1. E-commerce: the buying and selling of goods and services over the internet.  there are a few types of e-commerce:

• B2C e-commerce: supports sales from business to consumers
• B2B e-commerce:concerns sale from one business to another
• B2G e-commerce: concerns sale from businesses to the government

2. Customer relationship management (CRM): is a system that intefrates all of the primary business activities. it tracks interaction with customers from prospect through follow-up service and support

3. Supply chain management (SCM): is a system that intergrates the primary in-bound logistics business activity. ie: sourcing function-finds suitable vendors, ordering function-send and receive quotes, proposals, order, etc., settlement function-processes receipts, schedule payment, etc.

4. Interorgainizational transaction processing: involves systems that process routine transactions among two or more organizations. ie: clearing check—-> automation

do businesses ever use all four categories of interorganizational IS or just one or a combination?

internet users in South Africa is .004% why? partly because the user fee is extremely high

MINISTRY’S INFORMATION SYSTEM

• modernize
• improve communication
• cut diplomats travel costs in half

Project failed–why?

• the purpose of the project was vague
• resistence–users didn’t give much support. they didn’t understand, they weren’t trained and they didn’t have guidlines
• conflict of interest-goals conglicted wiht intests of users. big changes usually don’t go over well
• underfunded–how to solve: change the scope of the goal, raise capital, cut back unnecessary augmentation, focuse on most important areas of the project, plan ahead

to best manage:  planning, scheduling, and controlling will lead to success.

**when performance is measured, performance improves

a few reasons why they said the program failed:

1. Vendor contracts were awarded not on the basis of competence, but rather on personal relations between Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials and vendor personnel.
2. The major application threatened the perquisites of diplomats. Travel is an important source of revenue for headquarters personnel; the compensate for their low salaries by travel compensation and by the opportunity to trade good.
3. The computing infrastructure was limited; there were a maximum of two personal computers per department at headquarters and only 35 computers in a building housing more that 300 officials

Looks like they had the odds against them.  switching from a non computer system to a computer system can be a tough change though, that takes a lot of support from the entire company

They used the term “to become a more dynamic, modern organization via the use of information technology.” This is dangerous because it sets the bar a little higher than it should be. it makes it seem complicated and hard-especially in the early 1990′s.

comparing ourselves with others–how do we compete with them?

all about adding value—>VALUE CHAIN

Primary Activities—inbound logistics: the bringing in of people, facilities, or supplies (ingredients)

operations: the actual making process–finished product (mixing and baking)

outbound logistics: going out of product–> to customers

marketing and sales: strategy of getting product out (advertising)

service: customer service–customer input. service is any type of enhancement  of the product

**all of these add value

support activities—firm infrastrusture: buildings, equipment,

human resource management: labor, skilled workers

technology: research and development, better- faster -cheaper

procurement: acquiring the materials we need.

primary and support activities lead to Margin–PROFIT

–>BUSINESS Functions

Information Systems are used to help manage these value chain processes more efficiently. faster, more consistent, more cost effective. all to increase profit margin or value.

1. Calculation systems: single purpose systems used to eliminate tedious human calculations that used a mainframe punch card.

2. Functional systems: business function system that used the computer to improve operation and management of individual departments that uses mainframe, stand-alone PCs, and networks and LANs.

3 Integrated systems: business process system that developed IS to integrate separate departments into organization-wide business processes that uses networked PCs, client-servers, the Internet and Intranets.

functional systems overcomes calculation systems by being able to do more than one thing and they didn’t have as many computer failures. Integrated systems overcame functional systems because functional systems cannot integrate separate departments and integrated systems of course can.

In my career I will probably have to deal with functional systems the most because it deals more with business functions.  A problem I can see arising with functional systems in my career is well, since purchasing influences inventory, which influences production, which influences customer satisfaction, which influences future sales–then if something goes wrong with my functional system then I would find myself in big trouble. So much depends on it.

Will there ever be a system that is one up from the integrated, cross-functional systems? How would it be more advanced? What else would it do?

*midterm- Monday October 26th in the testing center. 56 multiple choice 15 essay/short answer 71 total.

* ISA exam. practice exam Saturday October 24th 9am   http://isa.is.byuh.edu

-http://isaeducation.org/isadmin/ to register

Database discussion:

databases are sold as a program– dbms– when you search for them on the internet. CRMS– customer relation management system. Databases are not only for text, they are also for files and the like.

SAP- supply chain management software.  MRP-material requirement planning systems

real-estate database— MLS- multiple listing service.

**databases are very, very, very popular

potential employers will google you

as a business professional i would use a database when my data started getting really complex and messy and if i started to collect a lot of integrated records. Different sets of data that correlate needs a database.

i would use a spreadsheet when i only had one thing to keep track of that wasn’t related to a bunch of other data.

i would use a personal DBMS, like Access, if there was a problem with my database by itself, or if i was having a really hard time keeping track of my data. Having a program to follow, like Access, make keeping track of your data a lot easier.

enterprise DBMS products process large organizational and workgroup databases. a problem that would need an enterprise dbms would be if there were a lot of users that needed to contribute data to the database, and they were all contributing at different times and different places. an enterprise dbms would help a lot with this problem.

you could get by with forms, reports, and queries if you only a few different sets of data that were related and only a basic dmbs was required. if the tasks that you are doing don’t require special applications, then you can get by with forms, reports, and queries.

you would have to hire someone to develop a database when or if  you have unique requirement that need to be met. application programs process logic that is specific to a given business need. application programs also enable database processing over the internet.

CAREER ASSIGNMENT– databases for business

one of the databases i found was netsuite.com which is the worlds #1 on-demand business software– so they claim. it includes CRMS, ecommerce, and accounting/ERP.

i also click on  links to Cornell Libraries The Johnson School and  the Penn State Library databases. I took a look at all of there databases and click on a few. The most interesting link that i clicked on was a link called Benefits of databases-business link. It was pretty interesting. Here is the introduction on the cite: INTRODUCTION– “The gathering, processing and use of information relating to the operations of a business are vital to its success. Even something as simple as a customer mailing list needs to be managed appropriately if it is to be kept up to date and accurate. Therefore, any tools or applications that can make the tasks involved easier and more efficient need to be given serious consideration.

The database is one of the cornerstones of information technology, and its ability to organise, process and manage information in a structured and controlled manner is key to many aspects of modern business efficiency.”   good stuff.

job opportunities in this area could be a business database manager or secretary. a business database designer, possibly. you also have to know how to use a spreadsheet and a database if you are an accountant for sure. There are a lot of things that need to kept track of in that profession.

I could use this information as a competitive advantage over other job applicant, by informing the ones hiring me that they wouldn’t have to spend any extra time or money training me how to use a database or IS skills because i already had them and I could start the job right away. It would actually save them time and money, which are extremely valuable- especially in the American culture, if they hired me. I think that that would get them.

i could use a database to obtain the contact information of those professionals that are active in the business field and ask them about their job and what they are required to do and if there are any new programs or databases that i need to learn how to use. Then i could prepare myself for the job, before they even interviewed me and i would have a head start on the other applicants.

* Ha! not going to lie– i had to look up ancillary anyway– some ancillary benefits that i might accrue if i did this was knowledge and knowledge is power. i would also know the contact information of professionals in my field and i could increase my network, which is also a very nice benefit.

postal service is an example of a network system. internet is the postal service on steriods

definitions:

• NIC- network interface card
• UTP cable- unshielded twisted pair
• router- hook switches together. bridging device. directs traffic to the right switches.
• dial-up internet sends the signal over phone lines. its slower because you have to convert the signal from your computer to a series of sounds.
• fiber optical cable: sends information-signals over flashes of light. light travels faster than electricity and is able to send more volts. data speeds are much much greater

world is connected through the internet by under sea fiber optic cable. most internet traffic goes through cables.  can go wireless through a satellite, but it is much more expensive.

inter-planet: communicate with devices out in space through an internet like connection.

know *local and wide area networks and how messages move across them.

LAN connects computers that reside in a single geographic location on the premises of the company that operates LAN. Does BYUH use LAN since all of the computers affiliated on in a single geographical location (campus)?

WAN connects computers at different geographical locations.  The example they gave in the book of a WAN is a company that has offices in Atlanta and Chicago.

internet: is a network of networks and has to follow a certain protocol. 3 different types of internet: dial-up (slowest), DSL (fast), and cable(fast).

**I didn’t really understand what a VPN is and when you would use it.

databases

• When it’s hard to organize data in a spreadsheet – multiple categories
• Multiple users
• When we have a collection of integrated records
• focusing view on specific type of information

spreadsheets

• When you have one set of data – simpler data sets
• less overhead
• does math automatically

Lists — pen and paper vs. a spreadsheet  -depends on the size of the list. ie: household vs. grocery store

• groceries
• homework
• things to do
• pros and cons

what is a pivot table? a program in excel that creates reports

Add structure in a database with relationships and metadata

• metadata: data that describes data.   meta-something about something. – makes databases more useful and easier to use. its a label.  ie: field name(title, priority, status) data type, description, etc. in access
• relationships among records- a connection between two things.

**for exam- know what situation will be better for a spreadsheet or a database. when is a spreadsheet appropriate? when is a database appropriate?