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CI-310 : Midterm

	CI-310 Information Systems Applications, 3 credits		Admin/ General
	Wednesday evenings, 6:00 - 8:50 pm Hale 306		Schedule
	Instructor: Ed Quigley 724.774.2088
	Dept. Head: Dave Wood, Ph.D. 412.262.2788		Links

Directions:

You must answer questions One and Two. Of the remaining questions, choose and answer two more. Submit your four responses (typed, stapled, etc) on November 1, 2000.

Question One (Mandatory): Effective Web Communication. Review the official websites for both the Gore and Bush presidential campaigns. Each is making an argument for their "product" and endorsing a certain "change". Evaluate both sites in terms of their use of ethos, pathos, and logos to communicate their argument.
A. In your reponse, identify the use of E/P/L in both sites.
B. Identify which site does better in each category (E/P/L) and why.
C. Which site do you think does a better job of communicating, and why?
Reference: for an insight into E/P/L, check out this and this.

Question Two (Mandatory): Spreadsheets.
SolveIt! for Windows, page 44-45, Spreadsheet Case 5, Choice Coffee of the Month.
Accomplish the 5 tasks listed on Page 45. You may use the tutorial on pages 46-51 if necessary.

Question Three: The Management Challenge of Info Systems
In each chapter we have reviewed current trends of info systems and the management challenges (and opportunities) presented by each. What is the greatest challenge that managers and businesses face when dealing with information systems?

Question Four: The Universal Client.
What does it mean when we say that the web browser is now a "universal client"?
What are the software implications of the universal client?
What are the business implications of this concept?

Question Five. The textbook identifies four main competitive strategies for companies seeking competitive advantage. Choose any major software package seeking widespread success in the business software market. Identify which competitive strategy they are using, identify the strategy their main competitor is using, and explain your personal prediction of which will succeed.

Question Six. A long time ago in an economy far, far away, a business investing in technology might purchase a single mainframe which returned certain benefits. Not too long ago, businesses invested in personal computers, which also returned certain benefits. The contemporary business technology investment is in networks, integrated databases, and the Web. What new benefits derive from this new type of investment that were not achieved in the earlier investments? Give examples.

Question Seven. Businesses are now seeking and tracking more information on customers than ever before. What types of information are they keeping? What benefits do they hope to achieve? What type of information systems (hardware and software) do they use in this effort?