ISA 235 EXAM 1
Business process
standardized set of activities that accomplish a specific task such as processing a customers order
MIS
(management information systems) A business function, like accounting and human resources, which moves information about people, products, and processes across the company to facilitate decision making and problem solving
Semantic web
- A component of Web 3.0 that describes things in a way that computers can understand - not about links between web pages - Describes the relationship between things and the properties of thins (size, weight, age, price)
What are the benefits and challenges associated with Business 2.0?
- Advantages: Encourages user participation, and the formation of communities that contribute to the content - Doesn't require technical skills (eliminates entry barriers) - Challenges: Technology dependence, information vandalism, violations of copyright and plagiarism
Do you think blockchain is a disruptive technology? Why or why not?
- Block chain: A type of distributive ledger, consisting of blocks of data that maintain a permanent and tamperproof record of transactional data - Disruptive because it has allowed innovation in the financial and commercial. - Disruptive technologies change the way we do things
information privacy policy
- contains general principles regarding information privacy - Fair information practices - General data protection regulation
Demonstrate the value of business process modeling, and compare As-Is and To-Be models
- Business Process modeling: expose process detail gradually and in a controlled manner, encourage conciseness and accuracy in describing the process model, focus attention on process model interfaces. HELP MAINTAIN A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE - As is is the current state of the operation and To be shows the results of applying change improvement
How could a company use loyalty programs to influence buyer power? How could a company use switching costs to lock in customers and suppliers?
- Buyer Power: the ability of buyers to affect the price they must pay for an item - Loyalty programs: reward customers based on their spending. Since people receive rewards they are more likely to be loyal or to give most of their business to a single company - Switching costs: Costs that make customers reluctant to switch to another product or service(financial and intangible)
Define critical success factors (CSFs) and key performance indicators (KPIs), and explain how managers use them to measure the success of MIS projects.
- CSFs: Crucial steps companies perform to achieve their goals and objectives and implement their strategies KPI: Quantifiable metrics a company uses to evaluate progress toward critical success factors - KPS measure the progress of CSF These can help them have goals that aee measurable and they know how close they are to accomplishing them
What are the benefits and challenges associated with ebusiness?
- Connects buyers, sellers, manufacturers, and suppliers - Advantages: Expanding global reach, opening new markets, reducing costs, improving effectiveness - Challenges: Identifying limited market segments, Managing customer trust, ensuring consumer protection, adhering to taxation rules
What is information silo? How can system thinking overcome the negative effect of information silo
- Information Silo: Occurs when one business unit is unable to freely communicate with other business units, making it difficult or impossible for organizations to work cross functionally - This will cause huge problems, as the different areas of business must be able to freely communicate in order to maintain productive operations - Systems thinking allows companies to successfully operate cross functionally, integrating the operations of all departments. It allows the entire system to be monitored by viewing multiple inputs being processed ot transformed to produce outputs while continuously gathering feedback from each part.
Describe Web 3.0 and the next generation of online business
- Offers a way for people to describe information such that computers can start to understand the relationships among concepts and topics - brings machines closer to information - Semantic web: Describes things in a way that computers can only understand
What is SWOT analysis? Why do we perform it?
- SWOT analysis: evaluates an organization's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to identify significant influences that work for or against business strategies - strengths and weaknesses originate internally and threats and opportunities originate outside an organization - Strengths: identify all the key strengths associated with the competitive advantage (cost advantages, new/innovative services, special expertise or services, proven market leader, improved marketing campaign) - Weakness: All areas that require improvement(absense of strength such as absense of a marketing plan, damaged reputation outdated technology) - Opportunities: Identify all significant trends along with how the company can benefit from each (new markets, additional customer groups, legal changes, etc) -Threats: All threats or risks detrimental to your organization, including new market entrants, substitute products)
Explain how strategic level decision is different from operational level decision making. What MIS systems are used in these levels?
- Strategic decisions: involve higher level issues concerned with the overall direction of the organization; these decisions define the organization's overall goals and aspirations for the future(KNOWLEDGE) - Operational decisions: Affect how the firm is run from day to day; they are the domain of operations managers who are the closest to the customer (INFORMATION)
Clearly explain what I mean when I say "Supply Chains are interlinked Value Chains which are sets of Business Processes". Be sure to demonstrate your understanding of all three in your reply.
- Supply Chain: All parties involved directly or indirectly in obtaining raw materials or a product. In a typical supply chain, company will be both a supplier (to customers) and a customer (to other suppliers) - These supply chains are made up of interlinked value chains meaning a series of business processes that each add value to the product or service. Supply chains must utilize value chains in order to produce and maintain production - Value chain is composed of primary value activities which are at the bottom of the chain(receiving and storing raw materials, make the product of service, deliver the product or service, market and sell the product or service, and service after the sale). The top of the chain consists of support value activities which are found along the top of the chain (firm infrastructure, human resource management, technology development/R&D, Procurement) - business process: standardized set of activities that accomplish a specific task. These are the activities that make up the different areas on the value chain and can include things such as processing a customers order
Explain systems thinking and how management information systems enable business communications?
- Systems thinking: A way of monitoring the entire system by viewing multiple inputs being processed or transformed to produce outputs while continuously gathering feedback on each part. (Input, process, output) - Feedback: is information that returns to its original transmitter (input, transform or output)and modifies the transmitters actions. Feedback helps the system maintain stability. EXAMPLE: A cars system continuously monitors the fuel level and turns on a warning light if the gas level is too low. Systems thinking provides an end to end view of how operations work together to create a product or service
user contributed content
- content created and updated by many users for many users - Business 2.0 -Flickr, wikipedia, youtube - Netflix and amazon use user generated content to drive recommendation tools and yelp uses user generated reviews
Business process reengineering
- The analysis and redesign of workflow within and between enterprises (find a completely different approach) - may help meet CFS and KPIs - In the EXTREME, BPR assumes the current process is irrelevant, does not work, or is broken and must be overhauled from scratch
Demonstrate how a company can add value by using Porter's value chain analysis.
- Views a firm as a series of business processes that each add value to the product or service, - Identifies processes in which the firm can add value for the customer and create a competitive advantage for itself, with a cost advantage or product differentiation. - Provides hard and fast numbers fro evaluating the activities that add value to products and services
Ransomware
- a type of malicious software designed to block access to a computer system until a sum of money is paid - Simple locker is a program that encrypts your personal files and demands payment for the files descryption keys
Web 3.0
- based on intelligent web applications using natural language processing, machine based learning and reasoning, and intelligent applications - way for people to describe information such that computers can start to understand the relationships among concepts and topics
content management system
- helps companies manage the creation, storage, editing, and publication of their website content - User friendly and most include web based publishing, search, navigations, and indexing to organize information and they let users with little or no technical expertise make website changes
What are the different ways companies can increase the entry barrier for new entrants?
- the treat of new entrants is high when it is easy for new competitors to enter a market and low. when there are significant entry barriers - Brand loyalty, high fixed costs, scarcity of resources, government restrictions, entry protections (patents, rights), switching costs
Give one example of the following Porter's strategies: Cost leadership in a broad market, Differentiation in a broad market, Cost leadership in a narrow/focused market, Differentiation in a narrow/focused market
-Cost Leadership (cheapest) in a broad market: Walmart. They offer broad range of products at lwo prices (strategy is to be the low cost provider of goods for the cost conscious consumer) - Differentiation in a broad market: Neiman Marcus. Offers a broad range of different products at high prices (strategy is to offer a variety of specialty and upscale products to affluent customers) Cost leadership in a narrow market: Payless. They offer specific products (shoes) at a low price (strategy is to be the lowest price of shoes. They compete with Walmart who also sells low cost shoes but PL offers a much bigger selection) Differentiation in a narrow market: Tiffany and Co make a specific product, jewlry and sell it for a high price
Planned vs unplanned downtime
-Downtime: A period of time where a system is unavailable - Unplanned: can strike at any time (tornados, sink overflows, network failures, power outages) - Planned: Shutdown for improvements, testing, or repair - HAS COSTS (Financial performance, revenue, damaged reputation, other expenses)
Workplace Monitoring Policy
-Tracks people activities such as measures as numbers of key strokes, error rate, and number of transactions processed - States explicitly how, when, and where the company monitors its employees (be specific, communicate that company reserves right to monitor, consequences, enforce the policy is the same for everyone)
Describe Web 1.0 along with ebusiness and its associated advantages
-Web 1.0 is the first form of the WWW - Ecommerce is the buying and selling of goods and services over the internet. (only online transactions) - Ebusiness includes ecommerce along with all activities related to internal and external business operations such as servicing customer accounts, collaborating with partners, and exchanging real time information - Ebusiness opened a new marketplace for any company willing to move its business online and created a paradigm shift (it removed the entry barrier)
Mashup
-a website or web application that uses content from more than one source to create a completely new product or service - Allows users to mix map data, photos, video, news feed, blog entries, to create content with a new purpose -Sources from API(application programming interface) which is a set of routines, protocols and tools for building software applications WEB 2.0
Explain Web 2.0, and identify its four characteristics
. -New qualities such as collaboration, sharing and being free. Brings people closer to info 1. Content sharing through open sourcing: - open sourcing: any software whose source code is made available for any third party to review and modify (EX. fire fox) 2. User Contributed Content: Content created and updated by many users for many users (youtube, Wikipedia) 3. Collaboration inside the organization: - Collaboration system: Set of tools that supports the work of teams or groups by facilitating the sharing and flow of information 4. Collaboration outside the organization: - Crowdsourcing: The idea that collective intelligence is greater than the sum of its individual - Crowdfunding: Sources capital for a project by raising many small amounts from a large number of individuals
Analyze the current security issues associated with IoT devices
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Demonstrate how data from an IoT device can be transformed into information and business intelligence.
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What type of system can have its own dedicated swimlane in the business process modeling diagram?
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Give an example of G2C and C2G commerce. (see the slides)
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Competitive advantage
A feature of a product or service on which customers place a greater value than on similar offerings from competitors Provide the same product or service either at a lower price or with additional value that can fetch premium prices
entry barrier
A feature of a product or service that customers have come to expect and entering competitors must offer the same for survival
Business process modeling notation
A graphical notation that depicts the steps in a business process - Event: Circle (anything that happens such as customer requests, time requests or the end of process) - Activity: Square(A task in business process such as checking availability, picking up the customers, and confirming the booking) -Gateway: Diamond(used to control the flow of a business process such as determining availability status or accepting/declining the requests) - Flow: Arrow (display the path which business flows)
Acceptable use policy
A policy that a user must agree to follow to be provided access to corporate email, information systems, and the internet
Executive information system
A specialized decision support system that supports senior level executives and unstructured, long term, non routine decisions requiring judgement, evaluation, and insight
Web 1.0
A term to refer to the WWW during its first few years of operation between 1991 and 2003 - ebusiness/ecommerce (static/text based information sites)
bitcoin
A type of digital currency in which a record of transactions is maintained and new units of currency are generated by the computational solution of mathematical problems and which operates independently o a central bank
Disruptive technologies
A. new way of doing things that initially does not meet the needs of existing customers (open up new markets and destroy old ones)
Intermediaries
Agents, software or businesses that provide a trading infrastructure to bring buyers and sellers together
Why is it important for a company to operate cross-functionally?
Although each department focuses on its own data, none can work independently if the company has to operate as a whole - Business decisions made by one department affect the whole department (ex. Marketing needs to analyze production and sales data to come up with product promotions and advertising strategies)
What is open source software and can a business use it for a social networking platforms?
Any software whose source code is made available free for any third party to review and modify. No they can not be usd for social networking because it. Users typically agree to terms and conditions
What is Artificial intelligence? Provide an example where AI is used to make business decisions
Artificial Intelligence: Stimulates human thinking and behavior such as the ability to reason and learn. An example: Using stored data to make predictions and decisions in real time such as goal seeking analysis
BYOD
Bring Your Own Device - Allows employees to use their personal mobile devices and computers to access enterprise data and applications (1. unlimited access for personal devices, 2. access to only nonsensitive systems and data, 3. access but with IT control over personal devices, 4. Access but preventing local storage of data on personal devices
What is a business process and what role does it play in an organization?
Business Process: Standardized set of activities that accomplish a specific task They transform a set of inputs into a set of outputs (goods or services) for another person or process by using people and tools. It helps a manager envision how the entire company operates. Improving the effectiveness and efficiency of a business process will improve the firms value chain
Switching Cost
Costs that make customers reluctant to switch to another product or service (can be financial or intangible)
exit barrier
Costs to leave the market
Following is a BPMN diagram of product return process in Walmart. Suggest one major change/improvement that you would make to convert the current (As-Is) model to a To-Be model. You are not required to redraw the model. Explain the modification you would like to make in words.
Could be more personalized - Sales rep could ask to see if customer would prefer in store credit or cash - Put this question in a diamond - arrow to lead to customer decision - If they agree sales person would need to access the purchase data base again to input i=thr information, if no they continue with the AS is model
Critical success factors
Crucial steps companies perform to achieve their goals and objectives and implement their strategies
Explain the value of business processes for a company, and differentiate between customer-facing and business-facing process.
Customer facing processes results in a product or service that is received by an organization's external customer (fufilling orders) Business facing process Is invisible to the customer but essential to the effective management of the business(Performance feedback) Business Processes: Standardized set of activities that accomplish a specific task. They are the way in which a firm runs their operations and functions of their business.
unstructured data
Data that is not defined and does not follow a specified format and is typically free form text such as emails, tweets, and text messages
What are the drivers of information age?
Data: Raw facts that describe the characteristics of an event or object (order date, amount sold, customer number, quantity ordered) Information: Data converged into a meaningful and useful context (best selling products, best customer, worst selling products) Business Intelligence: Information collected from multiple sources that analyzes patterns, trends, and relationships for strategic decision making (Lowest sales per week compared with economic interest rates, best selling products by month compared to sports season and city teams/losses) Knowledge: The skills, experience, and expertise, coupled with information and intelligence, that creates a person's intellectual resources
Email Policy
Details the extent to which email messages may be read by others
We did a class exercise on direct marketing? Explain this marketing model with an example?
Direct marketing consists of any marketing that relies on direct communication or distribution to individual customers rather than through a third party Example: Mail, email, social media, text messaging Real world: Dell used it and it eliminates wholesales and retails which gives them a competitve advantage
What is the difference between ebusiness and ecommerce?
Ecommerce: The buying and selling of goods and services online Ebusiness: Includes ecommerce along with activities related to internal business operations such as servicing customer accounts, collaborating with partners, and exchanging real time information
Efficiency vs Effectiveness
Efficiency: measure the performance of MIS itself such as throughput, transaction speed, and system availability Effectiveness: Measure the impact MIS has on business processes and activities including customer satisfaction and customer conversion rates
Managerial Level
Employees are continuously evaluating company operations to hone the firm's abilities to identify, adapt to, and leverage change
Operational Level
Employees develop, control, and maintain core business activities required to run day to day operations
Transactional information
Encompasses all the information contained within a single business process or unit of work, and its primary purpose is to support the performing of daily operational or structured decisions (when customers are purchasing stocks)
Click stream data
Exact pattern of a consumers navigation though a site (length of stay on websites number of abandoned registrations, and number of abandoned shopping carts)
Information ethics
Govern the ethical and moral issues arising from the development and use of information technologies, as well as the creation, collection, duplication, distribution, and processing of information itself(with or without the aid of computer technologies)
Business Intelligence (BI)
Information collected from multiple sources such as suppliers, customers, competitors, partners, and industries that analyze patterns, trends, and relationships for strategic decision making
Ebusiness
Includes ecommerce along with all activities related to internal and external business operations such as servicing customer accounts, collaborating with partners, and exchanging real time information
Explain the Internet of Things and list three IoT devices.
Internet of things: A world where interconnected internet enabled devices or things can collect and share data without human intervention Ex. Home security, Smart watches, ingestible sensors
Swimlane
Layout arranges the steps of a business process into a set of various rows depicting the various elements
Strategic level
Managers develop overall business strategies, goals, and objectives as part of the company's strategic plan
Decision support system
Model information using OLAP(online analytical processing), which provides assistance in evaluating and choosing among different courses of action EXAMPLE: GPS
Web 2.0
Next generation of internet use -- a more mature, distinctive communications platform characterized by new qualities such as collaboration, sharing, and free - companies build, market, sell, and ship their products themselves - User generated content
Disintermediation
Occurs when a business sells direct to the customer online and cuts out the intermediary (ex. instead of buying flights through a travel agent we can buy them right from the airline)
Information silo
Occurs when one business unit is unable to freely communicate with other business units, making it difficult or impossible for organizations to work cross functionally
Social media policy
Outlines the corporate guidelines or principles governing employee online communications
Epolicies
Policies and procedures that address information management along with the ethical use of computers and the internet in the business environment (Ethical computer use policy, information privacy policy, Acceptable use policy, etc)
sustaining technology
Produced an improved product customers are eager to buy such as faster cars or larger hard drives (faster, better, cheaper products in established markets)
Key Performance indicators
Quantifiable metrics a company uses to evaluate progress towards critical success factors (FAR MORE SPECIFIC THAN CSFs)
As-Is process model
Represents the current state if the operation that has been mapped without any specific improvements or changes to existing processes
Steps to business process reengineering model
Set project scope, study competition, create new processes, implement solutions
To Be Process Modeling
Shows the results of applying change improvement opportunities to the current As Is process model
Artificial intelligence
Simulates human thinking and behavior such as the ability to reason and learn (goal is to mimic human intelligence)
Ecommerce
The buying and selling of goods and services over the internet
What are the differences among collective intelligence, knowledge management, and crowdsourcing?
The differences between the three are as follows, collective intelligence is the gathering of just that, intelligence/knowledge. Knowledge management is just what is done with that intelligence/knowledge and how can a company use it. And crowd sourcing is a method used to gather that information/knowledge.
What is the difference between transaction processing system and decision support system?
Transaction processing system: The basic business system that serves the operational level and assists in making structured decisions(Operational accounting system such as payroll or order entry system) Decision support system: Provides assistance in evaluating and choosing among different courses of action. (High level managers to examine and manipulate large amounts of detailed data)
Value chain
Views a firm as a series of business processes that each ass value to the product or service Bottom of the value chain: Primary value activities (acquiring raw materials and manufacture, deliver market, sell, and provide after sales services) Top of the value chain: Support value activities(firm infrastructure, human resource management, technology, development, procurement that supports the primary value activities)
Which three common decision support system analysis techniques we performed in the class using MS Excel tools?
What if analysis Goal Seek Optimization analysis
system thinking
a collection of parts that link to achieve a common purpose
Business model
a plan that details how a company creates, delivers, and generates revenues
Business process modeling
activity of creating a detailed flow chart or process map of a work process that shows its inputs, tasks, and activities in a structured sequence
Supply chain
all parties included directly or indirectly in obtaining raw materials or a product
Black hat hackers
break into other people's computer systems and may just look around or may steal and destroy information
ethical computer use policy
contains general principles to guide computer user behavior(ex. users should refrain from playing computer games during work hours)
Information
data converted into a meaningful and useful context
structured data
data that has a defined length, type, and format and includes numbers, dates, or strings such as customer address
Streamlining
improves business process efficiencies simplifying or eliminating unnecessary steps (a managerial business process)
Give an example of inbound and outbound value chain activity.
inbound: Bring supplies in (Acquiring raw materials and resources and distributes to manufacturing as required) outbound: moving goods/products out to customers (Distribute goods and services to customers)
business facing process
invisible to the external customer but essential to the effective management of the business; they include goal setting day to day planning, giving performance feedback and rewards, and allocating resources
granularity
level of detail in the model or the decision making process
Customer facing process
product or service that is received by an organizations external customer (fulfilling orders, communicating with customers, and sending out bills and marketing information)
knowledge
skills, experience, and expertise coupled with information and intelligence that creates a persons intellectual resources
white hat hackers
work at the request of the system owners to find system vulnerabilities and plug the holes
