STUDENT NAME: MERCY MAINA

TRACTION SCHOOL OF GOVERNANCE AND BUSINESS

CPA FOUNDATION / CS FOUNDATION

INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

CAT 1

Answer ALL questions.

QUESTION ONE

(i) Explain five benefits of ICT in a business (10 marks)

A. ICT improves business efficiency by automising processes therefore reducing the amount of time that
would have otherwise been used if done manually.

B. ICT helps business remain competitive. Investors and customers feel more comfortable engaging
with businesses that have ICT systems.

C. ICT helps in better decision-making. Businesses heavily rely on research and analytics. ICT helps in
developing tools useful for business informatics and analysis that enable businesses make informed
decisions.

D. Helps in information storing and retrieval. ICT ensures that information is shared and easily retrieved
as opposed to manual storage and retrieval of files which does not guarantee longevity and retrieval of
information in physical files.

E. ICT Helps in information sharing. Traditionally, information was shared verbally, or through letters
which took ages to reach recipients. ICT has helped in realying information for example through mobile
phones, emails, television in real time

(ii) Highlight five functions of an operating system (10 marks)

a. Coordination between users and Software. An operating system helps in the coordination of and
assigning of interpreters, compilers, assemblers, and other software to the various users of the
computer system
b. Device Management. Through drivers, the operating system manages communication of devices
in a system by managing access, tracking and controlling the activities performed by the devices.
c. Security. The operating system uses password, face or voice protection to protect user data. It
also grants access or prevents unauthorized access to programs and user data.
d. File management – An operating system contains directories which are used for file storage and
navigation.
e. Memory management – An operating system The operating system controls the main memory
of a system. It allocates and deallocates memory and keeps track of allocated addresses and
unutilized memory.
QUESTION TWO

(a) Discuss five factors to consider when choosing any computer hardware equipment (10
marks)

(i) Cost - We need to consider the initial cost of the hardware as well as subsequent costs such as
installation, updates and costs associated with compatibility (see ii below).

(ii) Compatibility – one needs to consider whether the hardware is compatible with the operating
system and complementary hardware.

(iii) Usability - When choosing hardware, one needs to consider its ease of use to the intended users.

(iv) Efficiency - One needs to consider the hardware can complete tasks with little or no wastage.

(v) Security - One needs to consider the safety of a device from security threats e.g. hacking and viruses.

(b) Explain five negative impacts of ICT in the society (10

marks)

While ICT has led to business efficiencies, it has also impacted the society negatively.

1. Loss of income – Automation of processes has led to loss of income for processes that were
traditionally done manually. For example, a farmer who relied on agronomists for expert crop
or animal advice can now comfortably do it while using an app or use of an internet search
engine such as google.
2. Impersonal communication – human beings are social animals. Technology has led to loss of
physical connection where human beings largely communicate via ICT.
3. Technology has led to reduction in human thinking capacity – Since most information is available
online, people find it easier to run to the internet to search for information and simple metric
calculations.
4. Technology has resulted to reduced physical activity, leading to health problems – people spend
long hours sitting Infront of gadgets playing games, watching videos or talking on the phone.
Ordinarily, people would engage in physical games and activities.
5. Technology has led to increased crime such as terrorism and cybercrime. Technology promotes
the use of social media which is an avenue for the recruitment of terrorists. Digitalization of
banking and money transfer has led to increase of cybercrime where hackers access personal
information and can easily divert transactions.

QUESTION THREE

(a) What is the difference between high level programming languages and low level programming
languages? Give examples (5 marks)

High-level programming languages enable a programmer to write programs that are more or less
independent of a particular type of computer. Such languages are designed to be easily understood by
humans and they must be translated by another software. Examples of high-level programming
languages include Pascal, Python, HTML and Java.
Low-level programing languages on the other hand provide no abstraction from the hardware, and it is
represented in binary digits 0 or 1 which are the machine instructions. Low level programming languages
have no automatic memory management. They comprise of machine level and assembly language, e.g C
and C++.

Distinct examples are as follows;

High-level Programming Language Low-level Programming Language

Programmer friendly Machine friendly
Less memory efficient Highly memory efficient
Easy to understand for programmers Tough to understand for programmers
Simple to debug Complex to debug
Simple to maintain Complex to maintain
Portable Non-portable

(b) Explain how information systems can be used by various personnel in sales and marketing
systems in an organization (5 marks)

1.Senior leadership in Strategy development. By use of a marketing information system, financial and
transactional data such as revenue of a product, or distribution channel can be collected, analysed and
converted into a form that can be used to formulate strategy. Data can be disaggregated by age, sex,
geographic location, income levels etc which can inform the ideal products and customers.

2. Managers in Monitoring of orders and logistics. A marketing system can be used to monitor the
movement of sales people. Monitoring the movement of sales people can be enhanced by
incorporating Geographical Information System (GIS) to track movement of orders from store to
customers. It provides details such as date and time ordered, time dispatched and time delivered e.g
Glovo.

3. Human Resources department Performance monitoring. A sales and marketing system can be used
to monitor the revenues that a salesperson has generated and the profit that he has earned on
revenues. It can keep records related to visits made and customer feedback on the sales person. This
helps in reward management such as calculation of commissions and bonuses earned, e.g Uber
drivers/riders.

4. Marketing Department in Marketing research. A sales and marketing system may be used to collect
data about a certain product through a survey, app or pop-ups. Consumers or general public can
provide their views about a certain product, or lack thereof, information that is critical in improving a
product or developing a new one.

5. Sales and marketing personnel in assessing their own performance. A sales and marketing system
may inform a sales person on where they are doing well and where to improve on since sales real-time
sales data is readily available.

QUESTION FOUR
(a) Describe each of the following types of information systems as used in organizations:

(i) Transaction processing system. (3mrks)

A transaction processing system is an information system that collects, stores, modifies, and retrieves
the data transactions of an enterprise. Examples include a sales order, hotel or vehicle booking system
and employee time-sheet.

(ii) Management reporting system. (2mrks)

A management reporting system is a database that stores a company’s performance information. It

generates management reports – such reports help in setting strategic goals for the company. Examples
include income and expenditure reports and financial statements.

(iii) Decision support system. (5mrks)

A decision support system an information system that is used to improve a company's decision-making
capabilities. It analyzes large amounts of data and presents an organization with the best possible
options available. A decision support system provides statistical models that analyse events and factors
related to events. It also provides sensitivity analysis by providing data based on different scenarios, for
example, calculating how much a business can increase its prices, before it starts to negatively affect
customer sales. It also provides forecasting models based on historic data and future projections. It also
provides a backward sensitivity by setting a target value for and then repeatedly changing other
variables until the target value is achieved.