Management Information Systems
- Competitive strategies enabled in the information system
Lower cost leadership
An information system is essential in ensuring products are produced at a minimal cost and at the same time at a better quality and the best services.
Product differentiation
To attract more customers, the Information system plays an important role in changing and upgrading the products hence differentiating products and introducing new products and services.
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Focus on the market niche
For attracting new customers and maintaining the existing ones, and information system is used to target a strategy on a single market niche.
Customers and supplier relationship
Information system ensures stronger bond and trust is built between customers and supplier and there creates a good environment for the business to thrive in.
- The value of the web
According to Laudon and Laudon (2009), the web as technology has broken down the geographical boundaries and bring the global market closer to the customers. The web has provided a platform where a variety of products and services are provided and this helps a customer pick easily what they require. Laudon and Laudon (2009) further states that the web has also given more power to customers that they tend to prefer the sites that have a lesser price and quality product.
In regards to the strategic tool suppliers, a company can use the web to purchase quality and cheaper raw material for products and services where it reduces the cost of production and the company can also set a competitive price for the product and services based on a minimal cost of production (Laudon and Laudon, 2009).
Chapter 4
1. Ethical analysis model
There are six ethical principles
- Do unto others what you would wish them to do to you. O’Brien and Marakas (2009) state that, this is also referred to as a Golden rule principle which basically shows how colleagues, neighbors, or friends should treat each other as it will be reciprocated.
- Immanuel Kant’s categorical imperative. This principle has a humanity and equality touch in it, it implies treating everyone the same if something is not right for one it can’t be right for the rest(O’Brien and Marakas, 2009).
- Descartes in his rule of change principle highlighted the significance of taking an action that one cannot be proud of and hence would be put into shame repeating.
- The Unitarian principle makes change the focus on the things that would be of great value to the organization.
- Risk aversion principle. According to O’Brien and Marakas (2009), this principle highlights the need for accountability in the organization, taking an individual initiative of reducing that which inhibits the potential of growth in the organization.
- No free lunch rule – O’Brien and Marakas (2009) explain that this principle goes with the assumption that everything tangible and non-tangible in an organization are owned and one should not take unless they ask the owner.
The principle that I often use in life is the golden rule, this is because I believe in the saying that goes what goes around comes around, if you do good you will receive good.
- Privacy
According to Parker (1993), privacy refers to the entitlement that persons can make to lurch peace from others, be by yourself, and free from the watchful eye (or surveillance) of individuals, companies, or even the government. Facebook privacy, on the other hand, cannot be regarded as traditional privacy this is because the space provided on Facebook does not detach one from the rest of the world. Sadagapon (2014) mentions that it actually connects and makes people feel judicious about what they are posting or sharing. With the introduction of social media and the internet, traditional privacy is gradually fading as the platform is more of being connected
Chapter 5
1. Components of a business information technology infrastructure
Infrastructure in IT is classified into seven main portions:
- Computers’ hardware system
- Platforms for the Operating systems
- Various software applications as well as enterprise
- Data management as well as storage
- Networking as well as platforms for telecommunications
- Platforms for the internet
- Integrating system services as well as consultation platforms
Operating system platforms act as an interface between the user and the hardware it, and it also manages resources and activities Windows operating systems take dominance in this field with the latest release being windows 10, and servers, Other examples include Linux which is a form of Unix operating system.
- Cloud computing
Sadagapon (2014) states that, practicing on the internet the usage of remote servers’ networking base instead of the physical location to ensure effective management, storage, as well as data processing.
Cloud computing is essential as it effectively provides a reasonably measurable environment online that enables the organization to efficiently manage the changes in the technology and also enhances the volume of work without affecting the performance of the system.
Sadagapon (2014) also states that cloud computing also lowers the capital and operation cost in IT as it offers a substantial computing proficiency and the cost of production that might be extremely expensive for the organization. For instance, consider a small and medium enterprise that might not afford to buy the Infrastructure cloud computing comes to help.
Cloud computing also provides a means through which resources can be quickly accessed there it optimizes the IT infrastructure
The risks facing cloud computing include:-
Environment security- cloud computing is prone to security threats as the users together with computing resources are all densely distributed in the cloud location. Because of the number of users in a cloud environment the resources are usually directed by virtual machines such as bot malware, brute force attack among others
Data privacy and security- cloud computing makes the organization vulnerable, this is because of the transfer of a considerable amount of data critical to the organization making an organization has less capacity in effectively controlling the data security to the respective provider
Data levels available as well as the organization continuity capacity – internet loss is a critical risk when it comes to accessing the resources from the cloud. This can be a major risk for business continuity
Record retention requirements – the cloud provider might be having a different retention requirement to the organization, therefore, this might end up bringing the conflict more so in regards to the loss of data
- Private cloud is an internally hosted cloud and can be accessed through the utilization of the intranet, moreover, it is utilized only by an individual organization
- The public cloud is externally hosted; it is efficiently accessible through the utilization of the internet and is significantly accessible to the public in general.
- A hybrid cloud defines a mixture consisting of both the private and public clouds.
Cloud tools
- IaaS wholly defined as the Infrastructure as a service efficiently enables accessibility to computing resources including its hardware, storage, as well as networking capabilities amongst various essential resources for computing.
- PaaS defined as the Platform as a service enables the provision of the entrance to simple software operating as well as other resources ineffective development together with the usage of customer-created software applications.
- SaaS is otherwise defined as the Software as a service that enhances the provision of accessibility to software applications of the providers.
Chapters 6 and 7
1. RDBMS and DBMS
A database management system is software that helps in the creation and management of databases. DBMS presents an effective interface between the database as well as end-user application programs. It enables easy accessibility of data and ensures data is stored consistently. Laudon and Laudon (2009) mentions the DBMS manages three vital things, the data, the schemer for the database which wholly describes the logical structure of the database as well as the database’s engine which enables data retrieval, modification as well as lockage.
A relational database is the most common type of database. These help in an organization into two-dimensional tables that has column and rows. Every table has data about the entity and attributes the field used for identifying every record such that record can be retrieved, restructured, or organized is known as a critical field. Therefore, each table within a database that is relational database consists of a singular designated field as a significant key. Thus, the key is described as an identifier that is unique for every data available within the table’s rows. Nevertheless, the critical key is not allowed for duplication.
Question 2
TCP/IP connectivity
TCP/IP is an internet protocol found in the transport layer of the OSI model. This protocol is used for the movement of data packets between two network devices. Two computers with different hardware and operating system can communicate courtesy of TCP/IP protocol
Packet switching
O’Brien and Marakas (2009) define the process by which digital messages are broken into some small packets to be sent into a network and then restoring the packets into its original form at the destination. Before packet switching, the telephone circuit was being used for the communication of computers across the network and this was very expensive. The introduction of packet switching ensured that there is maximum communication capacity in a network is fully utilized and at the same time it was cheap
Digital/analog
An analog signal is a constant wave characterized by a waveform that varies in frequency and signal strength. A good example of an analog signal is a human voice or music wave and may be different in the strength levels of the signal; amplitude; alternatively, the frequency which is the time.
A digitalized signal –is a computerized signal that utilizes the binary digits. Moreover, it cannot take a fractional value.
Internet
This is a globally interconnected computer network that uses TCP/IP protocol to transmit and receive data via various media. The Internet includes networks from government, educational, commercial, and other small networks, all of which use the same set of communication protocols
HTTP
Hypertext transfer protocol is an application-level procedure used by the World Wide Web to describe how messages are configured and transmitted to the browsers and what action web browsers and web servers take in reaction to numerous instructions. As per O’Brien and Marakas (2008), HTTP has a secure version which is HTTPS (hypertext transfer protocol secure) HTTP when a web browser (client) sends a request to a service such as images and a web page. The request is serviced by a web server, after which the already established connection is disconnected.
Chapters 8 and 9
Exploiting information services using remote software for accessing
Citrix, GoToMyPC, and terminal services software possess a threat to the wireless as an intruder can access critical information to the organization. Ineffectively secure remote computers may end up being accessed by the third party when either computer theft occurs, or when a computer is left without attendance and even lost.
To curb this complex passphrase password should be configured to make it hard for somebody to guess. Organization data in hard drives should also be encrypted to protect any outsider from accessing and decoding. Screensaver timeouts for the remote computers are also vital in keeping out any access remotely.
Transfer of organization data through email and direct messaging
Information that is core to the organization can leave the network through an attachment in an email or instant messaging, therefore this makes the organization vulnerable to .be attached to an email or IM.
Setting up a network filter is an efficient way to curb this issue. It filters keywords and specific attachments that are essential to the organizational sensitive information.
Sharing sensitive file on a p2p network
P2P network is always prone to be abused regardless of whether you use software like IM and Kazaa. A minor misconfiguration would render the network insecure and expose the local network to the entire world which is extremely dangerous.
In an organization where peer to peer software is allowed, it is upon you to certify that the users are conscious of the risks. Perimeter-based peer to peer content monitoring solution can be of help in keeping data that is critical to the organization safe in this scenario.
Sadagapon (2014) points out that, if p2p software is not necessary, it can be blocked with a firewall. Though the application is intelligent enough it maneuver around the ports and go out, a network analyzer is a perfect fit, and also a full firewall audit should be done to block the loopholes.
Insensitive use of a wireless network
This presents a threat caused by wireless network usage that is significantly insecure. Mostly in Hotel airport or any other public place. An unsecured wireless network can certainly put delicate information at risk. It only takes a scan into file transfer or email for treasured data to be taken
Information posting on boards as well as blogs discussion platforms
Users can either post a support request, blogs, or any work-related message through the internet, the messages they are posting might be critical to the organization, therefore, this would put the organization at risk.
It’s inevitable to control airwaves outside your office, Virtual Private Network can be used for remote network connection and an individual firewall that saves users from connection to computing wirelessly in a bid to secure the wireless hotspot usage. SSL /TLS can be used for secure messaging.
Question 2
Enterprise Resource Planning System
It’s a business process management software that integrates and manages a company’s operations, financials, supply chain, operations, and manufacturing, reporting, and human resource activities
Management System for Customer Relationship
Is defined as distinct software applications set that enable a firm to define the necessities and likings of their customers by dealing, tracking, establishing, and storing customer interactions.
Supply Chain Systems
This is an application that is intended to effectively enable the provision of information processing proficiency to the maintenance of the operations, analysis of the management structure, strategy, and decision making objectives in regards to the firm’s supplying network.
Social CRM and Business Intelligence Systems
Social CRM is an application that uses social media services and techniques that enable the organization to engage their customers.SocialCRM is different from the traditional one as it uses social media to target prospective customers and provide a more personalized marketing strategy that the customer will find convenient too.
Business intelligence is a data-driven application that organizations use for integration, analysis, and presentation of business information for better decision making.
Chapter 10
Uber trends in e-commerce
Uber exemplifies two major trends in e-commerce today;
The first one is that e-commerce has resiliently remained to be amongst the quickest growth rate commerce form when in comparison to the physical store, services, retail as well as the entertainment. For instance, the old taxi companies have joined Uber to remain in the business and also to adapt to the changing dynamics of the business. The e-commerce platform used by Uber has increased efficiency in the industry making it more transparent, reliable, and interactive and to the drivers more accountable.
The second trend exemplified by Uber is that mobile commerce will remain to be the most preferred e-commerce platform with particularly location-based services as well as downloads for entertainment such as e-books. This is bad when looked at the physical store who have physical books, they will have to reduce their prices to remain competitive with this trend. Mobile applications are now giving retailers a chance to link with consumers beyond the borders. Brands no longer follow the traditional way of waiting for the customers to walk into their shop.
Question 2
Business intelligence and analytics collecting; Analyzing and presenting critical information that can be relied upon when the organization wants to make a decision that is core to its business processes
Chapter 12
Question 1
Information requirements, business process alignment, and project go hand in hand. For the organization to decide on the IT project, first they will determine the information required for the organization, and align it with its business processes. they have to determine whether the information required in line with the business alignment would bring transformation to the organization. if this condition is met they will make the decision based on the rate of return, the cost-effectiveness of the project, and the period of time the project will take.
Question 2
- An ineffective feasibility study was conducted on the project. Hence they might be things that were missed and are necessary for the project
- Taxes from the government. More so when the government increases the taxes of raw material and other services necessary for the project
- Inflation would cause the prices of services and commodities to go high
References
(2018). The Benefits and Risks of Cloud Computing: CliftonLarsonAllen LLP. [online] Available at: https://www.claconnect.com/resources/articles/the-benefits-and-risks-of-cloud-computing [Accessed 24 Apr. 2018].
Laudon, K. C., &Laudon, J. P. (2009). Essentials of management information systems. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
O’Brien, J. A., &Marakas, G. M. (2008). Management information systems. Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
O’Brien, J. A., &Marakas, G. M. (2009). Management information systems. Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
Parker, C. S. (1993). Management information systems: Hauptbd. New York: Mitchell McGraw-Hill.
Sadagopan, S. (2014). Management information systems. Delhi: PHI Learning.
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