Chapter 8

Social Media Information Systems

Most of use social media in one form our another and the number that do not shrinks everyday.  Let's take a look at IS in SM and see what effects it can have on an organization when they utilize it.  First off lets define SM, social media is simply the use of information technology to support the sharing of content among users of a network.  We know what all of those words really mean for a change so there isn't much need to break it down further.  What we do need to know in addition to that is that networks of people of a social media platform form what are called Communities of Practice or simply communities.  Communities are groups of people related by common interests on social media.  We will be using the simple term communities when we are talking about them.  Information Systems serves three distinct roles regarding SM.  The first role is as a  social media provider which is the entity that create the social networks that allow communities to form.  The next role information systems exist in is the user role.  Users can be individuals using social media, 73% of all persons with internet access can be classified as a user, 40% of them access their social media using a mobile device.  Users can also be classified as an organization or firm.  77% of Fortune 500 companies maintain an active Twitter account, 70% have a Facebook page for their organization and 69% maintain a YouTube channel.  Organizations are not only users but content providers as they create content and in some cases even create and maintain their own SMIS focused toward their customers.   Finally IS supports the existence of the communities of which users can be part of many.  To maintain the coherence of these communities organizations create a viral hook which is some form of inducement for users to pass their communications through the tiers of a community such as a prize or reward for doing so.  Social media information systems have the same five components of a system that any other IS does, let's talk about the specifics.  First is the hardware component which exists within the user role and provider role.  Users' hardware will generally consist of the device they use to access social media such as a desktop computer, laptop or their mobile device.  The providers' hardware is simply the servers used to host and render the social media applications users contribute to.  Next is the software component that again is distinct among users and providers.  Software for users consists of their OS, browser used to access social media as well as the applications the access with the browser or standalone social media applications.  Then there the data component.  This can be broken down into two parts when talking about social media IS, content data and connection data.  Content data is data that is contributed by users in response to data that already exists.  Think of one user replying to a post of another.  Next there is connection data which is data about the relationships that exist within and between communities.  We yet again draw a distinction among users and providers when talking about the processes component of the system.  User processes are informal and socially oriented as users do what they want and generally follow the lead of other users.  The small exception here is that an organization will likely create a guideline for how their official social media accounts are to be used adding some structure.  The purpose here is to ensure the organizations use of social media is aligned with their overall business strategy. The people component should be obvious here, users make up this so organizations and individuals.  

Organizations and Social Media

As we have said a lot of organizations are using social media in order to advance their overall business strategy.  There vast number of users of social media means that any modern firm not doing so is losing a huge competitive advantage but engaging in social media as an organization is not without its challenges.  The dynamic nature of social media has changed the balance of power among customers and organizations.  The free flow of information and feedback puts a lot of power in the hands of the customer in a way that has changed the game.  This is especially true regarding sales and marketing.  Obviously corporations can take advantage of the vast number of users by advertising to them through social media, this is made even more effective when organizations target specific communities to whom their product or services are relevant.  This allows organizations to ensure that their advertising dollars go that much further.  When an organization engages in a pay per click advertising campagin or one where they pay every time a user clicks on their add they want to make sure that those clicks have a high chance of creating value for them.  The shift in power is significant in advertising because users can easily provide feedback on products that has a high visibility to other users.  This is a new challenge for firms and one which they can't easily control.  When negative content is created by users respective to a firms product or service they have to decide how to address it.  There are only three real options all of which have their own set of outcomes.  Firms can delete the content if possible to reduce visibility though if they do this after the visibility is high there could be backlash from users.  Firms can also simply ignore the negative content though again if there is high visibility already this may not be the best choice.  Finally, firms can respond to the negative concept, this option has created a new avenue for the customer service chain as well.  The option to respond to negative content can create the opposite effect and work in favor of the firm, it also allows the firm to build up individual relationships with it's customers where there is need to do so.  Peer to peer support in social media also benefits the customer service chain.  User created reviews and user to user support has the potential to create a lot of value for the firm and is generally self sustaining due to users motivation to help each other and stand out among their communities.  Logistics is also affected here though to a lesser degree.  Logistic professionals can utilize social media to build relationships with their supply chain providers and users.  The manufacturing chain can also benefit greatly by the utilization of social media.  Users' feedback on products can help greatly with the design phase.  This is true when considering a new iteration for a product or when creating a whole new product.  Organizations can seek out specific information from users on social media or examine existing review data to glean valuable feedback and input from users.  The human resources chain again has the potential to benefit greatly from social media.  SM has created a whole new avenue for HR professionals to prospect, evaluate and recruit new talent for their firms.  The value here is great as firms don't have the need to wait for qualified applicants to find them, they can seek them out and target them with such services as LinkedIn.  

Social Capital and Organizations

Capital has been defined as the investment of resources for future profit.  Social capital is simply the investment in social relationships with the expectations of a return in the market place.  Social media has allowed firms to invest in social capital in new ways that have great potential in adding value.  The value from social capital can come in many forms.  Information is one, there is a troth of information available to organizations through social media.  For one they can get an idea of the general opinion their customers have of them and their products.  They also stand to learn much about their customers and their buying habits based on their social media behaviors and the communities they are a part of.  Firms can also generate influence through social media capital.  This relates strongly to the customer service chain as firms can fix problems they once weren't even aware existed.  This strengthens relationships and creates customer loyalty.  Firms can also influence customers to use their products and services by creating incentives to do so through social media such as creating a social media post for the new owner of a BMW, now all their friends will know how successful they are!  

The Challenges

We have talked about customer feedback and the need to have some control over it.  This is a new challenge for firms and once which they have to address in one form or another.  SM also creates security challenges for firms.  Employees who use social media are a large contributor here.  Posts from employees can be used to glean information about them and even potential cues as to what their organizational passwords are enabling outside entities to access their network.  Information leaks are another threat here.  Employees can intentionally or unintentionally leak valuable firm information to the general public in a huge way through social media.  This is can take the form of propriety information or even finance figures that an employee thoughtless commented on to his friends.  This is generally difficult to control as when it is done by accident it can't be foreseen and when it is done intentionally it can very easily be done so anonymously social media.   Finally there is the loss in productivity that exists around social media.  Vast numbers of users access social media while they are at work on company time.  These employees are in most cases not contributing to the value of the firm while doing so creating a large leak from productivity.  Whatever the challenges though it is certain that firms will continue to engage in social media ever seeking to glean whatever competivie edge is available to them.

Chapter 7

Processes, Organizations and IS

Okay so lets shift gears and take a look at how IS can change the way a firm conducts business from top to bottom.  First, let's get some terms out of the way starting with what types of processes there are.  As we said in Chapter 3 a process is a network of activities that generate value by transforming inputs into outputs.  Those inputs and outputs can be almost anything in the context.  You shouldn't let your mind limit this to just manufacturing, think about data and information as well.  Also, processes are made up of activities, you can think of them as "steps" in the network.  Okay so there are two types of processes, and this is going to sound kind of familiar, structured and dynamic processes.  Structured processes, like decisions, have formally defined and standardized activities in their network.  Dynamic processes do not, they are often related to more complex situations where things are not always going to be static, think of the process that takes place when one firm acquires another.  Process not only vary by type but also scope in relation to the business itself.  Workgroup processes take place within a singular entity within a firm, an example would be how the accounts payable gets the day-to-day job done.  These processes are often supported by workgroup information systems or functional information systems which exist to support only one workgroup.  Payroll software would be a good example of this, its sole purpose is to provide a tool to pay employees.  Next you have enterprise processes, these occur across an entire organization and will support activities in many different departments.  An example of this would be the system used in a hospital to manage patient information.  These systems can include everything from health information, billing information all the way to dietary information.  Finally, we have inter-enterprise processes which span two or more independent organizations. A good example of this is the state healthcare exchanges set up under the Affordable Healthcare Act.  These exchanges support several different healthcare providers as well as the federal and state regulatory agencies that oversee the implementation of the law.  Inter-enterprise systems are often very complicated and maintenance on them is difficult as different firms will be affected in different ways by any changes that take place.  

IS Can Change Things

Okay so why does this matter to a modern firm?  Well these systems can and have completely change the way firms conducted business by changing their processes and improving their quality.  There are two dimensions to the way this can happen.  One way is to change the efficiency of processes.  This happens when an IS allows a firm to better use their resources.  If less resources are required to achieve the same or greater output then process efficiency has been improved.  You can also change the effectiveness of a process.  Effectiveness can be thought of as how well a process achieves the organizations strategy or goals.  One example would be improving the time it takes to process or fulfill a customer's order. These changes to a process can take place two ways.  First, you can change the structure of a process which can be as simple as reordering the activities that take place.  Adding or removing activities is another example.  Another way to change processes is to change the resources that are used.  Adding more personal to a bottleneck station in your manufacturing change would be one way to do that.  This has the potential to not only increase the effectiveness of that single station but to also improve the overall efficiency of your entire chain.  Often times both types of change will take place.  This is especially true when you change the structure of a process.  Oftentimes it isn't possible to do that without changing the resources as well.  There are several ways that IS can improve qualities through these types of changes.  An IS can be the sole entity to perform a processes.  An online business that replaces a phone bank with and automated ordering system can greatly improve the overall quality of their ordering process.  You can also use IS to augment humans in their work.  Providing new software and hardware to replace a paper filing system could greatly effect the overall quality of such a system.  Finally, IS can simply do a great job at controlling the flow of data in almost any process.  Using an IS system to manage data as opposed to say a paper system can do a great many things.  The IS can ensure that the data is complete, formatted correctly and entered in the most relevant order.

The Big Picture

Lets put it all together now and look at how this takes place in the modern world of business.  A huge problem that occurs when talking about systems is known as information silos.  Information silos exist when data is isolated in separated information systems.  This problem can cause redundant data to exist or prevent relevant parties that need the data from accessing it.  This can all be solved by implementing a modern enterprise information system as described above.  A firm wide single system  or one that includes many departments can allow one department to communicate and exchange information or even amended it with another department.  The scope of these systems are quite large but we let's tackle the simpler two and move on the the more complex one with detail.  CRM or customer relationship management system is focused only on the interactions of the customer with the firm.  Generally these will include marketing, customer acquisition or sales, relationship management or customer service and the process of loss and churn of customers.  Next there are EAI or enterprise application integration systems.  These are generally used when ERPs which we will talk about in detail aren't ideal or desired by firms.  EAIs are simply suites of software applications that integrate existing systems by providing layers of software that allow existing applications to communicate with each other.  Finally we come to ERPs which are the real big picture information systems.  Enterprise resource planning suites are applications called modules in conjunction with a new database and a set of known or inherent processes designed for consolidating business operations into a single, consistent computing platform.  In order to truly be an ERP a system has to incorporate processes from the supply chain, manufacturing if it exists, customer relationship management, human resources and accounting.  These systems exist solely to integrate all major aspects of a business and improve process quality across the board.  Implementing them is often expensive and difficult due to resistance to change but they payoff for a large modern firm can be huge.  These systems have often been hosted on in-house platforms in the past and this is still the case for many firms. However, with the advent of modern cloud computing as we have already discussed you now see firms selling them as platform as a service allowing firms to build their systems from the ground up or as software as a service.  SaaS is the most common now and for obvious reasons the easiest system to implement.  Modern ERPs are all encompassing and are constantly being improved by the firms that provide them so the SaaS model has many benefits over other forms of hosting.

Chapter 6

The Cloud

You hear the term all the time, "Its in the cloud", but what does that really mean?  We are going to take a look at the cloud and its parts to ensure we have a general understanding of what it is and how it does what it does.  First lets use the generally accepted definition and then break that down a little.  The cloud is the elastic leasing of pooled computer resources over the internet.  There are a couple of key words that really make the cloud what it is.  First off it is elastic, this means that its capacity can vary literally one second to the next.  We will talk a little bit about the resources that are used to do this but gist is that the the computing power that is being used can be varied based on the need or demand for it.  The next part is that the resources are pooled.  What this means is that different applications or even different organizations can use the same physical resources at different times based on their need then.  This is performed through virtualization which we discussed depth earlier.  What you need to remember is that virtualization is "creating" a system through software that doesn't actually physically exist from the rest of the system.  The final key part is that this is done over the internet.  This is painfully straight forward in its meaning.  When these things occur in conjunction you have all the ingredients you need for cloud computing.  Okay but why is the cloud a thing?  Where did it come from all of the sudden?  Well there are three factors that have enabled cloud computing to be developed and implemented as a viable business model and tool.  First of as we discussed integrated circuits reduce in cost exponentially, this has led to systems where processors, data communication and storage are so cheap it is viable to great much larger systems than we have seen in the pass.  This is especially true when economies of scale are at play such as we see in large data centers.  Another factor is the advancement of virtualization software.  Modern virtualization software has allowed data centers to turn from massive simple storage caches to computing powerhouses that can easily reallocate resources to different processes or applications on a whim.  This a created a whole new industry often referred to as software driven data centers or SDDCs.   Finally the advent of universal standards in computer technology, specifically in the realm of data communication has allowed hosting companies to provide the flexible resources in a meaningful way that can be utilized across almost all sectors of industry.  This has made cloud computing the alternative to in house hosting which is how most of these applications were implemented in the past.  Cloud computing is more flexible as we have said but it also allows for easier budgeting as there are no surprises in cost when scaling occurs and the initial capital requirement is very small when compared to establishing an in house system.  Firms also do not have to worry about equipment becoming obsolete and needing to replace it as the hosting firm takes on that responsibility as well as the cost of maintaining the system.  We can see the economies of scale coming into play here again.  

Tech Makes The Cloud

Lets look at the components that make up the cloud starting with the most basic terms.  First is the network which is simply a collection of computers that communicate with each other.  This can be done over transmission lines or wirelessly.  All networks fit into four types.  First there is the personal area network or PAN, this is a network of personal connected devices that center around one person.  Your cell phone, Bluetooth headset and laptop can all be a part of your own PAN.  Next you have LANs or local area networks.  These are networks of computers that are connected at a single physical site.  Think of the computers at the library, they are all part of the same LAN.  Next there are wide area networks or WANs.  The are computers that are connected between two or more physical sites.  Consider a firm that has several locations across the country.  If these sites systems are all connected via in house networking the create a WAN.  Finally you have THE Internet or individual Internets which are simply networks of networks.  Anytime one separate network talks to another you have created an internet. The way in which these networks can so easily communicate with each other is enabled through standardized protocols or sets of rules and data structures for organizing communication.  The Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers creates committees that create and publish these protocols and standards that allow for universal communication.  Another factor is enabling networks to "call" each other using "phone numbers" or IP addresses.  IPv4 is the most common format, it looks something like xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx where x is a digit between 0 and 9.  Every system has a IP address including your phone and laptop.  This allows for devices to be identified individually.  This gets more complicated when talking about how a host router communicates with a server using IP address as things can be changed to make traffic more efficient then.  When you look at host websites how ever you never have to punch in a phone number, so how does that work.  Well most IP address are assigned to a domain name and when used in conjunction with the appropriate protocol, i.e. https, your traffic is routed to the correct location through a domain name server or DNS.  DNS communicate with internet service provider servers or ISPs.  All of this in combination leads to the three tier architecture that make up clouds.  The first tier is the user tier which consists of computers, phones and other devices that use browsers to request and process web page data.  Next is the server tier.  This consists of computers that run web servers and process web applications.  Web servers are servers that run programs that manage internet traffic by sending, receiving and processing request for web page data.  

Chapter 5

Databases

Right, so we have developed for ourselves a good understanding of what the computer side of MIS looks like.  I think with a stronger understanding of that component we can get a start on the software side.  Databases are a core component of many MIS systems and are in general especially valuable to modern business models when they have been developed and implemented properly. Right, so what is a database?  The definition is a self-describing collection of integrated records.  Databases are comprised of tables which can be thought of as a what you might put on a single Excel sheet if it only contained on group of information.  Tables are made up of Fields which would be the columns and Records which would be the rows.  Knowing that makes the definition of databases a little more clear.  It is a collection of integrated "rows".

The Parts

Okay so we have tables, fields and records down but there is quite a bit more to it than that.  Each table will have a Key or a field that makes each record unique.  This will allow us to diffeentiate between records when one table develops a relation ship with another.  It is important to ensure that the each record has a unique key for those relationships to function, using names or vehicle models is often not the way to go as it is likely different records will have the same name or model and it may not even be the same entity we want to refer to.  The key or "Primary Key" will continue to be important as will the "Foreign Key" which is simply an entry in one table that is the key in another.  This is how we develop those relationships from one table to another.  This occurs in the relational database which is a group of tables in our full database that tracks and controls the relationship of of foreign keys.  This is where metadata becomes a thing.  Metadata is data that describes other data.

Database Management Systems

Database management systems are simply programs that are used to create, process and administer databases.  There are many different ones out there and most are horizontal applications that can be used across a wide array of industries for a wide array of purposes.  Managing data in the modern business world is almost a universal demand.  However, there are more vertical applications that are databases such as SAP specializes as a company in producing business management database software and programs such as QuickBooks Pro are actually databases with very specialized designs.  We are going to continue to think of or programs as highly customizable databases however as it allows us to glean a broader understanding of what they are.  So first the DMSs can create a database, a manger can create custom fields and records in custom tables.  They can the designate how those tables relate to each other by the use of the table's keys in other tables.  This sounds complicated but the image below should help in understanding it.

 In this example the key for the Students table is ID# while the key for Courses is Class ID.  In the Takes_Course table ID# and Class ID are foreign keys allowing us to create a relationship between students and the classes they are taking.  The DMSs also process data by  allowing users to read data, add data, modify existing data and delete existing data withing the already existing tables.  Users can also add structure to the database by adding fields or tables to increase the functions of an existing database.  This process is often very labor intensive so it is important to ensure the database is well designed from the get go.  

Another thing to know is that these programs can exist in both web based applications as well as traditional applications.  The differences between the two exist as we previously discussed how ever there is a caveat to web bases applications that is more significant when talking about databases.  Databases contain large amounts of data as their inherent purpose to make large amounts of data manageable and usable.  That data is often very valuable and keeping away from prying eyes is often very important is it can cost companies lots of many when their databases are compromised.  Web based databases are more vulnerable to exterior security threats and therefore have a greater risk of being comprised and a greater cost to keep secure.

Designing Databases

Models are used intially to create a way to easily visualize the relationship tables and entries will have with each other and how the keys to each table will be used.  The most common way to do this is using the Entry-Relationship Data Model which is essentially a web chart specialized for use in a database.  Entries or things users want to track can be designed to have specific type of relationships with other tables.  An entry can be required to relate to only one entry on the other table, called one to one or it can be allowed or required to relate to many other entries in the other table, called one to many.  As long as we maintain unique keys in each table this remains possible.  The dictation of these relationships are controlled using cardinalities which can be maximum or minimum meaning the relationship must have x number or carinalities with another table.  The x is determined while designing the table.  It is possible for x to be zero meaning that a relationship is not required between the two entities.

Below is an example of an Entry-Relationship diagram which shows the relationship of tables in a database.  You can use the key in the image to understand what the notations on each relationship line means and how it dictates those tables interact with each other.  

Chapter 4

A Look At The Computer Side

Now that we have established more of an understanding of components that make up an information system let delve a little deeper into them.  The aspects that we are going to look at specifically is the hardware and software as well as a general glance at data.  We live in a time where these components change by the day and where their functionality and applicability do the same. 

Data

Data in simplest form is called binary which means it is either a 1 or a 0.  This single amount of data is called a bit.  You can think in simple terms as it being a light switch in either the on or off position when talking about binary.  Bits make up all other measurements of data but the scale is not something people outside of the tech industry are often familiar with.  It steps up to a byte which is 8 bits.  To put it into perspective when you see a character displayed on your screen it is safe to assume that it represents one byte of data.  If you look at this blog in its entirety you can image there is an astronomically large number of bits and even bytes here but the scale quickly adjusts itself to allow us to manage and quantify these numbers.  After bytes you have kilobytes which is equal to 1,024 bytes.  This is where it gets confusing for most people, the scale starts at 8 but never returns and instead continues to use 1,024 as the number it scales.  Next we have megabytes which is 1,024 kilobytes.  Then, we have gigabytes and terabytes which are the next steps.  Most people are still familiar with these units because they are commonly used when quantifying the amount of space on memory devices such as hard drives, SD cards and mobile devices.  Then it moves on to petabytes, exabytes and zettabytes.  These units are not so well known but they use the same scale so understanding them is not the issue.  Visualizing them however requires a new perspective.  For example, it is estimated that the National Security Agency's data center that is used to monitor and record communication traffic holds around 16 petabytes of data.  That is a lot of data!  Further, it is estimated that all internet traffic across the globe will be in the neighborhood of 1.6 zettabytes by the end of 2018.  While these units are not so common the modern world of big data has made their existence necessary.

Now that we understand quantifying data we need to quickly take a look at the volatility of data.  Depending on where the data is stored it may or may not cease to exist once power is removed from the storage device.  On a disk drive or hard drive the data does not disappear when the power is removed from the device because it is "etched" on a disk so it exist physically to an extent.  This makes it nonvolatile.  However, when the same data is stored in flash random access memory it is temporary and only exist while the device has electrical current flowing through it.  This is called volatile data.  When considering the build of programs and systems choosing how the data is managed in the system is important due to these differences.  Lets take a look a the hardware we were just talking about and how it plays a role.

Hardware

Hardware in general has the same or very similar components regardless of what class we are talking about.  The class can vary from a personal computer to a server system all the way back down to small mobile device. They will have a CPU or a central processing unit.  The CPU can be thought of as the brain of the device.  Its function is to perform arithmetic and logical comparisons and it stores those outcomes in one or more forms of the devices memory.  The "data" power of a processor is measured in hertz which quantifies the clock cycle by the number of alternations per second. Thanks to the power of modern processors you will see this displayed in the form of gigahertz.  One gigahertz is equal to 1,000,000,000 hertz.  The higher the number the faster the processor is.  Modern processors can feature multiple cores which allow it to efficiently divide tasks across itself physically.  This increases the efficacy of machines significantly thanks to the multiprocessing requirement of our modern world.  The process that the CPU performs are derived from instructions it receives on some form of software which we will talk more about.  That brings us to memory, we know that it can be volatile or nonvolatile but why is there a need for that?  Well the first and most common form of memory to the layman is the storage memory.  In a PC this would be the hard drive in a server it would be many, many hard drives that can be organized in various ways.  This is the long term storage for devices and everything from the operating system to the paper you wrote last semester can be found here.  There is another form of memory called main memory.  This takes the form of small silicone boards made up of groups of flash memory called RAM or random access memory.  The purpose of RAM is to allow quick access and storage of data by the processor for items that is currently working on or expects to access soon.  This data can take the form of pieces of software or code, or it can be the document you have up in your word processor but haven't made a safe location for yet.  If it is being displayed on your screen outside of looking though a file directory you can assume that it is in your RAM in one form or another.  Again, these forms remain constant across device types, what changes is their data capacity and power.

We can divide the types of hardware into fairly simple groups.  The most common and well known is the personal computer.  This describes a full computer that takes the form of either a desktop or a laptop.  The advent of modern mobile technology requires us to add to this as there are devices now that behave and perform the same functions as a PC but go to their own group.  Smartphones, e-readers and tablets are forms of mobile hardware.  The distinction here is that they are mobile for the long term and not as powerful.  All of these devices in these two groups probably communicate with our next group at one time or another.  Servers are large immobile devices that have the sole function of managing large amounts of data and facilitating the communication of other devices with that data.  When one machine connects to a server it is considered a client which is a simple technical term for on system in communication with another.  Server farms is where these are most commonly seen, these are buildings with thousands of individual servers.  However it is possible to create a server that takes the form in a standards PC tower.  It all depends on the scope of the task at hand.

Software

There several types of software that exist in the tech world.  The most basic form is the operating system or OS.  The OS is a program that controls a computers resources.  All other forms of software are either integrated into the OS or use it to interact with the hardware of the device.  An example of an OS is the ever prevalent Windows OS or Windows 10 in its current iteration.  Next we have applications.  These are split into two groups, native applications and web applications.  Native applications are designed to run on a particular operating system generally and are installed on the devices storage hardware.  These can exist in the form of common applications known ad horizontal-market applications.  This includes applications that are used across a wide range of industries such as Microsoft Word or Google Chrome.  There is also vertical-market applications which serve the need of  specific industry.  The software your mechanic uses for billing of your dentist uses for managing your information and records are examples.  These are often highly customizable as the specific needs for individual customers vary and their focused build allows for various features to be built-in.  Finally we have one-of-a-kind applications.  These would be purpose build by an organization to be used to preform very specific tasks.  Examples might include the software the NSA uses to manage and search its intelligence database.  These not as common as the other groups as their development is often very expensive and their need is not as prevalent.  Something the first two have in common and it is an important aspect for managers to understand is that when a customer pays for the software they are not buying the software itself rather they are buying a license to install and use the software.  The software itself i.e. the code is still owned by the company that produced it.  Open Source software is the exception to this rule.  Open Source software is developed by a community that generally works for free.  The source code or back bone of the program is avliable to the general public at no cost.  OpenOffice and the Linux operating system are examples of such forms of software.  Finally, we have firmware.  This is a form of software that is installed on devices themselves and are integrated in such a way they are essentially part of the device itself.  Printers, wireless headphones and MP3 players all need software to operate but these are not applications that can generally be changed.  Think of it as an OS for smaller devices.  

Components Summary

All of this information is quite general and it is important to keep in mind that in the modern tech world it can change overnight.  There are forms of hardware today that are beating down long known stats quos such as 3D printing, self driving cars and the all inclusive internet of things.  The same thing is happening with the software virtualization allowing us to easily move and manipulate the software component on one machine to that of another or on another.  In the tech world it is quite regular to see a software engineer test their Linux code for a server farm on their Windows PC.  Modern virtualization software allows them to "create" a virtual version of a Linux OS on their desktop.  This has even led to the virtualization of individual personal desktops allowing users to access the full range of their PC remotely from any PC in the world.  I imagine that the changes these pioneering systems will bring to the MIS world will be wide and sweeping.  I personally can't wait to see whats next.  

Chapter 3

Strategy Matters

When we are making considerations to MIS business strategy must always be taken into account.  When a company has an established competitive strategy the aspects of that strategy will influence the system itself just as it influences the organization as a whole.  Lets take some time and discuss some aspects of business strategy, a couple of well regarded models and how this really can be vital information regarding our MIS.  By the end of this entry we should all have a good understanding of how the strategy exerts influence on the structure, features and overall function of information systems.

The Five Forces

A commonly used model for business strategy is the Five Forces model.  It was published by researcher Michael Porter and is an excellent model for understanding the overall structure of an Industry.  Once you are able to understand the structure you can develop your strategy much more effectively.  The Five Forces model takes into account the following forces that have an effect on an industry as a whole: bargaining power of customers, threat of substitutions, bargaining power of suppliers, threat of new entrants and rivalry.  

These forces are evaluated of a level of weak to strong in order to understand how much of an effect they may have on any potential  business strategy.  Lets talk about the forces in detail starting with bargaining power of customers.  This force addresses the relative power of a customer to influence their purchases or acquisitions or in other words the total value they receive.  A strong example would be where a customer can demand a discount due to the size of their purchase or weak example would be an industry where customer service is not a powerful force such as in the industry of ambulance operators.  Next we have the threat of substitutions which evaluates how easy it is for customers to switch be tween products or vendors.  A strong example would be in the beer industry where there is great variety and no extra cost in trying something new where as a weak example would be in the aviation part industry where there is often no other choice other than to purchase your parts directly from the manufacturer.  That brings us to the bargaining power of suppliers, this is the same of that of the consumer except now we are addressing a suppliers ability to manipulate the price they receive for their product.  A strong example would be going to an auto mechanic, they assess the value of the work they preform with no over site from the consumer other than the possibility of an estimate.  A weak example of the bargaining power of a supplier would be in the industry of healthcare in a government sponsored single payer system, the medical institution has zero bargaining power as the prices of their services is predetermined by the government.  Threat of new entrants is another force that can have an effect on a industry.  This evaluates the ability of new competitors to enter an industry as a whole.  Business that are easy to replicate such as a car wash have a strong force here where those with barriers to entry such as a business with high start up cost of a low force.  Finally, we have the force of rivalries.  A good way to look at this is the amount of competitors that already exist in an industry.  I think that strong and weak are pretty straight forward here.  Once we have a strong understanding of the forces in the industry in question we can begin to formulate our competitive strategy.

Strategize Competitively

When a competitive strategy is developed we are simply deciding how to respond to the structure of an industry as it is understood.  Michael Porter has a second model that does a good job of generalizing the possibilities available in any industry.  It is a model of four strategies that are reached by choosing one aspect to purse from two sections that have two options.  

            

First we decide whither our product will compete by being cheaper or by being better.  That is a pretty simple concept and there isn't really any need to complicate it more.  Obviously a lower cost product will have a competitive advantage to some degree and a better product will too, often even if their is a significant premium associated with it.  Once we have decided which option is more beneficial in our industry we have to decide whither the benefits are greater if we focus on the industry as a whole or if we corner a specific segment.  Note:  It is possible that you need to evaluate the benefits to focusing on a segment of the industry versus the whole of it first.  This structure of the industry could make it obvious which has the greater potential.  

The Next Step - Value Chain

With our general competitive strategy selected we can now begin to build our value chain.  Just as the industry structure influences the competitive strategy so too does the competitive strategy influence the value chain.  A value chain is simply a network of  activities that create value.  A generic model exist that is generally applicable and provides a good and simplified overview of value chains.

First we have the inbound logistics activity.  This is the step in the chain where we bring in raw materials for our manufacturing or service.  Next we have the operations or manufacturing step.  Here we would process or raw materials or service materials into a product that can be sold.  (Service is the product that is sold be even that has a process i.e. The installation of a new compressor on a refrigerator).  Outbound logistics is another step in the chain.  This is the process of either shipping our product out or even managing or inventory of raw materials in a manner that allows us to easily monetize them.  We also have sales and marketing activities.  These are activities that connect our product to the customer or even the customer to our products.  Finally there customer service activities, while it is a general term it simply involves anything that assist the customer with the use of the product.  This could include maintenance, training or even warranty replacement.  All of these activites would be called primary activities in a value chain.  They are supplemented with support activities which are simply activities that contribute to the completion of a primary activity such as operating a call center for customer service.  

It is important to understand that the value chain does not have to interact with itself in a linear fashion.  Linkages or interactions across activities can connect any one activity with another.

Processes In The Chain

We now have arrived at business process themselves which include activities that make up our chain. They can be defined as a network of activities that generate value by transforming inputs into outputs.  Something goes in and something different comes out that has a greater value.  An activity is not limited to being part of only once process which is important to keep in mind.  As an example in a factory setting raw materials would be included in two different processes.  First it is part of the materials ordering process that would fall under our inbound logistics activity.  It is also part of the manufacturing process which is a manufacturing/service activity.  Think about how value is created in the processes.   A process could include many different activities that involve consist of multiple primary value chain activities and any one could be connected to another.   The design, maintenance and implementation of these processes is called business process management.  

Back To MIS

So where does out mother subject fit in?  MIS fits in anywhere it can in the chain.  Information systems can be used to give a competitive advantage in almost any aspect of a business value chain.  It can replace older process or link existing ones together to create another new process that provides new value.  The examples are near limitless but I will provide a couple of examples for entertainment value.  First, we could maintain our logistics network though paper records and paper invoices or we could digitize the process and provide hardware for our drivers and warehouse technicians to interact and use our system.  That is the replacement of a process.  Now that we have that in place however we could link or logistics with our sales in a way that wasn't possible before.  We could use the shipped from address data and compile a database of frequent customers in a geographical area and send those customers free shipping envelopes and boxes.  This could provide a fantastic advantage in an industry where substitutions are a strong force.  This is a fine example of the role of strategy in MIS, it can be both the how and they why which is why it is so important.

Chapter 2

Collaboration Information Systems

Now that we have a good understanding of what an Information System really is let's build on that foundation and discuss the aspects of a specific type.  Collaborative Information Systems are exactly what they sound like, systems designed to enable groups of people to collaborate.  There is a wide variety of systems out there that offer various degrees of service but they all have the ability to increase the productivity and effectiveness of teams engaged in a collaborative process.  Before we talk about the specifics of the these types of Information Systems let's make sure that we have a good understanding of what collaboration is and how it works in the modern workplace.

Cooperation vs. Collaboration

Okay, so what is collaboration really and how is it different from the more commonly inferred cooperation?  Cooperation is a pretty simple concept with a simple definition; A group of people working together doing the same type of work to accomplish a job.  Examples of cooperation include a team of construction stone masons building a brick wall or gardeners re-sodding a soccer field.  Collaboration is a little bit more involved than that, it is a group of people working together to achieve a common goal via a process of feedback and iteration.

There are some significant differences in those definitions.  First off, in a collaborative process individuals may not be doing the same type of work, in fact they may be conducting work in field that is almost completely unrelated.  Secondly, there must be some form of feedback in the process and it must be implemented in iterations.  The feedback during the collaborative process should always be critical or feedback that questions what has been established or points out weaknesses.  Feedback that simply provides a good or bad review as not as useful for a team and does not drive positive change in the desired direction.  Pointing out short comings or suggesting alternative actions that may be better or more efficient however does exactly that.  Completing this review and improvement process in iterations ensures that product under construction is continually improved and is done so in a manner that most ensures all aspects of its applications are taken into careful considerations.  

When collaboration is done with effective critical feedback in iterations it ensures that it's final product is better and more effective that when any single individual or entity could produce on their own.  The is where the true value of collaboration lies in the corporate world and efforts should be taken to ensure when collaborative information systems are being considered this aspect is always taken into consideration.

Criteria For Collaboration

There exist a prescribed criteria for collaboration that allows us to gauge teams success.  J. Richard Hackman created this specific set of criteria though many years of studying the aspects of team work. He list a successful outcome, growth in team capability and a meaningful and satisfying experience as  a good parameters to judge the overall success of a collaborative effort.  

The first, a successful outcome should be pretty obvious.  If the task assigned is not accomplished then the collaboration effort simply wasn't successful.  But what if the task was completed but was late or what if it went over budget?  Depending on the circumstances of the task it may be a complete and total failure in that case.  If a project is completed three days after the information can be useful then obviously the mission of the team has not been accomplished.  In the business world you must always take time and money into account.  

How does growth in team capability factor in?  Is it possible for a team to achieve a successful outcome without growth?  Probably not, but even if it were when a team grows in a professional workplace the long term benefits of that growth pay dividends, without it the team certainly was not as successful as they could have been.  Teams members can gain a better understanding of other members jobs and in so may see ways to complete their jobs more effectively.  They may also discover that some of the tasks that were completed or assigned while working toward their end goal were not useful in the first iteration and could either be combined with other tasks or even removed completely.  Understanding was to improve the process is always a valuable thing as it will save time and therefore money the next time the team meets to achieve the same or similar goal.  

Finally, when evaluating success we should consider whether or not the team members had a meaningful and satisfying experience while working to achieve their goal.  When team members work in a world where they find their day-to-day tasks meaningful and satisfying they will almost certainly be more productive and strive to meet a higher standard than when they do not.  This is something that can be both gained or lost during the collaborative process.  We can make take steps to help team members see their part as meaningful and satisfying.  Making sure they know where the task is applicable in the larger picture and just how negative the results of its departure could be allows team members to put their tasks in a motivating perspective.  Also, when a team member is given credit for their work they often perceive that task to be more meaningful so whenever possible managers should hand out accolades for jobs well done.  Lastly ensuring that the team is able to build a camaraderie allows them to remain energized and positive when engaged.  This doesn't mean everyone has to like everyone but they should be able to all feel like they are a valuable member of the group.  

Purposes of Collaboration

Okay, armed with our knowledge of what collaboration is and what makes it successful lets examine when we collaborate and some aspects of those reasons.  Collaboration teams achieve four purposes during their process.  They become informed, make decisions, solve problems and manage projects.  The purposes are generally achieved in the above order chronologically.

Teams become informed throughout the process but it is important that steps are taken from the launching point to ensure this is done effectively.  The team should know what its purpose is, what its roles are and understand the end goal.  Doing this in a manner that gives all members the same perspective ensures that when, as part of our IS, the analyze data that they conceive information in the same manner for the same reasons.  This is invaluable when ensuring that all members are working toward the same goal. 

When teams make decisions they do so on three different levels; operational, managerial and strategic.  Each decision made will be done in one of two processes, structured or unstructured.  Structured process are ones which there is an established and well understood method for making the decision in question.  Unstructured is just the opposite, no agreed on decision making method exist.  Unstructured decisions often are collaborative while structured decisions are often not. Operational decisions are those that support day-to-day activities such as number of items that need to be ordered.  Operational decisions are generally structured decisions.  Managerial decisions are those regarding the allocation and utilization of resources.  Examples include budgeting and workforce assignments.  Managerial decisions can be both structured or unstructured depending on the specificity of the decision. Last are strategic decisions, these are those which are made in support of large organizational issues such as whether to establish a new product line or decentralize a specific organization.  Strategic decisions are almost always unstructured and require collaboration.

Solving problems is the next mission of collaboration.  We can say we have identified a problem when when we perceive a difference between what is and what we think should be.  It is important to keep in mind that what is perceived can vary from person to person and organization to organization.  This is why it is important the teams become informed before taking any other steps, ensuring the team has the same goal ensures they are viewing the problems from the same perspective.   It is also important when deciding a problem exist to quantify the solution to the problem.  If you know that travel expenditures are too high for your organization, simply stating you intend to lower them is not enough.  You must quantify the goal in order for the team to evaluate their progress toward the common goal. 

Managing projects is another purpose of collaboration.  Projects exist to create or produce something.  There is a diverse and widely varied list of reasons that fit that purpose but they all should adhere to the same core phases;  Starting, planning, doing, and finalizing.  Starting is very similar to the information purpose.  You should establish rule and team roles as well ensuring the the levels of authority are understood.  Planning is the phase where the tasks and their dependencies are determined.  Dependencies exist when something must be completed before it is possible to accomplish the next task.  During planning it is important to assign the tasks and create a schedule for their completion.  If a budget was established during the starting phase you should make sure to re-evaluate it it during planning in case parameters have changed. Once a plan is in place we have to carry it out, this brings us to the doing phase.  At this point management's task is to ensure things are on time and on budget, if problems exist the management should be able to pinpoint them early on.  Make sure to re-evaluate the tasks as the project progresses, this ensures resources are allocated appropriate and time is not wasted, make scheduling adjustments where appropriate.  Also, make sure that progress, changes and assignments are documented for brief, debrief and future use.

With all that done we come to the finalizing phase.  The first question to ask here is are we done?  If not go back to the doing phase.  If the answer is yes, then we must document our results so that we can report appropriately, debrief and disband our teams and ensure the project is closed on all fronts.

Requirements for Collaboration IS

We looking at the requirements for a collaboration information system we can use the five-component framework that we discussed in chapter 1.  Again, this system is applicable to all information systems thought the details of the components may vary from system to system.  The hardware of a collaboration information system must allow for every team member to have a device that allows them to interact.  This is also important for the software component, it must allow data to be shared and for communication to effectively take place.  When we discuss the date we must look at it though two lenses, project data and project metadata.  Project data is what we are sharing and communicating about though our software, many members will need access to the same project data and it must be managed effectively on larger, more complex projects.  Project metadata is used to manage the workflow of the project itself.  This includes the schedules, tasks budgets and other managerial data.  Metadata does not need to be seen or edited by most members, it can be disseminated thought your communication resources.  Next is the processes component, it must ensure that standards for teamwork are part of the procedures.  This should include establishing authority to access, review and edit data as well as to instruct members.  Last we have the people component.  The people should be team oriented with an understanding of the value of critical feedback and how and when to use collaborative applications.

Putting It To Use

The system that incorporates all of the above will be well suited to allow teams to communicate well, share content and manage tasks effectively.  These are the end results of a well developed collaborative system.  There is a wide variety of well established systems out there, SharePoint, GoogleDrive, OneDrive, WebEx just to name a few.  All of the tools have a different core purpose and are applicable to different degrees but the are all excellent examples of well developed collaborative information systems.  If you get the opportunity take the time to explore these different systems.  In depth knowledge of modern collaboration information systems is always in high demand and can be an asset to you in the professional world regardless of the field you work in.