Analyze Sears using the competitive forces and value chain models. What are Sears’s strengths? What are its weaknesses?
> How does a firm’s growth rate affect its ability to attract and retain talented employees?
> What is sustained growth? Why is it important?
> What is a trademark? How can a trademark help a firm establish a competitive advantage in the marketplace?
> Assume that you are the dean of a business school and that you are interested in more entrepreneurship courses being offered in your school. Surprisingly to you, some professors are resisting the idea of offering these courses on the basis of their view
> What are the six steps in applying for a patent?
> What are the two primary issues to consider when conducting an organizational feasibility analysis?
> What is the purpose of an assignment of invention agreement? Is it a good idea for firms to ask their employees to sign assignment of invention agreements?
> Give an example of a design patent. How can having a design patent provide a firm a competitive advantage in the marketplace?
> What is a business method patent? Provide an example of a business method patent. How can having such a patent provide a firm a competitive advantage in the marketplace?
> What are the major differences between utility patents and design patents? Provide an example of each.
> What are the two primary purposes of conducting an intellectual property audit? What risks does a company run if it doesn’t periodically conduct an intellectual property audit?
> What is a trade secret? Provide an example of a trade secret. How might the trade secret you identified help a firm establish a competitive advantage in the marketplace?
> What is meant by the phrase copyright infringement? Would you characterize copyright infringement as a minor or as a major problem in the United States and in other countries? Explain.
> In the context of copyright law, what is meant by the term derivative work?
> What is a brand? Provide an example of a brand that you buy frequently and describe the mental image that pops into your mind when you hear or see the brand’s name.
> After rereading the opening case, identify all of the effective or smart moves Kirsten Blowers made in the early days of building Riffraff.
> Franchising is a safe investment.” What would you think if you saw this statement in a magazine or on a blog?
> What is the difference between technology licensing and merchandise and character licensing? Provide examples of both types of licensing and how they can increase a firm’s sales.
> List and describe four competitive strategies enabled by information systems that firms can pursue.
> Describe what the competitive forces model explains about competitive advantage.
> Describe the impact of the Internet and disruptive technologies on organizations.
> Explain why there is considerable organizational resistance to the introduction of information systems.
> Describe the major behavioral theories that help explain how information systems affect organizations.
> Describe the major economic theories that help explain how information systems affect organizations.
> Explain how to perform a strategic systems analysis.
> What difference would it make to a business or to an individual consumer if Apple, Google, or Facebook dominated the Internet experience? Explain your answer.
> Which company and business model do you think is most likely to dominate the Internet and why?
> Describe the challenges and opportunities of globalization in a “flattened” world.
> Define and describe VoIP and virtual private networks and explain how they provide value to businesses.
> What is the significance of search to the success or failure of mobile computing? How have Apple and Facebook attempted to compete with Google? Will their strategies succeed?
> Why is mobile computing so important to these three firms? Evaluate the mobile strategies of each firm.
> Compare the business models and core competencies of Google, Apple, and Facebook.
> Should all organizations try to analyze big data? Why or why not? What management, organization, and technology issues should be addressed before a company decides to work with big data?
> List and describe the limitations to using big data.
> Identify two decisions at the organizations described in this case that were improved by using big data, and two decisions that were not improved by using big data.
> What business benefits did the companies and services described in this case achieve by analyzing and using big data.
> Allowing employees to use their own smartphones for work will save the company money. Do you agree? Why or why not?
> Compare the BYOD experiences of Michelin North America and Rosendin Electric. Why did BYOD at Michelin work so well?
> What management, organization, and technology factors should be addressed when deciding whether to allow employees to use their personal smartphones for work?
> List and describe the principal Internet services.
> Describe the characteristics of a digital firm.
> What are the advantages and disadvantages of allowing employees to use their personal smartphones for work?
> Will Facebook be able to have a successful business model without invading privacy? Explain your answer. Could Facebook take any measures to make this possible?
> Describe the weaknesses of Facebook’s privacy policies and features. What people, organization, and technology factors have contributed to those weaknesses?
> What is the relationship of privacy to Facebook’s business model?
> Perform an ethical analysis of Facebook. What is the ethical dilemma presented by this case?
> How effective was the solution Sears selected? Explain your answer.
> What solution did Sears select? What was the role of technology in this solution?
> What was the problem facing Sears? What management, organization, and technology factors contributed to this problem?
> Explain how the Domain Name System (DNS) and IP addressing system work.
> Should all companies implement internal enterprise social networks? Why or why not?
> Identify three major new information system trends.
> Compare the experiences implementing internal social networks of the two organizations. Why were they successful? What role did management play in this process?
> Identify the management, organization, and technology factors responsible for impeding adoption of internal corporate social networks.
> How helpful is precision agriculture to individual farmers and the agricultural industry? Explain your answer.
> How do precision agriculture systems support decision making? Identify three different decisions that can be supported.
> 1. What are the inputs, processing, and outputs of UPS’s package tracking system? 2. What technologies are used by UPS? How are these technologies related to UPS’s business strategy? 3. What strategic business objectives do UPS’s information systems addr
> 1. Should managers monitor employee e-mail and Internet usage? Why or why not? 2. Describe an effective e-mail and web use policy for a company. 3. Should managers inform employees that their web behavior is being monitored? Or should managers monitor s
> 1. Discuss the role of data governance at Keurig Green Mountain. 2. What management, organization, and technology issues had to be addressed in order to establish enterprise-wide data governance? 3. What were the business benefits of data governance for
> 1. What business benefits do cloud computing services provide? What problems do they solve? 2. What are the disadvantages of cloud computing? 3. What kinds of businesses are most likely to benefit from using cloud computing? Why?
> Define the Internet, describe how it works and explain how it provides business value.
> 1. Identify the problem described in this case study. In what sense is it an ethical dilemma? 2. Should more tasks be automated? Why or why not? Explain your answer. 3. Can the problem of automation reducing cognitive skills be solved? Explain your answe
> 1. What competitive strategies are the companies discussed in this case pursuing? 2. How are information technology and smart products related to these strategies? Describe the role of information technology in these products. 3. Are there any ethical is
> How do the systems described in this case improve farming operations?
> 1. Describe the capabilities of Cisco’s IX5000 telepresence system. How do they promote collaboration and innovation? 2. Why would a company like Produban want to invest in a telepresence system such as Cisco’s IX5000? How are videoconferencing technolog
> 1. What kinds of applications are described here? What business functions do they support? How do they improve operational efficiency and decision making? 2. Identify the problems that businesses in this case study solved by using mobile digital devices.
> 1. What is network neutrality? Why has the Internet operated under net neutrality up to this point in time? 2. Who’s in favor of network neutrality? Who’s opposed? Why? 3. What would be the impact on individual users, businesses, and government if Intern
> 1. What are the benefits of intelligence-driven prosecution for crime fighters and the general public? 2. What problems does this approach to crime fighting pose? 3. What management, organization, and technology issues should be considered when setting u
> 1. Wearables have the potential to change the way organizations and workers conduct business. Discuss the implications of this statement. 2. How would a business process such as ordering a product for a customer in the field be changed if the salesperson
> 1. Does the Volkswagen emission cheating crisis pose an ethical dilemma? Why or why not? If so, who are the stakeholders? 2. Describe the role of management, organization, and technology factors in creating VW’s software cheating problem. To what extent
> 1. How do flat organizations differ from traditional bureaucratic hierarchies? 2. How has information technology made it possible to eliminate middle manager positions? 3. What management, organization, and technology issues would you consider if you wan
> Distinguish between a LAN, MAN, and WAN.
> 1. Describe the problem faced by Plan International. What management, organization, and technology factors contributed to this problem? 2. Describe the system solution to this problem. Describe the types of systems used for the solution. 3. Why is human
> Explain how information systems promote synergies and core competencies.
> Describe how the information systems function supports a business.
> How is information technology changing the way farmers run their business?
> Define Porter’s competitive forces model and explain how it works.
> List and describe the five steps in an ethical analysis.
> List and describe the management challenges posed by strategic information systems.
> Define and describe a virtual company and the benefits of pursuing a virtual company strategy.
> Identify and describe the features of organizations that help explain differences in organizations’ use of information systems.
> Explain how businesses benefit by using network economics and ecosystems.
> Define an analog and a digital signal.
> Describe how promoting synergies and core competencies enhances competitive advantages.
> Describe how the Internet has changed competitive forces and competitive advantage.
> Explain how the value web helps businesses identify opportunities for strategic information systems.
> Define the value web and show how it is related to the value chain.
> In what sense are U.S. farms now digital firms? Explain your answer.
> Explain how the value chain model can be used to identify opportunities for information systems.
> Define and describe the value chain model.
> Explain why aligning IT with business objectives is essential for strategic use of systems.
> Describe how information systems can support each of these competitive strategies and give examples.
> Define an organization and compare the technical definition of organizations with the behavioral definition.
> Name and describe the principal technologies and trends that have shaped contemporary telecommunications systems.
> Explain how intranets and extranets help firms integrate information and business processes.
> Define enterprise systems, supply chain management systems, customer relationship management systems, and knowledge management systems and describe their business benefits.
> Explain how enterprise applications improve organizational performance.
> Describe the characteristics of executive support systems (ESS) and explain how these systems differ from DSS.
> Describe the characteristics of decision-support systems (DSS) and how they benefit businesses.
> List and describe the technologies used in case study Are Farms Becoming Digital Firms?
