Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

BUSN 237 > Chapter 3 - Productivity, Innovation, Strategy > Flashcards

Chapter 3 - Productivity, Innovation, Strategy Flashcards

1
Q

labor productivity

A

ratio of gross domestic product (GDP) of a country, DIVIDED by the total PAID HOURS worked by people in that country

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

The Conference Board of Canada has suggested that labor productivity is the primary indicator of ____

A

our per capita income

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

increasing labor productivity is the best measure of ____

A

Canada’s future growth

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

(T/F) Canada has been doing well increasing labor productivity

A

false

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

labor productivity in Canada measures the value that Canadian workers generate per hour, currently it is ____

A

$50 per hour

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

US labor productivity is _____

Norways labor productivity is _____

A

$67/hour

$75/hour

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

the annual growth in Canada’s labor productivity between 1950 and 1975 was

A

4%

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

annual growth in Canada’s labor productivity between 1975 and 2000 was

A

1.6%

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

in 2008, Canada was ranked __ among its peer countries

A

14th

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

(T/F) Increasing productivity is about working harder and spending more

A

false - its about working smarter

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

what determines a country’s level of productivity in the future?

A

the ability to innovate and adapt to changing economic conditions

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

(T/F) most experts agree that to enhance productivity, Canada must foster a culture of INNOVATION, open its industries to more COMPETITION, and increase amount of machinery and equipment (particularly in ICT sector)

A

true

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

ICT stands for ______

and provides ______

A

Information and Communication Technology

Provides products and services that other industries rely on to get their work done

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

raising the economy’s ICT capital intensity means ___

A

increasing the amount of technology that supports people working

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

(T/F) Roach found no evidence of an increase in labor productivity associated with the massive increase in investment in information technology (IT)

A

true

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

(T/F) Roach said that “We see computers everywhere except in the productivity statistics”

A

false - Robert Solow said that

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

productivity paradox

A

the lack of evidence of an increase in worker productivity associated with the massive increase in investment in information technology

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

business value

A

tangible benefits for organizations through either more efficient use of resources or more effective delivery of their services to customers

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

what is the cause of observed lack of productivity increase from IT investments?

A

measurement error

  • which may be due to increasingly service based economy
  • which may be due to often-invisible or intangible benefits associated with IT
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

what are the 3 different ways in which the value of IT can be realized

A
  1. through productivity - IT allows a company to create more and/or better output from same inputs and create them faster than before the tech was in place
  2. through the structure of competition - IT can alter the way corporations compete; when one firm invests, another firm will also invest to keep up; IT enabled people to rent movies from home (netflix)
  3. through benefits to the end customer - IT makes processes more efficient and changes the nature of competition; with increased competition, the reduction of costs associated with new processes is often passed on to the final consumer (consumer rather than provider, often reaps benefits of higher investment in IT)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

(T/F) successful organizations need to understand specifically what business value they are seeking and how IT can help secure that value

A

true

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

in order to understand what business value they are seeking and how IT can help secure that value, organizations need to ____

A

consistently and successfully require knowledge of both IT and business

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

innovation

A 
relative advantage
compatibility
complexity
trialability
observability
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

why is the ICT industry sector considered an important industry for productivity and innovation?

A

because it includes thecnologies that can enhance individual and organizational productivity across many industries

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

what does “the invisible sector” mean

A

ICT sector is called that because it does not produce as much DIRECT output as other industries, instead, it indirectly supports activities in other industries with tools that make these other industries more productive

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

(T/F) Canadian policymakers look to the ICT industry as a secondary driver of innovation and increased productivity

A

false - ICT is a primary driver

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

(T/F) in the past, success in ICT was often directly related to a person’s level of technical skills whereas now, skills required are only business skills

A

false - businesses are increasingly looking for people who can drive technological innovation with their organization (combination of both technology and more traditional business skills)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

CCICT stands for _____

and is what?

A

Canadian Coalition for Tomorrow’s ICT Skills

a nonprofit organization created to support the development of skills for the information and computing technology industry

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

who founded CCICT? and when?

A

Bell Canada in 2007

30
Q

BTM stands for ____

and is what?

A

Business Technology Management

a category of skills focused on the ability to effectively innovate using information technology in organizations

a set of learning outcomes designed by a group of CCICT and drew on skills frameworks such as SFIA

31
Q

SFIA stands for ____

and is what??

A

Skills Framework for the Information Age

a set of skills thought to be useful for those employees focused on developing and maintaining information technology

32
Q

(T/F) CCICT has now merged with the ITAC

A

true

33
Q

ITAC stands for ____

A

Information Technology Association of Canada

34
Q

companies organize work through ____

A

business processes

35
Q

productivity can be increased either through increased _____ or increased _____ business processes

A

efficient

effective

36
Q

efficiency

A

a measure of productiveness also refers to accomplishing a business process either more QUICKLY with the same resources or as quickly with FEWER resources

37
Q

(T/F) efficiency is relatively easy to measure once you have decided which measures are important

A

true

38
Q

efficiency means _____

A

doing things right

= using the right amount of resources, facilities, and information to complete the job satisfactorily

39
Q

effectivness

A

doing the right things

offering new or improved goods or services that the customer values and often requires companies to consider changing their business processes to deliver something new and improved

40
Q

(T/F) doing things right and doing the right things are NEVER in conflict

A

false

41
Q

business processes are related to the concept of value chain, what is a value chain

A

a network of value-creating activities; improve effectiveness or value of a good or service

42
Q

explain how business processes and value chains are related

A

each step in the chain is a business process (adds value)

43
Q

backward integration (upstream)

A

organizations that expand into activities related to the basic RAW material of a process - such as a tire company that decides to manufacture its own cubber

44
Q

forward integration (downstream)

A

move closer to end customers - a mining company that begins to cut and finish its own diamonds rather than sell raw stones wholesale

45
Q

the more value a company adds to a good or service in its value chain, the price the company can charge ____

A

increases

46
Q

margin

A

the difference between the price the customer is willing to pay and the cost the company incurs moving the goods or services through the value chain

47
Q

raw diamonds are sold at a much (lower/higher)? margin than finished diamonds

A

lower

48
Q

how does margin affect profit

A

the greater the margin, the higher the profit

49
Q

the concept of value chain was formalized by ____

A

Michael Porter at Harvard

50
Q

Porter: two types of activities that support value chain

A

Primary activities - value is added directly to the product (e.g. shipping raw materials, designing tires, manufacturing tires, shipping, installing tires)

Support activities - support Primary activities (e.g. workers wages in factory, machine purchasing at factory, machine maintenance, firm infrastructure, human resources)

51
Q

what are some primary activities

A

inbound logistics - receiving and storing inventory
operations - using inputs to create final product
outbound logistics - retrieving and distributing product to customers
marketing and sales - convincing customer and enabling purchase
service - supporting customer use

52
Q

how does increasing efficiency and effectiveness of support systems increase profit margins

A

enabling development of more efficient or more effective support activities

53
Q

(T/F) organizational strategy beings with an assessment of the fundamental characteristics and structure of an industry

A

true

54
Q

what is one model used to assess an industry structure?

A

Porter’s Five Forces Model - the five competitive forces determine industry profitability

55
Q

Porter’s Five Forces Model

A 
bargaining power of customers
threat of substitutions
bargaining power of suppliers
threat of new entrants
rivalry among existing firms
56
Q

the intensity of the five forces determines

A

how profitable the industry is

how sustainable that profitability will be

57
Q

an organization responds to the five forces (or the structure) of an industry by choosing a _____

A

competitive strategy

58
Q

competitive strategy

A

cost leadership across an industry
cost leadership within an industry segment
differentiation of a better product/service across industry
differentiation within an industry segment

59
Q

(T/F) all information systems in the organization must facilitate and be aligned with the organizations competitive strategy

A

true

60
Q

changes to industry structure often occur through

A

innovation

61
Q

Bower and Christensen’s two general types of technological innovations

A

sustaining technologies

disruptive technologies

62
Q

sustaining technologies

A

changes in technology that maintain the rate of improvement in customer value

63
Q

disruptive technologies

A

a product that introduces a very new package of attributes from the accepted mainstream products

64
Q

diffusion of innovation

A

the process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a social system

defined by Everett Rogers

how quickly the innovation catches on

65
Q

Five stages through which diffusion of innovation occurs

A

knowledge - when you first hear
persuasion - when you become interested
decision - consider pros and cons
implementation - use and consider whether or not to
continue to use
confirmation - when you are happy with the innovation

66
Q

competitive advantage via products and services

A

create new product or service
enhance existing products or services
differentiate products or services

67
Q

competitive advantage via business processes

A

lock in customers and buyers - switching costs (expensive to switch)

barriers to entry (difficult or expensive for new participants)

establish alliances with other organizations to create standards, promote product awareness and needs, develop market size, reduce purchasing costs

reducing costs

68
Q

Nicholas Carr “IT doesn’t matter”

A

suggested that the evolution of IT in business follows a pattern similar to earlier disruptive technologies

as disruptive technologies are being developed, they open opportunities for companies to gain strong competitive advantage but as availability of technologies increases and their cost decreases, these technologies become more like commodities -> technologies become invisible and no longer provide advantages

69
Q

(T/F) long term competitive advantage lies with the technology and not in how a company and its people adopt the technology

A

false

70
Q

sustained competitive advantage

A

development of people and procedures that are well supported by the underlying technology

requires companies to find a distinctive way to compete

developing increasingly sophisticated integration of IT and the people and procedures in the organization

BUSN 237 (5 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions