MS-5 june-2007
MS-5 : MANAGEMENT OF MACHINES AND MATERIALS
1. (a) Define Information Technology. Describe various types of information systems. Give example of each type of information system in order to differentiate
between them.
(b) What is an Operating System ? Describe various activities performed by a typical operating system
2. (a) Explain the systems concept in management information and control. Describe the management functions at various levels in the context of relationships between management and information needs.
(b) Discuss the ethical issues involved in the information society. Why is there a need to protect hardware and software from unauthorized access ? Discuss some of these mechanisms
3. (a) Why is it logical to organize IT applications by functional areas ? Discuss the role of computers in one such area.
(b) Briefly discuss the business software solutions provided by any one of the following :
(i) SAP
(ii) Oracle
4. a) Enumerate the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing Information System. When should outsourcing be used by the organizations ?
b) "With so many readymade and customized softwares available, the need for a manager is to learn to use them elfectively, rather than learn to program them. " Do you agree ?
5. (a) What are data models ? How would you classify the data models ? Differentiate between various data models, with suitable examples.
b) Explain Artificial Intelligence. Discuss few applications of artificial intelligence
6. Write short notes on any two of the following :
a) Online Analytical Process (OLAP)
b) Groupware
c) Smart Cards
7. Read the case given below and answer the questions given at the end.
Microstrategies DSS Products Help Dairyworld Foods Increase profitability
Dairyworld Foods, Canada's second-largest dairy cooperative and western canada's largest food manufacturer. uses MicroStrategy's DSS Agent tm a decision support tool for conducting business analyses, to better understand performance, improve customer service, and anticipate customer needs and profitability.
MicroStrategy is a leading relational on-line analytical processing (ROLAP) vendor.
The MicroStrategy-based application received industry acclaim for providing Dairyworld with a significant return on investment. In August 1997 it was awarded the 1997 Excellence in Business Information Award for having a significant and measurable impact on Dairyworld's business
"Using MicroStrategy's DSS Agent has had a dramatic impact on our business by helping us to improve our customer service, increase internal accountability, and
make more intelligent marketing and sales decisions," said David Lynn, manager of sales administration and development at Dairyworld.
Before Micro Strategy’s decision support system was implemented, four separate and incompatible sales reporting systems made it impossible for the company to analyze the performance of its 2,500 products and 50,000 customers worldwide a function critical to Dairyworld's survival. Using the system, Dairyworld is now able to analyze massive quantities of data to identify most or least profitable products, promotion performance in different cities, customers who brought in the most revenue, and poorly performing.brands, sizes and product lines.
After less than a year" Dairyworld has realized a positive return on its software, hardware and professional services investments. Since the software's implementation,
product managers have used the system to identify and eliminate poorly performing product lines, sales managers have evaluated specific customers profitability by product or brand, and the distribution group has determined which trucking routes are the most efficient and profitable. DSS Agent tm also errors made years before the was able to discover pricing system was implemented.
Dairyworld was able to develop its decision support system and realize value from its warehouse almost immediately. In just 10 weeks, Dairyworld created a decision support project using MicroStrategy's software and rolled out the pilot DSS project. Within the next six months, Dairyworld built a more detailed data warehouse and enhanced its decision support project. The new, improved decision support project was then rolled out to over 100 users, all of whom were educated on the system
Questions :
(a) What has Micro Strategy done to transaction-level) databases of Dairyworld ?
(b) Give reasons for the improved customer service and increased profitability of Dairyworld.
