INFORMATION SYSTEMS FOR BUSINESS 15
Information Systems for Business
“Student’s Name”
“Institution Affiliation”
Week 1:
Q1:
Importance of learning information systems for business students
It is essential for business students to learn about information systems. This is because when they assume leadership various management department, they are required to use information systems not only for business management but also decision making. They should get familiar with information system for ease of usage in the future. Additionally, almost every company utilizes business information systems across their organizations (Albany State University, 2011). Therefore, in order to have an upper hand in employment opportunities, they need to have information systems knowledge.
Basic business transactions in the modern world are conducted through information systems and thus it is gradually becoming a basic requirement for the business industry. Again, students who familiarize with information systems are likely to hold managerial position and are not limited to technical jobs.
(Create a Google account)
Week2
Q2. A) Collaboration
Collaboration is the act of working with someone to create or produce something. The same can be defined as a working practice whereby individuals work together for a common purpose. They contribute and share ideas in order to realize shared goals. Collaboration feature is one of the best features of Google docs that allow users and students to edit each other’s writing as well as engage in peer review process. Teachers can use the collaboration feature to monitor student’s progress. The tool facilitates instructor’s comments on student essays. Some of features integrated in collaborative revisions with Google docs include collaborative book reports, collaborative creative writing and peer editing. Teachers don’t have to wait until students turn in their work; instead, they can check them online and also make suggestions for revisions. This drives successful proofread projects because when the students finally print their projects, they will have proofed.
Q1. Part B.
Q2 Part A
The decision on whether to bring out a new mobile phone based on Android operating system is strategic decision. Strategic decisions are the decisions that are concerned with the whole environment in which a firm operates and characterized by major change since Nokia operates in ever-changing environment.
The decision to determine whether to remove the JBL Playup Portable Wireless Speaker from its product range in Australia is also strategic decision. This is because strategy entails recognizing and reorganizing business environment to accommodate dynamism and flexibility of static environment.
The decision to determine if JB HiFi needs to order more stock of the Nokia Purity Pro Wireless Headsets is an operational decision. This is because it entails replenishment of stock that relate to daily operations of the company.
Week 3 (the five competitive forces)
Rivalry: In modern technological world, Apple Inc. faces a number of competitors among them smartphone manufacturers (Samsung, Nokia, HTC and RIM), stylish MP3 players (Memorex, Panasonic, Finis, ThinkPC solutions, RCA, JVC, iriver, Sony, Creative technology), alternative sources of computer hardware and software (Samsung, Levono, Sony, Toshiba, NEC, Dell, Gateway and Siemens). Also rivalry exists in online music stores, operating system provision, media players and notebooks.
Bargaining power of customer: retailers may pressure for better terms or lower prices; that is the middlemen and distributers, customer refresh cycle, sharing and downloading music from social networks without pay, and on technical aspects of process, products and systems.
Bargaining power of suppliers: This is characterized by presence of computer memory and processors suppliers (Motion computing, Intel, Motorola and Samsung), strategic alliance (Microsoft), TV and movie suppliers (Sony, ABC, Disney, Fox)
Threats of new entrants: increased demand of notebooks and tabs, technology advancement, on demand online services, new entrants with disruptive technology (facebook, youtube and twitter) and increased avenues of online stores.
Threat of substitution: a substitute product or service performs similar function or service as another product or service. Threats to Apple Inc. store include entertainment media, music and media (Youtube, Sirus, Xbox, PlayStation and Amazon). Additionally, there are increased alternatives to acquire music, videos and online satellite radio. Such are delivered via CDs, cable, theatres and DVDs among others.
Apple’s competitive strategy:
Apple uses quality differentiation strategy to remain relevant among its customers and in the vast dynamic market. The company has never compromised its quality for prices thus deliver quality products at affordable prices to customers. Further, Apple has specialized in producing unique products that differ from the rest in the market. For instance, Mac notebook or tablet cannot be compared to other tabs from other manufactures since they are of higher quality.
The company has also absorbed social media as a channel for advertising its products as well as selling services and products (music, iPods, iPads, and computers e.t.c.). Advanced product design, highly integrated product range, effective supply chain management and innovative internal organizational structure are among some of strategic alignment in Apple Inc. Apple arranges very specific deals with suppliers to foster seamless operations.
Week 5
Q1.
Name of subcontractorAddress
Email address
Phone Number
Business Type (e.g. roof & ceiling repairs, concrete & masonry, carpentry & cabinet making, landscaping, electrical works, small renovations, bathroom renovations, kitchen renovations, gas & plumbing etc.)
Details of job awarded (Job Number, job type)
Start date
Estimated finish date
Actual final date contract price
Ø A subcontractor can have many jobs but each job is only allocated to one contractor.
Ø Some jobs may not have any actual finish dates recorded as they may still be ongoing.
ERD diagram for the above information
Entity_1
SubcontractorName_of_subcontractor
Sub_Id (Primary Key)
Address
Email_Address
Phone_No
Business_id (Foreign Key)
Entity_2
BusinessBusiness_Type
Business_Id (Primary Key)
Entuty_3
ContractContract_name
Contract_Number
Contract_type
Date_of_Start
Sub_Id
Est_completion_Date
Finish_date
Assumptions for the above database
- Each database has only one column primary key field as more data is inputted.
- Data class is for one table, because operation is based on records
- Relational assumption: all data can be placed in one table and then decomposed into smaller tables as needed.
Week 6
The above BPMN lacks sub-process of verifying patient’s information, therefore, the process is ambiguous. All inbound and outbound content and rules will have to be done outside the BPMN model. Because of this, the above BPMN represents only a small part of the complete process and is neither usable as-is for very dynamic processes, nor is it easy for business to explain. However, the above uses top-down approach modeling and omits some processes which do not seem essential.
Improving the BPMN process
According to specifications of BPMN, the primary goal is to provide notation that is readily understandable for all business users thus in improving the above process, the detailed BPMN will be simplified into single processes and then integrated (Stephen, 2009). The improved BPMN will create a standardized bridge for gap between the business process design and process implementation. In order to do away with ambiguity, sequence flow, message flows and their associations should be clearly specified through attributes like identifier, name, author, version or list of pools. Loop conditions also need to be defined to enable establish connections.
Week 7
The site in tackles frequently asked questions (FAQs) about Kick Starter. FAQs are a list of questions about a given topic alongside their answers. From definition, FAQs are full of answers or sometimes they are composed of mere policy statements for USENET groups. Kickstater in the context of FAQS is a founding platform of creative projects. The platform supports everything from films, music and games to art and design as well as technology. The site goes ahead to answer how kick starter works and other questions that explain more about kick starter. From the same one learns that Kick starter sends a hand-picked email (newsletter) once a week to members and allows you to connect your Facebook account with Kick Starter. It is like an overview or introduction to Kick Starter basics.
Kickstarter applies a fresh perspective and web 2.0 technology throughout the site. It also seems to work best in conjunction with other web 2.0 promotions. For instance, at the bottom of the webpage, one can interact with other social media sites such as Facebook and twitter. One can even recommend, like or share with others. Further, the site incorporates the sense of web as a project, new ways of creating, collaborating and editing user generated content online. The site also observes ease of use and navigation
The site is a boost for anyone wishing to start their project. Currently, creation of a project on Kickstarter is by invitation only. Therefore, the site is trying to promote talent and support ideas from a diverse point of view. For example, when one begins a project that meets the site guidelines, then other people can contribute to the project through scrutinizing, challenging, commenting and correcting where appropriate. It thus gives a platform for carrying out a project and furnishing it.
Kickstarter has successfully managed to apply use of web 2.0 throughout the site. For instance, the site allows users to start projects and allows others to contribute hence implementing interactivity and collaboration dialogues. Users of the site are provided with more user interface, software and storage facility. Participatory feature qualifies kickstarter site to have effectively implemented web 2.0.
Week 8
OLAP provides a convenient way to crunch data in Excel. Given the Target’s OLAP and Pivot table, it would be easy to pull information from millions of data points with hundred columns and share this homogeneous data set with other members using excel spreadsheet that weighs no more than a few kilobytes. The same is reflected in ability to update source data while users get the opportunity to access the data in real time. OLAP is defined as Online Analytical Processing that allows fast analysis of data. The application allows to analyze and manipulate data from different perspectives. An important point to note with Target’s pivot table is that the table is reduced to a fraction what a normal table would have been. Therefore analyzing the whole set of data is simplified.
Part II
From definition of decision trees; they are excellent tools for helping one to choose between several courses of action thus a highly effective option of laying out investigations of possible outcomes that help in deciding the best option. Using the if, else option, one can draw Target’s decision tree diagram. The tree diagram will be evaluated by assigning cash value to each option and evaluating if it is worth the cash. If the option is favorable, it is picked otherwise it is dropped. For instance, marketing women clothing throughout Target stores can be evaluated by identifying alternative channels of marketing and evaluating each channel and its significance to marketing as well as the company. Also, cost should be evaluated to measure the total value of each decision. Calculate each value of the outcomes.
Week 12
Q1:
According to Global Voice Advocacy, Hong Kong based citizen media platform inmediahk.net (zh) was hit by a DDOS coming from China. The attack is said to have occurred on April 19th at 4pm and the website was taken offline by a Rackspace, the website could host because of malicious traffic. Explanation into the attacks cites that the attack resulted from heavy packet loss caused by a deluge of automated data requests. The server was then overloaded by the attack. The attack was launched by a typical SYN flood that switched into TCP fragmentation attack.
Q2:
The attack was from a botnet of compromised hosts and was specifically targeting the domain name www.inmediahk.net and when the attackers changed IP in DNS, the attack followed. The IP was showing a large group of addresses from different countries. But the attack was initiated to cramp down the entire site as a hit back from controversial content that the company had published earlier on. the media site had covered an ongoing strike by dock workers that prompted the company that runs the docks to hit back. However, the damage was not as large but it brought down the servers and the company could not host on the website. This might have cost the media company lots of money and information loss.
DDOS attack could have been detected and avoided if inmedia.net could have used Cloud Flare; DDOS mitigation services that pre-filters malicious traffic coming from such sources and webspammers. Eventually, when it implemented the program, Cloud Flare helped detected 608 threats in a day.
References
Albany State University (2011) Reasons Information Systems are so important in Business. ASU
Online News. Retrieved from http://online.asurams.edu/news/information-technology/reasons-information-systems-are-so-important-in-business/
Global Voices Advocacy (2013) Hong Kong Citizen Media Site Faces Attack
Retrieved From China. http://www.advocacy.globalvoicesonline.org/2013/04/22/hong-kong-citizen-media-site-faces-ddos-attack-from-china/
Porter E. M (1998) Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and
Competitors. 1st Ed Free Press.
Stephen A. W. (2009) Introduction to BPMN. Retrieved from
http://www.bpmn.org/Documents/Introduction%20to%20BPMN.pdf