eBusiness and existing Business Services - Quiz Explanation
The answers you selected are indicated below, along with text that explains the correct answers.
1.
Budgets have been finalized for the current financial year. Your eBusiness proposal was not available when this happened, so you must justify the allocation of resources to the eBusiness project. Do you
Please select the best answer.
A.
Suggest cuts in normal business costs to fund the eBusiness development and operation?
B.
Reduce the costs of your proposal, taking out all contingency and redundancy planning to minimize the funds required?
C.
Seek an outside partner for the eBusiness who will supply funding?
D.
Present the long-term benefits of the eBusiness as the reason to allocate new funding?
E.
Leave the problem to the Finance department?
The correct answer is D.
If an eBusiness is to succeed, it needs to be funded correctly. Answers A and C are wrong because this is not the role of the architect. If the enterprise wishes to do then either or both of these to meet the funding requirements, the enterprise, not the architect, must make that decision. Answer B is wrong because by taking out the contingency planning, you run the high risk of the project going over budget and/or failing. Answer E is wrong. As the architect, part of your role is to justify the budget for your proposals. However, you will need to involve the Finance department in your proposals.
2.
A budget cut must be made to an existing eBusiness project. Assuming that no area is over provided for at present, which of the following areas would be the least damaging in which to make the cuts?
Please select the best answer.
A.
Development technician
B.
Marketing spend
C.
Call center staff
D.
Other operational staff
E.
Marketing budgets
F.
Stock holding reductions
The correct answer is B.
This is of course an artificial scenario; in a real situation there would be many other factors that would influence the answer. However, generally the development and operation of the eBusiness solution should take priority over its marketing. If this is not the case, then the success of marketing activity could bring down the solution, as the capacity to support it may not exist.
3.
The enterprise you are introducing eBusiness to has no expertise in either the technical or business elements of eBusiness. In the short to medium term, which of the following is the best approach to take?
Please select the best answer.
A.
Outsource the development AND outsource the operation
B.
Outsource the development AND recruit and train the operational resources
C.
Recruit and train the technical resource AND outsource the operation
D.
Recruit and train the technical resource AND recruit and train the operational resource
The correct answer is B.
The operational resources should be under the direct control of the enterprise as soon as possible; the technical resources can be recruited later.
4.
Which one of the following is always true?
Please select the best answer.
A.
eBusiness requires less human resources than non-eBusiness
B.
eBusiness costs less to operate than non-eBusiness
C.
eBusiness is more complex than non-eBusiness
D.
eBusiness requires a different marketing approach to non-eBusiness
E.
eBusiness requires increases in manufacturing capability over non-eBusiness
F.
eBusiness will increase the potential customer base over non-eBusiness
The correct answer is F.
This is the only answer that is always true. Introducing the telecommunications links that eBusiness brings opens up the potential customer base to the whole world. It is only the desire or the limitations of the enterprise that will limit who they will serve as customers.
5.
If you have 100 days to allocate to an eBusiness project, which of the following is the best distribution of time?
Please select the best answer.
A.
50 days design; 40 days development; 10 days implementation
B.
30 days design; 60 days development; 10 days implementation
C.
30 days design; 50 days development; 20 days implementation
D.
20 days design; 40 days development; 40 days implementation
E.
10 days design; 50 days development; 40 days implementation
F.
10 days design; 40 days development; 50 days implementation
The correct answer is C.
There is a need to ensure that all phases have adequate allocation, but development will take the longest and the design must be adequate.
6.
Which one of the following is the least likely to be improved by the introduction of eBusiness to an enterprise?
Please select the best answer.
A.
Number of customers
B.
Sales volumes
C.
Company image
D.
Company profitability
E.
Staff numbers
F.
Budget requirements
The correct answer is D.
There is no guarantee that introducing eBusiness to an enterprise will create increased profit. If the issues that we have and will raise in this course are not addressed adequately, then profitability may actually be damaged. Because of the potential to communicate with a wider geographic spread of customers through eBusiness, answers A and B are probable. The presence of the business in the electronic world will raise the enterprise's profile, so C should increase. However, if the new business volumes are not handled well, then the company's image could be badly damaged. Although staff numbers and budgetary requirements are likely to be volatile over time, there should be a positive improvement. You should keep in mind that increased volumes may necessitate more staff and funds. However, the important point is that the cost and staff per unit is reduced.
7.
An eBusiness solution that is to be introduced is intended to run in parallel with the existing business. As a result, the call center is anticipating a 100 percent increase in queries from customers for a period of 1-2 weeks. The company then expects calls to drop back to their current levels. This temporary increase will not only require additional resources, but also the training of staff to handle the new queries. You must recommend a suitable approach to handling the additional staff requirements and the training approach. Which of the following is the best approach?
Please select the best answer.
A.
Recruit additional temporary staff and train them on the new and old business. Train the existing staff on the new business.
B.
Recruit additional permanent staff and train them on the new and old business. Train the existing staff on the new business.
C.
Recruit additional temporary staff and train them and the existing staff on the new business only.
D.
Recruit additional permanent staff and train them and the existing staff on the new business only.
E.
Recruit additional temporary staff and train them on the old business only. Train the existing staff on the new business.
F.
Recruit additional permanent staff and train them on the old business only. Train the existing staff on the new business.
The correct answer is E.
Training the existing staff on the new business is a good investment for the future. The training of temporary staff on the old business is likely to be relatively easier than training on the new business, due to the level of knowledge already within the company. Training temporary staff on the new business, while acceptable is less desirable, as they will leave the company after a short period. Thus, Answer A is wrong. The recruitment of permanent staff to accommodate a temporary peak is not wise. Therefore, answers B, D, and F are wrong.