Modern Erp Questions

Front 1

True/False. A dashboard contains information tied to a user's role.

Back 1

True

Front 2

True/False. Data asymmetry refers to users sharing a common view of the data.

Back 2

False.

Front 3

A ________ consists of many tables of data that can be connected through common data elements using the primary and foreign keys.

Back 3

Relational Database

Front 4

Adopting ___________, such as CRM, gives companies an opportunity to integrate more functionality into a common data source.

Back 4

Bolt-ons

Front 5

___________ requires that programmers rewrite the underlying code or develop extra code to make the software perform in ways the publisher had not originally intended.

Back 5

Customization

Front 6

Describe the purpose of each tier in three-tier architecture.

Back 6

The presentation tier of a multi-tier architecture uses a GUI to request information from the application server. The application tier is the business logic. The database tier is where the data, which is stored in a highly structured relational database where it can be accessed by the application to respond to user actions.

Front 7

What are the advantages of storing data in a relational database?

Back 7

ERP systems store data in one or more highly structured relational databases where it can be accessed by the program to respond to user actions. A relational database includes tables of data linked together with fields in common. This linking allows for sharing of data, running queries and generating reports.

Front 8

Provide examples of one-to-one, one-to-many, and many-to-many database relationships.

Back 8

An example of a one-to-one relationship could be department and boss. An example of a one-to-many relationship is the customer order process, where a customer can have multiple orders but an order comes from only one customer. An example of a many-to-many relationship is orders and inventory items. An order can have many types of inventory items on them and inventory items can go on many different orders.

Front 9

What is the difference between configuration and customization?

Back 9

Configuration is the process of selecting “switches” that lead the software down one path or the other. It is choosing among available options. Customization is involves enhancing or modifying the software code to make it do something it was not intended to do

Front 10

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of customizing ERP software.

Back 10

Customizing can increase implementation time and costs because it requires software design and programming. Customizing the ERP software will make upgrades more difficult as the upgrade will have to be “retro-fit” with the customizations all over again, further increasing costs. However, the company that customizes obtains a perfect fit software solution and possibly a competitive advantage.

Front 11

True/False. Business Process reengineering can be defined as incremental improvement in business processes.

Back 11

False. Business process improvement.

Front 12

True/False. Technology-enabled reengineering is more cost effective than clean slate reengineering

Back 12

True.

Front 13

True/False. A drawback to clean-slate reengineering is it can inhibit innovation and creativity.

Back 13

False. it promotes creativity.

Front 14

________ means using KPI's to compare the firm's processes and performance to industry best practices and standards.

Back 14

Benchmarking.

Front 15

The three C's include ____, ______ and ______.

Back 15

Customers, competition, and change.

Front 16

What is the definition of business process reengineering?

Back 16

BPR is the fundamental, radical, redesign in business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in key measures of performance such as cost, quality, speed, and service.

Front 17

How does reengineering relate to ERP?

Back 17

ERP systems are often the catalyst for a BPR effort; implementing an ERP system often requires a drastic departure from the way an organization used to work. Business processes are changed radically to match the best practices in the ERP software.

Front 18

What are the two types of reengineering? What are the disadvantages and advantages of each approach?

Back 18

The two types of reengineering are clean slate and technology-enabled. The advantages to clean slate reengineering are that it tends to foster innovation and creativity, which can result in a sustainable competitive advantage. The disadvantages of clean slate reengineering are that it can be costly, requiring substantial time and resources and ultimately the processes may turn out to not be feasible. The advantages of technology-enabled reengineering are that it is quicker to implement, there is reduced uncertainty of adopting new processes because other organizations may have adopted the process designs, more cost-effective, and the software supports industry best practices. A major disadvantage is that it does not allow the same level of innovation and creativity in the process design as clean slate reengineering.

Front 19

List and explain five reengineering principles.

Back 19

1) Treat geographically dispersed resources as though they were centralized - Although a company may be global, it can still share a common database.
2) Organize around outcomes not tasks - Organize around processes, not tasks or functional area –BPR/ERP should focus companies on outcomes, not activities, and force an examination of processes step-by-step to make sure every task is essential and no task is repeated.
3) Self service – In addition to moving cost and accountability for work to the beneficiary of a process, the responsibility for information accuracy also transfers with self-service. Self service should also be used with suppliers and customers.
4) Capture information once and at the source - Data should be entered one time where it originates and then dispersed to all who need it. This increases data visibility and reduces errors and redundancy in information throughout the company.
5) Empower workers - Many companies have found that empowering workers with decision-making responsibilities leads to a higher quality product and service, faster response times to problems, and fewer levels of management.

Front 20

What are some issues to consider when selecting a process to reengineer?

Back 20

The primary focus of the reengineering effort is customer value. Beyond that, the three Cs (customers, competition, and change) should be used to target a reengineering process. Other issues to consider include: the process as part of a core competency; high volume, low margin activities; high defect/reward activities; high skill, time intensive activities; high complexity, specialized resource activities; and obsolete or changing technologies.

Front 21

True/False. Systems documentation is the graphical representation of information systems, which falls under the general umbrella of systems diagramming.

Back 21

False.

Front 22

True/False: Process mapping is used primarily to model relational databases.

Back 22

False.

Front 23

True/False: When collecting information for a process map, generally the one-on-one interview method is preferred over the group interview method.

Back 23

False.

Front 24

The __________ shows how work is currently accomplished and the __________ shows an improved or reengineered process.

Back 24

"as-is" and "to-be"

Front 25

The _______ event is the point in which the customer is first involved in the process.

Back 25

trigger

Front 26

List several uses for systems documentation in business.

Back 26

Describing business processes, assessing internal control procedures and evaluating, designing or changing information systems.

Front 27

What are the benefits of process mapping?

Back 27

• Defining the “as is” business process and clarifying the changes necessary to transform the present process into the optimum “to be” process
• Determining whether “as is” measures of performance are appropriate and potentially developing new performance measures to promote efficiency
• Promoting awareness of employees’ responsibilities, such as during training or performance reviews
• Showing the impact a certain role’s performance has on upstream and downstream activities in a process
• Highlighting workflow inefficiencies such as delays, queuing times, excessive handoffs and unproductive utilization of resources
• Identifying opportunities to streamline and improve processes, thereby gaining efficiencies
• Pinpointing internal controls (or lack of controls) that need to be tested during an audit

Front 28

What steps are involved in creating a process map?

Back 28

• Have a defined purpose for mapping a process and explain it to those that are participating in the exercise.
• Identify the scope of the process.
• Determine the roles participating in the process.
• Determine the trigger activity.
• Make sure events move left to right or top to bottom to indicate the passage of time.
• Make sure the information being exchanged is entered on the process flow lines.
• Decision descriptors should end with a question mark, and the process flow lines coming out of the decision are labeled with outcomes.
• Identify the businesses process to be mapped and label it at the top of the map.
• List the roles involved in the process down the left column of the first page,
separating them with horizontal lines known as swim lanes. The last swim lane can be used for the information system(s).

Front 29

What kind of problems can be identified by process maps?

Back 29

Handoffs, bottlenecks, rework, role ambiguities, data duplication, long cycle times, non-value added activities, and unnecessary or repetitive steps.

Front 30

What can examining decisions in a process map tell us?

Back 30

• Authority ambiguity - By clearly defining who owns the decision point, the process map eliminates a potential source of confusion.
• Decision necessity - When decision point output flows lead toward the same or similar events, the process may include unnecessary decisions that may generate unwarranted delays.
• Decisions too early - When decision point output flows continue for a long time before encountering subsequent events, the decision point may, in fact, be made too early, leading to unnecessary downstream complications.
• Decisions too late - When decision point output flows lead to errors or rework, decision points might need to be moved earlier to provide quality assurance or confirmation of customer satisfaction and eliminate costly remediation.