Topic Threads Posts Last Post Discussion for Week 1 (Completed) Contains unread posts Locked. Conference Instructions: Each person please make at least one response to one of the posted questions and also please follow up two of your classmates responses. Please remember that the point of this class is not for you to just memorize a bunch of facts. Instead we are going to make a real effort, to promote critical thinking and the ability to actually apply the concepts that you will learn here. So, you may have to do some digging and some synthesis to effectively respond to the questions I ask. It is very important to participate in this discussion conference each week. So, please join us and please try to participate in and follow along with each week's conferences! Everyone should watch the short video What is an Information System? Week 1 Questions: This week we're talking about the Competitive Environment of firms. Some of it will center on Porter's "Five Forces" model. Porter's model used to receive a lot more emphasis in this course than it currently does. Here are our discussion questions for this week: Do some research, or draw from your own experience, and tell us about a company that used some form of information technology for STRATEGIC purposes. Please be sure to tell us what the strategy was that they were working toward. There are many examples in the textbook, and our discussion will be much richer if you select something that is not covered there. Be sure you're not just discussing their business strategy but also including the use of information technology to enable that strategy. Searching on a company's mission and strategic goals can help you align the pieces. This class typically includes students who have Business backgrounds and others who are coming from IT backgrounds. Typically each group struggles with the others' terminology or jargon. http://www.everydaysociologyblog.com/2010/12/the-sociology-of-jargon.html It will be important for you to learn some new vocabulary if you are going to understand the concepts of this course. Please post on some unfamiliar terminology that you have encountered in this course. THIS IS A STANDING QUESTION FOR ALL THE CONFERENCES - YOU CAN POST QUESTIONS IN THE CONFERENCES AT ANY TIME REGARDING ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS THAT YOU MIGHT BE HAVING WITH THAT WEEK'S COURSE MATERIAL. Who is this guy Porter, and how did he come up with this stuff? Describe each of Porter's Five Forces. What circumstances would cause you to rank the force Strong or Weak? What are Porter's three generic strategies? Under what circumstances would the application of each of his strategies be the most appropriate? As a manager, what are the conditions you are looking for that would make each of his strategies relevant? What is a Value Chain and why is it important? What's a "Stovepipe" organization? Recall the database approach from IFSM 201. How does the "Stovepipe" organization contradict the database approach? What are some of the challenges that you will face trying to implement an organizational information system that demands that different departments share data and coordinate their activities? What's "Paving the Cowpaths" -- why is it easy to do, what should be done instead? (Please note, Hammer + Champy's presentation on Business Process Reengineering, see http://faculty.csuci.edu/minder.chen/MBA550/slide/BPR_short.ppt addresses this issue.) How can Porter's Five-Forces model be applied in the context of a non-profit organization or governmental entity? You may also wish to review the Powerpoint Week 1 Class Discussion notes -- They are attached to the first thread of this conference. The notes pose several additional questions to which you can respond. WARNING - You will probably not find the answers to all these questions in the assigned reading. You're going to have to do some digging and critical thinking. I look forward to engaging the class in this discussion! 27 88 Unread for topic Discussion for Week 1 (Completed): (69) View profile card for Edwin Kraft Edwin Kraft July 4 at 6:31 PM Discussion for Week 2 (Completed) Contains unread posts Locked. Conference Instructions: Each person please make at least one response to one of the posted questions. However,the point of this class is not for you to just memorize a bunch of facts. Instead we are going to make a real effort, to promote critical thinking and the ability to actually apply the concepts that you will learn here. So, you may have to do some digging and some synthesis to effectively respond to the questions I ask. You can also follow up other students responses for additional grading credit. It is very important to participate in this discussion conference each week (For a Hybrid Class: once we get to class, we are going to "pick up" and continue this discussion thread. So if you haven't followed along, you're going to find yourself a bit disoriented!) So, please join us and please try to participate in and follow along with each week's conferences! Week 2 Questions: A key challenge to Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and their staff is the ever-changing landscape in the Information Technology world. CIOs must be concerned not only with overseeing the current operation of the IT Department and how it best supports the business strategy, but they must also be focused on the years ahead. This is important, first to ensure that today's technology decisions will likely align and be compatible with future requirements, and secondly, that the CIO is well versed in the trends so he or she can advise the business of the potential of technology advancements and concerns. This will help the organization, overall, to make good business decisions. Other members of the organization should have a general idea of these IT trends and be able to identify those that may help their particular area of the business. This week we're talking about application of Decision support technology; Business process design and redesign; Disruptive technologies, E-Business and E-Commerce. It seems like a lot to cover in one week . . . but as I would remind you, this is an accelerated course! So, here are our discussion questions for this week. I would recommend that you pick one of these areas (that has not been covered already) and focus on it: First, read the Information Systems Course Module in the Week 2 Learning Resources, paying particular attention to the Levels of Decision Making. For purposes of this discussion, we will use a retail business as an example. This retail business is comprised of the corporate headquarters, regions (oversees several stores in a geographic area) and individual stores. Each of these aligns to one of the three levels of decision makers in an organization. Then, please review the Powerpoint Week 2 Class Discussion notes -- They are attached to the first thread of this conference. The notes pose several questions to which you can respond. For the class project, we are learning about Business Process modeling. First, we need to be sure you can identify a process; many students have difficulty with that, so refer to your textbook readings. I am also interested in the method to be used to improve the process, not a solution. (For example, I am not looking for something like: "The Caf where I work is not selling enough coffee. We should use social media to advertise more." (That is a technology solution, not a business process.) The discussion here is about identifying a process and how the business would go about deciding how to improve that process, who should be involved, what should be considered, and what steps should be taken. Last week, we covered Business Processes, including Process Improvement through streamlining and reengineering, and process modeling of both the As-Is and the To-Be processes. Decision Support Systems Select one of the levels of decision making and identify one decision that a manager at that level might make. The decision must relate to the retail business and what it does. Then, explain what information a manager at that level might get from the IT systems (such as inventory management or customer information system) to aid in making that decision. Example: Managerial Level: The Regional Director makes a decision to shift inventory that is not selling in one store to another store where sales in those items are high. To support this decision, the Regional Director would need information on sales of specific products by store. What is the difference between Efficiency and Effectiveness? Who in the organization is typically more responsible for achieving Efficiency vs. achieving Effectiveness and why? How does this difference in job responsibility affect the approach to decision support provided to different levels of management in the organization? Last week we talked about the difference between data, information, business intelligence and knowledge. Decision Support systems typically operate at the higher end of this spectrum often employing sophisticated algorithmsto process data.What kinds of Decision Support capabilities do you already have on your computer (e.g. in Microsoft Excel?) Please consider developing an on-line demo of such a Decision Support example that you can post in this conference: What is an algorithm? What kinds of Decision Support systems are there, what do they do, and what are they used for? What are the key differences between them? What kinds of Decision Support capabilities can you find on the internet? Please consider developing an on-line demo of such a Decision Support example that we can show in class What is a sensitivity analysis? What is goal seek? Why are both of these particularly important when launching a new business? What is data mining? What kinds of algorithms are used in data mining? As a business owner, what kinds of benefits can you get out of it? As an individual what kinds of concerns might this practice raise? Business Process Modeling Please review the Powerpoint presentation on Hammer + Champy's Business Process Reengineering. See http://www.slideshare.net/mostafakamel87/re-engineering-the-corporation There is room for continuing the discussion on Hammer + Champy's Paving the Cowpaths here. Which is better Demings approach to Continuous Quality Improvement versus Hammer + Champys Reengineering approach? Under which circumstances? What are the institutional issues related to Business Process Change? Who owns the process, and who has the authority to change it? What should be the role of the MIS organization in promoting change? (Please be sure to cite your sources on this last part of the question as there are conflicting views on this subject.) For a conference post, drawing from your own experience, select a process (a set of specified steps to accomplish a task) used at your place of work or in your interaction with a business that you would like to see improved. Explain why you picked that process. Explain how you would go about improving it. Who should be involved with you? What are some of the questions you should ask about the current process? How will you know if the process was actually improved? Disruptive Technologies What are some examples of disruptive technologies that were introduced in the 19th Century, 20th Century and 21st Century? What happened as a result? Why is it important that businesses be aware of and respond to the introduction of disruptive technologies? What are some new disruptive technologies that have been introduced in the last 3 years? What is likely to be their impacts? What are some new disruptive technologies that are likely to be introduced in the next 10 years (if we can even predict them?) What is likely to be their impacts? (The Gartner Group, is a leading consulting and advisory group. You will find their web site http://www.gartner.com/technology/research/predicts/ has interesting information.) What is the "Internet of Things (IOT)?" Why is it that some say that "Predictive Analytics are the Biggest Value of IoT?" (See PDF article attached with this week's notes) Pick one of the following topics and explain what it is, and why it may be important to understand in terms of how it might impact the future of your organization Software-as-a-Service Public cloud Platform-as-a-Service Private cloud Infrastructure-as-a-Service Hybrid cloud 3D Printing Cloud computing Web technology Internet of Things Big data and Analytics Augmented reality E-Business and E-Commerce Whats the difference between E-Business and E-Commerce? What is the distinction between them? How has the internet facilitated the development of E-Commerce? When we think about E-Commerce we usually think of going to a web site (e.g. Amazon.com) and ordering something. That is a Sales function but how else have companies used technology capabilities to improve other aspects of their operations, e.g. Marketing, Operations, Logistics WARNING - You will probably not find the answers to all these questions in the assigned reading. You're going to have to do some digging and critical thinking. I look forward to engaging the class in this discussion! 26 80 Unread for topic Discussion for Week 2 (Completed): (55) View profile card for Amanda Reardon Amanda Reardon Sun at 11:50 AM Discussion for Week 3 (Available for Posting) Contains unread posts Process Improvement In the Week 2 Content, we covered Business Processes, including Process Improvement through streamlining and re-engineering, and process modeling of both the As-Is and the To-Be processes. Conference Instructions: Each person please make at least one response to one of the posted questions. However, the point of this class is not for you to just memorize a bunch of facts. Instead we are going to make a real effort, to promote critical thinking and the ability to actually apply the concepts that you will learn here. So, you may have to do some digging and some synthesis to effectively respond to the questions I ask. You can also follow up other students responses for additional grading credit. It is very important to participate in this discussion conference each week (For a Hybrid Class: once we get to class, we are going to "pick up" and continue this discussion thread. So if you haven't followed along, you're going to find yourself a bit disoriented!) So, please join us and please try to participate in and follow along with each week's conferences! Week 3 Questions: This week we're talking about application of MIS Infrastructure; Networks; and Mobile Computing. It seems like a lot to cover in one week . . . but as I would remind you, this is an accelerated course! So, here are our discussion questions for this week. I would recommend that you pick one of these areas (that has not been covered already) and focus on it First, please review the Powerpoint Week 3 Class Discussion notes -- They are attached to the first thread of this conference. The notes pose several questions to which you can respond. Processes Drawing from your own experience, select a process (a set of specified steps to accomplish a task) used at your place of work or in your interaction with a business that you would like to see improved and briefly describe the process. 1) Explain why you picked that process. 2) Explain how you would go about improving it. 3) Who should be involved with you? 4) What are some of the questions you should ask about the current process? 5) How will you know if the process was actually improved? First, we need to be sure you can identify a process; many students have difficulty with that, so refer to your textbook readings. Be sure to pick a fairly narrow scope for your process for example, processing an invoice for payment vs. Accounts Payable. I am also interested in the method to be used to improve the process, not a solution. (For example, I am not looking for something like: "The Caf where I work is not selling enough coffee. We should use social media to advertise more." The discussion here is about identifying a process and how a business would go about deciding how to improve that process, who should be involved, what should be considered, and what steps should be taken to be able to analyze the current process and plan for improvement.) You should employ the techniques discussed in class or those that you find in your research. Keep in mind that outside resources strengthen your responses. MIS Infrastructure Here are the seven primary characteristics of an IT infrastructure (the ilities): Usability Maintainability Scalability Reliability/Availability Extensibility Portability Security Please select one of the seven characteristics above and respond with an example of what this term means in terms of IT architecture and why it is so important to a solid architecture to support information systems. These terms can be applied to other aspects of IT and business in general, but the focus here is on IT architecture. Some additional research will provide specific examples including what companies have focused on in these areas. Simply typing "IT Scalability" (or whatever characteristic you select) into your web browser should provide good results, but be sure to evaluate the sources to make sure they are relevant to this discussion. Remember to distinguish between objective articles and vendor's marketing information. We count on MIS Infrastructure to always "be there" for us, but its availability isn't always a given -- especially as managers, sometimes we have to take steps to ensure that our infrastructure will be up to the tasks we need it to perform. "Cloud computing" has been advocated as a way for eliminating an organization's need to provide its own IT infrastructure, by shifting the burden of providing it to someone else. What is cloud computing? If you wanted to use cloud computing in your Case Study project, how would you bring it on line? What are some pros and cons of cloud computing? What is an "agile" MIS infrastructure? What are its key characteristics? What steps can an organization take to ensure it has one? What's the difference between cloud computing and grid computing? To what degree may they be similar? As we grow to depend more and more upon our IT infrastructure, it is important to understand what kinds of risks exist to MIS Infrastructure? (Hint - the textbook lists at least three areas where there is a threat to continuous business operations.) What steps or measures might an organization or individual need to take to mitigate these risks? While the "high tech" computer industry has always had a relatively clean reputation as compared to the traditional "smokestack" industries, it is not without its environmental risks or consequences. What are the main environmental issues associated with MIS infrastructure? What are some measures that can be taken to reduce the environmental footprint of MIS infrastructure? Here are some good web links for Green Computing: Ready to upgrade your computer or smartphone? Think about environmental effect: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/ready-to-upgrade-your-computer-or-smartphone-think-about-environmental-effect/2011/08/29/gIQA9zwB4J_story.html Green Computing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_computing The Cloud Begins with Coal: http://www.tech-pundit.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Cloud_Begins_With_Coal.pdf?c761ac Networks and Mobile Computing Our world is now "connected" to a greater extent than it ever has been. The first great revolution, the internet, extended the reach of the worldwide network into practically every home and office. Now we have this network available to us "on the go" through our wirelessly connected portable devices. What are some of the main benefits associated with having this network? What are some of the risks? What are some of the new issues that it has created? Would you purchase something using your credit card over the internet using a wireless connection? Why or why not? Aside from bluetooth (which works only at an extremely short range) there are at three different technologies in common use for providing wireless connectivity. What are these? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each? The development of mobile computing devices has increased the use of GPS and GIS data. What are the key applications and benefits? Are there any risks or potential unintended consequences? As a business owner, what steps can you take to ensure that your business is not "left behind" by the current trends towards more mobile computing? What kinds of opportunities and risks might mobile computing present to your business? WARNING - You will probably not find the answers to all these questions in the assigned reading. You're going to have to do some digging and critical thinking. I look forward to engaging the class in this discussion! 27 6 22 67 Unread for topic Discussion for Week 3 (Available for Posting): (67) View profile card for Ashly Langoski Ashly Langoski yesterday at 10:44 PM Discussion for Week 4 (Available for Posting) Contains unread posts Information Systems in Organizations In Week 1 Content Chapter 1 What is an Information System there are several examples of definitions of an information system. The one constant in those definitions is that they are used to hold data and enable the use of it to support an organizations use of that data. In Section II Process Analysis (Stage 2 Assignment), the focus is on process analysis and improvement as well as benefits of improvements on some specific non-technical areas (due end of Week 4). Last week we covered the seven quality attributes or characteristics of an IT infrastructure: Usability Maintainability Scalability Reliability Availability Performance Security Conference Instructions: Each person please make at least one response to one of the posted questions. However, the point of this class is not for you to just memorize a bunch of facts. Instead we are going to make a real effort, to promote critical thinking and the ability to actually apply the concepts that you will learn here. So, you may have to do some digging and some synthesis to effectively respond to the questions I ask. You can also follow up other students responses for additional grading credit. It is very important to participate in this discussion conference each week (For a Hybrid Class: once we get to class, we are going to "pick up" and continue this discussion thread. So if you haven't followed along, you're going to find yourself a bit disoriented!) So, please join us and please try to participate in and follow along with each week's conferences! Week 4 Questions: This week we're talking about Databases and Data Security. Database technologies are foundational to practically all modern systems. To understand how the systems work it is helpful to understand about the underlying technologies on which nearly all of them depend. In IFSM 201 there is also a section on Security, but that is about how to keep yourself safe in an increasingly dangerous world. This class differs, since we must consider Security in the broader context of organizations. As a manager, how do you keep your organization safe in an increasingly dangerous world?