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Chapter 1 Exercises

Chapter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Principles of MIS

© 2008 by Jerry Post
  1. Identify a job that has minimal use of information technology. Explain why the job might not need technology or what type of technology would be needed to improve productivity in the job.
  2. Talk to at least three people and ask them how often they get a new cell phone and a new computer. Compare the answers and comment on any differences.
  3. Choose a company and describe three decisions that must be made: one at the operations level, one tactical, one strategic. Be specific.
  4. Choose a company and read its two most recent annual reports. Summarize the company’s strategy and goals for the coming year.
  5. As an entrepreneur, you decide to open a fast-food restaurant. You can purchase a franchise from one of the established corporations (as discussed in the McDonald’s case) or create your own restaurant. Compare the choices by identifying the decisions you will face with each approach. What data will you need to collect?
  6. Interview a recent graduate in your major (or a relative or friend). Find out what they do on a daily basis. Ask what his or her managers do. Do managers have operations tasks to perform as well as management duties? For instance, does a manager in an accounting firm work on tax returns?
  7. Review business magazines, newspapers, and Web sites. Find two organizations and identify a specific business problem that each one faces. Classify the problem as operations, tactics, or strategies.
  8. Identify the most likely decision level for each of the following situations.
    1. An automobile manufacturer develops a line of fuel-cell powered cars.
    2. McDonald’s offers a new way to serve chicken.
    3. AMD, a computer processor manufacturer, develops a way to create smaller chips with fewer errors.
    4. An auto body shop finds a faster way to sand cars and reduce repair time.
    5. A physician leaves a hospital group and starts her own firm.
    6. The accounting department installs a Web-based system for salespeople to enter travel expenses.
    7. A government agency hires more employees to handle medical questions from residents.
  9. Choose an industry (such as pharmacy, retail groceries, or automobile manufacturing). Determine what percent of the revenue is attributed to the largest firms in the industry. Hint: Start with the Census Bureau’s four-firm concentration ratios and look at the Fortune 500 lists.

    10. Toolbox logoTechnology Toolbox: Searching

  10. The moons of which planet are named after characters from Greek mythology?
  11. What is the largest country (by area) in Africa?
  12. What are the four primary languages of Monaco?
  13. Name at least one plant native to Hawai’i that is poisonous (at least to fish, if not humans).
  14. What is the name of the actress who played the Vulcan commander in the first Star Trek movie?

    15. Toolbox logoTechnology Toolbox: Spreadsheets

  15. Create a spreadsheet to record current sales and forecast future sales as a 5 percent increase.
     increase0.05
    RegionSalesForecast
    Midwest250 
    Southwest393 
    Northeast594 
    Southeast492 
     1729 
  16. Find quarterly GDP data for at least five years and display it in an appropriate chart.

    17. Teamwork logoTeamwork

  17. Choose an industry. Have each team member select one company within the industry and find information about the size of that company. Also, find information about the use of information technology within the company. Write a single-page summary for each company. Combine the results into a report, and write a paragraph summarizing the level of competition within the industry.
  18. Choose an industry. Have each team member select one company within the industry and find the number of employees at that company for the two most recent years. Compare the total number of employees to see if the total has increased, and to see which firms are growing the fastest. Compare the industry results to those in the rest of the class.
  19. Create teams of at least seven people. Elect one person as the overall leader and have two people as middle managers report to the leader. Split the other members so they report to one of the middle managers. Assume the team is going to market a new download video system. The team goal is to estimate the price that students would be willing to pay for a video download and what technology they prefer. Each student should record the time put into the project and any problems that arose because of the management structure. As an option, create at least one team with no middle managers and compare the results.

    20. Rolling Thunder Bicycles logoRolling Thunder Database

  20. Install the Rolling Thunder Bicycles database. Look through the various forms. List each of the main forms and briefly describe the purpose of the form.
  21. Using the Rolling Thunder help files or the description available on the Internet site, describe the goals of the firm and outline the basic operations.
  22. Using Internet sources, identify the competitors to Rolling Thunder Bicycles.
  23. Using Internet, financial, and government sources, estimate the size of the market (total sales and number of bicycles) for quality bicycles.
  24. Locate at least five sources for additional information about bicycles and bicycle components on the Internet. List and briefly describe the sites.