Number 1 (re-answer midterm).

1. major objective of business (use information system)
   •Operational Excellence
   Businesses continuously seek to improve the efficiency of their operations in order to achieve higher profitability. Information systems and technologies are some of the most important tools available to managers for achieving higher levels of efficiency and productivity in business operations, especially when coupled with changes in business practices and management behavior. Example :
   UPS (United Parcel Service)
   MOTOROLA (achieve Six Sigma)
   Wal-Mart

•New Products, Services, and Business Models.
Information systems and technologies are a major enabling tool for firms to create new products and services, as well as entirely new business models.
A business model describes how a company produces, delivers, and sells a product or service to create wealth. As successful as Apple Inc, NetFlix, and Wal-Mart were in their traditional brick-and-mortar existence, they have all introduced new products, services, and business models that have made them both competitive and profitable. Example , Apple INC. (Especially iPad) , NetFlix , Wal-Mart

•Customer and Supplier Intimacy
When a business really knows its customers, and serves them well, the way they want to be served, the customers generally respond by returning and purchasing more. This raises revenues and profits. Likewise with suppliers:
the more a business engages its suppliers, the better the suppliers can provide vital inputs. Wal-Mart is an excellent example of how the use of information systems and technologies are extensively used to better serve their suppliers and retail customers.
The RealLink system that they use digitally links their suppliers to every one of Wal-Mart’s 5,289 stores worldwide. Suppliers are able to ensure the continuous flow of products to the stores in order to satisfy customer demands. Example , Wal-Mart (RealLink System) , Hotel Ritz-Carlton (CLASS System) CLASS: Customer Loyalty Anticipation Satisfaction System

•Improved Decision Making
Information systems and technologies have made it possible for managers to use real-time data from the marketplace when making decisions.
Previously, managers did not have access to accurate and current data and as such relied on forecasts, best guesses, and luck. The inability to make informed decision resulted in raising costs and lost customers. Example , DSS (Decision Support System)
For: Structured, Unstructured or/and Semi-Structured Problems

•Competitive Advantage
Doing things better than your competitors, charging less for superior products, and responding to customers and suppliers in real time all add up to higher sales and higher profits that your competitors cannot match.
Dell Computers and Wal-Mart are prime examples of how these companies used information systems and technologies to separate themselves from their competition. Dell remains the most efficient producer of PCs in the world. Wal-Mart is the most efficient retail store in the industry.
For example , Wal-Mart (Created Largest Retail Chain) , UPS (Created Largest Network)

•Survival
Firms also invest in information systems and technologies because they are necessities of doing business. Information system is not a luxury. In most businesses, information systems and technology is the core to survival. Citibank was the first banking firm to introduce ATMs.
In doing so, they had a major competitive advantage over their competitors. In order to remain and survive in the retail banking industry, other banks had no choice but to provide ATM services to banking customers. For example , Citi Bank (First Banking firm Introduce ATMs)

1. Characteristics of DSS:
   •DSS incorporate both data and models.
   •They are designed to assist managers in their decision processes in semi-structured or unstructured tasks.

Characteristics of MIS :
•Understandable:
Since information is already in a summarized form, it must be understood by the receiver so that he will interpret it correctly. He must be able to decode any abbreviations, shorthand notations or any other acronyms contained in the information. •Relevant :
Information is good only if it is relevant. This means that it should be pertinent and meaningful to the decision maker and should be in his area of responsibility. •Complete:
It should contain all the facts that are necessary for the decision maker to satisfactorily solve the problem at hand using such information. Nothing important should be left out. Although information cannot always be complete, every reasonable effort should be made to obtain it. •Available:
Information may be useless if it is not readily accessible ‘ in the desired form, when it is needed. Advances in technology have made information more accessible today than ever before. •Reliable:
The information should be counted on to be trustworthy. It should be accurate, consistent with facts and verifiable. Inadequate or incorrect information generally leads to decisions of poor quality. For example, sales figures that have not been adjusted for returns and refunds are not reliable. •Concise:
Too much information is a big burden on management and cannot be processed in time and accurately due to “bounded rationality”. Bounded rationality determines the limits of the thinking process which cannot sort out and process large amounts of information. Accordingly, information should be to the point and just enough – no more, no less. •Timely:
Information must be delivered at the right time and the right place to the right person. Premature information can become obsolete or be forgotten by the time it is actually needed.
Similarly, some crucial decisions can be delayed because proper and necessary information is not available in time, resulting in missed opportunities. Accordingly the time gap between collection of data and the presentation of the proper information to the decision maker must be reduced as much as possible. •Cost-effective:
The information is not desirable if the solution is more costly than the problem.

1. Five primary activities of value chain model :
   Primary activities of Porter’s value chain are as follows :
   •Inbound logistics – Bring raw material from source to the company. The value chain can be enhanced in this step by improving the quality of raw material as well as optimizing the cost of inbound logistics.
   •Operations – Converting the raw material to finished goods is the job of Operations. The customer value is increased majorly in this step if the operations are up to mark and the product is manufactured in the right manner and meets quality standards. You can take example of Television or Air conditioners to understand the importance of Operations and manufacturing in the Value chain.
   •Outbound logistics – Sending finished goods from manufacturing point to distributors and retailers. The value chain receives a boost if the out bound logistic activities are carried out in time with optimal costs and the product is delivered to end customers with minimum affect to the quality of the product. Food products can be an example of how value can be added during outbound logistics by delivering product on time with best quality.
   • Marketing and sales – The marketing and sales apply push as well as pull strategy to increase the sales of the product. The company exists to make profits and if profits can be increased by marketing and sales, than the company has to use these tools. However, marketing needs to be done in the right manner to build brand equity and sales should be done in the proper channel without any false commitments given to customers to add value to the end product and the brand.
   •Service – The post sales service is the most important because it directly affects the word of mouth publicity of the product. If the service is not upto mark, no one will buy the product and the brand will lose market share and may be taken out of the market eventually. Thus service is very important in the Porter’s value chain.

2. Five steps ethical analysis :
   •Identify and describe clearly the facts. Find out who did what to whom, and where, when, and how. In many instances, you will be surprised at the errors in the initially reported facts, and often you will find that simply getting the facts straight helps define the solution. It also helps to get the opposing parties involved in an ethical dilemma to agree on the facts.
   •define the conflict or dilemma and identify the higher-order values involved. Ethical, social, and political issues always reference higher values. The parties to a dispute all claim to be pursuing higher values (e.g., freedom, privacy, protection of property, and the free enterprise system). Typically, an ethical issue involves a dilemma: two diametrically opposed courses of action that support worthwhile values. For example, the chapter-ending case study illustrates two competing values: the need to improve health care record keeping and the need to protect individual privacy.
   •Identify the stakeholders. Every ethical, social, and political issue has stakeholders: players in the game who have an interest in the outcome, who have invested in the situation, and usually who have vocal opinions. Find out the identity of these groups and what they want. This will be useful later when designing a solution.
   •identify the options that you can reasonably take. You may find that none of the options satisfy all the interests involved, but that some options do a better job than others. Sometimes arriving at a good or ethical solution may not always be a balancing of consequences to stakeholders. •identify the potential consequences of your options.

3. Storage Area Network (SAN).
   storage area network is one of the data management and storage that connects multiple storage devices on dedicated networks

4. A database management system (DBMS) is system software for creating and managing databases. The DBMS provides users and programmers with a systematic way to create, retrieve, update and manage data. how it solve the problem of traditional file environment :
   •Control redundancy
   •Eliminates inconsistency
   •Uncouples program data
   •Enables organization to central manage data & data security.

5. Convergence is the coming together of two different entities, and in the contexts of computing and technology, is the integration of two or more different technologies in a single device or system. A good example is the convergence of communication and imaging technologies on a mobile device designed to make calls and take pictures – two unrelated technologies that converge on a single device. Another good example is surfing the Internet on a high-definition TV (HDTV).

6. Customer relationship management (CRM) systems integrate and automate customer-facing processes in sales, marketing, and custiomer service, providing an enterprise- wide view of customers. Companies can use this customer knowledge when they interact with customers to provide them with better service or to sell new products and services. These systems also identify profitable or nonprofitable customers or opportunities to reduce the churn rate. The major customer relationship management software packages provide capabilities for both operational CRM and analytical CRM. They often include modules for managing relationships with selling partners (partner relationship management) and for employee relationship management.

Number 2.

1. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOA) is an act passed by U.S. Congress in 2002 to protect investors from the possibility of fraudulent accounting activities by corporations. The SOX Act mandated strict reforms to improve financial disclosures from corporations and prevent accounting fraud. The SOX Act was created in response to accounting malpractice in the early 2000s, when public scandals such as Enron Corporation, Tyco International plc, and WorldCom shook investor confidence in financial statements and demanded an overhaul of regulatory standards.

2. A Key Performance Indicator is a measurable value that demonstrates how effectively a company is achieving key business objectives. Organizations use KPIs at multiple levels to evaluate their success at reaching targets. High-level KPIs may focus on the overall performance of the enterprise, while low-level KPIs may focus on processes in departments such as sales, marketing or a call center.

3. The business continuity planning (BCP) is the creation of a strategy through the recognition of threats and risks facing a company, with an eye to ensure that personnel and assets are protected and able to function in the event of a disaster. Business continuity planning (BCP) involves defining potential risks, determining how those risks will affect operations, implementing safeguards and procedures designed to mitigate those risks, testing those procedures to ensure that they work, and periodically reviewing the process to make sure that it is up to date.

*note : maaf pak yang tadi salah karna penomorannya tidak teratur. Dikirim dari iPhone saya