Module Rewiew

Conrad Collins

Activity 1.6

February 2, 2014

MODULE REVIEW

1.How can information technology support a company’s business processes and decision making and give it a competitive advantage? Give examples to illustrate your answer.

Gaining a strategic advantage over competitors requires the innovative application of information technologies. For example, store management might make a decision to install touch-screen kiosks in all stores, with links to the e-commerce Web site for online shopping. This offering might attract new customers and build customer loyalty because of the ease of shopping and buying merchandise provided by such information systems. Thus, strategic information systems can help provide products and services that give a business a comparative advantage over its competitors.

2.How does the use of the Internet, intranets, and extranets by companies today support their business processes and activities?

The rapid growth of the Internet, intranets, extranets, and other interconnected global networks in the 1990s dramatically changed the capabilities of information systems in business at the beginning of the 21st century. Further, a fundamental shift in the role of information systems occurred. Internet-based and Web-enabled enterprises and global e-business and e-commerce systems are becoming commonplace in the operations and management of today’s business enterprises. Information systems is now solidly entrenched as a strategic resource in the modern organization.

The Internet and related technologies and applications have changed the ways businesses operate and people work, as well as how information systems support business processes, decision making, and competitive advantage. Thus, many businesses today are using Internet technologies to Web-enable their business processes and create innovative e-business applications.

3.How can a manager demonstrate...