troduction to Office Automation

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which of the following tasks can be improved Salesmen Accountants Typists

yp
effectively by the implementation of office A. (1) (2) (3)
automation?
B. (1) (4) (3)
(1) Transferring digital information from
one department to another C. (2) (2) (5)

(2) Prediction of the sales volume of the D. (2) (4) (5) B

next season
4. The following shows the interface of Microsoft
(3) Searching for trading records of a few Excel 2007. Which of the following actions are
months ago the right ways to save the current worksheet?
A. (1) and (2) only
B. (1) and (3) only
C. (2) and (3) only
D. (1), (2) and (3) D

2. Which of the following is not an advantage of

office automation?
A. Reducing the number of IT staff in an office
B. Reducing the storage space for documents (1) Click the button on the Ribbon.

C. More channels of communications in an (2) Click the Office button.

office (3) Click the Quick Access Toolbar.
D. Reducing company expenses B
(4) Press the shortcut keys ‘Ctrl’ and ‘S’.
A. (1) and (3) only
3. What are the most frequently used application
software for salesmen, accountants and typists B. (2) and (4) only
of a company respectively? C. (1), (3) and (4) only
(1) Presentation software D. (2), (3) and (4) only D

(2) Database software

(3) Word processor
(4) Spreadsheet
(5) Communication software

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 ormation Processing

5. What is the major advantage of using a network 8. Which of the following are the functions of a
laser printer over an ordinary laser printer in an DBMS in an office?
office? (1) Customer order printing
A. Lower printing cost (2) Inventory record query
B. Higher printing speed (3) Staff personal information
C. Able to share with other networked administration
computers A. (1) and (2) only
D. Able to work on various operating B. (1) and (3) only
systems C

C. (2) and (3) only

6. Which of the following devices can be D. (1), (2) and (3) D

connected directly to a switch of a computer

network in an office? 9. The following is a Gantt chart which is used for
(1) Printer coordinating the works of different parties in a
project.
(2) E-mail server
WEEK: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

(3) Microphone WBS 1 Summary Element 1 57% complete

WBS 1.1 Activity A 75% complete

(4) Webcam WBS 1.2 Activity B
START-TO-START
67% complete
FINISH-TO-START
A. (1), (2) and (3) only WBS 1.3 Activity C
FINISH-TO-FINISH
50% complete

WBS 1.4 Activity D 0% complete

B. (1), (2) and (4) only WBS 2 Summary Element 2 0% complete

C. (2), (3) and (4) only WBS 2.1 Activity E 0% complete

WBS 2.2 Activity F 0% complete

D. (1), (2), (3) and (4) B

WBS 2.3 Activity G 0% complete
TODAY

7. Which of the following descriptions about Which of the following software provides tools
groupware are incorrect?
for producing Gantt charts?
(1) Groupware allows users to work on the
A. Microsoft Project
same files concurrently.
B. Microsoft PowerPoint
(2) Groupware works on intranets but not
on the Internet. C. Microsoft Excel

(3) Microsoft Office is a typical example of D. Adobe Premiere A

groupware.
10. Which of the following is the most critical
A. (1) and (2) only
factor in achieving high-quality video
B. (1) and (3) only conferencing and groupware?
C. (2) and (3) only A. User-friendliness of application software
D. (1), (2) and (3) C
B. High bandwidth of the computer network
C. High performance of computer systems
D. High technical skills of users B

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 5 Introduction to Office Automation

11. Which of the following office automation
activities can effectively reduce the expenses of
a company?
(1) Sending quotations to clients via e-mail
instead of a fax machine
12. A sales manager of a computer supplier is going
to prepare a quotation of 20 computer systems
and a number of peripherals for a school. Which
kind of application software is less likely used
in this task?

(2) Processing and storing documents in A. Communication software

electronic forms as far as possible B. Presentation software
(3) Using IP phones and instant messengers C. Database software
as substitutions of traditional telephone D. Spreadsheet B
service
A. (1) and (2) only
B. (1) and (3) only
C. (2) and (3) only
D. (1), (2) and (3) D

Short Questions

1. Rocky owns a small company which keeps all computer files in a file server. The total file size of data files
is less than 10 GB. He finds that it is troublesome to perform the weekly data backup with 3 DVD-Rs.
Wendy suggests using a 16 GB memory card to back up the data files instead of using DVD-Rs.

(a) Suggest three advantages of using the memory card in the above situation. (3 marks)
• Can be reused for many times. (1)

• More portable (1)

• More durable (1)

(b) Suggest three disadvantages of using the memory card in the above situation. (3 marks)
• Lower data transfer speed (1)

• Not functional in all operating platforms / computer systems (1)

• More expensive (1)

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 ormation Processing

(c) Rocky argues that there may be data security problems if memory cards are used for data storage and
transfer. He rejects Wendy’s proposal. Do you agree with Rocky? Explain your answer briefly. (2 marks)
No. (1) Both DVD-Rs and memory cards have similar level of data security. (1)

2. Forrest Limited is a financial consultant company. All digital documents of the company must be stored in a
dedicated file server. Moreover, all document hard copies must be digitized and stored in the file server as
well.

(a) Suggest one device for hard copy digitization. (1 mark)

Scanner (1)

(b) Suggest one file format for the digitized files. (1 mark)
PDF / TIF (any one × 1)

(c) Most of the document hard copies are still stored in cabinets even though the file server contains the
digitized copies of them. Suggest one reason for this policy. (1 mark)
The digitized files are not a legal representation for formal documents such as contracts and signed documents. Hence, the original hard

copies must be kept. (1)

3. Some telephone companies provide additional service that transforms received fax documents into digital
images and sends them to customers’ dedicated e-mail accounts.

(a) Explain how the service can improve the efficiency of office automation in the following aspects.

(i) Data management (1 mark)

All fax documents are in digital form which can be centralized in a file server efficiently. (1)

(ii) Company expense (1 mark)

Not all received fax documents are printed and hence the printing cost of fax documents is reduced. (1)

(iii) Data communication (1 mark)

Digitized fax documents can be forwarded to other receivers through the computer network effectively at a very low cost. (1)

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 5 Introduction to Office Automation

(b) Suggest two services provided by telephone companies that increase the efficiency of office
automation. (2 marks)
• Wi-Fi broadband service

• E-mail service for mobile devices (e.g. Blackberry)

• Video conferencing using 3G phones

(any two × 1)

4. Documents, like notices and quotations, are usually converted to the PDF file format before sending from a
company to another.

(a) (i) Suggest two methods of sending PDF documents via the Internet. (2 marks)
• Send as an attachment of an e-mail. (1)

• Transfer the PDF file via an instant messenger, e.g. Windows Live. (1)

(ii) If a PDF file is over 30 MB, which way in part (a)(i) is preferable? Explain your answer briefly.
(2 marks)
Instant messenger is preferred (1) as file transfer via an instant messenger has no limitation on the file size. (1)

(b) Suggest two advantages of distributing documents in PDF format. (2 marks)

• The content of PDF files can be protected from modification, duplication and printing. (1)

• The text format can be retained in any computer platforms with suitable PDF readers. (1)

(c) Suggest two disadvantages of distributing documents in PDF format. (2 marks)

• Additional software is required for the PDF file conversion and hence additional cost increases. (1)

• The file size of PDF files can be much larger than that of the original documents. (1)

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5. (a) State three main functions of a task scheduling system. (3 marks)

• Task scheduling

• Cost management

• Resources allocation

• Quality control

• Generating reports

(any three × 1)

(b) Assume that you are a team member of the web authoring group of the student union. Three members
and you are asked to build a new web site for the student union in 30 days. For each answer in part (a),
write one example that a task scheduling system can monitor and manage the process of building the
web site. (3 marks)
• Task scheduling: Monitor the time of completion of each sub-task.

• Cost management: Calculate the expense for each sub-task and monitor the actual cost used.

• Resources allocation: Record and manage details of prepared multimedia materials.

• Quality control: Prepare a checklist of how and what should be tested.

• Generating reports: Produce reports on manpower used for each sub-task.

(any three × 1)

Long Questions

1. (a) Suggest three factors which are related to computer equipment that should be considered in the
implementation of office automation. (3 marks)
• The cost of equipment installation and maintanence

• The compatibility of the new office automation system with the existing system

• The time for system implementation

• The physical arrangement of equipment

• The technical level of users

(any three × 1)

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 5 Introduction to Office Automation

(b) A company finds that the current office automation system cannot cope with the daily workload in the
office. There are two proposals for system enhancement:

Plan 1: Install a completely new office automation system, including all hardware and software.

Plan 2: Upgrade essential hardware equipment, but the system software and application software
remains unchanged.

Which plan may incur a higher cost in the following aspects? Explain your answer briefly.

(i) Cost on system testing (3 marks)

Plan 1. (1) It is because new system software is installed in Plan 1. (1) Other than hardware testing, comprehensive tests on data

management are needed. (1)

(ii) Cost on staff training (3 marks)

Plan 1. (1) It is because proper training in the new system software is required for the staff. (2)

(iii) Average running cost of the system (3 marks)

Plan 2. (1) It is because the life cycle of the whole system in Plan 2 is usually shorter as the old system software may become

obsolete in a short period of time, (1) and then the system must be replaced. (1)

2. A law firm has three divisions. There are totally 30 computers in these divisions connected by a network as
below.
Internet

Workstation 1 Workstation 2 Workstation 3

(a) State four possible functions of the server shown in the network diagram. (4 marks)
• Print server

• File server

• Domain controller

• Proxy server

• Sharing of Internet access service (any four × 1)

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(b) An IT manager is preparing a proposal of upgrading all the computer systems which have been used for
over eight years. The main objective of the proposal is to enhance the efficiency of document
processing and file sharing in the office. Due to the tight budget, the following two computer upgrade
plans are proposed.

Plan 1: Upgrade the computer system and office application suite of one division while those of the
other two divisions remain unchanged.

Plan 2: Upgrade only the office application suite of all computer systems.

(i) State two problems for each plan. (4 marks)

Plan 1:

• The file formats may not be compatible for different versions of office application suites. (1)

• New computers may be slowed down significantly when they are sharing resources through a computer network. (1)

Plan 2:

• Old computer systems may not be powerful enough to run the application software efficiently. (1)

• The overall efficiency of document processing may not be improved significantly by upgrading the software alone. (1)

(ii) Suggest two other feasible proposals for achieving the project objectives. (2 marks)
• Replace or buy a high-performance file server to centralize the documents. (1)

• Upgrade the hardware of all computer systems, such as hard disk and main memory, at a lower cost. (1)

(c) A new conference room has just been built in the office. It is found that there is a huge demand for the
Internet access service by the people who work in the conference room. State two possible ways of
providing the Internet access service in this room. (2 marks)
• Connect a network cable from the conference room to the switch of the current network. (1)

• Connect a wireless access point to the switch of the current network. (1)

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