Ch. 9 Flashcards
(19 cards)
A successful GIS has a clear understanding of:
- customs
- laws
- technological issues
- local business needs and practices
Why go global?
Customers demand integrated worldwide services
Global products
Products or services that have been standardized for all markets
E-business
- major contributor to the use of GIS
- builds on the advantages and structures of traditional business
Benefits of the Internet
- simplified communication
- change in business relationships
- easier comparison-shopping
Global information system (GIS)
- works across national borders
- communication between headquarters and subsidiaries in other countries
- technologies and applications from typical IS
- stores, manipulates, and transmits data across cultural and geographic boundaries
Two dimensions of a GIS
Control and coordination
Control in a GIS
Unsing managerial power to ensure adherence to the organization’s goals
Requirements of control in a GIS
- centralized architecture for data, standardized definitions used across the organization
- standard format for reports
- defined behaviors for different processes
- performance-tracking system
Coordination in a GIS
Process of managing the interaction between activities in different specialized parts of the organization
Requirements of coordination in a GIS
- decentralized architecture of data
- standardization within departments
- ability to communicate these standards to other departments
- collaboration systems
- technologies that support informal communication and socialization
Basic components of a GIS
- network capable of global communication, including transmission equipment and communication media
- global database
- information-sharing technologies
Large versus small companies
Custom applications versus outsourcing
GIS manager
- face design and implementation issues when developing a global network
- need to determine the best communication media to meet global performance and traffic needs
- need to choose the best transmission technology for the global network’s needs
- need to consider the company’s objectives when determining the network architecture
- should keep in mind that standardized software and hardware are always ideal but not always feasible
Technical challenges in GIS design
Designing and implementing global databases
Transborder data flow (TDF)
- restricts what type of data can be captured and transmitted
- includes national laws and international agreements on privacy protection and data security
Requirements if GIS
- must be capable of supporting complex global decisions
- MNCs environment includes many variations in different forces (legal, cultural, economic, political)
- operational requirements
- strategic requirements
Operational requirements of a GIS
- global data access
- consolidated global reporting
- communication between headquarters and subsidiaries
- management of short-term foreign exchange risks
Strategic requirements
- strategic planning support
- management of conflicts and political risks
- management of long-term foreign exchange risks
- management of global tax risks
