MIS Revision Questions

Define SCMWhat are the objectives of SCMWhat is the bullwhip effectHow can this be eliminated

Define Enterprise Resource PlanningName four benefits of Enterprice Resource PlanningName 3 disadvantages

What is the difference between collaborative commerce and Private Industrial Networks.

In the digital firm how is this model modified?How can the Internet help the firm to differentiate; provide a low cost; focus on target marketHow can a firm build switching cost.

Define the value chainHow can the Internet extend the value chainWhat are the benefits of value webs

Define network economics.

What are some benefits of the internet to ecommerceDefine Clicks and Mortar

EssaysDigital FirmPositive/Negative Impact of IS

Chapter 4: Ecommerce and EBusiness

Internet Technology and the Digital Firm

Benefits:

Reduces Costs: Offers businesses easier way to link with other business at lower costs [extranets,

industrial networks] Reduces transaction and agency cost by eliminating intermediaries;

Makes information widely available; information is not limited to traditional physical models of delivery.

Can help businesses create profits by adding extra value to existing products[value chain]

Provides the infrastructure for ebusiness by allowing information to flow seamlessly

Internet Business Models:

Pure Play Model: based purely on internetExamples:Virtual storefront – sells physical products directly to consumers e.g amazonClicks and Mortar – a traditional business which uses the website

Types of Electronic Commerce:

B2C: selling products and services to individual shoppers. Used by virtual storefronts.

B2B: sale of goods and services among businesses; concern with channel conflict. The Internet allows many smaller companies to participate in government and private bids they otherwise would be locked out of by bigger competitors.

C2C: consumers selling directly to consumers via auction processMCommerce: use of handheld devices for purchasing goods and services; Challenges: cells phone tiny and awkward; data transfer speed low

Ecommerce payment Systems:Digital credit card: use of credit cards for online shoppingDigital wallet: Encryption software that works like a physical wallet during electronic commerce transactions. A wallet can hold a user's payment informationDigital cash - A system that allows a person to pay for goods or services by transmitting a number from one computer to another. Like the serial numbers on real dollar bills, the digital cash numbers are unique.

Intranet: internal network based on intenet technology and WWW.

BenefitsConnectivity: A very nice feature of Intranets in organizations is their ability to connect

different types of computers with different operating systems. Now it doesn't matter what type of computer hardware or operating system is being used: they can all communicate through Web sites.

An Intranet can drastically reduce an organization's supply chain costs and management through improved coordination between various departments.

Outside suppliers have an advantage if they have access to the company's Intranet because they stay up-to-date on the latest design changes.

Reduce Costs:Businesses can defray lots of the cost of establishing an Intranet because they don't have to create the interface programs for users.

Intranets are especially useful for allowing geographically separated collaborative teams to work together Provide instant connectivity, inexpensive

Easily accessible from most platforms -.

Help organization to be more responsive to customersAllows companies to manage business processes electronically

- HRM: used for publishing HR Manuals, telephone directories- Coordinates the activities of the sales force

Management Challenges of ECommerceSecurity and Privacy Issues:

information en route to user could be monitored, captured and stored at any point. Through the use of Web site monitoring software and other technology for

tracking Web visitors, companies can gather detailed information about individuals without their knowledge. Learning about individuals can undermine individual privacy

Channel Conflict – Using the Web for on-line sales and marketing may create channel conflict with the firm’s traditional channels. Channel conflict arises when there is competition between two or more different distribution chains used to sell the products of the same company.

Chapter 5:

Challenges to Privacy:

Through the use of profiling, which uses computers to combine data from multiple sources and create electronic dossiers of detailed information on people. This information collected could be sold to other companies in order to help them target their web ads more precisely.

Challenges to IPRS

The internet has made it difficult to protect intellectual profity. Information can be easily copied and disseminated to other networks. Websites may also be constructed from information that come from many different sources.

Social Costs of Internet

Family Life: One quality of life issue that affects more and more people personally is the ability to work from home. Most telecommuters used to have a "regular day job" 9 to 5, five days a week in a typical office setting. If they didn't get their work done today, they would wait until they were back in the office tomorrow or Monday. Now because of technology they can work seven days a week, all hours of the day, at home. And sometimes they do. The impact on personal and family life can be considerable.

Computer Crime and abuse: use of hacking, computer viruses, spamming

Reeginerring – could potentially cause middle mangers and clerical workers to lose their jobs.

Health Risks:

Repetitive Stress Injury – occupational disease when muscle groups are forced repetitive actions. E.g. CTS

Computer Vision Syndrome – Eyestrain condition related to the display screen

Techno Stress – stress induced by computer use causing aggravation, hostility towards humans.

Chapter 7:

Database: group of related files.

DBMS: software that permits the organization to centralize the data. It has three components: data dictionary holds the entire information about the database,

Discuss the traditional file environment, stating clearly three problems organizations may have in using this approach to data management.

Within the traditional filing environment, each department tended to develop systems to fit their individual needs. Also, each function area required its own computer equipment and resources. The traditional filing environment led to data redundancy which occurs when different functional areas collect the same piece of information, the traditional system was unable to respond to unanticipated information required in a timely fashion. Also, there was no way of knowing who is accessing or making changes to the organizaiton’s data. Lastly, because information was fragmented different parts of the organization it could not flow freely.

Describe data warehouses, data marts, and data mining. What is a major concern connected with the use of these tools?

- Data warehouse - collection of data , both current and historical, that is designed to support management decision making. They are huge computer files that store old and new data about anything and everything a company wants to maintain information on.

- Data marts – Since the data warehouse can be cumbersome, a company can break the information into smaller groups called data marts. small datawarehouse containing only a portion of the organization’s data for a specific function or population of users.

- Datamining – analyzing large pools of data to find patterns and rules that can be used as a guide for deicison making. For example, data mining software can help retail companies find customers with common interests

Major Concern: undermine privacy of individuals

Describe one type of distributed database. Give one reason why a company would use the distributed database described.Describe three basic operations of the relational database.

Relational Database:Feature: data appears to be stored in two separate tables; tables have a common elementAdvantage:Flexible: can handle adhoc requestEasy for users and programmers tto work with Dis: processing efficiency is low

HierarchialPresents data to users in a treelike structureUses one to may relationships

Object oriented databseUses objects as data elementsAdv: handles complex types of dataEasy to use, more flexibleDIS: Slow

Hypermedia: linking the database with the web

Describe three database models that would likely be implemented in the present business environment and give a reason why a company would choose a particular model.

Describe two ways in which the web and the internet can be used in the management of databases.

Companies also use the internet technology to link their internal databases such as personnel, e-mail. This network is known as Intranet. Intranet is protected by software known as fire wall to protect ii from access by people outside the company.

Using the internet, companies can develop Extranet to exchange data with their suppliers and other companies, known as business-to-business (B to B).

Chapter 8:

Protocols are used to tell the hardware components how to transmit data within a network and between networks. They can also be thought of as a set of rules and procedures for exchanging information between computers in networks.

• File Transfer Protocol or FTP, used to transfer files between one computer and another computer

• Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol or TCP/IP, used to connect networks TCP/IP is the protocol that allows you to access the Internet itself through your Internet

service provider or a direct connection through your school or workplace.

VAN - VANs offer the processing capabilities and latest technologies on a contract, pay-as-you-go basis. They are private, multipath, data-only, third-party managed networks used by many organizations.

Packet switching is a method of breaking large blocks of text into smaller chunks of data and routes them in the most economical way through whichever communication channel is available.

Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) which will increase the capabilities of the regular telephone lines to process more than just voice data. DSL will be able to carry voice, data, graphics, and video at a greater capacity than the current ISDN lines.

Larger organizations, such as universities and corporations, can afford a T1 line, which support extremely high rates of data transmission. These lines are capable of carrying voice and data transmissions over 24 channels, which makes them ideal for larger networks.

Electronic Data Interchange and Electronic Commerce Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) allows two businesses to send documents to each other electronically instead of using the old-fashioned paper trail. While EDI does decrease the cost of manual systems and greatly reduce the chances of error, it is more expensive to set up than a Web-based system. Both ends of the EDI must have the equipment and software to handle the system and people must be trained in its use. These requirements have made EDI cost-prohibitive for small companies: they are essentially locked out of the opportunity to do business electronically with customers and suppliers. Web-based commerce is much easier for smaller companies because of the use of standard software and because they don't necessarily have to purchase special equipment or software. We'll look at Web-based or Internet-based E-commerce more closely in the next lesson. The cost of doing business on the Internet is not easily apparent. Many organizational changes must be made which add to the bottom line. E-commerce and E-business involve more technologies than just computers: tele-, data-, and videoconferencing are vital elements of doing business electronically. Email is the most widely used service on the Internet. Businesses must consider using all available technologies and resources when tackling E-commerce and E-business.

Chapter 9:

Organizational Benefits of the Internent and Web

Global Reach – easily and inexpensively connecting may people from all over the globe.Reduce communication Costs: through internet telephoney companies can use the internet for tephone voice transmission. VPN can ebe used to providea secure connect to transmit corporate data over internentAllows rapid access to information

Challenges of Managing New Information Technology Infrastructure

Loss of Managmenet control – as a result of distributed databases, due to the internet many users store information throughout the organization

Organization change requirements – changes in business models, culture,

Challenge of Implementing Global Systems:

Global Software Challenge – finding applications that are user friendly

Hardware – finding some way to standardize the hardware platform

Telecommunications – making data flow seamlessly across networks

Managing Implementation:

Managing Technical Complexity – project leaders and administrators need to be experienced. Team should operate as a cohesive unit

Use Formal Planning and Control Tools

Increase user Invovlmenet

Designing for the Organization

Ergonomic issues, impact of system on job dimensions

ESSAYS:

A digital firm is one where nearly all of its significant relationships with customers, suppliers and employees are digitally enabled and mediated. The core businesses of the digital firm are accomplished through digital networks. Two capabailities of the digital firm is that they are able to engage in mass customization rather than mass production and also, they are able to respond to changes as a result of a turbulent environment.

Instead of selling its products physically to customers, Dell sells most of its computers via website. Customers can create their own Dell home page and track their orders online, to see if they are in production, or already on the shipping track.

Until 1997, Dell operated its assembly lines in traditional fashion, with each worker performing a single operation. Of special interest is a computerized manufacturing system introduced in 1997, which tightly links the entire demand and supply chains from suppliers to buyers. This system is the foundation on which the "building-to-order" strategy rests.

Dell’s build-to-order, sell-direct strategy meant, of course, that Dell had no in-house stock of finished goods inventories and that, unlike competitors using the traditional value chain model

System Life Cycle

Advantages:1. All necessary activities are accomplished in the correct or desired sequence. 2. The documentation developed as a result of any given project is consistent and

comparable with the documentation developed from any other project. 3. The documentation developed as a result of a given project contains adequate,

understandable information. 4. Appropriate reviews and approvals are obtained at the appropriate points in the project

Disadvantages Costly and time consuming Inflexible and discourage change Ill-suited to decision oriented applications

Advantages of Outsourcing1. Economies of scale2. Service quality3. Predictability4. Flexibility5. Making fixed costs variable6. Freeing up human resources for other projects7. Freeing up financial capitals

Disadvantages of Outs.1. Loss of control2. Vulnerability of strategic information

3. Dependency

List four positive and negative impacts of information systems

List the benefits and challenges of the InternetC – reduces the cost of communications. Through the use of telephony firms can communicate with each other in over the intenet.Connectivity – allows computers from anywhere to connect with each other without human interventionR – Global Reach: persons can connect with each other irrespective of CRM – allows firm to

Describe the traditional file environmentIn a traditional file environment, procedures were developed in isolation of each other. Also, each functional area had its own equipment. This led to problems of data redundancy, the information did not flow seamlessly throughout the organization and there were poor security problems.

List three things that would cause IS systems to failUser-Designer Communication Gap – the user may have different needs than that of the

List theree challenges of implementing global systems

Haw can system quality be assured