1|Page
MIS 301 EXAM #1 AND PRACTICE EXAM NEWEST 2026-2027
ACTUAL EXAM COMPLETE 300 QUESTIONS AND CORRECT
DETAILED ANSWERS (VERIFIED ANSWERS) |ALREADY
GRADED A+
In the past decade, how has technology helped bring about radical
changes across industries and throughout societies? - ANSWERS---the
way firms advertise
- the way individuals & organizations communicate
-fueled globalization & data-driven decision making
- redefined concepts of software and computing
- raised privacy & security concerns
-crushed costs
What is the impact of a disruptive technology? What is its trajectory?
Why do we care? - ANSWERS--First, they come to market with a set of
performance attributes that existing customers don't value. Second,
over time the performance attributes improve to the point where they
invade established markets.
- found in many innovations that have brought about the shift from
analog to digital
- trajectory: fast/cheap technology advancement
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mental model - ANSWERS--explanation of someones thought process/
how something works in the real world
- IS are defined by mental models of their designers (both business and
technical)
disruptive technology - ANSWERS--an innovation that helps create a
new market and value network, and eventually disrupts an existing
market and value network, displacing an earlier technology
To what degree has technology permeated every management
discipline? Be able to give a few examples of how technology has
changed areas such as finance, marketing, operations, accounting, etc. -
ANSWERS--- Finance: IPOs (Initial public stock offerings) use tech
industry as fertile ground for new firms. --> Need to understand role of
tech to accurately guess how much a company is worth.
- Accounting: The numbers used by accountants are all recorded,
stored, and reported by information systems, and the reliability of any
audit is inherently tied to the reliability of the underlying technology.
- Marketing: The ability to track customers, analyze campaign results,
and modify tactics has amped up the return on investment of
marketing dollars, with firms increasingly shifting spending from tough-
to-track media such as print, radio, and television to the Web. Also,
word of mouth through social media is big.
What kinds of jobs are available to someone with an IT background? -
ANSWERS--- those that require heavy programming skills to those that
,3|Page
are focused on design, process, project management, privacy, and
strategy
- ex. programmers, user-interface design, process design, chief
information officer, chief technology officer, etc
sustainable competitive advantage - ANSWERS--financial performance
that consistently outperforms their industry peers
operational effectiveness - ANSWERS--refers to performing the same
tasks better than rivals perform them
--> sometimes hard bc easy to mimic technology
fast follower problem - ANSWERS--exists when savvy rivals watch a
pioneer's efforts, learn from their successes and missteps, then enter
the market quickly with a comparable or superior product at a lower
cost.
strategic positioning - ANSWERS--refers to performing different
activities from those of rivals, or the same activities in a different way
How is operational effectiveness different than strategic positioning? -
ANSWERS--- operational effectiveness can be easily matched, and
therefore is not a sufficient way of yielding sustainable dominance over
competition, but strategic positioning is because it is creating
advantages that competitors struggle to match.
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To what degree can technology-based competition create operational
effectiveness? - ANSWERS--technology can also play a critical role in
creating and strengthening strategic differences
What are the four characteristics of a resource that might possibly yield
sustainable CA? - ANSWERS--(1) valuable
(2) rare
(3) imperfectly imitable (tough to imitate)
(4) nonsubstitutable
straddling - ANSWERS--attempts to occupy more than one position
while failing to match the benefits of a more efficient, singular focused
rival
resource-based view of competitive advantage - ANSWERS--strategic
thinking approach saying that if a firm is to maintain sustainable
competitive advantage, it must control a set of exploitable resources
that have four critical characteristics: valuable, rare, imperfectly
imitable, nonsubstitutable.
Why is technology critical to enabling competitive advantage? What are
some examples of firms that have used technology to organize for
sustained competitive advantage? - ANSWERS--technology is almost
always mandatory in imitation-resistant value chain
MIS 301 EXAM #1 AND PRACTICE EXAM NEWEST 2026-2027
ACTUAL EXAM COMPLETE 300 QUESTIONS AND CORRECT
DETAILED ANSWERS (VERIFIED ANSWERS) |ALREADY
GRADED A+
In the past decade, how has technology helped bring about radical
changes across industries and throughout societies? - ANSWERS---the
way firms advertise
- the way individuals & organizations communicate
-fueled globalization & data-driven decision making
- redefined concepts of software and computing
- raised privacy & security concerns
-crushed costs
What is the impact of a disruptive technology? What is its trajectory?
Why do we care? - ANSWERS--First, they come to market with a set of
performance attributes that existing customers don't value. Second,
over time the performance attributes improve to the point where they
invade established markets.
- found in many innovations that have brought about the shift from
analog to digital
- trajectory: fast/cheap technology advancement
,2|Page
mental model - ANSWERS--explanation of someones thought process/
how something works in the real world
- IS are defined by mental models of their designers (both business and
technical)
disruptive technology - ANSWERS--an innovation that helps create a
new market and value network, and eventually disrupts an existing
market and value network, displacing an earlier technology
To what degree has technology permeated every management
discipline? Be able to give a few examples of how technology has
changed areas such as finance, marketing, operations, accounting, etc. -
ANSWERS--- Finance: IPOs (Initial public stock offerings) use tech
industry as fertile ground for new firms. --> Need to understand role of
tech to accurately guess how much a company is worth.
- Accounting: The numbers used by accountants are all recorded,
stored, and reported by information systems, and the reliability of any
audit is inherently tied to the reliability of the underlying technology.
- Marketing: The ability to track customers, analyze campaign results,
and modify tactics has amped up the return on investment of
marketing dollars, with firms increasingly shifting spending from tough-
to-track media such as print, radio, and television to the Web. Also,
word of mouth through social media is big.
What kinds of jobs are available to someone with an IT background? -
ANSWERS--- those that require heavy programming skills to those that
,3|Page
are focused on design, process, project management, privacy, and
strategy
- ex. programmers, user-interface design, process design, chief
information officer, chief technology officer, etc
sustainable competitive advantage - ANSWERS--financial performance
that consistently outperforms their industry peers
operational effectiveness - ANSWERS--refers to performing the same
tasks better than rivals perform them
--> sometimes hard bc easy to mimic technology
fast follower problem - ANSWERS--exists when savvy rivals watch a
pioneer's efforts, learn from their successes and missteps, then enter
the market quickly with a comparable or superior product at a lower
cost.
strategic positioning - ANSWERS--refers to performing different
activities from those of rivals, or the same activities in a different way
How is operational effectiveness different than strategic positioning? -
ANSWERS--- operational effectiveness can be easily matched, and
therefore is not a sufficient way of yielding sustainable dominance over
competition, but strategic positioning is because it is creating
advantages that competitors struggle to match.
, 4|Page
To what degree can technology-based competition create operational
effectiveness? - ANSWERS--technology can also play a critical role in
creating and strengthening strategic differences
What are the four characteristics of a resource that might possibly yield
sustainable CA? - ANSWERS--(1) valuable
(2) rare
(3) imperfectly imitable (tough to imitate)
(4) nonsubstitutable
straddling - ANSWERS--attempts to occupy more than one position
while failing to match the benefits of a more efficient, singular focused
rival
resource-based view of competitive advantage - ANSWERS--strategic
thinking approach saying that if a firm is to maintain sustainable
competitive advantage, it must control a set of exploitable resources
that have four critical characteristics: valuable, rare, imperfectly
imitable, nonsubstitutable.
Why is technology critical to enabling competitive advantage? What are
some examples of firms that have used technology to organize for
sustained competitive advantage? - ANSWERS--technology is almost
always mandatory in imitation-resistant value chain
