Business Process, Information, and Competition Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering business processes, information systems, competitive strategy models, and disruptive technologies from BUS 2110 Lecture 1.2.

Management Information Systems (MIS)

The study and application of management, Information Systems (IS), and business strategies to achieve organizational goals.

Information System (IS)

A socio-technical system composed of Information Technology (IT), business processes, and people.

Information Technology (IT)

The technical components of an information system, consisting of hardware, software, and data.

Data

Objective, raw facts or figures.

Information

Useful data that has been processed or put into the context of other data.

Knowledge

The subjective ability to use data and information to make actionable, better decisions.

Business Process

A network of activities designed to accomplish a specific business goal.

Business Process Improvement (BPI)

An incremental approach to improving business processes that features low cost, low risk, low failure rates, and small to medium quantifiable impacts.

Business Process Reengineering (BPR)

A radical redesign of an organization's business processes characterized by high cost, high risk, high failure rates, and large overall impacts.

Effectiveness

A measure of process quality defined as doing the right things to enable an organization to accomplish its strategy.

Efficiency

A measure of process quality defined as the ratio of benefits to costs, or doing things the right way.

Disruptive Technologies

Technologies that offer a different set of attributes with a higher performance improvement trajectory compared to established technologies, which can blindside existing market leaders.

Porter's Five Forces Model

A framework widely used to analyze a company's position and competitiveness within an industry to design general and directional strategies.

Rivalry Among Existing Competitors

A competitive force where intense competition obliges businesses to compete aggressively on price, thereby reducing profit margins.

Threat of Potential New Entrants

A competitive force where low barriers to entry allow new companies to join the market easily, increasing competition and undermining profit sustainability.

Threat of Substitute Products or Services

A competitive force where customers can easily switch to alternative offerings, forcing companies to lower prices or innovate.

Power of Suppliers

A competitive force where suppliers hold leverage to dictate prices and supply conditions, potential squeezing business profit margins.

Power of Buyers

A competitive force where customers have the leverage to demand lower prices or higher quality, forcing businesses to adjust.

Porter's Value Chain Model

A sequence of organizational activities to produce products, used to identify specific, actionable areas where Information Systems can create competitive advantages.

Primary Activities

Activities in Porter's Value Chain that directly relate to product production and create value and profit, including inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing and sales, and services.

Support Activities

Activities in Porter's Value Chain that assist primary activities without adding direct value to the product, including firm infrastructure, HR management, R&D, and procurement.

Sustainability in Competitiveness

The requirement that a firm's competitive advantage withstands erosion from competitors or industry shifts through strong barriers to imitation.