Ch 1: Info Systems in Global Business Today Flashcards
How is IS transforming business?
- Emerging Mobile digital platform
-Growing business use of “big data”
-Growth in cloud computing
Globalization Opportunities
Internet has drastically reduced the costs of operating on global scale
- Increases in foreign trade and outsourcing
-Challenges to students and business; also resistance to change
Digital Firm
Significant business relationships (like customer, suppliers and employees) are digitally enabled and mediated.
Core business processes are accomplished through digital networks.
Key corporate assets are managed digitally.
Benefit of digital firm
Digital firms offer greater flexibility in organization and management
Time shifting and Space shifting
Time Shifting- going 24/7
Space shifting- going beyond national boundaries
As business continues to evolve, there is a growing interdependence between:
Ability to use information technology: do you have a department/outsource, do you need a enterprise software or can you even tailor it to suit your needs
Ability to implement corporate strategies and achieve corporate goals
So you need to look at both
Firms Invest heavily in IS to achieve 6 strategic business objectives.
- Operational Excellence
- New products, services and business models
- Customer and supplier intimacy
- Improved Decision making
- Competitive Advantage
- Survival
Operational Excellence
- The aim of achieving higher profitability through higher efficiency
- IS technology an important tool to increase efficiency and productivity
-Efficiency, producing more, reducing cost and waste
- Walmart’s relail link system links suppliers to store for superior replenishment system in stock
New products, services, and business models
Business Model: how a company produces, delivers, and sells a product or service to create wealth.
Eg. Retail, manufacturers, brokers.
-IS and tech is a major enabling tool for new products and services and business models:
- New products like: Ipad
-New services and business models like
Netflix (online entertainment services and a new model of a online entertainment service provider)
Is allows you to collect, analyse and utilize data tp make decisions. So from there you can develop new products, services and business models
Customer and Supplier intimacy
- Use of IS to keep track of customer preferences so that tailored service can be offered to them.
- Use of IS to keep track of sale of items to always ensure speedy replacement. This reduces holding costs for inventory
Improved Decision making
-IS ensures data accuracy, which results in having accurate and timely information to use for decision-making.
Competitive advantage
- Is ensures better performance
-Charging less for superior products ( due to economies of scale)
-Respond to customer and suppliers in real time (via enterprise systems- online chat and assistant)
Survival
Can use IS because of necessity. A need for a business revolution to ensure the company stays in business.
Eg Citibank and their introduction of the ATMs in 1977.
-Being able to navigate government regulations and ensure compliance:
Toxic substances act: Record employee exposure to toxic substances for 30 years
Dood-Frank Act: strengthen regulation of banking industry and requires firms to keep records for 10 years (for evaluation- can pick up on irregularities over the years)
OSHA
What is IT?
all the hardware and software a firm needs to use in order to achieve its business objectives.
What is IS
A set of interrelated components that collect (or retrieve), process, store, and distribute information to support decision-making
Data
streams of raw facts representing internal/external events
IS transforms raw data into useful info through:
Input: Capturing of raw data from within/out the org
Processing: Converts raw input into meaningful form.
Output: transfers processed info to the people who will use it/ to the activities for which it will be used.
IS from the business perspective
IS provides a solution to a problem or challenge and represents a combination of management, organization, and technology
The management dimension of IS
Involves issues such as leadership, strategy (formulation, implementation, and evaluation), and management behaviour.
Organization dimension of IS
This involves issues such as Org hierarchy, functional specialities at each level, business processes, culture, and political interest groups. It also involves following industry standards and govt regulations
Technology dimension of IS
This looks at software, datea, management technology, and networking/telecommunications tech (including the internet)
Terms from management dimension of IT
Senior management: Makes long-range decisions about products and services as well as ensures financial performance of the firm
Middle management: carries out programs and plans of senior management. This includes the scientists and knowledge workers: scientists engineers, architechs etc.
Operational management: responsible for monitoring the daily activities of the business. Production workers, service and data workers.
IS from Technical Perspective
A tool that collects, stores, and disseminates info from an org’s internal and external environment to support decision-making, communication etc.
Is from a business perspective
Provides solutions to a problem, and is a combination of management, organization, and technology.
Computer Hardware
Physical equiptment used for input, processing, output
Computer software
Detailed preprogrammed instructions that control and coordinate the computer hardware components
Data management technology
consists of software governing the organization of data on physical storage media
Networking and telecommunications technology
consists of both physical devices and software , links various pieces of hardware and transfers data from one physical location to another.
Network
links 3 or more computers to share data or resources, such as a printer
What is Big Data?
.
Knowledge Workers
design products or services and create new knowledge for the firm
Data Workers
such as secretaries or clerks, assist with scheduling and communications at all levels of the firm
Production/Service Workers
actually
produce the product and deliver the service
Intranet
Internal corporate networks based on
Internet technology are called intranets
Extranet
Private intranets extended to authorized users outside the organization are called extranets