Chapter 8, Problem 1SP

The following is a list of six control plans from this chapter, followed by a list of five situations that have control implications. Match each of the five situations with a control plan that would best prevent the system failure from occurring. Because there are six control plans, you should have one letter left over.

Control Plans

1. A. Service level agreements
2. B. Clear desk and locked door policy
3. C. User manuals
4. D. Biometric identification systems
5. E. Program change controls
6. F. Personnel termination control plans

Control Situations

1. The customer service representatives at Everyday Supplies, a catalog sales company, have been complaining that the computer system response time is very slow. They find themselves apologizing to customers who are waiting on the phone for their orders to be completed.

2. George and Mike have been friends for many years. Henry works in the shipping department at Superior Company, an electronics wholesaler, and Mike is unemployed. To make a little money, Mike “borrowed” George’s employee badge (it has a magnetic strip on the back to open doors at Superior Company) and used the badge to access the Superior warehouse and steal some electronics gear.

3. At Bedrock Company, most transaction processing is automated. When an inventory item reaches its reorder point, the computer automatically prints a purchase order for the economic order quantity (EOQ). A programmer, who was in collusion with 3D-Arm, Inc., the vendor that supplied several parts, altered the computer program and the inventory master data for those parts. He reduced the EOQ and made certain program alterations, so that items supplied by 3D-Arm were ordered more often than Bedrock required them.

4. The data entry clerk in the accounts payable department at Martini Company did not have detailed instructions for completing the input form for approved vendor invoices. To speed up data entry, he let all of the date information default from the current day’s date. As a result, several invoices were paid late, and Martini Company lost cash discounts on several other vendor payments.

5. During a normal workday, James, who was not an employee, entered Tortora Company’s offices and was able to find and remove some computer printouts containing user IDs and other sensitive information. He later used that information to gain access to Rowley’s computer system.