Systems Development Life Cycle and AIS Applications - 25 Marks

This Question has THREE Parts: Part 1 (10 Marks), Part 2 (10 Marks), and Part 3 (5 Marks)

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought an explosive growth in the use of digital communication. The emphasis on working from home and the physical separation of extended families mean that a reliable telecommunications network services and devices are of paramount importance. Laptops, tablets and e- readers, smart phones, communication apps like Zoom, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, food delivery apps like Menulog, Deliveroo and Uber Eats, office productivity softwares and sophisticated information systems have changed the way information is received, processed and transmitted.

Similarly, for companies, with decreasing costs of some hardware and software due to high demand and the increasing power of automation, plus development of computer applications which is user-friendly, the integration of computers into organisation has had both positive and negative effects on the employees.

Part 1 - 10 Marks

This Part has TWO Questions. Question (i) and Question (ii)

Part 1 Question (i) - 4 Marks

With reference to the above, explain 2 positive and 2 negative effects on the employees of an organisation.

Part 1 Question (ii) - 6 Marks

Recommend 3 ways organisations can reduce the negative effects referred to.

Part 2 - 10 Marks

Mini Bunnings performs its purchasing and receiving activities using its integrated ERP system as follows:

1. The company maintains a perpetual inventory system.

2. Each day, employees in the purchasing department process all purchase requests from the prior day. To the extent possible, requests for items available from the same supplier are combined into one larger purchase order in order to obtain volume discounts. Purchasing agents use the Internet to compare prices in order to select suppliers. If an Internet search discovers a potential new supplier, the purchasing agent enters the relevant information in the system, thereby adding the supplier to the approved supplier list. Purchase orders above $10,000 must be approved by the purchasing department manager. EDI is used to transmit purchase orders to most suppliers, but paper purchase orders are printed and mailed to suppliers who are not EDI capable.

3. Receiving department employees have read-only access to outstanding purchase orders. Usually, they check the system to verify existence of a purchase order prior to accepting delivery, but sometimes during rush periods they unload trucks and place the items in a corner of the warehouse where they sit until there is time to use the system to retrieve the relevant purchase order. In such cases, if no purchase order is found, the receiving employee contacts the supplier to arrange for the goods to be returned.

4. Receiving department employees compare the quantity delivered to the quantity indicated on the purchase order. Whenever a discrepancy is greater than 5%, the receiving employee sends an email to the purchasing department manager. The receiving employee uses an online terminal to enter the quantity received before moving the material to the inventory stores department.

5. Inventory is stored in a locked room. During normal business hours an inventory employee allows any employee wearing an identification badge to enter the storeroom and remove needed items. The inventory storeroom employee counts the quantity removed and enters that information in an online terminal located in the storeroom.

This Part has TWO Questions: Question (i) (4 Marks) and Question (ii) (6 Marks)

Part 2 Question (i) Identify 2 weaknesses in Mini Bunnings receiving process. Enter your answer in the 'Weakness' Column in the Table provided below. 4 Marks

Part 2 Question (ii) For each weakness that you have identified in the receiving process, identify the potential threat, and propose control to mitigate the threats. Enter your answers in the 'Threats' and 'Controls' columns in the Table provided below. 6 Marks

Part 3 -5 Marks Describe what you think will be the two main impacts of the use of information technology on the database of an organisation to your future career. 5 Marks