Business Driven Technology & Competitive Advantages (Ch. 1 & 2)

What is data?

Raw facts describing characteristics of an event or object.

What is information?

Data converted into a meaningful and useful context.

What is business intelligence (BI)?

Information from multiple sources that analyzes patterns, trends, and relationships for strategic decision-making.

What is knowledge?

Skills, experience, and expertise combined with information and intelligence to create intellectual resources.

What are structured data and unstructured data?

Structured data is stored in traditional systems (like databases). Unstructured data has no predefined format.

What is machine-generated data vs. human-generated data?

Machine-generated is created by machines without human intervention. Human-generated is created by people interacting with computers.

What is big data?

Large, complex data sets that can't be analyzed with traditional database methods.

What are the 4 V’s of big data?

Variety, Veracity, Volume, Velocity.

What is a snapshot?

A view of data at a particular moment in time.

What is systems thinking?

Viewing a business as a system of interconnected parts working together.

What is MIS (Management Information Systems)?

A business function that moves information across the company to support decision-making and problem-solving.

What is a business strategy?

A leadership plan to achieve goals like entering new markets or increasing sales.

What is competitive advantage?

A product or service customers value more than competitors’ offerings.

What is first-mover advantage?

Being the first to market with a competitive advantage.

What is SWOT analysis?

Evaluating strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

What are Porter’s Five Forces?

Buyer power, supplier power, threat of substitutes, threat of new entrants, rivalry among competitors.

What is buyer power?

The ability of buyers to affect the price of an item.

What is supplier power?

The suppliers’ ability to influence the prices they charge.

What is the threat of substitute products/services?

High when many alternatives exist, low when few alternatives exist.

What is the threat of new entrants?

High when it is easy for new competitors to enter a market.

What is rivalry among existing competitors?

The level of competition within an industry.

What are Porter’s three generic strategies?

Cost leadership, differentiation, focused strategy.

What is value chain analysis?

Viewing a firm as a series of activities that each add value to a product or service.

What are primary value activities?

Inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing & sales, service.

What are support value activities?

Firm infrastructure, HR management, technology development, procurement.