- 24/7 open anytime, anywhere.
2. What is meant by a web-based, global platform, what does it provide, and how has it affected business?
- Spans the world and is best represented by the internet and the functionality of the World Wide Web. - The platform enables individuals to connect, compute, communicate, collaborate, and compete everywhere and anywhere, anytime and all the time; to access limitless amounts of information, services and entertainment; to exchange knowledge; and to produce and sell goods and services
- Operates without regard to geography, time distance, and even language barriers.
This platform enables globalization (the integration and interdependence of economic, social, cultural, and ecological facets of life, enables by rapid advances in information technology).
3. What are the main pressures that characterize the modern global business environment?
Business pressures. The business environment is the combination of social, legal, economic, physical, and political factors that affect business activities.
3 types of business pressures:
Market Pressures. Generated by the global economy and strong competition, the changing nature of the workforce, and powerful customers.
- global economy and strong competition
- the changing nature of the workforce
- powerful customers
Technology pressures. Two major technology-related pressures are technological innovation and information overload.
- technological innovation and obsolescence
- information overload
Societal/Political/Legal Pressures. Social responsibility, government regulation,/deregulation, spending for social programs, spending to protect against terrorism, and ethics.
- social responsibility
- compliance with government regulations and deregulation
4. What are the common IT oriented organizational responses to these pressures?
- Strategic Systems. Provide organizations with advantages that enable them to increase their market share and/or profits, to better negotiate with suppliers, or to prevent competitors from entering their markets.
- Customer focus. Organisational attempts to provide superb customer service can make the difference between attracting and keeping customers on the one hand and losing them to competitors on the other hand. E.g. Amazon.
- Make-to-order and mass Customisation. Make-to-Order is a strategy of produving customized products and services. The business problem is how to manufacture customized goods efficiently and at a reasonably low cost. In mass production, a company produces a large quantity of identical items. In mass customization, it also produces a large quantity of items, but it customuizes themt o fit the desires of each customer.
- E-Business and E-Commerce. Doing business electronically is essential strategy for companies competing in today’s business environment.
5. How are IT architecture and IT infrastructure are interrelated.
IT Architecture is a high level map or plan of the information assets in an organization. It is both a guide for current operations and a blueprint for future directions.
IT Infrastructure consists of the physical facilities, IT components, IT service, and IT personnel that support the entire organization.
The IT architecture integrates the entire organization’s business needs for information, the IT infrastructure, and all applications.
They provide the basis for all information systems in the organization.
6. Is the Internet an infrastructure, an architecture, or an application program? or something else. Why?
- The Internet is an infrastructure because it provides connectivity between resources or services and the users of such facilities.
- It is architecture becasue it is a general plan of how IT will be used within the organisation.
- It is an application program becasue it has computer programs that support a specific task e.g MYOB, MS Office.
Rainer, R. & Turban, E. (2009). Introduction to Information Systems: Supporting and Transforming Business. 2 Ed. John Wiley & Sons
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