Business Driven Technology - Instructor’s Manual

BUSINESS PLUG-IN B3
Hardware and Software

LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Describe the six major categories of hardware and provide an example of each.
Hardware consists of the physical devices associated with a computer system. The six major
categories of hardware include:
 Central processing unit (CPU) The actual hardware that interprets and executes the
program (software) instructions and coordinates how all the other hardware devices work
together (e.g., Intel processor)
 Primary storage The computer’s main memory, which consists of the random access
memory (RAM), cache memory, and the read-only memory (ROM) that is directly
accessible to the central processing unit (CPU) (e.g., RAM)
 Secondary storage Equipment designed to store large volumes of data for long-term
storage (e.g., diskette, hard drive, memory card, CD).
 Input devices Equipment used to capture information and commands (e.g., keyboard,
scanner).
 Output devices Equipment used to see, hear, or otherwise accept the results of information
processing requests (e.g., monitor, printer).
 Communication devices Equipment used to send information and receive it from one
location to another (e.g., modem).

2. Identify the different computer categories and explain their potential business uses.
 Personal digital assistant (PDA) - A small hand-held computer that performs simple tasks
such as taking notes, scheduling appointments, and maintaining an address book and a
calendar.
 Laptop - A fully functional computer designed to be carried around and run on battery
power. Laptops come equipped with all of the technology that a personal desktop
computer has, yet weigh as little as two pounds.
 Tablet - A pen-based computer that provides the screen capabilities of a PDA with the
functional capabilities of a laptop or desktop computer. Similar to PDAs, tablet PCs use a
writing pen or stylus to write notes on the screen and touch the screen to perform functions
such as clicking on a link while visiting a Web site.
 Desktop - Available with a horizontal system box (the box is where the CPU, RAM, and
storage devices are held) with a monitor on top, or a vertical system box (called a tower)
usually placed on the floor within a work area.
 Workstation - Similar to a desktop but has more powerful mathematical and graphics
processing capabilities and can perform more complicated tasks in less time. Typically
used for software development, Web development, engineering, and e-business tools.
 Minicomputer (midrange computer) - Designed to meet the computing needs of several
people simultaneously in a small to medium-size business environment. A common type of
minicomputer is a server and is used for managing internal company networks and Web

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sites. Minicomputers are more powerful than desktop computers but also cost more,
ranging in price from $5,000 to several hundred thousand dollars.
 Mainframe computer - Designed to meet the computing needs of hundreds of people in a
large business environment. Mainframe computers are a step up in size, power, capability,
and cost from minicomputers. Mainframes can cost in excess of $1 million. With
processing speeds greater than 1 trillion instructions per second (compared to a typical
desktop that can process about 2.5 billion instructions per second), mainframes can easily
handle the processing requests of hundreds of people simultaneously.
 Supercomputer - The fastest, most powerful, and most expensive type of computer.
Organizations such as NASA that are heavily involved in research and number crunching
employ supercomputers because of the speed with which they can process information.

3. Explain the difference between primary and secondary storage.

 Primary storage - The computer’s main memory, which consists of the random access
memory (RAM), cache memory, and the read-only memory (ROM) that is directly
accessible to the central processing unit (CPU).
 Secondary storage - Equipment designed to store large volumes of data for long-term
storage (e.g., diskette, hard drive, memory card, CD).

4. List the common input, output, storage, and communication devices.

 Input devices - Equipment used to capture information and commands (e.g., keyboard,
scanner)
 Output devices - Equipment used to see, hear, or otherwise accept the results of
information processing requests (e.g., monitor, printer).
 Primary storage - The computer’s main memory, which consists of the random access
memory (RAM), cache memory, and the read-only memory (ROM) that is directly
accessible to the central processing unit (CPU).
 Secondary storage - Equipment designed to store large volumes of data for long-term
storage (e.g., diskette, hard drive, memory card, CD).
 Communication devices - Equipment used to send information and receive it from one
location to another (e.g., modem).

5. Describe the eight categories of computers by size.

1 Personal digital assistant (PDA) – a small hand-held computer that performs simple
tasks such as taking notes, scheduling appointments, and maintaining an address book
and a calendar.
2 Laptop computer – a fully functional computer designed to be carried around and run on
battery power.
3 Tablet computer - a pen-based computer that provides the screen capabilities of a PDA
with the functional capabilities of a notebook or desktop computer.
4 Desktop computer – the most popular choice for personal computing needs.
5 Workstation computer – Has more mathematical and graphics power than a desktop
6 Minicomputer (sometimes called a mid-range computer) – designed to meet the
computing needs of several people simultaneously in a small to medium-size business
environment.
7 Mainframe computer (sometimes just called a mainframe) – a computer designed to
meet the computing needs of hundreds of people in a large business environment.

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8 Supercomputer – the fastest, most powerful, and most expensive type of computer.

6. Define the relationship between operating system software and utility software.
Operating system software controls the application software and manages how the
hardware devices work together, whereas utility software provides additional functionality to
the operating system. Utility software includes antivirus software, screen savers, disk
optimization software, and anti-spam software

CLASSROOM OPENER
New Gadgets
Showing students new gadgets is always an exciting way to begin the class. Check the MISforum
to find new postings in the Hardware section for current gadgets you can show your students.

CLASSROOM EXERCISE
Web-Enabled Cell Phones and Web Computers
When categorizing computers by size for personal needs, the focus is typically on PDAs, tablet
computers, notebook computers, and desktop computers. There are several other variations
including smartphones (or Web-enabled cell phones) that include instant text messaging and Web
browsing capabilities. Split students into groups of four people and have them research
smartphone capabilities and costs. Have each group make a purchase recommendation based on
their research. Ask students what their vision of the future is for cell phone telephony. Will we ever
get rid of notebooks and clunky desktops in favor of more portable and cheaper devices such as
smartphones? Why or why not?

CLOSING CASE ONE

Changing Circuits at Circuit City
1. How would anticipating Best Buy’s growth have helped Circuit City remain as an industry
leader?
Being on top for so long made Circuit City feel comfortable and they did not see Best Buy
coming until it was too late. If Circuit City had anticipated Best Buy’s growth it could have
begun efforts to cement its position as a customer-focused business.

2. Why is keeping up with technology critical to a global company such as Circuit City?
If you fall behind in technology you have a difficult time catching-up. For example, if a company
failed to implement pagers it would be unable to find people during critical times. Just think of a
hospital unable to page its doctors. This type of technology is critical to helping organizations
operate. A failure to implement a technology that could help it operate more efficiently and
effectively could mean the end of the company.

3. Highlight some of the potential risks facing Circuit City’s new business model.
Hiring new management is always risky, regardless of the industry. Attempting to implement
too much at one time is also a risk. If the new management doesn’t understand the customer-
centric strategy then it will be extremely difficult to implement.

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4. Why is Circuit City benefiting from implementing strategic product placement techniques?
Locating accessories and services closet to big-ticket items so that customers can see more
quickly what they might need to furnish their home office or outfit a home theatre. For example,
when a customer is looking at a high-definition television, nearby is a selection of furniture to
hold the TV, the cables needed to hook it up, and DirectTV or digital cable service products.

CLOSING CASE TWO

Electronic Breaking Points
1. Identify six hardware categories and place each product listed in the case in its appropriate
category
 Central processing unit (CPU) The actual hardware that interprets and executes the
program (software) instructions and coordinates how all the other hardware devices work
together (e.g., Intel processor) (Laptop, Smart Phone, MP3 Player)
 Primary storage The computer’s main memory, which consists of the random access
memory (RAM), cache memory, and the read-only memory (ROM) that is directly
accessible to the central processing unit (CPU) (e.g., RAM) (Laptop, Smart Phone, MP3
Player)
 Secondary storage Equipment designed to store large volumes of data for long-term
storage (e.g., diskette, hard drive, memory card, CD). (Laptop, Smart Phone, MP3 Player,
Memory Stick, Memory Card)
 Input devices Equipment used to capture information and commands (e.g., keyboard,
scanner). (Laptop, Smart Phone, MP3 Player)
 Output devices Equipment used to see, hear, or otherwise accept the results of information
processing requests (e.g., monitor, printer). (Laptop, Smart Phone, MP3 Player)
 Communication devices Equipment used to send information and receive it from one
location to another (e.g., modem). (Smart Phone)

2. Describe the CPU and identify which products would use a CPU.
Central processing unit (CPU) - The actual hardware that interprets and executes the program
(software) instructions and coordinates how all the other hardware devices work together. A
laptop, smart p hone, and MP3 Player would use a CPU.

3. Describe the relationship between memory sticks and laptops. How can a user employ one to
help protect information loss from the other?
Memory sticks offer another form of memory for a laptop. A user can use a memory stick to
store information from his/her laptop.

4. Identify the different types of software each of the products listed in the case might use.
 Operating system software controls the application software and manages how the
hardware devices work together, whereas utility software provides additional functionality
to the operating system. (Laptop, Smart Phone, MP3 Player, Memory Stick, Memory Card)
 Utility software includes antivirus software, screen savers, disk optimization software, and
anti-spam software. (Laptop, Smart Phone, MP3 Player)

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 Application software is used for specific information processing needs, including payroll,
customer relationship management, project management, training, and many others.
(Laptop, Smart Phone, MP3 Player)

MAKING BUSINESS DECISIONS

Instructor Note: There are few right or wrong answers in the business world. There are really only
efficient and inefficient, and effective and ineffective business decisions. If there were always right
answers businesses would never fail. These questions were created to challenge your students to
apply the materials they have learned to real business situations. For this reason, the authors
cannot provide you with one version of a correct answer. When grading your students’ answers, be
sure to focus on their justification or support for their specific answers. A good way to grade these
questions is to compare your student’s answers against each other.

1. PURCHASING A COMPUTER
Project Purpose: To understand the correlation between price and changes to various
technology components.
Potential Solution: Although there is no right or wrong answer here, students responses
should be pragmatic to their needs and budget.

2. WEB-ENABLED CELL PHONES

Project Purpose: To understand that we are (certainly) moving to smaller, more portable, and
more powerful computers.
Potential Solution: Although there is no right or wrong answer here, this exercise should
provoke some healthy debates about whether we will get rid of notebooks and desktops in
favor of “leaner and meaner” more portable computers.

3. SMALL BUSINESS COMPUTERS

Project Purpose: To understand the correlation between price and changes to various
technology components.
Potential Solution: Although there is no right or wrong answer here, students responses
should be pragmatic to their needs and budget.

4. PDA SOFTWARE
Project Purpose: To begin to understand the Palm OS environment.
Potential Solution: The most popular operating systems on PDAs are (as of the time we wrote
this text) Palm Operating Systems (Palm OS) for Palm/Handspring-type PDAs and Pocket PC
OS (which used to be called Windows CE) for PocketPC PDAs. Both offer similar functionality
– wireless Web access, wireless communication with other PDA and hand-held devices, the
ability to add certain types of peripheral devices such as a microphone, etc. Both state that
they are compatible with the other

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