Solution manual for management information systems for the information age 8th edition haag

DISCUSSION  Answers here will vary greatly according to your students.. Industry pressures and competition are simply information as are business strategies, in the most generic of term

CLOSING CASES

CLOSING CASE STUDY ONE (p 30)

YOU ARE YOUR OWN WORST ENEMY

This is a good opening case study for the class, mainly because it’s about the generation of most

of your students

In this case, Gen Y’s are shown to be a substantial security risk to organizations because Gen Y’s download and use non-sanctioned and often compromising software like instant messaging software and open-source technologies

QUESTIONS

1 Think of yourself as a business manager You have employees you supervise and you are responsible for ensuring that they meet daily work quotas But, you find they are spending

a couple of hours per day shopping online, chatting with friends through instant messaging, and so on How do you motivate your employees to perform their work? How

do you restrict them from non-work-related activities without creating a stifling, boring, and dull workplace?

DISCUSSION

 This is a great first question that should generate a lot of discussion

 Your students will be able to answer this, because they understand what motivates their generation

2 The case study mentioned the need for employee education What elements would you include in an education program for helping employees better understand the dangers in which they place the organization’s IT infrastructure by using technology the wrong way while at work?

DISCUSSION

 Features of a good education program would include short cases of organizations that have been compromised because of unsafe software, having a fellow Gen Y person make the presentation, showing safe computing habits, etc

3 Beyond the compromises caused to IT infrastructure, what do you see wrong with shopping online while at work? Is this illegal or unethical, perhaps both, or – in reality – neither?

DISCUSSION

 It’s probably not illegal but it is definitely grounds for dismissal from employment

 People may or may not see it as unethical, because so many people do it

4 Read the acceptable use policy (AUP) for your school Are you doing anything with your school’s technology that violates the AUP? If so, what is it? How prevalent among other students is the violation? Does widespread violation somehow or another make it okay?

DISCUSSION

 Many of your students may not be aware that your school has an AUP

 This is a great time to have them read it

5 Why do you think Gen Y is being singled out? Wouldn’t it make sense that people in other age groups also put a company at risk by misusing technology? What is so different and unique about Gen Y?

DISCUSSION

 Gen Y is the digital generation, and thus uses technology more, especially those types of tools that can compromise security

 Sure, other age groups misuse technology but not to the extent of Gen Y

6 Would you consider working for a company that prohibited access to social networking sites, gaming, blogs, and online shopping while at work? Why or why not? How about in the defense industry? In certain places within defense organizations, you’re not allowed to carry cell phones and the like because you can take photos and videos with them Do you want to work there? Why or why not?

DISCUSSION

 Answers here will vary greatly according to your students

 Let your class spend all the time it wants in debating these questions

CLOSING CASE STUDY TWO (p 31)

IS THE WORLD DUMPING DATA ON YOU?

In this second case study, your students will address the very big present-day problem of being inundated with too much data and information

There certainly is “too much of a good thing” and information is one of those things

QUESTIONS

1 Critically evaluate the bulleted list of information-related items in this case study How are each contradictory to the notion of being an information-literate knowledge worker?

DISCUSSION

 The answers here are fairly obvious but it is a good exercise for your students to complete

 For example, the fact that IT managers spend 30 percent of their time trying to find information is contradictory to an information-literate knowledge worker knowing where to obtain information

2 If you consider Figure 1.1 on page 5 and the steps associated with determining which technologies are most appropriate in an organization, why is information so important? For each of the four steps in that process, what information should be derived and used in the next step?

DISCUSSION

 Information is everywhere in Figure 1.1 Industry pressures and competition are simply information as are business strategies, in the most generic of terms

 Industry pressures and competition – who is the competition, what are the competitive strengths of each competitor, how big is the market, what new market segments are emerging, etc

 Key business strategies – what are the strategies to be undertaken, what is the rationale behind those strategies, are they top-line or bottom-line focused, etc

 Important business processes – what do our customers value the most, what do they value the least, etc

 Key technologies – how do the technologies support business processes, how can we measure of the success of the technologies, etc

3 Again, considering the four steps associated with determining which technologies are most appropriate in an organization and the information you identified for each step in question

#2, which of that information is internal, external, objective, and subjective information? Which of those pieces of information are some combination of internal, external, objective, and subjective?

 Answers here will vary greatly according to what answers your students derive for question #2

 Interestingly, in the earlier stages of the overall process, information is more external and becomes increasingly internal as you move through the process

4 Is it ethical for people within an organization to withhold information and not share it with other employees? Under what circumstances would it be acceptable not to share certain types of information with other employees? What can organizations do to encourage their employees to share information?

DISCUSSION

 People must share information in an organization

 The exception is information that is personal, potentially damaging, etc

 To encourage people to share information, organizations must make it exceedingly easy

to do so If it’s as easy as “falling off a log,” people will do it

5 What about your personal life at your school? How easy is it to find the following information on your school’s Web site?

 The course description for the classes you are currently taking

 A list of classes you need to take to complete your degree

 The requirements you must meet to qualify for various types of government-supported loan programs

 The process you go through to apply for graduation

DISCUSSION

 Answers here will vary according to your school’s site

 You may want to do this in class and not pre-assign it Have random students find the information while in front of the class and time them to see how long it takes

6 Overall, how would you rate your school’s Web site in terms of providing the information you need? How would you rate your school’s Web site in terms of allowing you to process your own transactions, such as signing up for a class, scheduling time with an advisor, and

so on?

DISCUSSION

 Again answers will vary according to your school’s site

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SHORT-ANSWER QUESTIONS (p 33)

1 What is the relationship between management information systems (MIS) and information technology (IT)?

ANSWER: MIS is a broad business function and the study of the use of IT IT is a set of

tools and a resource within MIS

2 What four steps should an organization follow in determining which technologies to use?

ANSWER: The four steps are: (1) assess the state of competition and industry pressures, (2)

determine business strategies, (3) identify important business processes, and (4) align technology tools with the business processes

3 What is the relationship between data, information, business intelligence (BI), and

knowledge?

ANSWER: Each build on the previous Data are raw facts, while information is data that

has meaning Business intelligence is collective information that gives you the ability to make strategic business decisions Finally, knowledge is a broad term that can encompass

BI context, how to affect BI, patents and trademarks, and organizational know-how

4 How does the granularity of information change as it moves from lower to upper

organizational levels?

ANSWER: At the lowest levels, information granularity is very fine because people need

tremendous detail to perform their jobs As information moves up through the

organization, it becomes more coarse because people don’t need as much detail but rather aggregations of information

5 What is the difference between a technology-literate knowledge worker and an information-literate knowledge worker?

ANSWER: A technology-literate knowledge worker knows how and when to apply

technology; that is, he/she understands the value and role of technology An information-literate knowledge worker knows all about information; that is, he/she understands the

value and role of information

6 How do ethics differ from laws?

ANSWER: Laws either clearly require or prohibit an action Ethics are more subjective,

more a matter of personal or cultural interpretation

7 What role does the Five Forces Model play?

ANSWER: Porter’s Five Forces Model helps business people understand the relative

attractiveness of an industry and the industry’s competitive pressures in terms of buyer power, supplier power, threat of substitute products or services, threat of new entrants, and rivalry among existing competitors

8 Why are competitive advantages never permanent?

ANSWER: Once an organization creates a competitive advantage, all competitors move to

offer similar or even better competitive advantages, thus nullifying the competitive

advantage of the first organization

9 What are the three generic strategies according to Michael Porter?

ANSWER: The three generic strategies according to Michael Porter are: overall cost

leadership, differentiation, and focus

10 How are Porter’s three generic strategies, an above-the-line versus a below-the-line

approach, and the RGT framework similar?

ANSWER: They are similar as follows: (1) run = overall cost leadership = bottom line, (2)

grow = focus and differentiation = top line, and (3) transform = (new) differentiation = top line (when the focus is innovation)

11 What is the role of value-chain analysis?

ANSWER: Value-chain analysis is a systematic approach to assessing and improving the

value of business processes within your organization to further increase it competitive strengths So, value-chain analysis helps you identify important business processes and how technology might help support them

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ASSIGNMENTS & EXERCISES (p 33)

1 USING PORTER TO EVALUATE THE MOVIE RENTAL INDUSTRY One hotly contested and

highly competitive industry is the movie rental business You can rent videos from local video rental stores, you can order pay-per-view from the comfort of your own home, and you can rent videos from the Web at such sites as NetFlix Using Porter’s Five Forces Model, evaluate the relative attractiveness of entering the movie rental business Is buyer power low or high? Is supplier power low or high? Which substitute products and services are perceived as threats? Can new entrants easily enter the market? What are the barriers to entry? What is the level of rivalry among existing competitors? What is your overall view of the movie rental industry? Is it a good or bad industry to enter?

DISCUSSION

 This is a good project for your students because they can easily and quickly relate to the movie rental industry

 It’s also a fairly easy and simple application of the Five Forces Model

 Buyer power – high because of many choices (VOD, Netflix, local rental places, etc)

 Supplier power – low; the opposite of buyer power

 Substitute products and services – mobisodes delivered via cell phone, YouTube, pirated movies, and many others including the commonly recognized ones

 This is a relatively easy market into which to enter

 Barriers – no late fees, some sort of online facility, etc

 Rivalry among existing competitors is very high

 Probably not a good industry into which to enter

2 REVIEWING THE 100 BEST COMPANIES TO WORK FOR Each year Fortune magazine devotes

an issue to the top 100 best companies to work for Find the most recent of Fortune that

does this First, develop a numerical summary that describes the 100 companies in terms of their relative industries Which industries are the most dominant? Pick one of the more dominant industries (preferably one in which you would like to work) and choose a specific highlighted company Prepare a short class presentation on why that company is among the

100 best to work for

DISCUSSION

 Because you’ll be assigning this exercise at different times (and because we wrote this exercise in mid 2007), we can’t give you the correct answers for this project

 However, your students should find a considerable number of companies in the IT field

that are the best to work for according to Fortune.

3 YOUR SCHOOL’S VALUE CHAIN Develop a value chain for your school You don’t have to

gather information to construct the value chain, but you do have to determine which

processes are support value processes and which processes are primary value processes Draw your value chain according to Figure 1.12 on page 27 Finally, list the three most important processes to you as a student and provide a short explanation of why they are the most important to you

DISCUSSION

 This is a great interactive in-class project

 Help your students focus on what is “primary” (e.g., delivery of education) and what is support (e.g., food services)

4 BUSINESS STRATEGY FOR ENTERING THE CELL PHONE SERVICE INDUSTRY Assume that you

run a start-up and have decided to enter the cell phone service industry Which of the three generic strategies would you choose as your primary business strategy – overall cost

leadership, differentiation, or focus? Explain your choice by elaborating on the product and services features you would offer to lure customers from the competition

DISCUSSION

 Again, this is another great interactive in-class project

 We recommend that you split the class into 3 groups and have each group focus on a different strategy

 Your groups will come up with some very interesting ideas

5 RESEARCHING YOUR CAREER AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY To position yourself in the

best possible way to succeed in the business world, you need to start researching your career right now Here, we would like you to focus on the IT skills your career requires First, consider what career you want to have Second, visit Monster.com

(www.monster.com) and search for jobs that relate to your career Read through several of the job postings and determine what IT skills you need to acquire

DISCUSSION

 We recommend that you assign this to each individual student and also cover XLM/K (Careers in Business) in conjunction with it

 Answers will vary greatly, but try to get all the finance majors to compile a list, all the marketing majors, etc

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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS (p 34)

1 The three key resources in management information systems (MIS) are information,

information technology, and people Which of these three resources is the most important? Why? The least important? Why?

DISCUSSION

 The most important resource is people, plain and simple People are the heart of any business, regardless of its industry and regardless of the extent to which it uses technology

 The least important is really technology We simply use technology to work with information If information were not so important, we would need much less technology

2 We often say that hardware is the physical interface to a technology system while software

is the intellectual interface How is your hardware your physical interface to your computer?

How is your software your intellectual interface to your computer? Do you see technology progressing to the point that we may no longer distinguish between hardware and software and thus no longer perceive differing physical and intellectual interfaces?

DISCUSSION

 Hardware is the physical interface because it is the physical devices that make up a computer Hardware is the also the set of devices we interact with physically – typing on

a keyboard, moving a mouse, viewing something on the screen

 Software takes over steps that we would otherwise perform with our mind – adding two numbers together, creating a graph, etc So, it is our intellectual interface

 Who knows if technology will ever progress to the point that we can’t distinguish between hardware and software

 However, our view of technology is changing We see it as an integrated set of tools That view may make hardware and software indistinguishable

3 In a group of three to four students, consider eBay in the context of Porter’s Five Forces Model How does eBay reduce the threat of new entrants? If necessary, you may want to explore eBay’s site (www.ebay.com) and determine the role of buyer and seller ratings, its integration with PayPal, and how it helps buyers and sellers resolve disputes

DISCUSSION

 eBay uses many techniques to reduce the threat of new entrants These essentially become entry barriers that are costly and time-consuming for new entrants to implements

cybermediary for payments.

4 In this chapter, we discussed the use of loyalty programs in the travel industry as a

mechanism for reducing buyer power What is another industry that also uses loyalty programs to reduce buyer power? How does that industry use loyalty programs to do so?

DISCUSSION

 Loyalty programs are just about everywhere – restaurants now have programs in which you accumulate points toward free meals, Office Max and Office Depot have similar programs, home supply stores do as well, and so on

5 As an information-literate knowledge worker for a local distributor of imported foods and spices, you’ve been asked to prepare a customer mailing list that will be sold to international cuisine restaurants in your area If you do so, will you be acting ethically? Suppose you don’t consider the proposal ethical What will you do if your boss threatens to fire you if you don’t prepare the list? Do you believe you would have any legal recourse if you didn’t prepare the list and were subsequently fired?

DISCUSSION

 Answers here will vary according to your students’ ethics

 It is legal for the distributor to sell a customer mailing list, if it has clearly stated so in its privacy and information usage policy So, depending on in which state you work (and whether or not you work for a union), you may be subject to being fired

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