Fundamentals of Information Systems - Organizational Strategy, Competitive Advantage, and Information Systems

Vocabulary flashcards covering core concepts of business processes, process improvement methodologies (BPR, BPI, BPM, DMAIC), business pressures, organizational responses, competitive advantage, and Porter's Value Chain and Five Forces models.

Business Process

A continuous series of related tasks or activities that collectively produce a product or service of value to an organization, its customers, and its partners.

Inputs (Business Process)

Materials, services, or information that enter a process and are transformed through various activities.

Resources (Business Process)

The people, equipment, and systems involved in performing process tasks.

Outputs (Business Process)

The final product or service delivered by a process to meet customer or business needs.

Internal Customers

Customers who are inside the organization, such as a manager receiving an internal report.

External Customers

Customers who are outside the organization, such as individuals or businesses purchasing products or services.

Efficiency

A process performance metric that measures how well the process operates, focusing on minimizing delays, costs, and resource usage.

Effectiveness

A process performance metric that evaluates whether the process delivers the desired outcomes and value to the customer.

Functional Process

A business process that is limited to a single department, such as payroll processing inside HR.

Cross-Functional Process

A business process that spans multiple departments, such as product development.

Process Map

A graphical documentation tool that lets teams see the "as is" work before designing the "to be" version of a process.

Business Process Reengineering (BPR)

A radical redesign approach that completely rethinks and restructures processes from a "clean slate" to make big leaps in performance.

Business Process Improvement (BPI)

An incremental approach that improves an existing process by finding root causes to reduce variation in outputs and correct defects or inefficiencies.

Process Owner

The manager who is responsible for a specific process.

Six Sigma

A data-driven BPI methodology that uses statistical analysis to reduce defects and improve customer value, targeting around 3 to 4 defects per million opportunities.

DMAIC

A data-driven five-step problem-solving framework used in Lean Six Sigma to improve existing processes, standing for Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control.

Business Process Management (BPM)

A system that sustains BPI by managing, monitoring, and continuously improving core business processes, guided by organizational strategy.

Process Modeling

A component of BPM that creates a graphical map detailing process steps, people involved, information systems used, needed information, and task dependencies.

Business Activity Monitoring (BAM)

A component of BPM that measures and manages processes in real time so an organization can quickly identify delays, failures, or exceptions.

BPMS Tools

Integrated applications that store process maps and rules, model or simulate processes, execute workflows, coordinate departments, and monitor performance.

Globalization

The integration of economies and cultures worldwide, enabled by IT, which increases competition by enabling businesses to operate beyond geographical boundaries.

Strategic Systems

Information systems designed to give companies a competitive advantage by increasing market share, improving profits, negotiating better with suppliers, and blocking competitors.

Make-to-Order

A manufacturing strategy focused on producing customized products tailored to individual customer specifications.

Mass Customization

A production strategy that combines mass production efficiency with the ability to customize products at scale.

E-Commerce

The buying, selling, and exchanging of goods, services, or information online.

E-Business

A term broader than e-commerce that includes customer service, collaboration with partners, and internal electronic transactions.

Competitive Strategy

A plan for how a firm competes, what goals it pursues, and what policies guide action.

Competitive Advantage

Outperforming rivals in important areas such as cost, quality, speed, service, or innovation.

Strategic Information System (SIS)

Any information system that helps an organization gain a competitive advantage or reduce a competitive disadvantage.

Porter's Five Competitive Forces

A model used by organizations to design broad strategies for competing effectively against rival existing firms, new entrants, substitutes, suppliers, and buyers.

Value Chain Model

Porter's framework representing a sequence of activities that transforms inputs into more valuable outputs, used to pinpoint specific points where IT can create the greatest impact.

Primary Activities

Value chain activities directly involved in creating, selling, delivering, and supporting a product or service.

Support Activities

Value chain activities that indirectly contribute by supporting and improving primary activities, including firm infrastructure, HR management, product/technology development, and procurement.

Inbound Logistics

A primary value chain activity responsible for receiving, storing, and managing inputs.

Outbound Logistics

A primary value chain activity responsible for packaging, storing, and distributing finished products to customers.