Business Computer Applications

Which three of the following make up the major elements of a supply chain management system?

• supplier relationship management

• order fulfillment management

• customer relationship management

• employee benefits management

Answer explanation

Supplier relationship management, order fulfillment management, and customer relationship management are the three major elements of a supply chain management system.

Highlighting points where actual personnel numbers vary from expected norms and allowing the executive to drill down into areas of interest is a key element of the human resources management element of executive information systems applications.

• true

• false

Answer explanation

Similar to other EIS, human resources management systems software allows executives to highlight and drill down into areas of interest.

The element of the supply chain management system that may include payment and demand management, customer service management, and returns management is

• employee compensation element.

• supplier relationship management element.

• order fulfillment, or procurement, element.

• Acustomer relationship management element.

Answer explanation

Payment and demand management, customer service management, and returns management are parts of the customer relationship management element of a SCM.

Which of the following processes would operations management systems software be used for in a manufacturing firm?

• ordering the lumber needed to manufacture furniture

• informing customers of current sales and promotions

• creating bedroom furniture from lumber

• managing the schedules and shifts of all factory workers

Answer explanation

Operations management systems software are used to transition raw material products into sale-ready goods. Creating the furniture from the raw material lumber is an example of this.

An executive notices that while the company is on track to meet its sales goal for the year, it is not on track to make their bottom line number. How could she use the information provided in the EIS dashboard to figure out where the problem is? More than one answer may be selected.

• The executive could annotate information on the dashboard, requesting more information from subordinates who work in those departments.

• The executive could view the graphs to quickly see which departments are underperforming.

• The executive could drill down into specific areas of the organization to see where spending is higher than budgeted for.

• The executive could see how similar, competitive businesses were on track to meet their numbers.

Answer explanation

The EIS dashboard is designed to provide executives with a big picture view that synthesizes data from across the organization and allow them to quickly visualize and request additional information from subordinates. It does not provide up-to-date information on competitors.

To provide senior management with visibility of nearly all aspects of an organization’s operations many firms integrate their SCM apps with their

• employee compensation system.

• employee benefits management system.

• enterprise resource planning system.

• project management system.

Answer explanation

Many firms integrate their SCM apps with their enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to provide management with overall visibility of the firm’s operations.

What is the intended result for a business using customer relationship management (CRM)? More than one answer may be correct.

• Increased market share

• Increased production

• Increased profit

• Increased sales

Answer explanation

By tracking consumer behavior, customer relationship management (CRM) software focuses on customer experience in order to retain and attract customers. The result should be increased sales, market share, and profit.

What do smaller merchants use to process credit card payments and avoid issues with fund reversals (such as when credit card purchases are returned) or disputes over credit card charges?

• ATMs

• Cash registers

• Debit cards

• Merchant service aggregators

Answer explanation

Merchant service aggregators typically charge slightly higher fees and have lower annual processing limits than merchant account providers, because of the increased risk of fraud or default.

Certain software systems provide decision makers with information that helps them solve complex problems in rapidly changing environments. Which of the following software systems perform this function? More than one answer may be correct.

• merchant service aggregators (MSA)

• business intelligence (BI)

• decision support system (DSS)

• transaction processing systems (TPS)

Answer explanation

Business intelligence (BI) software, also known as decision support software (DSS), allows managers to focus on areas of the most immediate importance, or areas over which they can have the most influence.

Project management software systems integrate the management of nearly all aspects of an organization.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems software integrates the management of nearly all aspects of an organization.