The managers at Boston market quickly responded to the customer's changing needs and improved the services by implementing different applications. The managers also integrated the different operations to streamline the processes, which helped them take decision quickly.
4. A clear understanding of the customer base is essential for any specialized retail outlet to be successful. Hence, Barney's had to see to it that it collects all the meaningful data from tile customers. With an increase in competition in this market, the retailers have searched for non-intrusive ways to find out more about them, Barney's salespersons had to be proactive to the extent of being interactive with each customer.
The database system was successful only after Barney's put in the above-mentioned efforts.
5. Leo Rabinovitch was driving home the point that, in spite of having such a powerful system in place the sales force was not all fully dependent on it. Leo conveys that the sales team should work in a way they are, in spite of all the advantages and functions of the OS/2. According to Leo, the sales team should work with utmost vigor being fully obvious to the technology, which is in place.
6. The following be are the main advantages of the OS/2 to a company like Barney's:
i) The customer profile system captures the customer purchases at the point of sale and uses the data to offer customers more personalized service.
ii) The data obtained from the credit and application enables an increasingly accurate portrayal of the customer.
iii) Sales people who are tuned to a particular customer's buying habits can begin a more suggestive selling campaign.
iv) The new multitasking system provides for application software for inventory control, financial software and accounts receivable.
v) Also the system enables improved utilization of employees. This is achieved by calculating the accurate accounts of sales per employee hour.
7. The stock exchange needed a data warehouse to analyze trading and payment patterns of members of the exchange, based on well defined risk classes for risk containment and maintaining market integrity. With the diversity in data storage technologies, data semantics, and database management techniques across multiple applications, managing and integrating information was a major issue. Hence, there was a need for reports that required historical information to be retrieved and analyzed required huge amount of system resources and need less to say, the associated time.
The important characteristics of data warehouse are Non-volatile, Subject oriented, Time–variant and Integrated.
8. The following are the features of a data warehouse:
• A scalable information architecture that will allow the information base to be extended and enhanced over
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time.
• Detailed analysis of member patterns, including trading, delivery and funds payment.
• Fraud detection and sequence of event analysis.
• Ease of reporting on voluminous historical data.
• Provision for ad hoc queries and reporting facilities to enhance the efficiency of knowledge workers.
• Data mining to identify the co-relation between apparently independent entities
9. A data warehouse is a database which stores large amounts of transactional data. Such a warehouse helps companies take business and support decisions. For instance, it can help a company decide which segment of customers to target or what new products to come out with.
A data warehouse can extract information not offered by raw data. Extracting such information is called data mining. Data mining helps companies find hidden patterns and relationships among groups of data. These hidden patterns help companies take decisions and make forecasts.
Data warehouse architecture represents the overall structure of data. This architecture is made up of a number of interconnected parts, as shown in Figure 10.5. It has three components: data source; data loaders and DBMS; and query and analysis tools. Data is entered into DBMS with the help of data loaders. The desired data is extracted from the DBMS with the help of query and analysis tools.
Figure 10.5
Section C: Applied Theory
10. Information systems that process data generated from the occurrence of business transactions are termed transaction-processing systems. Transaction processing systems need to capture such data and process it with high speed and accuracy. After capturing and processing the data, the transaction processing system updates organizational databases and files and produces a variety of information products for internal and external use. Five distinct phases can be observed in such a cycle: (1) Data entry, (2) Data processing, (3) Database updation, (4) Report generation and (5) Inquiry processing.
Data entry
Data entry is the input activity in a transaction processing system. Data is captured or collected through recording, coding and editing activities.
Data processing
For processing transactions and updating master file, three different methods are used: periodic preparation of data and periodic processing in groups (batch processing), online entry with subsequent processing in batches, and online entry with immediate processing (online real-time processing). Batch processing involves the accumulation of transactions until a sufficient number have been assembled to make processing efficient or until other considerations, such as a report cycle, initiate processing. This type of processing can be very helpful when the batches are processed in a sequential file. Online entry combined with online processing has the additional advantage of immediate processing and instant results. Batch processing is sufficient there.
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Updating database
Data processing usually culminates in two outputs data updating and report generation. Changes resulting from day-to-day business transactions have to be reflected on the databases, and the database updating function ensures just that. Examples are address changes, name changes, etc. Sometimes a database updating log is also maintained, which contains information on the date, time, etc. when the updating was done.
Report generation
Generation of information products like documents and reports forms the next phase of the transaction processing cycle. Documents produced by transaction processing systems are called transaction documents. These can be divided into three categories:
Inquiry processing
Real-time inquiries of online files and databases need to be handled by transaction processing systems. Periodic batch processing or real-time (online) processing can do this. End users may use various hardware or query languages to make queries and receive reports concerning the results of transaction activity. For example, managers can, on demand, receive responses and reports on the performance of their employees, workgroups or departments.
11. The options available to the company are LAN, WAN, MAN, Intranet, VSAT, Internet and VPN and extranet.
The manufacturing company is trying to connect its manufacturing facilities, corporate office with its suppliers and customers. LAN should not implemented because it only takes care of the internal business activities of an organization and can be only implemented in the same building or within a campus. MAN can be discarded on the same ground. WAN, though span large geographical area is implemented mainly for internal purposes by an organization and are not based on TCP/IP standards, so to connect each and every suppliers and customers, organization had to implement separate WANS, which is not feasible. So WAN cannot be implemented.
Intranet, based on TCP/IP protocol, is strictly for internal company employees to share and exchange information.
Through Internet, information can be exchanged between suppliers, customers and the organization easily, but it is not secure. Organizational data are important and need privacy. Through Internet to implement VSAT organization needs to build infrastructure like hubs, lease of transponder, which is not costly and feasible for a small manufacturing company.
VPN allows an organization to connect its suppliers and customers. VPN will be preferable over extranet because it is cheaper to implement than extranet. For a small manufacturing organization with few suppliers and customers, VPNs will suit its purpose of exchanging information between them in a secure manner.