Chapter 2 Flashcards

1
Q

What is the benefit of having a good info system

A

can give corporations a competitive advantage

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

Competitive advantage

A

any assets that provide an organization with an edge against its competitors

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

Business process

A

ongoing collection of tasks in a specific sequence that create a product or a service of value

has 3 components: inputs resources outputs

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

3 parts of a business process

A

inputs: materials, info, services that flow thorugh the process

resources: people or tools to make stuff

output: end result

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

how do companies measure their progress

A

effectivness

efficiency

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

effectivness

A

-measure of progress

-creating outputs of value to the business process customer—focusing on quality of work

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

Efficiency

A
  • doing stuff without wasting resources;
  • progressing from one process activity to another without delay or without wasting money.

-getting more things done with the same or fewer resources.

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

PROCUREMENT PROCESS

A

all of the tasks involved in getting needed materials from a vendor.

made up of five steps that in three different functional areas of the firm: warehouse, purchasing, and accounting.

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

procurment process steps

A

1) warehouse recognizes taht we need to procure materials; signs a purchase requisiton, send to purchasing dept
2)purhcasing dept finds vendor, orders
3) vendor ships the material, recieivd in warehouse
4) vendor sends an INVOICE, recived by the accoutning department
5) acct dept send payment to the vendor

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

invoice defintiion

A

An invoice is a document given to the buyer by the seller to collect payment

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

fulfilment process

A

the act of processing customer orders

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

steps of fulfilment process

A
  • customer purchase order, recieved by sales
  • sales validates the purcahse order, creates sales order

-sales tracks progress of order

-warehouse sends shipment to customer

-once acct notified of shipment, creates an invoice and sends it to the customer

-customer makes payment, recorded by acountig

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

SHAPES IN BUSINESS PROCESS FLOW DIAGRAM MEANINGS

A

DIAMOND= DECISION
AARROWS= CONNECTORS
RECTANGLES= STEPS
D DHAPED BOX= WAITING Period
OVALS= START/TERMINATION

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

3 roles of IS in Business processes

A

1) executing the process
2) capturing and storing process data
3) montioring process performance

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

1executing the process- procurement & fulfillment

IS- BP

A

letting employees know when to complete task.

providingg the data needed to complete the task

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

2 capturing and storing process data

IS- BP

A

processing data, (g=times, product numbers, prices etc)

transaction data providing real time feedback

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

3 Monitoring business performance

IS- BPR

A

evaluating info to determinne how well process was executed

identifies probelms for process improvement

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

Business Process Reengineering (BPR)

A

Radical redesign of a corporation, strategy to make an org more productive and profitable

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

How to do BPR

A

-VIEW THE PROCESSES FROM A “Clean sheet” perspective
-determine how you can re-make it to be better

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

BPR cons

A

too difficult, too radical, too lengthy

LOTS Of impact on orgs

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

What is Business Process Improvement

A

-alternative to BPR
-LESS radical and disruptive, more incremental approach
-goal is to reduce variotions in finsihed products by looking for what causes variation in production itself

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

Who is BPI performed by

A

Teams of employees, incuding a process “expert” - the process owner

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

Six Sigma

A
  • popular method for BPI
    -goal: <3.4 defects per million of a product created
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

BPI process 5 phases: DMAIC

A

Define: look at the exact “as is”, process (inputs outputs resources etc), describe the problem

Measure: measure the relevant metrics (time, cost) to generate ONE OUTPUT, look at the data

Analyze: using software to analyze the as is process map, and identify problems
-software can simulate real situations, and can create multiple scenarios
-Using a software to simulate processes is risk free and cheap

Improve: find possible solutions and address the root causes, create the “TO BE” process, eliminate processes that are useless

** company needs to take care of PROCESS CONTROLS: activities that safeguard company resources!

Control: process metrics and monitors improved process! basically controling the outcome

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

Why some Orgs use BPI and some BPR?

A

BPR: huge performance gains

BPI: cheaper, quantifiable results, bottom to top (bc employees can implement this in own life), less time takes, use less resources

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

Business Process Management (BPM)

A

Sustain BPI over time! BPM integrates BPI intiatives into the strategy execution!!!

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

BPI, BPM, BPR

A

BPI is small improvements
BPM is mainting BPI in processes
BPR is the whole process overhaul

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

BPM components

A

1) processs modelling: graphical depiction of all steps in a process

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

Business Activity Monitoring

A

measuring and managing business processesh

BAM tracks operations to see if they are suceeding or failing

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

BPMS

Business process management suites

A

BPMS are integrated applications that are tools for process modelling, simulation, exectution, and coordination

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
31
Q

Social BPM

A

tech that enables employees to collaborate to managemen BP

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
32
Q

Why do we care about BPM

A

it can create a competitive advantage by improving org flexingbility

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
33
Q

What are business pressures

A

market, technology, and societal pressures

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
34
Q

business environment

A

slepp

social legal economic phsical poolitical

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
35
Q

Type of business pressure:
1) Market Pressure

A

Generated by global economy, competition, changing workforce workforce, and powerful custmoers

-org is competing internationally with others (for customers, for labour)
-more diverse workforce (IT is helping this)
-Powerful customers (more knoledgable, easily compare prices, more CUSTOMER INTIMACY = focus on customer experience)

36
Q

who supervises trade

A

the world trade org

37
Q

regional trade agreements

A

cusma, eu

38
Q

types of business pressures
2) Technology pressures

A

tech innovation, and info overload

-cycles of innovation and then bam u are obsolete
- employees and students use own devices (challenge for IT departments, and exposure to MALWARE, risk of losing private info)

INFO OVERLOAD:
- info is incrasing on the internet, now you have to sort through vast stores of data, info, and knowledge

39
Q

types of business pressures
3) societal/legal/political pressures

what are the efforts to adress social issues known as

A

Social pressures impact business- efforts to address issues is called

“organizational social responsibility” or “Individual social responsibility”

40
Q

How is green IT implemented

A

1) facility design and management: leed certifications to have eco friendly buildings

2) carbon management: IT execs monitoring carbon emissionons

3) canadian and intl environmental laws: consider laws in all products purchased and also on disposal process

41
Q

How else does social world impact IT?

A

IT can create websites that are linked to scoial issues -> red cross, doctors without borders etc.

42
Q

Digital Divide

A

separation b/w those who hace access to info communication tech and those who dont

43
Q

how are countries bridging the digital divide

A

through free access to internet- libraries and one laptop per child program

44
Q

Do governments exert pressure on business?

A

yes! government reulation and deregulation impacts IT heavily

45
Q

Does TECH protect against terrorism

A

yes with cybersecurity programs

46
Q

Ethical issues with IT

A

Information ethics - what is right or wrong in processing info; things like monitoring emails and invading data privacy

47
Q

How do Orgs respond to pressures?

A

1) strategic systems
2) customer focus
3) make to order and mass customization
4) e business and e commerce

48
Q

Strategic systems- response to pressures

A

creating good information systems that give a stategic advantage- like amazons storefront onlline does

49
Q

Customer focus- response to pressures

A

enhancing the user experience is a way to placata powerful and knowledgable customers

50
Q

Make to Order and Mass customization- respond to pressures

A

MAKE TO ORDER= making customized products and goods

Mass customziation is basically producing a lot of goods that are easily customizable (nike allows people to customize their shows_

51
Q

e business and e commerce

A

conducting business electronically makes it easier to buy sell and learn about goods!

52
Q

competitive strategy

A

statement identifying a business’s approach to compete- like what its goals are and how it is going to achieve those goals

53
Q

has IT changed the core business of companies?

A

NO! it is still the same, but IT is enhancing operations

54
Q

Strategic Info System (SIS)

A

-info system that gives a competitive advantage (helping org implement strategic goals)
- basically any system that increasing compeittive adv or decreases competitive disadv

55
Q

Best method to analyze competitiveness

A

Porters Competiitve Forces MOdel

56
Q

Porters Compeittive Forces Model
-5 major forces that affect company in an industry

A

THESE FORCES STAYED SAME FOR CENTURIES!!

1) In centre: Rivalry (Your Org vs Competing Orgs)
2) Threat of new Compeittiors (new ppl entering ur industry)
3) Buyer Power: the bargaining power of buyers
4) Thereat of substritutes: other products that can replace urs
5) Supplier Power: bargaining power of suppliers

57
Q

Porter’s Compeittive forces:
-Threat of new entrants

  • does web increase or decrease this force
A

When no barriers to entry, easy to have compeititors

Entry Barrier: product or service feature that a company NEEDS to have to attract customers

-Increases this force and threat as easier for ppl to start business by opening up a website
-Sometimes weakens the force as its not easy to re-create all things from competitiors on web (tracking packages)

58
Q

Example of an industry that is facing incerase threat from competitiors cuz of web

A

Intermediation role companies (linking buyers and sellers) AND industries where the product/service is digital

-PPL LIKE TRAVEL AGENTS AND STOCK BROKERS have a lot of competition
-musicians have a lot of comp

59
Q

Porter’s Compeittive forces:
-BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIERS

-impact of web?

A

-if not many suppliers avialble, they have a lot of power

-mixed impact (enables buyers to find alternate suppliers easy and also suppliers can lock in customers by using the internet in supply chain)

60
Q

Porter’s Compeittive forces:
-BARGAINING POWER OF customers

-impact of web?

A
  • buyers have a lot of choice= high power,

-Web has incerased buyer power mostly, but somethings decrease it like loyalty programs (incentivize you to source form one seller)

61
Q

Porter’s Compeittive forces:
-threat of substituties

-impact of web?

A

-many alternatives= threat is storng

-web increases this competitive force bc any digitized good must compete with the rest of the internet

62
Q

how does a company mitigate the threat the web poses on enabling more substititures?

A

switching costs, these are the costs of money and time that a customer has to spend to buy elsehwere

companies incorporate penatly into contract like phone coompanies making u stay for 2 years or pay high fee; spotify creating and curatnig ur playlists that are hard to recreate

63
Q

Porter’s Compeittive forces:
-rivalrly among firms

-impact of web?

A

intensel ycompetiitve= high threat

64
Q

DO PROPREITORY info systems give any more comp adv?

A

not anymore! if i see my competitior have smthg then i will copy it

65
Q

do digital products have a high variable cost?

A

no ! it is very los actually!! oonce you develop the product, creating additional units cost is approaching zero

66
Q

What is porters value chain model used for

A

to identify specific activities in which they can use competitive strategies for greatest impact, they use value chain model

67
Q

what is a value chain

A

sequence of activities which the org inputs are transofrmed into more valuable outputs

68
Q

what does porters value chain model DO??

A

shows points where an org can use IT to make competitive advatnage

69
Q

2 types of actitivies in value chain model:
1)primary: creating value directly (production/distribution)
2)support: aid primary activities and help comp adv

A

word

70
Q

look at porters value chain model

A

IMAE

71
Q
A
72
Q
A
73
Q
A
74
Q

strategies to combat the forces on porters model

A

Cost leadership strategy: Produce products and services at the lowest cost in the industry.

Differentiation strategy: Offer different products, services, or product features than your competitors.

Innovation strategy: Introduce new products and services, add new features to existing products and services, or develop new ways to produce them.

Operational effectiveness strategy: Improve the manner in which a firm executes its internal business processes so that it performs these activities more effectively than its rivals.

Customer orientation strategy: Concentrate on making customers happy.

75
Q
A
76
Q
  1. Discuss the ways in which information systems enable cross-functional business processes and business processes for a single functional area.

A business process is an ongoing collection of related activities that produce a product or a service of value to the organization, its business partners, and its customers. Examples of business processes in the functional areas are managing accounts payable, managing accounts receivable, managing after-sale customer follow-up, managing bills of materials, managing manufacturing change orders, applying disability policies, hiring employees, training computer users and staff, and applying Internet use policy. The procurement and fulfilment processes are examples of cross-functional business processes.

A
  1. Discuss the ways in which information systems enable cross-functional business processes and business processes for a single functional area.

A business process is an ongoing collection of related activities that produce a product or a service of value to the organization, its business partners, and its customers. Examples of business processes in the functional areas are managing accounts payable, managing accounts receivable, managing after-sale customer follow-up, managing bills of materials, managing manufacturing change orders, applying disability policies, hiring employees, training computer users and staff, and applying Internet use policy. The procurement and fulfilment processes are examples of cross-functional business processes.

77
Q
  1. Differentiate between business process reengineering, business process improvement, and business process management.

Business process reengineering (BPR) is a radical redesign of business processes that is intended to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of an organization’s business processes. The key to BPR is for enterprises to examine their business processes from a “clean sheet” perspective and then determine how they can best reconstruct those processes to improve their business functions. Because BPR proved difficult to implement, organizations have turned to business process management. Business process management (BPM) is a management technique that includes methods and tools to support the design, analysis, implementation, management, and optimization of business processes.

A
  1. Differentiate between business process reengineering, business process improvement, and business process management.

Business process reengineering (BPR) is a radical redesign of business processes that is intended to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of an organization’s business processes. The key to BPR is for enterprises to examine their business processes from a “clean sheet” perspective and then determine how they can best reconstruct those processes to improve their business functions. Because BPR proved difficult to implement, organizations have turned to business process management. Business process management (BPM) is a management technique that includes methods and tools to support the design, analysis, implementation, management, and optimization of business processes.

78
Q
  1. Identify effective IT responses to different kinds of business pressures.

Market pressures: An example of a market pressure is powerful customers. Customer relationship management is an effective IT response that helps companies achieve customer intimacy.
Technology pressures: An example of a technology pressure is information overload. Search engines and business intelligence applications enable managers to access, navigate, and use vast amounts of information.
Societal/political/legal pressures: An example of a societal/political/legal pressure is social responsibility, such as the state of the physical environment. Green IT is one response that is intended to improve the environment.

A
  1. Identify effective IT responses to different kinds of business pressures.

Market pressures: An example of a market pressure is powerful customers. Customer relationship management is an effective IT response that helps companies achieve customer intimacy.
Technology pressures: An example of a technology pressure is information overload. Search engines and business intelligence applications enable managers to access, navigate, and use vast amounts of information.
Societal/political/legal pressures: An example of a societal/political/legal pressure is social responsibility, such as the state of the physical environment. Green IT is one response that is intended to improve the environment.

79
Q

competitive forces.

Porter’s five competitive forces:

The threat of entry of new competitors: For most firms, the Web increases the threat that new competitors will enter the market by reducing traditional barriers to entry. Frequently, competitors need only to set up a website to enter a market. The Web can also increase barriers to entry, as when customers come to expect a nontrivial capability from their suppliers.
The bargaining power of suppliers: The Web enables buyers to find alternative suppliers and to compare prices more easily, thereby reducing suppliers’ bargaining power. From a different perspective, as companies use the Web to integrate their supply chains, participating suppliers can lock in customers, thereby increasing suppliers’ bargaining power.
The bargaining power of customers (buyers): The Web provides customers with incredible amounts of choices for products, as well as information about those choices. As a result, the Web increases buyer power. However, companies can implement loyalty programs in which they use the Web to monitor the activities of millions of customers. Such programs reduce buyer power.
The threat of substitute products or services: New technologies create substitute products very rapidly, and the Web makes information about these products available almost instantly. As a result, industries (particularly information-based industries) are in great danger from substitutes (e.g., music, books, newspapers, magazines, software). However, the Web also can enable a company to build in switching costs, so that it will cost customers time or money to switch from your company to that of a competitor.
The rivalry among existing firms in the industry: In the past, proprietary information systems provided strategic advantage for firms in highly competitive industries. The visibility of Internet applications on the Web makes proprietary systems more difficult to keep secret. Therefore, the Web makes strategic advantage more short-lived.

A

competitive forces.

Porter’s five competitive forces:

The threat of entry of new competitors: For most firms, the Web increases the threat that new competitors will enter the market by reducing traditional barriers to entry. Frequently, competitors need only to set up a website to enter a market. The Web can also increase barriers to entry, as when customers come to expect a nontrivial capability from their suppliers.
The bargaining power of suppliers: The Web enables buyers to find alternative suppliers and to compare prices more easily, thereby reducing suppliers’ bargaining power. From a different perspective, as companies use the Web to integrate their supply chains, participating suppliers can lock in customers, thereby increasing suppliers’ bargaining power.
The bargaining power of customers (buyers): The Web provides customers with incredible amounts of choices for products, as well as information about those choices. As a result, the Web increases buyer power. However, companies can implement loyalty programs in which they use the Web to monitor the activities of millions of customers. Such programs reduce buyer power.
The threat of substitute products or services: New technologies create substitute products very rapidly, and the Web makes information about these products available almost instantly. As a result, industries (particularly information-based industries) are in great danger from substitutes (e.g., music, books, newspapers, magazines, software). However, the Web also can enable a company to build in switching costs, so that it will cost customers time or money to switch from your company to that of a competitor.
The rivalry among existing firms in the industry: In the past, proprietary information systems provided strategic advantage for firms in highly competitive industries. The visibility of Internet applications on the Web makes proprietary systems more difficult to keep secret. Therefore, the Web makes strategic advantage more short-lived.

80
Q

The five strategies are as follows:

Cost leadership strategy—Produce products and services at the lowest cost in the industry.
Differentiation strategy—Offer different products, services, or product features.
Innovation strategy—Introduce new products and services, put new features in existing products and services, or develop new ways to produce them.
Operational effectiveness strategy—Improve the manner in which internal business processes are executed so that a firm performs similar activities better than its rivals.
Customer orientation strategy—Concentrate on making customers happy.

A

The five strategies are as follows:

Cost leadership strategy—Produce products and services at the lowest cost in the industry.
Differentiation strategy—Offer different products, services, or product features.
Innovation strategy—Introduce new products and services, put new features in existing products and services, or develop new ways to produce them.
Operational effectiveness strategy—Improve the manner in which internal business processes are executed so that a firm performs similar activities better than its rivals.
Customer orientation strategy—Concentrate on making customers happy.

81
Q

6 characteristics for excellent IT alignment

A

1) view IT as engine of innovation
2) view customer service as importatn
3) rotate IT and business professionals
4) have overarching goals
5) train employees
6) vibrant and inclusive culture

82
Q

six steps to business process mapping

A

1) what is the problem or process to be mapped
2) what activities are involved
3) what are the sequence of steps
4) draw a flowchart using process mapping symbols
5) confirm
6) what can be improved

83
Q

what are the two business processes called (old & new)

A

as is

to be

84
Q

business process model and notation SHAPES AND THEIR MEANINGS

A

START/TERMINATE= oval
Connector= circle
GATEWAY/DECISION= diamond
Document= weird cutoff
Task= rectangle w rounded corners
Cylinder= data store
Trapezoid=Data

85
Q
A