Topic 1 a) Discuss any 3 key skills and characteristic should an information system manager posses. b) Today’s Point of Sales – Electronic Fund Transfer (POS-EFT) system requires several components to function. List and discuss the function for these components.

a) An Information System (IS) manager has two principle roles within an organization. He has to be able to manage the change processes that are inevitably initiated by the introduction of technology into his workplace, and he has to manage the operational aspects of business and organizational activities founded on computing and communication technology. Hence an IS manager is a leading figure in both organizational change and performance. From this definition, it is a natural deduction that for IS manager to work effectively, they must have or need to be: * Detailed knowledge of the organization’s mission and vision, its peculiar business strategies and implementation skills. With these understanding, the IS manager will then be able to design an information system which can help the organization to achieve its goal. * Skilled in inter-personal management. This consists of communication skills both written and oral, people oriented and also negotiation skill. Regardless of how an organization structures its information system department, system development is a team effort. So learning how to work and communicate effectively with other team members is important for any information system professionals. * Good self assessment skills and critical analyzing skills. The manager is a decision maker and such may act as a formal authority that initiates and guides changes. As a controller who responses to external change, and as a negotiator who organizes and allocates resources. The manager acts to authorize, propose, response to and facilitate changes.

b) EFTPOS is the place where a retail transaction is completed. It is the point which a customer makes a payment to a merchant in exchange for goods or services. It is a type of computer based information system which incorporated the following components and its functions:

1. Hardwares: * Computer- The processing unit of the system * Screen- This display the information that is being generated by the computer, so the operator can see what function to perform next. * Keyboard & mouse- Use to input information into the system. * Cash drawer- To dispense cash. * Barcode scanner- To read barcode labels of the merchandise. * Receipt printer- To provide a printed record of the transaction performed. * EFTPOS- To directly connect the system to the customer’s bank through phone line, so a credit card can be debited. 2. Software: Program that the computer uses to carry out the particular function. 3. Database: Storage of organizes collections of facts and information. 4. Telecommunication: Connect the computer and equipments to enable electronic communication. 5. Procedures: Strategies, policies, methods and rules for using the EFTPOS. 6. People: Trained individual who know how to operate and do preliminary trouble shooting of the POS system.

Topic 2
Most organization today conducts their business over the internet. a) What is C2C? And provide an example of this. b) What is C2B? And provide an example of this. c) B2B (Business to Business) e-commerce strategy is said to strengthen a firm’s business relationship with its suppliers. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of such a strategy.

a) Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C) electronic commerce involves the electronically facilitated transactions between consumers through utilizing a third party. The most common example of C2C is the online auction like eBay. In this form of C2C, consumers put items for sales and other consumers bid to purchase them. The consumers will then make payment via PayPal to facilitate secured money transaction online with ease.

b) Consumer-to Business (C2B) is a business model where an end-user or consumer makes a product or service that an organization uses to complete a business process or gain competitive advantage. For example like Elance (www.elance.com), consumer will create a profile on the consumer key skills. Businesses or organizations will search for the potential personnel and invite consumers to submit proposal for the project.

c) Business-to Business (B2B) is the exchange of products, services, or information between businesses. The benefits of B2B are for buyers and sellers or for both. In general, some of the major advantages are: * B2B is a global trade market where you can buy anything at any time. * It lowers the search costs and time for buyer to find products and vendors. * It increases the opportunities for collaboration * Enable customized online catalogues with different prices for different customers. * Eliminates paper and reduces administrative costs. * Able to reach mass target within a short time frame.
However, B2B has limitations as well. Some of the disadvantages are: * The cost of building and maintaining the B2B website might be high. * Delay of goods where the earliest to receive goods would be the next day. * Unable to experience the product before purchasing. * Additional requirements to have specific technical standard in exchanging messages might incurred additional cost. * Difficulties in adapting to different computer environment for your business partner.

Topic 5 a) What are the differences between Internet, intranet, extranet? Indicate where they may be best deployed in an organization. b) Wireless local area network (W-LAN) is ubiquitous. Why do you think this technology has been so widely adopted for use?
a) Internets refer to the world-wide collection of independent networks, all freely exchanging information, connected via routers to each other for communication purposes.
Intranet refers to a collection of networks within a logical body, corporation or other entity. It is connected via privately owned, not public network links. It usually has a firewall and router which permits access to public Internet, while protecting the internal Intranet from malicious users. An example of users using the Intranet will be the managers and employees in an organization
Extranet are collaborative meta-networks which are set up between two or more Intranets to facilitate business or research communication. An example would be an organization and the many sub-contractors that supply the Organization with parts for their products. The Organization and its business partners establish links to tie each other Intranets together to better serve each other needs.

b) Wireless local area network (W-LAN) has been so widely adopted for use as it provides the following benefits: 1. Cost effective- Wireless LAN can cost less to implement than wired LANs, especially in situations where implementing a wired LANs requires extensive labor and materials to install the wiring and drops. For environment that are difficult to wire such as schools or temporary spaces, a wireless network can be more cost effective in the long run than a wired one. 2. Simple/Flexible to install- It eliminate the time needed with wired LANs for laying and pulling wires, and can reach places that cannot be reached by wires. Portability wireless LAN system can move physical locations much easier than wired LANs, reducing total cost of ownership for organization that are on the move. 3. Mobility- It can provide LAN users with access to network information anywhere in their organization. 4. Scalability- It can be configured for small or large offices, with peer to peer systems or large established LANs specific to the localized need of a workgroup or across the while enterprise. The system grows easily with the need by adding more access points, client LAN adaptors and extension points.

Topic 7
Discuss the 6 phases involve in a System Development life cycle (SDLC)
System development is the activity of creating or modifying existing business system. System development consists of these 6 phases: 1. System Investigation- This is the first phase in the traditional SDLC. The purpose is to identify potential problems and opportunities, and consider them in light of the goals of the company. 2. System Analysis- It studies existing systems and work processes to identify strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for improvement. This is done so by analyzing the additional information collected after manipulating the data which is collected in its raw form. After which, a requirement analyze is done to determine user, stakeholder and organizational needs. 3. System Design- It defines how the information will do what it must do to obtain the problem’s solution. System design is generally composed of two major components: Logical design and Physical Design. The Logical Design describe the functional requirements of a system that is, it conceptualize what the system will do to solve the problems identified through earlier analysis. 4. System Development- This phase determined and documented the logical design specifications which include the following: a. Output requirements b. Input requirements c. Process requirements d. Telecommunication requirements e. Procedure requirements f. Control and security requirements g. Personnel and job requirements 5. System Implementation- After the information system is designed, this phase of the development will create or acquire various system components detailed in system design, assembles them and place new or modified system into operation. 6. System Maintenance and Review- The phase ensures that the system operates, and modifies the system so that it continues to meet changing business needs. System review, the final step of SDLC, is the process of analyzing system to make sure that they are operating as intended. This process often compares the performance and benefits of the system as it was designed with the actual performance and benefits of that in operation. Problems and opportunities uncovered during the system review will trigger SDLC and begin the process anew.