MIS 301 MIDTERM 1 VOCAB

1. Internet of Things (IoT): A vision where low-cost sensors, processors, and communication are embedded into a wide array of products and our environment,

allowing a vast network to collect data, analyze input, and automatically coordinate

collective action.

2. Sarbanes-Oxley Act: Also known as Sarbox or SOX; U.S. legislation enacted in the wake of the accounting scandals of the early 2000s. The act raises executive

and board responsibility and ties criminal penalties to certain accounting and

financial violations. Although often criticized, SOX is also seen as raising stakes

for mismanagement and misdeeds related to a firm's accounting practices.

3. IPO: Initial public stock offering, the first time a firm makes shares available via

a public stock exchange, also known as "going public."

4. scale advantages: Advantages related to size.

5. distribution channels: The path through which products or services get to

customers.

6. private: As in "to go private" or "take a firm private." Buying up a publicly

traded firm's shares. Usually done when a firm has suffered financially and when

a turnaround strategy will first yield losses that would further erode share price.

Firms (often called private equity, buyout, LBO, or leveraged buyout firms) that take

another company private hope to improve results so that the company can be sold

to another firm or they can reissue shares on public markets.

7. information asymmetry: A decision situation where one party has more or

better information than its counterparty

8. viral marketing: Leveraging consumers to promote a product or service.

9. switching cost: The cost a consumer incurs when moving from one product to

another. It can involve actual money spent (e.g., buying a new product) as well as

investments in time, any data loss, and so forth.

10. strategic positioning: Performing different tasks than rivals, or the same tasks

in a different way.

11. APIs: Programming hooks, or guidelines, published by firms that tell other

programs how to get a service to perform a task such as send or receive data.

For example, Amazon provides APIs to let developers write their own applications

and websites that can send the firm orders

12. economies of scale: When costs can be spread across increasing units

of production or in serving multiple customers. Businesses that have favorable economies of scale (like many Internet firms) are sometimes referred to as being

highly scalable.

13. inventory turns: Sometimes referred to as inventory turnover, stock turns, or

stock turnover. It is the number of times inventory is sold or used during a given

period. A higher figure means that a firm is selling products quickly.

14. resource-based view of competitive advantage: The strategic thinking approach

suggesting that if a firm is to maintain sustainable competitive advantage,

it must control an exploitable resource, or set of resources, that have four critical

characteristics. These resources must be valuable, rare, imperfectly

imitable, and nonsubstitutable.

15. operational effectiveness: Performing the same tasks better than rivals perform

them.

16. value chain: The set of activities through which a product or service is created

and delivered to customers

17. fast follower problem: Exists when savvy rivals watch a pioneer's efforts,

learn from their successes and missteps, then enter the market quickly with a

comparable or superior product at a lower cost before the first mover can dominate.

18. brand: The symbolic embodiment of all the information connected with a

product or service.

19. affiliates: Third parties that promote a product or service, typically in exchange

for a cut of any sales.

20. imitation-resistant value chain: A way of doing business that competitors

struggle to replicate and that frequently involves technology in a key enabling role.

21. augmented-reality: A technology that superimposes content, such as images

and animation, on top of real-world images.

22. dense wave division multiplexing (DWDM): A technology that increases the

transmission capacity (and hence speed) of fiber-optic cable. Transmissions using

fiber are accomplished by transmitting light inside "glass" cables. In DWDM, the

light inside fiber is split into different wavelengths in a way similar to how a prism

splits light into different colors.

23. Porter's five forces: Also known as Industry and Competitive Analysis. A

framework considering the interplay between (1) the intensity of rivalry among

existing competitors, (2) the threat of new entrants, (3) the threat of substitute

goods or services, (4) the bargaining power of buyers, and (5) the bargaining power

of suppliers.

24. straddling: Attempts to occupy more than one position, while failing to match

the benefits of a more efficient, singularly focused rival.

25. commodity: A basic good that can be interchanged with nearly identical

offerings by others—think milk, coal, orange juice, or to a lesser extent, Windows

PCs and Android phones. The more commoditized an offering, the greater the

likelihood that competition will be based on price.

26. sustainable competitive advantage: Financial performance that consistently

outperforms industry averages.

27. price transparency: The degree to which complete information is available.

28. Non-Practicing Entities: Commonly known as patent trolls, these firms make

money by acquiring and asserting patents, rather than bringing products and

services to market.

29. network effects: Also known as Metcalfe's Law, or network externalities. When

the value of a product or service increases as its number of users expands.

30. PDAs: Personal digital assistants, an early name for handheld mobile computing

devices.

31. logistics: Coordinating and enabling the flow of goods, people, information,

and other resources among locations.

32. contract manufacturing: Outsourcing production to third-party firms. Firms

that use contract manufacturers don't own the plants or directly employ the workers

who produce the requested goods.

33. value chain: The set of activities through which a product or service is created

and delivered to customers.

34. point-of-sale (POS) system: Transaction processing systems that capture

customer purchases. Cash registers and store checkout systems are examples of

point-of-sale systems. These systems are critical for capturing sales data and are

usually linked to inventory systems to subtract out any sold items.

35. return on investment (ROI): The amount earned from an expenditure

36. greige: Goods to be further customized based on designer/manager collaboration.

37. RFID: Small chip-based tags that wirelessly emit a unique identifying code for

the item that they are attached to. Think of RFID systems as a next-generation bar

code.

38. vertical integration: When a single firm owns several layers in its value chain.

39. showrooming: The concept where customers browse at physical retailers, but

purchase products from lower-cost online rivals.

40. operations: The organizational activities that are required to produce goods

or services. Operations activities can involve the development, execution, control,

maintenance, and improvement of an organization's service and manufacturing

procedures.

41. information system (IS): An integrated solution that combines five components:

hardware, software, data, procedures, and the people who interact with and

are impacted by the system.

42. omnichannel: omnichannel

An approach to retail that offers consumers an integrated and complementary set

of shop, sales, and return experiences (e.g., retail store, online, and sometimes

even phone and catalog).

43. silicon wafer: A thin, circular slice of material used to create semiconductor

devices. Hundreds of chips may be etched on a single wafer, where they are

eventually cut out for individual packaging.

44. volatile memory: Storage (such as RAM chips) that is wiped clean when

power is cut off from a device.

45. flash memory: Nonvolatile, chip-based storage, often used in mobile phones,

cameras, and MP3 players. Sometimes called flash RAM, flash memory is slower

than conventional RAM, but holds its charge even when the power goes out.

46. grid computing: A type of computing that uses special software to enable

several computers to work together on a common problem, as if they were a

massively parallel supercomputer.

47. cluster computing: Connecting server computers via software and networking

so that their resources can be used to collectively solve computing tasks.

48. software as a service (SaaS): A form of cloud computing where a firm

subscribes to a third-party software and receives a service that is delivered online.

49. microcontrollers: Special-purpose computing devices that don't have an operating

system and can't do as much as general purpose computers or smartphones.

Most microcontrollers, like those based on the popular open-source Arduino

platform, contain a processor, memory and input/output (I/O) peripherals on

a single chip.

50. server farm: A massive network of computer servers running software to

coordinate their collective use. Server farms provide the infrastructure backbone

to SaaS and hardware cloud efforts, as well as many large-scale Internet services.

51. latency: A term often used in computing that refers to delay, especially when

discussing networking and data transfer speeds. Low-latency systems are faster

systems.

52. fabs: Semiconductor fabrication facilities; the multibillion-dollar plants used to

manufacture semiconductors.

53. supercomputers: Computers that are among the fastest of any in the world at

the time of their introduction.

54. semiconductor: A substance such as silicon dioxide used inside most computer

chips that is capable of enabling as well as inhibiting the flow of electricity.

From a managerial perspective, when someone refers to semiconductors, they are

talking about computer chips, and the semiconductor industry is the chip business.

55. microprocessor: The part of the computer that executes the instructions of a

computer program.

56. random-access memory (RAM): The fast, chip-based volatile storage in a

computing device.

57. Moore's Law: Chip performance per dollar doubles every eighteen months.

58. massively parallel: Computers designed with many microprocessors that

work together, simultaneously, to solve problems.

59. multicore microprocessors: Microprocessors with two or more (typically lower

power) calculating processor cores on the same piece of silicon.

60. optical fiber line: A high-speed glass or plastic-lined networking cable used

in telecommunications.

61. HPC: A term for massively parallel computers specifically designed to deliver

significantly more calculating power than conventional off-the-shelf computing

technologies. The term is often used interchangeably with supercomputing.

62. nonvolatile memory: Storage that retains data even when powered down

(such as flash memory, hard disc, or DVD storage).

63. price elasticity: The rate at which the demand for a product or service fluctuates

with price change. Goods and services that are highly price elastic (e.g.,

most consumer electronics) see demand spike as prices drop, whereas goods and

services that are less price elastic are less responsive to price change (think heart

surgery).

64. e-waste: Discarded, often obsolete technology; also known as electronic

waste.

65. solid state electronics: Semiconductor-based devices. Solid state components

often suffer fewer failures and require less energy than mechanical counterparts

because they have no moving parts. RAM, flash memory, and microprocessors

are solid state devices. Hard drives are not.

66. cloud computing: Replacing computing resources—either an organization's

or individual's hardware or software—with services provided over the Internet.

67. KPIs: Key Performance Indicators—measurable values defined by a firm to

demonstrate progress toward a given goal. Examples are quite broad and could

include customer acquisition, cost reduction, or improvement in the ROI of online

ad campaigns.

68. blockchain: A distributed and decentralized ledger that records and verifies

transactions and ownership, making it difficult to tamper with or shut down.

69. bitcoin: An open source, decentralized payment system (sometimes controversially

referred to as a digital, virtual, or cryptocurrency) that operates in a

peer-to-peer environment, without bank or central authority.

70. cryptocurrencies: A digital asset where a secure form of mathematics (cryptography)

is used to handle transactions, control the creation of additional units,

and verify the transfer of assets. Cryptocurrencies usually take advantage of a

technology known as a blockchain.

71. virtual machine: virtual machine

A software-based representation of a physical computer, complete with operating

system and any attendant software that are part of the model being instantiated.

You can use a virtual machine like a physical machine, and install software, create

files, etc. Virtual machines can also be subject to viruses, security vulnerabilities,

and other weaknesses of physical computing, although a cloud computing provider

can take some measures to prevent attacks and provide backup and redundancy.

72. bursting: Shifting capacity to a cloud provider during periods of high demand.

A firm that can take advantage of bursting to scale its information systems should

never see its resources overtaxed since it can always rely on its partner to pick up

any slack, as needed.

73. liquidity problems: Problems that arise when organizations cannot easily

convert assets to cash. Cash is considered the most liquid asset—that is, the most

widely accepted with a value understood by all.

74. operating income: Income you generate through your operations. Sales

through daily business operations minus related expenses. Net income is overall

"profit" but can include things such as income from investments, expenses related

to financing costs or taxes, or one-time income or expenses such as a gain from

a sales or a corporate fine.

75. collaborative filtering: A classification of software that monitors trends among

customers and uses this data to personalize an individual customer's experience.

76. white label: A fully supported product or service that's made by one company

but sold by another. The term was popular by branded appliances, like Sears

Kenmore, which were often designed and manufactured by established firms such

as Maytag and General Electric. The term is now used in all sorts of products and

services, including white label apps offered by GrubHub/LevelUp, which power

branded apps at the salad firm Sweetgreen, or Amazon's Alexa Custom Assistant,

used to produce custom voice assistants for Fiat Chrysler.

77. fulfillment costs: Include receiving and packaging costs, in addition to shipping

costs.

78. deep learning: A type of machine learning that uses multiple layers of interconnections

among data to identify patterns and improve predicted results.

Deep learning most often uses a set of techniques known as neural networks

and is popularly applied in tasks like speech recognition, image recognition, and

computer vision.

79. instance: A software-based copy using a pre-defined model of the object

being created. For example, an instance of a Windows computer creates a virtual

software representation that works and acts exactly like the computer hardware

and software it is modeled after.

80. dynamic pricing: Pricing that shifts over time, usually based on conditions that

change demand (e.g., charging more for scarce items).

81. two-sided network effect: Products or services that get more valuable as two

distinct categories of participants expand (e.g., buyers and sellers).

82. serverless: A cloud computing model that allows a software developer to

create systems without having to think about servers, and often without needing

to think about specific software products like databases. Amazon's Lambda and

Google's Cloud Firestore are example of serverless products, where a software

developer simply writes code to execute on Amazon or Google's computers,

without worrying about allocating servers, installing operating systems, or buying

additional software products (or, in the case of Cloud Firestore, databases) to support the effort. The cloud vendor does all of this behind the scenes, leaving

the developer free to focus just on programming the application.

83. channel conflict: Exists when a firm's potential partners see that firm as a

threat. This threat could come because it offers competing products or services via

alternative channels or because the firm works closely with especially threatening

competitors.

84. account payable: Money owed for products and services purchased on credit.

85. DMCA: Digital Millennium Copyright Act—U.S. law protecting copyrighted

works from unauthorized digital distribution.

86. data warehouse: A set of databases designed to support decision-making in

an organization.

87. A/B test: A randomized group of experiments used to collect data and compare

performance among two options studied (A and B). A/B testing is often used in

refining the design of technology products, and A/B tests are particularly easy

to run over the Internet on a firm's website. Amazon, Google, and Facebook are

among the firms that aggressively leverage hundreds of A/B tests a year in order

to improve their product offerings.

88. cookie: A line of identifying text, assigned and retrieved by a given Web server

and stored by your browser

89. cash conversion cycle: Period between distributing cash and collecting funds

associated with a given operation (e.g., sales).

90. digital divide: Term referring to the difference in access to technologies such

as computing, wireless, and broadband Internet among wealthy and poor communities.

Poor communities with less access often face less opportunity for everything

from home schooling to easy access to online public resources.

91. hybrid clouds: Cloud computing architectures that combine on-premises infrastructure

with public cloud services, such as those provided by AWS or Microsoft

Azure. A hybrid cloud might "turn on" public cloud resources as needed, if an

organization's existing infrastructure can't meet surging demand.

92. flash sales: Offering deep discounts of a limited quantity of inventory. Flash

sales often run for a fixed period or until inventory is completely depleted. Players

include Gilt Groupe and Amazon's Zulily in fashion, and One Kings Lane in home

décor.

93. noSQL: A term used for non-tabular databases that are structured differently

than relational tables.

94. goodwill: An accounting term for an intangible asset above and beyond the

operations value of the firm. Goodwill can include the perceived value of the

company's brand name, customer base, and loyalty, positive employee relations,

as well as proprietary technology and patents.

95. technology stack: All of the technology products and services used to build

and run one single information technology solution.

96. fork: In software development (sometimes also called project fork). When

developers start with a copy of a project's program source code, but modify it,

creating a distinct and separate product from the original base.

97. SQL: Structured Query Language—the industry-standard language used to

create and manipulate databases.

98. thin devices: Thin or thin client computing devices have very little computing

power in the device itself, and instead perform the bulk of computing and storage

over the network, "in the cloud." Smart speakers and television streaming sticks

are all examples of thin clients. The term "thin client" is also sometimes used

to describe applications that run in a browser, but where most of the computing

happens remotely (e.g., SaaS tools like Salesforce).

99. IRL: In Real Life—online acronym for interactions outside of pre-produced

videos, podcasts, etc.

100. affiliate marketing program: Marketing practice where a firm rewards partners

(affiliates) who bring in new business, often with a percentage of any resulting

sales.

101. cross-side exchange benefit: When an increase in the number of users on

one side of the market (console owners, for example) creates a rise in the other

side (software developers).

102. oligopoly: A market dominated by a small number of powerful sellers.

103. freemium: A product with a free version—sometimes with limited features or

that stops working after a period of time—to allow customers to try a product and

hopefully entice them into making a product purchase or subscription decision.

104. complementary benefits: Products or services that add additional value to

the primary product or service that makes up a network.

105. platforms: Products and services that allow for the development and integration

of software products and other complementary goods, effectively creating an ecosystem of value-added offerings. Windows, iOS, the Kindle, and the standards

that allow users to create Facebook apps are all platforms.

106. daily active users: Also known by the acronym DAU, this refers to the number

of unique visitors, on average, who use a product or service.

107. total cost of ownership: An economic measure of the full cost of owning a

product (typically computing hardware and/or software). includes direct costs such

as purchase price, plus indirect costs such as training, support, and maintenance.

108. technological leapfrogging: Competing by offering a new technology that is

so superior to existing offerings that the value overcomes the total resistance that

older technologies might enjoy via exchange, switching cost, and complementary

benefits.

109. social proof: The positive influence created when someone finds out that

others are doing something.

110. blue ocean strategy: An approach where firms seek to create and compete

in uncontested "blue ocean" market spaces, rather than competing in spaces and

ways that have attracted many similar rivals.

111. staying power: The long-term viability of a product or service.

112. envelopment: When one market attempts to conquer a new market by making

it a subset, component, or feature of its primary offering.

113. congestion effects: When increasing numbers of users lower the value of a

product or service.

114. adaptor: A product that allows a firm to tap into the complementary products,

data, or user base of another product or service.

115. one-sided market: A market that derives most of its value from a single class

of users (e.g., instant messaging).

116. convergence: When two or more markets, once considered distinctly separate,

begin to offer features and capabilities. As an example: The markets for mobile

phones and media players have converted (and smartphones won).

117. same-side exchange benefits: Benefits derived by interaction among members

of a single class of participant (e.g., the exchange value when increasing

numbers of IM users gain the ability to message each other).

118. two-sided market: Network market that comprises two distinct categories of

participant, both of which are needed to deliver value for the network to work (e.g.,

video game console owners and developers of video games).

119. customer acquisition costs: The amount of money a firm spends to convince

a customer to buy (or in the case of free products, try or use) a product or

service.

120. monopoly: A market where there are many buyers but only one dominant

seller.

121. backward compatibility: The ability to take advantage of complementary

products developed for a prior generation of technology.

122. The Osborne Effect: When a firm preannounces a forthcoming product or

service and experiences a sharp and detrimental drop in sales of current offerings

as users wait for the new item.