Return to main page

Chapter 6 Exercises

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

Principles of MIS

© 2005 by Jerry Post
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
  1. Choose an industry and research the use of EDI in that industry. Is it widely used? Explain the problems that exist. See if there is a B2B auction site for that industry. Has it been more successful than traditional EDI?
  2. Using a DBMS, create two forms that enter data into the same table. Try to change the same row of data from each form and report how it handles the concurrent changes.
  3. Research the costs and who pays them if (a) a customer reports that a charge is fraudulent, and (b) if a vendor fails to ship a product to a customer.
  4. Identify the primary government laws and rules that are designed to protect the government’s interest in transactions.
  5. Because of the importance of transactions, there is a large number of cases involving fraud and other legal problems with sales and other transactions. Pick an industry and find articles in business and trade journals that identify problems of this nature. How will computerization of the transactions affect fraudulent transactions? Why would the computerization make it easier or harder to detect these problems?

    6. Technology Toolbox

  6. Find information on current proposals for at least three Internet-based payment mechanisms. Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the systems. Be sure to identify the transaction costs and who pays them.
  7. Find information on the current fraud and chargeback levels with credit cards for online and traditional retail sales. Do the numbers vary by industry? If you are operating an online store with $10 million in annual sales, how much would you expect to lose to chargeback and fraud?
  8. Based on the cost figures in the text, create a spreadsheet and compare the estimated annual costs for the various online payment mechanisms for three hypothetical companies. The first company sells digital content for about $20 each and anticipates about 5,000 sales per year. The second company sells music for $0.75 per song, but expects people to download and pay for 5-10 songs at a time. It anticipates 500,000 customers. The third company sells stereo and video equipment ranging from $400-$2,000 per item, and expects about 10,000 sales the first year. Based on the data, recommend a payment mechanism for each company.
  9. Find 3 EDI vendors and identify how the data is transferred. In particular, does it support XML, X12, and EDIFACT? Also, what transmission networks are supported?
  10. Find a major retailer and the EDI compliance rules they use. Briefly explain what happens if a vendor fails to follow some of the rules.

    11. Teamwork

  11. Have each team member visit a retail store in your area and determine how they handle transaction processing for sales. How many checkout counters are available at each store? By counting the number of customers in a 10- to 15-minute time interval, estimate the total number of sales transactions occurring for a given day. Combine the results and create charts to compare the stores.
  12. From a list of at least 500 companies, each team member should randomly research one and identify the major operations of the firm. Identify the primary transactions.
  13. Each team member should examine 10 random retail websites and identify whether the site sells to customers in different nations (list the nations). Combine the results from each person and compute the percentage of sites that ship internationally, and the list of nations. Are certain nations or regions absent from this list?
  14. Create a short survey instrument and assign team members to interview groups of consumers to identify which payment mechanism they use the most, and identify how many have used alternative electronic payment systems such as PayPal, BillPoint, or eCheck. Combine the results and analyze the data for the group.

    15. Rolling Thunder Database

  15. Identify the major transaction-processing components in the system.
  16. What features are used in the database and the forms to ensure quality of transaction data?
  17. What additional data quality features should be added?
  18. Explain how additional data quality features can be provided with training, procedures, and manual controls.
  19. For each major transaction type, identify the sequence of steps that are performed and determine which ones are time critical.
  20. For each major transaction type, estimate the frequency of the transaction and the volume of data involved.
  21. Identify any transaction forms that could be improved to make them easier for clerks and other users.
  22. Using the existing forms, perform the following tasks for Rolling Thunder:
    1. Take a bicycle order.
    2. Assemble a bicycle.
    3. Create a new purchase order.
    4. Record the receipt of purchases.