1.With reference to a practical case of a business setup, discuss the various types of information systems used at strategic level management, Tactical level management and operational level management. Relate your discussion to the types of information as well as functions of those levels. 2. With the aid of a clearly labelled diagram, design and illustrate a basic model of an expert system, clearly showing the components and their specific functions. 3. The organizational pyramid may show the various levels of management and their functional areas like: Human Resource, Research and Development, Sales and Marketing, Finance and Accounting, Production and Manufacturing or operations, Procurement and Logistics and transport. 4. (a) Managers occupy three levels of responsibility. Discuss the three levels of management, functions, and types of information used at each of these levels. 5. Elucidate the General Systems Theory. Include in your discussion: What a system is, Characteristics of a system, Elements of a system, Types of Systems etc How is this theory of the 1930s relevant in the present day digital age? Discuss 6. Knowledge can either be Tacit or Explicit. It is said that knowledge is power, knowledge is the 'new gold' and knowledge management is absolutely essential in maintaining a "Tradition of Excellence" in an organization and business. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Discuss 7. Compare and contrast different types of information systems used in business, such as transaction processing systems, management information systems, and decision support systems. Assess their respective capabilities and limitations in supporting organizational objectives. 8. Assess the ethical considerations associated with the use of information systems in business. Discuss potential privacy and security concerns, and propose strategies for addressing these issues. 9. Assess the importance of data quality in the process of converting data into valuable information and knowledge. Evaluate different factors that influence data quality and propose ways for ensuring data accuracy, completeness, consistency, and relevancy. 10. Compare and contrast the concepts of intranet and internet, highlighting their similarities and differences. Provide a comprehensive analysis of their respective functionalities, scope of accessibility, and their impact on communication and information sharing within organizations. 11. Evaluate the concept of collaboration systems and their role in supporting decision-making, team communication, problem-solving, planning, and other organizational processes. Provide a critical analysis of the benefits and challenges associated with collaboration systems, and assess their effectiveness in facilitating efficient and effective collaboration within teams. 12. Select any five features of good quality information and discuss how they contribute to reliable decision-making. Provide real - life examples to support your answer. 13. Compare and contrast the features and functionalities of Decision Support Systems (DSS) and traditional decision-making approaches in group settings. Evaluate the advantages and limitations of using DSS to support decision-making 14. Analyze the ethical implications of online privacy concerns in the digital age. Evaluate the responsibilities of individuals, organizations, and governments in safeguarding personal information and preserving privacy rights. 15. Intellectual Property refers to the products of human mind. There are various laws that relate to this: Copyright, Patents and trade secrets. Discuss intellectual property and ethics as they apply to software products; ownership, and license 16. Analyze the strategic importance of ESS in executive decision-making. Discuss the types of information and functionalities provided by ESS tools and provide examples of how they enable executives to monitor performance, identify trends, and make informed strategic decisions. 17. Analyze the characteristics and uses of unstructured information in the context of management. Discuss how organizations can extract value from unstructured information and provide examples of how it can support decision-making processes. 18. Information was meant for managers only in an organization. Do you agree or disagree with this statement. Discuss! 19. Describe the role of management information systems in achieving competitive advantage. Use specific examples to support your explanation. 20. Apply your understanding of potential risks and vulnerabilities associated with management information systems to a specific industry or organization. Identify and analyze the most significant risks and vulnerabilities that could affect the system's security and suggest the preventive measures that can be taken. 21. Explain Porter's competitive forces model and its relevance in analyzing the competitive environment of a business. Provide examples to illustrate each of the five forces outlined in the model. 22. Explain the concept of management levels within organizations. Discuss how information systems support each level of management and provide examples of information systems commonly used at each level. 23. A multinational corporation is considering implementing a new information system to support its supply chain management processes. As an IT manager, explain the different sourcing options available for acquiring the information system. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each option and recommend the most suitable sourcing strategy for the company. 24. Imagine you are a strategic consultant working with a manufacturing company. Explain the concept of value chain analysis and its significance in analyzing and improving the company's competitive advantage. Identify the primary and support activities within the company's value chain and discuss how they contribute to the overall value creation process. 25. You have been hired as a knowledge management consultant for a large technology company. Assess the company's knowledge management needs and recommend appropriate types of knowledge management systems that can address their specific requirements. Justify your recommendations by explaining how each type of system supports different aspects of knowledge creation, organization, and sharing. 26. You are the owner of a small retail business that currently operates only through a physical store. Develop an e-commerce strategy for your business, considering the different types of e-commerce models. Explain which model(s) you would choose and why and discuss the potential benefits your business can gain from implementing e-commerce. 27. Management Information Systems can be said to be "Information Systems which are meant to specifically provide quality information to management." In this context, explain at least FIVE (5) different Information Systems used at various levels of the organizational hierarchy in relation to different types of information generated and used at these levels. 28. Many organisations are utilising the INTERNET, INTRANET and EXTRANET as means of gathering and disseminating information, and conducting transactions. List and briefly explain any other FOUR uses of the internet and any FOUR problems with the internet. 29. Explain the various functional areas of an organization clearly giving examples of computer based information systems used to make decision making processes and collaboration better respectively. 30. Explain the Data Protection Act and its significance in relation to data subjects. 31. Explain the complexity surrounding ethical questions and provide a rationale for why they are challenging to answer. 32. Explain how organizations can gain a competitive edge through the utilization of information systems and ICTs generally. 33. Suppose your company has an e-business Website for selling different types of goods and services. Discuss the followings: (a)Ethical concerns associated with storing and analysing user data? (b)Security threats, challenges and vulnerabilities that face this Web site and how to minimize them. 34. Outline the roles and characteristics or features of a management information system (MIS) in organizational operations giving advantages and disadvantages of using it. 35. Discuss the role of knowledge management systems in capturing, organizing, and sharing knowledge within an organization. 36. Evaluate the impact of knowledge management systems on decision making and organizational performance. 37. a) Using a three - level pyramid model of information systems, identify and describe the levels of the organizational hierarchy. 38. Explain the various functional areas of an organization clearly giving examples of computer based information systems used respectively. 39. Evaluate the relevance and effectiveness of the Data Protection Act of 2021 in Zambia. Analyse how this act protects the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information for authorized users. Discuss any potential challenges or limitations in implementing and enforcing the act. 40. Apply your knowledge of supply chain management systems to a real-life business scenario. Describe how these systems benefit businesses in terms of cost reduction, improved inventory management, enhanced supplier relationships, and customer satisfaction. Provide specific examples of how a company can leverage supply chain management systems to gain a competitive advantage 41. Create a comparison chart illustrating the key features and functionalities of two different types of Knowledge Management Systems. Include examples of industries or organizations where each system is commonly used and explain how they support knowledge sharing and collaboration. 42. You are an IT consultant working with a manufacturing company. Evaluate the information needs of different departments within the company, such as production, finance, and marketing. Recommend specific types of information systems that would best support the operational, managerial, and strategic activities of each department. Justify your choices by explaining how each system aligns with the department's information requirements and overall business objectives. 43. You are an IT consultant working with a legal firm that has implemented an expert system to automate legal research. Discuss three benefits and three challenges that the organization may face during the use of the expert system. Provide recommendations to overcome these challenges and maximize the benefits of the system. 44. You are a team leader managing a virtual team for an IT project. Outline three advantages and three disadvantages of working in a virtual team. Suggest strategies to mitigate these challenges and ensure effective collaboration within the virtual team. 45. You are a financial manager responsible for allocating funds for information systems in a manufacturing company. Distinguish between chargeback, allocation, and cooperative budgets as funding methods during the procurement of information systems. Apply these analyses to recommend the most suitable funding method for the company. 46. You are an IT manager in a financial institution. Explain in detail why Management Information Systems (MIS) are considered a strategic need of management in the industry today. Discuss how MIS can provide real-time financial data, support regulatory compliance, and enhance risk management practices, ultimately contributing to the company's competitive advantage. 47. You are a business strategist studying organizational strategy frameworks. Explain different organizational strategy frameworks in detail. Evaluate the strengths and limitations of each framework and discuss their applicability in different business contexts. 48. Provide examples of organizations that have successfully applied these frameworks to drive strategic decision making. 49. You are a supply chain manager in a logistics company. Define supply chain management systems and analyze how they benefit businesses. Discuss the role of these systems in improving supply chain visibility, optimizing inventory management, enhancing supplier relationships, and streamlining logistics operations. Provide specific examples from the logistics industry to support your analysis. 50. You are a business strategist working with a manufacturing company. Using Porter's Five Competitive Forces model, discuss in detail how managers confront elements that influence the competitive environment. Analyze each of the five forces and explain how they shape the competitive landscape. Provide examples from the manufacturing industry to support your analysis 51. You are an IT consultant working with a company that is considering implementing an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. Define MIS - ERP, stating its features, scope, and advantages. 52. Evaluate the potential benefits and challenges associated with implementing an ERP system in the organization. 53. You are a researcher investigating the motivations behind the sourcing of information systems by organizations. Critically discuss the motivations behind the sourcing decisions, considering factors such as cost, expertise, scalability, and time-to-market. 54. Evaluate how these motivations impact the effectiveness and efficiency of information systems implementation. Provide real-life examples of organizations that have successfully sourced information systems to support your evaluation. 55. You are an ethics consultant conducting a workshop on ethical considerations in business. Explain the meaning of ethical analysis and ethical dilemma to the workshop participants. 56. Create a scenario that presents an ethical dilemma related to information systems, and guide the participants in performing an ethical analysis of the situation. 57. You are a lecturer introducing the concept of Management Information Systems (MIS) to a group of students. Clearly define MIS, stating its objectives and characteristics. 58. Create a hypothetical scenario where an organization successfully implements a computerized MIS to achieve its objectives , highlighting how the characteristics of computerized MIS contributes to its success. 59. You are a business strategist analyzing the use of collaborative systems for decision-making in organizations. Discuss how businesses utilize collaborative systems to facilitate decision-making processes. 60. Evaluate the benefits and potential challenges associated with the use of collaborative systems. 61. Discuss five different roles that information plays in business processes. Provide real-world examples for each role to illustrate their significance. 62. Using relevant examples, critically discuss how information systems support business processes in the organization. 63. Discuss the 3 levels of decisions to be taken in each level of management and evaluate the types of information systems that could be used to support each level of decisions in an organization 64. Elaborate the unique features of e-commerce, digital markets and digital goods, thereafter, explain using clear examples how e-commerce has affected business-to-business transactions? 65. Defend the role of m-commerce in business and explain the most important m-commerce applications. 66. If business used DSS, ESS and ES more widely, managers and employees would make better decisions. Discuss. 67. Relate Information Systems to globalization and explain how the information systems are transforming business. 68. Explain the business processes and show how they relate to information systems. 69. Let us examine the problem faced by Mr. Mwanza, Regional Manager of JULUTI Pvt. Ltd. which makes and distributes products from more than 10 international pharmaceutical and health care companies. Mr. Clement is responsible for managing existing clients and also to get new clients. He manages a number of sales representatives. Important customers have a dedicated sales representatives, while other sales representatives try to get new clients. One day an important customer (Good Health Hospital) called Mr. Mwanza and complained that Mr. Clement (the sales representative) was ineffective and insisted he be removed, or else they would not give any business. Here are Mr. Mwanzas'thoughts: In an internal enquiry, Mr. Mwanza found that: the real reason was personal differences between the client and the hospital superintend. The track record of Mr. Clement was good and he was liked within the company. Dismissing him or even transferring him to a new region will affect the morale of the work force. Good Health Hospital is a major customer and gives good business. Loosing the hospital is not an option. Therefore the demands of the hospital have to be met Identify the problem and thereafter, apply and analyse the steps that Mr. Mwanza took to make a proper decision based on the internal enquiry that he made. 70. Justify how Information Systems help businesses use synergies, core competencies, and network-based strategies to achieve competitive advantages? 71. Using examples, distinguish between data, knowledge and wisdom and between Tacit Knowledge and Explicit Knowledge. 72. What are the business benefits of using intelligent techniques for Knowledge Management and how can Employees insight assist with customers' common inquiry? 73. According to Professor Mintzberg, there are three groups of managerial roles. Explain these roles using clear examples and summarize how the three groups differ. 74. Suppose your business had an e-commerce website where it sold goods and accepted credit card payments. identify the major security threats to this website and their potential impact. What can be done to solve these threats?