Questions for Practice (revision)

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May 10, 2024

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Questions for Practice of decision making (based on sessions and handouts) 1. If you were the CIO of a firm, what factors would you consider while selecting storage media for your company’s records (files)? 2. What are different levels of user/consumer engagement and what type of data storage is required for each engagement type? 3. You work at the business headquarters for a chain of movie theaters. What data captured about customers (people visiting/visited to watch movie) could add value to your business after transforming it into valuable information? 4. What is the difference between information technology and information systems? 5. Modern farming equipment (tractors) often runs on complex software designed to help farmers increase their efficiency with data. But despite the potential upsides of using it, more than 70% farmers responded to survey that they bought older equipment. Do you agree to this resistance for technology? Why or Why not? justify your answer [refer in class handouts] 6. Describe Behavioral View of Organizations? [refer class notes and https://qsstudy.com/distinguished-between-technical-and-behavioral-approach-in-mis/ ] 7. How traditional functions of MIS department differ from new consultative function of MIS department? (refer revision notes and book) 8. Apple gives in on right-to-repair and made Self Service Repair announcement. Do you agree that this is a potential major win for consumers and independent businesses? Why or why not? 9. Healthcare organizations are aggressive about EMR/EHR or use of computers in general at hospitals. Do you agree that these systems are useful for doctors? Why or Why not? 10. Define and describe open source software and list their business benefits? 11. What do you mean by making wise IT infrastructure investments? [hint: options available and selection criteria, benefits/harms of each] 12. For any given firm (like we discussed forms in luxury car/milk/coaching etc.) what is core competency? Who or where is larger threat (in terms of porter's five forces). What would be your recommended IS strategy? [refer handout or book or online https://paginas.fe.up.pt/~acbrito/laudon/ch3/chpt3-4main.htm ] 13. For any given firm (like we discussed forms in luxury car/organic milk/CAT GRE coaching etc.) answer following questions a. Which activities create the most value? b. How does given firm provide value to its customers? c. What other companies are major competitors? How do their products compare on various aspects to those of given firm? What are some of the product features they emphasize? d. What are the competitive forces that can affect the industry? e. What competitive strategy [Focus on IS strategy only] should the given firm pursue? [Hint: sid’s farm product and supplier intimacy using CRM, like making use of the data to track down various buying habits and create new services in terms of promotions. Leonia can create new promotions when they target individuals who have frequent habits of travelling for personal and other business trips. The use of IS makes the coaching centers and matrimony websites also track down these habits more accurately. By using IS, the matrimony companies create enhanced and accurate customer’s portfolio and profile which help them to improve their relationship with the
customer. They can analyze current trends and transform business altogether. Ramoji and big boy toys-- Product differentiation make use of IS in order to create new product and services at the lower cost or unique experience. Leonia can do same. 14. Are all CRM based practices ethical? Are they an invasion of privacy? Why or why not? 15. What makes the apple watch a disruptive technology? a. Hint [did it impact traditional companies to revise traditional business? Anyone has to rethink business like Fitbit? Who can be potential winners and looser?] 16. Who are likely to be the winners and losers if the digital watch (apple or any other) becomes a hit? Why? a. Hint: any impact on luxury watch? Iot for health? Any impact on targeted advertisement? 17. What do you understand from human centered design? 18. How management control differs from operations control? [refer framework reading] 19. How IT flattens organization? (refer your own class notes or book, hint: Behavioral researchers have theorized that information technology facilitates flattening of hierarchies by broadening the distribution of information to empower lower-level employees and increase management efficiency) 20. Why do people resist information system and what should be done to counter the resistance? Have you encountered something similar while doing part 3 of project? What are your recommendations? 21. How can the Porter’s competitive forces model be used to identify IS strategies at the firm level? Practice for few firms discussed in class and from the book. [Hint: IS helps you to either to build on core competencies or fight/challenge/deter the Porter’s forces that are higher and potential impact your firm (profit/performance) by creating competition] 22. How can the finding platform in product framework be used to identify strategies at the firm level, give example firms/companies for two strategies to explain? Case study (self-practice) Can Albertsons Trounce Wal-Mart with Advanced Information Technology? Source: MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS: Managing the Digital Firm-authors: Keneth C. Laudon and Jane P. Laudon (3 rd Chapter). 9 th ed CASE STUDY QUESTIONS With 2,305 retail stores in 31 states, Albertsons is one of the largest retail food and drug chains in the world. Among these retail stores are 1,351 combination food-drug stores, 707 standalone drugstores, and 247 conventional and warehouse stores. Stores flying the Albertsons flag include Albertsons, Albertsons Express, Albertsons-Osco, Albertsons- Sav-on, Jewel, Jewel-Osco, Acme, Sav-on Drugs, Osco Drug, Max Foods, and Super Saver Foods. Albertsons’ marketing vow is to “Make Life Easier for Our Customers.” This credo plays a large part in another of the company’s priorities, which is to make Albertsons the number one grocer in the United States. Wal-Mart currently holds that distinction with $56 million in annual revenue from its grocery departments. Albertsons stands in third place, $20 million behind Wal-Mart in revenue. Wal-Mart has been selling groceries for a mere 16 years, making it a relative newcomer in the industry compared to most of its competitors. Of course, Wal-Mart does have vast retail experience, massive purchasing power, and leading-edge systems to apply to its grocery business to catapult it ahead of the
competition. Wal- Mart’s supply chain management systems are extremely quick and efficient. They keep inventory down to the necessary minimums and operating costs low so that overhead takes a much smaller chunk out of the company’s sales revenue. Wal - Mart’s Retail Link network pulls in point -of-sale data from its retail stores every 15 minutes, giving suppliers incredibly up-to-date information on how their products are selling. Other retailers capture sales data only once or twice each day. To move up to the top rung of the ladder, Albertsons has borrowed a page from Wal- Mart’s book and written a few new pages of its own. The author of these efforts is CEO and president Larry Johnston. Johnston came to Albertsons from a highly successful corporate environment, having worked under Jack Welch during the peak of his tenure at General Electric. Johnston wants to use information technology to keep prices competitive while making the shopping experience more compelling. He also wants to bolster the company’s leadership with the best minds available and use motivational techniques to invigorate his employees. By approaching business strategy on these two fronts, Johnston hopes to distance Albertsons from competitors such as Kroger and Safeway and catch up to industry leader Wal-Mart. Albertsons earmarked half a billion dollars for technology advancements in 2004. One goal of this investment is to improve the company’s profit margin. Profit margins are razor -thin in the supermarket business, averaging around one cent per dollar of sales. Currently, Albertsons earns 1.4 cents for every dollar of merchandise that sells. Wal-Mart is famous for keeping the prices of its merchandise low, but still manages to earn more than 3 cents for every dollar of sales. Albertsons must close that margin if it is to become the number one grocer in the United States. Working against Albertsons is the fact that its merchandise sells for 20 to 25 percent more on average than Wal- Mart’s product offerings. Albertsons has a wide gap to overcome. The technology strategies put forth by Larry Johnston cover a wide range of the company’s operations. Albertsons has begun to install self-service checkout stations in some of its stores. These stations enable customers to scan the items they are buying to create a sales bill and pay for the items by swiping a credit or debit card, all without the intervention of a cashier. Using a handheld scanner, customers may scan their purchases as they place them in their shopping cart, resulting in a checkout process that may take only a few seconds. Not having to wait in line to pay at the supermarket can be a major draw for customers. Albertsons views this improvement to the shopping experience as exactly the type of change it wants to implement to keep its current customers happy, bring in new customers, and thereby increase sales revenue. Of course, self-service checkout stations provide Albertsons with another benefit: They cut personnel costs. The stations enable Albertsons to replace human cashiers with machines that do not earn wages. Cutting payroll is a critical aspect o f the company’s repositioning, especially when you compare wage numbers with Wal-Mart. The average Wal-Mart worker earns about $8.50 per hour. Albertsons pays its average worker in the neighborhood of $13 per hour. In addition, Albertsons extends benefits to its employees, including health insurance and retirement packages that, in some cases, nearly double the value of the employee’s total compensation. The company line says that installing self -service checkout facilities is intended solely to create a better shopping experience for the customer. Retail analysts seem to think otherwise, saying that such claims are transparent; eliminating cashier positions could produce savings in excess of $100 million for Albertsons. Larry Johnston’s plans fo r technology-enabled grocery stores include a completely digital shopping experience that begins in the home and involves the Internet and Global Positioning System satellite technology. Customers would be able to set up their shopping lists from home through an Internet portal that is connected to their local Albertsons store. They could also add information to their accounts such as allergies and dietary restrictions. When customers arrive at the store, they would use a customer loyalty card
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