MIS
Business strategy
- A leadership plan that achieves a specific set of goals or objectives such as: • Developing new products or services • Entering new markets • Increasing customer loyalty • Attracting new customers • Increasing sales
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
Enterprise resource planning
- Integrates all departments and functions throughout an organization into a single IT system (or integrated set of IT systems) so that employees can make enterprisewide decisions by viewing enterprisewide information on all business operations
Goods
- Material items or products that customer's will buy to satisfy a want or need. Clothing, groceries, cell phones, and cars are all examples of goods that people buy to fulfill their needs • Cars • Groceries • Clothing
Chief information officer (CIO)
- Oversees all uses of information and ensures the strategic alignment of MIS with business goals and objectives
Enterprise system
- Provide enterprisewide support and data access for a firm's operations and business processes
Data
- Raw facts that describe the characteristics of an event or object
Operational CRM
- Supports traditional transactional processing for day-to-day front-office operations or systems that deal directly with the customers
Three customer service operational CRM technologies
1. Contact center (call center) 2. Web-based self-service system 3. Call scripting system
Sales and operational CRM technologies
1. Sales management CRM system 2. Contact management CRM system 3. Opportunity management CRM system
Learning Outcome 1.4: Identify the four key areas of a SWOT analysis
A 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 inside an organization or internally. Opportunities and threats originate outside an organization or externally and cannot always be anticipated or controlled.
Management Information Systems (MIS) -
A business function, like accounting and human resources, which moves information about people, products, and processes across the company to facilitate decision-making and problemsolving
Big data
A collection of large, complex data sets, including structured and unstructured data, which cannot be analyzed using traditional database methods and tools
Learning Outcome 1.3: Explain why competitive advantages are temporary.
A competitive advantage is a feature of a product or service on which customers place a greater value than they do on similar offerings from competitors. Competitive advantages provide the same product or service either at a lower price or with additional value that can fetch premium prices. Unfortunately, competitive advantages are typically temporary, because competitors often quickly seek ways to duplicate them. In turn, organizations must develop a strategy based on a new competitive advantage. Ways that companies duplicate competitive advantages include acquiring the new technology, copying business processes, and hiring away employees.
entry barrier
A feature of a product or service that customers have come to expect and entering competitors must offer the same for survival
Competitive advantage
A product or service that an organization's customers place a greater value on than similar offerings from a competitor
Business process -
A standardized set of activities that accomplish a specific task, such as a specific process
Learning Outcome 8.2: Describe supply chain management along with its associated benefits and challenges.
A supply chain consists of all parties involved, directly or indirectly, in obtaining raw materials or a product. To automate and enable sophisticated decision making in these critical areas, companies are turning to systems that provide demand forecasting, inventory control, and information flows between suppliers and customers. Supply chain management (SCM) is the management of information flows between and among activities in a supply chain to maximize total supply chain effectiveness and corporate profitability. Today's supply chain is an intricate network of business partners linked through communication channels and relationships.
Learning Outcome 1.2: Explain systems thinking and how management information systems enable business communications
A system is a collection of parts that link to achieve a common purpose. Systems thinking is 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. MIS incorporates systems thinking to help companies operate cross-functionally. For example, to fulfill product orders, an MIS for sales moves a single customer order across all functional areas including sales, order fulfillment, shipping, billing, and finally customer service. Although different functional areas handle different parts of the sale, thanks to MIS, to the customer the sale is one continuous process.
Snapshot
A view of data at a particular point in time
Three most common core ERP components
Accounting and finance 2. Production and materials management 3. Human resource
integration
Allows separate systems to communicate directly with each other, eliminating the need for manual entry into multiple systems
5. What business strategies would you use if you were developing a competitive advantage for a company?
Answers can include Porter's five forces, Porter's three generic strategies, or value chain analysis
Common features included in contact centers
Automatic call distribution • Interactive voice response • Predictive dialing
Extended ERP components include:
Business intelligence • Customer relationship management • Supply chain management • Ebusiness components include • Elogistics • Eprocurement
Porter's Five Forces
Buyer power • Supplier power • Threat of substitute products/services • Threat of new entrants • Rivalry among competitors
Dynamic report -
Changes automatically during creation
CLOUD ERP
Cloud computing offers new ways to store, access, process, and analyze information and connect people and resources from any location in the world where an Internet connection is available
Enterprise application integration (EAI)
Connects the plans, methods, and tools aimed at integrating separate enterprise systems
8. What are the components in a core ERP system?
Core ERP components are the traditional components included in most ERP systems and primarily focus on internal operations. The three most common core ERP components focusing on internal operations are accounting and finance, production and materials management, and human resources.
Learning Outcome 8.4: Explain operational and analytical customer relationship management.
Customer relationship management (CRM) is a means of managing all aspects of a customer's relationship with an organization to increase customer loyalty and retention and an organization's profitability. CRM allows an organization to gain insights into customers' shopping and buying behaviors. Every time a customer communicates with a company, the firm has the chance to build a trusting relationship with that particular customer.
What is data and why is it important to a business?
Data are raw facts that describe the characteristics of an event or object. Before the information age, managers manually collected and analyzed data, a time-consuming and complicated task without which they would have little insight into how to run their business.
information
Data converted into a meaningful and useful context
The core drivers of the information age
Data • Information • Business intelligence • Knowledge
Effective and efficient SCM systems can enable an organization to
Decrease the power of its buyers • Increase its own supplier power • Increase switching costs to reduce the threat of substitute products or services • Create entry barriers thereby reducing the threat of new entrants • Increase efficiencies while seeking a competitive advantage through cost leadership
Reasons ERP systems are powerful tools
ERP is a logical solution to incompatible applications • ERP addresses global information sharing and reporting • ERP avoids the pain and expense of fixing legacy systems
3. Why is it important for a company to operate cross-functionally?
Each department performs its own activities. Although each department has its own focus and data, none can work independently if the company is to operate as a whole. It is easy to see how a business decision made by one department can affect other departments. Marketing needs to analyze production and sales data to come up with product promotions and advertising strategies. Production needs to understand sales forecasts to determine the company's manufacturing needs. Sales needs to rely on information from operations to understand inventory, place orders, and forecast consumer demand. All departments need to understand the accounting and finance departments' information for budgeting. For the firm to be successful, all departments must work together as a single unit sharing common information and not operate independently or in a silo.
Balanced scorecard
Enables organizations to clarify their vision and strategy and translate them into action Balanced scorecard views the organization from four perspectives • Learning and growth • Internal business process • Customer • Financial
7. What is an enterprise resource planning system?
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) integrates all departments and functions throughout an organization into a single IT system (or integrated set of IT systems) so employees can make decisions by viewing enterprisewide information about all business operations.
Learning Outcome 8.5: Identify the core and extended areas of enterprise resource planning.
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) integrates all departments and functions throughout an organization into a single IT system (or integrated set of IT systems) so employees can make decisions by viewing enterprisewide information about all business operations. Enterprise resource planning systems provide organizations with MIS 200 - Important Note: Be sure to read the entire chapter in the text book. Questions in the exam may come from the entire chapter. Page 2 of 3 consistency. They allow for the effective planning and controlling of all the resources required to plan, source, make, and deliver goods and services. Applications such as SCM, CRM, and ERP are the backbone of ebusiness, yet most organizations today have to piece together these systems. A firm might choose its CRM components from Siebel, SCM components from i2, and financial components and HR management components from Oracle. Integrating all of these enterprise systems allows an organization to function as a single unit meeting customer, partner, and supplier needs.
Extended ERP component
Extra components that meet the organizational needs not covered by the core components and primarily focus on external operations
Support value activities
Firm infrastructure - Includes the company format or departmental structures, environment, and systems • Human resource management - Provides employee training, hiring, and compensation • Technology development - Applies MIS to processes to add value • Procurement - Purchases inputs such as raw materials, resources, equipment, and supplies
6. Explain Porter's Five Forces Model and the role it plays in decision making.
Formally defined, Porter's Five Forces Model analyzes the competitive forces within the environment in which a company operates to assess the potential for profitability in an industry. Its purpose is to combat these competitive forces by identifying opportunities, competitive advantages, and competitive intelligence. If the forces are strong, they increase competition; if the forces are weak, they decrease competition.
2. What is the difference between forward and backward integrations?
Forward integration takes information entered into a given system and sends it automatically to all downstream systems and processes. A backward integration takes information entered into a given system and sends it automatically to all upstream systems and processes.
Production and materials management ERP component
Handles the various aspects of production planning and execution such as demand forecasting, production scheduling, job cost accounting, and quality control
CRM analysis technologies
Help organization segment their customers into categories such as best and worst customers
CRM reporting technology -
Help organizations identify their customers across other applications
CRM predicting technologies
Help organizations make predictions regarding customer behavior such as which customers are at risk of leaving
Rivalry among existing competitors
High when competition is fierce in a market and low when competitors are more complacent
Threat of new entrants
High when it is easy for new competitors to enter a market and low when there are significant entry barriers
Threat of substitute products or services
High when there are many alternatives to a product or service and low when there are few alternatives
Primary value activities
Inbound logistics - Acquires raw materials and resources, and distributes • Operations - Transforms raw materials or inputs into goods and services • Outbound logistics - Distributes goods and services to customers • Marketing and sales - Promotes, prices, and sells products to customers • Service - Provides customer support
Knowledge worker
Individual valued for their ability to interpret and analyze information
Business intelligence -
Information collected from multiple sources such as suppliers, customers, competitors, partners, and industries that analyzes patterns, trends, and relationships for strategic decision making
How can a manager turn data into information?
Information is data converted into a meaningful and useful context. Having the right information at the right moment in time can be worth a fortune. Having the wrong information at the right moment; or the right information at the wrong moment can be disastrous
1. How do integrations connect a corporation?
Integrations allow separate systems to communicate directly with each other, eliminating the need for manual entry into multiple systems. Building integrations allows the sharing of information across databases along with dramatically increasing its quality
Learning Outcome 8.1: Explain integrations and the role they play in connecting a corporation.
Integrations allow separate systems to communicate directly with each other, eliminating the need for manual entry into multiple systems. Building integrations allows the sharing of information across databases along with dramatically increasing its quality.
Customer relationship management (CRM) -
Involves managing all aspects of a customer's relationship with an organization to increase customer loyalty and retention and an organization's profitability Many organizations, such as Charles Schwab and Kaiser Permanente, have obtained great success through the implementation of CRM systems
4. Explain MIS and the role it plays in a company and global business.
Management information systems (MIS) is 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. MIS incorporates systems thinking to help companies operate cross-functionally. For example, to fulfill product orders, an MIS for sales moves a single customer order across all functional areas including sales, order fulfillment, shipping, billing, and finally customer service.
Accounting and finance ERP component
Manages accounting data and financial processes within the enterprise with functions such as general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable, budgeting, and asset management
. How can a marketing department use CRM to improve operations?
Marketing departments can use list generators, campaign management, cross-selling, and up-selling as CRM advantages.
The supply chain has three main links
Materials flow from suppliers and their "upstream" suppliers at all levels 2. Transformation of materials into semifinished and finished products through the organization's own production process 3. Distribution of products to customers and their "downstream" customers at all levels
Unstructured data -
Not defined and does not follow a specified format
• Product differentiation -
Occurs when a company develops unique differences in its products or services with the intent to influence demand
Website personalization
Occurs when a website has stored enough data about a person's likes and dislikes to fashion offers more likely to appeal to that person • Analytical CRM relies heavily on data warehousing technologies and business intelligence to glean insights into customer behavior • These systems quickly aggregate, analyze, and disseminate customer information throughout an organization
First-mover advantage
Occurs when an organization can significantly impact its market share by being first to market with a competitive advantage
5. What is the difference between operational and analytical CRM?
Operational CRM focuses on business operations such as sales and marketing while analytical CRM provides business intelligence to identify patterns in product sales and customer behaviors.
Learning Outcome 1.6: Compare Porter's three generic strategies
Organizations typically follow one of Porter's three generic strategies when entering a new market: (1) broad cost leadership, (2) broad differentiation, (3) focused strategy. Broad strategies reach a large market segment. Focused strategies target a niche market. Focused strategies concentrate on either cost leadership or differentiation.
3. What are the five primary activities in a supply chain?
Plan, source, make, deliver, and return are the primary activities in a supply chain.
Learning Outcome 1.5: Describe Porter's Five Forces Model and explain each of the five forces.
Porter's Five Forces Model analyzes the competitive forces within the environment in which a company operates, to assess the potential for profitability in an industry. • Buyer power is the ability of buyers to affect the price they must pay for an item. • Supplier power is the suppliers' ability to influence the prices they charge for supplies (including materials, labor, and services). • Threat of substitute products or services is high when there are many alternatives to a product or service and low when there are few alternatives from which to choose • Threat of new entrants is high when it is easy for new competitors to enter a market and low when there are significant entry barriers to entering a market • Rivalry among existing competitors is high when competition is fierce in a market and low when competition is more complacent
Chief knowledge officer (CKO) -
Responsible for collecting, maintaining, and distributing the organization's knowledge
Chief data officer (CDO)
Responsible for determining the types of information the enterprise will capture, retain, analyze, and share
Chief privacy officer (CPO) -
Responsible for ensuring the ethical and legal use of information
Chief security officer
Responsible for ensuring the security of MIS systems
Chief technology officer (CTO)
Responsible for ensuring the throughput, speed, accuracy, availability, and reliability of information
Business tools for analyzing business strategies
SWOT analysis - Evaluates Project Position • Five Forces Model - Evaluates Industry Attractiveness • Three Generic Strategies - Chose Business Focus • Value Chain Analysis - Executes Business Strategy
Knowledge
Skills, experience, and expertise coupled with information and intelligence that creates a person's intellectual resources
Structured data -
Stored in a traditional system such as a relational database or spreadsheet
Three supply chain optimization models
Supply chain optimization • Inventory optimization • Transportation and logistics optimization
Analytical CRM
Supports back-office operations and strategic analysis and includes all systems that do not deal directly with the customers
Services
Tasks performed by people that customers' will buy to satisfy a want or need • Teaching • Waiting Tables • Cutting Hair
Prescriptive Analytics
Techniques that create models to make course of action
Descriptive analytics
Techniques that describes part performance and history
Predictive analytics
Techniques that use models constructed from past data to predict the future identify behavioral patterns
Buyer power
The ability of buyers to affect the price of an item • Switching cost - Manipulating costs that make customers reluctant to switch to another product • Loyalty program - Rewards customers based on the amount of business they do with a particular organization
Supply chain visibility -
The ability to view all areas up and down the supply chain in real time
9. What are the components in an extended ERP system?
The four most common extended ERP components business intelligence, customer relationship management, supply chain management, and ebusiness.
Learning Outcome 8.3: Identify the three technologies that are reinventing the supply chain.
The goal of ERP is to integrate all of the organizational systems into one fully functioning, high-performance system that is capable of meeting all business needs and user requirements. Of course, this goal is incredibly difficult to achieve because businesses and technologies experience rapid change, and ERP must support mobility, cloud, SaaS, and tiered architectures.
Learning Outcome 8.6: Discuss the current technologies organizations are integrating in enterprise resource planning systems.
The goal of ERP is to integrate all of the organizational systems into one fully functioning, high-performance system that is capable of meeting all business needs and user requirements. Of course, this goal is incredibly difficult to achieve because businesses and technologies experience rapid change, and ERP must support mobility, cloud, SaaS, and tiered architectures.
Supply Chain Management (SCM) -
The management of information flows between and among activities in a supply chain to maximize total supply chain effectiveness and profitability
information age
The present time, during which infinite quantities of facts are widely available to anyone who can use a computer
Production
The process where a business takes raw materials and processes them or converts them into a finished product for its goods or services
Business Analytics
The scientific process of transforming data into insight for making better decisions
Supplier power
The suppliers' ability to influence the prices they charge for supplies • Supply chain - Consists of all parties involved in the procurement of a product or raw material
Learning Outcome 1.7: Demonstrate how a company can add value by using Porter's value chain analysis.
To identify competitive advantages, Michael Porter created value chain analysis, which views a firm as a series of business processes that each add value to the product or service. The goal of value chain analysis is to identify 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.
Human resource ERP component -
Tracks employee information including payroll, benefits, compensation, performance assessment, and assumes compliance with the legal requirements of multiple jurisdictions and tax authorities
Core ERP component
Traditional components included in most ERP systems and they primarily focus on internal operations
Four Characteristics of Big Data
Variety - Different forms of structured and unstructured data • Veracity - The uncertainty of data, including biases, noise, and abnormalities • Volume - The scale of data • Velocity - The analysis of streaming data as it travels around the Internet,
Value chain analysis
Views a firm as a series of business processes that each add value to the product or service
Learning Outcome 1.1: Describe the information age and the differences between data, information, business intelligence, and knowledge.
We live in the information age, when infinite quantities of facts are widely available to anyone who can use a computer. The core drivers of the information age include data, information, business intelligence, and knowledge. Data are raw facts that describe the characteristics of an event or object. Information is data converted into a meaningful and useful context. Business intelligence (BI) is information collected from multiple sources such as suppliers, customers, competitors, partners, and industries that analyzes patterns, trends, and relationships for strategic decision making. Knowledge includes the skills, experience, and expertise, coupled with information and intelligence that creates a person's intellectual resources. As you move from data to knowledge you include more and more variables for analysis resulting in better, more precise support for decision making and problem solving.
. Why are customer relationships important to an organization? Do you agree that every business needs to focus on customers to survive in the information age?
Without customers you will not have an organization. CRM is critical to ensure customers are happy and heard and attended to if they are upset or disgruntled.
10. What does a company need to integrate to become connected?
Without integrations a company systems will be siloed and unable to share information.
Report
a document containing data organized in a table, matrix, or graphical format allowing users to easily comprehend and understand information
Internet of Things
a world where interconnected, Internet-enabled devices or "things" can collect and share data without human intervention
3. What is data converted into a meaningful and useful context? A. competitive intelligence B. information C. buyer power D. first-mover advantage
b
Machine-generated data -
create by a machine
Static report
created once based on data that does not change
3. What are enterprise systems? A. the integration of a company's existing management information systems B. the integration of data from multiple sources, which provides a unified view of all data C. an integration method that sends information entered into a given system automatically to all downstream systems and processes D. enterprisewide support and data access for a firm's operations and business processes
d
Multiple Choice: 2. Why do students need to study information technology? A. Information technology is everywhere in business. B. Information technology is frequently discussed in business. C. Information technology is frequently used in organizations. D. All of these are correct.
d
human-generated data
data that humans, in interaction with computers, generate
true or false 2. Plan, source, give, get, and return are the five basic supply chain management components.
false
Machine-to-Machine
refers to devices that connect directly to other devices
fact
the confirmation or validation of an event or object
Analytics
the science of fact-based decision making
True/False: 1. The Internet of Things (IoT) is a world where interconnected, Internet-enabled devices or "things" can collect and share data without human intervention.
true
true or false 1. Data integration is the integration of data from multiple sources, which provides a unified view of all data.
true
Current trends include
• Supplier relationship management (SRM) • Partner relationship management (PRM) • Employee relationship management (ERM)
