Information Systems A Managers Guide To Harnessing Technology Version 7.0 1st Edition John Gallaugher - Solutions

Examine the FreshDirect business model and list reasons for its competitive advantage. Would a similar business work in your neighborhood? Why or why not?
What are switching costs? What role does technology play in strengthening a firm's switching costs?
You have just written a word processing package far superior in features to Microsoft Word. You now wish to form a company to market it. List and discuss the barriers your startup faces.
What is the substitute for music CDs? What is the comparative sound quality of the substitute? Why would a listener accept an inferior product?
What effect did FreshDirect have on traditional grocers operating in New York City? Why?
What are network effects? Name a product or service that has been able to leverage network effects to its advantage.
What kinds of strategic assets are Google's Android and Apple's iOS seeking to create and exploit? Do you think these firms will be more successful than rivals? Why or why not?
Based on Porter's five forces, is this a good time to enter the retail music industry? Why or why not?
Choose a technology-based company. Discuss its competitive advantage based on the resources it controls.
What role did network effects play in your choice of an operating system, a social network, a word processor, or a mobile phone?
What is the cost to the music industry of music theft? Cite your source.
Use the resource-based view of competitive advantage to explain the collapse of many telecommunications firms in the period following the burst of the dot-com bubble.
How can technology be a distribution channel? Name a firm that has tried to leverage its technology as a distribution channel.
Discuss the concepts of price transparency and information asymmetry as they apply to the diamond industry as a result of the entry of Blue Nile. Name another industry where the Internet has had a similar impact.
Consider the examples of Barnes & Noble competing with Amazon, and Apple offering iTunes. Are either (or both) of these efforts straddling? Why or why not?
How does Apple compete with rivals? What competitive assets does the firm leverage when competing against Google, Microsoft, and others?
Under what conditions can the Internet strengthen supplier bargaining power? Give an example.
Do you think it is possible to use information technology to achieve competitive advantage? If so, how? If not, why not?
What is the effect of switching costs on buyer bargaining power? Give an example.
What are the potential sources of switching costs if you decide to switch cell phone service providers? Cell phones? Operating systems? Pay TV service?
How does the Internet impact bargaining power for providers of rare or highly differentiated goods? Why?
Why is an innovation based on technology alone often subject to intense competition?
Can you think of firms that have successfully created competitive advantage even though other firms provide essentially the same thing? What factors enable this success?
What can a firm do to prepare for the inevitable expiration of a patent (patents typically expire after twenty years)? Think in terms of the utilization of other assets and the development of advantages through employment of technology.
Has anyone shopped at Zara? If so, be prepared to share your experiences and observations with your class. What did you like about the store? What didn't you like? How does Zara differ from other clothing retailers in roughly the same price range? If you've visited Zara locations in different
In what ways is the Zara model counterintuitive? In what ways has Zara's model made the firm a better performer than Gap and other competitors?
The Zara case shows how information systems can impact every single management discipline. Which management disciplines were mentioned in this case? How does technology impact each?
What is the "conventional wisdom" of the fashion industry with respect to design, manufacturing, and advertising?
What factors account for a firm's profit margin? What does Gap focus on? What factors does Zara focus on to ensure a strong profit margin?
Would a traditional Internet storefront work well with Zara's business model? Why or why not?
What do you suppose are the factors that helped Gap to at one point rise to be first in sales in the fashion industry? Why do you suppose Gap profits collapsed?
How is data captured in Zara stores? Using what types or classifications of information systems? How does the firm use this data?
Zara's just-in-time, vertically integrated model has served the firm well, but an excellent business is not a perfect business. Describe the limitations of Zara's model and list steps that management might consider to minimize these vulnerabilities.
Where do Gap clothes come from? Who makes them? Why? Are there risks in this approach?
What role does technology play in enabling the other elements of Zara's counterintuitive strategy? Could the firm execute its strategy without technology? Why or why not?
What challenges might Zara face in expanding to China or to the United States? Do you think Zara should increase capacity in Spain or open a regional distribution center in another part of the world? What are the pros and cons of each approach?
Describe the downside of working with a supplier exposed as having used unethical practices. How does this potentially damage a firm? How can technology play a role in helping a firm become more socially responsible with its supply sourcing?
Why has Zara's RFID rollout been less problematic than those at Walmart and JCPenney? How does Zara's use of RFID reduce concerns that customer products will be tracked post-purchase? How does Zara reduce the expense associated with tagging each item? How does RFID improve efficiency and customer
Search online to find examples of firms that suffered production problems because they employed just-in-time manufacturing or kept limited inventory on hand. What caused the production problems? List any steps you can think of that the firms might consider to minimize the potential of such problems
Describe the Fair Factories Clearinghouse. Which firm thought of this effort? Why did they give the effort away? Think in terms of strategic resources: what happens as more firms join this effort and share their data?
How does technology spending at Zara compare to that of rivals? Advertising spending? Failed product percentages? Markdowns?
What risks are inherent in the conventional practices in the fashion industry? Is Zara susceptible to these risks? Is Zara susceptible to different risks? If so, what are these?
Consider the Prada case mentioned in the sidebar "Technology Systems." What did Prada fail to consider when it rolled out the technology in its flagship location? Could this effort have been improved for better results? If you were put in charge of this kind of effort, what would determine whether
Describe the two separate Netflix offerings.
What were Netflix's sources of competitive advantage in the DVD-by-mail business?
Contrast Netflix's two businesses: DVD-by-mail and streaming. How do costs differ? How are these costs likely to change over time? How is subscriber interest in these services likely to change over time? What factors influence the reliability of each service? What threats are each of these
During his time as CEO of Netflix, Hastings has also served roles for other firms. What additional managerial roles outside of Netflix has Reed Hastings accepted? Why might these roles potentially be important for Netflix?
Does Netflix have a strong brand? Offer evidence demonstrating why the firm's brand is or isn't strong. How is a strong brand built?
Who are the rivals to the Netflix streaming effort? Do any of these firms have advantages that Netflix lacks? What are these advantages?
Can you think of once-successful firms that were forced to radically redesign their businesses based on technology change? How did the firms in your list fare with the new model-better or worse than their prior success? Why do you suppose they experienced the outcomes you've identified?
Scale advantages are advantages related to size. In what key ways is Netflix "bigger" than the two major competitors who tried to enter the DVD-by-mail market?
Why would a manufacturer of DVD players be motivated to offer the Netflix "Watch Now" feature in its products?
What is the long tail? How "long" is the Netflix tail in the DVD-by-mail business compared to traditional video stores?
Make a chart of the various firms offering video-streaming services. List the pros and cons of each, along with its revenue model. Which efforts do you think will survive a shakeout? Why?
Is Netflix a friend or foe to the studios? Make a list of reasons why they would "like" Netflix, and why studios might be fearful of the firm.
Could a new competitor match Netflix's recommendation software? If it did, would this create a threat to Netflix? Why or why not?
What is disintermediation, have to try to disintermediate and what incentives do studios Netflix?
What is the Netflix churn rate and what are the reasons behind this rate?
Why can't Netflix secure a long tail of streaming content that is the same size as its content catalog in the DVD-by- mail business? What is Netflix doing to make its streaming catalog more appealing than rival offerings?
Is streaming content provided by studios a commodity or differentiated good? How does this influence supplier power? How has this changed in the shift from DVD-by- mail to streaming subscriptions?
What advantages does Netflix have over premium cable television channels? What advantages do these channels have over Netflix? Do you think this is a winner-take-all market, or is there room enough for multiple players?
How does Netflix build its data asset? In what ways does it leverage this data asset? Why is the data asset stronger under streaming than it was for the DVD-by-mail business?
Why is streaming potentially better for consumers and for content producers? Why is Netflix a potentially attractive partner for content creators (producers, writers, directors)?
Can scale be achieved in the streaming industry? If so, how? Or if not, why not?
What challenges does Netflix face as it expands internationally? What advantages does international expansion offer?
Why didn't Netflix vertically integrate and offer its own set- top box for content distribution?
What has been the impact of Netflix's move from single plan pricing to separate pricing for streaming and DVD-by- mail? What factors motivated this move? Do you think splitting the service into separate plans was a wise move? Why or why not? What errors did the firm make in the "Qwikster debacle"?
How does Netflix rank in terms of customer satisfaction today? What factors do you suppose are behind this ranking?
Investigate the current state of net neutrality. What is the current status of ISPs' right to offer a fast lane or impose bandwidth caps? Who would you side with, Netflix or the large ISPs? Why?
Investigate Netflix's stock price. One of the measures of whether a stock is "expensive" or not is the price-earnings ratio (share price divided by earnings per share). P/Es vary widely, but historic P/Es are about fifteen. What is the current P/E of Netflix? Do you think the stock is fairly valued
What are the risks and benefits to Netflix in using Amazon's cloud computing platform?
How has Netflix leveraged crowdsourcing and code contests?
In what ways do Netflix employee policies differ from those of most other firms? Does Netflix seem like the kind of firm you'd like to work for? Why or why not?
What is Moore's Law? What does it apply to?
Show your familiarity with key terms: What are the differences between supercomputing, grid computing, and cluster computing? How are these phenomena empowered by Moore's Law?
What is e-waste? What is so dangerous about e-waste?
What is the MagicBand? What technology is inside it and what does it do? How do the bands benefit the customer experience? What benefits does Disney realize from the system?
Are other aspects of computing advancing as well? At what approximate rates? What is Kryder's Law?
How does grid computing using slack or excess computing resources change the economics of supercomputing?
What lessons do the challenges of e-waste offer the manager? What issues will your firm need to consider as it consumes or offers products that contain computing components?
What more can and should Disney do with this technology?
How does flash memory differ from the memory in a PC? Are both solid state?
What sorts of materials might be harvested from e-waste recycling?
In addition to designing and creating bands, what else did Disney need to do to pull off this effort? How many systems were involved? What infrastructure needed to be upgraded?
What is a microprocessor? What devices do you or your family microprocessors (and hence are impacted by own that contain Moore's Law)?
Will multicore chips run software designed for single-core processors?
Name businesses that are using supercomputing and grid computing. Describe these uses and the advantages they offer their adopting firms. Are they a source of competitive advantage? Why or why not?
Many well-meaning individuals thought that recycling was the answer to the e-waste problem. But why hasn't e-waste recycling yielded the results hoped for?
There's a lot you can do with technology, but Disney is also crafting a very special, branded experience. Do you think Disney got it right, or does the technology seem like it would interfere with the experience? Why or why not?
What is a semiconductor? What is the substance from which most semiconductors are made?
As chips grow smaller they generate increasing amounts of heat that needs to be dissipated. Why is keeping systems cool such a challenge? What are the implications for a firm like Yahoo! or Google? For a firm like Apple or Dell?
What are the characteristics of problems that are most easily solved using the types of parallel computing found in grids, clusters, and modern-day supercomputers? What are the characteristics of the sorts of problems not well suited for this type of computing?
What are some of the materials that may replace the silicon that current chips are made of?
Large technical projects can be a challenge to design and deploy. Why? How did Disney cut through some of these challenges and eventually deliver a project within goals and within budget?
Which of the following are solid-state devices: an iPod shuffle, an iPhone, a USB flash drive, a TiVo DVR, a typical laptop PC?
Search online to assess the current state of quantum computing. What kinds of problems might be solved if the promise of quantum computing is achieved? How might individuals and organizations leverage quantum computing? What sorts of challenges could arise from the widespread availability of such
Search online to identify the five fastest supercomputers currently in operation. Who sponsors these machines? What are they used for? How many processors do they have?
Why is e-waste exported abroad for recycling rather than processed domestically?
How does Disney deal with security and privacy concerns? Do you think these precautions are enough? Why or why not?
Why is Moore's Law important for managers? How does it influence managerial thinking?

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Information Systems A Managers Guide To Harnessing Technology Version 7.0 1st Edition John Gallaugher - Solutions

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