Organizations and IS

Question 1

What is office politics?

Answer 1

the strategies people use to gain advantage in the workplace

Question 2

Name the 7 office politics skills

Answer 2

• Give and receive feedback in an effective manner.
• Be unconditionally cooperative.
• Develop good communications skills.
• Develop good interpersonal skills.
• Don’t pass on gossip.
• Seek advice from knowledgeable people.
• Consult with the people who will be affected by a decision you
are making.

Question 3

What is the technical view of an organization?

Answer 3

An organization is stable, formal social

structure that uses capital and labour from the environment as input and processes them to produce products and services

Question 4

What is the behavioural view of an organization?

Answer 4

looks at the structures and processes within the organization

Question 5

What are the features of the behavioural view - process?

Answer 5

Rights and Obligations: apply to everyone
Priveledges and Responsibilities: depend on role
Norms: how you’re expected to behave
Values: more general

Question 6

What 6 features must be considered when introducing an IS into an organization?

Answer 6

1. Routines and business processes
2. organizational politics
3. organizational culture
4. organizational environment
5. organizational structure
6. other organizational features

Question 7

Define routine and business processes

Answer 7

organizations become very efficient over time because they develop routines (or standard operating procedures) to deal with (almost all) situations

Question 8

Define organizational politics

Answer 8

people with different positions and backgrounds will have different points of view and will struggle for limited company resources

Question 9

Define organizational culture

Answer 9

the unquestioned assumptions that organizations make about their goals and products

Anything that challenges these assumptions will be met with
resistance

Question 10

Define organizational environment

Answer 10

government (i.e. regulations), competitors, customers, financial institutions, culture, technology, knowledge

Question 11

Define organizational structure

Answer 11

different organizational structures would have different IS’s

Question 12

Define other organizational features

Answer 12

• democratic vs. authoritarian leadership

- benefit stock holders (for profit) vs. benefit society (non-profit)

Question 13

What are the 4 impacts of IS on organizations

Answer 13

Reduces transactional costs
Reduces agency costs
Flattens organization
Cause resistance

Question 14

Name the 5 aspects of Porter’s Competitive Forces

Answer 14

1. Competitors
2. Substitute products
3. New market entrants
4. Customers
5. Suppliers

Question 15

Explain traditional competitors

Answer 15

Traditional competitors try to attract your customers which can lead to increasing your advertising, increasing innovation, or decreasing your price

Question 16

Explain new market entrants

Answer 16

New market entrants are more likely when:

• the cost of entry is low
• not protected by patents
• capital costs are low
• low economies of scale
• profitability is high
• there is easy access to suppliers
• brand identity is weak

Question 17

Explain substitute products

Answer 17

Customers will seek substitute products if your prices get too
high, switching costs are low, or little product differentiation

Question 18

Explain customer power

Answer 18

The power of customers increases if they can easily switch to a competitors products, if prices are transparent, products are undifferentiated, or there are a lot of competitors

Question 19

Explain supplier power

Answer 19

The power of the company’s suppliers increase if there are less
of them, switching costs are high or products are differentiate

Question 20

What are 2 additional factors considered today regarding competitive forces?

Answer 20

governments and regulations

Question 21

Information systems can be competitively/strategically used to…(4)

Answer 21

• decrease costs or increase the quality
• differentiate products and enable new products/services
• focus on a market niche
• develop strong ties with suppliers or customers

Question 22

Explain the business value chain model

Answer 22

Identifies where information systems are particularly helpful in
creating a competitive advantage

Question 23

What are the 2 broad areas to consider in the business value chain model?

Answer 23

primary activities: directly related to creating the product or service

support activities: make the primary activities possible

Question 24

What do primary activities include?

Answer 24

• automated warehouse systems
• computer controlled manufacturing
• computerized ordering systems (for your customers)
• equipment maintenance systems
• automated shipping

Question 25

What do secondary activities include?

Answer 25

• electronic scheduling and messaging systems
• workforce planning systems
• computerize-aided design (CAD) systems
• computerized ordering systems (from your suppliers)