Final Flashcards

Question

What is trans active content

Answer 1

• Most common reasons people go online are to communicate and find information • Transactive content results from the combination of traditional content, such as articles and product descriptions with dynamic information such as new product announcements, and is tailored to each user’s profile

Answer 2

Acquire an IS system first!

Answer 3

There are two basic ways to develop competitive advantage through systems: – Changing the Product: By introducing new products or services or enhancing current products or services – Business Processes: Organizations use technology to help lock in customers, reduce costs, and create entry barriers for competitors in the market

Answer 4

• Businesses determine competitive strategies • Create processes to achieve strategies • Information systems developed to support business processes – Help organizations achieve competitive advantage – Need to avoid creating systems that are unrelated to organization’s strategy

Answer 5

Lesson 9 slide 6

Answer 6

• Facilitated the work of single department or function • Functions added to calculation system programs to provide more value – e.g. payroll expanded to become human resources • Lead to “Islands of automation” – Work independently from each other – Effective as independent functions – Inefficient working in cooperation with other processes across entire business – Examples: human resources; financial reporting

Answer 7

• Functions added to calculation system programs to provide more value – e.g. payroll expanded to become human resources • Lead to “Islands of automation” – Work independently from each other – Effective as independent functions – Inefficient working in cooperation with other processes across entire business – Examples: human resources; financial reporting

Answer 8

These support functional areas in organizations, such as: • Marketing and Sales – Product Management, CRM (Customer Relationship Management), Sales forecasting • Production (operation and manufacturing) – Operations systems, Manufacturing systems • Human Resources – Recruitment, Planning, payroll, skill and performance management • Accounting and Finance – Financial Management Systems

Answer 9

• Functional systems provide tremendous benefits, but are limited because they operate in isolation – as “silos” • The “silo” means that each business area operates as its own business, actively competing against other areas in the same organization for resources. “Silos” can make the overall company less competitive

Answer 10

• Data duplication results from each application having own database – potential lack of data integrity • Business processes disjointed across functions (silos) – produces lack of integrated enterprise information because of limited information available at any one source • Inefficient (operational, tactical and strategic) decisions based on limited knowledge Increased overall costs and lost opportunities to organizations!

Answer 11

• The problems with functional systems are sometimes addressed using EAI • EAI is a software layer (application) that allows the sharing of data from multiple functional systems • Band-Aid solution to address issues with multiple functional systems. • Cheaper than the alternative (deploy a new industry standard integrated system)

Answer 12

• Business process design (redesign) idea – It is difficult and expensive for organizations to automate or improve existing functional systems – Organizations should create new, more efficient business processes that integrate the activities of all departments involved in a value chain – In other words, re-design business processes (review lecture 2 notes) • Cross-departmental business processes – Take advantage of as many activity linkages as possible

Answer 13

• Process design projects are expensive and difficult • May take a long time • Employees resist change • Ultimate outcome is uncertain

Answer 14

• Early business process design projects were tailor-made • Software vendors designed integrated applications, with built-in industry standard processes – Integrate activities across departments – Save costs of tailor-made process design – Examples: Oracle, SAP • Problems: – Industry standard processes may be very different from existing processes in the organization – May require the organization to change substantially

Answer 15

• Cross-functional systems are designed to overcome problems in functional systems • Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) – Support all the primary business processes as well as the human resource and accounting support processes – Enterprise-wide systems that integrate sales, order, inventory, manufacturing, and customer service activities • Customer Relationship Management (CRM) – Support the business processes of attracting, selling, managing, delivering, and supporting customers – Direct value chain activities that involve the customer – Integrates four phases of the customer life cycle: marketing, customer acquisition, relationship management, and loss/churn – All customer data stored in single database

Answer 16

Provides cross functional view Has a formal approach based on formal bus models Maintains data in central data base Large benefits but hard to implement Very expensive

Answer 17

– The software uses predefined processes and requires the company to adapt itself to the software. – The software is designed around the best practices for that particular function. The company can benefit from using the most successful solutions in a particular industry to help achieve its objectives. – The software helps the organization automate many of the steps taken from industry-wide best practices instead of having to do everything manually. – And best of all, the software will help employees remember all of the necessary steps in a process and provide the data to all who need it.

Answer 18

– enterprise software can be modified, but it is very expensive and very difficult to do so. – Because the software is so complex, changing just one of the processes may disrupt some of the other interdependent modules. – Workarounds and add-ons can be used instead. – Internet services and make the data available to external sources such as suppliers, governmental agencies, and customers.

Answer 19

• Efficient business processes • Inventory reduction • Lead-time reduction • Improved customer service • Greater, real-time insight into organization • Higher profitability

Answer 20

– Many companies have customer data but not information – The ability to turn raw data into useful information is where CRM systems shine. – CRM systems gather customer information from all corners of a business, consolidate the information and then provide it to the organization’s customer contact points. – By offering a consolidated viewpoint of the customer to these contact points, a company can cater to the customer that offers the most profitability.

Answer 21

Solicitation Lead tracking Relationship management Slide 27 lecture 9

Answer 22

• Better understand customers, thus make better decisions about product lines and marketing campaigns. • Also help reduce the customer churn rate and identify which customers are most profitable. – Increased customer satisfaction – Reduced marketing costs – More effective marketing – Lower costs for customer acquisition and retention – Increased sales revenue – Better response to customer needs

Answer 23

• Systems that cross organizations – involve selling and purchasing – integrate multiple-company operations • Types of Inter-organizational Systems – E-commerce – Supply Chain Management (SCM)

Answer 24

• A supply chain is a network of organizations and facilities that transforms raw materials into products delivered to customers – Involves customers, retailers, distributors, manufacturers, suppliers, transportation companies, warehouses, inventories, and some means for transmitting messages and information among the organizations involved

Answer 25

• Business process for managing all contacts between an organization and its suppliers • Supplier is any organization that sells something to the organization that has the SRM application • Supports both the in-bound logistics primary activity and the procurement support activity • Support basic business processes – source, purchase, and settle

Answer 26

• Reduce costs of buying and selling • Increase supply chain speed • Reduce size and cost of inventories • Improve delivery scheduling—enable JIT • Fix bullwhip effect • Do not optimize supply chain profitability

Answer 27

• Economic feasibility - can we afford it... does it make financial sense • Organizational feasibility - will it be accepted in this organization • Technical feasibility - does the capability exist in a manner that is acceptable • Operational feasibility - is it a good fit • Strategic alignment - does it fit with the long term orientation of the organization

Answer 28

• Resource constraints: does the project meet the time and budget criteria? • Impact on customers: how much benefit does the customer receive from the project? • Business success: how high and long are the profits produced by the project? • Prepare the future: has the project altered the infrastructure of the organization so future business success and customer impact are more likely?

Answer 29

• In 1994 – Average cost overruns 189% – Average time overruns 222% • In 2004 – Average cost overruns 43% – Average time overruns 63% • In 2006 – Software value measured at 59 cents per dollar spent (25 cents in 1998) • Over ~ 20 year period – Project sizes have been reduced (the average project size has been cut in half since 1994) – Cost and time overruns are down

Answer 30

• IS projects have a large information technology component (in terms of budget or personnel) – Scope (objective) – Start and end date – Temporary use of resources – Unique – Accomplish something new • Hard to estimate time, budget, and scope!

Answer 31

• Often projects in trouble persist long after they should have been abandoned • The amount of money already spent on a project biases managers towards continuing to fund the project even if its prospects for success are questionable • When the penalties for failure within an organization are also high, project teams are often willing to go to great lengths to insure that their project persists • Or if there is an emotional attachment to the project by powerful individuals within the organization it is likely to escalate

Answer 32

• ITPM is the collection of techniques and methods that project managers use to plan, coordinate, and complete IT projects, including: – Planning tools – Budgeting methods – Graphical scheduling methods – Risk management techniques – Communication planning – High-tech team development

Answer 33

• Four sources for software are: – Off-the-Shelf (buy it and use it) – Off-the-Shelf with adaptation (buy it and customize it) – Lease (short term license) – Tailor-Made (you build it) • Systems development is the process of creating and maintaining information systems

Answer 34

• Develop in-house – Traditional Systems Development Life Cycle – Rapid Application Design - Prototyping • Purchase software – Commercial Off-the-Shelf – Customized Off-the-Shelf • Outsourcing / Offshoring

Answer 35

• Keep lines of communication open • Define and stabilize requirements before signing the contract • View the relationship as a partnership • Select vendor, developer, or provider carefully • Assign someone to manage the relationship • Don’t outsource what you don’t understand • Emphasize flexible requirements

Answer 36

Lecture 10 slide 17

Answer 37

• Business analyst – interfaces with sponsors, managers, and users – typically has a background in a functional area and may have professional certification (e.g., CA, CGA, etc.) • Systems analyst – interfaces with technical professionals – significant training and experience in analysis and design – may have experience in either programming, database, or a business area • Technical analyst – focuses on the interaction of the new system with the organizations existing technical infrastructure (data, networks, hardware, software) – significant training and experience in technology • Change management analyst – focuses on people and management issues such as training, transitioning, and support – significant training and experience in human resources

Answer 38

• One of the most challenging roles on the project team is the Project Manager • To learn more about project management look for our BUS 361 course “IT Project Management” -- a very useful course for anyone majoring in business (hmmm....have this been mentioned already?) • Consider Project Management Certification

Answer 39

• Not everyone can or should be a project manager • What abilities do they need? – Enough skill in a specialty to be noticed – Business sense - knowledge of how the business makes money – Peopleskills-communication,teambuilding,andnetworking – The initiative and negotiating ability to put themselves up for project-management roles, land them, and parlay success into rewards: bonuses, a reputation for accomplishment, a better project next time

Answer 40

• The choice of development methodologies and managerial influences distinguish IT projects from other projects • There are four main methodologies IT professionals use to manage the technology projects: – Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) – Rapid Application Development (RAD) – Object-Oriented Development (OOD) – Extreme Programming (XP)

Answer 41

• System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) – Describes a phased approach to the development of an information system – This is the process where an information systems in planned, analyzed, designed, implemented, and maintained

Answer 42

• Planning: Why should the system be built? – Step 1: Define goals and objectives • Analysis: Who, what, where, and when? – Step 2: Define requirements – Step 3: Identify alternatives • Build,Buy,Outsource • Design: How will the system be built? – Step 4: Design chosen alternative • Implementation and Maintenance: – Step 5: Construction – Step 6: Maintain the system

Answer 43

• Determine Requirements – Interview users – Document requirements • examine existing system • review reports, forms, queries, application features • security and controls • Approve Requirements – Users review and approve specified requirements

Answer 44

• Identifies key activities and processes – reduces the risk of forgetting something (e.g., documentation, testing) – facilitates monitoring of progress by project manager • Encourages systematic progression through phases – each phase has a standard set of outputs and deliverables – each phase refines the previous phase (from conceptual to physical)

Answer 45

• A business process describes a set of activities that are necessary to complete a response to a stimulus applied to an organization • The response is the action(s) that the organization takes as a result of the stimulus, For example: • ship product to customer • update inventory based on shipment • Implementing IS systems means digitizing these processes, therefore you can only do what the system allows you to do. Good?

Answer 46

• Routine business processes: – fulfilling customer order – receiving shipment for inventory – reviewing loan applications – creating a two week payroll • More complex business processes: – developing a new product – deciding on a location for new store – designing a new marketing campaign

Answer 47

• Business processes use, generate and store information whether it’s digitized or not. • However, IS allows easy collections of data, which can be use for monitoring • Eg. Quantity received = 6, Shipping Invoice = 8 These should be equal. There is a problem. • Create useful information • Eg. Why is there a problem with shipping invoice? Generate reports on activities relate to invoicing so that it can be improved

Answer 48

• Automation of processes – Transfer work done by people to computers – People follow procedures – Computers follow software instructions – In other words, moving work from human side to computer side

Answer 49

• A notch up on the analysis “intensity” level of automation – This approach takes an evolutionary view of the system – No radical changes but constant search for improvements – Changes are made to the way things are done, not just the computer system but the business system as well

Answer 50

• Things to consider: – More effort required in identifying potential opportunities. – Requires an analysis strategy and more information about alternatives. • Activity based costing • Benchmarking – Add more time when considering this improvement. Sometimes difficult to find an “end” to the project.

Answer 51

• High level of “intensity” of automation • A radical and fundamental rethinking of the business processes currently used – Looking for dramatic improvements – High risk – Increased time

Answer 52

• In 1989, economist Stephen Roach found no evidence of an increase in worker productivity associated with the massive increase in investment in information technology. – "We see computers everywhere except in the productivity statistics.“ Robert Solow • The increase in investment in information technology combined with small changes in worker productivity is referred to as the Productivity Paradox.

Answer 53

• When considering the effectiveness and efficiency of an organization, we are considering the organization’s Business processes. • Business processes are linked to the concept of a Value chain. – Value chains describe how organizations create value (and margin/profit) in products and services that the organization delivers. – A value chain can be made up of many business processes • A Value chain is a network of value-creating activities. There are two types of activities – Primary activities • Create value of direct benefit to customers of product or service • Example: manufacturing a running shoe creates direct value for a customer – Support activities • Indirectly responsible for benefits to customers • Example: Running a payroll system that helps to pay workers who create the running shoe indirectly adds value to the running shoe.

Answer 54

• What is an Organizational Strategy? – Organizational Strategy maps out how a company intends to meet its goal and objectives • A company’s strategy is influenced by the competitive structure of the industry the company is in.

Answer 55

– Bargaining power of customers – Threat of substitution – Bargaining power of suppliers – Threat of new entrants – Rivalry among existing firms

Answer 56

• Organization’s response to structure of its industry • Porter identified four competitive strategies: – Cost leadership across industry – Cost leadership focused on particular industry segment – Differentiation across industry – Differentiation focused on particular industry segment • Porter says goals, objectives, culture, and activities must be consistent with strategy

Answer 57

• Changes to industry structure often occur through innovation • Innovation often occurs through the application of technology • Bower and Christensen suggest technological innovations are not all the same – Two types – sustaining and disruptive.

Answer 58

• Sustaining technologies are changes in technology that maintain the rate of improvement in customer value • Example: – Wireless Mouse – Vulcanization of Rubber

Answer 59

• Disruptive technologies introduce a very new package of attributes to the accepted mainstream products

Answer 60

• Why do established companies often miss disruptive technology? – Development of new technology is link to a company’s investment process – Estimate of market size can sometimes be unreliable – Fulfillment of reliable and profitable customers’ requirements – Management lack of foresight? Doing what has been done before and rewarding people accordingly

Answer 61

• Established firms should think about – Creating heavyweight teams (those with budget and personnel authority) • Thus, we could reduce problem on? – Then finally a spinoff organization that can set its own rules and develop its own processes (routines) to compete on that newer, more low end, basis of competition] • This will give the benefit of?

Answer 62

Determine whether a technology is disruptive or sustaining by: • Examine internal disagreements over development of new products or technologies. Technical personnel, particular those with excellent track record often persist in arguing that a new market for technology will emerge. • Does the technology simply add to existing performance on the same standard, or it is a different design, architecture or standard being introduced?

Answer 63

• Target customers are trying to get a job done, but because they lack the money or skills, a simple, inexpensive solution is needed • These customers will compare the new disruptive product or service to having nothing. • Thus they will be very happy with the product though it may not be as good as the existing products in the market. • Those higher end (sustaining) products are available mostly to current customers with more money and expertise about the product. • Thus the performance hurdle for the disruptive innovation for the new, low end customers is modest, and there is no need to compete against the upper end product

Answer 64

• Companies innovate in order to find some form of competitive advantage. – There are two areas where companies can implement changes to create competitive advantage • Competitive advantage via Products • Competitive advantage via Business Processes

Answer 65

• Organizations gain a competitive advantage by: – Creating new products or services – Enhancingexistingproductsorservices – Differentiating their products and services from those of their competitors • What is the role of IS in all these? – Help organizations to reinvent themselves through re-structuring and re- engineering

Answer 66

• Organizations can gain a competitive advantage by implementing business systems – Locking in customers • High switching costs – Locking in suppliers • Making it easy to connect to and work with organization • By implementing different modules to achieve this, such as CRM, SCM modules – Create barriers to entry • Making it expensive for new competition to enter market – Establish alliances • Establish standards • Promote product awareness – Reduce costs • Increased profitability

Answer 67

• Competitors often react to innovations by replicating the technology (hardware and software) • Nicholas Carr concluded that “IT Doesn’t Matter” that the more ubiquitous—existing everywhere—information technology becomes, the less competitive advantage information technology provides. • While this may be true about technology, it isn’t true about information systems. • Information systems include procedures and people along with hardware and software. – So while two companies might buy the same software and hardware, the two companies might get very different things out of the software. – People are an important part of the system • In business, people make the difference! • While technological innovations based on hardware and software may not provide sustainable competitive advantage, • Sustainable competitive advantage can be found in the integration of people and procedures into the innovation process. • Remember, while IT may not matter, information systems certainly do!!!

Answer 68

• Companies must successfully integrate many technology systems with people and procedures in the organization • While competitors might be able to purchase the technology, it takes time for people to gain the necessary experience and skill • Matching the entire set of information systems is a high barrier for companies with less experience and success in integrating people and technology • NEVER EVER EVER OUTSOURCE YOUR CORE COMPETENCE!!!!!!!!!! • The CREATIVE USE of the system IS YOUR ULTIMATE SUSTAINABLE competitive advantage! – i.e. the ACTIONS that you take!

Answer 69

1. Can IT build barriers to entry? 2. Can IT build in switching costs? 3. Can IT change the basis of competition? 4. Can IT change the balance of power in supplier relationship? 5. Can IT generate new products?

Answer 70

• Electronic business: “Everything having to do with the application of information and communication technologies to the conduct of business between organizations or from company to consumer.” Electronic buying and selling, electronic advertising, groupware, email, electronic distribution. • Electronic commerce: buying and selling over electronic channels (exchange of value). • Internet commerce: buying and selling over the Internet. • Web commerce: buying and selling over the Web.

Answer 71

• Ubiquity : available about everywhere and at all time! Marketspace – extend boundary and reduced transaction costs • Global Reach : potential market size ~ roughly equal to the size of the world’s online population! • Universal standard : lower market entry costs and reduce search costs • Richness : refers to the complexity and content of a message. Web eliminate previous trade-off between richness and reach, delivering rich messages with text, audio and video simultaneously to large numbers of people • Interactivity : allows an online merchant to engage a consumer in ways similar to a face-to-face experience but on a massive, global scale • Information Density : the total amount and quality of information available to all market participants, consumers, and merchants alike. Price transparency and cost transparency for consumers. Price discrimination for merchants • Personalization/Customization : cozy relationship can now be extended to the Internet through a variety of personalization and customization technologies. Interactivity, richness, information density, and universal standards help make it possible • Social technology : new internet social and business models enable content creation and distribution and support social network

Answer 72

• Digital Markets - Information asymmetry : internet shrinks information asymmetry and adjusts the relative bargaining power. In a sense, digital markets are said to be more transparent than traditional markets - Dynamic pricing : change prices dynamically based on market conditions - Disintermediation : removing the middleman, has allowed many companies to improve their profits while reducing prices • Digital Goods – Digital goods are goods that can delivered over a digital network, such as music tracks, video, software, newspapers, magazines and books – Digital goods marketspaces also provide relatively cheap and efficient channels for merchants who otherwise could not afford to reach customers on a global scale. – Marginal cost of producing another unit is about zero but high for producing the original first unit is relatively high – Cost of delivery over the Internet are very low – Marketing costs remain the same – Pricing can be highly varied.

Answer 73

Not easy to set up? • Must consider and obtain technology infrastructure – Servers, websites, inventory databases, payment processing – Outsource this functionality (for a cost) • Must consider impact on operations and order fulfilment – Can you handle selling to the world (both logistics and inventory)? • Security implications – Must abide by local and international laws to secure customer data

Answer 74

• From the merchant perspective – Overcome geographical limitations – Gain new customers – Lower costs (real estate, employees, & advertising and marketing) – Create targeted communication – Open 24/7 – Create markets for niche products – Easily implement coupons and limited time bargains

Answer 75

• Advertising revenue model: provides forums for advertisements and receives fees from advertisers. – Websites that are able to attract the greatest viewership or have a highly specialized, differentiated viewership are able to retain user attention (“stickiness”), thus able to charge higher advertising rates • Affiliate revenue model – Steer business to an “affiliate” receive a referral fee or percentage of the revenue from any resulting sales, such as offering special deals to its members or direct potential customers to make a purchase • Data Monetization model ̶ Commerce platforms can collect valuable customer data, such as browsing habits, preferences, or demographics. This data can be analyzed and sold to advertisers, researchers, or other interested parties. • Subscription revenue model – To successfully overcome the disinclination of users to pay for content on the web, the content offered must be perceived as a high-value-added, premium offering that is not readily available elsewhere nor easily replicated • Transaction fee revenue model – Receive fee for enabling or executing a transaction • Sales revenue model – Derive revenue by selling goods, information, or services to customers • Dropshipping revenue model – the e-commerce business owner does not hold inventory but acts as an intermediary between the customer and the supplier. Revenue is generated through the difference between the retail price and the wholesale cost of the product. Free/Freemium Revenue Model Offer basic services for free, charge a premium for advanced or special features The idea is to attract very large audiences with free service than convert them later to pay subscription

Answer 76

• Business-to-consumer (B2C): Most visible. E.g. Walmart • Business-to-business (B2B): Greatest dollar amount of transactions. E.g. Alibaba • Consumer-to-consumer (C2C): Greater geographic reach. E.g. Craigslist • Consumer-to-Business (C2B): Individual consumers offer products or services to businesses, usually through a platform. E.g. Freelancer • Mobile commerce or m-commerce: using mobile phones and wireless devices • Social commerce: It leverages the power of social networks to facilitate e-commerce transactions. E.g. Facebook Marketplace

Answer 77

• Portals offer powerful web search tools as well as integrated packages of content and services such as news, email, IM, calendar, shopping etc. – Many of them have first mover advantage because customers come to trust a reliable provider and experience switching costs if they change to late arrivals in the market. – Gathering a large customer based have network externalities – Vortals (Vertical portals) focus around a particular subject matter or market segment. It could generate more revenue coz advertisers are more willing to pay more in order to reach a targeted audience. • E-tailing (electronic retailing) Web sites must offer more than just 24/7 shopping if they want to be leaders – Must offers excellent customer service tools, which save them money in personnel costs and gives customers what they want, when they want it. e.g. UPS – Web personalization (e.g. Kodak) allows companies to create one-to-one relationships with customers and suppliers. Gather information on what customers are looking for by using clickstream tracking tools. The information is more comprehensive, coherent, and current – Collaborative filtering is a technique for web personalization which compares information gathered about a specific user’s behavior at a web site to data about other customers with similar interests to predict what the user would like to see next, e.g. Amazon.com

Answer 78

– Information content includes all forms of intellectual property (IP) which is one of the largest types of internet usage – IP refers to all forms of human expression that can be put into a tangible medium such as text, CDs or the Web

Answer 79

– Saves users money and time by processing online sales transactions and generating a fee each time a transaction occurs. – Online brokers such as E*Trade and Schwab are facing increase competition from traditional brokerage firms, and customer acquisition is expensive – It’s likely that only a few, very large firm are likely to survive in the long term

Answer 80

– Builds a digital environment where buyers and sellers can meet, display products, search for products and establish a price for products • Such as eBay.

Answer 81

– Offer services online such as photo and video sharing and user- generated content (blogs and social networking) are all services provided to customers – Google offer online applications such as Maps, Docs and Gmail – Others such as financial and travel planning

Answer 82

– Offer services online such as photo and video sharing and user- generated content (blogs and social networking) are all services provided to customers – Google offer online applications such as Maps, Docs and Gmail – Others such as financial and travel planning

Answer 83

• From the customer’s perspective – Eliminate travel and costs (increased convenience) – Easy comparison shopping – Locate unique products faster – Less reliance/loyalty on a “favorite” vendor (benefit or concern?)

Answer 84

• Channel conflict – Example, should you buy a computer from HP directly (through their website) or from Best Buy? Will future shop be too happy with competing directly with HP? • Price conflict – Lower price from HP may cause Best Buy to drop HP • Logistics expense – Now, HP has to set up a “customer” shipping department • Customer service expense – HP must be concerned about “all” customer issues • Customer service expense – HP must be concerned about “all” customer issues • Showrooming – Eg, Best Buy is used as a showroom for Amazon! • Taxation – Governments are unable to set or enforce sales tax code for merchants operating outside of their jurisdiction.

Answer 85

The return or value one gets from “investing” in a social network such as – Transfer of knowledge from others in your network – Lists of contacts to help in future endeavors – Trust from others and towards others – Support from others in the network when needed In general, Social Capital adds value in four ways: 1. Information 2. Influence 3. Social credentials 4. Personal reinforcement

Answer 86

• Number of relationships in a social network – Adding more friends • Strength of these relationships – Strengthening the relationship with existing friends • Resources controlled by those related – Focusing on people who control resources that are important to you

Answer 87

• Strong relationships create the most social capital in a social network • Weak relationships contribute the most to the growth of social networks • Weak tie: the people you know the least but they contribute the most to your network Weak links add the greatest number of new connections to your social network

Answer 88

• Just like individuals, business are getting the social network bug. • Businesses, large and small, now have social network presence • It is viewed as necessary to promote products and services as well as to increase their social capital

Answer 89

• The need to retain customers (and attract new ones) forces businesses to be connected. Reasons include: – Easy access to other customer opinions (reviews / complaints) – Easy access to competitor information – Easy access to competitor products and services – Enhanced ability for direct marketing – Reaching out to the “connected” crowd – Keeping up with customer trends

Answer 90

• Organizations have social capital just as humans do • Social capital is also measured using: number of relationships, strength of relationships, and resources controlled by “friends” • Endorsements by high profile people are a traditional way of increasing social capital • Progressive organizations maintain a presence on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and possibly other sites

Answer 91

• Besides the ubiquity of computers and the relative low cost, three other considerations and benefits of technology are: – improved search capabilities • easier to find people • try “ego surfing” – reduction in the trade-off of richness and reach • using systems to keep track of many friends – network effects • as network grows, the value of such network increases

Answer 92

• Use Porter’s five forces model to consider the industry structure and develop a competitive strategy for the organization • This competitive strategy is supported through activities in the value chain, which consist of a collection of business processes supported by information systems

Answer 93

• Pricing means putting a value on goods and services • Traditionally, the prices of traditional goods are usually based on their fixed and variable costs as well as the market demand (the quantity of goods that can be sold a various prices) • Firms usually “discover” their demand curves by testing out various price and volume bundles, closely watching their cost structure. Normally, prices are set to maximize profit

Answer 94

– Cost-plus? – Competitive? – Value-based? – Penetration? – Skimming? • It is FREE! Early e-Commerce, companies are willing to lose money on every sale to attract “eyeballs’ with free goods and services, then later, once there is a large committed audience, can charge advertisers enough money to make a profit, and maybe charge customers subscription fees from value-added service (piggy-back strategy). To an extent, social networking sites resurrected this revenue model – Free content can build market awareness and can lead to sales of other follow-on products. – Can also build network effect and knock out competition – May not be able to convert eyeballs into paying customers – Free loaders who had no intention of ever paying for anything will switch to other similar sites

Answer 95

– Creating multiple versions of the goods and selling essentially the same product to different market segments at different prices – Price depends on the value of the customer! – Fit well with a modified “free” strategy – “free” goods might be less convenient to use, less comprehensive, slower, less powerful and offer less support

Answer 96

– Customers tend to agree much more on the value of a bundle of products offered at a fixed price – Depends on the bundle and the price. It is not desirable to “punish” those who do not want the bundle

Answer 97

– Auctions. To establish instant market price for goods. They are flexible and efficient market mechanisms for pricing unique and unusual goods, as well as commonplace goods like flowers

Answer 98

– Yield management. Set prices in different markets, appealing to different segments in order to sell excess capacity, such as airlines • Perishable • Seasonal variations in demand • Market segments are clearly defined • Markets are competitive • Market conditions change rapidly • Internet allows prices to change easily and rapidly

Final Flashcards

(123 cards)