ITSCM 280Exam # 2 Study Guide Chapter 1List the Business Drivers of Information Systems and describe each. What is a business model? What is the importance of real-time data? What is an information system? What are the five dimensions of business and information systems? What are the steps in the Problem solving process? What is critical thinking? Business Drivers-- Operational Excellence- Improved efficiency results in higher profits; information systems and technologies help improve efficiency and productivity- New Products, Services, and Business Models- Information systems and technologies enable firms to create new products, services, and business models.- Customer and Supplier Intimacy- Customers who are served well become repeat customers who purchase more; Close relationships with suppliers result in lower costs- Improved Decision Making- If managers rely on forecasts, best guesses and luck, they will misallocate employees, services, and inventory; Real-time data improves ability of managers to make decisions- Competitive Advantages- Often results from achieving previous business objectives; Advantages over competitors- charging less for superior products, better performance response to suppliers and customers- Survival- Business may need to invest in information systems out of necessity; simply the cost of doing businessBusiness Model- - A business model is how a company produces, delivers, and sells its products and services.It is also how you set up your business based on the current conditions. Real-time Data-- It improves the ability of managers to make decisionsInformation System-- It consists of information technology, information systems, data, and information. o Information technology is the hardware and software a business uses to achieve objectiveso Information system is interrelated components that manage information to support decision making and control and to help with the analysis, visualization, and product creationo Data is streams of raw factso Information is data shaped into a meaningful, useful form. o An information system contains information about an organization and its surrounding environment. There are four basic activities that is has- input,processing, output, and feedback. Dimensions of Business and Information Systems-- Organizations- Coordinate work through structure hierarchy and business processes; Culture embedded in information systems- People- Information systems require skilled people to build, maintain, and use them; employee attitudes affect ability to use systems productively; Role of managers- perceivebusiness challenges, set organizational strategy, allocate human and financial resources, and creative work: new products and services.- Technology- It infrastructure: Foundation or platform that information systems are built on- Strategy - StructureProblem Solving Model:- Problem Identification- Agreement that problem exists, definition of problem, causes of problem, and what can be come given resources of firm- Solution Design- Often many possible solutions; consider as many possible to understand range of solutions- Choice- Cost, Feasibility given resources and skills, and length of time needed to implement solution- Implementation- Building or purchasing solutions, testing solution and employee training, change management, change management, measurement of outcomes, and feedback and evaluation of solution Critical Thinking-- It is sustained suspension of judgement with an awareness of multiple perspectives and alternativesChapter 2What are the four basic business functions? Explain the business processes. What are the three levels of a firm? What are the different systems for the levels of management and explain each? Describe enterprise systems (ERP) and how does it relate to data integration? Give a brief definition of SCM and CRM.Basic Business Functions-- Every business must produce the product or service; market and sell the product; keep tract of accounting and financial transactions, and perform basic human resources tasks,such as hiring and retaining employeeso Manufacturing and productiono Sales and marketingo Human Resourceso Finance and accountingBusiness Processes-Firm Levels- - Senior Management/ Strategic- Decisions impact the far future- Middle Management/ Tactical- Decisions impact things in the closer future- Operational Management – Things that happen dailySystems for Different Levels of Management-- TPS- Transactions processing systems keep track of basic activities and transactions of the organization; Principal purpose is to answer routine questions and to tract the flow of transactions through the organization; Monitors status of internal operations and firm’s relationship with external environment; Major producers of information for other systems; and highly central to business operations and functioning. - MIS- Management Information systems- Reports on a firm’s performance to help monitor firm and predict future performance; summarizes and reports on basic operations using data from TPS; Provides weekly, monthly, annual results, but may enable drilling don into daily or hourly data; and typically not very flexible systems with little analytical capability - DSS- Decision support systems- Supports non-routine decision making; often use external information as well from TPS and MIS - ESS- Executive Support Systems- This addresses strategic issues and long-term trends; addresses non-routine decision making; provides generalized computing capacity that can be applied to changing array of problems; draws summarized information from MIS, DSS, and data from external events; and Typically uses portal with Web Interface, or digital dashboard to present content Enterprise Systems (ERP)-- Enterprise resource planning systems- Integrate data from keep business processes into single system- Speed communication of information throughout firm- Enable greater flexibility in responding to customer requests, greater accuracy in order fulfillment- Enable managers to assemble overall view of operations- Execute business processesData Integration- Supply Chain Management and Customer Relationship Management-- Supply Chain Management (SCM)-o Manage relationships with suppliers, purchasing firms, distributors, and logistics companieso Manage shared information about orders, production, inventory levels, etc. Thegoal is to move the correct amount of product from source to point of consumption as quick as possible and at