Assignment Cover

Course code: MBA 520

Course name: Managing with Technology

Assignment title: Final Exam

Instructor’s name: Mr. Besseris

Student’s name:

Date: 20/3/2015

Comments:

Grade: /100

1. Information systems are too important to be left to computer specialists.

Do you agree? Why or why not?

Information systems development and usage involves organization, management,

and technology dimensions. It is important to understand who will use the

information systems and how the information systems will be used to facilitate

decision making and control within the organization. Computer specialists

understand the technology and play an important role within the development and

maintenance of information systems. Computer specialists have an in-depth

technology background, but may not be well versed in the business or its

operations. This is why computer specialists should function as part of a team, and

this team should have the hybrid strength of many different skills and

personalities. The team should understand the business, the business requirements,

and the goals for the information systems.

2. Describe ways the Internet can be used in international information

systems.
Final Exam 20/03/2015

Companies can use the Internet for international communication by creating

global intranets. Companies can also use the Internet to create virtual private

networks. Although the Internet is an attractive option, caution must still be

exercised, since many countries still lack the infrastructure for its successful

use. The Internet can be used in international information systems to co-opt

widely dispersed foreign units into one Internet connected unit. Factors of

production can be coordinated on a global scale. Transnational firms can use

the Internet to permit considerable decentralization of development and

operations. It can also increase centralized financial controls.

3. Adopting an enterprise application is a key business decision as well as a

technology decision. Do you agree? Why or why not? Who should make

this decision?

Enterprise systems feature a single information technology platform where data

definitions are standardized across the organization. If developed, installed, and

used properly, it unifies the technology of the company and therefore the company

itself. An enterprise wide system can help create a more uniform organization in

which everyone uses similar processes and information. It can aid in measuring

employee productivity in terms of organization-wide standards. It can supply

management with better data about business processes and overall organizational

performance. However, although the decision is partly a technology decision in

that those on the business side need to know what the technology can and cannot

do, ultimately, it is a business decision. How well does it support the business
Final Exam 20/03/2015

strategy? What is the cost, and how will that affect the corporation? The goal of

any system is to support the business. Moreover, the business must decide whether

or not to spend the money to develop and install the system.

4. It has been said that there is no such thing as a sustainable strategic

advantage. Do you agree? Why or why not?

There is little that a company can do that cannot be duplicated over time. For

example, Citibank and its ATM machines and American Airlines and its

reservation systems are good examples. Think about companies that had strategic

advantages in the 1920s or 1940s that no longer exist. In contrast, some

companies, such as Wal-Mart, maintain a strategic advantage for a long time.

Wal-Mart maintains its lead by striving to advance even further.

Gary Hamel, whom some call the leading strategy expert in business today, says

there is no such thing as sustainable strategic advantage. Hamel is founder and

chairman of Strategies and a research fellow at Harvard Business School. He

believes that, in the past, most companies were built to do one thing exceedingly

well for an exceedingly long period of time. In today’s marketplace, companies

built for scale, replication, diligence, and exactitude must learn to change, adapt,

and experiment at the speed that you see in the new economy.

New economy companies must master some virtues of the old economy. These

companies are learning that scale, operational excellence, and global infrastructure

are important. They can constitute hard-to-duplicate competitive advantages that

allow them to capture the rents on their innovation. Many have been trained to

think that there is such a thing as sustainable competitive advantage. They have

been trained to think about innovation in products and technology, not innovation
Final Exam 20/03/2015

in business models. They assume that being radical is risky and being incremental

is safe. We have to rewire people with new thinking skills.

5. How does the Internet change consumer and supplier relationships?

One clear change is that consumers can research products and services online and

then make their purchases on the Internet. Since the Internet increases the richness

and range of information that is available, it shrinks information asymmetry.

Since the Internet is at the centre of digital integration, it is changing the way

consumers and suppliers interact. The Internet is responsible for creating new

business models and promotes customer-centered retailing, direct sales over the

Web, interactive marketing and personalization, m-commerce, and customer self-

service.

In today’s competitive environment, suppliers must increasingly offer their

consumers product variety and mass customization without increased delivery

times. In order to meet these requirements, suppliers must deliver goods and

services in a timely manner. However, delivery performance depends on many

different factors, such as finished parts inventory levels and work-in-progress.

Suppliers can track these factors inexpensively through the use of information

systems.

6. Security isn’t just a technology issue; it’s a business issue. Discuss.

Information or data is a business enabler, it enables operations and

productivity so, the security of it should be viewed as essential and promoted

throughout the company – but, in most cases it is not. Employees use of

unauthorised personal mobile devices can be a threat because it is an unknown

object on the IT network. For example, if a user was to save business data onto

an unauthorised device and then it was infected by malware, the data could

end up in the wrong hands! it is not about the IT department forbidding

personal devices – if devices are approved then it is safe to have on the

network. It’s all about having policies in place and training employees on how

to access business data securely. The training should not be limited to the use

of mobile devices but, general IT security practices i.e. always encrypt email

containing sensitive data or never write login credentials on a piece of paper. It

is also important to ensure staff are aware of ‘Social Engineering’ because no

matter how protected an IT Network is, there is always the possibility of

external threats getting in, like cryptowall which tricks users into opening

infected attachments, exploit security gaps in Sliverlight, Flash and Java then,

similar to cryptolocker it will encrypt your files and demand a ransom.

Regular IT network assessments are recommended – not only will it help

protect and minimise potential security risks, it can also be an opportunity to

assess the efficiency levels of the network There will always be a possibility

of a breach in security for every company, it could be due to a cyber attack,

human error, social engineering etc but,if risk management is a common goal

amongst every employee not just the IT department, it can help manage and

minimise security risks in the long run.