MIS Test #1 Review

microprocessor

The part of the computer that executes the instructions of a computer program. (BRAIN of the computing device)

Input devices

keyboard, mouse, scanners, video cameras, microphones, etc

solid state electronics

less likely to fail, and they draw less power. Data can also be accessed faster from flash memory than from conventional hard drives.

consumers use brands to

lower search costs

economies of scale

when the cost of investment can be spread across increasing units of production or in serving a growing customer base.

Network effects

when the value of a product or service increases as its number of user expands (also known as Metcalfe's Law or network externalities)

Commodities

products or services that are nearly identically offered from multiple vendors

APIs

programming hooks that allow other firms to tap into their services

e-waste

Discarded, often obsolete technology; also known as electronic waste.

brand

The symbolic embodiment of all the information connected with a product or service.

windowing

making content available to a given distribution channel

Disruptive Innovation has to have:

- Different set of attributes than the current technology -Meet market needs on critical performance dimensions in time -Initially not as good as current performance dimensions -Performance improvement rate is much higher than the market expectation

One-sided network

- Markets/platforms with homogenous users - this networks value to any given user depends upon the # of users with whom they interact (ex. skype, messenger, whatsapp)

Technology-enabled operations for Amazon:

-Chaotic storage: Organic shelving system without permanent areas or sections. The product's characteristics and attributes are irrelevant. -Supporting technology: a database that tracks and monitors every single product that enters/leaves, and software that informs the picker the route

Technology-enabled data asset for Amazon:

-Product reviews - Browsing (click, delay, back)/purchasing history -Run A/B tests

Why is iPhone/iPad successful?

-Technology innovations, aggressively protected by intellectual property (IP) rights -Buyer loyalty - Hardware ecosystem -economies of scope/scale

3 key features that make blockchain capable of handling requirements of a regulated industry:

1. Disturbed -works as a shared form of record keeping 2. Permissioned - every member is involved and no transaction can be added without consensus 3.Secure- no one person can add/alter without being premaritally recorder

Porter's five forces

Also known as Industry and Competitive Analysis. A framework considering the interplay between (1) the intensity of rivalry among existing competitors, (2) the threat of new entrants, (3) the threat of substitute goods or services, (4) the bargaining power of buyers, and (5) the bargaining power of suppliers.

collaborative filtering (Cinematch)

A classification of software that monitors trends among customers and uses this data to personalize an individual customer's experience.

cryptocurrencies

A digital asset where a secure form of mathematics is used to handle transactions, control the creation of additional units, and verify the transfer of assets.

blockchain

A distributed and decentralized ledger that records and verifies transactions and ownership, making it difficult to tamper with or shut down

software as a service (SaaS)

A form of cloud computing where a firm subscribes to a third-party software and receives a service that is delivered online.

dense wave division multiplexing (DWDM)

A technology that increases the transmission capacity (and hence speed) of fiber-optic cable. Transmissions using fiber are accomplished by transmitting light inside "glass" cables. In DWDM, the light inside fiber is split into different wavelengths in a way similar to how a prism splits light into different colors.

latency

A term often used in computing that refers to delay, especially when discussing networking and data transfer speeds. Low-latency systems are faster systems.

grid computing

A type of computing that uses special software to enable several computers to work together on a common problem as if they were a massively parallel supercomputer.

Bitcoin

An open source, decentralized payment system (sometimes controversially referred to as a digital, virtual, or cryptocurrency) that operates in a peer-to-peer environment, without bank or central authority.

"take the firm private"

As in "to go private" or "take a firm private." Buying up a publicly traded firm's shares. Usually done when a firm has suffered financially and when a turnaround strategy will first yield losses that would further erode share price. Firms (often called private equity, buyout, LBO, or leveraged

straddling

Attempts to occupy more than one position, while failing to match the benefits of a more efficient, singularly focused rival.

Moving "brains" into the cloud:

Benefits- can help increase calculating performance Downside- requires a long-distance connection thats a lot slower and less reliable

Non-Practicing Entities

Commonly known as patent trolls, these firms make money by acquiring and asserting patents, rather than bringing products and services to market.

massively parallel

Computers designed with many microprocessors that work together, simultaneously, to solve problems.

Supercomputers

Computers that are among the fastest of any in the world at the time of their introduction.

cluster computing

Connecting server computers via software and networking so that their resources can be used to collectively solve computing tasks.

Netflix Economies of Scale:

Diverse Selection Customer Base Distribution and Operations

channel conflict

Exists when a firm's potential partners see that firm as a threat. This threat could come because it offers competing products or services via alternative channels or because the firm works closely with especially threatening competitors.

fast follower problem

Exists when savvy rivals watch a pioneer's efforts, learn from their successes and missteps, then enter the market quickly with a comparable or superior product at a lower cost before the first mover can dominate.

The primary components of the value chain are:

Inbound Logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing and sales, support

Sources of Switching Costs

Learning costs, information and data, financial commitment, contractual commitments, search costs, loyalty programs

Two-sided market

Market/Platforms with two distinct user groups where one group (side) interacts with a second group (ex. ebay- buyers and sellers, facebook- users and app providers

phenomenon of "faster, cheaper" computing is often referred to as

Moore's Law (chip performance per dollar doubles every eighteen months)

flash memory

Nonvolatile, chip-based storage, often used in mobile phones, cameras, and MP3 players. Sometimes called flash RAM, flash memory is slower than conventional RAM, but holds its charge even when the power goes out.

crowdsourcing

Outsource a job to an undefined generally large group of people in the form of an open call

OTT

Over-The-Top, as in running on top of Internet service that customers get through cable providers and others

cash conversion cycle

Period between distributing cash and collecting funds associated with a given operation (e.g., sales).

platforms

Products and services that allow for the development and integration of software products and other complementary goods. Windows, the iPhone, the Wii, and the standards that allow users to create Facebook apps are all platforms.

two-sided network effect

Products or services that get more valuable as two distinct categories of participants expand (more buyers attract more sellers, and more sellers attract more buyers)

Economies of scope

Reduction in average unit cost associated with increasing the production scale for multiple product types)

Economies of scale

Reduction in average unit cost associated with increasing the production scale for a single product type)

cloud computing

Replacing computing resources—either an organization's or individual's hardware or software—with services provided over the Internet.

Inventory Turns

Sometimes referred to as inventory turnover, stock turns, or stock turnover. It is the number of times inventory is sold or used during a given period. A higher figure means that a firm is selling products quickly.

volatile memory

Storage that is wiped clean when power is cut off from a device. (RAM, CPU, Cache memory)

nonvolatile memory

Storage that retains data even when powered down (such as flash memory, hard disk, or DVD storage).

Switching costs

The cost a consumer incurs when moving from one product to another. It can involve actual money spent (e.g., buying a new product) as well as investments in time, any data loss, and so forth.

Random-access memory (RAM)

The fast, chip-based volatile storage in a computing device. (chip based memory)

price elasticity

The rate at which the demand for a product or service fluctuates with price change. Goods and services that are highly price elastic (e.g., most consumer electronics) see demand spike as prices drop, whereas goods and services that are less price elastic are less responsive to price change (think heart surgery). kicks in.

value chain

The set of activities through which a product or service is created and delivered to customers.

resource-based view of competitive advantage

The strategic thinking approach suggesting that if a firm is to maintain sustainable competitive advantage, it must control an exploitable resource, or set of resources, that have four critical characteristics. These resources must be (1) valuable, (2) rare, (3) imperfectly imitable, and (4) nonsubstitutable.

"Digital hub" strategy:

To serve as the preferred "hub" to control, integrate, and add value to digital devices such as portable music players and mobile phones.

brands are built through customer experience.

True

Output devices

Video displays, printers, audio speakers, overhead projectors, etc

private key

While the ledger records transactions, no one can transfer the asset without a special password

commodity

a basic good in commerce that's interchangeable; the more commoditized an offering, the greater the likelihood that competition will be based on price

sustainable competitive advantage

financial performance that consistently outperforms industry averages

blockchains are

a standard for securely exchanging value and recording ownership over a network without an intermediary.

augmented reality

a technology that superimposes a computer-generated image on a user's view of the real world, thus providing a composite view.

imitation-resistant value chain

a way of doing business that others will struggle to replicate, and in nearly every successful effort of this kind, technology plays a key enabling role

scale advantages

advantages related to firm's size

True sustainable advantage comes from

assets and business models that are simultaneously valuable, rare, difficult to imitate, and for which there are no substitutes.

How did Netflix manage to relevant scale greater than Blockbuster?

by building and leveraging an asset that neither competitor had: a nationwide network of fifty-eight highly automated distribution centers that collectively could deliver DVDs overnight to some 97 percent of the US population. The lack of scale among rivals harmed their customer experience, weakening their brand.

Peer Production:

collaborative work among users to create content and/or services

fixed costs

costs that do not vary according to production volume (buying land or building a manufacturing plant)

Marketing and sales

customer engagement, pricing, promotion, and transaction

Outbound logistics

delivering products or services to consumers, distribution centers, retailers, or other partners

In order to break the commodity trap, many firms leverage technology to ________ their goods and services

differentiate

Inbound logistics

getting needed materials and other inputs into the firm from suppliers

Businesses that have favorable economies of scale are sometimes referred to as being

highly scalable

In markets where commodity products are sold, the Internet can

increase buyer power by increasing price transparency.

Web 2.0:

internet empowers users to collaborate, create resources and share information

long tail

it refers to an extremely large selection of content or products. Phenomenon whereby firms can make money by offering a near-limitless selection

viral marketing

leveraging consumers to promote a product or service

First Sale Doctrine

made long tail possible for Netflix - a US Supreme Court ruling stating that an individual who knowingly purchases a copy of a copyrighted work from the copyright holder receives the right to sell, display or otherwise dispose of that copy (applies for atoms of physical disc not the bits in streaming)

Multi-processor

many chips in one device delivering massively-parrallel supercomputing

Multi-core

many processor 'cores' on a single chip

Grid & Cluster computing

multiple devices working in tandem as one computer

strategic positioning

performing different tasks than rivals, or the same tasks in a different way.

Operational Effectiveness

performing the same tasks better than rivals perform them; reason so many firms suffer aggressive competition is because they define themselves in this

When technology gets cheap

price elasticity kicks in

A strong brand

proxies quality and inspires trust

disintermediation

removing an organization from a firms distribution channel- collapses the path between supplier and customer

Central processing unit (CPU)

selects instructions, processes them, performs arithmetic and logical comparisons & stores operations in memory

Computer chips are sometimes also referred to as

semiconductors

Support

service, maintenance, and customer support

The difference in content acquisition between the atoms (DVDs) and bits (streaming) businesses has forced Netflix to

shift from offering the longest tail to a long-enough tail, a service that might not have all of what you want but that consistently has something for everyone

information asymmetry

situation in which one party has more or better information than its counter party

marginal cost

the costs associated with each additional unit produced (parts, materials, labor, and energy) marginal cost of digital goods is effectively zero.

Distribution channels

the path through which products or services get to customers

churn rate

the rate at which customers leave a product or service

Massively parallel computing also enables

the vast server farms that power online businesses like Google and Facebook, and creates new computing models, like software as a service (SaaS) and cloud computing.

affiliates

third parties that promote a product or service, typically in exchange for a cut of any sales

Operations

turning inputs into products or services