Вы находитесь на странице: 1из 15

Gurukripas

s Guideline An
nswers for In
nformation Te
echnology and Strategic Management
M

Guiideline Answers
A
for Inforrmation Technolo
ogy and Strategic
c
Man
nagemen
nt
SectionA
A Question 1 is compullsory. Answ
wer any 5 Questions
Q
froom the remaaining quesstions.
1.

Answer all the following questions in brrief:


(2 5 = 10 Marks)
Network
In
nterface
Card
d
(NIC):
Netwo
ork
Interface
C
Card
constructs
,
transmits,
(a) Nettwork
receives, and
d processes da
ata to and from
m a host to netw
work. Each NIC
C has 8 bytes
Inteerface Card
permanent and
a unique MAC
C (Media Accesss Control) add
dress which is known
k
as Physical
(NIC)
(b) Sitee Blocking,

(c) IDS
S
Tecchnologies.

(d) Cryyptography

(e) Primary Memory

Address and is provided byy the manufacturer.


Site Blockin
ng:
(a) Site Bloccking is a softw
warebased approach, which prohibits accesss to certain we
eb
sites tha
at are deemed inappropriate by Managemen
nt.
(b) In addittion to blocking
g sites, Compan
nies can also lo
og activities and
d determines th
he
amount of item spent on the Interne
et and identifiess the sites visited.
IDS Techno
ologies:
(a) An Intrrusion Detection System (IIDS) is a devicce or software application tha
at
monitors network or syystem activitiess for malicious activities or po
olicy violations and
produce
es reports for appropriate actiion by Management.
(b) IDS mon
nitors network assets to detect anomalous behaviour
b
and misuse.
(c) IDS Tecchnologies inclu
ude the followin
ng

Nettwork Intrusion
n Detection (NIID)

Hosstbased Intrussion Detection (HID)

Hyb
brid Intrusion Detection\
D

NettworkNode Inttrusion Detection (NNID)

Cryptograp
phy: Cryptography is the practice and study of tecchniques for secure
s
communicatiion in the pressence of third parties (called Adversaries). More generallyy, it is
about constructing and an
nalyzing protoccols that overccome the influ
uence of adverrsaries
ormation secu
urity such ass data
and which are related to various aspects in info
a
and non-repu
udiation. These
e are the pro
ograms
confidentialitty, integrity, authentication,
that transforrm data into co
odes that appe
ear meaninglesss to anyone who
w does not po
ossess
the authenttication to acccess the respe
ective system resource or file.
f
i.e. plain
nt text
converted into Cipher text.
Primary Me
emory: These are devices in which any loca
ation can be acccessed in any order
(in contrast with
w sequential order) directlyy by the CPU. These
T
are prim
marily of two types:
Random Acccess Memory (R
RAM) and Read
d Only Memory (ROM).

2. (a) Discusss the different cycles of an Acccount Businesss Process Manaagement. (Any 4 points)

(4 Marks)

The proce
essing cycles of
o an Accountts Business Prrocess Manage
ement are nam
mely Financing
g Cycle, Reven
nue Cycle,
Expenditture Cycle, Hum
man Resource and
a the Genera
al Ledger & Re
eporting System
ms and the flow
w of data betwe
een them.
These syystems are disccussed as follow
ws:
(i)

Finan
ncing Cycle: A transaction processing cyycle combines one or more types of tran
nsactions havin
ng related
features or similar objectives. Th
he cycle consissts of a set off transactions leading to the recognition of
o a major
omic event on the financial sttatements. It is through the study of transa
action cycles th
hat we gain a clear view
econo
of a firms
f
processin
ng framework.

(ii) Reve
enue Cycle: It
I includes tran
nsactions surro
ounding the re
ecognition of revenue
r
involvving accounts like
l
Sales,
Accou
unts Receivable, Inventory and
a
General Ledger.
L
It invo
olves capturing
g and recordin
ng of custome
er orders;
shipm
ment of the go
oods; recording
g of the cost of
o goods sold; the billing prrocess and the
e recording of sales and
accou
unts receivable
e; and capturin
ng and recording of cash re
eceipts. Common Source Documents & fun
nctions of
Reven
nue Cycle are as
a follows:
Sou
urce Documen
nt
Fun
nction
Sale
es Order
Reccord Customer Order
Delivvery Ticket
Reccord Delivery to
o Customer
Rem
mittance Advice
e
Recceive Cash
Dep
posit Slip
Reccord Amounts Deposited
D

Gurukripas
s Guideline An
nswers for In
nformation Te
echnology and Strategic Management
M
Cred
dit Memo

Sup
pport Adjustme
ents to Custome
er Accounts

(iii) Expe
enditure Cycle
e: It includes transactions su
urrounding the
e recognition of
o expendituress involving acccounts like
Purch
hases, Accountts Payable, Ca
ash Disburseme
ents, Inventoryy and General Ledger. It in
ncludes preparration and
record
ding of purcha
ase orders; re
eceipt of goods and the reccording of the cost of inven
ntory; receipt of vendor
invoicces; recording of accounts payable
p
and preparation
p
and
d recording off cash disburssements. The cycle
c
also
includ
des the prepa
aration of employee pay-ch
hecks and the
e recording of payroll activvities. Commo
on Source
Documents & functions of Revenue Cycle are as follows:
Sou
urce Documen
nt
Function
Purcchase Requisitio
on
Request that purchasing department
d
ord
der goods.
Purcchase Order
Request go
oods from vend
dors.
Rece
eiving Report
Record rece
eipt of merchandise.
Check
Pay for item
ms.
(iv) Human Resource Cycle: Commo
on Source Doccuments & Funcctions are as fo
ollows:
Source Document
F
Function
W4 forms
Colllect employee withholding
w
data.
Tim
me cards
Reccord time worke
ed by employees.
Job
b time tickets
Reccord time spentt on specific job
bs.
(v) Gene
eral Ledger & Reporting Sy
ystem: Comm
mon Source Doccument and its function is as follows:
General Ledger and Reportin
ng System
Jou
urnal Voucher
Reccord entry poste
ed to general ledger.
(vi) Data
a Processing Cycle:
C
In the Data
D
Processing
g Cycle, the prrocesses of bussiness activitiess about which data must
be co
ollected and pro
ocessed are identified. Furthe
er, the emphassize could be on
o the activitie
es, resources afffected by
that event,
e
the age
ents who partiicipate in that event; where the event cou
uld be the Inp
put, Output, Processing,
Storage, Alerts, Con
ntrols and Feed
dback. All the above
a
cycles off processing involves data pro
ocessing activities which
b
updated and
a
stored. Th
he stored information has de
etails about the
e resources afffected by the event
e
and
has been
agentts who participated in the acttivity.

(b) Discusss various swittching techniqu


ues in telecomm
munication netw
works.
1.

(4 Marks)

Circu
uit Switching::
(a) A Circuit Switch
hing network iss one that esta
ablishes a fixed
d bandwidth ciircuit (or chann
nel) between Nodes
N
and
T
Terminals
beforre the Users may communicate.
(b) There
T
is a dediicated communication patth (i.e. sequence of links) bettween two stattions.
(c) On
O each physiccal link, a Channel is dedicated
d to the connection.
(d) The
T route is dedicated and exxclusive, and re
eleased only wh
hen the commu
unication sessio
on terminates.
(e) Example:
E
Tele
ephone Networrk for continuou
us flow of data.

2. Pack
ket Switching:
(a) Packe
et Switching is a method of co
ommunication
betwe
een computers in a network in which block
ks of
mess
sages to be tra
ansmitted are formed
f
into
Pack
kets and then placed
p
on the channel.
c
(b) Data is divided into blocks called P
Packets.
ually across the
e Net.
(c) Each packet is transsmitted individu
n a data envelo
ope,
(d) Each Packet of Userr Data travels in
h gives the desttination addresss of the packe
et and
which
a variiety of control information.
i
(e) Each Packet contain
ns source and destination
d
esses, synchron
nizing error corrrection and control
addre
bits. The
T Packets are routed using the source and
destin
nation addresse
es.
(f) Each switching node in a minicom
mputer reads th
he
et into its mem
mory, examiness the address,
Packe
selectts the next nod
de to which it shall transmit the
Packe
et and sends itt on its way.
(g) The Packets
P
may ev
ven follow different routes to the
destin
nation.

Packet Swittching
D
B

E
Packet 1
C

Packet 2
Paccket 5
A

Packet 4
Packet 3

Gurukripas
s Guideline An
nswers for In
nformation Te
echnology and Strategic Management
M
3.

Message
e Switching:
(a) Excha
ange of logicall units of data
a called Messa
ages. Examplles: Telegramss, Electronic Mail,
M
Computer Files and
transa
action queries and responsess.
(b) In Me
essage Switchin
ng, a dedicate
ed path betwe
een the two no
odes is not ne
ecessary. If a station wishes to send a
messa
age (logical un
nit of informatio
on) it appends a destination address
a
to the message.
(c) The Message
M
is then passed thrrough the Nettwork from no
ode to node. At
A each node,, the entire message
m
is
receivved, stored brie
efly and then transmitted to the
t next node. (Store and Fo
orward Techn
nique)
(d) Electrronic Mail (em
mail) and Voice Mail are examples of Messag
ge Switching syystems.

3. (a) Discusss Business Intellligence and itss tools.

(4 Marks)

Business
s Intelligence
e: Business Inttelligence (BI) may be define
ed as the delivvery of accuratte, useful inforrmation to
the appro
opriate decision
n makers within the necessa
ary time frame
e to support effective
e
decision making forr business
processes. BI is comprissed of informattion that conta
ains patterns, relationships,
r
a
and
trends abo
out customers, suppliers,
p
and employees.
e
BI is essentially timely,
t
accuratte, high-value, and actionable
e business insights, and
business partners
the work processes and
d technologies used to obtain them. Busin
ness intelligencce systems pro
ocess, store an
nd provide
useful info
ormation to th
he user who ne
eed it, when they
t
need it. BI
B can handle large amountss of informatio
on to help
identify an
nd develop new opportunitie
es. Making use of new opporrtunities and im
mplementing an
a effective strrategy can
provide a competitive market advantag
ge and longterm
m stability.
s Intelligence
e Tools
Business
Business Intelligence
I
too
ols are a type of
o software tha
at is designed to
t retrieve, ana
alyze and reporrt data. Some of
o the key
Business Intelligence
I
too
ols are given ass follows:

1.

ple Reporting and Queryin


ng: This involve
es using the da
ata warehouse to get responsse to the queryy: Tell me
Simp
what happened. Th
he objective off a BI implementation is to tu
urn operational data into mea
aningful knowle
edge. This
ed with the entterprise data an
nd all the nece
essary data is available
a
in one
e place, in
requirres that BI must be connecte
one common
c
forma
at. Data warehousing (DW) provides
p
the pe
erfect architectture to combin
ne all the data dispersed
throughout the ente
erprise in differrent application
ns in a variety of formats, on
n a range of ha
ardware, which
h could be
where to be clea
aned up, summ
marized, converrted and integrrated into one common
c
forma
at and available
e centrally
anyw
for fu
urther processin
ng. There are reporting toolss used to arran
nge information
n into a readab
ble format and distribute
it to the
t people who
o need it.

2.

ness Analysis
s: This involvess using the data to get respon
nse to the query: Tell me wh
hat happened and
a why.
Busin
Busin
ness analysis re
efers to presen
nting visualizing
g data in a mu
ultidimensional manner. Business analysis allows
a
the
user to plot data in
i row and co
olumn coordina
ates to further understand the intersectin
ng points. ETLL (Extract,
Transsform, Load) tools bring in data
d
from outside sources, transform it to
o meet busine
ess specified operational
o
needss, and then loa
ad the results into the comp
pany database. Metadata too
ols tools gatherr and analyze metadata,
helpin
ng to increase data quality.

3.

hboards: This involves using


g the informatiion gathered from
f
the data warehouse and making it avvailable to
Dash
userss as snapshots of many differrent things witth the objective
e of getting response to the query: Tell me
m a lot of
thingss, but without too much effo
ort. Dashboard
ds are flexible tools
t
that can be bent into as many differe
ent shapes
as pe
er user requirem
ments. It includ
des a collection
n of graphs, re
eports, and KPIIs that can help monitor such
h business
activitties as progresss on a specific initiative.

4.

Score
ecards: This in
nvolves providiing a visual rep
presentation off the enterprise
e strategy by ta
aking critical metrics
m
and
mapp
ping them to strategic
s
goals throughout th
he enterprise. Scorecards offfer a rich, visu
ual gauge to display the
performance of spe
ecific initiativess, business un
nits, or the entterprise as a whole
w
and the
e individual go
oals in the
ext of larger en
nterprise strate
egy. Scorecardss distil informa
ation into a small number of metrics and ta
argets and
conte
provid
de users with an
a at a glance perspective off information. A scorecard ha
as a graphical list of specific, attainable
strate
egic milestoness, combined witth metrics thatt serve as bencchmarks. Speciffic measures on how well the
e company
has actually
a
perform
med specified activities
a
are lin
nked in the sco
orecard with graphical displayy highlighting the
t status
of eacch goal.

5.

Data
a Mining or Sttatistical Ana
alysis: This invvolves using sta
atistical, artificial intelligence,, and related techniques
t
to mine through la
arge volumes of data and providing knowledge withou
ut users even having to assk specific
ective is to provide interesting and useful information to users by de
esign even with
hout their
questtions. The obje
queryying. Data Mining involves da
ata analysis fo
or discovering useful
u
patternss that are hidden in large volume
v
of
diversse data.

Gurukripas
s Guideline An
nswers for In
nformation Te
echnology and Strategic Management
M

(b) Softwaare as a Servicee (SaaS) and Pllatform as a Service (PaaS) in Cloud Computting

(4 Marks)

Differrences between Software as a Service


S
(SaaS) and
a Platform ass a Service (Paa
aS) in Cloud Com
mputing are as follows:
Softw
ware as a Serrvice (SaaS): Software as a Service (SaaS)) features a co
omplete applica
ation offered ass a service
on-de
emand. A serviice provider ho
osts the applica
ation at its datta centre over the Internet and customer accesses
a
it
via a standard Web browser. For example
e
- Goog
gle Apps.
Platfform as a Serrvice (PaaS): Platform as a Service (PaaS)) delivery mode
el allows a custtomer to rent virtualized
v
serve
ers and associa
ated services used
u
to run exxisting applications, or to de
esign, develop
p, test, deploy and host
appliccations. The co
onsumer may create
c
software
e using tools an
nd/or libraries from the proviider. The consu
umer may
also control
c
softwarre deployment and configurattion settings. The
T provider prrovides the nettworks, serverss, storage,
and other
o
services. For example, AppScale
A
allow
ws a user to dep
ploy some appllications written for Google App
A Engine
to the
eir own serverss.

4.

(a) Discusss Relational Daatabase Model.

(4 Marks)

Relationa
al Database Model: A rela
ational databasse allows the definition of data
d
and their structures, sto
orage and
retrieval operations
o
and integrity consttraints that can
n be organized in a table structure. A table is a collection of
o records
and each record in a table contains th
he same fields.. Both the hierrarchical and network data sttructures requiire explicit
etween recordss in the databa
ase. Both strucctures also requ
uire that data be
b processed one
o record
relationships, or links, be
e. The relation
nal database structure depa
arts from both these requirements. Thre
ee key terms are used
at a time
extensively in relational database mode
els: Relations
s, Attributes, and Domains.
n is a table with
h columns and rows. The nam
med columns off the relation are
a called Attrib
butes, and the Domain is
A Relation
the set of values the attrributes are allo
owed to take.
All relation
ns in a relation
nal database have
h
to adhere
e to some basiic rules to qua
alify as relation
ns. First, the ordering of
columns iss immaterial in
n a table. Secon
nd, there can't be identical re
ecord in a table
e. And third, ea
ach record will contain a
single valu
ue for each of its attributes.

(b) Write a short note on any one of the following: (4 Marks)


M
(i) Clo
oud Computing
g.
1.
2.

Cloud Computin
C
ng is the use of various servvices, such as Software Development Platfforms, Servers, Storage,
a Software, over
and
o
the Intern
net.
I
Internet
is ge
enerally visualiized as Clouds. Hence, use
u
of Internetbased com
mputing is callled Cloud
C
Computing.

Featu
ures of Cloud Computing: (Anyy two Points)
1.

Scalability / Elasticity:
S
E
Dattabases in Clou
ud are highly dynamic
d
and scalable to mee
et differing requirements
o Clients.
of

2.

Reliability / Resiliency:
R
R
Clo
oud Computing
g is more reliable because off minimal infrastructure failurres. When
t
there
is a failurre of Server an
nd Storage Resources, the wo
ork is migrated to a different physical resou
urce in the
C
Cloud
with or without
w
user aw
wareness and in
ntervention.

3.

Availability: Since
A
S
the Clou
ud / Internet utilizes
u
the ressources, availa
ability of Serve
ers are high. Users
U
can
a
access
database resources thrrough the Internet, from any place, for any number of tim
mes, etc.

4.

Agility: The agility (responssiveness) and efficiency


A
e
of Cloud
C
Computin
ng is high, as the Cloud works in the
D
Distributed Mode environmen
nt which share
es the resource
es and tasks.

5.

Multisharing
M
g: Since the Cloud
C
works in
n a distributed
d and shared mode,
m
multiple
e users and ta
asks from
v
various
applicattions can work more efficiently.

6.

MultiDevice Access: Clou


M
ud Computing permits secu
ured access to
o data from a
any Networkcconnected
D
Device,
e.g. De
esktop PC, Note
ebook, Tablet, Smartphone, etc. The User can use any data or applicattion in the
C
Cloud
without confining
c
it to a particular devvice.

7.

Maintenance:: Installation off Software App


M
plications in the
e Clients syste
em is not required. Thus, ma
aintenance
o Cloud Compu
of
uting applicatio
ons is easier.

8.

Virtualization
V
n: This feature
e allows Serverrs and Storage
e Devices to share
s
and utilizze applicationss, by easy
m
migration
from one physical Server
S
to anoth
her.

9.

Performance:: System Perforrmance and itss interface with


P
h applications are
a consistentlyy monitored un
nder Cloud
C
Computing.
Loo
oselycoupled architectures
a
a constructed
are
d using web serrvices.

s Guideline An
nswers for In
nformation Te
echnology and Strategic Management
M
Gurukripas
10. S
Services in Pa
ayPerUse Mode:
M
Service Level Agreements (SLAs) be
etween the Clo
oud Service Pro
ovider and
t User must be
the
b clearly defin
ned as billing iss based on payyperuse mod
de. Application Programming Interfaces
(
(APIs)
may be offered
o
to the Users for their access.
11. O
OnDemand: Since the User Entity calls fo
or Cloud Servicces only when needed, they are
a not perman
nent parts
o the IT Infrasstructure. With Cloud Servicess, there is no need
of
n
to have dedicated resou
urces waiting to
o be used,
a is the case with
as
w internal se
ervices.
12. Independent:
I
: Cloud Computing is an indep
pendent platform. There is no
o need to procure specific sofftware.
13. U
Unlimited Da
ata Storage: Storing inform
mation in the Cloud
C
/ Intern
net leads to almost unlimite
ed storage
c
capacity,
with no
n substantial increase in costts.
14. D
Different Cloud Types: Prroject Manage
ers can manag
ge projects be
etter by assign
ning different hardware
r
resources
to diffferent cloud tyypes, viz. Web Development Cloud, Testing
g Cloud and Pro
oduction Cloud
d. This will
h
help
manage co
osts, manage security
s
and allocate resource
es effectively.
15. W
Workload Mo
ovement: This characteristic is related to
o resiliency an
nd cost consid
derations. Here
e, Cloud
C
Computing
Pro
oviders can miigrate workloads across servvers both insid
de the Data Center
C
and across Data
C
Centers
(even in a different geographic
g
area). This migrattion might be necessitated by cost factors (e.g. less
e
expensive
to ru
un a workload in a data cente
er in another country based on
o time of day or power requ
uirements)
o efficiency considerations
or
c
(e.g. Networkk Bandwidth), or regulatory
y consideratio
ons for certain
n types of
w
workloads.
16. M
Multi Tenancy
y: Public Cloud
d Service Provid
ders often can host the cloud
d services for multiple
m
users within the
s
same
infrastruccture. Server and Storage Iso
olation may be
e physical or virrtual depending upon the spe
ecific user
r
requirements.

(ii) Exxpert System.


1.

2.

5.

Meaning:
M
(
(a)
An Expertt System is a highly develop
ped DSS that utilizes knowled
dge which is ge
enerally possesssed by an
Expert, to solve a problem
m.
(
(b)
Thus, Expe
ert Systems arre software sysstems that imittate the reason
ning and proce
esses of human
n experts,
and provid
de decisionma
akers with the
e type of advvice (along witth reasoning therefor)
t
that would be
normally re
eceived from human Experts.
U
Usefulness:
(
(a)
Expert Sysstems are use
ed for complexx or illstructu
ured tasks tha
at require exp
perience and specialized
s
knowledge
e in narrow, spe
ecific subject areas.
(
(b)
The aim off the expert syystem is to havve a team of se
easoned specia
alists holding in
ndustrywide experience
e
who furthe
er spread acrosss implementations.
(
(c)
Expert Sysstems are used in areas like Defence, Government, Finance, Tele
ecom, Enginee
ering and
Consulting Services Secto
ors.

(a) Discusss multi-tier architecture.

(4 Marks)

Multi-tier Architecturre: Multi-tier arrchitecture (oftten referred to


o as n-tier architecture) is a client-server
c
arrchitecture
a application is executed byy more than one
o
distinct sofftware agent. For example, an
a application that uses
in which an
middlewarre to service data requestss between a user
u
and a database emplo
oys multi-tier architecture. The
T
most
widesprea
ad use of "multti-tier architectu
ure" refers to three-tier
t
archittecture.
The clientt program hass only User Interface (UI) co
ode that talks, via a networrk, to the "middle tier" on which
w
the
business and
a database logic
l
sits which
h in turn, via a network, talkss to the databa
ase. In practice
e the middle tiier can be
placed, if necessary, on the same mach
hine as the dattabase.
In either architecture,
a
the
e data "traffic" is
i highest betw
ween database lo
ogic and databa
ase server. Thiss means that th
he network
infrastructure that conneccts the database
e logic with the database serve
er needs to be very
v
high bandw
width; i.e. expen
nsive.
The advan
ntages of a mu
ulti-tier architeccture are:
Forced separation
s
of UI
U and businesss logic;
Low ban
ndwidth networrk;
Businesss logic sits on a small numberr (may be just one) of centralized machines; and
Enforced
d separation off UI and busine
ess logic.

Gurukripas
s Guideline An
nswers for In
nformation Te
echnology and Strategic Management
M

(b) Discusss Data Centre protection


p
challenges and besst practices solutions. (Any 4 points)

(4 Marks)

Large
e enterprise IT managers und
derstand the criticality of datta protection ch
hallenges and try to mitigate
e the cost,
and complexity
c
of data protection throughout the
eir enterprises including da
ata centers, dissaster recoveryy sites and
brancch locations. Some of the to
op challenges faced
f
by large
e enterprise IT managers and the best pra
actices for
overccoming them arre as follows:
(i)

Control skyro
C
ocketing datta growth: Data
D
growth iss the biggest data center hardware infra
astructure
c
challenge
for la
arge enterprise
es. Several type
es of data dedu
uplication technologies help in
i reducing datta storage
n
needs
by eliminating redunda
ant data. Data
a deduplication
n also reduces the data thatt must be sentt across a
W
WAN
for remote
e backups, nettwork replicatio
on, and disaster recovery.

(ii) S
System performance and scalability: To
o avoid data center
c
sprawl in the data pro
otection environment, IT
m
managers
should look ahead 3-5 years and ch
hoose a data pro
otection targett system that will
w scale to acco
ommodate
t
the
performancce and capacitty they will ne
eed without ad
dding new sysstem images. It also saves money in
a
administration
tiime by eliminating the need to load balance and tune new syystems needed for
f scaling.
(iii) N
Network congestion and connectivity
y architecture
e: The new generation
g
of servers with multi-core
p
processors
dem
mands significan
ntly high inputt/output (I/O), and if these se
ervers are virtu
ualized, this req
quirement
f
further
goes up, which is on
ne of the bigg
gest data cente
er infrastructure challenge. Vendors
V
should help its
c
customers
to be strategic with their networrk infrastructure
e rather than using
u
the traditional LAN swittches that
a not designe
are
ed to meet the sudden upsurg
ge in network demand.
d
(iv) IIT administra
ation and sta
aff time at premium:
p
Datta protection IT administrattors have more data to
p
protect
and mo
ore complex da
ata protection standards
s
to meet
m
while stayiing within a lim
mited budget. They
T
need
t invest in sy
to
ystems that au
utomate disk-su
ubsystem man
nagement, redu
uce complexityy, and provide
e effective
d
dashboards
an
nd reporting. Minimum
M
requirements for large
l
enterprisse data protecction platformss include:
a
automatic
load
d balancing an
nd tuning; auttomatic system
m monitoring and
a
phone ho
ome functionality; and
p
providing
dashb
boards and rep
porting.
(v) IInadequate Disaster
D
Reco
overy plans: Large enterp
prises that havve been using
g physical tap
pe backup
s
systems
and disparate disk-ba
ased solutions in branch officces are particu
ularly vulnerable to downtime
e and data
lo
oss in the event of a disaste
er. Enterprise IT
I managers sh
hould considerr the use of a consistent plattform that
e
enables
IT stafff to manage re
emote-office ba
ackup, dedupliccation, replication and restore
e operations fro
om a data
c
center
headqua
arters. It also minimizes the
e burden on IT administrattors in branch locations and
d provides
a
administrators
with
w a compan
nywide view of data protection
n efficiency.
(vi) A
Adopting new
w risk prone
e, cost-effecttive data pro
otection tech
hnologies: With limited bud
dgets and
r
resources,
IT managers
m
have worked to pro
otect their inve
estment in existing technologies. IT manage
ers should
lo
ook for enterp
prise-class data
a protection so
olutions that mitigate
m
these costs and riskk with features such as
r
robust
tape em
mulation and sto
orage pooling.
(vii) Resource
R
ballancing: The enterprise chiief technical officer
o
needs to
t strike a wo
orking balance
e between
r
reduced
operattional budgets,, increased demands on exissting infrastruccture, maximiziing availability,, ensuring
r
round-the-clock
k monitoring an
nd managemen
nt, and the perriodic upgradess that todays te
echnology dem
mands.

6. (a) An electtric supply com


mpany charges the
t following raates for its dom
mestic consumeers: (4 Marks)
No. off units consum
med
Charges/unit (`)
1.60
For th
he first 200 unitts
2.10
For th
he next 300 unitts
3.90
Over 500 units
Surch
harge @ 20% off the bill is to bee added to the charges.
Draw a Fllow chart for th
he above, which
h will read the consumer num
mber and the nu
umber of units consumed and
d print out
the total charges with thee consumer number and the units
u
consumed
d.

s Guideline An
nswers for In
nformation Te
echnology and Strategic Management
M
Gurukripas
STA
ART
A
READ CONSNO, UNITS

Y
YES

AM
MT = (UNITS
500))*3.90 + 300*2.
1
10+200*1.60

IF UN
NITS
> 50
00

NO
Y
YES
IF UN
NITS
> 20
00

AM
MT = (UNITS

200))*2.10+200*1.60

NO
AMT = UN
NITS*1.60

CHRG=AMT
T+AMT*0.20
CONSNO Consumer Number
CHRG Tottal charges
UNITS Nu
umber of Unitss consumed
AMT Tota
al amount

PRINT CONSN
NO, UNITS, CH
HRG

YES

MOR
RE
RECORDS

NO
STO
OP

(b) Enumeerate the steps involved in Bu


usiness Processs Automation. (Any
(
4 points)

(4 Marks)

The appro
oach to BPA entails understan
nding how inforrmation is colle
ected and proce
essed on a dayytoday basis,, and then
making re
ecommendation
ns on how besst to automate those processses for maximu
um benefit. Th
he steps involved in BPA
are
Sttep
De
escription
The
T Entity should first define why
w it plans to implement a BPA.
B
Some com
mmon reasons for
f BPA
are
1. Deffine why
(a
a) Poor and Deficient Custom
mer Service.
BPA
A is
required
(b
b) Lack of Man
nagement unde
erstanding of Business
B
Processses.
(cc) Errors in Ma
anual Processe
es leading to higher costs.

Gurukripas
s Guideline An
nswers for In
nformation Te
echnology and Strategic Management
M
Sttep

2.

3.

Und
derstand
app
plicable
Rule
es /
Reg
gulations

Doc
cument
the process,
whiich is to
be
omated
auto

De
escription
(d
d) Problems in
n Payment Proccesses, e.g. duplicate or late payments, misssing early pay
discounts, paying
p
for good
ds and servicess not received, etc.
(e
e) Problems in
n Collection Prrocesses, e.g. delay in collecction, mismatcch between ca
ash
receipts an
nd payments.
(ff) Ineffective Document Man
nagement, e.g.. not being able
e to find docum
ments quickly during
d
an
audit or law
wsuit or not beiing able to find
d all documentss.
(g
g) Unable to recruit and train
n new employe
ees, but where employees are
e urgently requ
uired.
a) Governance
e is established
d by a combination of Interna
al Corporate Policies, External Industry
(a
Regulationss and Local, Sta
ate, and Centra
al Law.
(b
b) The Entity should
s
ensure that any BPA adheres
a
to the requirements of
o law, particularly in
the followin
ng areas (illustrrative list)
(i) Rules an
nd Regulations applicable to the Entity,
(ii) Docume
ent Retention Requirements
R
(
(time
period an
nd format),
(iii) Legal Effect
E
of Transa
actions,
(iv) Audit, Reporting
R
and Compliance
C
Re
equirements.
The
T
(a
a)
(b
b)
(cc)
(d
d)
(e
e)
(ff)
(g
g)

following asspects need to be kept in min


nd while docum
menting the pre
esent process:
What docum
ments need to be captured?
How do the
e documents orriginate?
What forma
at are they in: Paper, Fax, em
mail, PDF, etc.?
Who is invo
olved in processsing of the doccuments?
What are th
he legal aspectts on processing of these docu
uments?
Can there be
b a better wayy to do the sam
me job?
How are exxceptions in the
e Process handled?

Note:
N
Documen
ntation of prese
ent process pro
ovides the follo
owing benefits
(i) provides clarity on the proccess,
ntify sources off inefficiency, bottlenecks,
b
and problems, an
nd
(ii) helps to iden
design the pro
ocess better.
(iii) allows to re
4.

5.

6.

Defiine the
Obje
ectives /
Goa
als to be
achiieved by
imp
plementing
BPA
A

The
T Entity should determine th
he key objectivves / goals of th
he process imp
provement activvities.
Goals
G
should ha
ave the followin
ng attributes (S
SMART)

Specific, i..e. clearly defin


ned,

Measurable, i.e. quantifiiable in moneta


ary terms,

Attainable
e, i.e. achievab
ble through besst efforts,

Relevant, i.e. applicable to the Entity, and


a

Timely, i.e
e. to be achieve
ed within a give
en timeframe.

Eng
gage the
Bus
siness
Process
nsultant
Con

The
T choice of BP
PA Consultant depends on the following facctors
(a
a) Objectivity
y of the Consu
ultant in undersstanding/evalua
ating the Entityys situation,
(b
b) Experienc
ce of the Consu
ultant (a) with
h the Entitys business
b
processses, and (b) generally
in resolving
g critical busine
ess issues.
(cc) Expertise of the Consulta
ant, to clearly articulate
a
the business
b
value of every aspecct of the
olution.
proposed so
(d
d) Capability
y of the Consulttant in recomm
mending and im
mplementing a combination
c
off
hardware, software
s
and services as apprropriate to mee
eting the Entityys BPA require
ements.

Com
mpute
ROII of BPA
Projject

om BPA include
e the following
g
Financial Impactt of Benefits fro
a) Savings in Employee
E
Salarry by not havin
ng to replace th
hose due to atttrition.
(a
(b
b) Cost of Spa
ace regained fro
om paper, file cabinets, reducced.
(cc) Eliminating Fines to be pa
aid by Entity du
ue to delays being avoided.
(d
d) Reducing th
he cost of auditts and lawsuitss.
(e
e) Lower Interrest Cost and better
b
Cash Flow managemen
nt by availing early payment discounts,
d
avoiding du
uplicate payments, collecting Accounts
A
Rece
eivable faster, etc.
e
(ff) New Reven
nue Generation opportunities.

s Guideline An
nswers for In
nformation Te
echnology and Strategic Management
M
Gurukripas
Sttep

7.

8.

7.

De
escription
(g
g) Revenue byy way of chargiing for instant access to records (e.g. Publicc Information, Student
Transcripts,, Medical Records, etc.)
(h
h) Building business by providing superior levels
l
of custom
mer service, hig
gher goodwill, etc.
Fo
or Senior Mana
agements decisionmaking purpose,
p
the RO
OI for the BPA Project should be
co
omputed based
d on the above
e financial savin
ngs, and compa
aring with the Investment req
quired for
th
he BPA Project.

Dev
velop the
BPA
A

(a
a) Based on th
he ROI, BPA Re
eports, etc. Top
p Managementt approval to go
o ahead should
d be
obtained.
(b
b) Then, the Consultant
C
deve
elops the requiisite BPA to me
eet the specifie
ed goals.

Tes
st the
BPA
A

a) The new prrocess should be


b tested to de
etermine how well
w it works an
nd identify where
(a
additional exception

proccessing steps need


n
to be inclluded.
(b
b) Testing is an
a iterative process, and seekks to remove all problems.
(cc) Testing
ovements priorr to the official launch of the new process,
(i) allows room for impro
(ii) increasses user adoption, and
(iii) decreases resistance to change.
(d
d) The Final Version
V
of the Process
P
should be documentted, to capture
e all of the workk,
thinking and experience in
n developing th
he BPA, and wh
hich can be use
ed to train new
w people.

(a) What iss Transmission


n Media? Discusss its various tyypes.

(4 Marks)

Transmisssion Media conn


nects the messsage source witth the message
e receiver by means
m
of Guide
ed or Unguided Media.
Guided Media/Bound
M
Media: Guide
ed Transmission Media uses a "cabling" systtem that guide
es the data sign
nals along
a specific path. Some of the common examples
e
of gu
uided media are
e Twisted Pair, Coaxial cable and Fibre opticcs.
1.

Twisted-Pair Wire
e: Twisted-pairr is ordinary te
elephone wire, consisting of copper
c
wire twisted into pairss. It is the
m
for telecommunication
ns and is used
d for both voicce and data trransmissions. It is used
most widely used media
nsively in home
e and office tele
ephone system
ms and many LA
ANs and WANs..
exten

2.

Coax
xial Cable: Th
his telecommunication media
a consists of copper
c
or alum
minium wire wrapped
w
with spacers
s
to
insula
ate and protect it. Coaxial ca
ables can carryy a large volum
me of data and
d allows high-sspeed data tra
ansmission
used in high-service
e metropolitan areas for cable TV systems, and for short--distance conne
ection of comp
puters and
heral devices. It
I is used exten
nsively in office
e buildings and
d other work sittes for local are
ea networks.
periph

3.

Fibre
e Optics: This media consistss of one or mo
ore hair-thin fila
aments of glasss fibre wrappe
ed in a protectiive jacket.
Signa
als are converted to light form and fired byy laser in burssts. Optical fibrres can carry digital
d
as well as analog
signals and providess increased spe
eed and greate
er carrying capa
acity than coaxxial cable and tw
wisted-pair line
es.
Transmiission Media

Guided Media
M
(Wired
d)

U
Unguided
Med
dia (Wireless))
Terre
estrial Microw
wave

Twiste
ed-Pair Wire

Radiio Wave

Co-a
axial Cable

Micrro Wave

Fib
ber Optics

Infra
ared Wave
Com
mmunication Satellite
S

Gurukripas
s Guideline An
nswers for In
nformation Te
echnology and Strategic Management
M
Unguided
d Media/Unb
bound Media: Unguided Tra
ansmission Med
dia consists of a means for th
he data signalss to travel
but nothin
ng to guide th
hem along a specific
s
path. The
T
data signa
als are not bou
und to a cabling media. Som
me of the
common examples of unguided
u
mediia are Terrestrrial Microwave
e, Radio Wave
es, Micro Wave
es, Infrared Waves
W
and
Communiccation Satellitess.
Terresttrial Microwav
ve: Terrestrial microwave me
edia uses the atmosphere
a
as the medium th
hrough which to
o transmit
signals an
nd is used exte
ensively for hig
gh-volume as well
w as long-disstance communication of botth data and vo
oice in the
form of electromagnetic waves.
Radio Waves:
W
Radio waves are an invisible form of electromagn
netic radiation that varies in wavelength
w
fro
om around
a millimetter to 100,000 km, making it one of the wid
dest ranges in the
t electromag
gnetic spectrum
m. Radio wavess are most
commonlyy used transmisssion media in the wireless Lo
ocal Area Netw
works.
Micro Waves:
W
Microw
waves are radio
o waves with wavelengths
w
ra
anging from ass long as one meter
m
to as sho
ort as one
millimeterr, or equivalently, with freq
quencies betw
ween 300 MHz (0.3 GHz) and 300 GHzz. These are used for
communiccation, radar sy
ystems, radio astronomy,
a
navvigation and spe
ectroscopy.
Infrare
ed Waves: Inffrared light is used
u
in industrial, scientific, and medical applications.
a
Night-vision devices using
infrared illlumination allow
w people or an
nimals to be ob
bserved withoutt the observer being detected
d.
Commu
unication Sattellites: Comm
munication sate
ellites use the atmosphere
a
(m
microwave radio
o waves) as the medium
through which
w
to transmit signals. A satellite is so
ome solar-powe
ered electronicc device that receives, amplifies, and
retransmitts signals; the satellite acts as a relay stattion between satellite
s
transm
missions station
ns on the grou
und (earth
stations). They are used extensively fo
or high-volume as well as long
g-distance communication of both data and voice.

(b) Define Threeat. What are vaarious threats to


t a computer networks
n
security?

(4 Marks)

nything that ca
an disrupt the
e operation, fu
unctioning, inte
egrity, or availability of a network or
Threat: A Threat is an
system. Network security
y threats can be
b categorized into four broad
d themes:
Unstructured Threa
ats - These originate mostly from inexperie
enced individua
als using easilyy available haccking tools
I
Many
y tools available
e to anyone on
n the Internet can be used to
o discover wea
aknesses in a company's
c
from the Internet.
network. These
T
include port-scanning tools, addresss-sweeping too
ols, and many others. Most of
o these kinds of probes
are done more
m
out of cu
uriosity than witth a malicious intent in mind.
ple, if a compa
anys external web
w site is haccked; the comp
panys integrityy is damaged. Even
E
if the extternal web
For examp
site is sep
parate from the
e internal inforrmation that sits behind a prrotective firewall, the public does not know
w that. All
they know
w is that if the companys
c
web
b site is hacked
d, then it is an unsafe place to
o conduct busin
ness.
Structu
ured Threats - These originate from indiividuals who are
a highly motivated and tecchnically competent and
usually un
nderstand netw
work systems design
d
and the
e vulnerabilitiess of those systtems. They can
n understand as
a well as
create hacking scripts to
t penetrate th
hose network systems. An in
ndividual who presents a strructured threat typically
nation or group
p. Usually, the
ese hackers are
e hired by ind
dustry competittors, or state-ssponsored
targets a specific destin
intelligencce organizations.
Externa
al Threats - These
T
originate
e from individu
uals or organizzations working
g outside an organization,
o
w
which
does
not have authorized
a
access to organiza
ations compute
er systems or network. Theyy usually work their
t
way into a network
from the Internet
I
or diallup access servvers.
ypically, these threats origina
ate from individuals who have authorized access to the
e network.
Internal Threats - Ty
These use
ers either have an account on
n a server or physical
p
access to the networkk. An internal threat
t
may com
me from a
discontentted former or current
c
employyee or contracto
or. Majority of security incidents originate frrom internal threats.

10

Gurukripas
s Guideline An
nswers for In
nformation Te
echnology and Strategic Management
M

SectionB
Questio
on 8 is compulssory. Answer any
a 5 Questionss from the remaaining question
ns.
8. (a) Discusss strategic alterrnatives with reeference to Michael Porters sttrategies.
1.

(5 Marks)

Class
sification: Acccording to Po
orter, Generic
c or Basic Sttrategies allo
ow organizatio
ons to gain co
ompetitive
advan
ntage from thre
ee different bases
(a) C
Cost Leaders
ship, i.e. produ
ucing standard
dized productss at a very low
w per unit cossts, for consum
mers who
a pricesensiitive.
are
(b) D
Differentiatio
on, i.e. produccing products and services considered un
nique industryywide and directed at
c
consumers
who
o are relatively priceinsensitive.
(c) Focus,
F
i.e. prod
ducing productts and servicess that fulfill the needs of small groups of co
onsumers.

2.

Facto
ors: Porter sug
ggested that th
he appropriate strategy
s
may be
b based on an
n evaluation of the following
(a) S
Sharing: Mana
agers should perform
p
costb
benefit analysiss to evaluate ssharing opporttunities among
g a Firms
e
existing
and po
otential businesss units. Sharin
ng activities an
nd resources en
nhances compe
etitive advantage by (i)
lo
owering costs, or (ii) raising differentiation.
d
(b) T
Transfer of Skills: Firms ca
an transfer skkills and experttise among autonomous business units effe
ectively in
o
order
to gain co
ompetitive adva
antage.
(c) S
Size: Large Firms with greate
er access to ressources can ad
dopt Cost Leadership and / orr Differentiation
n strategy
w
while
small Firm
ms have to ado
opt Focus strate
egy.
(d) O
Others: In add
dition to the ab
bove, the type of industry and
d intensity of competition
c
alsso play a role in
n deciding
t appropriate
the
e strategy.
Sttrategic Advantage

Strategic
Target

Generic or
o Basic Strate
egies

Industry wide
w

Un
niqueness perrceived by the customer
c

Low Cost Position


n

Diffe
erentiation

Overall Cost Leaders


ship

Particula
ar
Segment Only
O

Focus

(b) Is Supply Chain


C
Managem
ment same as Logistic
L
management?

(5 Marks)

hain Manageme
ent is an extenssion of Logisticcs Managementt. However, the
e differences between the two are
Supply Ch
1.

Scop
pe of Activities: Logistical activities typ
pically include
e managementt of inbound and outboun
nd goods,
transp
portation, ware
ehousing, hand
dling of materia
al, fulfillment off orders, inventory managem
ment, supply and demand
plann
ning. Although these activitties also form
m part of Sup
pply Chain Management, the latter has different
comp
ponents. Logistic Managemen
nt can be terme
ed as one of itts part that is related to plan
nning, impleme
enting and
contro
olling the mov
vement and sto
orage of goodss, services and related inform
mation between
n the point of origin
o
and
point of consumptio
on.

2.

Focu
us of Activities
s: Supply Chain Managementt includes more
e aspects apartt from the logisstics function. It
I is a tool
of business transforrmation and invvolves deliverin
ng the right prroduct at the right time to th
he right place and
a at the
es costs of organizations and enhances custtomer service.
right price. It reduce

(c) Explain thee meaning of Synchro


S
Marketiing and Augmeented Marketing
g.
(5 Marks)
1. Syncchro Marketin
ng: In some ca
ases, the dema
and for the product is irregu
ular, due to sea
ason, some pa
arts of the

day, or on hour ba
asis, causing id
dle capacity or overworked capacities. In such cases, syynchromarketin
ng can be
o regularize the pattern of demand through flexible priccing, promotion, and other incentives.
used to smoothen or
F
and ACs sold
s
at off season prices.
E.g. Fans

11

Gurukripas
s Guideline An
nswers for In
nformation Te
echnology and Strategic Management
M
2.

Augm
mented Marke
eting: It refers to provision of
o additional cu
ustomer service
es and benefitss built around the actual
produ
ucts, and intro
oduction of hitech
h
service
es, e.g. movie
es on demand
d, online com
mputer repair services,
secretarial services,, etc. Such inn
novative offerings provide a set of benefits that promisse to increase customer
servicce to much higher levels.

9. (a) What do
o you understan
nd by the term star in the conttext of BCG maatrix?.

(3 Marks)

Star in BC
CG Matrix: BCG
G growth-sharre matrix is a simple way to
o portray an organisations
o
p
portfolio
of invvestments.
Growth sh
hare matrix also
o known for itss cow and dog metaphors is popularly used
d for resource allocation
a
in a diversified
d
company. The matrix iss based on combinations of relative marke
et share of the products or SBUs and the
eir market
growth ratte.
Stars, a po
osition in the matrix,
m
are characterised by high
h
market sha
are and high growth rate. Th
hey are productts or SBUs
that are growing
g
rapidly
y. They also need heavy invvestment to ma
aintain their po
osition and fin
nance their rap
pid growth
potential. Business organ
nisations that enjoy
e
star posittions have bestt opportunities for expansion and growth.

(b) What are the leaderrship roles plaayed by a strattegic leader? Distinguish
D
bettween a transfformational leader and a
(4 Marks)
traditional leader.
Strategy Managers
M
have
e the following leadership role
es to play, to en
nsure effective strategy execu
ution
1. Stayiing on top of what is happe
ening, closely monitoring
m
prog
gress, solving out
o issues, and learning whatt obstacles
lie in the path of good execution.
e of esprit de corps
c
(i.e. team spirit) thatt mobilizes and
d energizes org
ganizational me
embers to
2. Promoting a culture
ute strategy in a competent fa
ashion and perrform at a high level.
execu
3. Keepiing the Firm re
esponsive to ch
hanging conditiions, alert for new opportunities, bubbling with innovativ
ve ideas,
and ahead
a
of rivals in developing competitively
c
v
valuable
compe
etencies and ca
apabilities.
4. Exerccising ethics le
eadership to ensure
e
that the
e Firm conductss its affairs like
e a model corpo
orate citizen.
5. Pushing corrective
e actions to im
mprove strategyy execution and
d overall strate
egic performancce.
L
Leadership
Roles various aspects
Visionaryy
olver
H
Head
Cheerlead
der
Crisis So
Chief Enttrepreneur and
d Strategist
Spokesp
person
P
Perceptive
Liste
ener
Chief Administrator
Negotiator
D
DecisionMaker
r
Culture Builder
B
Motivato
or
C
Coach
and Adviser
Resource
e Acquirer and Allocator
Arbitrato
or
P
Policy
Maker
Capabilitties Builder
Process Integrator
P
Policy
Enforcer
1.

Transformational Leadership Style:


S
Meaning: Tran
nsformational Leadership
L
Style use charisma
a and enthusia
asm to inspire people
p
to exertt them for
(a) M
t
the
good of th
he Firm. Theyy offer excitem
ment, vision, intellectual stim
mulation and personal satisffaction. It
in
nspires involve
ement in a misssion, giving fo
ollowers a vision of a highe
er calling so ass to elicit more
e dramatic
c
changes
in orga
anizational perfformance.
(b) N
Nature of Lea
adership: Tra
ansformational Leadership Style motivatess followers to do
d more than originally
a
affected
to do by stretching their abilities and
a
increasing their selfcon
nfidence, and also
a
promote innovation
t
throughout
the
e organization.
(c) S
Situations: Th
his style may be
b appropriate in turbulent en
nvironments, in
n industries at the very start or end of
t
their
lifecycless, in poorly pe
erforming organizations when
n there is a ne
eed to inspire a company to
o embrace
m
major
changes. Transformatio
onal Leaders will
w challenge established
e
parradigms and ways of working
g, and will
b very useful during
be
d
periods of uncertainty when people are
a generally fe
eeling quite disstressed.

2.

Transactional Lea
adership style
e:
(a) M
Meaning: Transactional Leadership Style focus more on
n designing ste
eps and controlling the orga
anizations
a
activities
and are
a more likelyy to be associa
ated with imprroving the currrent situation. It tries to build on the
e
existing
culture
e and enhance current practicces.
(b) N
Nature of Lea
adership: Tran
nsactional Lead
dership Style uses
u
the autho
ority of its officce to exchange
e rewards,
s
such
as pay and status. They prefer a more
e formalized approach to motiivation, setting
g clear goals wiith explicit
r
rewards
or pen
nalties for achie
evement or no
onachievemen
nt for employees work effortts and generally seek to
e
enhance
an org
ganizations perrformance stea
adily, but not dramatically.

12

Gurukripas
s Guideline An
nswers for In
nformation Te
echnology and Strategic Management
M
(c) S
Situations: Th
his style may be appropriate
e in settled en
nvironment, in growing or mature
m
industrie
es, and in
o
organizations
th
hat are perform
ming well. The
e style is betterr suited in perssuading people
e to work efficciently and
r operations smoothly.
run
Conc
clusion:

S
Some
researche
ers believe that leaders who rely
r
too heavilyy upon charism
ma are not alwa
ays effective in the long
t
term.
This is because
b
few in
ndividuals mayy be talented and energeticc and are able
e to handle alll types of
b
business
proble
ems alone. The
ey require peop
ple around them
m who are able
e support them
m, and who are
e prepared
t tell them when things are going
to
g
wrong.

I can be conclu
It
uded that there is no one single
e style of leade
ership suitable fo
or all circumstances. Effective executives
u a Leadership
use
p Style that is appropriate
a
to th
he needs of the organization an
nd its business situation.
s

10. (a) Contrasst between Verttical, Horizontal, Concentric and Conglomeraate Diversificatiion.
Typ
pe
1.

New
w
Busiiness
es

2.

Natu
ure of
Dive
ersific
ation
n
Linkkage
to
existing
busiiness

3.

Ho
orizontal

Co
oncentric

Conglo
omerate

Interm
mediary/ suppo
ort
servicces become ne
ew
businesses.

b
at sam
me
Similar business
stage of
o production
markketing chain.

New businesses/ produccts


conneccted to existing
g
facilitiess and productss.

etely new
Comple
areas off activity /
busin
nesses.

Related

Related

Related

Unre
elated

Vertical

H
Horizontal

Looplike linkage to one


e or
morre products.

ages with
No linka
existing product
processs chain.

(b) Distinguish between Top-Down


T
and Bottom-Up
B
Straategic Planning
g. (Any 3 pointss)
1.
2.
3.

4.

Step
Iden
ntify Firms
goalls
Iden
ntify Firms
funcctions
Asce
ertain
funcctional
activvities
Iden
ntify decisions
& information
uirements
requ

5.

Drafft System
prog
gram

3.

Step
S
Life Stream
Systtems
Info
ormation
requ
uirements
Info
o. System

4.

Data
a Integration

5.

Supporting
dels
Mod

1.
2.

(4 Marks)

Vertical

(3 Marks)

TOP DOW
WN APPROACH TO SYSTEM
MS DEVELOPM
MENT
D
Description
Identify the Firms ob
bjectives and goals,
g
and dete
ermine where it is going and
d what its
Manage
ement wants to
o accomplish.
Identify the functions of the organisa
ation like Marke
eting, Productio
on, R & D, etc.
e how these functions supporrt the Firm in achieving its goals.
Examine
Ascertaiin the major activities,
a
decissions and duties of Manage
ers, at variouss levels of
hierarch
hy, in each of th
he organisation
nal functions.
Analyse (a) what decisions are made,
m
(b) whatt decisions nee
ed to be made
e, and (c)
when th
hey should be made.
m
Identify the models that guide managerial
m
de
ecision processses, and find out the
informattion requireme
ents for activitie
es and decision
ns.
Provide an insight into
o what information is needed,, when it is nee
eded, and wha
at forms is
most usseful. These facctors provide th
he design specifications for ap
pplication syste
em.
Prepare specific inforrmation processsing program
ms in detail, & modules witthin these
program
mmes.
Identify files and datab
base for variou
us decision app
plications.
Obtain Managers
M
and Users approva
al, and implement the system
m.

BOTTOM UP APPROAC
CH TO SYSTEM
MS DEVELOPM
MENT
D
Description
Life Stream Systems
S
are tho
ose, which are essential for the daytodayy business activvities, e.g.
Payroll, Sales Order, Invento
ory Control, Pu
urchasing, Production, etc.
Identify (a)) the basic tra
ansactions, (b)) information file
f requiremen
nts, and (c) in
nformation
processing programs, for ea
ach Life Stream
m System.
Develop an in
nformation systtem for each liffe stream syste
em.
Examine in de
etail the applications, files an
nd records and integrate the data
d
of each in
nformation
system kept in different filess. File integrate
ed data
bility of the dattabase,

Enhancess the shareabiliity and evolvab

Ensures that
t
all program
ms use uniform
m data, and

Provides added capabiliity for inquiry processing


p
and adhoc requestts for reports.
Add Decision Models & Plan
nning Models fo
or supporting the
t planning activities
a
of management
control.

13

Gurukripas
s Guideline An
nswers for In
nformation Te
echnology and Strategic Management
M
S
Step

D
Description
Integrate all the
t models to evolve
e
a complete model base
e. The models

Facilitate and support higher


h
managem
ment activities,, and
6. Main
n Model

Help to analyse
a
differen
nt factors, und
derstand difficu
ult situations and formulate alternative
a
strategiess and options to
t deal them
This is the
e reverse of the
e topdown app
proach. Here, the
t Supervisoryy Level Manage
ements involve
ement is more.

(4 Marks)

11. (a) Disting


guish between SWOT
S
and TWO
OS Matrix.

TOWS Analysis is a variiant of the classsic business tool,


t
SWOT An
nalysis. TOWS and SWOT are
e acronyms forr different
ents of the wo
ords Strengths,, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. By
B analyzing th
he external envvironment
arrangeme
(threats and
a
opportunities), and interrnal environme
ent (weaknesse
es and strengtths), we can use
u these tech
hniques to
think abou
ut the strategy of a company. Following are
e the some basiic differences between
b
TOWS
S and SWOT matrix:

TOWS
S emphasises on
o external envvironment whe
ereas SWOT em
mphasises on in
nternal environment.

TOWS
S matrix is abo
out the combina
ations of SO, ST,
S WO, WT wh
hereas SWOT matrix
m
is about S, W, O, T.

TOWS
S analysis is an
n action tool wh
hereas SWOT analysis
a
is a pla
anning tool.

TOWS
S is particularrly useful in evvaluating the potential
p
impacct of sudden evvents or developments while
e SWOT is
usually employed in evaluating a companys
c
busiiness plan.

(b) Suggesst the type of sttrategy which can


c be used in the
t following situations:
(i)

(3 Marks)

D Computer has
Dell
h decided to ensure stability by
b reallocation of
o resources from
m unprofitable to
t profitable bussinesses.
R
Retrenchment
Strategy
S

(ii) When
W
a Firms Cash
C
Flows and Profitability are affected by risin
ng competition, business cyclees and economicc volatility.
T
Turnaround
Strrategy

(iii) When
W
negative cash
c
flows from
m a particular bu
usiness create financial probleems for the whole Company.
D
Divestment
Stra
ategy

12. Write shortt notes on:


(i) Kierettsus

(3 + 4 = 7 Marks)

Kierettsus is a loosely-coupled grou


up of companie
es, usually in re
elated industrie
es. It is a Japanese term which is used
for la
arge cooperativ
ve networks off businesses. Kieretsus
K
memb
bers are peerss and may own
n significant am
mounts of
each other's stock and
a have manyy board membe
ers in common.

(ii) Hourg
glass Structuree

In th
he recent yearrs information technology and communica
ations have significantly alte
ered the functtioning of
organ
nizations. The role played by
b middle ma
anagement is diminishing ass the tasks performed
p
by them are
increa
asingly being re
eplaced by the
e technological tools. Hourglasss organization
n structure conssists of three la
ayers with
consttricted middle layer.
l
The stru
ucture has a sh
hort and narrow
w middle-mana
agement level. Information te
echnology
links the top and bo
ottom levels in the organization taking awayy many tasks that
t
are perforrmed by the middle level
agers. A shrunken middle layyer coordinatess diverse lower level activitie
es. Contrary to
o traditional miiddle level
mana
mana
agers who are often specialiist, the manag
gers in the ho
ourglass structu
ure are genera
alists and perfform wide
varietty of tasks. They would be handling cross-ffunctional issue
es emanating such
s
as those from marketing, finance
or pro
oduction.
Wide att the top

Narrow at the middle

Widest at the bottom


Figure: Hou
urglass Organissation Structure

14

Gurukripas
s Guideline An
nswers for In
nformation Te
echnology and Strategic Management
M
Hourg
glass structure has obvious benefit
b
of reducced costs. It also helps in en
nhancing respo
onsiveness by simplifying
s
decisiion making. Decision
D
making authority is shifted close to the source
e of information so that it is faster.
Howe
ever, with the reduced size of
o middle mana
agement the promotion
p
oppo
ortunities for the lower levelss diminish
signifficantly. Continuity at same le
evel may bring monotony and
d lack of intere
est and it becom
mes difficult to
o keep the
motivvation levels high. Organisatio
ons try to overcome these problems
p
by asssigning challen
nging tasks, transferring
latera
ally and having a system of prroper rewards for performancce.

13. State whetther the followin


ng statements are
a True or Falsse with reasonss.
(1 7 = 7 Marks)
e: The impact of e-commerce technology on
o industry and
d company value chains
(a) E-ccommerce tech
hnology True
ng the way for
f
fundamental changes in
n the ways bu
usiness is
opens up a ho
ost of is profound, pavin
ducted
both
int
ternally,
and
w
with
suppliers
and
customers
s.
Using
the
n
network
to
cond
opportunities
for
t customers and the suppliers enables ju
ust-in-time delivvery, reducing inventory
reconfig
guring industrry and link the
costss and allowing production to match demand
d.
company value chains..
e: Organizing business
b
along
g SBU lines and
d creating strategic business units has
(b) SBU
U concepts faacilitate True
ervice and global organizatio
beco
ome a common
n practice for multi-product/s
m
ons. It is a
multibu
usiness operatiions.

(c) Ben
nchmarking
is
a
remedy for all problem
ms faced
by organ
nizations.

(d) PES
STLE analysis is used
to monitoring the micro
environm
mental factors.

(e) Reengineering means


modification
partial
n
or
marginaal improvementt in the
existing work processees.
(f) Straategy
follows
Structurre.
(g) Prrofit may nott be a
universaal
objective,,
but
business
efficiencyy
is
definitely
an
ob
bjective
common
n to all businesss.

convvenient and intelligent group


ping of activities along distin
nct businessess and has
repla
aced the convventional grou
upings. SBU facilitates
f
strattegic planning
g, gaining
prod
duct-related/ma
arket-related specialization,
s
gaining costt-economies and
a
more
ratio
onal organizatio
onal structure.
Fals
se: Benchmarkking is an app
proach of settiing goals and measuring prroductivity
base
ed on best ind
dustry practice
es and is a prrocess of conttinuous improvvement in
searcch for competitive advantag
ge. However, it is not pan
nacea for all problems.
Rath
her, it studies the circumstancces and processses that help in
i superior performance.
Bette
er processes are
a not merelyy copied. Effo
orts are made to learn, imp
prove and
evolvve them to suitt the organizational circumsta
ances.
Fals
se: The term PESTLE
P
Analyssis is used to describe a fra
amework for analysis
a
of
macrro environmen
ntal factors. It involves identtification of po
olitical, econom
mic, sociocultu
ural, technolog
gical, legal and
d environmenttal influences on
o an organizzation and
provviding a way off scanning the
e environmenta
al influences th
hat have affectted or are
likelyy to affect an organization or its policy. The advantage of this tool is that it
enco
ourages manag
gement into pro
oactive and stru
uctured thinkin
ng.
Fals
se: Business Process
P
Reeng
gineering (BPR
R) is the fund
damental re
thinking
and radical rede
esign of processes to achieve
e dramatic im
mprovement, in critical,
contemporary measures of perforrmance such ass cost, quality, service and sp
peed.
Fals
se: Without a Strategy,
S
Firms cannot design
n an Effective Structure.
S
True
e: Profit Maxim
mization has a longterm perspective, and includes
i
develo
opment of
weallth, increased goodwill,
g
and benefits
b
to all Shareholders.
S
Business efficie
ency is an
econ
nomic version of the techn
nical objective
e of productivvity, i.e. desig
gning and
achie
eving suitable input
i
output ra
atios of funds, resources,
r
facillities and effortts.

14. Fill in the blanks:


b
(a) Vision
n is always orienteed.
(b) meeans different th
hings to differeent people.
(c) inteegrates Firms forward
f
or backkward in the Pro
oduct Chain.
(d) The orientation of the redesign effort refers to a total and rethinkking of entire
businesss process.
(e) Mich
hael Porters Geeneric Strategiees allow organiizations to gain
n competitive advantages by
Cost Leadership, and Foccus.
(f) porrtrays the distin
nct stages in the sales history of a Product.
(g) Total Quality Manag
gement is a peo
ople focused Management
M
syystem that aimss at continual
increase in att continually low
wer real cost.

15

(1 7 = 7 Marks)
Future
Globalization
Vertical Diverrsification
Deconstructio
on
Differentiatio
on
Product Life Cycle
C
Customer Sattisfaction

Вам также может понравиться