B 1. The business environment is increasingly demanding the use of On Line Real Time (OLRT) systems for more up-to-date information. Discuss in detail the issues related to the adoption (or not as the case may be) of an OLRT system. Your answer should include (but not be limited to) implementation and operational concerns, matters related to the qualities of information, internal controls issues, the advantages and disadvantages of OLRT etc.. To illustrate your answer, identify a specific situation in which periodic/batch processing is sufficient to support the business process, and a second situation where immediate processing is necessary to adequately support the process.

B 2. Why has the World Wide Web (WWW) caused such an expansion in e-business when Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) has been available for decades? You answer should include (but not be limited to) a brief description of the terms WWW and EDI, a discussion on the core similarities and differences between WWW and EDI, and a comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of the WWW and EDI.

B 3. It is sometimes suggested that an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system - utilising a DBMS - is preferable to a "simpler" application based system. In the context of a small to medium size organisation, describe the circumstances and issues that would be relevant in determining whether or not to implement an ERP system. Your answer should include (but not be limited to) a brief comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of ERP/DBMS and Application Based Systems, key circumstances, factors and/or issues that would be relevant to your recommendation to implement an ERP system (or otherwise).