02 - IS In Organizations Flashcards
Organization
A formal collection of people and other resources established to accomplish a set of goals.
The function of an organization is to convert input into output. Use IS to achieve this goal.
IS improvements can change how business is conducted.
Value Chain
A series of activities that includes inbound logistics, warehouse and storage, production and manufacturing, finished product storage, outbound logistics, marketing and sales, and customer service.
First described by Michael Porter in a 1985 Harvard Business Review article - How Information Gives You Competitive Advantage
Upstream and Downstream Management
Upstream management -
Raw Materials
Inbound Logistics - Tracking IS
Warehouse/Storage - Inventory IS
Production - Process and Control IS
Downstream Management
Finished Product Storage - Retrieval IS
Outbound Logistics - Dist. planning IS
Marketing and Sales - Pomo Plan IS
Customer Service - CRM IS
Two key elements of Value Chain Management
Supply Chain Mgmt. SCM
Customer Relationship Mgmt. CRM
Supply Chaim Management
What supplies are required for value chain
What quantities are needed to meet customer demand
How supplies are to be processed into finished goods
How to ship raw supplies and finished goods
All aspects through to customer service
Customer Relationship Mgmt.
Includes all aspects of customer encounters including marketing, advertising, sales, customer service and loyalty programs.
Can aggregate customer feedback to inspire innovation and product development.
Organizational Structure
Organizational subunits and the way they relate to the overall organization.
Depends on organization’s goals and its approach to management.
Traditional
Project
Team
Virtual
Traditional Organizational Structure
An org in which the hierarchy of decision making and authority flows from the strategic management at the top down to operational management and non-management employees.
Strategic (Top)
Tactical
Operational
Non-management (Bottom)
Decision Dimensions
Strategic Management faces high decision dimensions high uniqueness of problems.
Non-management face low decision authority, impact on goals and low problem uniqueness.
Staff vs Line Positions
Positions that are directly involved with the functional areas of the firm are called line positions. Production, Finance, Marketing and HR.
Positions that assist other areas and are not a part of operational activity are called staff positions. IS and Legal.
Staff positions are frequently options to outsource.
Empowerment
Giving employees and their managers more responsibility and authority to make decisions, take action, and have more control over their jobs.
A flatter organizational structure empowers employees at lower levels.
Project Org Structure
A structure centered on major projects or services.
Group member assignments change with each project and teams are temporary.
Team Org. Structure
A structure centered on work teams or groups.
Team membership stays fairly stable.
Virtual Org. Structure
A structure that uses individuals, groups or complete businesses units in geographically dispersed areas; these groups can last a few weeks or years, often requiring telecommunications and the Internet.
Innovation
Can create new revenue streams
Help companies explore new markets and business approaches
Use IS personnel to increase innovation
Some firms establish separate IS resources to explore new and innovative ideas.
Culture
A set of major understandings and assumptions shared by a group, such as within an ethnic group of a country.
Easier to copy products, organizational structure and way business is run.
Much harder to copy a firm’s culture.
Organizational Culture
The major understandings and assumptions for a business, corporation, or other organization.
Organizational Change
How for-profit and nonprofit organizations plan for, implement and handle change.
Sustaining vs Disruptive Change
Sustaining is incremental and gradual. Improvements in areas of the value chain.
Disruptive is fast and completely transforms or creates new. In short run, may not have good performance, low cost or even strong demand.
Change Model
A representation of change theories that identifies the phases of change and the best way to implement them.
Lewin-Schein model -
Unfreezing to cease old habits and creating a change receptive environment
Moving to learn new methods
Refreezing to make new processes become a habit.
Organizational Learning
The adaptations and adjustments based on experience and ideas over time.
Reengineering - Process Redesign
The radical redesign of business processes, organizational structures, information systems, and values of the organization to achieve a breakthrough in business results.
Strong action to address serious issue Top down change lead by Sr. Mgmt. Broad scope cutting across depts Goal to achieve a major breakthrough Often led by outsiders IS is integral to solution
Continuous Improvement
Constantly seeking ways to improve business processes and value to products and services.
Routine action creating a stream of steady improvements.
Bottom-up change driven by workers.
Narrow in scope, focus on a specific area.
Goal of gradual steady improvement
Led by insiders
IS captures data and supports teams.
Technology Acceptance
Model (TAM)
A model that separates the factors that lead to better attitudes about an information system, along with higher acceptance and usage of it.
Perceived usefulness of the technology.
Ease of use
Its quality *** satisfaction depends on quality
Degree to which the organization supports its use
Technology Diffusion vs Infusion
Diffusion - A measure of how widely (lateral) technology is spread throughout the organization.
Infusion - The extent to which technology permeates an area or department. How deeply (vertical) embedded technology is in an area of the organization.
Does not mean IS is used to full potential.
Quality
The ability of a product to meet or exceed customer expectations.
TQM
Six Sigma
ISO
Outsourcing
Contracting with outside professional services to meet specific business needs.
Five Forces Model
By Michael Porter
- Rivalry among existing firms
- Threat of entry - restaurants
- Threat of substitutes
- Strength of buyers/customers
- Strength of suppliers
Competitive Advantage Strategies
Cost leadership Differentiation Niche strategy Altering the industry structure by strategic alliances or partnerships Creating new products - innovation Improving existing products Strong sales growth - maybe give away First to market Customizable products Hiring best people Innovation
3 Stages of IS Implementation
First stage focused on reducing costs and increasing productivity.
Second stage focus on competitive advantage
Third stage focus on performance-based management. Firms carefully consider advantages and costs. IS performance is measured by productivity, ROI and net present value. The optimal investment maximizes benefit while minimizing costs.
Productivity
A measure of the output achieved divided by the input required.
Productivity = (Output / Input) X 100%
Return on Investment (ROI)
The ADDITIONAL profits or benefits that are generated as a percentage of the investment in IS technology.
ROI = (Additional profit / investment) X 100%
IS Investment Considerations
Productivity Return on Investment Earnings Growth Market Share and Speed to Market The % of firm sales compared to market Customer Awareness and Satisfaction Total Coat of Ownership Risk
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
The sum of all costs over the life of an information system, including the costs to:
Acquire components such as technology
Technical support
Administrative costs
End-user operations
3 Primary Responsibilities of IS
Operations
Systems Development
Support
Operations IS Roles
The IS resources that run, maintain, start and stop all IS activity.
Workers typically trained in technical schools or on-the-job.
System Development
Focus on specific development projects and ongoing maintenance review.
Systems Analysts
Programmers
Web Developers
Support
Provides user assistance in hardware and software acquisition and use, data administration, user training and assistance and Web admin.
Also includes Information Center admin.
Information Center
A support function that provides users with assistance, training, application development, documentation, equipment selection and setup, standards, technical assistance and troubleshooting.
Information Service Unit
A miniature IS department attached and directly reporting to a functional area in a large organization.
IS Careers and Skills
Non-tech skills: Communication vital Organization knowledge How to apply IS to help achieve goals Ability to work in groups
VISA programs
In high demand
L-1 visa for intracompany transfers
H-1B used by new companies
Politically sensitive
A specialized support group often sets guidelines and standards for the rest of the firm to follow in making IS decisions.
TRUE
