Week 1 Homework
1. In what respect does business strategy resemble military strategy? Obtaining an advantageous position on the opposition is a tactic that is similar in both business and military strategy.
2. Refer to Chapter 1's discussion of different types of information systems. Which types of ISs can gain strategic advantage and which cannot? Why?
Transaction Processing systems are merely used for recording transactions and thus are not used for gaining strategic advantage. Customer Relationship Management systems can be used to improve customer service quality, thus making it a key strategic advantage tool. Supply Chain Management systems (or Enterprise Resource Planning systems) are used to gain strategic advantage
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However there is also the chance that such an idea could tank.
7. An SIS often offers a corporation short-lived advantages. How so?
Competitors won’t be far behind and they will be trying to create a better product or solution than you are making.
8. What is reengineering? Why is reengineering often mentioned along with IT?
Reengineering is the process of elimination of old processes and implementing new ideas and systems from the ground up. IT is involved because reengineering often involves new computer systems.
9. Why have most reengineering projects failed? What has eventually affected reengineering in some companies?
New systems force employees and managers to change their way of work.
10. Software developers have made great efforts to create a standard. What does creating a standard mean in the software industry, and why are companies doing it?
Creating a standard is a means of locking in clients. This means creating something that no one else does or has. It is an effective way of capitalizing on a certain market.
11. What should an organization do to sustain the strategic benefits of an IS?
The IS should be continually modified and enhanced. This will create a moving target for competitors.
12. Adobe encourages PC users to download its Acrobat Reader and Flash Player free of charge. How does this eventually help Adobe strategically? If they give the application away, how does their generosity help
4. In terms of system software, Boeing employs a broad list of these, highly technical software products. The firm purchases some of these products from commercial vendors like Microsoft and Oracle; while others, like Linux, Boeing obtains from open source providers on the Web. Explain Boeing‘s reasoning for making the move to Linux in its data centers. [table – pros and cons]
Hammer and Champy provide a case based on the re-engineering of Ford Motor's "Account's Payable" department. Which of the following ideas best describes how Re-engineering helped reduce cost and effort in dealing with the problem?
Target Corporation enhance its information warehouses with latest big data that is technologically sophisticated to crunch large data using complex algorithms and provide vital output data for a daily operation as well as strengthen its capabilities over its rival which is a competitive advantage and speed up worker productivity. A quality tracking tool provided by information system tracks each package, parts ensuring the goods meet the quality standard.
Standards are put in place to make everything work together error free. Because Stability, Consistency, Minimization of packet errors.
The result of this re-engineering initiative would be catastrophic is the directing is not managed well. Workers need a sense of direction in order to properly complete their tasks. Directing individuals gives them a sense of guidance and purpose. If the directing is not managed well, one would encounter poor work performance, deadlines not being met, budgeting conflicts, and goals not accomplished. In a sense, it would be as if one would instruct a blind man to walk a path without proper instructions. Eventually, the blind man would either fall or hit a wall. Some may see potential outcomes conversely; however, I do not. I do not see how re-engineering any business would have a positive outcome without
Regulation placed upon the healthcare system only seek to improve safety and security of the patients we care for. The enactment of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) and the enactment of Meaningful Use Act the United States government has set strict regulations on the security of health information and has allotted for stricter penalties for non-compliance. The advancement of electronic health record (EHR) systems has brought greater fluidity and compliance with healthcare but has also brought greater security risk of protected information. In order to ensure compliance with government standards organizations must adapt
new competitors and they will tend to copy the ideas of products and try to dominate the
Reengineering differs from reorganizing, downsizing and other concepts of organizational restructuring because reengineering includes much more than reorganizing, downsizing and other named concepts of organizational restructuring. Reengineering is defined as "the systematic redesign of a business's core processes, starting with desired outcomes and establishing the most efficient possible processes to achieve the outcomes."
Firstly standardization ensure compatibility between products and their complements (other products used with them). Example- PCs with software. The economic benefits here is reducing the products
(TCO B) List three organizational factors that can prevent a firm from fully realizing the benefits of a new information system, and provide examples of each.
Competitive advantage is explained by Mahoney and Pandian (1992) as the function of industry analysis, organizational governance and the firm’s effects in the form of resource advantages and strategies. In order for a firm to be competitive it must adapt to the volatile business environment and through strategic management decisions establish a competitive advantage that will ultimately produce superior performance relative to its competitors (Akimova 2000).
5) Reengineering Automotive Development: To stay competitive and decrease the turnaround time of the development
Also by these systems the company reduced its business cost and maintains the information and the data very updated form.
It is generally accepted that information is a vital commodity for the successful operation of today’s organizations. Nowadays modern business organizations are using computerized information systems in order to obtain such information. However as the technology advances rapidly the main issue is how can an organization should effectively use such an information system - which its management sometimes can be unpredictable - in order to effectively help the whole organization structure to improve and take the most out of it.
Performance standards are a very integral part in the underlying business operations of any firm. Competition, particularly from foreign entities is becoming more intense. As such, standards must be created in order for companies to maintain their competitive advantage over their peers in a particular industry. One only needs to look at the auto industry to see how a lack of standards and oversight can be a detriment to business. Many foreign firms, due to competition have entered into the auto market that was once dominated solely