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EM Business Strategy and Technology > 14. Strategies for information > Flashcards

14. Strategies for information Flashcards

1
Q

Why do organisations require information?

A

• Planning
• Controlling
• Recording transactions
• Performance measurement
• Decision making

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2
Q

Give characteristics of strategic information.

A

Derived from both internal and external sources:

• Summarised at a high level
• Relevant to the long term
• Concerned with the whole organisation
• Often prepared on an ad hoc basis
• Both quantitative and qualitative
• Uncertain, as the future cannot be accurately predicted

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3
Q

Give characteristics of tactical information.

A

• Primarily generated internally (but may have a limited external component)
• Summarised at a lower level
• Relevant to the short and medium term
• Concerned with activities or departments
• Prepared routinely and regularly
• Based on quantitative measures

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4
Q

Give characteristics of operational information.

A

• Derived from internal sources
• Detailed, being the processing of raw data
• Relevant to the immediate term
• Task specific
• Prepared very frequently
• Largely quantitative

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5
Q

What are typical information requirements for the manufacturing sector?

A

Strategic:

• Future demand estimates
• New product development plans
• Competitor analysis

Tactical:

• Variance analysis
• Departmental accounts
• Inventory turnover

Operational:

• Production reject rate
• Materials and labour used
• Inventory levels

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6
Q

What are typical information requirements for the service sector?

A

Strategic:

• Forecast sales growth and market share
• Profitability, capital structure

Tactical:

• Resource utilisation such as average staff time charged out, number of customers per hairdresser, number of staff per account
• Customer satisfaction rating

Operational:

• Staff timesheets
• Customer waiting time
• Individual customer feedback

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7
Q

What are typical information requirements for the public sector?

A

Strategic:

• Population demographics
• Expected government policy

Tactical:

• Hospital occupancy rates
• Average class sizes
• Percent of reported crimes solved

Operational:

• Staff timesheets
• Vehicles available
• Student daily attendance records

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8
Q

What are typical information requirements for NFP organisations?

A

Strategic:

• Activities of other charities
• Government (and in some cases overseas government) policy
• Public attitudes

Tactical:

• Percent of revenue spent on admin
• Average donation
• ‘Customer’ satisfaction statistics

Operational:

• Households collected from/approached
• Banking documentation
• Donations

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9
Q

What are the qualities of good information?

A

• Accurate
• Complete
• Cost-Beneficial
• User-targeted
• Relevant
• Authoritative
• Timely
• Easy to use

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10
Q

Define information management strategy.

A

Strategy specifying who controls and uses the technology provided.

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11
Q

Define information systems strategy.

A

Strategy specifying how hardware, software and telecommunications can achieve delivery of the information systems strategy.

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12
Q

Define information technology strategy.

A

Strategy specifying the systems that will best enable the use of information to support the business strategy.

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13
Q

What are the benefits of a proposed information system?

A

• Increased revenue
• Cost reduction
• Enhanced service
• Improved decision making: Forecasting, developing scenarios, market analysis, project evaluation

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14
Q

When formulating an overall IS/IT strategy, what aspects should be taken into consideration?

A

• What are the key business areas which could benefit most from an investment in information technology?

• What form should the investment take, and how could such strategically important units be encouraged to use such technology effectively?

• Will maintenance of the new system be provided in-house or be outsourced?

• How much would the system cost in terms of software; hardware; management commitment and time; education and training; conversion; documentation; operational manning; and maintenance?

• The importance of lifetime application costs must be stressed – the costs and benefits after implementation may be more significant than the more obvious initial costs of installing an information technology function.

• What criteria for performance should be set for information technology systems?

• What are the implications for the existing work force – have they the requisite skills; can they be trained to use the systems; will there be any redundancies?

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15
Q

What are the recommendations of Earl’s systems audit grid?

A

• A system of poor quality and little value should be disposed of (divest).

• A system of high business value and low technical quality should be renewed (invested in).

• A system of high quality but low business value should be reassessed.

• High quality systems with a high business value should be maintained.

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16
Q

How can IS/IT be used in operation?

A

• Process control
• Machine tool control: Numerical control, computer numerical control, direct numerical control
• Robotic automation
• Computer aided manufacturing
• 3D printing
• Computer Integrated Manufacturing
• Enterprise Resource Planning

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17
Q

How can IS/IT be used in logistics?

A

• The use of IT in inbound logistics includes stock control systems such as MRP, MRPII, ERP and IT.

• Warehousing: the use of barcodes can increase knowledge about the quantity and nature of stock in hand.

• It is possible to create computer models, or virtual warehouses, of stock actually held at suppliers.

18
Q

How can IS/IT be used in marketing?

A

• Social media
• Buying data about customer purchasing habits
• A variety of market research companies use IT/IS as a way of interacting with consumers.
• Supermarkets can use automated EPOS

19
Q

What is Customer Relationship Management (CRM)?

A

Customer relationship management (CRM) describes the methodologies, software, and usually internet capabilities that help an enterprise manage customer relationships.

20
Q

What does CRM consist of?

A

• Helping an enterprise to identify and target their best customers, manage marketing campaigns with clear goals and objectives, and generate quality leads.

• Assisting the organisation to improve telesales, account, and sales management by optimising information shared, and streamlining existing processes

• Allowing the formation of relationships with customers, with the aim of improving customer satisfaction and maximising profits; identifying the most profitable customers and providing them with the highest level of service.

• Providing employees with the information and processes necessary to know their customers

21
Q

How can IS/IT be used in support activities?

A

• Procurement.
• Technology development
• HR

22
Q

What are five ways in which Big Data and Data Analytics can help organisation?

A

• Enhanced data transparency
• Enhanced performance
• Market segmentation and customisation
• Improved decision-making
• New products and services

23
Q

What are the criticisms of Big Data and Data Analytics?

A

• Latest buzzword
• Correlation and causation
• Data overload
• Ability to verify
• Sustainable competitive advantage
• Representative data

24
Q

What are barriers to introducing Big Data and Data Analytics?

A

• The unknown destinations
• The underlying technology challenges
• The lack of a holistic approach
• The shortage of talent
• The fear of cyber attack
• The difficulty of building the business case
• The need for legal and regulatory compliance
• The need for customer data

25
Q

Define knowledge.

A

Is the potential for action based on data, information, intuition and experience.

26
Q

Define explicit knowledge.

A

Is knowledge that the company knows that it has. This includes facts, transactions and events that can be clearly stated and stored in management information systems.

27
Q

Define tacit knowledge.

A

Is personal knowledge and expertise held by people within the organisation that has not been formally documented.

28
Q

Define knowledge management.

A

Describes a range of strategies and tools that capture all the knowledge that is valuable to an organisation, and deliver it to the people in such a way that it can be acted on quickly, to the competitive advantage of the business.

29
Q

What does knowledge management concern?

A

• Designing and installing techniques and processes to create, protect and use explicit knowledge.
• Designing and creating environments and activities to discover and release tacit knowledge.
• Capturing good quality information from outside the business as well as within eg, intelligence on competitors.

30
Q

How can knowledge management help promote competitive advantage?

A

• The fast and efficient exchange of information
Effective channelling of the information to:
– Improve processes, productivity and performance.
– Identify opportunities to meet customer needs better than competitors.
– Promote creativity and innovation.

31
Q

What are the risks associated with IT/IS?

A

– The risk of inadequacy: the failure by the firm to utilise IT/IS as effectively as its rivals will lead to loss of competitive advantage, eg, inferior service, poorer products, excess costs.

– The risk of breakdown: where the firm depends on IT/IS a breakdown in its operations threatens the business.

– The risk of excess expense: IT/IS is a significant budget item. Botched projects, expensive contracts, inappropriate systems or non-adoption presents a direct financial risk.

32
Q

What are some common mistakes that adversely affect the implementation of a new information system?

A

Analysis:

• The problem the system is intended to solve is not fully understood.
• Investigation of the situation is hindered by insufficient resources.
• User input is inadequate
• The project team is unable to dedicate the time required.
• Insufficient time spent planning the project.

Design:

• Insufficient user input.
• Lack of flexibility.
• The system requires unforeseen changes in working patterns.
• Failure to perform organisation impact analysis.
• Overlooking organisational factors such as ergonomics, health and safety, compliance with legislation, job design and employee involvement

Programming:

• Insufficient time and money allocated to programming.
• Programmers supplied with incomplete or inaccurate specifications.
• The logic of the program is misunderstood.
• Poor programming technique results in programs that are hard to modify.
• Programs are not adequately documented.

Testing:

• Insufficient time and money allocated to testing.
• Failure to develop an organised testing plan.
• Insufficient user involvement.
• User management do not review and sign-off the results of testing.

Conversion:

• Insufficient time and money allocated to data conversion.
• Insufficient checking between old and new files.
• The process is rushed to compensate for time overruns elsewhere.

Implementation:

• Insufficient time, money and/or appropriate staff mean the process has to be rushed.
• Lack of user training increases the risk of system under-utilisation and rejection.
• Poor system and user documentation.
• Lack of performance standards to assess system performance against.
• System maintenance provisions are inadequate.

33
Q

What are the three types of theories to explain user resistence?

A

People-Oriented: Caused by factors internal to users as individuals or as a group. Can be overcome by: Organisation policies, Persuasion, User involvement in system development.

System-Oriented: Caused by factors inherent in the new system design relating to ease of use and functionality. Can be overcome by: User training and education. Improve user-interface. Ensure users contribute to the system design process. Ensure the system ‘fits’ with the organisation.

Interaction: User-resistance is caused by the interaction of people and the system. Can be overcome: Re-organise the organisation before implementing the system. Redesign any affected incentive schemes to incorporate the new system.
Promote user participation and encourage organisation-wide teamwork. Emphasise the benefits the system brings.

34
Q

What are the risks from IT system?

A

• Natural threats: Fire, flood, electrical storms.
• Non-compliance with regulations
• Data systems integrity
• Accidents
• Cyber security risks

35
Q

Define cyber security.

A

The protection of systems, networks and data in cyberspace.

36
Q

What are some of the most significant risks that an IT system might encounter?

A

• Human threats
• Fraud
• Deliberate sabotage
• Viruses and other corruptions
• Denial of Service (DoS) attack

37
Q

What are some measures that an organisation can take to improve cyber security?

A

• Embed a greater awareness of cyber risk throughout the organisation’s strategy and operations.
• Build a security focused culture based on continuous improvement in terms of cyber security.
• Articulate the organisation’s approach to managing cyber risks through its reporting mechanisms.
• Reduce complexity in the organisation’s IT environment
• Develop talent management strategies to attract and retain individuals skilled in managing cyber security.
• Corporate boards should demand that suppliers to the organisation comply with relevant cyber security laws and standards as this should help to protect IT assets in the supply chain.
• Organisations should avoid solely relying on point-in-time assessments regarding occasional checks on the security procedures associated with IT infrastructures and instead should make this an on-going activity.

38
Q

In what aspects can IT security controls be subdivided?

A

• Prevention
• Detection
• Deterrence
• Recovery procedures
• Correction procedures
• Threat avoidance

39
Q

What are some practical measures that an organisation can take to combat IT risks?

A

• Business continuity planning
• Systems access control
• Systems development and maintenance
• Physical and environmental security
• Compliance with any relevant legal requirements
• Personnel security
• Security organisation
• Computer and network management
• Asset classification and control
• Security policy

40
Q

Define Blockchain.

A

Is a technology that allows people who do not know each other to trust a shared record of events.

41
Q

What are the key benefits of Blockchain?

A

• Building trust
• Reducing costs
• Improving money laundering procedures

EM Business Strategy and Technology (18 decks)

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