AY11/12, Apr Sem

Temasek Polytechnic
School of Informatics & IT

Information Systems and Office Fundamentals

Tutorial wk 2, 3: Electronic Commerce and Transaction Processing Systems

Objectives:
1. Review important concepts from Lecture 2 & 3;
2. Help students in understanding and approaching questions;
3. Aid students in assessing their understanding of the related topic taught;
4. Cultivate answer framing and writing skill.

Students should prepare their draft answers before coming to class, as this will help them to
better participate in the discussions.

1. Define the term e-commerce. Briefly describe THREE different forms of e-

commerce, giving an example each.
 
E-­‐commerce   is   a   way   of   conducting   business   that   involves   use   of   electronic   data  
transmission   including   computers,   telecommunications   networks,   and   streamlined   work  
processes.  
 
There  are  three  MAIN  types  of  e-­‐commerce:    
 
Business  to  Consumer  (B2C)  –  Isetan,  SingTel  operating  website  for  consumers  to  purchase  
on  the  web  
 
Business  to  Business  (B2B)  –  NTUC,  ColdStorage  buying  from  their  supplier  of  goods  
 
Consumer   to   Consumer   (C2C)   –   individual   set   up   website   to   sell   to   other   consumers   e.g.  
ebay  
 
Other  types  include:  
Business  to  employee  –  TP  uses  the  web  to  allows  its  staff  to  register  for  training  courses  
 
Business  and  the  public  sector  (government  agency)  –  companies  submitting  tenders  for  
public  sector  projects  
 
Consumer   and   the   public   sector   –   Immigration   and   Custom   Authority   allows   public   to  
renew   passport   online   e.g.   pay   traffic   fine   through   Traffic   Police   website,   pay   road   tax  
through  land  transport  authority  
(8  marks)  
 
 
 
 

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2. Briefly explain the differences among smart, credit, charge and debit cards.
 
A  Smart  Card  is  a  card-­‐sized  device  with  an  embedded  microchip  that  provides  electronic  
memory   and   processing   capability.   It   can   store   electronic   cash,   credit   information,  
passwords  and  a  variety  of  other  data.  
 
A  Credit  Card,  such  as  Visa  or  Master,  has  a  preset  spending  limit  based  on  the  user’s  credit  
limit,  and  each  moth  the  user  pays  off  a  portion  with  the  unpaid  balance  subject  to  interest  
charges.  
 
A  Charge   Card   has  no  preset  spending  limit  and  must  be  paid  in  full  each  month.  American  
Express  is  an  example.  
 
A   Debit   Card   looks   like   a   charge   card   or   a   credit   card   but   operates   like   cash   or   personal  
cheque,  drawing  cash  directly  from  a  bank  account.  
(8 marks)

3. Distinguish between a batch processing system and an online processing system.

Give an example for each type of processing.

A  Barch  Processing  System  is  computerized  processing  in  which  business  transactions  are  
accumulated  over  a  period  of  time  and  prepared  for  processing  as  a  single  unit  or  batch.  
E.g.  Phone  bills,  exam  results  
 
An   Online   transaction   proccing   system   is   computerized   processing   in   which   each  
transaction  is  processed  immediately,  without  the  delay  of  accumulating  transactions  into  
a  batch.  E.g.  Online  odering  of  items,  ATM  withdrawal/deposit  
(6 marks)

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4. What are transaction processing systems (TPSs) used for? Describe the activities that
are being carried out during a transaction processing cycle.

a) Data   Collection   –   process   of   capturing   and   gathering   all   the   data   necessary   to  
complete  transactions  
 
b) Data   Editing   –   to   check   for   validity   and   completeness   of   data   to   detact   any  
problems  
 
c) Data  Correction  –  to  re-­‐eneter  miskeyed  or  misscanned  data  that  was  found  during  
data  editing  
 
d) Data   Manipulation   –   process   of   performing   calculations   and   other   data  
transformations   related   to   business   transactions   (E.g.   Classify   data,   sort   into  
catagories,  summerize  results)  
 
e) Data  Storage  –  update  one  or  more  databsees  with  new  transaction,  this  data  can  
be  further  processed  and  manipulated  by  other  systems  for  management  decision  
making  
 
f) Document   Produciton   and   Reports   –   generating   output   records   and   reports  
(hardcopy  of  displayed  on  computer  screens)  
(14 marks)

5. What is the advantage of implementing ERP as an integrated solution to link

multiple business processes? What are some of the challenges and potential
problems?
 
Some  of  the  advantages  of  using  ERP  includes:  
eliminating  costly,  inflexible  legacy  systems,    
improved  access  to  data  for  operational  decision  making,  
creating  an  opportunity  to  upgrade  an  organization’s  technology  infrastructure,  
can  integrate  multiple  legal  entities,  miltiple  languages,  and  multiple  currencies,  
control  is  strengthened    
 
Disadvantage   include   that   it   can   be   time   consuming,   costly   and   difficult   to  
implement  
(4 marks)

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6. What is supply chain management? What benefits can a firm achieve through
conversion to a supply chain management system?
 
Supply   Chain   Management   is   a   key   value   chain   of   composed   demand   planning,   supply  
planning  and  demand  fulfillment.  
 
Businesses  and  individuals  use  e-­‐commerce  to:  
Reduce  transaction  costs  
Improve  speed  of  flow  of  goods  and  information  
Improve  the  level  of  customer  service    
Enable  the  close  coordination  of  actions  among  manufacturers,  suppliers  and  customers  
 
(6  marks)  
 
 
=== End ===

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