management info systems quiz #1

ethics

principles of right & wrong individuals follow to guide their behavior

utilitarian

ethical action does the most good/least harm

rights

ethical actions protects & respects the moral rights of the affected parties

fairness

treating all humans equally/unequally than fairly

common good

respect & compassion for all others is the basis for ethical actions

deontology

morality of an action is based if the action is right/wrong under a series of rules rather than the consequenses

five steps to make an ethical decision

1. recognize an ethical issue

2. get the facts

3. evaluate alt actions

4. make a decision & test it

5. act & reflect on the outcome of decisions

code of ethics

unethical does not mean illegal

responsibility

you accept the consequences of your actions

accountability

determining who is responsible

liability

gives individuals the rights to recover damages done to them

general ethical issues for IT

privacy, accuracy, property, accessibility

privacy

right to be left alone & free of personal intrusions

information privacy

right to determine when & what information about the user can be shared & gathered

digital dossier

data gathered about you during a typical day (public places, on the road, work, calls)

profiling

the process of forming a digital dossier

data aggregators

(i.e. looking up a phone number/yellowpages)

companies that collect public data like real estate records, telephone numbers + non public data like ssn, financial data, criminal records

electronic surveillance

using technology to monitor individuals as they go about their daily routines & is conducted by employers & governments (surveillance cameras)

example of record keepers of personal data

credit reporting agencies, bank + financial institutions, utility companies, employers, hospitals, schools, government agencies

privacy policies

organization’s guidelines for protecting the privacy of their clients & staff

opt-out model

permits company to collect personal info until customer requests for it to be not

opt-in model

privacy advocates prefer this model because it prohibits an organization from collecting information until customer consents

platform for privacy preferences

protocol that automatically communicates private policies between e-commerce sites & it’s visitors.

“safe harbor”

framework that regulates how US companies export & handle personal data of EU citizens

“the european community commission”

guidelines followed by all EU countries that are much strict than EU laws

business process

ongoing collection of related activities that create a product/service of value to the organization

elements of a business process

inputs, resources, outputs

cross-functional processes

• no single functional area is responsible

• steps executed on a coordinated, collaborative way

• procurement & fulfillment cross-functional processes

IS’s vital role in three areas of business processes

• executing the process

• capturing & storing process data

• monitoring process information

IS’s helps execute the process by:

• informing employees when it is time to complete a task

• providing required data

• providing a means to complete a task

processes generate…

data (dates, times, product numbers, quantities, prices, addresses, names, employee actions)

monitoring process performance

• IS evaluates information to determine how well a process is being executed

• evaluation occurs at two levels (process & instance)

• monitoring identifies problems for process improvement

measures of excellence in business

customer satisfaction, cost reduction, cycle + fulfillment time reduction, quality, differentiation, productivity

business process reengineering (BPR)

• radical redesign of an organization’s business process to increase productivity & profitability

• examines business processes with a “clean state” approach

• high risk/cost, radical redishing, top-down approach, time consuming, impacts can be overwhelming, high failure rate

business process improvement (BPI)

• an incremental approach to move an organization toward business process-centered operations

• focuses on reducing variation in process outputs by identifying the underlying cause of the variation

  • most popular methodology: six sigma

• low risk/cost, incremental change, bottom-up approach, takes less time, quantifiable results, all employees are trained in BPI

5 phases of successful BPI

define, measure, analyze, improve, control

business process management (BPM)

• management system used to support continuous BPI initiatives for core business processes over time

• important components of bpm:

  • process modeling

  • business ativity monitoring (BAM)

business process management suite

integrated set of applications used for bpm

emerging trend of social BPM

technologies enabling employees to collaborate across functions internally * externally using social media tools

business pressures

market pressures, technology pressures, societal/political/legal pressures

market pressures

globalization, changing nature of the workforce, powerful customers

globalization

the integration & interdependence of economic, social, cultural, & ecological facets of life, made possible by rapid advances in IT

changing nature of the workforce

• diversity: women, single parents, minorities, disabled people

• IT allows for telecommuting employees

powerful customers

• increasing consumer sophistication & expectations

• consumers are more knowledgeable about: products & services, price comparisons, & electronic auctions

• customer relationship management

technological innovation & obsolescence

rapid development of both new & substitute products & services

information overload

• vast stores of data, information, & knowledge

• difficulties in managing data for decision making

social responsibility

• green IT (facilities design + management, carbon management, environmental laws)

• digital divide (one laptop per child)

compliance with government regulation

sarbanes-oxley act, usa patriot, gramm-leach-bliley act, hipaa

protection against terrorist attacks

• employee in reserves for active duty

• IT used to identify & protect against terrorist cyber attacks

• department of homeland security (DHS), OBIM program

ethical issues

general standards of right & wrong: info-processing activities, monitoring emails, privacy of customer data

organizational responses

strategic systems, customer focus, make-to-order & mass customization, e-business/commerce

porter’s competitive forces model

1. threat of entry of new competitors

2. bargaining power of suppliers

3. bargaining power of customers/buyers

4. threat of substitute products or services

5. rivalry among existing firms within the industry

value chain

sequence of activities through which the organization’s inputs are transgormed into valuable outputs

primary activities

relate to production & distribution of products & services

support activities

support primary activities contributing to competitive advantage

5 primary activities for manufacturing

1. inbound logistics (inputs)

2. operation (manufacturing & testing)

3. outbound logistics (storage & distribution

4. marketing & sales

5. after sales services

4 support activities

1. firm’s infrastructure (accounting, finance, management)

2. human resource management

3. product & technology development

4. procurement

strategies for competitive advantage

cost leadership, differentiation, innovation, operational effectiveness, orientation

six characteristics of alignment

1. view of IT as engine of innovation that constantly transforms. business

2. view their internal & external customers + customer service as important

3. rotate business & it professionals across departments & lob functions

4. provide overarching goals that are compet;y clear to each it & business employee

5. ensure it employees know how orgs makes/loses money

6. vibrant & inclusive company culture