New Semester
Started
Get
50% OFF
Study Help!
--h --m --s
Claim Now
Question Answers
Textbooks
Find textbooks, questions and answers
Oops, something went wrong!
Change your search query and then try again
S
Books
FREE
Study Help
Expert Questions
Accounting
General Management
Mathematics
Finance
Organizational Behaviour
Law
Physics
Operating System
Management Leadership
Sociology
Programming
Marketing
Database
Computer Network
Economics
Textbooks Solutions
Accounting
Managerial Accounting
Management Leadership
Cost Accounting
Statistics
Business Law
Corporate Finance
Finance
Economics
Auditing
Tutors
Online Tutors
Find a Tutor
Hire a Tutor
Become a Tutor
AI Tutor
AI Study Planner
NEW
Sell Books
Search
Search
Sign In
Register
study help
computer sciences
information systems
Management information systems 10th edition James A. O Brien, George M. Marakas - Solutions
Are you interested in investing in, owning, managing, or working for a business that is primarily engaged in e-commerce on the Internet? Explain your position.
Refer to the Real World Case on social networks, mobile commerce, and online shopping in the chapter. Do you think that mobile devices (not just phones anymore) are becoming the major platform for shopping, communication, everything? What are the implications for companies?
Why do you think there have been so many business failures among dot-com companies that were devoted only to retail e-commerce?
Do the e-commerce success factors listed in figure guarantee success for an e-commerce business venture? Give a few examples of what else could go wrong and how you would confront such challenges.e-Commerce Success Factors• Selection and Value. Attractive product selections, competitive prices,
If personalizing a customer’s Web site experience is a key success factor, then electronic profiling processes to track visitor Web site behavior are necessary. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Explain your position.
All corporate procurement should be accomplished in e-commerce auction marketplaces, instead of using B2B Web sites that feature fixed-price catalogs or negotiated prices. Explain your position on this proposal.
Refer to the Real World Case on LinkedIn, Umbria, Mattel and Others in the chapter. What is your take on the debate as to whether these “influential” individuals do really have an effect on others, or they are representative of an underlying cultural trend? How would a company react based on
Consider the examples discussed in the case. Go online and research what other companies or industries are doing in terms of the use of social networking sites and mobile commerce. What other examples can you find? Prepare a report that compares those in your research with the ones described here,
How often, if ever, do you shop with your mobile phone? What do you think are some of the roadblocks that prevent the widespread adoption of mobile shopping?
What would you suggest companies do to overcome those? Break into small groups with your classmates to develop a few recommendations.
A number of technological and cultural developments in recent years have resulted in the emergence of extensive social networks and a large number of avidly followed blogs. Go online to research how companies are tapping into these trends and what new marketing practices have arisen as a result.
Reflect on your own purchasing behavior. How much do you rely on blogs, feedbacks, and recommendations from past customers to make your own purchase decisions? Why do you (or don’t you) rely on these sources of information? Do you believe they are largely unbiased? Break into small groups to
Use the Internet to research the current business status of all of the many companies in this case. Are the second movers still successfully using their strategies, or have the first movers foiled their attempts? Have new strong players entered the markets of the first and second movers, or have
Assume you will start an Internet-based business similar to one of those mentioned in this case or another one of your choice. Would you be a first, second, or later mover in the market you select? How would you differentiate yourself from other competitors or prospective new entrants? Break into
Online trust providers such as e Trust (www.etrust.org) and others review privacy policies, including information collection and use, sharing and disclosure, and security, and then certify Web sites as meeting their standards. Companies that achieve this can then display a logo to that effect.
The case features technology developed by Brand Protect (www.brandprotect.com); competitors include Mark- Monitor (www.markmonitor.com) and Name Protect (www.cscprotectbrands.com).Visit their Web sites to compare and contrast their offerings. Then break into small groups to compare your findings
1. How do the companies involved benefit from the innovations discussed in the case? Is it about more transaction that is efficient processing, better reaching out to customers, or both?2. Use examples from the case to illustrate your answer.3. “Shopping online can be social again, as it was in
1. How can companies benefit from the “cultural assessments” regularly performed by Mattel? How could the information obtained be used to create business value for those organizations? Provide multiple examples.2. The case notes that, in spite of disconfirming evidence as to the effectiveness
1. Is the second-mover advantage always a good business strategy? Defend your answer with examples of the companies in this case.2. What can a front-runner business do to foil the assaults of second movers? Defend your answer using the examples of the front-runner companies in the case.3. Do second
1. Consider your own online shopping patterns. How much weight do you place on the presence of a name or logo or other trademark (such as the Kitchen Aid silhouette) on a Web site when purchasing goods or services? Do you ever stop to consider whether you may have been misled? How could you tell
E-Commerce Web Site Reviews BizRate.com Biz Rate (www.bizrate.com) instantly provides information about hundreds of online stores. Supported product lines include books, music, electronics, clothes, hardware, gifts, and more. Customer reviews help shoppers select products and retailers with
Case-Based Marketing Selling on Amazon.com A case-based reasoning system is a type of expert system. It attempts to match the facts on hand to a database of prior cases. When a case-based reasoning system finds one or more cases in its database that closely match the facts at hand, it then
Are the form and use of information and decision support systems for managers and business professionals changing and expanding? Why or why not?
Has the growth of self-directed teams to manage work in organizations changed the need for strategic, tactical, and operational decision making in business?
What is the difference between the ability of a manager to retrieve information instantly on demand using an MIS and the capabilities provided by a DSS?
Refer to the Real World Case on Valero Energy and others in the chapter. Information is one part (albeit a very important one) of decision making, with managers being the other. What experiences and qualifications are important in preparing managers for “fact-based” decision-making? How are
In what ways does using an electronic spreadsheet package provide you with the capabilities of a decision support system?
Are enterprise information portals making executive information systems unnecessary? Explain your reasoning.
Refer to the Real World Case on Kimberly-Clark and virtual reality in the chapter. Is the company fixing something that was not broken? Explain.
Can computers think? Will they ever be able to? Explain why or why not.
Which applications of AI have the potential value for use in the operations and management of a business? Defend your choices.
What are some of the limitations or dangers you see in the use of AI technologies such as expert systems, virtual reality, and intelligent agents? What could be done to minimize such effects?
If you had to apply the ideas discussed in the case to your academic career, what would your dashboard and/ or scorecard look like? What would be the sources of information? How you would measure whether you are making progress toward attaining your goals? Break into small groups to discuss these
With technologies like these, will consumers entirely do away with retailers sometime in the future, shopping only through virtual representations of a retail store? Will consumers even want it to look like a retail store? Break into small groups to propose arguments for and against these questions.
Choose one of the companies introduced in the case and search the Internet to update the status of their project. Also, look at their competitors, and discover how they have responded to the introduction of the developments mentioned in the case. Have they attempted to imitate them?
As these technologies go beyond the capacity and abilities of human beings, what is the role of people in the processes they affect? Do you think these technologies empower us by allowing us to overcome our limitations and expand our range of possibilities? Instead, do they relegate people to the
Search the Internet for other examples of both “mere reporting” and transformational implementations of business intelligence tools. In which ways are these similar to the ones discussed in the case? In which ways are these different? What seems to be the main distinction between reporting and
How do you think the possession or access to certain information shapes the political dynamics of organizations? Do you believe companies should be open about widespread access to information, or will they be better off by restricting it? Why? Break into small groups with your classmates to discuss
1. What is the difference between a “dashboard” and a “scorecard”? Why is it important that managers know the difference between the two? What can they learn from each?2. In what ways have the companies mentioned in the case benefited from their adoption of “fact-based” decision-making?
1. What is the business benefits derived from the technology implementation described in the case? Also, discuss benefits other than those explicitly mentioned in the case.2. Are virtual stores like this one just an incremental innovation on the way marketing tests new product designs? Or do they
1. Consider the outcomes of the projects discussed in the case. In all of them, the payoffs are both larger and achieved more rapidly than in more traditional system implementations. Why do you think this is the case? How are these projects different from others you have come across in the past?
1. What are the business benefits of BI deployments such as those implemented by Avnet and Quaker Chemical? What roles do data and business processes play in achieving those benefits?2. What are the main challenges to the change of mindset required to extend BI tools beyond mere reporting? What can
Remote Point of Sales in Mexico Melissa and “Rook” Nelson, co-owners of Skydive Chicago, shut down their northern operations in mid- December each year. With heavy cloud cover and frigid temperatures, they just cannot find enough skydivers willing to jump over the frozen Chicago landscape.
Distance Learning “Distance learning” is a growth business with an increasing number of accredited universities adding new online degrees to their offerings every year. However, prospective employers often value these degrees little more than the “mail-order degree” variety. University
The strategic opportunities matrix described in this chapter provides a simple analysis tool for strategic planning groups. It places all plans in direct competition with each other and so participants can quickly identify the most promising plans to evaluate in detail. Use the Internet and your
Planning is a useless endeavor because developments in e-business and e-commerce and in the political, economic, and societal environments are moving too quickly nowadays. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why?
Planning and budgeting processes are notorious for their rigidity and irrelevance to management action. How can planning be made relevant to the challenges facing a business?
Refer to the Real World Case on IT/Business Alignment in the chapter. Companies where IT is an important part of their product offerings presumably also have a sales force that is well versed in technology. Why is it then necessary to take the CIO along on customer visits? Discuss.
What planning methods would you use to develop business/ IT strategies and applications for your own business? Explain your choices.
What are several e-business and e-commerce strategies and applications that should be developed and implemented by many companies today? Explain your reasoning.
How can a company use change management to minimize the resistance and maximize the acceptance of changes in business and technology? Give several examples.
Many companies plan really well, yet few translate strategy into action. Do you think this statement is true? Why or why not?
Review the real-world examples on user resistance and involvement in the chapter. What else would you recommend to encourage user acceptance in both cases? Explain your recommendations.
What major business changes beyond e-business and e-commerce do you think most companies should be planning for in the next 10 years? Explain your choices.
The IT function is notorious for being dynamic, and its leaders are no exception. Go online to research recent trends affecting the traditional roles of senior IT executives and how those roles are changing. Prepare a presentation to share your findings with the rest of the class.
“In the future, the prevalence of IT in product offerings will blur the distinction between IT and other areas of the company, to the extent that the IT function will cease to exist as a separate entity.” Do you agree with this statement? Why? Break into small groups with your classmates to see
Would the issues discussed in the case be solved by making a business executive the head of any projects involving IT? Why or why not? Break into small groups with your classmates and develop a justification for both alternatives.
Go online and follow up on some of the organizations featured in the case (note that Extant Financial Services has recently merged with OptumHealth). How have these organizations been doing lately? Research what the news media and their own financial reports say, if anything, about the role of
One of the organizations featured in the case is New Mexico State University (NMSU). Think about how IT can be of strategic importance to universities and educational institutions. Break into small groups with your classmates to discuss some possibilities and how these apply to your educational
Search the Internet for examples of recent successful and failed IT implementations. What was the role of employee involvement and resistance in each one of those? What strategies did companies use to manage the change process, and how much success did they have in doing so? Prepare a report to
Break into small groups to discuss what change management strategies and tactics you would use to ensure a smooth transition, either at a company you are familiar with or at one you know about from previous research for this or another class. How would you achieve a good balance between positive
1. How does the job of the CIO change with the assumption of customer responsibilities? Do you agree with this new development? Why or why not?2. Why would there be internal resistance to CIOs becoming more externally customer-focused than they were before? Does this present a threat to executives
1. Why do you think the practices described in the case led to success for these companies?2. How do they change the structure of projects so that the likelihood of a positive outcome increases?3. In the case of Shaw Industries, how did Scrum help?4. Provide three specific examples from the case,
1. Consider statements made in the case about business often not having an overarching business strategy that can serve as guidance for the development of a strategy for IT.2. Dave Aron of Gartner notes that in some cases the lack of clear business strategy provides an opportunity for IT leaders to
1. Although a very detailed change proposal may prevent people from making their own connections, as discussed in the case, it may lead others to consider the proposal vague and unfinished. How do you balance these two concerns? What guidelines would you use to ensure that you are not veering too
Project Planning Projects have many dependencies, any of which could become points of failure. Without the cooperation or input from even one vital resource, a project may fail to meet its objectives. Effective project planning helps project managers think through a project before it starts and
Enabling Technologies the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination based on disability about public accommodations and commercial facilities. This act has been interpreted to include certain information systems as well. All information systems development projects should consider
Conversion Strategies the city of London has been well known for its many historic sites, live theater, and heavy traffic. In spite of a sophisticated underground subway system known locally as the “tube,” traffic delays, car exhaust, noise pollution, and vehicle-pedestrian accidents have
Why has prototyping become a popular way to develop business applications? What are proto tapping’s advantages and disadvantages?
Refer to the Real World Case on Microsoft, SiCortex, and Others in the chapter. Does the ability of virtualization technology to provide developers with multiple combinations of operating systems and applications mean that companies should be required, or expected, to support all possible ones?
Review the real-world example about Walmart and Others in the chapter. How could these companies prepare for the unexpected changes in demand that brought down their Web sites? Explain your reasoning.
What are the three most important factors you would use in evaluating computer hardware? Computer software? Explain why.
Assume that in your first week on a new job you are asked to use a type of business software that you have never used before. What kind of user training should your company provide to you before you start?
Refer to the Real World Case on WestJet, JetBlue, and Others in the chapter. In general, is it a good idea for companies to make major software upgrades public beforehand? What are the advantages and disadvantages of doing so? Do they have an ethical responsibility to tell their customers? Discuss.
What is the difference between the parallel, direct, phased, and pilot forms of IS conversion? Which conversion strategy is best? Explain why.
Review the Google real-world example in the chapter. How might you change the user interface of Google’s search pages and those of some of its other products on the Web? Defend your proposals.
Review the real-world example discussing the factors involved in project failure in the chapter. If these are well-known, why would companies choose to ignore them over and over again? What could be the reasons behind such behavior?
Go online and research other users of virtualization technology (backup and disaster recovery being one of those). How do those differ from the ones described in the case? How are they similar? Prepare a report to summarize your findings.
If virtualization technology were to eventually allow end users to run any environment of their choice in the same device, does that mean the choice of computing platform (desktop, notebook, smart phone; Windows, Linux, Mac OS) becomes irrelevant? Break into small groups to discuss this issue.
Why are ERP upgrades so complex and expensive? What role does ERP customization, if any, play in this process? Go online and research other examples discussing ERP upgrades. Can you discern a pattern in what seems to be the major cost drivers of the upgrade process?
Place yourself in the position of a WestJet or JetBlue customer while the upgrading was being implemented. What, if anything, would you have done differently had the companies told you that a major software upgrade would be happening soon? Should they have told you? Break into small groups with
Choose two or three companies with global operations that interest you and visit their Web sites for countries other than the United States. Even if you are not familiar with the language, do the Web sites have the same look and feel of the U.S. site? In which ways are they similar, and in which
Although PayPal opted for a centralized approach to keep consistency across Web site appearance and content, other companies let both of these vary for each of the countries in which they operate. When would you use one or the other approach? Would it depend on the company, products offered,
Go online and search the Internet to discover how typical the experiences reported in the case are for other companies in different industries. How are the ones you discover addressing these issues? How similar or different are those strategies with the ones discussed in the case? Prepare a report
Which of the following strategies do you think IT executives should adopt to improve their current situation: reject new projects, attempt to increase staff and funding, prioritize often, or all of the above? Break into small groups with your classmates to discuss these and other strategies you may
1. How does virtualization work? In your own words, describe what you understand about the virtualization process as depicted in the case.2. In software development and testing, where does virtualization help, and where does it not help? Why?3. What are the business benefits of implementing
1. In the case, both airlines upgraded to the same application but approached the upgrade process differently. What were those differences, and how much impact did they have on the outcome of the project?2. What precautions did the organizations in the case take to prevent software upgrade
1. One of the challenges that PayPal faces now that it has managed to overcome the polylingual obstacle is finding the best way to put this functionality in the hands of the business, so that they do not have to go through IT each time. How do you balance this need for responsiveness and
1. The case notes that a changing environment or business priorities can render an ongoing project obsolete even before it has been completed. What alternatives do CIOs who find themselves in this situation have with respect to dealing with the troubled project? Would you go ahead and finish it, or
Authentication Network and application managers need to know who is accessing their systems to determine appropriate access levels. Typically, they require that users create secret passwords. A secret password, known only to the user, allows an administrator to feel confident that a user is who the
Three Ethical Scenarios Whether you’re an employer or an employee, you should know what your rights are when it comes to Internet use in the workplace. Mark Grossman, a Florida attorney who specializes in computer and Internet law, gives answers to some basic questions.• Scenario 1: Nobody told
Social Engineering An employee who needs permission to access an electronic workspace, database, or other information systems resource typically fills in a request form and obtains approval from the responsible manager. The manager then routes the request to one of the system’s administrators.
The Spyware Problem Web surfers may feel anonymous as they use the Internet, but that feeling isn’t always justified. IP addresses, cookies, site log-in procedures, and credit card purchases all help track how often users visit a site and what pages they view. Some companies go further. Some free
What can be done to improve the security of business uses of the Internet? Give several examples of security measures and technologies you would use.
What potential security problems do you see in the increasing use of intranets and extranets in business? What might be done to solve such problems? Give several examples.
Refer to the real-world example about copying CDs and music downloading in the chapter. Is copying music CDs an ethical practice? How about Internet music downloading? Explain.
What are your major concerns about computer crime and privacy on the Internet? What can you do about it? Explain.
What is disaster recovery? How could it be implemented at your school or work?
Refer to the Real World Case on IT and ethics in the chapter. Most or all companies have an ethics and compliance program of some sort, but not all of them “live” by it. What does it take for a company to take this next step? What is the role of IT in that scenario?
Is there an ethical crisis in business today? What role does information technology play in unethical business practices?
Showing 200 - 300
of 1599
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
Last
Step by Step Answers