BTMA 317 Chp 2
Sideways Oval
Start/End
Which of the following is true of supplier power?
Supplier power is high when buyers have few choices from whom to buy, and it is low when buyers have many choices.
Landscaping Inc. is a company that produces landscape architecture services. The Brighton Team in the firm focuses on getting client orders to landscapers and seamlessly launching them into client projects; the Stanton team is composed of landscapers executing landscape architecture plans. What matrix does the Brighton team and the Stanton team respectively employ in their work?
The Brighton team works with effectiveness, and the Stanton team works with efficiency.
mass customization
The ability of an organization to tailor its products or services to the customers' specifications Ex: NikeID
Jessica is opening a used book store in a university town. She is trying to profile her business to attract customers and is competing with two other used book stores, an independent regular book store and a big chain mass-market book store, in addition to online book stores. Which is the CORRECT analysis of Jessica's product offering according to the competitive forces model?
The bargaining power of buyers is high because of the many options for obtaining books in Jessica's area.
What is the difference between primary and support activities in the Porter value chain model?
The primary activities add value, whereas the support activities do not.
The rivalry among existing firms in the industry
The threat from rivalry is high when there is intense competition among many firms in an industry. The threat is low when the competition is among fewer firms and is not as intense.
Threat of entry of new competitors
The threat that new competitors will enter your market is high when entry is easy and low when there are significant barriers to entry.
Julio is working with translations from English into Spanish and Portuguese, but eight years ago, as a new immigrant, he had trouble finding a job. In what way have business pressures contributed to Julio becoming more integrated on the work market?
The variety of positions on the work market has broadened, and many people can work from home.
(True/False): BPI initiatives do NOT deliver the huge performance gains promised by BPR
True, ppl prefer them because they are less risky & costly
Fizzyfruit is the main competitor to the fruit juice-based soda Naturefizz. The people behind Naturefizz want to gain an edge over their main competitor, and they come up with the idea to launch a new type of drink containing half fruit, half pure cane sugar, and no caffeine. They call this drink Nature's Half & Half. Connected to this launch, Naturefizz also introduces a sparkling water with fruit juice, called Nature Sparkle, and at the same time the company re-vamps the cans on its old trademark, Naturefizz. Would the strategy of Naturefizz have a valid chance of success?
Yes. It is a classical innovation strategy with introductions of new products and adding new features to existing products.
business process management (BPM)
a management technique that includes methods and tools to support the design, analysis, implementation, management, and optimization of business processes
Grocers can speed up checkout in their stores by using what type of device or system?
a radio-frequency identification system
Rectangle
activities performed (the task/process) Ex: reserve seats/issue e ticket
Customer Focus
an organizational goal to concentrate on meeting customers' needs at all levels of the organization
Derek is using process simulation software to estimate a process performance for his company. What phase in the BPI process is he working in?
analysis
Competitive advantage
any assets that provide an organization with an edge against its competitors in some measure, such as cost, quality, or speed.
Societal/Political/Legal Pressures
business pressures related to social responsibility, government regulation/deregulation, spending for social programs, spending to protect against terrorism, and ethics.
Your boss has asked you to implement a non-disruptive and incremental approach to ensure business process excellence. What kind of strategy should you be implementing, and why?
business process improvement, since it is designed to be incremental in nature and used to organize work around business processes rather than individual tasks
You have been tasked with designing a transactional-based information system. Which of the following should you include in this system?
capturing and storing process data that is collected automatically by the IS, as well as through RFID tags and barcodes
fulfilment process
concerned with processing customer orders
arrows
connect the steps and indicate the sequence of activities
Rachel's organization is establishing process metrics and choosing an IS that will help ensure the process performance remains stable. What phase in the BPI process is the organization in?
control
Effectiveness
creating outputs of value to the business process customer; getting things done
A(n) __________ can be either internal or external to an organization.
customer
Online clothing chain Modern Vintage is known for its personalized one-to-one relationship with its customers. Its biggest competitor, Vintage Faux, however, prides itself on offering express package delivery all across the state. Modern Vintage and Vintage Faux provide examples of
customer orientation strategy and operational effectiveness.
diamond-shaped box
decisions that need to be made Ex: are seats available?
Increasing the number of loyalty programs
decreases buying power
Miguel's team is currently documenting the customer and customer's requirements for the process output. Which phase of the BPI is he in?
define
Carlos has come to realize that in order to stand out from firms in his industry, he has to add new services and products to his model. This is an example of a(n) __________ strategy.
differentiation
Support Activities
do NOT add value directly to the firm's products or services but supports Primary Activities
Efficiency
doing things without wasting resources; getting more things done with same/fewer resources
Two fundamental metrics that organizations employ in assessing their processes are
effectiveness and efficiency
Maria is opening a new sports bar in her neighborhood, and she is worried that she may not receive the liquor license she is applying for. Which of Porter's five fundamental forces on the competitive forces model has she encountered?
entry barrier
an individual or a business that purchases the organization's products is the ________ customer of the fulfilment process
external
Technological innovation is a big concern for businesses because it
forces them to keep up
The company Earthly Treasures makes it a specific goal to rotate business and IT professionals across departments and tasks. This means the company will MOST likely develop
good business-IT alignment.
Jonas is the director of IT at his organization. He has been tasked with tracking the organization's carbon footprint through the supply chain. This is an example of
green IT
Combining operational process data stored in a company's IS systems with other data sources and examining data in the "as is" process map are different because
he former is part of the measure phase of BPI, and the latter is part of the analysis phase of BPI.
Porter's Value Chain Model
identifies points for which an organization can use information technology to achieve a competitive advantage; divided in 2 categories primary & support activities
value system AKA industry value chain
includes the suppliers that provide the inputs necessary to the firm along with their value chains. After the firm creates products, these products pass through the value chains of distributors (which also have their own value chains), all the way to the customers
A manager who is the recipient of an internal reporting process is an example of an ________ customer
internal
Michael is a manager who is in charge of analyzing internal reports. He is considered a(n)
internal customer
Business activity monitoring (BAM)
is a real-time approach for measuring and managing business processes; monitors business processes, find failures & indicate success/failure
A company that applies a cost leadership strategy to its business is focused on
lowering costs for its products and services.
Kirsten is offered the task of being a business process overseer in her organization. She is inexperienced and a little daunted by the sheer number of BPI projects and employees she needs to keep track of. A more experienced coworker advises her to
make a graphical description of all the steps in the process with the help of process modelling software, in order to understand the people, dependencies, interactions, and tasks better within a BPM setting.
The human resources function in a company would handle
management of employee pay and payroll.
Marilynn has noticed that, in the last few years, her customers have been using the Internet to become more knowledgeable about the products and services that she provides and to compare her prices against competitors. This is an example of
market pressures
After wrecking your car and being awarded more than your car was worth, you have decided to purchase a Vortex Hydrogen-fueled car designed by the leading billionaire of innovation, Talon Tusk. After reaching a market share of 500,000 cars, the automobiles have become more affordable and innovative than ever. Talon has set up a system in which you can choose the color, body style, amenities, horsepower, and even the dimensions, to a degree, for your own personal taste. Choose the BEST type of IT System Talon has implemented for your order.
mass customization system, in which a company produces a large quantity of items, but customizes them to meet the personal preferences of individuals
Which of the following is an example of a technology pressure?
obsolescence (outdated)
Business Process
ongoing collection of related activities or tasks that in a specific sequence create a product or a service of value to the organization, its business partners, and its customers.
Bargaining power of suppliers
organizations would rather have more potential suppliers so that they will be in a stronger position to negotiate price, quality, and delivery terms.
Process simulation software enables managers to estimate the _____________ of a process over time.
performance
What type of data is synonymous with transaction data?
process data
2 Important Components of BPM?
process modelling and business activity monitoring
Primary activities
production and distribution of the firm's products and services
Mass Customization
production process in which items are produced in large quantities but are customized to fit the desires of each customer.
The MIS department in a company is responsible for
protecting the company's information resources.
strategic information systems (SISs)
provide a competitive advantage by helping an organization implement its strategic goals and improve its performance and productivity
Strategic Systems
provide organizations with advantages that enable them to increase their market share and/or profits, to better negotiate with suppliers, and to prevent competitors from entering their markets.
Sylvia works with design, development, and production processes in an organization. This means that she focuses on the measure of competitive performance that is defined as
quality
Business Process Improvement (BPI)
reducing variation in the process outputs by searching for root causes of the variation within the process itself or among the process inputs.
Cycle and fulfilment time reduction
result of optimizing the manufacturing and logistics processes
Differentiation
result of optimizing the marketing and innovation process
Steven works in the IT department at a major insurance company and faces daily challenges due to BYOD. Why is BYOD a major challenge for Steve in his work?
security is weakened
Darryl's company has instituted a new technology to interface with customers on wired and mobile platforms with the end goal of improving process execution. What is his company using?
social BPM
Martin is hired by a big company as a consultant to work toward the company getting a LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. At the same time, Martin switches to a new smartphone every year to keep up with work demands. Martin's job is an example of effects from which pressures?
societal and technological pressures
Process Modelling
standardized graphical model of a sequence of activities
Control Phase (BPI)
team establishes process metrics and monitors the improved process after the solution has been implemented to ensure the process performance remains stable. An IS system can be very useful for this purpose
Technology Pressures
technological innovation and information overload.
An example of ____________ pressures is new and improved technologies rapidly creating and supporting substitutes for products, alternative service options, and superb quality.
technology
In the procurement process, one of the roles of the accounting department is to manage
the accounts payable
Business Process Reengineering
the analysis and redesign of workflow within and between enterprises
One of the reasons that alignment in organizations is difficult to achieve is because
the business and IT departments know little of each other's expertise.
business environment
the combination of social, legal, economic, physical, and political factors in which businesses conduct their operations
Globalization
the integration and interdependence of economic, social, cultural, and ecological facets of life, enabled by rapid advances in information technology
Make-to-Order
the strategy of producing customized products and services
Porter's Five Forces
threat of entry, threat of substitute, supplier power, buyer power, competitive rivalry
Business-information technology alignment (business-IT alignment)
tight integration of the IT function with the organization's strategy, mission, and goal
RFID (radio frequency identification)
uses radio signals to communicate with a tag placed in or attached to an object
Where is procurement comprises done?
warehouse, purchasing, and accounting
Three Fundamental Elements of the Business Process
• Inputs: Materials, services, and information that flow through and are transformed as a result of process activities • Resources: People and equipment that perform process activities • Outputs: The product or a service created by the process
IS plays a major role in 3 areas:
• executing the process • capturing and storing process data • monitoring process performance
Operational Effectiveness Strategy
"I can do the same thing more efficiently than u" Improve the manner in which a firm executes its internal business processes so that it performs these activities more effectively than its rivals. Such improvements increase quality, productivity, and employee and customer satisfaction while decreasing time to market.
Cost Leadership
"I can sell at a lower price than u can" the positioning strategy of producing a product or service of acceptable quality at consistently lower production costs than competitors can, so that the firm can offer the product or service at the lowest price in the industry
Customer Orientation Strategy
"I treat my customers better than u do" Concentrate on making customers happy
innovation strategy
"I'm doing something new & u cant catch up" a strategy that emphasizes the introduction of major new products and services
Differentiation Strategy
"I am better bc I am different" Offer different products, services, or product features than your competitors
cross-functional processes
-No single functional area is responsible -steps executed in a coordinated, collaborative way -Procurement & Fulfillment Cross-functional processes
Three Types of Business Pressures?
1. Market Pressures 2. Technology Pressures 3. Societal/Political/Legal Pressures
6 Characteristics of Business IT Alignment
1. Organizations view IT as an engine of innovation 2. Organizations view their customers as supremely important. 3. Organizations rotate business and IT professionals 4. Organizations provide overarching goals that are completely clear 5. Organizations ensure that IT employees understand how the company makes (or loses) money. 6. Organizations create a vibrant and inclusive company culture.
Five Primary Activities
1. inbound logistics (inputs) 2. operations (manufacturing and testing) 3. outbound logistics (storage and distribution) 4. marketing and sales 5. services
Support activities consist of the following:
1. the firm's infrastructure (accounting, finance, management) 2. human resources management 3. product and technology development (R&D) 4. procurement
competitive forces model
A business framework made by Porter that analyzes competitiveness by recognizing 5 major forces that could endanger a company's position.
Procurement Process
A cross-functional business process that originates when a company needs to acquire goods/services from external sources, and it concludes when the company receives and pays for them.
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 Reengineering (BPR)
A radical redesign of a business process that improves its efficiency and effectiveness, often by beginning with a "clean sheet" (from scratch). experienced many failures as it was too lengthy, comprehensive & difficult.
digital divide
A worldwide gap giving advantage to those with access to technology
business process management suites (BPMS)
An integrated set of applications that include a repository of process information like process maps/rules
When a company has described its business plan's steps, inputs, outputs, and resources, what is it able to do?
Analyze the process.
Define phase (BPI)
BPI team documents the existing "as is" process activities, process resources, and process inputs and outputs, usually as a graphical process map or diagram
Analysis Phase (BPI)
BPI team examines the "as is" process map and the collected data to identify problems with the process (e.g., decreasing efficiency or effectiveness) and their root causes
Improve Phase (BPI)
BPI team identifies possible solutions for addressing the root causes, maps the resulting "to be" process alternatives, and selects and implements the most appropriate solution
Measure Phase (BPI)
BPI team identifies relevant process metrics, such as time and cost to generate one output (product or service), and collects data to understand how the metrics evolve over time
BPI vs BPR
BPI: Low risk / low cost Incremental change Bottom-up approach Takes less time Quantifiable results All employees trained in BPI BPR: High risk / high cost Radical redesign Top-down approach Time consuming Impacts can be overwhelming High failure rate
Why should companies drive the BPM effort?
BPM helps companies improve profitability by decreasing costs and increasing revenues. BPM can create a competitive advantage by improving organizational flexibility—making it easy to adapt to changing business conditions and to take advantage of new opportunities. BPM also increases customer satisfaction and ensures compliance with rules and regulations
The bargaining power of customers (buyers)
Buyer power is high when buyers have many choices from whom to buy and low when buyers have few choices.
Circle
Connector
Strategies for Competitive Advantage
Cost leadership, differentiation, innovation, operational effectiveness, customer orientation
5 Phases of BPI
Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control
When Steve was designing a transactional based IS, some process data was generated outside the IS and could not automatically be captured. What should be Steve's solution to this?
Enter the data to the IS through manual or automated methods with bar codes and RFID tags.
Market Pressures
Globalization Changing Nature of the Workforce Powerful Customers
The VP of IT infrastructure asked you, as a business analyst, to speak on the current business environment and the effects of that environment on the company. When you speak to societal, political, and legal pressures, you focus on social responsibility, ethical issues, the changing nature of the workforce, and globalization. The VP suggests you break two of those components into another category of business pressure within the environment. Which components should be categorized into which business pressure?
Globalization and the changing workforce should be categorized as market pressures.
Threat of substitute products or services
High when there are many alternatives to a product or service and low when there are few alternatives
Donald and Wendy are project managers for a big project that is similar to a project carried out successfully by the company last year. They plan to find all old material from the project last year and use it as a blueprint for success this year. They also plan to prepare a business forecast, purchase new materials, and arrange a small getaway for their team so they can bond and focus better on future tasks. Which cross-functional business processes would this project include?
Human Resources, Finance, and Production
LDS International decides to engage an internal customer for its business process of creating a specific product. It chooses
Marcus, an analyst of the company's process reports.
Consumer Segmentation
Overall purpose: Achieve the greatest amount of sales with the least amount of expense
Christof is identifying the threat of new entrants into his organization's industry as well as the threat of substitute products and services. Christof is using
Porter's competitive forces model.
Rodger's organization has instituted a new BYOD policy. Which of the following is the MOST likely result of this new policy?
Proprietary organizational information will not be as secure.