Which of the following tasks is not suited for sequential processing by a computer?
Accounting for credit card purchases tasks is not suited for sequential processing by a computer.
Consider for a moment all the events that take place on a daily basis in an organization. Let's take an electronics store as an example. A single store can easily carry 10,000 different items. Throughout the day, customers come into the store, select a product and pay for it at the checkout counter. Staff is continuously taking items from the stock room and placing them on the shelves. When the stock runs low, new shipments are ordered. Other customers come in to exchange items and deal with warranty issues.
All of these events are referred to as transactions, and keeping track of them requires a transaction processing system. A transaction processing system, or TPS, is a system to capture and process the detailed information necessary to update data on the fundamental operations of an organization.
There are many different types of transaction processing systems, such as payroll, inventory control, order entry, accounts payable, accounts receivable and others. Transaction processing produces valuable input into many other systems in an organization, such as management information systems and decision support systems. A TPS serves as the foundation for these other systems. A TPS tracks routine operations but does not provide much support for decision making.