Assignment 20

CMGT-510

19 October 2018

Scope: Chapters 1-8, assigned text.

Requirement: Respond to the factual essay statements (20% each). The bonus factual essay is optional and may be omitted or completed for up to 10 additional points. Respond to all true/false (20%), multiple-choice (30%) and completion (10%) statements.

Instructions: This examination is open book and open notes. The response to factual essay statements 1 and 2 will not exceed 4 ½, double-spaced, typed pages each and 2 pages for the bonus factual essay statement. Justification for each true/false or multiple-choice statement should not exceed one-third 12-point, double-spaced page. Selecting the proper true/false [T/F] or multiple-choice [MC] response or responses for each statement will earn one point and two points respectively. Discussing your rationale [justification] for the choice will earn up to two points [T/F] and up to three points [MC]. A response of “because it says or doesn’t say so in the text” will earn 0 points. The point value for each completion statement varies. The examination will not be discussed with other students. Answers will be your own work. Violations will result in a grade of F and dismissal from the course. The examination is due before midnight (2400) Sunday 21 October. Prior to that time, I will only entertain questions concerning electronic receipt of this examination.

FE1 = 4 + FE2 = 4 + TF = 15 + MC = 24 + C + 7 = 54 + B = 1 = 55:

Introduction 14/64 = .219 X 20 = 4:

The information world has been on a continuous evolution in regards to the access, sending and storage of information within organizations. The facilitation has been done through a number of developed standards and communication technologies that ensure a seamless connection around the world. This section of “Management Information Systems” course book focuses on the techniques of wireless networking and the specific standards that govern the identified technologies. It pays particular attention to mobile devices that have been developed and have successfully implemented the technologies to be discussed in the section.

Cellular Systems

This particular wireless system is comprised of all the mobile phones distributed worldwide to consumers. The system is enriched with high levels of flexibility to ensure that users can travel to different geographical locations and still be able to experience good receptions from their service providers. To achieve high levels of mobility, two standards have been used widely.

The46 Global System for Mobile Communication standard (GSM), is used in both Europe and the US. GSM boasts strength in its roaming capability internationally hence the reason for its widespread application in the mobile industry. The other competing standard in cellular systems is the Code Division Multiple Access Standard 47(CDMA) which ensures that48 transmission is performed in multiple frequencies within the network spectrum. It ability to assign its users to 50random frequencies with time has made it more efficient than GSM. Although earlier systems had been developed to carry voice and limited amounts of data, today’s cellular systems are capable of transmitting data in high speeds up to 100Mbps in 4G’s Long Term Evolution standard and WiMax. The use of cellular networks is notably significant in the US, 190 million people own smartphones in the United States (Laudon & Laudon, 2018).

Bluetooth Network.

This is a personal area network defined by the IEEE 802.15 networking standard. The connectivity while using this particular network standard is limited to linking up to 8 users to the internet using low energy radio-based communication. While using the 2.4 GHz band, the transmission area is limited to 10 meters from the access point of the network, and this makes the Bluetooth network suitable for short distance communications.

The advantage of deploying such a network in an organization is the ability for the networked devices to be able to communicate to each other without requiring direct intervention for the users, and this translates to high efficiency within the organization. For instance, Delivery data at FedEx is transmitted through Bluetooth networks from driver’s handheld computers to cellular transmitters which forward the data to the organizations' information system (Laudon & Laudon, 2018).

Wi-Fi

The Wi-Fi is a standard developed to govern the development and advancement of wireless LANs concerning internet access. Described under IEEE’s 802.11 standard, the technology has been widely used due to its capability to transmit data at high speeds. Generations of this standard include 802.11b which can transmit up to 11Mbps at 2.4 GHz with an adequate coverage of 50-meter radius. 802.11g standard achieves up to 54 Mbps at the same frequency as 802.11b. Finally, the 802.11n is capable of delivering high speeds of 100Mbps. Network interface cards have been developed to comply with at least one of the above-said standards. Their incorporation to today’s 22Notebooks, PCs iPads, and other smartphones has made it possible to communicate using Wi-Fi access points. The technology is applied in public places such as institutions of higher learning.

Challenges of this technology include security issues with the data encryption techniques deployed to secure the communications and 57interference from other devices that operate in the 2.4 GHz spectrum.

WiMax

The 17WiMax standard was developed to help in delivering internet access to areas that are not within the hotspot range of given Wi-Fi access points. The IEEE established the 802.16 WiMax Standard to deal with issues of hotspot range. As a result, the access range of WiMax was projected up to 31 Miles with speeds of transmission as high as 75 Mbps.

The transmission antennas for such networks are equipped with high transmitting power to ensure that the signal reaches the expected regions without internet access. Following the development of this standard, mobile devices and PC manufacturers have started developing devices that are capable of connecting to WiMax networks.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and Near Field Communication (NFC)

RFID systems are used to29 track the movement of goods in a supply chain. This is made possible through the 30use of embedded microchips that contain data about the attached item. The microchips 31transmit short-distance radio waves to RFID readers. The use of this technology 33does not require a clear line of sight to establish communication. The transmission range of up to 100 feet ensures the technologies effective use in chain stores such as Walmart to keep track of the store’s inventory.

NFC, on the other hand, 43uses electromagnetic fields to enable communication between devices. This occurs when NFC enabled devices are placed few centimeters from each other. When used in smart cards, the NFC tag signals create currents that are used to send data to other 44NFC enabled device such as a smartphone. Smartphones have the capability of sending and receiving data transmitted through NFC.

Wireless Sensor Networks

This is an interconnection of wireless devices embedded in an organization’s [physical environment to collect measurements about certain phenomena. The devices are 61equipped with processing, storage and transmitting antennas to relay data to selected computers for analysis.

A complete network of wireless sensors has a range of hundreds to thousands of nodes which are high-power efficient. A real application of such networks is in traffic analysis to monitor the number of motorists and cars flowing through a given road at any given time (Laudon & Laudon, 2018).

2. Dimensions of Information Systems

Wrong portion of the text

Technology is an essential aspect of modern-day business operations and environment. It plays an extensive role that there is virtually almost no business process that does not rely on technology, to generate information necessary to make effective decisions. Technology allows organizations to achieve a competitive advantage by optimizing business operations, saving costs, and passing the benefits to customers. One way to achieve this is through the use of information systems that take into account the organization’s culture, managerial needs, and technological resources.

Organizational Dimension of Information Systems

The organizational dimension of information management system takes into account the organization culture, values, hierarchy of the organization, and its values and norms. Not all organizations are created equally, and each organization has its own unique organizational culture (Laudon & Laudon, 2018). The culture of an organization must be embedded in the information management system including aspects such as the pyramid structure or the hierarchy levels within the organization. Senior executives in the organization make crucial strategic decisions about products and services using information generated from the information system. Middle management then carries out the instructions of senior management while using information systems to monitor business activities on a day-to-day basis. Knowledge workers such as scientists, engineers, and the product design department all work using information generated through the organization’s information management system.

Most organizations have developed formal rules that govern their internal operations. These rules have been established over a long period and they govern how employees accomplish tasks or the type of action to take when faced with security threats. Also, the organizational culture must also be reflected within the information management system.

In reality, modern day information systems affect almost every aspect of an organization. This includes how the organization delivers its products and services to consumer, the objectives of the business enterprise, and the means to achieve the mission. As a result, there is an increasing interdependence between an organization and the type of information systems it uses to conduct business and serve customers effectively.

Management Dimension of Information Systems

When managers encounter business challenges, they create a strategy that is based on action and rules to allocate appropriate financial and human resources to achieve the necessary strategy as well as manage the action required achieving particular results. The management dimension of information systems takes into account the needs of managers to respond to business scenarios in the day-to-day running of the organization. They require help from information systems to make accurate decisions quickly. Examples of managerial decisions that require information from information systems include whether to continue or discontinue with a particular product or service, what are the organization needs additional resources to accomplish its mission and objectives, and how best to comply with the regulation.

Therefore, the management dimension of an information system helps to empower managerial decisions by providing the information and tools that are needed by managers to allocate resources, coordinate work, as well as other long-range strategic organizational decisions. The reports generated by information management systems are used by managers to make decisions do not necessarily need to come from one department such as the I.T department; they can come from sales and marketing systems, organizational accounting systems, or human resource systems. Examples of how managers can use these reports include analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the organization or answering scenario-based questions.

Technological Dimension of Information Systems

This dimension of the information management system consists of tools that manage used to make managerial decisions. These include computer hardware which consists of the physical equipment used for processing data input. Physical equipment consists of computer hardware, input and output devices, communication devices, surveillance systems, and computer programs, all working together as the organization’s I.T infrastructure. The management function in the modern day organization requires the use of technology to carry out its activities in an efficient manner. Technology can also help managers to cope with change how to analyze outcomes of previous steps taken in response to a business event or scenario.

One of the basic functions of the technological dimension of information systems is to generate raw data. Raw data includes different events occurring inside the organization and its physical environment. The data is then organized into information that is useful and meaningful to human beings. The internet plays a crucial role in empowering activities within the technological dimension of information systems. The internet helps the organization to collaborate successfully internally and externally. Through the internet, and the technological aspect helps to transform the structure of the organization, the scope of its business activities, as well as its control and reporting mechanisms. The technological dimension is also responsible for controlling workflows, production of goods, and how the organization offers its services to its customers

In conclusion, the three main dimensions of information systems are the organizational dimension, management dimension, and technological dimension. The organizational aspect takes into account the culture of the organization, for example, prioritizing the needs of service users. The management dimension takes into account the managerial needs of an organization, the type of information that managers need to make decisions. The technological aspect takes into account the resources that are required to operate an information system within the organization and secure it to make sure it works as optimum as possible. The technological dimension consists of software and hardware resources including programs and electronic devices such as computers and servers.

Below, Added Late: 15/79 = .19 X 20 = 4:

An information system is created to assist in storing, organizing, retrieving, and communication of information. An active information system is made up of software, hardware, as well as telecommunication networks that people create and utilize when taking action on data. Information systems play a crucial role in organizations. By having an organization to manipulate data, information systems transform the data into useful information, and then from helpful information to knowledge. The growth of information systems traces back to the mainframe era between the 1950s and 1960s when the business community adopted computers to achieve efficiency. The original goal of information systems was to help organizations organize, store, retrieve, and communicate large volumes of data, sometimes with limited resources. Unfortunately, only large universities, businesses, could afford them. Maintaining these systems also required specialized facilities and personnel. This paper discusses the main dimensions of information systems using the book, Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm by Kenneth C. Laudon and Jane P. Laudon.

Information Technology

According to Laudon & Laudon (2017), one of the main dimension of information systems is Information Technology (IT). Information technology is made up of computer software, computer hardware, data management technology, and networking and communications technology. Computer hardware is represented by the physical equipment that not only receives and processes data but also stores it or communicates it with another electronic device. Examples of physical hardware include personal computers, handheld mobile devices, storage devices, output devices, input devices, and telecommunication devices to link devices together (Laudon & Laudon, 2017). Computer software is made up of carefully selected and detailed preprogrammed instructions instructing it on how to manage its hardware resources within an information system. Data management technology is a software that helps to manipulate or send data. Networking and telecommunications technology, on the other hand, is a combination of physical devices and software. These specific devices are made up of a combination of communications technology (components that allow the transfer and receiving of information between two devices), and a particular type of software to manage their hardware resources. Laudon & Laudon (2017) define a network as a link between two or more computers established to share data on hardware resources.

Organization

The second dimension of information systems according to Laudon & Laudon (2017) is the organization itself. The main elements of the organization include 12business processes, the 10people, 11organizational structure, organizational 14culture, and 13corporate politics. Organizational culture involves the 16division of labor within a 17hierarchical pyramid system of responsibility and authority. The18 top levels consist of management and technical employees, whereas the 19lower levels of the pyramid are made up of operational personnel. Are these people are involved in daily activities that collectively make up the organization culture and move the organization towards the chosen strategic direction. Senior management must 20make up significant decisions that affect the long-term course of the organizations they run. They are also responsible for monitoring employees and managing knowledge within the organization. Doing this requires the use of an information system.

Every organization is unique on its own. It has a unique culture that is made up of a unique way of accomplishing goals, working out assumptions, and establishing work standards that are acceptable to everyone else in the organization. Also, every organization has its way of operating its internal business functions, for example, marketing and sales, human resources, production, and manufacturing. These functions are typically organized into departments that are headed by senior executives in the organization. Each function demands its own set of standards concerning business processes and expected outcomes. Are these forms part of the organization’s culture and are embedded in its information systems. Laudon & Laudon (2017) offered an example with UPS prioritization of customer service as a form of organizational culture that one can easily observe in the company’s tracking systems.: Don’t cite examples. Don’t paraphrase. You don’t need citations, all facts come from our text.

Management

The third dimension of information systems is management. Managers have the job of ensuring that they understand challenges faced by the organizations that they lead. They 43make decisions daily and are always taking specific actions to solve organizational problems. They are involved in the creation and implementation of organizational plans that require faster decision making. With information systems, managers have quick access to information they can use to44 make strategic decisions quickly on issues related to business processes, marketing problems, or financial health of the organization. All these decisions, according to Laudon & Laudon (2017), must be driven by new information and knowledge. However, these systems must be customized to the needs of an organization’s management function.

In conclusion, the main dimensions of information systems are 3information technology, 1organization, and 2management. The information technology dimension is made up of hardware and software resources that facilitate the exchange of information between two individuals or from one point to another. Hardware resources include devices that people use to manipulate, store, retrieve, and communicate information. The second dimension is the organization itself that owns the information system. The organization is made up of people, culture, and structure. The third dimension is known as the management dimension that deals with how best to help managers to make effective decisions within the shortest possible time.

3. Hackers and Computer Crime 7/70 = .1 X 10 = 1:

Information security is something important for many organizations. For this causes, crime is conducted in the quest of compromising the security of many information systems. Information obtained through computer crimes can be used to gain an advantage in the competitive market or slow down company operations. Hackers who are considered as cybercriminals have the capability to evade the real-world criminalities physical barriers. For this matter, law enforcement finds it difficult to respond to such crimes when they occur. Hacking is done through spoofing, sniffing, denial-of-service and identity theft.

Hackers are well-trained people that are able to indulge in highly technical tasks and sometimes, compromising or accessing information does not have any monetary value to the individuals. However, a hacker can be said to be someone who 3finds a security vulnerability in a computer information system for malicious or research purposes. There are two types of hackers: white hat hacker and a black hat hacker. A white hat hacker employs his/her computer skills in finding out data integrity and security vulnerabilities or loopholes in a computer system and then informs an organization for rectifications. A black hat hacker is interested in the theft of services, injection of viruses, denial-of-service attacks and computer system disruptions.

Hackers compromise the security of an information system by inserting, deleting or modifying computer data. By doing this, the organization's operations are compromised and the hacker gains some economic benefits. The malicious activities are committed with the help of computer networks and computers. The internet, being the fast-evolving sector in IT has led to increased cybercrimes. Poorly coded applications are vulnerable to attacks like SQL injections- used by hackers to send and implant malware on a database. Additionally, due to the growth of people who are able to access the internet, almost every part of the world becoming susceptible to computer crimes. According to Laudon and Laudon (2016), the evolution of information systems has some implications for computer security. The U.S Department of justice states 29computer crime as the use of technology for unauthorized access to information.

Through denial-of-service attacks (DoS), hackers15 flood a website with meaningless requests rendering it unusable by legitimate people. This form of computer crime is 19not meant to destroy information. A group of attackers forms24 a botnet- a network of computers that have a bot malware for the purpose of opening a backdoor without the knowledge of the owners. Laudon and Laudon (2016) claim that 27about 80% of spam emails are delivered through botnets. Additionally, a hacker can obtain 36personal information like credit card number, security ID, or license for the purposes of personification. This is known as identity theft and the hacker uses the information to steal merchandise and credit.

For the purpose of executing their activities, hackers hide their identities or masquerade themselves via false email addresses. They use sniffing tools to monitor information transmitted over a network. However, when attacks on a company occur, according to Laudon and Laudon (2016), the event is hardly reported. This makes it difficult to track down the number of computer crimes that occur every year. The reason as to why31 companies fail to report the crimes is because in most cases, they involve the employees within the company- they know the vulnerabilities of the information system.

True False 23/30 = .767 X 20 = 15:

1. DSS use internal information from only Transaction Processing Systems and Management Information Systems. 0

True: The DSS uses the internal information from the Transaction Processing Systems and Management information systems. Pp-49: : They often bring in information from external sources, such as current stock prices or product prices of competitors.

1

True: The European Nations do not allow the businesses to use the personally identification information without prior consent of the of the consumer but the United States does.2

3. Responsibility for data storage and control is in the hands of the cloud provider. 1

True: Data storage and controls are in the hands of the cloud provider. 2

4. TCP is responsible for disassembling and reassembling packets during transmission. 1

False: It is the IP that is responsible for dissembling and reassembling packets during the transmission. 2

5. Changes that occur in business because of new information systems always meet your expectations. 1

False: Not all changes that occur in business because of the new information system will meet your expectations. 2

6. The single greatest cause of network security breaches is click fraud. 1

False: The single greatest cause of network security breach is the users’ lack of knowledge.

2

7. A DBMS makes data sharing throughout an organization easier. 1

True: DBMS makes the collaboration and sharing of files in a firm easier

Pp-217: single location 1

8. A web bug is a web beacon. 1

True: A web bug and web beacon refer to the same thing. 2

9. The technical and behavioral definitions of organizations are not contradictory. 1

True: The technical and behavioral definitions of organizations are not contradictory.

Pp-83: complementary 0

10. The World Wide Web is the Internet. 1

False: The internet and the World Wide Web are different.

Pp-22: 0

Multiple Choice 40/50 = .8 X 30 = 24:

1. A firm’s information systems department is responsible for maintaining the following:

a. Hardware

b. Software

c. Privacy Not c:

d. Networks Also d: 1

a, b, and c: The information system department is responsible for maintaining the hardware, software, data storage, and networks that include the IT infrastructure of the organization. 3

2. New ethical, social, and political issues raised by the introduction of new information technology have what moral dimensions?

a. Information rights and obligations b. Relationships

c. Safety d. Quality of life e. Accountability and control. 2

a, d, and e : The five moral dimensions dimension include information rights and obligations, property rights and obligations, system quality, quality of life, and accountability and control. 3

3. Items that must be considered when planning hardware capacity include.

a. Software standards

b. Mergers

c. Acquisitions

d. Commercial customers 2

b and c: New applications, mergers and acquisitions, and changes in business volume all affect computer workload and must be considered when planning hardware capacity.3

4. A wide area network may span:

a. Cycles

b. Transmissions

c. States

d. Continents

e. The globe 2

c, d, and e: Wide area networks (WANs) span broad geographical distances-entire

regions, states, continents, or the entire globe. 3

5. A typical business organization has systems supporting processes for each of the following functions:

a. Management groups

b. Manufacturing and production

c. Finance and accounting

d. Operational goals. 2

b and c: A typical business firm has systems that support processes for the major business functions like sales and marketing, manufacturing and production, finance and accounting and human resources. 3

6. Businesses are required to protect the information assets of:

a. Their own firm

b. Markets Not b:

c. Employees

d. Business partners 1.5

a, b, c, and d: Businesses have valuable information assets to protect. Systems typically have confidential information about job performance reviews, medical records, financial assets, and individuals’ taxes. Pp-307: 1

7. Businesses use their databases to track the following basic transactions:

a. Paying suppliers

b. Processing orders

c. Keeping track of customers

d. Paying employees 2

a, b, c, and d: Businesses use their database to keep track of basic transactions, such as paying suppliers, processing orders, keeping track of customers, and paying employees3.

8. Unix and Linux are:

a. Expensive

b. Robust Also b:

c. Scalable

d. Redundant

e. Able to run on many different types of processors. Also e: 1.2

c: Unix and Linux are scalable, reliable, and much less expensive than mainframe operating system. Pp-180 1.5

9. Technological change requires changes in who:

a. Owns information Also a:

b. Buys information

c. Has the right to access information Also c:

d. Has the right to delete information

e. Makes decisions about whom, when, and how 1.2

e: Technological changes requires changes requires changes in who owns and controls information, who has the right to access and update that information, and who makes decisions about whom, when, and how. 3

10. Important social investments (not made by the firm but by the society at large, other firms, governments, and other key market actors) are:

a. Technology investments

b. Value systems

c. Network and computing standards Also c:

d. Regulations and laws 

e. The presence of technology and service firms. 1.6

d, e: The important social investments include the internet structure, educational systems, network and computing standards, regulations and laws, and presence of technology and service firms. Pp-27: 3

Completion 20/30 = .667 X 10 = 7:

1. By analyzing business processes, you can achieve a very clear understanding of what?

You can get the hands-on experience by analyzing the business process, designing, and building customer system for auto sales, and analyzing website requirements. 1

Pp-45: How a business actually works.

2. Responsibility is what?

Responsibility means that you accept potential costs, duties, and obligations for the decisions that you make. 1

Pp-131: A key element of ethical action.

3. What does a firm need in order to manage their relationship with an outsourcer or technology service provider?

A firm needs a contract that includes the service level agreement (SLA) 3

4. What is the measure for the number of cycles per second that can be sent through a transmission medium?

Bandwidth is the measure for the number of cycles per second that can be measured through a transmission medium. Pp-259: Hertz 0

5. Data management technology consists of what?

Data management technology consists of software governing the organization of data on physical storage media. 3

6. What type of software program appears to be benign but then does something other than expected?

A Trojan horse is a software program that appears to be benign but does something other than expected. 3

7. What is the presence of duplicate data in multiple data files so that the same data are stored in more than one place or location?

The presence of duplicate data in multiple data files so that the same data are stored in more than one place is referred to as data redundancy. 3

8. What are legacy systems?

Legacy systems are older transactions processing systems created for mainframe computers that continue to be used to avoid the high cost of replacing and or redesigning them. 3

9. How does the Internet dramatically lower the transaction and agency costs facing most organizations?

Posting on the corporate website for the clients who are located thousands of miles away saves lots of dollars that would have been spend on distribution. 0

Pp-94: The Internet increases the accessibility, storage, and distribution of information and knowledge for organizations.

10. Perhaps the single most important theme in our text book is what?

The single most important them in the text book is that managers need to consider the broader organization and management dimensions of information systems to understand the current problems. 3

References Laudon, K. C., & Laudon, J. P. (2018). What are the principal technologies and standards for wireless networking, communication, and Internet access? . In K. C. Laudon, & J. P. Laudon, Management Information Systems: Managing in the digital world (pp. 278-285). New York: Pearson.