CHAPTER 1

INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN BUSINESS

Opening Case Apple Merging Technology, Business, and Entertainment
McGraw-Hill/Irwin

2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, All Rights Reserved

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Chapter One Overview

SECTION 1.1 INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN BUSINESS
Information Technologys Role in Business Information Technology Basics Roles and Responsibilities in Information Technology Measuring Information Technologys Success

SECTION 1.2 BUSINESS STRATEGY

Identifying Competitive Advantages The Five Forces Model Evaluating Business Segments The Three Generic Strategies Creating a Business Focus Value Chain Analysis Targeting Business Processes

SECTION 1.1

INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN BUSINESS

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, All Rights Reserved

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LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Describe the functional areas of a business and why they must work together for the business to be successful 2. Explain information technologys role in business and how you measure success 3. Compare management information systems (MIS) and information technology (IT) and define the relationships among people, information technology, and information

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LEARNING OUTCOMES
4. Compare the responsibilities of a chief information officer (CIO), chief technology officer (CTO), chief security officer (CSO), chief privacy officer (CPO), and chief knowledge officer (CKO)
5. Explain the gap between IT and the business, along with the primary reason this gap exists

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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGYS ROLE IN BUSINESS

Information technology is everywhere in business

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Information Technologys Impact on Business Operations

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Information Technologys Impact on Business Operations

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Information Technologys Impact on Business Operations

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Information Technologys Impact on Business Operations

Organizations typically operate by functional areas or functional silos
Functional areas are interdependent

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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY BASICS

Information technology (IT) any computer-based tool that people use to work with information and support the information and information-processing needs of an organization Information technology is an important enabler of business success and innovation

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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY BASICS

Management information systems (MIS) the function that plans for, develops, implements, and maintains IT hardware, software, and applications that people use to support the goals of an organization
MIS is a business function, similar to Accounting, Finance, Operations, and Human Resources

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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY BASICS When beginning to learn about information technology it is important to understand the following:
Information IT resources IT cultures

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Information
Data - raw facts that describe the characteristic of an event Information - data converted into a meaningful and useful context

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IT Resources
People use
Information technology to work with Information

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IT Cultures
Organizational information cultures include:
Information-functional culture Information-sharing culture Information-inquiring culture Information-discovery culture

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ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES IN IT

Information technology is a relatively new functional area, having only been around formally for around 40 years
Recent IT strategic positions include:
Chief Information Officer (CIO) Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Chief Security Officer (CSO) Chief Privacy Officer (CPO) Chief Knowledge Office (CKO)

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ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES IN IT

Chief Information Officer (CIO) oversees all uses of IT and ensures the strategic alignment of IT with business goals and objectives

Broad CIO functions include:

Manager ensuring the delivery of all IT projects, on time and within budget Leader ensuring the strategic vision of IT is in line with the strategic vision of the organization Communicator building and maintaining strong executive relationships

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ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES IN IT

Average CIO compensation by industry

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ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES IN IT

What concerns CIOs the most

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ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES IN IT

Chief Technology Officer (CTO) responsible for ensuring the throughput, speed, accuracy, availability, and reliability of IT Chief Security Officer (CSO) responsible for ensuring the security of IT systems Chief Privacy Officer (CPO) responsible for ensuring the ethical and legal use of information Chief Knowledge Office (CKO) - responsible for collecting, maintaining, and distributing the organizations knowledge

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ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES IN IT

Skills pivotal for success in executive IT roles

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The Gap Between Business Personnel and IT Personnel

Business personnel possess expertise in functional areas such as marketing, accounting, and sales
IT personnel have the technological expertise

This typically causes a communications gap between the business personnel and IT personnel

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Improving Communications
Business personnel must seek to increase their understanding of IT IT personnel must seek to increase their understanding of the business It is the responsibility of the CIO to ensure effective communication between business personnel and IT personnel

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MEASURING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGYS SUCCESS

Key performance indicator (KPI) measures that are tied to business drivers Metrics are detailed measures that feed KPIs
Performance metrics fall into the nebulous area of business intelligence that is neither technology, nor business centered, but requires input from both IT and business professionals

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Efficiency and Effectiveness Metrics

Efficiency IT metric measures the performance of the IT system itself including throughput, speed, and availability
Effectiveness IT metric measures the impact IT has on business processes and activities including customer satisfaction, conversion rates, and sell-through increases

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Benchmarking Baselining Metrics

Regardless of what is measured, how it is measured, and whether it is for the sake of efficiency or effectiveness, there must be benchmarks baseline values the system seeks to attain
Benchmarking a process of continuously measuring system results, comparing those results to optimal system performance (benchmark values), and identifying steps and procedures to improve system performance

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Benchmarking Baselining Metrics

E-governement benchmarks

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The Interrelationships of Efficiency and Effectiveness IT Metrics

Efficiency IT metrics focus on technology and include:
Throughput Transaction speed System availability Information accuracy Web traffic Response time

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The Interrelationships of Efficiency and Effectiveness IT Metrics

Effectiveness IT metrics focus on an organizations goals, strategies, and objectives and include:
Usability Customer satisfaction Conversion rates Financial

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The Interrelationships of Efficiency and Effectiveness IT Metrics

Security is an issue for any organization offering products or services over the Internet It is inefficient for an organization to implement Internet security, since it slows down processing
However, to be effective it must implement Internet security Secure Internet connections must offer encryption and Secure Sockets Layers (SSL denoted by the lock symbol in the lower right corner of a browser)

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The Interrelationships of Efficiency and Effectiveness IT Metrics

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OPENING CASE QUESTIONS

Apple - Merging Technology, Business and Entertainment

1.
2. 3.

What might have happened to Apple if its top executives had not supported investment in iPods?
Formulate a strategy for how Apple can use efficiency IT metrics to improve its business Formulate a strategy for how Apple can use effectiveness IT metrics to improve its business

4.
5.

Why would it be unethical for Apple to sell its iTunes customer information to other businesses?
Evaluate the effects on Apples business if it failed to secure its customers information and it was accidentally posted to an anonymous Web site

SECTION 1.2

BUSINESS STRATEGY

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, All Rights Reserved

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LEARNING OUTCOMES
6. Explain why competitive advantages are typically temporary
7. List and describe each of the five forces in Porters Five Forces Model 8. Compare Porters three generic strategies 9. Describe the relationship between business processes and value chains

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IDENTIFYING COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES

To survive and thrive an organization must create a competitive advantage

Competitive advantage a product or service that an organizations customers place a greater value on than similar offerings from a competitor First-mover advantage occurs when an organization can significantly impact its market share by being first to market with a competitive advantage

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IDENTIFYING COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES

Organizations watch their competition through environmental scanning
Environmental scanning the acquisition and analysis of events and trends in the environment external to an organization

Three common tools used in industry to analyze and develop competitive advantages include:
Porters Five Forces Model Porters three generic strategies Value chains

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THE FIVE FORCES MODEL EVALUATING BUSINESS SEGMENTS

Porters Five Forces Model determines the relative attractiveness of an industry

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Buyer Power
Buyer power high when buyers have many choices of whom to buy from and low when their choices are few
One way to reduce buyer power is through loyalty programs
Loyalty program rewards customers based on the amount of business they do with a particular organization

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Supplier Power
Supplier power high when buyers have few choices of whom to buy from and low when their choices are many
Supply chain consists of all parties involved in the procurement of a product or raw material

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Supplier Power
Organizations that are buying goods and services in the supply chain can create a competitive advantage by locating alternative supply sources (decreasing supplier power) through B2B marketplaces
Business-to-Business (B2B) marketplace an Internet-based service that brings together many buyers and sellers

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Supplier Power
Two types of business-to-business (B2B) marketplaces
Private exchange a single buyer posts its needs and then opens the bidding to any supplier who would care to bid Reverse auction an auction format in which increasingly lower bids are solicited from organizations willing to supply the desired product or service at an increasingly lower price

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Threat of Substitute Products or Services

Threat of substitute products or services high when there are many alternatives to a product or service and low when there are few alternatives from which to choose
Switching cost costs that can make customers reluctant to switch to another product or service

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Threat of New Entrants

Threat of new entrants high when it is easy for new competitors to enter a market and low when there are significant entry barriers to entering a market
Entry barrier a product or service feature that customers have come to expect from organizations in a particular industry and must be offered by an entering organization to compete and survive

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Rivalry Among Existing Competitors

Rivalry among existing competitors high when competition is fierce in a market and low when competition is more complacent
Although competition is always more intense in some industries than in others, the overall trend is toward increased competition in just about every industry

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THE THREE GENERIC STRATEGIES CREATING A BUSINESS FOCUS

Organizations typically follow one of Porters three generic strategies when entering a new market
Broad cost leadership Broad differentiation Focused strategy

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THE THREE GENERIC STRATEGIES CREATING A BUSINESS FOCUS

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Value Creation
Once an organization chooses its strategy, it can use tools such as the value chain to determine the success or failure of its chosen strategy
Business process a standardized set of activities that accomplish a specific task, such as processing a customers order Value chain views an organization as a series of processes, each of which adds value to the product or service for each customer

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Value Creation
Value Chain

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Value Creation
Value chains with Porters Five Forces

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OPENING CASE QUESTIONS

Apple - Merging Technology, Business and Entertainment 6. Did Apple gain a competitive advantage from its decision to invest in an online music business? How can Apple use environmental scanning to gain business intelligence? Using Porters Five Force Model, analyze Apples buyer power and supplier power Which of the three generic strategies is Apple following?

7.

8.

9.

10. Which of Porters Five Forces did Apple address through its introduction of the iPod?

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CLOSING CASE ONE

Say Charge It with Your Cell Phone

1. Do you view this technology as a potential threat to traditional telephone companies? If so, what counterstrategies could traditional telephone companies adopt to prepare for this technology?
2. Using Porters Five Forces describe the barriers to entry for this new technology

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CLOSING CASE ONE

Say Charge It with Your Cell Phone

3. Which of Porters three generic strategies is this new technology following?

4. Describe the value chain of using cell phones as a payment method 5. What types of regulatory issues might occur due to this type of technology?

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CLOSING CASE TWO Innovative Business Managers

1. Choose one of the companies listed above and explain how it could use a CIO, CTO, and CPO to improve business 2. Why is it important for all of DreamWorks functional business areas to work together? Provide an example of what might happen if the DreamWorks marketing department failed to work with its sales department
3. Why is information technology important to an organization like the Boston Red Sox? Every organization needs information to remain

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CLOSING CASE TWO Innovative Business Managers

4. Which of Porters Five Forces is most important to Home Depots business? 5. Which of the three generic strategies is PepsiCo following? 6. Explain the value chain and how a company like GE can use it to improve operations

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CLOSING CASE THREE

The World is Flat Thomas Friedman
1. Do you agree or disagree with Friedmans assessment that the world is flat? Be sure to justify your answer 2. What are the potential impacts of a flat world for a student performing a job search?
3. What can students do to prepare themselves for competing in a flat world? 4. Identify a current flattener not mentioned on Friedmans list