Instructor Solution Manual For Business Driven Information Systems 8th Edition By Paige Baltzan and

BDIS 8E

INSTRUCTOR’S MANUAL

Paige Baltzan

MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS: BUSINESS DRIVEN MIS

1 CHAPTER

This guide provides many classroom activities, videos, and debates to accompany Business Driven Information Systems. A few course suggestions: 

Create one or two test questions based on the classroom activity to help reward students who attend lectures.

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Many professors have found that assigning an activity and then lecturing on the material helps students gain a deeper understanding of the core MIS concepts as they have already struggled with applying the material to a real-world situation.

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Asking a small group of students to explain their answer to the activity to the entire class after completion ensures students come to class prepared. I select a different group each activity to explain their answer and they do not want to look unprepared in front of their fellow classmates. It is a powerful motivator to get my students reading prior to class.

After the activity and student’s presentations then I lecture – keeps my students engaged and helps to achieve a higher level of learning outcomes as they are constantly tasked with applying the concepts during class.



Create an Ask the Professor Discussion board that runs the entire course where students can ask course and content related questions. I typically promise to respond within 24 hours, and I always encourage my students to check the discussion board before sending an email. Many times, if one student a question so does other students.

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**Three Before Me Rule! This is something I have found that saves a great deal of time answering email. I state the Three Before Me rule in my syllabus. Before a student comes to me with a question, they must provide three sources they used to answer the question themselves. This significantly cuts down on emails as many times students can find the answer to their questions, but it seems easier just to email the professor.

Sources can include the syllabus, the Ask the Professor Q&A Discussion Board, classmates, the textbook, etc. If I ask the student for the three sources and they do not have them I dock participation points. Works great on significantly cutting down my emails and helps to prepare my students for the real world!

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The core chapter material is covered in detail in the PowerPoint slides. Each slide contains detailed teaching notes including exercises, class activities, questions, and examples.

Please review the PowerPoint slides for detailed notes on how to teach and enhance the core chapter material.

Enjoy your course and best of luck! Please feel free to email me directly if you have any questions, ideas, suggestions, or feedback! For additional course materials, content, and cases visit www.baltzan.net or email me directly at pbaltzan@baltzan.net.

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CHATPER ONE Information is everywhere. Information is a strategic asset. Without information, an organization simply could not operate. This chapter introduces students to several core business strategies that focus on using information to gain a competitive advantage, including: 

The core drivers of the information age

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Data, information, business intelligence, knowledge

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Systems thinking

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Competitive advantages

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SWOT analysis

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Porter’s Five Forces model

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Porter’s three generic strategies

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Value chain analysis

Many of these concepts and strategies will be new to your students. Be sure to explain to your students that this chapter offers an introduction to these concepts and they will gain a solid understanding of the details of these concepts as they continue reading the text.

SECTION 1.1 – BUSINESS DRIVEN MIS  

Competing in the Information Age The Challenge of Department Companies and the MIS Solution

SECTION 1.2 – BUSINESS STRATEGY    

Identifying Competitive Advantages The Five Forces Model – Evaluating Industry Attractiveness The Three Generic Strategies – Choosing a Business Focus Value Chain Analysis – Executing Business Strategies

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SECTION 1. 1 BUSINESS DRIVEN MIS This chapter provides an overview of Business Driven Information Systems (BDIS) along with anticipated learning objectives for students. Explain to your students that the goal of this chapter is to get them excited about BDIS and all the different business and technology concepts they are going to learn. Let your students know that they are going to be introduced to many new concepts that they might be unfamiliar with; however; these concepts are discussed in detail throughout the text.

LEARNING OUTCOMES Learning Outcome 1.1: Describe the information age and the differences between data, information, business intelligence, and knowledge.

We live in the information age, when infinite quantities of facts are widely available to anyone who can use a computer. The core drivers of the information age include data, information, business intelligence, and knowledge. Data are raw facts that describe the characteristics of an event or object. Information is data converted into a meaningful and useful context.

Business intelligence (BI) is information collected from multiple sources such as suppliers, customers, competitors, partners, and industries that analyzes patterns, trends, and relationships for strategic decision making. Knowledge includes the skills, experience, and expertise, coupled with information and intelligence that creates a person’s intellectual resources. As you move from data to knowledge you include more and more variables for analysis resulting in better, more precise support for decision making and problem solving.

Learning Outcome 1.2: Explain systems thinking and how management information systems enable business communications.

A system is a collection of parts that link to achieve a common purpose. Systems thinking is a way of monitoring the entire system by viewing multiple inputs being processed or transformed to produce outputs while continuously gathering feedback on each part.

Feedback is information that returns to its original transmitter (input, transform, or output) and modifies the transmitter’s actions. Feedback helps the system maintain stability.

Management information systems (MIS) is a business function, like accounting and human resources, which moves information about people, products, and processes across the company to facilitate decision making and problem solving. MIS incorporates systems thinking Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual

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to help companies operate cross-functionally. For example, to fulfill product orders, an MIS for sales moves a single customer order across all functional areas including sales, order fulfillment, shipping, billing, and finally customer service. Although different functional areas handle different parts of the sale, thanks to MIS, to the customer the sale is one continuous process.

CORE MATERIAL The core chapter material is covered in detail in the PowerPoint slides. Each slide contains detailed teaching notes including exercises, class activities, questions, and examples. Please review the INSTRUCTOR PowerPoint slides for detailed notes on how to teach and enhance the core chapter material. For additional course materials, content, and cases visit www.baltzan.net or email me directly at pbaltzan@baltzan.net.

SECTION 1. 2 BUSINESS STRATEGY This section discusses how an organization can identify competitive advantages using tools such as Porter’s Five Forces, three generic strategies, and value chains. Gaining competitive advantages are critical for organizations. Organizations also must understand that competitive advantages are typically temporary since competitors are quick to copy competitive advantages. For example: 

United was the first airline to offer a competitive advantage with its frequent flyer mileage (this first-mover advantage was temporary)

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Sony had a competitive advantage with its portable stereo systems (this first-mover advantage was temporary)

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Microsoft had a competitive advantage with its unique Windows operating system

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Ask your students if Microsoft still has a competitive advantage with its Windows operating system 

Ans: Perhaps – primarily due to its first-mover advantage since it is difficult to switch operating systems and users face interoperability issues if they are using different operating systems at the same organization.

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

How many students in your class are currently using Windows?

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What are the competitors to Windows? Ans: Linux and Macintosh



Why are there only three primary competitors (Microsoft, Macintosh, and Linux) in this large operating system market?

LEARNING OUTCOMES Learning Outcome 1.3: Explain why competitive advantages are temporary.

A competitive advantage is a feature of a product or service on which customers place a greater value than they do on similar offerings from competitors. Competitive advantages provide the same product or service either at a lower price or with additional value that can fetch premium prices. Unfortunately, competitive advantages are typically temporary, because competitors often quickly seek ways to duplicate them. In turn, organizations must develop a strategy based on a new competitive advantage. Ways that companies duplicate competitive advantages include acquiring the new technology, copying business processes, and hiring away employees.

Learning Outcome 1.4: Identify the four key areas of a SWOT analysis A SWOT analysis evaluates an organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to identify significant influences that work for or against business strategies. Strengths and weaknesses originate inside an organization or internally. Opportunities and threats originate outside an organization or externally and cannot always be anticipated or controlled.

Learning Outcome 1.5: Describe Porter’s Five Forces Model and explain each of the five forces.

Porter’s Five Forces Model analyzes the competitive forces within the environment in which a company operates, to assess the potential for profitability in an industry. 

Buyer power is the ability of buyers to affect the price they must pay for an item.

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Supplier power is the suppliers’ ability to influence the prices they charge for supplies (including materials, labor, and services).

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Threat of substitute products or services is high when there are many alternatives to a product or service and low when there are few alternatives from which to choose

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Threat of new entrants is high when it is easy for new competitors to enter a market and low when there are significant entry barriers to entering a market

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Rivalry among existing competitors is high when competition is fierce in a market and low when competition is more complacent

Learning Outcome 1.6: Compare Porter’s three generic strategies.

Organizations typically follow one of Porter’s three generic strategies when entering a new Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual

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market: (1) broad cost leadership, (2) broad differentiation, (3) focused strategy. Broad strategies reach a large market segment. Focused strategies target a niche market. Focused strategies concentrate on either cost leadership or differentiation.

Learning Outcome 1.7: Demonstrate how a company can add value by using Porter’s value chain analysis.

To identify competitive advantages, Michael Porter created value chain analysis, which views a firm as a series of business processes that each add value to the product or service. The goal of value chain analysis is to identify processes in which the firm can add value for the customer and create a competitive advantage for itself, with a cost advantage or product differentiation. The value chain groups a firm’s activities into two categories—primary value activities and support value activities. Primary value activities acquire raw materials and manufacture, deliver, market, sell, and provide after-sales services. Support value activities, along the top of the value chain in the figure, include firm infrastructure, human resource management, technology development, and procurement. Not surprisingly, these support the primary value activities.

CORE MATERIAL The core chapter material is covered in detail in the PowerPoint slides. Each slide contains detailed teaching notes including exercises, class activities, questions, and examples. Please review the PowerPoint slides for detailed notes on how to teach and enhance the core chapter material. For additional course materials, content, and cases visit www.baltzan.net or email me directly at pbaltzan@baltzan.net.

CHAPTER ONE CLOSING MATERIAL REVIEW QUESTIONS 1. What is data and why is it important to a business?

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Data are raw facts that describe the characteristics of an event or object. Before the information age, managers manually collected and analyzed data, a time-consuming and complicated task without which they would have little insight into how to run their business.

2. How can a manager turn data into information?

Information is data converted into a meaningful and useful context. Having the right information at the right moment in time can be worth a fortune. Having the wrong information at the right moment; or the right information at the wrong moment can be disastrous.

3. What is the relationship between data, information, business intelligence, and knowledge?

Data is converted into information, business intelligence, and knowledge. Using data, information, business intelligence, and knowledge to make decisions and solve problems is the key to finding success in business. These core drivers of the information age are the building blocks of business systems.

4. Why is it important for a company to operate cross-functionally?

Each department performs its own activities. Although each department has its own focus and data, none can work independently if the company is to operate. It is easy to see how a business decision made by one department can affect other departments.

Marketing needs to analyze production and sales data to come up with product promotions and advertising strategies. Production needs to understand sales forecasts to determine the company’s manufacturing needs. Sales needs to rely on information from operations to understand inventory, place orders, and forecast consumer demand. All departments need to understand the accounting and finance departments’ information for budgeting. For the firm to be successful, all departments must work together as a single unit sharing common information and not operate independently

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or in a silo.

5. Why would a company want to have a CIO, CPO, and CSO? A chief information officer is responsible for (1) overseeing all uses of MIS and (2) ensuring that MIS strategically aligns with business goals and objectives. A chief privacy officer is responsible for ensuring the ethical and legal use of information within a company. A chief security officer is responsible for ensuring the security of business systems and developing strategies and safeguards against attacks by hackers and viruses. Companies need to ensure they have all the appropriate executives to ensure they are meeting the goals and needs of the business.

6. Explain MIS and the role it plays in a company and global business.

Management information systems (MIS) is a business function, like accounting and human resources, which moves information about people, products, and processes across the company to facilitate decision making and problem solving. MIS incorporates systems thinking to help companies operate cross-functionally. For example, to fulfill product orders, an MIS for sales moves a single customer order across all functional areas including sales, order fulfillment, shipping, billing, and finally customer service.

Although different functional areas handle different parts of the sale, thanks to MIS, to the customer the sale is one continuous process. If one part of the company is experiencing problems, however, then, like the car without a steering wheel, the entire system fails. If order fulfillment packages the wrong product, it will not matter that shipping, billing, and customer service did their jobs right, since the customer will not be satisfied when he or she opens the package.

7. Do you agree that MIS is essential for businesses operating in the information age? Why or why not?

MIS can be an important enabler of business success and innovation. This is not to say that MIS equals business success and innovation, or that MIS represents business success and innovation. MIS is a tool that is most valuable when it leverages the talents of people who know how to use and manage it effectively. To perform the MIS function effectively, almost all companies, particularly large and medium-sized ones, have an internal MIS department, often called information technology (IT), information systems (IS), or management information systems (MIS). For the purpose of this text, we will refer to it as MIS. 8. Why is it important for a business major to understand MIS? MIS systems drive organizations and all business students will be using MIS systems to perform their jobs. Without adequate knowledge of MIS business students will be unprepared to compete in the information age.

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9. What type of career are you planning to pursue? How will your specific career use data, information, business intelligence, and knowledge?

Answers to this question will vary depending on the career path the student has chosen.

10.

Explain systems thinking and how it supports business operations.

Systems thinking is a way of monitoring the entire system by viewing multiple inputs being processed or transformed to produce outputs while continuously gathering feedback on each part. Feedback is information that returns to its original transmitter (input, transform, or output) and modifies the transmitter’s actions. Feedback helps the system maintain stability. For example, a car’s system continuously monitors the fuel level and turns on a warning light if the gas level is too low. Systems thinking provides an end-to-end view of how operations work together to create a product or service. Business students who understand systems thinking are valuable resources because they can implement solutions that consider the entire process, not just a single component.

11.

What business strategies would you use if you were developing a competitive advantage for a company?

Answers can include SWOT analysis, Porter’s five forces, Porter’s three generic strategies, or value chain analysis.

12.

Explain Porter’s Five Forces Model and the role it plays in decision making.

Formally defined, Porter’s Five Forces Model analyzes the competitive forces within the environment in which a company operates to assess the potential for profitability in an industry. Its purpose is to combat these competitive forces by identifying opportunities, competitive advantages, and competitive intelligence. If the forces are strong, they increase competition; if the forces are weak, they decrease competition.

13. How could a company use loyalty programs to influence buyer power? How could a company use switching costs to lock in customers and suppliers?

Companies can also reduce buyer power with loyalty programs, which reward customers based on their spending. The airline industry is famous for its frequent-flyer programs, for instance. Because of the rewards travelers receive (free airline tickets, upgrades, or hotel stays), they are more likely to be loyal to or give most of their business to a single company. Keeping track of the activities and accounts of many thousands or millions of customers covered by loyalty programs is not practical without large-scale business systems, however. Loyalty programs are thus a good example of using MIS to reduce buyer power.

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One way to reduce buyer power is by manipulating switching costs, costs that make customers reluctant to switch to another product or service. Switching costs include financial as well as intangible values. The cost of switching doctors, for instance, includes the powerful intangible components of having to build relationships with the new doctor and nurses, as well as transferring all your medical history. With MIS, however, patients can store their medical records on DVDs or thumb drives, allowing easy transferability. The Internet also lets patients review websites for physician referrals, which takes some of the fear out of trying someone new 14.

What are Porter’s three generic strategies and why would a company want to follow only one?

Porter has identified three generic business strategies for entering a new market: (1) broad cost leadership, (2) broad differentiation, and (3) focused strategy. Broad strategies reach a large market segment, while focused strategies target a niche or unique market with either cost leadership or differentiation. Trying to be all things to all people is a recipe for disaster, since doing so makes it difficult to project a consistent image to the entire marketplace. For this reason, Porter suggests adopting only one of the three generic strategies.

15.

How can a company use Porter’s value chain analysis to measure customer satisfaction?

To identify these competitive advantages, Michael Porter created value chain analysis, which views a firm as a series of business processes that each add value to the product or service. Value chain analysis is a useful tool for determining how to create the greatest possible value for customers. The goal of value chain analysis is to identify processes in which the firm can add value for the customer and create a competitive advantage for itself, with a cost advantage or product differentiation. The value chain groups a firm’s activities into two categories, primary value activities, and support value activities. When performing a value chain analysis, a firm could survey customers about the extent to which they believe each activity adds value to the product or service. This step generates responses the firm can measure to describe how each activity adds (or reduces) value. Then the competitive advantage decision for the firm is whether to (1) target high value-adding activities to further enhance their value, (2) target low value-adding activities to increase their value, or (3) perform some combination of the two.

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CLOSING CASE ONE QUESTIONS The Fourth Industrial Revolution 1. Explain how the fourth industrial revolution will impact your career.

Every student will be facing working with AI, ML, and robotics. I am sure many of your students have already interfaced with chatbots – a form of AI. Understanding that the new business environment is all about data and how they can analyze, and digest vast amounts of data will help them understand the value of this class.

2. Explain why it is important for business managers to understand that data analysis is the future for any industry or functional area.

This class will cover all of the four different types of analytics including descriptive analytics, diagnostic analytics, predictive analytics, and prescriptive analytics. This is a great time to cover the boxed element in the text on the different questions associated with each type of analytics to ensure your students understand why these types of analytics can answer every day business questions.

3. Demonstrate how data can be transformed into information and business intelligence.

When discussing MIS, it is important to understand the difference between data and information 

Ask your students to look around the classroom and identify 3 pieces of data and 3 pieces of information

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This is a bit of a trick question, unless you know the system you are building or the problem you are trying to solve it is impossible to know what data is and what is information

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For example, if you were building a system to track students:

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Data might include height, name, and hair color

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Information might include student to professor ratio, percentage of marketing majors who are female, number of students who pass the course.

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If you were building a system to track inventory:

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Data might include chair manufacturer, chair color, and chair size

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Information might include number of chairs required for students in each class, average number of chairs needed to be replaced each semester.

4. Propose a plan for how a start-up company can use data to make better business decisions and find success.

Many of your students are thinking about careers in marketing and this is one of the best ways to demonstrate the amazing value in this course. Using data to find your market segments and to survey customers on new products is one of the best ways for a startup to ensure they are using data to build what the customer wants, not what Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual

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they think the customer wants.

CLOSING CASE TWO The Internet of Things 1. Explain the Internet of Things and list three IoT devices. Also, list three IoT devices you are currently using in your own life.

Imagine your toothbrush telling you to visit your dentist because it senses a cavity. How would you react if your refrigerator placed an order at your local grocery store because your milk and eggs when about to expire? Over 20 years ago, a few professors at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) began describing the Internet of Things (IoT), which is a world where interconnected, Internet-enabled devices or ―things‖ can collect and share data without human intervention. Another term for the Internet of Things is machine to machine (M2M), which allows devices to connect directly to other devices. With advanced technologies, devices are connecting in ways not previously thought possible, and researchers predict that more than 50 billion IoT devices will be communicating by 2020. Kevin Ashton, cofounder and executive director of the Auto-ID Center at MIT first mentioned the Internet of Things in a presentation he made to Procter & Gamble. Here’s Ashton’s explanation of the Internet of Things: 2. Explain why it is important for business managers to understand that data collection rates from IoT devices is increasing exponentially.

If your students are wondering why they need to take this course, then this case study should scare them into becoming a believer in the power of technology in business.

Managers of the future are going to be tasked with analyzing terabytes of data right on their desk – something new to industry. With M2M data managers are going to have access to incredible amounts of business intelligence – if they know how to handle it.

3. Demonstrate how data from an IoT device can be transformed into information and business intelligence.

We live in the information age, when infinite quantities of facts are widely available to anyone who can use a computer. The core drivers of the information age include data, information, business intelligence, and knowledge. Data are raw facts that describe the characteristics of an event or object. Information is data converted into a meaningful and useful context. Business intelligence (BI) is information collected from multiple sources such as suppliers, customers, competitors, partners, and industries that analyzes patterns, trends, and relationships for strategic decision making. Knowledge includes the skills, experience, and expertise, coupled with information and intelligence that creates a person’s intellectual resources. As you move from data to knowledge you include more

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and more variables for analysis resulting in better, more precise support for decision making and problem solving 4. Propose a plan for how a start-up company can use IoT device data to make better business decisions.

Students should be able to discuss how a company can use Porter’s Five Forces to analyze an industry to determine how attractive it would be to enter. Once determining if it would be profitable to enter a certain industry the company would need to determine which of Porter’s three generic strategies it should follow to ensure success. Once the company is up-and-running it can use Porter’s value chain analysis to examine and redefine its business processes to ensure it is operating as efficiently and effectively as possible.

IoT devices can be used in any of these areas to track data on correct functioning, usage, malfunctions, locations, patterns, and activity. All of these will provide tremendous insight into how the market is using the device and how the market views the device. Hopefully, these are in line with corporate strategy.

5. Evaluate: Argue for or against the following statement: ―The Internet of Things is just a passing fad and will be gone within a decade.‖ For this debate the important point is that your students can justify their point of view.

Some students will agree, and others will disagree. The important part of the debate is their justification of how they view IoT.

MAKING BUSINESS DECISIONS Instructor Note: There are few right or wrong answers in the business world. There are only efficient and inefficient, and effective and ineffective business decisions. If there were always right answers businesses would never fail. These questions were created to challenge your students to apply the materials they have learned to real business situations. For this reason, the authors cannot provide you with one version of a correct answer. When grading your students’ answers, be sure to focus on their justification or support for their specific answers. A good way to grade these questions is to compare your student’s answers against each other.

1. WORKING FOR THE BEST The goal of higher education is to arm our students with the types of skills required to start an amazing fulfilling career. Looking at current top companies can help students understand early the skills they require to be competitive. What skill will they receive from this course that they can put on their resume or LinkedIn account? This activity is a great eye-opener for students skeptical of taking this course.

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Ask your students to find a list of the top companies to work for in the current year according to Fortune magazine. Data items could include: 

Perks

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Benefits



Location

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Turnover

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Profitability

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Employee trust

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Layoff history

If the data analyzed by Fortune was inaccurate the listing would be inaccurate and readers and subscribers to Fortune would lose faith in the company and discontinuing reading the magazine. Students analyzing this list can gain insight into the types of companies they might want to work for upon graduation. Potential questions students can answer by analyzing this list include: 

Which industry has the greatest number of Fortune 100 top companies to work for?



Which industry has the least number of Fortune 100 top companies to work for?

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What are the top five locations for Fortune 100 companies?

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What are the bottom five locations for Fortune 100 companies?

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What types of perks and benefits do top companies offer?

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How many of the Fortune 100 companies are currently hiring?

2. VIEW FROM A FLAT WORLD This question makes for a great classroom debate. Student answers will vary as they dig into the pros and cons of how technology has made physical location less of a challenge.

Hopefully, everyone immediately recognizes the importance of this course as they watched the Friedman video. As you begin to compete in a Flat World you need all the technology skills and experience you can possibly find! I've never heard anyone say - "My career was right on track until I learned about technology - I sure wish I had never learned technology it ruined my career". 

Amazon is a book selling company - not a technology company.



Netflix is a video rental business - not a technology company.



eBay is a consumer trading business - not a technology company.

All these businesses were started by BUSINESS people who understood the value of technology so well that they fundamentally changed the primary business processes of buying books, renting videos, and trading goods. Every BUSINESS person should Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual

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understand technology, without it they won't be able to spot the competitive advantages that are just waiting for the next brilliant entrepreneur to discover.

There are huge strides in third world countries. We now have Internet carts that can drive around and provide remote villages in Neap and India and Africa with computers and access. Some argue that the world between the haves and the have-nots is widening because of technology - I personally believe it is closing. With a computer I can literally get a PHD from an online school no matter where I am located - a remote village in Antarctica.

Here is a question for your students. Is the world flat for everyone? When I view Friedman and try to think of a job that isn't flat, I tend to come up with blue collar jobs.

White collar jobs are easily outsourced - CPAs are doing our taxes in China, Legal work is done is Africa, Architecture work is done in India, Programming code is done is Ukraine, Doctors are reading our x-rays in India, etc. But can a nurse, garbage man, house painter, contractor, waitress, librarian, (service industry) jobs be outsourced? Don't get me wrong - I completely agree that the best thing you can invest in is your education but in a flat world I no longer agree that it means your skill set won't be outsourced.

3. DO YOU TRUST YOUR DATA? Why do you believe data can be inaccurate?

There are numerous reasons why data is inaccurate. In fact, it is estimated that over 80 percent of spreadsheets have errors. Error upon entering data is a key issue and here are a few problems: 

Errors in Inputting Data: Amongst the most typical data entry problems is inputting the incorrect data. An unintentional mistype can lead to short or even long-term troubles. It may also result in incorrect records, wrong information, and disorganization. It is specifically prevalent in cases of human data entry processes. Sadly, even the top-notch data entry specialists tend to make mistakes that can cost heavily to a business. Addition or subtraction of a number or putting in the decimal point at a wrong place is a small error that may cost your company a great deal of money.



Incorrect Data Formatting: Even the most-advanced data entry software applications can create issues for a business. Inaccurate formatting is a typical concern, which can lead to correct data getting inputted in the wrong columns.

Just imagine the date 2/5/2025. Depending on the country you are in that could be February 2 or January 5.



Human Errors: Like data inputting concerns that are elaborated above, there exist a lot of issues that revolved around basic human errors. Issues concerning your employees like tiredness, the pace at which data is entered, emotional aspects, time management, and diversions can adversely impact the way in which the data is being entered. Likewise, people can misjudge data as they

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may preview one aspect of information in the wrong way as their brain interprets it. 

Misspelling of names or other important information ―Tyron Rodney Jur‖ instead of ―Tyron Rodney Jr‖

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Wrong date format while entering data in Excel

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Data misinterpretation: Replacing the letter ―O‖ with the number zero

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Missing values

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Entering data in the wrong field

What can a business do to ensure data is correct? What can be done to reduce these errors?   







Stringent quality checks – Double-checking the data entered helps in reducing errors and eliminates the need for re-entering the data. Regular checks will also help identify areas of improvement.

Train employees – Make sure to train them on the importance of the data they are handling and let them know the consequences of compromising any data. Ask them to focus more on accuracy than on speed.

Provide enough time and allow breaks – Even if your operators have good data entry skills and expertise, there are always chances of mistakes when they are loaded with a bunch of tasks. Provide a comfortable working environment and offer them regular breaks to refresh and reset before they return to work.

Update automated systems – If your firm relies on automated tools such as Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR) and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology for data collection or analysis, make sure to update those systems regularly. Also, protect automated systems against viruses and malware or it may result in errors.

Find the source of data inaccuracy – Check the data entry errors that occurred, statistics, and patterns to determine the primary internal and external sources of data inaccuracy. This helps to make necessary changes to both the processes as well as management techniques.

Consider outsourcing – Outsourcing data entry and management tasks to an experienced data entry company will help businesses get the accurate data they are looking for, along with reduced operational costs, effective data management and secured processing.

Explain how bad data will impact information, business intelligence, and knowledge.

If you are making decisions on bad data changes are good that you will make a bad decision. Garbage In is Garbage Out is a classic statement in the MIS field. If the data being entered is incorrect then it will be incorrect as it is turned into information, business intelligence, and knowledge. Managers are only as good as the data they must make decisions. Wrong data, wrong decision.

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Have you ever made a decision on bad data? If so, be sure to share it with your peers and explain how you could have verified the data quality.

This is a great group activity as many students have personal examples. These examples will help students immediately see the value in this course as they learn how to navigate the data minefields laid all over organizations today.

Argue for or against the following statement: ―It is better to make a business decision with bad data than with no data‖ This question works perfect for an online discussion board debate. Student answers to this question will vary. Bad data can be much worse than no data at all. While the lack of data on a given subject can be troubling, it doesn’t carry with it the potential pitfalls that can accompany the accumulation of bad data. 

Bad Data Means Bad Decisions



Bad Data Means Ruined Reputations



Bad Data Wastes Money

4. SYSTEMS THINKING This is a great activity to get your students thinking about business process and how IoT and M2M are going to digitize business. Depending on your school registration process the answers to this question will vary. This is typically a source of frustration for students and will be a great classroom exercise as they begin to design the course registration process of the future.

5. MANIPULATING DATA TO FIND YOUR VERSION OF THE TRUTH This is a great project to help your students understand the problems associated with interpreting data. Many students will be unfamiliar with data and how they are going to interact with corporate data, customer data, competitor data, market data, etc.

Economists use all kinds of data including GDP, inflation, housing sales, taxes, exchange rates, currency, etc.

6. INFORMATION ISSUES IN THE INFORMATION AGE The types of information stored on a thumb drive could include student age, student birthdate, student address, student phone, student contact, student major, student classes, student loans, student social security number, student license plate, student work history, student grades and degree. Losing this information could put every student at risk of identity theft. The school should have a policy that student data cannot be stored on personal devices!

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7. 10 BEST THINGS YOU WILL SAY TO YOUR GRANDCHILDREN Your students may find different answer then the following depending on their familiarity with technology.

1. Refers to using Twitter 2. Refers to global warming and the loss of snow 3. Refers to Jeopardy and other game shows based on a person’s own memory 4. Refers to movie theaters before on-demand and Netflix downloads 5. Refers to social networking profiles 6. Refers to globalization 7. Refers to vitamins 8. Refers to cloud computing 9. Refers to iPhone updates 10. Refers to cloning animals 8. SHARING DATA AROUND THE WORLD  List five types of sensitive data your school collects on students, faculty, and personnel.

Social security numbers, student numbers, birth dates, spouses, dependents, pay rates, salaries, grades, etc.  Review the list of stakeholders working at and with your school. Determine which types of sensitive data each has access to and whether you have any concerns about sharing this data. This is a great question as many people have access to student data including faculty, coaches, tutors, administrators. I was shocked to find out how many people can access student faculty data. Your students might be concerned when they find out human resources can sleuth through data.  Do you have to worry about theft of your sensitive student data? How can you ensure your school does not have any data leakage problems? This should be the biggest concern from your students as data hacks on campus occur all the time and hackers actually target networks with .edu as they know students are not yet bankrupt and they can steal their identities easily as they are not yet tracking their credit.

9. DEATH OF A PRODUCT Answer to this question will vary – below is a template for your students to use as they analyze their products.

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Threat of Substitute Products or Services

Supplier Power

Buyer Power

Rivalry

Threat of New Entrants

10. UPWARD MANAGE YOUR BOSS Student answers to this question will vary. It is a great idea to break your students into their prospective majors and create the presentation based on what they believe data will look like and what types of decisions they will be making. For example: Account/Finance: Monetary, Expenses, Sales, Interest Rates to create reports on expansion, growth, future employment needs, etc.

11. COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS Organizations must formulate a strategy for entering new markets. An organization can follow Porter’s three generic strategies when entering a new market: (1) broad cost leadership, (2) broad differentiation, or (3) a focused strategy. Broad strategies reach a large market segment, while focused strategies target a niche market. A focused strategy concentrates on either cost leadership or differentiation. Trying to be all things to all people, however, is a recipe for disaster, since it is difficult to project a consistent image to the entire marketplace. Porter suggests that an organization is wise to adopt only one of the three generic strategies.

To illustrate the use of the three generic strategies, consider the figure in the question.

The matrix shown demonstrates the relationships among strategies (cost leadership versus differentiation) and market segmentation (broad versus focused). 

Hyundai is following a broad cost leadership strategy. Hyundai offers low-cost vehicles, in each model stratification, that appeal to a large audience.



Audi is pursuing a broad differentiation strategy with its Quattro models available at several price points. Audi’s differentiation is safety, and it prices its various Quattro models (higher than Hyundai) to reach a large, stratified audience.

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

Kia has a more focused cost leadership strategy. Kia mainly offers low-cost vehicles in the lower levels of model stratification.

Hummer offers the most focused differentiation strategy of any in the industry (including Mercedes-Benz). Student solutions to this project will vary. The most important part of their answer is their justification for each product placement.

12. DOES DATA LIE? This is such a splendid example of identical data being deployed in diverse ways due to analysis. Who it right and who is wrong truly depends on how you look at the data – and more likely who you are when you are looking at the data. Your students will enjoy analyzing these two different reports from the exact same dataset.

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BDIS 8E

INSTRUCTOR’S MANUAL

Paige Baltzan

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DECISIONS AND PROCESSES VALUE DRIVEN BUSINESS

2 CHAPTER

This guide provides many classroom activities, videos, and debates to accompany Business Driven Information Systems. A few course suggestions:  Create one or two test questions based on the classroom activity to help reward students who attend lectures.  Many professors have found that assigning an activity and then lecturing on the material helps students gain a deeper understanding of the core MIS concepts as they have already struggled with applying the material to a real-world situation.  Asking a small group of students to explain their answer to the activity to the entire class after completion ensures students come to class prepared. I select a different group each activity to explain their answer and they do not want to look unprepared in front of their fellow classmates. It is a powerful motivator to get my students reading prior to class.

After the activity and student’s presentations then I lecture – keeps my students engaged and helps to achieve a higher level of learning outcomes as they are constantly tasked with applying the concepts during class.  Create an Ask the Professor Discussion board that runs the entire course where students can ask course and content related questions. I typically promise to respond within 24 hours, and I always encourage my students to check the discussion board before sending an email. Many times, if one student a question so does other students.  **Three Before Me Rule! This is something I have found that saves a great deal of time answering email. I state the Three Before Me rule in my syllabus. Before a student comes to me with a question, they must provide three sources they used to answer the question themselves. This significantly cuts down on emails as many times students can find the answer to their questions, but it seems easier just to email the professor.

Sources can include the syllabus, the Ask the Professor Q&A Discussion Board, classmates, the textbook, etc. If I ask the student for the three sources and they do not have them I dock participation points. Works great on significantly cutting down my emails and helps to prepare my students for the real world!  The core chapter material is covered in detail in the PowerPoint slides. Each slide contains detailed teaching notes including exercises, class activities, questions, and examples.

Please review the PowerPoint slides for detailed notes on how to teach and enhance the core chapter material.

Enjoy your course and best of luck! Please feel free to email me directly if you have any questions, ideas, suggestions, or feedback! For additional course materials, content, and cases visit www.baltzan.net or email me directly at pbaltzan@baltzan.net.

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CHAPTER TWO Decision making and problem solving encompass large-scale, opportunity-oriented, strategically focused solutions. Students today must posse’s decision-making and problemsolving abilities to compete in the ebusiness world. Organizations today can no longer use a ―cook book‖ approach to decision making. This chapter focuses on technology to help make decisions, solve problems, and find new innovative opportunities including:  Transaction processing system  Decision support systems  Executive information systems  Artificial intelligence (AI)  Business process modeling  Business process management  Business process improvement  Business process reengineering SECTION 2.1 – DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS  Making Organizational Business Decisions  Measuring Organization Business Decisions  Using MIS to Make Business Decisions  Using AI to Make Business Decisions SECTION 2.2 – BUSINESS PROCESSES  Managing Business Processes  Using MIS to Improve Business Processes

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SECTION 2 .1 DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM S What is the value of information? The answer to this important question varies depending on how the information is used. Two people looking at the exact same pieces of information could extract completely different value from the information depending on the tools they are using to look at the information. This chapter discusses technologies that people can use to help make decisions and solve problems.

LEARNING OUTCOMES Learning Outcome 2.1: Explain the importance of decision making for managers at each of the three primary organization levels along with the associated decision characteristics.

Decision-making skills are essential for all business professionals, at every company level, who make decisions that run the business. At the operational level, employees develop, control, and maintain core business activities required to run the day-to-day operations.

Operational decisions are considered structured decisions, which arise in situations where established processes offer potential solutions. Structured decisions are made frequently and are almost repetitive in nature; they affect short-term business strategies.

At the managerial level, employees are continuously evaluating company operations to hone the firm’s abilities to identify, adapt to, and leverage change. Managerial decisions cover short- and medium-range plans, schedules, and budgets along with policies, procedures, and business objectives for the firm. These types of decisions are considered semistructured decisions; they occur in situations in which a few established processes help to evaluate potential solutions, but not enough to lead to a definite recommended decision.

At the strategic level, managers develop overall business strategies, goals, and objectives as part of the company’s strategic plan. They also monitor the strategic performance of the organization and its overall direction in the political, economic, and competitive business environment. Strategic decisions are highly unstructured decisions, occurring in situations in which no procedures or rules exist to guide decision makers toward the correct choice. They are infrequent, extremely important, and typically related to long-term business strategy.

Learning Outcome 2.2: Define critical success factors (CSFs) and key performance indicators (KPIs), and explain how managers use them to measure the success of MIS projects.

Metrics are measurements that evaluate results to determine whether a project is meeting its goals. Two core metrics are critical success factors and key performance indicators. CSFs are the crucial steps companies perform to achieve their goals and objectives and implement their Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual

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strategies and include creating high-quality products, retaining competitive advantages, and reducing product costs. KPIs are the quantifiable metrics a company uses to evaluate progress toward critical success factors. KPIs are far more specific than CSFs; examples include turnover rates of employees, percentage of help-desk calls answered in the first minute, and number of products returned.

It is important to understand the relationship between critical success factors and key performance indicators. CSFs are elements crucial for a business strategy’s success. KPIs measure the progress of CSFs with quantifiable measurements, and one CSF can have several KPIs. Of course, both categories will vary by company and industry. Imagine improved graduation rates as a CSF for a college.

Learning Outcome 2.3: Classify the different operational support systems, managerial support systems, and strategic support systems, and explain how managers can use these systems to make decisions and gain competitive advantages.

Being able to sort, calculate, analyze, and slice-and-dice information is critical to an organization’s success. Without knowing what is occurring throughout the organization there is no way that managers and executives can make solid decisions to support the business.

The different operational, managerial, and strategic support systems include:  Operational: A transaction processing system (TPS) is the basic business system that serves the operational level (analysts) in an organization. The most common example of a TPS is an operational accounting system such as a payroll system or an orderentry system.  Managerial: A decision support system (DSS) models information to support managers and business professionals during the decision-making process.  Strategic: An executive information system (EIS) is a specialized DSS that supports senior level executives within the organization.

Learning Outcome 2.4: Describe artificial intelligence and identify its five main types.

Artificial intelligence (AI) simulates human thinking and behavior, such as the ability to reason and learn. The five most common categories of AI are: 1. Expert systems—computerized advisory programs that imitate the reasoning processes of experts in solving difficult problems.

2. Neural networks—attempts to emulate the way the human brain works.

3. Genetic algorithm—a system that mimics the evolutionary, survival-of-the-fittest process to generate increasingly better solutions to a problem.

4. Intelligent agents—a special-purpose knowledge-based information system that accomplishes specific tasks on behalf of its users.

5. Virtual reality—a computer-simulated environment that can be a simulation of the real world or an imaginary world.

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CORE MATERIAL The core chapter material is covered in detail in the PowerPoint slides. Each slide contains detailed teaching notes including exercises, class activities, questions, and examples. Please review the PowerPoint slides for detailed notes on how to teach and enhance the core chapter material.

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SECTION 2 .2 BUSINESS PROCESSES LEARNING OUTCOMES Learning Outcome 2.5: Explain the value of business processes for a company, and differentiate between customer-facing and business-facing process.

A business process is a standardized set of activities that accomplish a specific task, such as processing a customer’s order. Business processes transform a set of inputs into a set of outputs (goods or services) for another person or process by using people and tools. Without processes, organizations would not be able to complete activities. Customer-facing processes result in a product or service that is received by an organization’s external customer.

Business-facing processes are invisible to the external customer but essential to the effective management of the business.

Learning Outcome 2.6: Demonstrate the value of business process modeling, and compare As-Is and To-Be models.

Business process modeling (or mapping) is the activity of creating a detailed flowchart or process map of a work process showing its inputs, tasks, and activities, in a structured sequence. A business process model is a graphic description of a process, showing the sequence of process tasks, which is developed for a specific purpose and from a selected viewpoint.

Business process modeling usually begins with a functional process representation of what the process problem is, or an As-Is process model. As-Is process models represent the current state of the operation that has been mapped, without any specific improvements or changes to existing processes. The next step is to build a To-Be process model that displays how the process problem will be solved or implemented. To-Be process models show the results of applying change improvement opportunities to the current (As-Is) process model.

This approach ensures that the process is fully and clearly understood before the details of a process solution are decided upon.

Learning Outcome 2.7: Differentiate among automation, streamlining, and reengineering.

Business process improvement attempts to understand and measure the current process and make performance improvements accordingly. Automation is the process of computerizing manual tasks, making them more efficient and effective, and dramatically lowering operational costs. Streamlining improves business process efficiencies by simplifying or eliminating unnecessary steps. Bottlenecks occur when resources reach full capacity and cannot handle any additional demands; they limit throughput and impede operations.

Streamlining removes bottlenecks, an important step if the efficiency and capacity of a Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual

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business process are being increased. Business process reengineering (BPR) is the analysis

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and redesign of workflow within and between enterprises and occurs at the systems level or companywide level and is the end-to-end view of a process.

CORE MATERIAL The core chapter material is covered in detail in the PowerPoint slides. Each slide contains detailed teaching notes including exercises, class activities, questions, and examples. Please review the PowerPoint slides for detailed notes on how to teach and enhance the core chapter material. Please feel free to email me directly if you have any questions, ideas, suggestions, or feedback! For additional course materials, content, and cases visit www.baltzan.net or email me directly at pbaltzan@baltzan.net.

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CHAPTER TWO CLOSING MATERIAL REVIEW QUESTIONS 1. Why must business professionals understand how MIS supports decision making and problem solving?

Decision making is one of the most important and challenging aspects of management.

Decisions range from routine choices, such as how many items to order or how many people to hire, to unexpected ones such as what to do if a key employee suddenly quits or needed materials do not arrive. Today, with massive volumes of information available, managers are challenged to make highly complex decisions—some involving far more information than the human brain can comprehend, in increasingly shorter time frames.

2. What is the relationship between critical success factors and key performance indicators? How can a manager use them to understand business operations?

Critical success factors (CSFs) are the crucial steps companies perform to achieve their goals and objectives and implement their strategies. Key performance indicators (KPIs) are the quantifiable metrics a company uses to evaluate progress toward critical success factors. KPIs are far more specific than CSFs. It is important to understand the relationship between critical success factors and key performance indicators. CSFs are elements crucial for a business strategy’s success. KPIs measure the progress of CSFs with quantifiable measurements, and one CSF can have several KPIs. Of course, both categories will vary by company and industry. Imagine improve graduation rates as a CSF for a college.

3. What are the three different levels found in a company? What types of decisions are made at each level?

A few key concepts about organizational structure will help our discussion of MIS decision-making tools. The structure of a typical organization is similar to a pyramid, and the different levels require different types of information to assist in decision making, problem solving, and opportunity capturing. The operational level supports transactional information, the managerial level supports analytical information and the strategic level supports executive information systems.

4. Define transaction processing systems and describe the role they play in a business.

Transactional information encompasses all the information contained within a single business process or unit of work, and its primary purpose is to support the Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual

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performance of daily operational or structured decisions. Transactional information is created, for example, when customers are purchasing stocks, making an airline reservation, or withdrawing cash from an ATM. Managers use transactional information when making structured decisions at the operational level, such as when analyzing daily sales reports to determine how much inventory to carry.

5. Define decision support systems and describe the role they play in a business.

Decision support systems (DSSs) model information using OLAP, which provides assistance in evaluating and choosing among different courses of action. DSSs enable high-level managers to examine and manipulate large amounts of detailed data from different internal and external sources. Analyzing complex relationships among thousands or even millions of data items to discover patterns, trends, and exception conditions is one of the key uses associated with a DSS. 6. Define expert systems and describe the role they play in a business.

Expert systems are computerized advisory programs that imitate the reasoning processes of experts in solving difficult problems. Typically, they include a knowledge base containing various accumulated experience and a set of rules for applying the knowledge base to each particular situation. Expert systems are the most common form of AI in the business arena because they fill the gap when human experts are difficult to find or retain or are too expensive. The best-known systems play chess and assist in medical diagnosis.

7. What are the capabilities associated with digital dashboards?

Executive information systems use visualization to deliver specific key information to top managers at a glance, with little or no interaction with the system. A common tool that supports visualization is a digital dashboard, which tracks KPIs and CSFs by compiling information from multiple sources and tailoring it to meet user needs.

8. What are the common DSS analysis techniques?

Consolidation is the aggregation of data from simple roll-ups to complex groupings of interrelated information. For example, data for different sales representatives can then be rolled up to an office level, then a state level, then a regional sales level. Drill-down enables users to view details, and details of details, of information. This is the reverse of consolidation; a user can view regional sales data and then drill down all the way to each sales representative’s data at each office. Drill-down capability lets managers view monthly, weekly, daily, or even hourly information. Slice-and-dice is the ability to look at information from different perspectives. One slice of information could display all product sales during a given promotion. Another slice could display a single product’s sales for all promotions. Slicing and dicing is often performed along a time axis to analyze trends and find time-based patterns in the information.

9. How does an electronic spreadsheet program, such as Excel, provide decision support capabilities?

Excel can create DSS that can logically answer difficult optimization questions. Goal Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual

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seek, scenario manager, and solver are all DSS tools included in Excel.

10.

What is artificial intelligence? What applications of AI offer the greatest business value?

Artificial intelligence (AI) simulates human thinking and behavior, such as the ability to reason and learn. Its ultimate goal is to build a system that can mimic human intelligence. AI systems increase the speed and consistency of decision making, solve problems with incomplete information, and resolve complicated issues that cannot be solved by conventional computing.

11. What is a business process and what role does it play in an organization?

A business process is a standardized set of activities that accomplish a specific task, such as processing a customer’s order. Business processes transform a set of inputs into a set of outputs—goods or services—for another person or process by using people and tools. Understanding business processes helps a manager envision how the entire company operates.

12. Why do managers need to understand business processes? Can you make a correlation between systems thinking and business processes?

Some processes, such as a programming process, may be contained wholly within a single department. However, most, such as ordering a product, are cross-functional or cross-departmental processes and span the entire organization. The process of ―order to delivery‖ focuses on the entire customer order process across functional departments. Another example is ―product realization,‖ which includes not only the way a product is developed, but also the way it is marketed and serviced. Some other cross-functional business processes are taking a product from concept to market, acquiring customers, loan processing, providing post-sales service, claim processing, and reservation handling. Understanding cross-functional business process is the same as understanding systems thinking!

13. Why would a manager need to review an As-Is and To-Be process model?

As-Is process models represent the current state of the operation that has been mapped, without any specific improvements or changes to existing processes. The next step is to build a To-Be process model that displays how the process problem will be solved or implemented. To-Be process models show the results of applying change improvement opportunities to the current (As-Is) process model. This approach ensures that the process is fully and clearly understood before the details of a process solution are decided upon. The To-Be process model shows how the what is to be realized.

14. How can a manager use automation, streamlining, and business process reengineering to gain operational efficiency and effectiveness?

Automation is the process of computerizing manual tasks, making them more efficient and effective and dramatically lowering operational costs. Streamlining improves business process efficiencies by simplifying or eliminating unnecessary steps. As the rate of change increases, companies looking for rapid change and dramatic Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual

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improvement are turning to business process reengineering (BPR), the analysis and redesign of workflow within and between enterprises. A business process reengineering effort begins with defining the scope and objectives of the reengineering project and then takes the process designers through a learning process with customers, employees, competitors, and new technology. Given this knowledge base, the designers can create a plan of action based on the gap between current processes, technologies, and structures and their vision of the processes of the future. It is then top management’s job to implement the chosen solution.

15. Explain the difference between customer-facing processes and businessfacing processes. Which one is more important to an organization?

Customer-facing processes, also called front-office processes, result in a product or service received by an organization’s external customer. They include fulfilling orders, communicating with customers, and sending out bills and marketing information.

Business-facing processes, also called back-office processes, are invisible to the external customer but essential to the effective management of the business; they include goal setting, day-to-day planning, giving performance feedback and rewards, and allocating resources.

16. Explain how finding different ways to travel the same road relates to automation, streamlining, and business process reengineering.

Better, faster, cheaper is the path taken by automation, streamlining, and business process reengineering. Automation and streamlining are typically better, faster, and cheaper. Business process reengineering can change the entire process in a way that changes the entire industry standards making everything better, faster, and cheaper.

CLOSING CASE ONE QUESTION ALEXA CAN YOU HEAR ME 1. Define the three primary types of decision-making systems and how machine learning in the workplace could affect each. a. Decision-making skills are essential for all business professionals, at every company level, who make decisions that run the business. At the operational level, employees develop, control, and maintain core business activities required to run the day-to-day operations. Operational decisions are considered structured decisions, which arise in situations where established processes offer potential solutions. Structured decisions are made frequently and are almost repetitive in nature; they affect short-term business strategies. Wearable technologies can be used to:  Track employees  Sales patterns on the floor to tell if there are lines  Temperature control to indicate if correct temperatures are maintained b.

At the managerial level, employees are continuously evaluating company operations to hone the firm’s abilities to identify, adapt to, and leverage change. Managerial

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decisions cover short- and medium-range plans, schedules, and budgets along with policies, procedures, and business objectives for the firm. These types of decisions are considered semistructured decisions; they occur in situations in which a few established processes help to evaluate potential solutions, but not enough to lead to a definite recommended decision. Wearable technologies can be used to:  Tracking where individuals are in the warehouse and strategically locating them nearest potential issues or malfunctions of equipment  Tracking doctors in hospitals and being able to locate the nearest doctor during a problem or issue c. At the strategic level, managers develop overall business strategies, goals, and objectives as part of the company’s strategic plan. They also monitor the strategic performance of the organization and its overall direction in the political, economic, and competitive business environment. Strategic decisions are highly unstructured decisions, occurring in situations in which no procedures or rules exist to guide decision makers toward the correct choice. They are infrequent, extremely important, and typically related to long-term business strategy.  This is the most difficult area to determine how wearable technology can help with decisions due to the infrequent nature of the decisions.

2. Identify how machine learning can transform a traditional business process like checking out of a grocery store.

Machine learning can automate business processes. For example, self-driving cars. By feeding billions of photos into the system it can learn how to drive. Any business process where humans make decisions can be automated using machine learning. For example:  Detecting and deterring security intrusions.  Resolving users’ technical problems.  Reducing production management work by automation.  Gauging compliance internally by using approved technology vendors.  Screening and shortlisting job applicants from hundreds of résumés.  Scheduling interviews, performance reviews, and other group meetings.  Measuring and managing employee engagement Streamlining office workflows.  Tracking and enhancing employee rewards and recognition programs.  Identifying knowledge gaps or opportunities for employee development.  Answering questions about company policies, benefits, office procedures, and even basic conflict resolution.  Attracting and reaching out to top talent (through such sites as Glassdoor, LinkedIn or Indeed).

3. Explain the relationship between bias and machine learning for Alexa.

If there is bias in the data being fed to Alexa, then she will learn with that bias. For example, if you always use the word parents to represent a man and a woman Alexa would learn that a man and a woman represent parents. Of course, there are many parents from single parents to same-gender parents.

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4. Argue for or against the following statement: Machine learning systems like Alexa invade user privacy.

There are numerous examples of how Alexa listens to your conversations 24/7 and can store the personal and private information of your home. This is a great argument for class as it is constantly recording everything in your home. This could be used for good if there is a crime, or bad if a conversation is taken out of context.

OPENING CASE TWO QUESTIONS ROBOTS TOOK MY JOB 1. Define the three primary types of decision-making systems and how robots in the workplace could affect each. a. Decision-making skills are essential for all business professionals, at every company level, who make decisions that run the business. At the operational level, employees develop, control, and maintain core business activities required to run the day-to-day operations. Operational decisions are considered structured decisions, which arise in situations where established processes offer potential solutions. Structured decisions are made frequently and are almost repetitive in nature; they affect short-term business strategies. b. At the managerial level, employees are continuously evaluating company operations to hone the firm’s abilities to identify, adapt to, and leverage change. Managerial decisions cover short- and medium-range plans, schedules, and budgets along with policies, procedures, and business objectives for the firm. These types of decisions are considered semistructured decisions; they occur in situations in which a few established processes help to evaluate potential solutions, but not enough to lead to a definite recommended decision. c. At the strategic level, managers develop overall business strategies, goals, and objectives as part of the company’s strategic plan. They also monitor the strategic performance of the organization and its overall direction in the political, economic, and competitive business environment. Strategic decisions are highly unstructured decisions, occurring in situations in which no procedures or rules exist to guide decision makers toward the correct choice. They are infrequent, extremely important, and typically related to long-term business strategy.

2. Describe the difference between transactional and analytical information and determine how robots could affect each for a grocery store such as Safeway.

Transactional information encompasses all the information contained within a single business process or unit of work, and its primary purpose is to support the performing of daily operational tasks. Analytical information encompasses all organizational information, and its primary purpose is to support the performing of managerial analysis tasks. Grocery stores use transactional information to make analytical decisions. The transactional information includes customer’s names, account number, quantity purchased, date Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual

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purchased, brands purchased, coupons used, and other types of product purchasing data.

The analytical decisions that are made from this information includes:  Which types of products did the consumers buy together?  Which types of products are purchased daily, weekly, monthly?  When is the busiest time of day for the express lane?  How many customers typically prefer self-checkout 3. Illustrate the business process model used by a robot to perform an analysis on a patient with a cold.

Student answers to this question will vary. Be sure they included the following in their business process model.  Gather data by scanning information from past records  Instantly understand all the patient data  Quickly analyze all data files with similar symptoms to determine the best medication for the cold 4. Explain business process reengineering and how robots might dramatically change the current sales process.

Business process improvement attempts to understand and measure the current process and make performance improvements accordingly. Streamlining improves business process efficiencies by simplifying or eliminating unnecessary steps. Bottlenecks occur when resources reach full capacity and cannot handle any additional demands; they limit throughput and impede operations. Streamlining removes bottlenecks, an important step if the efficiency and capacity of a business process are being increased. Business process reengineering (BPR) is the analysis and redesign of workflow within and between enterprises and occurs at the systems level or companywide level and the end-to-end view of a process.

A robot could be used by a customer to evaluate products in a store and select the products they wish to purchase by scanning them. The robot could then pack the items in a box in the warehouse and when the customer leaves the building, they could locate the customer’s car and carry the box to the car. The robot could accept the payment for the goods and give the customer directions to their next location.

5. Formulate different metrics that a personal trainer robot for a for fitness could provide a customer.

Potential metrics include: - Number of calories burned - Number of steps taken - Heart rate - Distance of run - Distance of bike ride - Suggest run route 6. Argue for or against the following statement: Robots are better than humans in all business capacities. This statement makes for a great classroom debate!

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CRITICAL BUSINESS THINKING

Instructor Note: There are few right or wrong answers in the business world. There are really only efficient and inefficient, and effective and ineffective business decisions. If there were always right answers businesses would never fail. These questions were created to challenge your students to apply the materials they have learned to real business situations.

For this reason, the authors cannot provide you with one version of a correct answer. When grading your students’ answers, be sure to focus on their justification or support for their specific answers. A good way to grade these questions is to compare your student’s answers against each other.

1. MODELING A BUSINESS PROCESS Student answers to this question will vary depending on the process they have chosen to fix. Review the chapter for an example of an improved burger ordering process. Students can choose any process from reorganizing a sock drawer, making coffee, to revamping the way gas is purchased for an automobile.

2. CLASSROOM ROBOTS  Brookstone Rover 2.0: The Brookstone Rover 2.0 can record and stream live videos right to your mobile device as it roams around your home. It offers a roughly 100-foot wireless control range through walls and features a built-in microphone and speaker.  Appbot Riley: The Appbot Riley can't be used for video chatting, but it does support two-way voice communication. Rather than for use in professional settings, it is more suited to playing with a child or keeping an eye on your pets when you aren't home.  kyrocket Mebo 2.0: Children can start practicing now for the increasingly virtual world they will be living in when they grow up by using the Skyrocket Mebo 2.0 to roam around the house, interact with other family members, and retrieve objects using its fully articulated arm.  Kubi Classic: If you don't need the ability to self-navigate, the Kubi Classic could be worth looking at. It is a tabletop model that accommodates tablets of between 7 and 10.5 inches. It offers 300 degrees of panning and 45 degrees of tilt, allowing you to look around the space.  BotEyes Pad: The BotEyes Pad is one of the more affordable full-size models, though it's by no means cheap. It accommodates nearly any kind of tablet or smartphones that weigh less than 600 grams, which it can hold in a portrait or landscape orientation and tilt up to 120 degrees.  Double Robotics Double 2: The Double Robotics Double 2 is packed with cool features, like a lateral stability system that helps to keep it upright, and the ability to increase its speed by up to 80 percent more than its standard setting, for those times you need to traverse a long distance. Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual

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

Suitable Technologies Beam: The Suitable Technologies Beam boasts nearly 8 hours of battery life and can travel at up to 2 miles per hour, so you'll have no trouble getting around the office and collaborating for almost a full work day. It features two cameras that help make for easier navigation.

3. What Type of System Would You Use?  You need to analyze daily sales transactions for each region. (TPS)  You need to analyze staffing requirements for each plant. (MIS)  You need to determine which customers are at risk of defaulting on their bills.

(TPS)  You need to analyze your competition including prices, discounts, goods, and services. (MIS)  You need to analyze critical success factors and key performance indicators for status on operations. (EIS)  You need to produce a graphical display of patterns and complex relationships for large amounts of data. (EIS) 4. Is the Computer Smarter Than a Human?

This is such a fun debate question to unpack during class. There are so many great examples of AI and ML to bring into the classroom. I typically discuss the difference between structured vs. unstructured jobs. Will a computer be smarter when dealing with a three-year-old than a person? Will a computer be smarter when dealing with puppy than an adult? Will a computer be smarter when determining where you need to spend extra time studying to pass a math test? Will a computer be smarter when cooking a steak? Sometimes the human brain can’t be mimicked like dealing with a three-year-old that does not always act logically. Passing a math test is logical and a computer might be better equipped to find weakness in a person’s logic.

Ask your students to find examples when they would prefer to have a computer decide vs. a person make a decision.

5. Will They Stay or Will They Go? Porter’s strategies outlined in Chapter 1 suggest entering markets with a competitive advantage in either overall cost leadership, differentiation, or focus. To achieve these results, managers must be able to make decisions and forecast future business needs and requirements. The most important and most challenging question confronting managers today is how to lay the foundation for tomorrow’s success while competing to win in today’s business environment. A company will not have a future if it is not cultivating strategies for tomorrow. The goal of this section is to expand on Porter’s Five Forces Model, three generic strategies, and value chain analysis to demonstrate how managers can learn the concepts and practices of business decision making to add value. It will also highlight how companies heading into the 21st century are taking advantage of advanced MIS capable of generating significant competitive advantages across the value chain. As we discussed in Chapter 1, decision making is one of the most important and challenging aspects of management. Decisions range from routine choices, such as how many items to order or how many people to hire to unexpected ones such as what to do if a key Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual

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employee suddenly quits or needed materials do not arrive. Today, with massive volumes of information available, managers are challenged to make highly complex decisions— some involving far more information than the human brain can comprehend—in increasingly shorter time frames.

6. Reengineer Your Class This assignment will change depending on how each school performs tuition payments and registering for classes. Just ensure each student presents As Is and To Be process diagrams clearly demonstrating how the new process will increase efficiency and effectiveness in the process. Broken, redundant, and antiquated processes can cause tremendous business inefficiencies. Your students should be able to easily identify which processes in your class registration system are broken, redundant, and antiquated since they are intimately familiar with this system. Since all colleges use different class registration systems the answer to this question will vary. The important part is to ensure they are identifying the issues along with suggestions for new ways to improve the process and fix the broken, redundant, and antiquated processes.

7. Ready, Set, Alpha Go! Computers always dominate over the human brain when pure logic is involved. With AI computers are learning and can learn faster and quicker than a human. Finding new patterns is far easier for a computer because they can train on billions of previous games played by millions of people where a human only trains on the previous games they played. Ask your students what other types of games a computer could learn and play better than humans? What happens when robots take over football or soccer?

8. Dashboard Design The importance of this activity is to get your students thinking about each category and its importance to the company. Each category should be displayed with metrics to measure the indicator such as green, yellow, and red status indicators or percentages or levels.

This is the critical part of the activity - displaying how the dashboard is going to measure each indicator. For example:  Customers: satisfaction levels (red, green, yellow), number of customers, number of lost customers, number of new customers, order level per customers  Marketing: campaign success, coupon success, new product launch success  Sales: total sales, sales per quarter, sales comparatives, competitor sales comparatives, sales quota levels, sales representatives, sales per customer, sales per region  Customer service: satisfaction, average time to resolve issues, metrics on call center, metrics on customer service representatives  Billing: average collection period, outstanding bills, time to generate bills, customers in arrears  Accounting: Total assets, total liabilities, net income  Finance: ROI, ROA, IRR, NPV

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 

Logistics: Time for delivery, cost per delivery, lost orders due to failure to deliver, supplier metrics Human resources: Average days absent, average days sick, average days’ vacation, turnover

A common feature of an executive information system is a digital dashboard. Digital dashboards integrate information from multiple components and tailor the information to individual preferences. Digital dashboards commonly use indicators to help executives quickly identify the status of key information or critical success factors. Digital dashboards, whether basic or comprehensive, deliver results quickly. As digital dashboards become easier to use, more executives can perform their own analysis without inundating IT personnel with questions and requests for reports. According to an independent study by Nucleus Research, there is a direct correlation between use of digital dashboards and companies’ return on investment (ROI).

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9. Driving Decisions Great way to kick off a discussion on how decisions impact business. People have accidents. That’s not what this post is about. People also do stupid, reckless things.

Butwe’re not focusing on that now either. This is about people that obviously lack the requisite skills to operate a motor vehicle – who were also unfortunate enough to have the evidence caught on film.

10.

Dashboard for Tracking Junk Student’s answers can include the following:  Location  Amount collected  Number of stops  Employee on truck  Day of collection  Months of most collection/least collection  Truck maintenance  Truck mileage

11.

Building Robots Your students’ robots will vary – ask them to include data tracking devices or wearables.

Have fun with this exercise!! Google the best new robots to show a few videos to really get them inspired to build something amazing. Robots painting better than Davinci, creating music better than Beethoven are two great examples.

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BDIS 8E

INSTRUCTOR’S MANUAL

Paige Baltzan

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EBUSINESS: ELECTRONIC BUSINESS VALUE

3 CHAPTER

This guide provides many classroom activities, videos, and debates to accompany Business Driven Information Systems. A few course suggestions:  Create one or two test questions based on the classroom activity to help reward students who attend lectures.  Many professors have found that assigning an activity and then lecturing on the material helps students gain a deeper understanding of the core MIS concepts as they have already struggled with applying the material to a real-world situation.  Asking a small group of students to explain their answer to the activity to the entire class after completion ensures students come to class prepared. I select a different group each activity to explain their answer and they do not want to look unprepared in front of their fellow classmates. It is a powerful motivator to get my students reading prior to class.

After the activity and student’s presentations then I lecture – keeps my students engaged and helps to achieve a higher level of learning outcomes as they are constantly tasked with applying the concepts during class.  Create an Ask the Professor Discussion board that runs the entire course where students can ask course and content related questions. I typically promise to respond within 24 hours, and I always encourage my students to check the discussion board before sending an email. Many times, if one student a question so does other students.  **Three Before Me Rule! This is something I have found that saves a great deal of time answering email. I state the Three Before Me rule in my syllabus. Before a student comes to me with a question, they must provide three sources they used to answer the question themselves. This significantly cuts down on emails as many times students can find the answer to their questions, but it seems easier just to email the professor.

Sources can include the syllabus, the Ask the Professor Q&A Discussion Board, classmates, the textbook, etc. If I ask the student for the three sources and they do not have them I dock participation points. Works great on significantly cutting down my emails and helps to prepare my students for the real world!  The core chapter material is covered in detail in the PowerPoint slides. Each slide contains detailed teaching notes including exercises, class activities, questions, and examples.

Please review the PowerPoint slides for detailed notes on how to teach and enhance the core chapter material.

Enjoy your course and best of luck! Please feel free to email me directly if you have any questions, ideas, suggestions, or feedback! For additional course materials, content, and cases visit www.baltzan.net or email me directly at pbaltzan@baltzan.net

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CHAPTER THREE One-hour film processing and digital cameras both contributed to the demise of Polaroid, a solid company that had an innovative technology and a captive customer base. The dilemma that faced Polaroid is a dilemma that most organization face – the criteria an organization uses to make business decisions for its present business could possibly create issues for its future business. Essentially, what is best for the current business could ruin it in the long term.

In the past few years, ebusiness seems to have permeated every aspect of daily life. In just a short time, both individuals and organizations have embraced Internet technologies to enhance productivity, maximize convenience, and improve communications globally. This chapter focuses on the disruptive technology, the Internet, and ebusiness processes that are changing the nature of the buyer-seller relationship, the role of information technology (IT), and organizational structures and tasks. The chapter also discusses the opportunities and advantages found with developing ebusinesses. Specific relationships have been developed in the chapter between disruptive technologies and ebusinesses. 

SECTION 3.1 – WEB 1.0 - EBUSINESS • Web 1.0: Disruptive Technology • The Four Ebusiness Models • Ebusiness Tools for Connecting and Communicating



SECTION 3.2 – WEB 2.0 – BUSINESS 2.0 • Web 2.0: Advantages of Business 2.0 • Networking Communities with Business 2.0 • Business 2.0 Tools for Collaborating • Web 3.0: Defining the Next Generation of Online Business Opportunities

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SECTION 3 . 1 WEB 1 . 0 - EBUSINESS What do steamboats, transistor radios, and Intel’s 8088 processor all have in common? They are all disruptive technologies. Disruptive technologies redefine the competitive playing fields of their respective markets. Disruptive technologies tend to open new markets and destroy old ones. Sustaining technologies tend to provide us with better, faster, and cheaper products in established markets, but virtually never lead in markets opened by new and disruptive technologies.

LEARNING OUTCOMES Learning Outcome 3.1: Compare disruptive and sustaining technologies and explain how the Internet and WWW caused business disruption.

Disruptive technologies offer a new way of doing things that initially does not meet the needs of existing customers. Disruptive technologies redefine the competitive playing fields of their respective markets, open new markets and destroy old ones, and cut into the low end of the marketplace and eventually evolve to displace high-end competitors and their reigning technologies.

Sustaining technologies produce improved products customers are eager to buy, such as a faster car or larger hard drive. Sustaining technologies tend to provide us with better, faster, and cheaper products in established markets and virtually never lead in markets opened by new and disruptive technologies.

The Internet and WWW caused business disruption by allowing people to communicate and collaborate in ways that were not possible before the information age. The Internet and WWW completely disrupted the way businesses operate, employees communicate, and products are developed and sold.

Learning Outcome 3.2: Describe ebusiness and its associated advantages.

Web 1.0 is a term to refer to the World Wide Web during its first few years of operation between 1991 and 2003. Ebusiness includes ecommerce along with all activities related to internal and external business operations such as servicing customer accounts, collaborating with partners, and exchanging real-time information. During Web 1.0, entrepreneurs began Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual

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creating the first forms of ebusiness. Ebusiness advantages include expanding global reach, opening new markets, reducing costs, and improving operations and effectiveness.

Learning Outcome 3.3: Compare the four ebusiness models.    

Business-to-business (B2B) applies to businesses buying from and selling to each other over the Internet.

Business-to-consumer (B2C) applies to any business that sells its products or services to consumers over the Internet.

Consumer-to-business (C2B) applies to any consumer that sells a product or service to a business over the Internet.

Consumer-to-consumer (C2C) applies to sites primarily offering goods and services to assist consumers interacting with each other over the Internet.

The primary difference between B2B and B2C are the customers; B2B customers are other businesses while B2C markets to consumers. Overall, B2B relations are more complex and have higher security needs; plus, B2B is the dominant ebusiness force, representing 80 percent of all online business.

Learning Outcome 3.4: Describe the six ebusiness tools for connecting and communicating.

As firms began to move online, more MIS tools were created to support ebusiness processes and requirements. The ebusiness tools used to connect and communicate include email, instant messaging, podcasting, content management systems, videoconferencing, and Web conferencing.

CORE MATERIAL The core chapter material is covered in detail in the PowerPoint slides. Each slide contains detailed teaching notes including exercises, class activities, questions, and examples. Please review the PowerPoint slides for detailed notes on how to teach and enhance the core chapter material. Please feel free to email me directly if you have any questions, ideas, suggestions, or feedback! For additional course materials, content, and cases visit www.baltzan.net or email me directly at pbaltzan@baltzan.net

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SECTION 3 . 2 WEB 2 . 0 : BUSINESS 2 . 0 Section 3.2 discusses different business departments (student majors) and how the Internet and ebusiness is affecting each major. This is a great opportunity for instructors to discuss how learning about technology can impact people’s careers and help them achieve success.

Opening student’s eyes to how technology can help them in their marketing, finance, accounting, and other careers can even help students become more engaged in the course and perhaps elect IS as their major or minor.

LEARNING OUTCOMES Learning Outcome 3.5: Explain Web 2.0 and identify its four characteristics.

Web 2.0, or Business 2.0, is the next generation of Internet use—a more mature, distinctive communications platform characterized by new qualities such as collaboration, sharing, and free. Web 2.0 encourages user participation and the formation of communities that contribute to the content. In Web 2.0, technical skills are no longer required to use and publish information to the World Wide Web, eliminating entry barriers for online business. The four characteristics of Web 2.0 include content sharing through open sourcing, user-contributed content, collaboration inside the organization, collaboration outside the organization.

Learning Outcome 3.6: Explain how Business 2.0 is helping communities’ network and collaborate.

A social network is an application that connects people by matching profile information.

Providing individuals with the ability to network is by far one of the greatest advantages of Business 2.0. Social networking is the practice of expanding your business and/or social contacts by constructing a personal network. Business 2.0 simplifies the way individuals communicate, network, find employment, and search for information.

Learning Outcome 3.8: Describe Web 3.0 and the next generation of online business.

Web 3.0 is based on ―intelligent‖ Web applications using natural language processing, machine-based learning and reasoning, and intelligent applications. Web 3.0 is the next step in the evolution of the Internet and Web applications. Business leaders who explore its opportunities will be the first to market with competitive advantages. Web 3.0 offers a way for people to describe information such that computers can start to understand the relationships among concepts and topics.

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CORE MATERIAL The core chapter material is covered in detail in the PowerPoint slides. Each slide contains detailed teaching notes including exercises, class activities, questions, and examples. Please review the PowerPoint slides for detailed notes on how to teach and enhance the core chapter material. Please feel free to email me directly if you have any questions, ideas, suggestions, or feedback! For additional course materials, content, and cases visit www.baltzan.net or email me directly at pbaltzan@baltzan.net

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CHAPTER THREE CLOSING MATERIAL REVIEW QUESTIONS 1. What is the different between sustaining and disruptive technology?

A disruptive technology is a new way of doing things that initially does not meet the needs of existing customers. Disruptive technologies tend to open new markets and destroy old ones. A sustaining technology, on the other hand, produces an improved product customer are eager to buy, such as a faster car or larger hard drive.

Sustaining technologies tend to provide us with better, faster, and cheaper products in established markets. Incumbent companies most often lead sustaining technology to market, but they virtually never lead in markets opened by disruptive technologies 2. Do you consider the Internet and WWW forms of sustaining or disruptive technology?

The WWW and the Internet are both disruptive technologies.

3. How has the Internet and WWW created a global platform for business?

As people began learning about the WWW and the Internet, they understood that it enabled a company to communicate with anyone, anywhere, at any time, creating a new way to participate in business. The competitive advantages for first movers would be enormous, thus spurring the beginning of the Web 1.0 Internet boom. Web 1.0 (or Business 1.0) is a term to refer to the World Wide Web during its first few years of operation between 1991 and 2003.

4. What is the difference between ebusiness and ecommerce?

Ecommerce is the buying and selling of goods and services over the Internet.

Ecommerce refers only to online transactions. Ebusiness includes ecommerce along with all activities related to internal and external business operations such as servicing customer accounts, collaborating with partners, and exchanging real-time information.

During Web 1.0, entrepreneurs began creating the first forms of ebusiness.

5. What are the benefits associated with ebusiness?

Advantages of ebusiness include opening new markets, reducing costs, improving operations, and improving effectiveness.

6. What are the benefits associated with Business 2.0?

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contributed content, and collaboration inside and outside the organization.

7. Explain business models and their role in a company. How did ebusiness change traditional business models?

A business model is a plan that details how a company creates, delivers, and generates revenue. Ebusiness opened new avenues for companies to generate revenue and new business models including B2B, B2C, C2C, and C2B. 8. How can a company use mass customization and personalization to decrease buyer power?

Mass customization and personalization keep customers loyal and coming back thus reducing buyer power.

9. How does ebusiness differ from Business 2.0?

Ebusiness was the primary business model during Web 1.0 and Business 2.0 represents the characteristics of collaboration and sharing.

10. What are the differences among collective intelligence, knowledge management, and crowdsourcing?

Collective intelligence is collaborating and tapping into the core knowledge of all employees, partners, and customers. Knowledge can be a real competitive advantage for an organization. The most common form of collective intelligence found inside the organization is knowledge management (KM), which involves capturing, classifying, evaluating, retrieving, and sharing information assets in a way that provides context for effective decisions and actions. Crowdsourcing is a form of collective intelligence and includes the wisdom of the crowds.

11. Why is knowledge management critical to a business?

The primary objective of knowledge management is to be sure that a company’s knowledge of facts, sources of information, and solutions are readily available to all employees whenever it is needed. Company knowledge is a critical asset and must be managed as such.

12. What is the difference between the deep Web and the dark Web? The deep web is the large part of the Internet that is inaccessible to conventional search engines. The dark web is the portion of the Internet that is intentionally hidden from search engines, uses masked IP addresses, and is accessible only with a special web browser: it is a part of the deep web.

13. Why would a company want to use viral marketing?

Viral marketing is highly effective and a relatively cheap way to spread marketing messages to consumer that are qualified leads. Just think of Harry’s razors and the instant success of the hilarious video ads.

14. What is the difference between a blog and a wiki?

A blog’s content is created by one individual and a wiki gathers content from many Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual

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different individuals.

15. What is the semantic web?

The semantic web as a component of Web 3.0 that describes things in a way that computers can understand. The semantic web is not about links between web pages; rather it describes the relationships between things (such as A is a part of B and Y is a member of Z) and the properties of things (size, weight, age, and price).

CLOSING CASE ONE COLLABORATION DURING CORONAVIRUS 1. If you could build a data tracking website, what sources would you scrape from and how would you communicate its existence to your audience?

This is such a great question to get your students thinking and if Avi could create a website that went viral overnight so can your students. How could they mashup music venues with Spotify? How about Wordle with spelling bee contests? Perhaps LinkedIn job postings with boot camps offerings? So many great things you can do with current data to create a new useful website. What would you build?

2. Why would a company offer its application for free during a crisis such as COVID-19?

It is amazing how many people bond together during tough times. Students today take a wholistic approach to helping each other and this question will create a safe environment for students to talk about how they help other people especially during tough times. I am sure most of your students’ received benefits during COVID. Hopefully this trend will continue beyond COVID. Freeware is also a great way to attract new customers. Google is free. Amazon is free. Providing data and information for free during a global crisis is a great way to 3. Review Microsoft’s Teams, Google GSuite, Zoom, and Slack. Which collaboration tool would you choose for each of the following situations? a. Online college with students all over the globe: Zoom although this is a great time to talk about time zones. Having students attend a live session on Zoom at 4 am in Dubai and 5 pm Eastern is not always ideal! b. Online elementary school in a neighborhood: Zoom c. Virtual meeting with participants all over the globe: Zoom or Teams. Some companies mandate Teams due to some of the security issues experienced with Zoom. d. Daily call with family and friends: Zoom or Teams. e. Virtual happy hour with co-workers: Zoom or Teams f. Online fitness class: Zoom or Teams

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OPENING CASE TWO QUESTIONS DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER: THE WARBY PARKER WAY 1. Why does DTC allow a company to offer products at a lower cost than traditional manufacturers?

Without having to pay expenses for a building, electricity, workers, health insurance, fire insurance, flood insurance, theft insurance you save extraordinary amounts of money. By putting everything in a warehouse and shipping the inventory you can pass the savings from the physical expenses of owning a store onto your customers. This was the trick to Amazon initially officering every book cheaper than a physical store.

2. What is the relationship between disintermediation and a DTC business model?

DTC cuts out the store in the middle of the buying process. Customers are buying straight from the wholesaler. Disintermediation is removing the middlemen from the supply chain and passing on those saving direct to a customer. They are synonymous business models.

3. What types of clickstream analytics will a DTC business want to monitor on its website to ensure success?

Amazon monitors everything! How long you are on a webpage. How many pages you visit? How many items are in your cart? How many items you remove from your cart?

Abandoned shopping carts. How frequently you shop on the webpage. The average of each checkout. The correlation between your time on a page and your spending amount.

In a physical store such as Target or WalMart we have no idea how the customer went through the store, what they put in their cart and took out of their cart, the amount of time they were in the store. If only Target and WalMart could gain these types of metrics on their customers.

A DTC business such as Harry’s tracks frequency of purchases, type of purchases, date of deliver, satisfaction, friends and family, etc.

MAKING BUSINESS THINKING Instructor Note: There are few right or wrong answers in the business world. There are only efficient and inefficient, and effective and ineffective business decisions. If there were always right answers businesses would never fail. These questions were created to challenge your students to apply the materials they have learned to real business situations. For this reason, the authors cannot provide you with one version of a correct answer. When grading your students’ answers, be sure to focus on their justification or support for their specific Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual

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answers. A good way to grade these questions is to compare your student’s answers against each other.

1. ANYTHING BUT ONLINE Of course, Susan can expand her business by taking it to the Internet. And, the best part is that putting her business online is essentially free, hence low risk. If she wants to grow her business, she must expand by creating an online presence. Of course, she will face numerous online security issues such as identify theft, false credit card information, and hackers and viruses. Many t-shirt businesses allow customers to submit their own t-shirt designs and choose the top one to be created into a t-shirt of the week. Susan could easily allow her customers to customize or personalize their t-shirts.

2. THE FUTURE OF WIKIPEDIA Wikipedia's greatest ability is that it can be changed and updated quickly - it really is one of its best features. You can only update an encyclopedia every few years. As Jimmy Whales moves towards greater information reviews and accuracy checking changing content should become an easier process. I don't think most people realize that - anyone can just go in and change Wikipedia. I think communicating this fact would be the first thing Wikipedia should do. Then, they should use technology to verify - colored backgrounds for verified by an expert vs a different color if not verified. The trick is who decides on the expert and verifying Wikipedia might become a full-time job.

In terms of the higher purpose of Wikipedia - to supply a free encyclopedia - it makes great sense. In many countries the thought of paying thousands of dollars for a set of encyclopedias is not an option. Wikipedia, although somewhat unreliable and untrustworthy, is a great alternative. I find much of the wiki information on MIS to be very accurate. Wikipedia is an attractive alternative if you have no other options for an encyclopedia.

There are so many technological things that Wikipedia could do to help track changes and accuracy such as tracing revisions or allowing users to rank posts and their accuracy that allows users to vote how relevant or useful the information was - like Digg.com. This democratic method allows input from across the population to provide feedback on what pages are helpful and what are not. These can be very useful when using collaboration tools to help improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the tool. There are also additional collaboration tools that can help by keeping a history of revisions. This could allow your team to review the changes and who made each change - so you can gain insight into the history of the post. There are also ranking technologies that accompany each collaboration tool that allows users to vote how relevant or useful the information was like Digg.com. This democratic method allows input from across the population to provide feedback on what pages are helpful and what are not. These can be very useful when using collaboration tools to help improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the tool.

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3. THE TOUGHEST COLLEGE TEST YOU’LL EVER TAKE This is such a fun exercise to do in the classroom. Of course, this will vary depending on how technologically savvy your students are, but for the most part many of your students have cell phones and are on Facebook. I highly recommend performing this exercise in class. Then extrapolate the exercise to how a business needs to stay in contact 24x7.

Just imagine what can happen when the president doesn’t get a sales answer ASAP, or a sales representative does not get an inventory count on the spot. People today want instant access to information and to other employees, which is both good and bad. No more vacations!!

4. FIVE WAYS GOOGLE DOCS SPEEDS UP COLLABORATION Google Docs is open source software and its revenue model is simply to attract more individuals to the world’s greatest search engine website. Create and share your work online with Google Docs, upload your files from your desktop: It's easy to get started and it's free! Access anywhere: Edit and view your docs from any computer or smart phone.

Share your work: Real-time collaboration means work gets done more quickly. o o o o o

Documents Spreadsheets Presentations Drawings Forms

5. WORKING WITH YOUR HEART - KIVA This is a great project to engage students that have a genuine interest in helping the global economy. Kiva is a wonderful organization that allows individuals to help others around the globe. Of course, there are great risks that the money you invest in Kiva (entrepreneur risk) will not be used for the intended purpose, but that is a risk for any investment. Country risk is always uncertain as we live in a global economy with many key players that do not share the same values or ethics. The local field partner risk is the easiest to mitigate with the help of social media and customer feedback! A bad partner can be found and eliminated from a community that clearly needs the help.

6. ANTHISOCIAL NETWORKING This is such a great debate. On one side it is great that big corporations are held accountable even by the smallest customer. Big corporations can no longer hold small customers hostage to price inflation or shoddy products. On the flip side unstable or politically motivated customers can do a tremendous amount of damage to a company that does not deserve the unethical derogatory comments.

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7. USING HASHTAGS Students looking for internships and career positions can use hashtags to their advantage to learn about potential future employers. I encourage all my students to search great companies to work for in their area according to employee surveys and feedback!

8. IS IT WEB 1.0 OR WEB 2.0 The important differentiator between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 is the ability to interact with the company. In Web 1.0 it is was one direction interaction. In Web 2.0 you want your students looking for two direction interactions. Here is a great video to kick start the discussion. WEB 2.0 the Machine Is Using Us http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gmP4nk0EOE 9. VIRTUAL ABANDONMENT I am sure your students will understand this scenario and have themselves abandoned shopping carts. The hardest part is when the shopping cart suddenly shows up in your inbox asking if you still want to purchase the items – rather creepy! Like cyberstalking with a shopping cart. Make this into a challenge and ask your students to spend 15 minutes in groups locating the worst checkout process online. A fun exercise in what not to do in business.

BDIS 8E

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INSTRUCTOR’S MANUAL

Paige Baltzan

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ETHICS AND INFORMATION SECURITY

4 CHAPTER

This guide provides many classroom activities, videos, and debates to accompany Business Driven Information Systems. A few course suggestions:  Create one or two test questions based on the classroom activity to help reward students who attend lectures.  Many professors have found that assigning an activity and then lecturing on the material helps students gain a deeper understanding of the core MIS concepts as they have already struggled with applying the material to a real-world situation.  Asking a small group of students to explain their answer to the activity to the entire class after completion ensures students come to class prepared. I select a different group each activity to explain their answer and they do not want to look unprepared in front of their fellow classmates. It is a powerful motivator to get my students reading prior to class.

After the activity and student’s presentations then I lecture – keeps my students engaged and helps to achieve a higher level of learning outcomes as they are constantly tasked with applying the concepts during class.  Create an Ask the Professor Discussion board that runs the entire course where students can ask course and content related questions. I typically promise to respond within 24 hours, and I always encourage my students to check the discussion board before sending an email. Many times, if one student a question so does other students.  **Three Before Me Rule! This is something I have found that saves a great deal of time answering email. I state the Three Before Me rule in my syllabus. Before a student comes to me with a question, they must provide three sources they used to answer the question themselves. This significantly cuts down on emails as many times students can find the answer to their questions, but it seems easier just to email the professor.

Sources can include the syllabus, the Ask the Professor Q&A Discussion Board, classmates, the textbook, etc. If I ask the student for the three sources and they do not have them I dock participation points. Works great on significantly cutting down my emails and helps to prepare my students for the real world!  The core chapter material is covered in detail in the PowerPoint slides. Each slide contains detailed teaching notes including exercises, class activities, questions, and examples.

Please review the PowerPoint slides for detailed notes on how to teach and enhance the core chapter material.

Enjoy your course and best of luck! Please feel free to email me directly if you have any questions, ideas, suggestions, or feedback! For additional course materials, content, and cases visit www.baltzan.net or email me directly at pbaltzan@baltzan.net

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CHAPTER FOUR Ethics (from the Ancient Greek "ethikos" meaning "Theory of living") attempts to understand the nature of morality; to distinguish that which is right from that which is wrong. Ethics in plain words means studying and analyzing right from wrong; good from bad. Information security deals with several different "trust" aspects of information. Information security is not confined to computer systems, nor to information in an electronic or machine-readable form.

It applies to all aspects of safeguarding or protecting information or data, in whatever form.

SECTION 4.1 - ETHICS  

Information Ethics Developing Information Management Policies

SECTION 4.2 - INFORMATION SECURITY   

Protecting Intellectual Assets The First Line of Defense—People The Second Line of Defense—Technology

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SECTION 4 . 1 ETHICS Advances in technology make it easier for people to copy everything from music to pictures.

Technology poses new challenges for our ethics — the principles and standards that guide our behavior toward other people.

LEARNING OUTCOMES Learning Outcome 4.1: Explain the ethical issues in the use of information technology.

Information ethics govern the ethical and moral issues arising from the development and use of information technologies, as well as the creation, collection, duplication, distribution, and processing of information itself (with or without the aid of computer technologies). Ethical dilemmas in this area usually arise not as simple, clear-cut situations but as clashes between competing goals, responsibilities, and loyalties. Inevitably, there will be more than one socially acceptable or ―correct‖ decision. For this reason, acting ethically and legally are not always the same.

Learning Outcome 4.2: Identify the six epolicies organizations should implement to protect themselves.

1. An ethical computer use policy contains general principles to guide computer user behavior. For example, it might explicitly state that users should refrain from playing computer games during working hours.

2. An information privacy policy contains general principles regarding information privacy.

3. An acceptable use policy (AUP) is a policy that a user must agree to follow in order to be provided access to corporate email, information systems, and to the Internet.

4. An email privacy policy details the extent to which email messages may be read by others.

5. A social media policy outlines the corporate guidelines or principles governing employee online communications.

6. An employee monitoring policy states explicitly how, when, and where the company monitors its employees.

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CORE MATERIAL The core chapter material is covered in detail in the PowerPoint slides. Each slide contains detailed teaching notes including exercises, class activities, questions, and examples. Please review the PowerPoint slides for detailed notes on how to teach and enhance the core chapter material. Please feel free to email me directly if you have any questions, ideas, suggestions, or feedback! For additional course materials, content, and cases visit www.baltzan.net or email me directly at pbaltzan@baltzan.net

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SECTION 4 . 2 INFORMATION SECURITY Security is perhaps the most fundamental and critical of all the technologies/disciplines an organization must have squarely in place to execute its business strategy. Without solid security processes and procedures, none of the other technologies can develop business advantages.

LEARNING OUTCOMES Learning Outcome 4.3: Describe the relationships and differences between hackers and viruses.

Hackers are experts in technology who use their knowledge to break into computers and computer networks, either for profit or just motivated by the challenge. A virus is software written with malicious intent to cause annoyance or damage. Some hackers create and leave viruses causing massive computer damage.

Learning Outcome 4.4: Describe the relationship between information security policies and an information security plan.

Information security policies identify the rules required to maintain information security, such as requiring users to log off before leaving for lunch or meetings, never sharing passwords with anyone, and changing passwords every 30 days. An information security plan details how an organization will implement the information security policies. The best way a company can safeguard itself from people is by implementing and communicating its information security plan.

Learning Outcome 4.5: Provide an example of each of the three primary information security areas: (1) authentication and authorization, (2) prevention and resistance, and (3) detection and response.  Authentication and authorization: Authentication is a method for confirming users’ identities. Once a system determines the authentication of a user, it can then determine the access privileges (or authorization) for that user. Authorization is the process of providing a user with permission including access levels and abilities such as file access, hours of access, and amount of allocated storage space.  Prevention and resistance: Content filtering occurs when organizations use software that filters content, such as emails, to prevent the accidental or malicious transmission of unauthorized information. Encryption scrambles information into an alternative form that requires a key or password to decrypt. In a security breach, a thief is unable to read encrypted information. A firewall is hardware and/or software that guard a private Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual

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

network by analyzing incoming and outgoing information for the correct markings.

Detection and response: Intrusion detection software (IDS) features full-time monitoring tools that search for patterns in network traffic to identify intruders.

CORE MATERIAL The core chapter material is covered in detail in the PowerPoint slides. Each slide contains detailed teaching notes including exercises, class activities, questions, and examples. Please review the PowerPoint slides for detailed notes on how to teach and enhance the core chapter material. For additional course materials, content, and cases visit www.baltzan.net or email me directly at pbaltzan@baltzan.net

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CHAPTER FOUR CLOSING MATERIAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

1. What are ethics and why are they important to a company?

As it becomes easier for people to copy everything from words and data to music and video, the ethical issues surrounding copyright infringement and the violation of intellectual property rights are consuming the ebusiness world. Technology poses new challenges for our ethics — t he principles and standards that guide our behavior toward other people.

2. What is the relationship between information management, governance, and compliance?

Information management examines the organizational resource of information and regulates its definitions, uses, value, and distribution ensuring it has the types of data/information required to function and grow effectively. Information governance is a method or system of government for information management or control. Information compliance is the act of conforming, acquiescing, or yielding information. All are required to ensure a corporation treats information correctly.

3. Why are epolicies important to a company?

Organizations should develop written policies establishing employee guidelines, employee procedures, and organizational rules for information. These policies set employee expectations about the organization’s practices and standards and protect the organization from misuse of computer systems and IT resources. If an organization’s employees use computers at work, the organization should, at a minimum, implement epolicies. Epolicies are policies and procedures that address information management along with the ethical use of computers and the Internet in the business environment.

4. What is the correlation between privacy and confidentiality?

Privacy is the right to be left alone when you want to be, to have control over your personal possessions, and not to be observed without your consent. Privacy is related to confidentiality, which is the assurance that messages and information remain available only to those authorized to view them. Each time employees make a decision about a privacy issue; the outcome could sink the company.

5. What is the relationship between adware and spyware?

Adware is software that, while purporting to serve some useful function and often fulfilling that function, also allows Internet advertisers to display advertisements without the consent of the computer user. Spyware is a special class of adware that collects data Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual

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about the user and transmits it over the Internet without the user’s knowledge or permission.

6. What are the positive and negative effects associated with monitoring employees?

The best path for an organization planning to engage in employee monitoring is open communication including an employee monitoring policy stating explicitly how, when, and where the company monitors its employees.

7. What is the relationship between hackers and viruses?

Hackers are experts in technology who use their knowledge to break into computers and computer networks, either for profit or just motivated by the challenge. Hackers spread viruses.

8. Why is security a business issue, not just a technology issue?

The first line of defense for security are people. People need to be educated about security issues. Without people adhering to security policies no amount of technology can safeguard the company’s information.

9. What are the growing issues related to employee communication methods and what can a company do to protect itself?

Employees communicate on mobile devices, tablets, and computers. All of the methods of communication need to be secure and protected. If one employee loses a computer, the entire company data can be compromised.

10. How can a company participating in ebusiness keep its information secure?

Information security takes people and technology. Informing the people about security policies and security issues will help to ensure the information is safe. The company must also implement all of the security technologies from authentication to authorization and prevention and resistance.

11. What technologies can a company use to safeguard information?

Authentication and authorization technologies such as biometrics and passwords can protect access. Prevention and resistance technologies such as antivirus software and encryption can protect data in transit. Detection and response technologies such as intrusion detection software can handle an attack if the infiltrator breeches the first two lines of defense.

12. Why is ediscovery important to a company?

Ediscovery (or electronic discovery) refers to the ability of a company to identify, search, gather, seize, or export digital information in responding to a litigation, audit, investigation, or information inquiry. As the importance of ediscovery grows, so does information governance and information compliance.

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13. What are the reasons a company experiences downtime?

Downtime can occur for many number of reasons from fires, floods, tornados, sinks overflowing, and mice easting the power wires.

14. What are the costs associated with downtime?

Costs from downtime include revenue losses, damaged reputation, and poor performance.

CLOSING CASE ONE FIVE WAYS HACKERS GET INTO YOUR BUSINESS 1

Define information ethics and information security and explain whether they are important to help prevent hackers from gaining access to an organization.

Advances in technology make it easier for people to copy everything from music to pictures. Technology poses new challenges for our ethics — the principles and standards that guide our behavior toward other people. Information ethics govern the ethical and moral issues arising from the development and use of information technologies, as well as the creation, collection, duplication, distribution, and processing of information itself (with or without the aid of computer technologies). Ethical dilemmas in this area usually arise not as simple, clear-cut situations but as clashes between competing goals, responsibilities, and loyalties. Inevitably, there will be more than one socially acceptable or ―correct‖ decision. For this reason, acting ethically and legally are not always the same. Information security is a broad term encompassing the protection of information from accidental or intentional misuse by persons inside or outside an organization. Both are critical to every organization.

2

Identify two epolicies that a business could implement to ensure the protection of sensitive corporate data from hackers.

Students can choose any of the six epolicies a business would want to include to protect its information.

• An ethical computer use policy contains general principles to guide computer user behavior. For example, it might explicitly state that users should refrain from playing computer games during working hours.

• An information privacy policy contains general principles regarding information privacy.

• An acceptable use policy (AUP) is a policy that a user must agree to follow in order to be provided access to corporate email, information systems, and to the Internet.

• An email privacy policy details the extent to which email messages may be read by others.

• A social media policy outlines the corporate guidelines or principles governing employee online communications.

• An employee monitoring policy states explicitly how, when, and where the company monitors its employees.

3

Demonstrate how a business can use authentication and authorization technologies to prevent hackers from gaining access to organizational systems.

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Authentication and authorization: Authentication is a method for confirming users’ identities. Once a system determines the authentication of a user, it can then determine the access privileges (or authorization) for that user. Authorization is the process of providing a user with permission including access levels and abilities such as file access, hours of access, and amount of allocated storage space.

4

Analyze how a business can use prevention and resistance technologies to safeguard its employees from hackers and viruses.

Prevention and resistance: Content filtering occurs when organizations use software that filters content, such as emails, to prevent the accidental or malicious transmission of unauthorized information. Encryption scrambles information into an alternative form that requires a key or password to decrypt. In a security breach, a thief is unable to read encrypted information. A firewall is hardware and/or software that guard a private network by analyzing incoming and outgoing information for the correct markings.

5

Explain why hackers want to gain access to organizational data.

Data includes the keys to the kingdom and if a hacker gains access to your sensitive corporate data they can easily destroy your business. Information security policies identify the rules required to maintain information security, such as requiring users to log off before leaving for lunch or meetings, never sharing passwords with anyone, and changing passwords every 30 days. An information security plan details how an organization will implement the information security policies. The best way a company can safeguard itself from people is by implementing and communicating its information security plan. If an unethical contractor builds a government application, they could sell the information or the application to someone outside of the government.

6

Evaluate additional ways hackers can gain access to organizational data.

Hackers can walk through the smoking door. They could social engineer an employee to allow them in or to accidently provide their username and password. They could go through the dumpsters to find sensitive information. They could hack into the wireless networks.

CLOSING CASE TWO CAMBRIDGE ANALYTICA: ILLEGAL DATA SCRAPING 1. How can a business continuity plan (BCP) help a company prepare for disasters such as a snowstorm?

Failing to plan if planning to fail. Without a plan what do you do when everything goes wrong? We have a plan for cooking a meal – a recipe. We have a plan forgetting to work – directions. We have a plan for time management – Gantt charts. We need to plan for the unexpected. Thinking about how to navigate a flood or fire in the office ensure we can get up-and-running when one happens. This is one of the reasons we practice fire drills, so when the real fire happens, we do not panic and we know our plan works. The same occurs for a business. Have a BCP plan ensures we can continue working when Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual

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something bad happens that was unplanned. This can include global pandemics or a virus.

2. Do you believe emergency communications are a critical part of a BCP? Communication is always the most important part of any plan including a BCP. How would the world have operated without Zoom during the pandemic? Communication is key.

3. What types of new technologies could companies such as Amazon and Direct Fresh use to deliver packages during a disaster?

Drones are going to be a big deliver of packages in the future. If gas becomes a problem or the supply chain keeps trucks off the road we can always turn to bike deliveries.

MAKING BUSINESS THINKING Instructor Note: There are few right or wrong answers in the business world. There are really only efficient and inefficient, and effective and ineffective business decisions. If there were always right answers businesses would never fail. These questions were created to challenge your students to apply the materials they have learned to real business situations.

For this reason, the authors cannot provide you with one version of a correct answer. When grading your students’ answers, be sure to focus on their justification or support for their specific answers. A good way to grade these questions is to compare your student’s answers against each other.

1. WIKIBLUNDERS –THIN ICE REPORTS

One of the biggest issues with open sourcing is verifying the information that is generated by the crowd. Clearly one person’s view can be altered by perspective and ensuring all posts are legitimate and by a proven expert is the hardest part of open source software.

For a great experiment ask a question of your students and see how many different responses you get from the students. ―Who is the best musician of all-time?‖ This is a great question to see how many different answers you can get from one question – and they are all correct depending on the source.

2. YES, I STARTED THE INTERNET

Have any of your students lied to get a job? How much of their resumes are truth? Help your students understand how difficult it can be if you get the job and the company finds out you lied on your resume. If you need to lie on your resume are you qualified for the job? If you are not qualified for the job what will happen if you get the job based on lying on your resume?

3. WHAT HAPPENED ON YOUTUBE STAYS ON YOUTUBE FOREVER

Helping students understand that information, videos, and posts to the Internet are on the Internet forever. The first thing a potential employer might do is Google the applicant to

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view any potential damaging information. This also applies to anything another person

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posts that is linked to another individual. Students now need to think about social situations and the damage that can be done if another student posts a video of them.

4. POLICE RECORDS FOUND IN OLD COPY MACHINES Again, another excellent example of how information privacy can be violated without even knowing as I’m sure most of your students are unaware that copy machines keep electronic records of all copies made. Ask your students how this would impact a business. Have any of your students ever made copies of something non-work related while at work?

5. SPYING ON EMAIL Student answers will vary depending on their personal ethics. Some students will feel that monitoring children’s communications is a parent’s right, while others will feel strongly against this type of behavior.  Ethical email monitoring: a boss monitoring an employee’s email who is displaying aggression at work and has verbally threatened other employees  Unethical email monitoring: a boss and three co-workers monitoring an employee’s email who might be having an affair with another married employee 6. Sources are Not Friends If you can open your students’ eyes to the issues surrounding social networks at work you will be doing them a huge favor. There are so many examples on the Internet of people who are out sick or on disability posting fun vacation photos on their social networks, which eventually leads to their termination. Be sure your students understand when and where to use social networks.

7. Identity Theft Excellent way to engage your students in monitoring their own credit. Ask your students if they have experienced identity theft and if so, what did they do to regain their credit. If students are not yet checking their credit, please encourage them to do so at Freecreditreports.com. They will never be disappointed they checked their credit, but they might be disappointed if they don’t, and it has already been stolen.

8. Setting Boundaries This is such a great classroom exercise and student answers will vary, but just ensure they are thinking about how to ensure they are acting ethically and the people they work with and for are acting ethically. In a group, discuss how you would react to the following situations:  A senior marketing manager informs you that one of her employees is looking for another job, and she wants you to give her access to look through the employee's email.  A vice president of sales informs you that he has made a deal to provide customer information to a strategic partner, and he wants you to copy all of the customer Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual

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information to a thumb drive.

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   

You are asked to monitor your employee’s email to discover whether he is sexually harassing another employee.

You are asked to install a video surveillance system in your office to find out whether employees are taking office supplies home.

You are looking on the shared network drive and discover that your boss’s entire hard drive has been copied to the network for everyone to view. What do you do?

You have been accidentally copied on an email from the CEO about who will be targeted in the next round of layoffs. What do you do?

9. Fired for Smoking on the Weekend It is truly astonishing how many laws are coming into effect in the workplace. This one is very invasive and seems almost surreal. Be sure to ask your students to review the Internet to find additional crazy laws now entering the workplace. Here is a great video to get the discussion started.

10. Hacking the Ultimate Hack There are so many identify theft hacks these days that most students have already received information on free credit monitoring based on a hack. Make sure your students know how to protect their information and how to ensure nobody has stolen their identity. Students are the number one target for identity theft since they have credit and are typically not yet monitoring their credit.

11. How Much Would You Pay for Your Life?

In a group, look at the IoT devices you are using and assess three situations in which cybercriminals could steal your information or use ransomware on your device.  Phone  Smart Watch  Thermostat  Fridge  Home Door Lock  Car Starter

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INSTRUCTOR’S MANUAL

Paige Baltzan

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INFRAS TRUCTURES: SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGIES

5 CHAPTER

This guide provides many classroom activities, videos, and debates to accompany Business Driven Information Systems. A few course suggestions:  Create one or two test questions based on the classroom activity to help reward students who attend lectures.  Many professors have found that assigning an activity and then lecturing on the material helps students gain a deeper understanding of the core MIS concepts as they have already struggled with applying the material to a real-world situation.  Asking a small group of students to explain their answer to the activity to the entire class after completion ensures students come to class prepared. I select a different group each activity to explain their answer and they do not want to look unprepared in front of their fellow classmates. It is a powerful motivator to get my students reading prior to class.

After the activity and student’s presentations then I lecture – keeps my students engaged and helps to achieve a higher level of learning outcomes as they are constantly tasked with applying the concepts during class.  Create an Ask the Professor Discussion board that runs the entire course where students can ask course and content related questions. I typically promise to respond within 24 hours, and I always encourage my students to check the discussion board before sending an email. Many times, if one student a question so does other students.  **Three Before Me Rule! This is something I have found that saves a great deal of time answering email. I state the Three Before Me rule in my syllabus. Before a student comes to me with a question, they must provide three sources they used to answer the question themselves. This significantly cuts down on emails as many times students can find the answer to their questions, but it seems easier just to email the professor.

Sources can include the syllabus, the Ask the Professor Q&A Discussion Board, classmates, the textbook, etc. If I ask the student for the three sources and they do not have them I dock participation points. Works great on significantly cutting down my emails and helps to prepare my students for the real world!  The core chapter material is covered in detail in the PowerPoint slides. Each slide contains detailed teaching notes including exercises, class activities, questions, and examples.

Please review the PowerPoint slides for detailed notes on how to teach and enhance the core chapter material.

Enjoy your course and best of luck! Please feel free to email me directly if you have any questions, ideas, suggestions, or feedback! For additional course materials, content, and cases visit www.baltzan.net or email me directly at pbaltzan@baltzan.net

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CHAPTER FIVE Technical architecture refers to the structured process of designing and building software architecture, with focus on interaction with software and hardware developers. Technical architecture is a part of software architecture, which focuses on how to deal with certain aspects of the software engineering process. It allows us to design better systems by:  Meeting system requirements and objectives: Both functional and non-functional requirements can be prioritized as "must have", "should have" or "want", where "must have" identifies properties that the system must have in order to be acceptable.

Architecture allows us to evaluate and make tradeoffs among requirements of differing priority. Though system qualities (also known as non-functional requirements) can be compromised later in the development process, many will not be met if not explicitly considered at the architectural level.  Enabling flexible partitioning of the system: A good architecture enables flexible distribution of the system by allowing the system and its constituent applications to be partitioned among processors in many ways without having to redesign the distributable component parts. This requires careful attention to the distribution potential of components early in the architectural design process.  Reducing cost of maintenance and evolution: Architecture can help minimize the costs of maintaining and evolving a given system over its entire lifetime by anticipating the main kinds of changes that will occur in the system, ensuring that the system's overall design will facilitate such changes, and localizing as far as possible the effects of such changes on design documents, code, and other system work products. This can be achieved by the minimization and control of subsystem interdependencies.  Increasing reuse and integration with legacy and third-party software: An architecture may be designed to enable and facilitate the (re)use of certain existing components, frameworks, class libraries, legacy or third-party applications, etc.…

SECTION 5.1 – MIS INFRASTRUCTURES  The Business Benefits of a Solid MIS Infrastructure  Supporting Operations: In formation MIS Infrastructure  Supporting Change: Agile MIS Infrastructure SECTION 5.2 – BUILDING SUSTAINABLE MIS INFRASTRUCTURES  MIS and the Environment  Supporting the Environment: Sustainable MIS Infrastructure  Utility Computing

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SECTION 5 . 1 MIS INFRASTRUCTURES This section emphasizes Information technology (IT) architecture lies at the heart of most companies' operating capabilities. Changes in IT lead therefore to fundamental changes in how businesses operate. Since many companies depend on these technologies, no longer is IT simply nice to have; no longer is IT just value-adding. It has become vital.

LEARNING OUTCOMES Learning Outcome 5.1: Explain MIS infrastructure and its three primary types.

The three primary areas where enterprise architects focus when maintaining a firm’s MIS infrastructure are:  Supporting operations: Information MIS infrastructure identifies where and how important information, such as customer records, is maintained and secured.  Supporting change: Agile MIS infrastructure includes the hardware, software, and telecommunications equipment that, when combined, provides the underlying foundation to support the organization’s goals.  Supporting the environment: Sustainable MIS infrastructure identifies ways that a company can grow in terms of computing resources while simultaneously becoming less dependent on hardware and energy consumption.

Learning Outcome 5.2: Identify the three primary areas associated with an information MIS infrastructure.

The three primary areas an information infrastructure provides to support continuous business operations are:  Backup and recovery: A backup are an exact copy of a system’s information. Recovery is the ability to get a system up and running in the event of a system crash or failure that includes restoring the information backup.  Disaster recovery plan: This plan provides a detailed process for recovering information or a system in the event of a catastrophic disaster.  Business continuity plan: This detail how a company recovers and restores critical business operations and systems after a disaster or extended disruption.

Learning Outcome 5.3: Describe the characteristics of an agile MIS infrastructure.  Accessibility refers to the varying levels that define what a user can access, view, or perform when operating a system.  Availability refers to the time frames when the system is operational.  Maintainability (or flexibility) refers to how quickly a system can transform to support environmental changes.  Portability refers to the ability of an application to operate on different devices or software platforms, such as different operating systems.

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  

Reliability (or accuracy) ensures a system is functioning correctly and providing accurate information.

Scalability describes how well a system can ―scale up‖ or adapt to the increased demands of growth.

Usability is the degree to which a system is easy to learn and efficient and satisfying to use.

CORE MATERIAL The core chapter material is covered in detail in the PowerPoint slides. Each slide contains detailed teaching notes including exercises, class activities, questions, and examples. Please review the PowerPoint slides for detailed notes on how to teach and enhance the core chapter material. Please feel free to email me directly if you have any questions, ideas, suggestions, or feedback! For additional course materials, content, and cases visit www.baltzan.net or email me directly at pbaltzan@baltzan.net

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SECTION 5 . 2 BUILDING SUSTAINABLE MIS INFRASTRUCTURES The section emphasizes the need to keep business systems up-and-running 24x7x365 while continuing to be flexible, scalable, reliable, and available is no easy task. Organizations today must continually watch new architecture trends to ensure they can keep up with new and disruptive technologies.

LEARNING OUTCOMES Learning Outcome 5.4: Identify the environmental impacts associated with MIS. Increased energy consumption increased electronic waste, and increased carbon emissions are all associated with MIS. Ewaste refers to discarded, obsolete, or broken electronic devices. Sustainable MIS disposal refers to the safe disposal of MIS assets at the end of their life cycle.

Learning Outcome 5.5: Explain the three components of a sustainable MIS infrastructure along with their business benefits.

The components of a sustainable MIS infrastructure include:  Grid computing: A collection of computers, often geographically dispersed, that are coordinated to solve a common problem.  Cloud computing: The use of resources and applications hosted remotely on the Internet.

The term comes (at least in part) from the image of a cloud to represent the Internet or some large networked environment.  Virtualized computing: The creation of multiple ―virtual‖ machines on a single computing device.

CORE MATERIAL The core chapter material is covered in detail in the PowerPoint slides. Each slide contains detailed teaching notes including exercises, class activities, questions, and examples. Please review the PowerPoint slides for detailed notes on how to teach and enhance the core chapter material.

Please feel free to email me directly if you have any questions, ideas, suggestions, or feedback! For additional course materials, content, and cases visit www.baltzan.net or email me directly at pbaltzan@baltzan.net

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CHAPTER FIVE CLOSING MATERIAL REVIEW QUESTIONS 1. How often should a business back up its data?

The timeliness of backups depends on the business need. Some organizations will need to backup daily or monthly while other businesses will have to backup continuously.

2. Why is it important to ensure backups are working and can be restored?

Without a backup a business is out of commission if there is a data disruption. An organization must ensure that they are not only backing up all critical information but that the backups are working and can be easily restored.

3. What is the difference between a disaster recovery plan and a business continuity plan?

A disaster recovery plan, which is a detailed process for recovering information or a system in the event of a catastrophic disaster. This plan includes such factors as which files and systems need to have backups and their corresponding frequency and methods along with the strategic location of the storage in a separate physical site that is geographically dispersed. For this reason, many companies are turning to a more comprehensive and all-encompassing emergency preparedness plan known as business continuity planning (BCP), which details how a company recovers and restores critical business operations and systems after a disaster or extended disruption. BCP includes such factors as identifying critical systems, business processes, departments, and the maximum amount of time the business can continue to operate without functioning systems.

4. What are the three forms of MIS infrastructures and what do they support?

Information MIS infrastructure identifies where and how important information, such as customer records, is maintained and secured and support operations. An agile MIS Infrastructure includes the hardware, software, and telecommunications equipment that, when combined, provides the underlying foundation to support the organization’s goals and supports change. A sustainable MIS infrastructure identifies ways that a company can grow in terms of computing resources while simultaneously becoming less dependent on hardware and energy consumption and supports the environment.

5. List the characteristics of an agile MIS infrastructure and explain why they are all critical for supporting change.

An agile MIS infrastructure supports accessibility, availability, maintainability, portability, reliability, scalability, and usability.

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6. Explain what capacity planning is and how it can help a business prepare for growth.

Capacity planning determines future environmental infrastructure requirements to ensure high-quality system performance. If a company purchases connectivity software that is outdated or too slow to meet demand, its employees will waste a great deal of time waiting for systems to respond to user requests.

7. Explain the difference between fault tolerance and failover.

Fault tolerance is the ability for a system to respond to unexpected failures or system crashes as the backup system immediately and automatically takes over with no loss of service.

8. Compare the differences among a hot, cold, and warm site.

A hot site is a separate and fully equipped facility where the company can move immediately after a disaster and resume business. A cold site is a separate facility that does not have any computer equipment but is a place where employees can move after a disaster. A warm site is a separate facility with computer equipment that requires installation and configuration.

9. What is Moore’s Law and how does it affect companies?

Moore’s Law, which refers to the computer chip performance per dollar doubles every 18 months. Although Moore originally assumed a two-year period, many sources today refer to the 18-month figure. Moore’s law means that an organization is under constant change including computer upgrades and safe disposal of ewaste.

10. List the business benefits of using grid computing.

Grid computing is a collection of computers, often geographically dispersed, that are coordinated to solve a common problem. With grid computing a problem is broken into pieces and distributed to many machines, allowing faster processing than could occur with a single system.

11. Identify the benefits and challenges of cloud computing The benefits of cloud computing include cheaper costs to an organization for a system deployment and backup and maintenance maintained by the vendor. It also includes accessibility, scalability, and capacity benefits as the cloud has infinite scalability. The challenges of cloud computing include data security and data ownership.

12. What is a data center and why would a business develop one?

A data center is a facility used to house management information systems and associated components, such as telecommunications and storage systems. Data centers are central locations where all the organization’s computer resources are safeguarded and maintained.

13. List and describe the three most popular cloud computing delivery models.

Infrastructure as a Service, Software as a Service, and Platform as a Service are the three primary delivery methods for cloud computing.

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14. Why would a company want to use virtualization?

Virtualization creates multiple ―virtual‖ machines on a single computing device. A good analogy is a computer printer. In the past you had to purchase a fax machine, copy machine, answering machine, and computer printer separately. Virtualization allows for cheaper technology deployments as the cost of computer equipment decreases as more devices run on a single source.

15. Explain why a business today would want to follow sustainable MIS practices.

With the ever-increasing issues associated with ewaste and the environment organizations need to understand green computing to ensure a sustainable MIS enterprise.

CLOSING CASE ONE QUESTIONS PELOTON: FITNESS-AS-A-SERVICE 1. List five types of data Peloton might be collecting from its customers as they ride on a bike or treadmill.

Calories burned, average speed, cadence, music played, class selected, instructor selected, cycle time, person, time of ride, day of ride, ending class early, type of ride, number of rides per day/ per week/ per year, group for ride.

2. What types of business questions can Peloton answer from the data listed in question 1?

Customer questions such as how many people use the bike in one location, the best time to launch a new class, best class types to create, types of music associated with best class and worst class, best instructors and worst instructors, rigor of instructor, type of motivation used by instructor, gender of instructor, gender of rider, age of instructor, age of rider.

3. How can Peloton take advantage of Fitness as a Service beyond bikes and treadmills?

They currently offer additional classes to the TV for Yoga, stretching, strength building, boot camps, and mindfulness. Launching additional communities where Peloton riders can meetup in person or connect within their community will build a strong brand.

4. How does cloud computing work in Peloton's subscription model?

The videos are streamed through the cloud to the customer’s bike. It is an amazing business model. Peloton took a stationary bike and brought it to life with connecting a community that rides together. There are many new competitors to Peloton, but Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual

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Peloton reinvented the industry with their innovative connected bicycle.

CLOSING CASE TWO QUESTIONS MOORE’S LAW IS DEAD 1. Do you agree or disagree that Moore's law is coming to an end?

This is such a great debate. There are arguments on each side.

2. What will happen to the business environment if Moore's law does die?

With additional new technologies chip speed will not be as important as machine learning and artificial intelligence begin to take over business processes.

3. What can companies do to remain competitive when hardware advances are not driving the companies forward?

Customer service is a big driver of the information age. Create a competitive advantage is also a key to success as hardware is ubiquitous to all markets.

MAKING BUSINESS DECISIONS Instructor Note: There are few right or wrong answers in the business world. There are only efficient and inefficient, and effective and ineffective business decisions. If there were always right answers businesses would never fail. These questions were created to challenge your students to apply the materials they have learned to real business situations. For this reason, the authors cannot provide you with one version of a correct answer. When grading your students’ answers, be sure to focus on their justification or support for their specific answers. A good way to grade these questions is to compare your student’s answers against each other.

1. I DON’T HAVE A TEMPERATURE BUT I AM POSITIVE I HAVE A VIRUS A Crisis in America's Schools — How It’s Done and Why It’s Happening Angelo Angelis, a professor at Hunter College in New York City, was recently grading some student papers on the story of Paul Revere when he noticed something strange. A certain passage kept appearing in his students' work, he said. It went like this, Angelis told Primetime's Charles Gibson: "Paul Revere would never have said, 'The British are coming, the British are coming,' he was in fact himself British, he would have said something like, 'the Red Coats are coming.' " Angelis typed the words into Google and found the passage on one Web site by a fifth-grade class. Half a dozen of his college students had copied their work from a bunch of elementary school kids, he thought. The Web site was very well done, Angelis said. For fifth graders, he would give them an "A." But his college students deserved an "F". Lifting papers off the Internet is one of the newer trends in plagiarism — and technology is giving students even more ways to cheat nowadays.

2.

SUSTAINABLE DEPARTMENTS There are many issues that the different departments would face including:  Accounting and finance would have issues such as computer upgrades and energy use.

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  

Marketing would have issues such as wasted paper for marketing campaigns, any types of gadgets they use to attract business such as bouncing balls or staplers with the company logo, as well as computer and energy use. Sales would have several issues such as energy use associated with travel, mailing sales information, cell phones and other PDAs required to perform their jobs. Manufacturing would have the most environmental issues due to the massive amounts of energy and waste associated with creating products.

3. FACEBOOKS ENERGY USE Combating ewaste, energy consumption, and carbon emissions requires a firm to focus on creating sustainable MIS infrastructures. A sustainable MIS infrastructure identifies ways that a company can grow in terms of computing resources while simultaneously becoming less dependent on hardware and energy consumption. Grid computing is a collection of computers, often geographically dispersed, that are coordinated to solve a common problem. A smart grid delivers electricity using two-way digital technology. It is meant to solve the problem of the world’s outdated electrical grid, making it more efficient and reliable by adding the ability to remotely monitor, analyze, and control the transmission of power.

4. CREATING YOUR BCP PLAN I have had students have their backpacks stolen from their cars and laptops stolen from their rooms. It is critical that students have a plan when times are tough so they can get back up-and-running quickly with minimal complications. If your students are exploring entrepreneurship, they might be extremely excited to start thinking about the BCP for a small business.

5. EWASTE AND THE ENVIRONMENT Ewaste is such a huge issue. This exercise is sure to get your students inspired to start doing their fair share of recycling and practicing sustainability. Be sure to include upcycle and recycling as many students today are into thrifting and reuse of materials.

6. VOLKSWAGEN EMISSIONS SCANDAL It is always amazing to me how many companies attempt to fake data results to be successful. The damage done to the Volkswagen brand was not repairable as many loyal customers turned to other car manufactures that were acting ethically. Once you lose a customer it is impossible to get them back! The trick to business is to keep your customers happy.

7.

LAPTOP? NOTEBOOK? NETBOOK? TABLET? Do you agree or disagree that Moore’s law will continue to apply for the next 20 years?

Why or why not?

8.

RANKING MIS CHARACTERISTICS To understand infrastructure architecture organizations students must determine which components are most important to their business. In a group, review the list of IT infrastructure qualities and rank them in order of their impact on an organization’s

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success. Use a rating system of 1 to 7, where 1 indicates the biggest impact and 7 indicates the least impact.

Organizations must determine which components are most important to their business.

The infrastructure architecture components include: 1. Flexibility 2. Scalability 3. Reliability 4. Availability 5. Accessibility 6. Performance 7. Capacity Planning The order of importance will vary depending on the business.

9.

RECYCLE YOUR CELL PHONE Here are some excellent websites and programs you can share with your students as you kick-off this great activity.  In 2007, approximately 14 million Americans recycled their used cell phones. Today, donating or recycling cell phones, PDAs, chargers, and batteries has never been easier. Donating your working cell phone or PDA can benefit your community. When cell phones and accessories are in good working order, some programs donate them to worthy charities or sell them at a discount to those in need. Recycling cell phones helps the environment by saving energy and keeping usable materials out of landfills. Cell phones and PDAs are made of precious metals, copper, and plastics-all of which require energy to mine and manufacture. Recycling conserves these materials so they can be turned into new products. http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/materials/ecycling/donate.htm

 

Cell Phones for Soldiers has committed to provide 750,000 FREE communication tools to U.S. armed forces in 2011. Help us meet our goal by donating today! http://www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com/ Answer the Call of the Wild! Bring your old cell phone to the guest services counter at the main entrance of the Denver Zoo. Many of us have old cell phones cluttering closets and taking up valuable space in our drawers at home. During 2005, it is estimated that there will be 500 million cell phones out of use in the United States. Rather than throw an old cell phone away, guests are encouraged to donate their old cell phones to Denver Zoo, who has partnered with Eco-Cell to recycle and reuse old cell phones. o Why should I recycle my cell phone? Help the environment by recycling hazardous waste Cell phones contain several hazardous substances that can seriously impact the environment. Donate your cell phone to the Denver Zoo and the Zoo will have it recycled by Eco-Cell who will ensure that most of these cell phones and their accessories will be reused or properly recycled. Eco-Cell will pay Denver Zoo up to $10 for each working digital cell phone. Funds from the program will support Denver Zoo in providing world class care to its wild

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residents. o Help Wildlife in the Congo: Columbite-tantalite, or Coltan for short, is a dull metallic ore found in major quantities in the eastern areas of the Congo. It is used in cell phones, laptops, pagers and other electronic devices. Coltan mining is occurring illegally in protected lands across the Congo endangering wildlife. In order to mine the coltan, rebels have overrun Congo's national parks and are hunting the park's endangered elephants and gorillas for food. o Who gets the phones? Through the program, approximately 80 percent of the phones collected will be refurbished and reused by first time, low income users in Latin America or by select local programs, such as battered women's organizations, senior citizens groups and other groups for emergency 911 calls.

All unusable cell phones and accessories will be recycled under strict EPA guidelines by certified recyclers. o Why is there Coltan in your cellular phone? When refined, coltan becomes metallic tantalum, a heat resistant powder that can hold a high electrical charge.

These properties make it a vital element in creating capacitors, the electronic elements that control flow inside miniature circuit boards. Tantalum capacitors are used in almost all cell phones, laptops, pagers and other electronic devices. o Privacy & Recycling Your Phone: ECO-Cell does not clear cell phones of data or content left on phones. It is the responsibility of the donating party to cancel or switch service on the phone and to delete any data such as phone numbers, text messages, pictures, emails, documents, etc. that might be on the cell phone. ECO-Cell sends donated phones to refurbishing companies who often delete any content left on phones, but Eco-Cell cannot guarantee that content will always be deleted. Therefore, it is Eco-Cell’s position and recommendation that those wishing to donate a phone take the time to clear phone of all data to ensure maximum privacy.

10. EXCUSES, EXCUSES, EXCUSES There is no excuse good enough that will keep a customer if they are unable to access your applications or ebusiness site. There are dozens of competitors just waiting to steal your customers and they are just a simple click away. You need to ensure that your systems are operational and that your customers are confident in your ability to keep their personal information secure. Organizations must determine which components are most important to their business to ensure their systems are meeting customer demands. The infrastructure architecture components include:  Flexibility  Scalability  Reliability  Availability  Accessibility  Performance  Capacity Planning

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11. EWASTE NOT, WANT NOT There are so many ewaste companies available today but warn your students to be careful as not all are what they seem. Start this activity by showing the following video.

Two arrested in electronic waste recycling fraud case Two managers of a San Jose-based electronics and metal waste recycling warehouse were arrested last week for allegedly attempting to defraud the state out of $1 million in recycling reimbursement claims. Jason Huang, 65, of Foster City, was arrested Aug. 19, and 38-year-old John Chen of Hillsborough was arrested Friday, officials said. A third man, 69-year-old Joseph Chen of Hillsborough, who owns Tung Tai Group, is in China.

Arrangements are being made to return him to the United States to be arraigned on the charges. The Chens are father and son, and Huang is the brother of Joseph Chen. The men are charged with making false reimbursement claims with the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, also known as CalRecycle. The claims state they collected more material than they really did. "Tung Tai Group attempted to collect $1 million in fraudulent and fictitious state reimbursements for millions of pounds of electronic waste that didn't exist," Attorney General Jerry Brown said in a statement.

"This brazen scheme is a violation of state law and the public trust." According to the attorney general's office, the men face a total of 17 criminal counts for submitting false documents, attempting to defraud the state, forgery, and hazardous waste storage and handling violations. They face a maximum nine-year prison sentence if convicted. An example provided by the attorney general's office shows that Tung Tai submitted reimbursement claims to CalRecycle for 555,000 pounds of material, but the collector's records indicate it delivered 62,000 pounds to Tung Tai. The state did not pay Tung Tai for the false or inflated claims. The warehouse of Tung Tai Group is located on Rogers Avenue in San Jose, and its offices are in Burlingame.

EWaste Fraud It seemed a perfect symmetry: California, the world's high-tech capital, would lead the way in recycling the debris of our digital revolution. But five years after its launch, the state government-run electronic waste program stands out not as a model of the green innovation for which California is famous but as an example of good intentions gone awry. By paying more than $320 million to collect and recycle computer monitors and televisions, the state has built a magnet for fraud totaling tens of millions of dollars, including illegal material smuggled in from out of state. "I don't think anybody could have forecast the greed that has poisoned the program," said Bob Erie, chief executive officer of E-World Recyclers north of San Diego and once an enthusiastic supporter of the state effort.

Additional website and videos you might want to explore include:  EPAs Listing: Where Can I Donate or Recycle My Old Computer and Other Electronic Products? http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/ecycling/donate.htm  Ecycling: http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/ecycling/ Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual

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12. ONE LAPTOP PER CHILD There are so many exciting videos and photos demonstrating this incredible program.Be sure to jumpstart this activity with a few overviews from the following site  OLPC's mission is to empower the world's poorest children througheducation We aim to provide each child with a rugged, low-cost, low-power, connected laptop.

To this end, we have designed hardware, content and software for collaborative, joyful, and self-empowered learning. With access to this type of tool, children are engaged in their own education, and learn, share, and create together. They becomeconnected to each other, to the world and to a brighter future. http://one.laptop.org/ 13. VIRTUALIZING YOUR CELL PHONE Virtualization is a difficult concept for students to grasp. The best way to explain virtualization is the switch from having one iPod, cell phone, and digital camera to one device that can do all three. Printers also offer an excellent example as we converged from having a fax machine, printer, copier, and scanner to one device that can do all these things. Here is an excellent video to help your students understand virtualization.

14. DATA CENTERS ON THE HIGH SEA Data centers are truly amazing and rather frightening when you think about the impact to the environment of housing so many computer systems in one area. Just keeping the data center cool takes tremendous energy. The carbon footprints left by these giant buildings of computing equipment is scary for any environmentalist.

BDIS 8E

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INSTRUCTOR’S MANUAL

Paige Baltzan

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DATABASES AND DATA WAREHOUSES

6 CHAPTER

This guide provides many classroom activities, videos, and debates to accompany Business Driven Information Systems. A few course suggestions:  Create one or two test questions based on the classroom activity to help reward students who attend lectures.  Many professors have found that assigning an activity and then lecturing on the material helps students gain a deeper understanding of the core MIS concepts as they have already struggled with applying the material to a real-world situation.  Asking a small group of students to explain their answer to the activity to the entire class after completion ensures students come to class prepared. I select a different group each activity to explain their answer and they do not want to look unprepared in front of their fellow classmates. It is a powerful motivator to get my students reading prior to class.

After the activity and student’s presentations then I lecture – keeps my students engaged and helps to achieve a higher level of learning outcomes as they are constantly tasked with applying the concepts during class.  Create an Ask the Professor Discussion board that runs the entire course where students can ask course and content related questions. I typically promise to respond within 24 hours, and I always encourage my students to check the discussion board before sending an email. Many times, if one student a question so does other students.  **Three Before Me Rule! This is something I have found that saves a great deal of time answering email. I state the Three Before Me rule in my syllabus. Before a student comes to me with a question, they must provide three sources they used to answer the question themselves. This significantly cuts down on emails as many times students can find the answer to their questions, but it seems easier just to email the professor.

Sources can include the syllabus, the Ask the Professor Q&A Discussion Board, classmates, the textbook, etc. If I ask the student for the three sources and they do not have them I dock participation points. Works great on significantly cutting down my emails and helps to prepare my students for the real world!  The core chapter material is covered in detail in the PowerPoint slides. Each slide contains detailed teaching notes including exercises, class activities, questions, and examples.

Please review the PowerPoint slides for detailed notes on how to teach and enhance the core chapter material.

Enjoy your course and best of luck! Please feel free to email me directly if you have any questions, ideas, suggestions, or feedback! For additional course materials, content, and cases visit www.baltzan.net or email me directly at pbaltzan@baltzan.net

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CHAPTER SIX Information is powerful. Information tells an organization everything from how its current operations are performing to estimating and strategizing how future operations might perform. New perspectives open when people have the right information and know how to use it. The ability to understand, digest, analyze, and filter information is a key to success for any professional in any industry.

SECTION 6.1 – DATA, INFORMATION, AND DATABASES  Data Quality  Storing Information Using a Relational Database Management System  Using a Relational Database for Business Advantages SECTION 6.2 – BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE  Business Intelligence  Data Warehousing  Blockchain: Distributed Computing

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SECTION 6 . 1 DATA, INFORMATION, AND DATABASES This section provides a discussion on the issues found in low quality information and how to obtain high quality information. The section primarily focuses on the relational database model. It introduces students to entities, attributes, primary keys, foreign keys, and data driven websites.

LEARNING OUTCOMES Learning Outcome 6.1: Explain the four primary traits that determine the value of data.

Information is data converted into a meaningful and useful context. Information can tell an organization how its current operations are performing and help it estimate and strategize about how future operations might perform. It is important to understand the different levels, formats, and granularities of data along with the four primary traits that help determine the value of data, which include (1) data type: transactional and analytical; (2) data timeliness; (3) data quality; and (4) data governance.

Learning Outcome 6.2: Describe a database, a database management system, andthe relational database model.

A database maintains data about various types of objects (inventory), events (transactions), people (employees), and places (warehouses). A database management system (DBMS) creates, reads, updates, and deletes data in a database while controlling access and security.

A DBMS provides methodologies for creating, updating, storing, and retrieving data in a database. In addition, a DBMS provides facilities for controlling data access and security, allowing data sharing, and enforcing data integrity. The relational database model allows users to create, read, update, and delete data in a relational database.

Learning Outcome 6.3: Identify the business advantages of a relational database.

Many business managers are familiar with Excel and other spreadsheet programs they can use to store business data. Although spreadsheets are excellent for supporting some data analysis, they offer limited functionality in terms of security, accessibility, and flexibility and can rarely scale to support business growth. From a business perspective, relational databases offer many advantages over using a text document or a spreadsheet, including increased flexibility, increased scalability and performance, reduced data redundancy, increased data integrity (quality), and increased data security.

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CORE MATERIAL The core chapter material is covered in detail in the PowerPoint slides. Each slide contains detailed teaching notes including exercises, class activities, questions, and examples. Please review the PowerPoint slides for detailed notes on how to teach and enhance the core chapter material. Please feel free to email me directly if you have any questions, ideas, suggestions, or feedback! For additional course materials, content, and cases visit www.baltzan.net or email me directly at pbaltzan@baltzan.net

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SECTION 6 . 2 BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE This section takes a step beyond databases and introduces students to data warehousing, data warehousing tools, and data mining. These technologies allow organizations to gain vast amounts of business intelligence.

LEARNING OUTCOMES Learning Outcome 6.4: Identify the advantages of using business intelligence to support managerial decision making.

Many organizations today find it next to impossible to understand their own strengths and weaknesses, let alone their biggest competitors’, due to enormous volumes of organizational data being inaccessible to all but the MIS department. Organizational data includes far more than simple structured data elements in a database; the set of data also includes unstructured data such as voice mail, customer phone calls, text messages, and video clips, along with numerous new forms of data, such as tweets from Twitter. Managers today find themselves in the position of being data rich and information poor, and they need to implement business intelligence systems to solve this challenge.

Learning Outcome 6.5: Describe the roles and purposes of data warehouses and data marts in an organization.

A data warehouse is a logical collection of data, gathered from many different operational databases, that supports business analysis and decision making. The primary value of a data warehouse is to combine data, more specifically, strategic data, throughout an organization into a single repository in such a way that the people who need that data can make decisions and undertake business analysis.

Learning Outcome 6.6: Explain blockchain and its advantages over a centralizedrelational database.

A blockchain is a type of distributed ledger consisting of blocks of data that maintain a permanent and tamper-proof record of transactional data. Distributed ledgers allow many different parties around the world to access and verify the same data. Blockchains are a form of distributed computing in which a decentralized database is managed by computers belonging to a network. Each of the computers in the distributed network maintains a copy of the ledger to prevent a single point of failure, and all copies are updated and validated simultaneously. Because information is shared and continually reconciled by thousands or even millions of computers, it is almost impossible to corrupt a blockchain.

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CORE MATERIAL The core chapter material is covered in detail in the PowerPoint slides. Each slide contains detailed teaching notes including exercises, class activities, questions, and examples. Please review the PowerPoint slides for detailed notes on how to teach and enhance the core chapter material. Please feel free to email me directly if you have any questions, ideas, suggestions, or feedback! For additional course materials, content, and cases visit www.baltzan.net or email me directly at pbaltzan@baltzan.net

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CHAPTER SIX CLOSING MATERIAL REVIEW QUESTIONS 1. Why does a business need to be concerned with the quality of its data?

Without high-quality data no matter how good the business is running the decision managers make will be inaccurate and incorrect.

2. Why would a company care about the timeliness of its data?

With data that is out-of-date the company will make incorrect decisions.

3. What are the five characteristics common to high-quality data?

The five characteristics for high-quality data include accurate, complete, consistent, timely, and unique.

4. What are the four primary traits that help determine the value of data?

The four primary traits of the value of information include information type, information timeliness, information quality, and information governance.

5. What is the difference between an entity and an attribute?

An entity stores information about a person, place, thing, transaction, or event. An attribute includes the data elements associated with an entity.

6. What is a data warehouse and why would a business want to implement one?

A data warehouse is a logical collection of information, gathered from many different operational databases, that supports business analysis activities and decision-making tasks. Data warehouses allow organizations to have a single source of information for detailed cross-functional business analysis.

7. How does ETL help transfer data in and out of the data warehouse?

Extraction Transformation and Load are the three key processes occurring as data is transferred in and out of the data warehouse. ETL is a process that extracts information from internal and external databases, transforms it using a common set of enterprise definitions, and loads it into a data warehouse. The data warehouse then sends portions of the information to data marts. ETL can cleanse the data, eliminate the data, or reformat the data based on the customer requests. The MIS department manages and controls the data warehouse. A department would only want to see the information relevant to their business operations and looking at the entire data warehouse would be overwhelming and probably beyond their technical abilities.

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8. What is the purpose of data cleansing (or scrubbing)?

Data cleansing allows a company to scrub data to remove inaccurate information or add values for incomplete data. Important to explain to your students that 70% of your time working with data is cleansing the data. It is a monumental level of effort to obtain clean data.

9. What are the causes of dirty data?

Dirty data is erroneous or flawed data. Dirty data can be caused by:  Duplicate data  Misleading data  Incorrect data  Non-formatted data  Violates business rules data  Nonintegrated data  Inaccurate data 10. What is business intelligence and how can it help a company achieve success?

Business intelligence can find the cause to many issues and problems simply by asking ―Why?‖. The process starts by analyzing a report such as sales amounts by quarter.

Managers will drill down into the report looking for why sales are up or why sales are down. BI can include comparative analysis and competitive monitoring – just to name a few benefits.

11. Why would a business be data rich, but information poor?

It does not matter how much data an organization stores if the data cannot be analyzed and turned into information it is useless.

12. What is the relationship between a database and a blockchain?

A blockchain is a decentralized or distributed database where the entire chain maintains the validity of the data, not a centralized location.

CLOSING CASE ONE BIG DATA, BIG BUSINESS, BIG OPPORTUNITES 1. List the reasons a business would want to display information in a graphic or visual format.

Information is powerful. Information can tell an organization how its current operations are performing and help it estimate and strategize about how future operations might perform. The ability to understand, digest, analyze, and filter information is key to growth and success to any professional in any industry. Remember that new perspectives and opportunities can open when you have the right data that you can turn into information and ultimately business intelligence. The value of timely information is critical to any Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual

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business that wants to operate at the same speed as its customers, suppliers, and competitors.

2. Explain how issues with low-quality information will impact big data.

Low-quality data will impact every area of the organization including big data. It does not matter how much money a company spends on data analysis tools if the data it is collecting is of poor quality. Garbage in is garbage out and not even big data can fix bad data. It is critical to remember that the analysis will only be as good or accurate as the data used in the analysis. With the petabytes of data now being stored by corporations it is getting harder and harder to cleanse, stage, and analyze the data.

3. Explain how a marketing department could use data visualization tool to help with the release of a new product.

Data visualization describes technologies that allow users to ―see‖ or visualize data to transform information into a business perspective. Data visualization tools move beyond Excel graphs and charts into sophisticated analysis techniques such as pie charts, controls, instruments, maps, time-series graphs, and more. Data visualization tools can help uncover correlations and trends in data that would otherwise go unrecognized. Business intelligence dashboards track corporate metrics such as critical success factors and key performance indicators and include advanced capabilities such as interactive controls allowing users to manipulate data for analysis. Most business intelligence software vendors offer several different data visualization tools and business intelligence dashboards.

4. Categorize the five common characteristics of high-quality information and rank them in order of importance for big data.

Student answers to this question will vary depending on their personal views and experiences with technology. The important part of the question is understanding the students’ justifications for their order. Potential order of importance:  Timeliness – Information must be timely. If users are receiving old and outdated answers to their queries, they will not use the website and head to a competitor.  Accuracy – All information must be accurate. If the information is not accurate then the analysis and business decisions made based on the information will be inaccurate.  Consistency – Results must be consistent. Users will not trust the system if it provides different results or prices for the same hotel at different times. One of the issues with big data is finding a single source of the truth and the more data dumped in a data lake the more likely the sample analysis results could differ.  Completeness – With a data warehouse incomplete records can be completed during the ETL process. For example, incomplete address can be found by pulling in USPS information.  Uniqueness – With a data warehouse or data lake unique information can be sorted and correlated during analysis.

5. Develop a list of some possible entities and attributes located in a marketing database.

Entity could include: Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual

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   

CAMPAIGN PROSPECTIVE CUSTOMERS QUALIFIED CUSTOMERS SALES

Attributes could include:  Customer Name  Customer Address  Company name  Product Sold  Campaign Discount  Date Sold Each table would need to define a primary key and could include:  Campaign ID  Customer ID  Order ID The tables in the database would have 1-to-1 relationships, 1-to-many relationships, and many-to-many relationships. If you are planning on having your students design and build an ERD please review the associated Access and Database Technology Plug-Ins. 6. Assess how a business could use a few of the data analysis techniques to

understand how the business is operating.

Organizations can use BI to find the cause to many issues and problems simply by asking ―Why?‖ The process starts by analyzing a report such as sales amounts by quarter.

Managers will drill down into the report looking for why sales are up or why sales are down. Once they understand why a certain location or product is experiencing an increase in sales, they can share the information to raise enterprisewide sales. Once they understand the cause for a decrease in sales, they can take effective action to resolve the issue. Here are a few examples of how managers can use BI to answer tough business questions:   

Where has the business been? Historical perspective offers important variables for determining trends and patterns.

Where is the business now? Looking at the current business situation allows managers to take effective action to solve issues before they grow out of control.

Where is the business going? Setting strategic direction is critical for planning and creating solid business strategies.

Ask a simple question—such as who my best customer is or what is my worst-selling product—and you might get as many answers as you have employees. Databases, data warehouses, and data marts can provide a single source of ―trusted‖ data that can answer questions about customers, products, suppliers, production, finances, fraud, and even employees. They can also alert managers to inconsistencies or help determine the cause Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual

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and effects of enterprise wide business decisions. All business aspects can benefit from the added insights provided by business intelligence, and you, as a business student, will benefit from understanding how MIS can help you make intelligent decisions.

CLOSING CASE TWO CHANGING THE WAY YOU THINK ABOUT DATA 1. Does the visualization tell the whole story? Are there any questions you cannot answer just by reviewing the visualizations?

Information is powerful. Information can tell an organization how its current operations are performing and help it estimate and strategize about how future operations might perform. The ability to understand, digest, analyze, and filter information is key to growth and success to any professional in any industry.

Remember that new perspectives and opportunities can open when you have the right data that you can turn into information and ultimately business intelligence. The value of timely information is critical to any business that wants to operate at the same speed as its customers, suppliers, and competitors.

Students will have unique insights into the oil infographics. The how expensive it is to raise a child is probably the best infographic for undergraduate students to explain and expand upon. I am sure they can think of so many additional expenses and perhaps might call their parents after class and say Thank You!!

2. Are there any data elements that should be removed or added to the visualization to make it more interesting?

Data visualization describes technologies that allow users to ―see‖ or visualize data to transform information into a business perspective. Data visualization tools move beyond Excel graphs and charts into sophisticated analysis techniques such as pie charts, controls, instruments, maps, time-series graphs, and more. Data visualization tools can help uncover correlations and trends in data that would otherwise go unrecognized. Business intelligence dashboards track corporate metrics such as critical success factors and key performance indicators and include advanced capabilities such as interactive controls allowing users to manipulate data for analysis. Most business intelligence software vendors offer several different data visualization tools and business intelligence dashboards.

Data elements can include any types of graphs or charts that might help explain the entire data visualizations story. Where does oil come from is not on the chart – perhaps a dinosaur? Why oil spills occur could be a great piece of information. How many children are in a family could impact how much a family spends on a child.

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3. Rank the visualization in order of best data story (1) to worst data story (3).

What criteria did you use to rank the visualizations?

This will depend on the student’s ranking. Ensuring they explain the Why to their ranking is important with these questions.

4. Find an example of a data story on the Internet and share it with your peers.

Be sure to highlight the pros and cons of the data story.

Student answers to this question will vary depending on their personal views. Have them share their findings with the class and rank the best story.

MAKING BUSINESS DECISIONS Instructor Note: There are few right or wrong answers in the business world. There are only efficient and inefficient, and effective and ineffective business decisions. If there were always right answers businesses would never fail. These questions were created to challenge your students to apply the materials they have learned to real business situations. For this reason, the authors cannot provide you with one version of a correct answer. When grading your students’ answers, be sure to focus on their justification or support for their specific answers. A good way to grade these questions is to compare your student’s answers against each other.

1. IMPROVING DATA QUALITY An organization must maintain high quality data in the data warehouse. Data cleansing and scrubbing is a process that weeds out and fixes or discards inconsistent, incorrect, or incomplete data. Low quality data tends to have accuracy, completeness, relevance, and time issues. Without high quality data the organization will be unable to make good business decisions. Potential business effects resulting from low quality data include:  Inability to accurately track customers  Difficulty identifying valuable customers  Inability to identify selling opportunities  Marketing to nonexistent customers  Difficulty tracking revenue due to inaccurate invoices  Inability to build strong customer relationships – which increases buyer power 2. DATA TIMELINESS Potential answers can include:  Weather tracking system – must update in real-time to be able to track hurricanes, tornados, etc.  Car dealership inventories – depending on the size and number of dealerships it could update hourly if there were many dealerships who shared inventories, or it could update nightly if there were only two dealerships that kept in close contact  Vehicle tire sales forecasts – update weekly or monthly since the information is used for forecasting  Interest rates – depending on what you are doing with the interest rates you might update hourly, daily, or weekly (if you are only using them for an analysis) Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual

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



Restaurant inventories – the size of the restaurant will probably play a factor in deciding the frequency of updates. Hourly for a large restaurant that cannot afford to run out of any of its entrees, to daily for a small restaurant that has loyal customers and it is OK to tell its customers that it has run out of its specials.

Grocery store inventories – near real-time to avoid product overstocking and understocking

3. THAT IS NOT MY MOTHER IN THE CASKET This is a great example of the problems that can occur when data is incorrect. Can you imagine the problems that occur every day around your campus due to low-quality data? Ask your students if they have had problems with receiving the wrong mail, wrong phone calls, even the wrong course schedule for classrooms.

4. TRACK YOUR LIFE Student’s answers will vary. The primary purpose of data warehouses and data marts are to perform analytical processing or OLAP. The insights into organizational information that can be gained from analytical processing are instrumental in setting strategic directions and goals. Databases contain information in a series of twodimensional tables, which means that you can only ever view two dimensions of information at one time. In a data warehouse and data mart, information is multidimensional, it contains layers of columns and rows. Each layer in a data warehouse or data mart represents information according to an additional dimension.

Dimensions could include such things as potential areas include sleep time, exercise time, study time, calories consumer, water consumed, movie time, music time, mediation time. The ability to look at information from different dimensions can add tremendous insight into their lives.

5. FREE DATA! Data is the key to starting a new business as they can review all types of current market information such as growth trends, population statistics, and business overviews.

6. SORRY, I DIDN’T MEAN TO POST YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER ON THE INTERNET In a group, discuss the following:  Why is it important to secure data?  What can happen if someone accesses your customer database?  What could happen if someone changes the data in your customer database and adds fictitious data?  Who should be held responsible for the state of Oklahoma data breach?  What are the business risks associated with database security?

7. BUTTERFLY EFFECTS Explain how the following errors can affect an organization:  A cascading spelling mistake. You could think Patty Smith and Patti Smith are two different people when they are the same person.

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 

 

Inaccurate customer records. You will have no idea which customer ordered which products and who is your best customer or worst customer based on returns.

Incomplete purchasing history. Again, you will have no idea how to group or categorize your customers by sales amounts if they are not correctly represented in the data.

Inaccurate mailing address: Returns and problems with sending bills.

Duplicate customer numbers for different customers: ouch – so many problems!!!!

8. EXCEL OR ACCESS? This is a great project to get your students thinking about the many advantages of a database – reduced redundancy, relationship to enforce business rules, multiple access and access levels. Have them really think about how a business is impact when moving from Excel to a database! Especially for security and accuracy.

9. PREDICTING NETFLIX The way that Netflix analyzes data to gleam information for its customer recommendation system is simply amazing! First ask your students to visit the Netflix site and familiarize themselves with how the site works and how the recommendations are created. Ask them to backwards engineer how Netflix possible uses all its customer feedback to create the list of the top five movies that are recommended based on a customer’s preference. The order of how Netflix creates intelligence could be as follows:  Database: Broadly defined, a database maintains information about various types of objects (inventory), events (transactions), people (employees), and places (warehouses). A database management system (DBMS) creates, reads, updates, and deletes data in a database while controlling access and security.

Netflix would use databases to gather customer information such as name, address, rental plan, frequency of renting, billing and all other customer information including location for mail pickup and if they have Internet access.

Netflix would have a database that also tracks inventory such as DVDs including movie genre, rating, year, producer, type, actor information, etc. Another database would be for all accounting purposes including billing, payments received, and payments outstanding along with vendor purchases, payroll, and all other accounting requirements to run the business. 

Data Warehouses: A data warehouse is a logical collection of information, gathered from many different operational databases, that supports business analysis activities and decision-making tasks. The primary purpose of a data warehouse is to combine information, more specifically, strategic information, throughout an organization into a single repository in such a way that the people who need that information can make decisions and undertake business analysis.

A key idea within data warehousing is to collect information from multiple systems in a common location that uses a universal querying tool. This allows operational databases to run where they are most efficient for the business, while providing a common location using a familiar format for the strategic or

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enterprise-wide reporting information. Netflix would use a data warehouse to store all the information from its operational systems such as customer, billing, sales, marketing, and inventory. 

10.

Data Marts: A data mart contains a subset of data warehouse information. To distinguish between data warehouses and data marts, think of data warehouses as having a more organizational focus and data marts as having a functional focus. Netflix could use data marts to gather precise information from marketing and sales to determine new and exciting marketing plans.

TWITTER BUZZ There are so many great websites that share how Twitter works in the business environment. Here are a few I recommend sharing with your students:  Twitter in Plain English http://www.commoncraft.com/twitter  How to explain Twitter to your Grandma http://www.methodshop.com/gadgets/tutorials/twitterexplained/index.shtml  Twitter is a free online service that allows you to send messages to hundreds (or even millions) of your friends all at the same time. Your Twitter friends receive an alert each time you send a new message either on their mobile phones and/or on their computers.

Social media tools really represent a double-edged sword in the business environment.

If your business isn't on Twitter or Facebook you will lose out because your customers and more importantly your competitors are!!! However, employees can cause tremendous damage if they use these tools incorrectly!!!!!!!!! I think the best thing to do is to get educated on the tools and be sure to communicate - with written policies how they are to be appropriately used at your business.

11.

TWO TRILLION ROWS ANALYZED? NO PROBLEM! An organization must maintain high quality information in the data warehouse.

Information cleansing and scrubbing is a process that weeds out and fixes or discards inconsistent, incorrect, or incomplete information. Without high quality information the organization will be unable to make good business decisions. A data warehouse is an enabler of business intelligence. The purpose of a data warehouse is to pull all kinds of disparate information into a single location where it is cleansed and scrubbed for analysis. Once you have a good understanding of the tool, create three questions eBay might be using Tableau to answer, including the analysis of its sales data to find patterns, business insights, and trends. Questions could include: 1. What the best times to list a technical product to receive the highest bids?

2. What is the best time to list clothing to receive the highest bids?

3. What types of customers typically buy late night?

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4. What types of sellers receive bad reviews?

5. What types of buyers receive great revies?

12.

DIFFERENT DIMENSIONS A relational database contains information in a series of two-dimensional tables. In a data warehouse and data mart, information is multidimensional, meaning it contains layers of columns and rows. For this reason, most data warehouses and data marts are multidimensional databases. A dimension is an attribute of information. Each layer in a data warehouse or data mart represents information according to an additional dimension.

Data mining is the process of analyzing data to extract information not offered by the raw data alone. For example, Ruf Strategic Solutions helps organizations employ statistical approaches within a large data warehouse to identify customer segments that display common traits. Marketers can then target these segments with specially designed products and promotions.

Data mining can also begin at a summary information level (coarse granularity) and progress through increasing levels of detail (drilling down), or the reverse (drilling up).

To perform data mining, users need data-mining tools. Data-mining tools use a variety of techniques to find patterns and relationships in large volumes of information and infer rules from them that predict future behavior and guide decision making. Datamining tools for data warehouses and data marts include query tools, reporting tools, multidimensional analysis tools, statistical tools, and intelligent agents.

Student answers to this project will vary. The important part is their justification for each rating. Sample ratings could include: Dimension Value (1–5) Product number Store location 2 Customer net worth Number of sales personnel 2 Customer eating habits Store hours 1 Sales person ID 1 Product style Order date 2 Product quantity 2 Ship date Current interest rate 3 Product cost 2 Customer’s political affiliation Local market analysis Order time 2

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5 3

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Customer spending habits 3 Product price 1 Exchange rates Product gross margin Season 1 Promotion Payment method 2 Commission policy 3 Manufacturer 3 Traffic report 5 Customer language 5 Weather 4 Customer gender 3 Local tax information Local cultural demographics Stock market closing Customer religious affiliation Reason for purchase Employee dress code policy Customer age Employee vacation policy 5 Employee benefits 5 Current tariff information

2 5 2

3 4 3 5 2 3 3 5

BDIS 8E

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INSTRUCTOR’S MANUAL

Paige Baltzan

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NETWORKS: MOBILE BUSINESS

7 CHAPTER

This guide provides many classroom activities, videos, and debates to accompany Business Driven Information Systems. A few course suggestions:  Create one or two test questions based on the classroom activity to help reward students who attend lectures.  Many professors have found that assigning an activity and then lecturing on the material helps students gain a deeper understanding of the core MIS concepts as they have already struggled with applying the material to a real-world situation.  Asking a small group of students to explain their answer to the activity to the entire class after completion ensures students come to class prepared. I select a different group each activity to explain their answer and they do not want to look unprepared in front of their fellow classmates. It is a powerful motivator to get my students reading prior to class.

After the activity and student’s presentations then I lecture – keeps my students engaged and helps to achieve a higher level of learning outcomes as they are constantly tasked with applying the concepts during class.  Create an Ask the Professor Discussion board that runs the entire course where students can ask course and content related questions. I typically promise to respond within 24 hours, and I always encourage my students to check the discussion board before sending an email. Many times, if one student a question so does other students.  **Three Before Me Rule! This is something I have found that saves a great deal of time answering email. I state the Three Before Me rule in my syllabus. Before a student comes to me with a question, they must provide three sources they used to answer the question themselves. This significantly cuts down on emails as many times students can find the answer to their questions, but it seems easier just to email the professor.

Sources can include the syllabus, the Ask the Professor Q&A Discussion Board, classmates, the textbook, etc. If I ask the student for the three sources and they do not have them I dock participation points. Works great on significantly cutting down my emails and helps to prepare my students for the real world!  The core chapter material is covered in detail in the PowerPoint slides. Each slide contains detailed teaching notes including exercises, class activities, questions, and examples.

Please review the PowerPoint slides for detailed notes on how to teach and enhance the core chapter material.

Enjoy your course and best of luck! Please feel free to email me directly if you have any questions, ideas, suggestions, or feedback! For additional course materials, content, and cases visit www.baltzan.net or email me directly at pbaltzan@baltzan.net

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CHATPER SEVEN The pace of technological change never ceases to amaze. Kindergarten classes are now learning PowerPoint, and many elementary school children have their own cell phones. What used to take hours to download over a dial-up modem connection can now transfer in a matter of seconds through an invisible, wireless network connection from a computer thousands of miles away. We are living in an increasingly wireless present and hurtling ever faster toward a wireless future. The tipping point of ubiquitous, wireless, handheld, mobile computing is approaching quickly.

As a business student, understanding network infrastructures and wireless technologies allows you to take advantage of mobile workforces. Understanding the benefits and challenges of mobility is a critical skill for business executives, regardless of whether you are a novice or a seasoned Fortune 500 employee. By learning about the various concepts discussed in this chapter, you will develop a better understanding of how business can leverage networking technologies to analyze network types, improve wireless and mobile business processes, and evaluate alternative networking options.

SECTION 7.1 Connectivity: The Wireless World  Overview of a Connected World  Wireless Networks  Wireless Network Categories  Protecting Wireless Networks SECTION 7.2 Mobility: The Business Value of a Wireless World  

Mobile Enterprise Management Business Applications of Wireless Technologies

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SECTION 7 .1 CONNECTIVITY: THE KEY TO COMMUNCIATIN IN THE DIGITAL AGE What is the value of information? The answer to this important question varies depending on how the information is used. Two people looking at the exact same pieces of information could extract completely different value from the information depending on the tools they are using to look at the information. This chapter discusses technologies that people can use to help make decisions and solve problems.

LEARNING OUTCOMES Learning Outcome 7.1: Understand wireless networks along with their benefits.

Before networks, transferring data between computers was time-consuming and laborintensive. People had to copy data physically from machine to machine using a disk. Networks offer many advantages for a business, including:   

Sharing resources Providing opportunities Reducing travel

Networks have created a diverse yet globally connected world. By eliminating time and distance, networks make it possible to communicate in ways not previously imaginable. Even though networks provide many business advantages, they also create increased challenges in (1) security and (2) social, ethical, and political issues.

Learning Outcome 7.2: Describe the different wireless network categories.

There are four types of wireless networks: PAN, WLAN, WMAN, and WWAN. A PAN provides communication over a short distance that is intended for use with devices that are owned and operated by a single user. A WLAN is a local area network that uses radio signals to transmit and receive data over distances of a few hundred feet. A WMAN is a metropolitan area network that uses radio signals to transmit and receive data, and a WWAN is a wide area network that uses radio signals to transmit and receive data.

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Learning Outcome 7.3: Identify the security challenges of wireless networks.

Data theft and network intrusions can occur if access codes, passwords, or devices are not managed properly on and off corporate networks. Lost or stolen devices are big risks for a corporation's sensitive data.

CORE MATERIAL The core chapter material is covered in detail in the PowerPoint slides. Each slide contains detailed teaching notes including exercises, class activities, questions, and examples. Please review the INSTRUCTOR PowerPoint slides for detailed notes on how to teach and enhance the core chapter material. For additional course materials, content, and cases visit www.baltzan.net or email me directly at pbaltzan@baltzan.net.

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SECTION 7 .2 MOBILITY: THE BUSINESS VALUE OF A WIRELESS WORLD LEARNING OUTCOMES Learning Outcome 7.4: Explain mobile enterprise management and its importance to a business.

Enterprise mobility management (EMM); is an enterprisewide security strategy to enforce corporate epolicies while enabling employee use of mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets. EMM prevents unauthorized access to corporate applications and data on mobile devices. The goal of EMM is to customize a strategy for devices, applications, and information management among remote employees inside and outside the workplace.

Learning Outcome 7.5: Explain the three primary business applications of wireless technology.

Mobile and wireless business applications and services are using satellite technologies. These technologies are GPS, GIS, and LBS. GPS is a satellite-based navigation system providing extremely accurate position, time, and speed information. GIS is location information that can be shown on a map. LBSs are applications that use location information to provide a service that both GPS and GIS use.

CORE MATERIAL The core chapter material is covered in detail in the PowerPoint slides. Each slide contains detailed teaching notes including exercises, class activities, questions, and examples. Please review the PowerPoint slides for detailed notes on how to teach and enhance the core chapter material. For additional course materials, content, and cases visit www.baltzan.net or email me directly at pbaltzan@baltzan.net.

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CHAPTER SEVEN CLOSING MATERIAL REVIEW QUESTIONS 1. What is the difference between mobility and wireless?

Mobile and wireless, terms that are often used synonymously but have different meanings.

Mobile means the technology can travel with the user; for instance, users can download software, email messages, and web pages onto a laptop or other mobile device for portable reading or reference. Information collected while on the road can be synchronized with a PC or company server. Wireless, on the other hand, refers to any type of operation accomplished without the use of a hard-wired connection. There are many environments in which the network devices are wireless but not mobile, such as wireless home or office networks with stationary PCs and printers.

2. What are the advantages of mobile business?

There are almost too many advantages of mobile business to count but a few of the critical include access to information anywhere, anytime, and anyplace. Wireless network benefits include:  Reduce costs  Improve customer service  Offers real-time diagnostics  Enhances mobility  Supports real-time data  Promotes remote work  Improved security 3. Why would a manager be concerned with bandwidth? How is bandwidth measured?

Without proper bandwidth the systems using networks will be unable to function quickly or effectively. Bandwidth is measured in terms of kilobits, megabits, and gigabits.

4. How does Wi-Fi work?

Wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) is a means by which portable devices can connect wirelessly to a local area network, using access points that send and receive data via radio waves. Wi-Fi has a maximum range of about 1,000 feet in open areas such as a city park and 250 to 400 feet in closed areas such as an office building.

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5. How has streaming data changed business?

Streaming is a method of sending audio and video files over the Internet in such a way that the user can view the file while it is being transferred. Netflix offers a great example of streaming videos. Streaming is not limited to cellular usage; all wireless and even wired networks can take advantage of this method. The most obvious advantage is speed, a direct benefit for mobile and wireless devices since they are still not as fast as their wired counterparts.

6. What is the difference between war driving and war chalking?

War chalking - The practice of tagging pavement with codes displaying where Wi-Fi access is available. War driving - Deliberately searching for Wi-Fi signals while driving by in a vehicle.

7. What is the difference between WEP and WPA? Wired equivalent privacy (WEP) is an encryption algorithm designed to protect wireless transmission data. If you are using a Wi-Fi connection, WEP encrypts the data by using a key that converts the data to a nonhuman readable form. The purpose of WEP was to provide wireless networks with the equivalent level of security as wired networks.

Unfortunately, the technology behind WEP has been demonstrated to be relatively insecure compared to newer protocols. Wi-Fi protected access (WPA) is a wireless security protocol to protect Wi-Fi networks. It is an improvement on the original Wi-Fi security standard, Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP), and provides more sophisticated data encryption and user authentication. Anyone who wants to use an access point must know the WPA encryption key to access the Wi-Fi connection.

8. What are the three primary types of enterprise mobility management?

Mobile device management (MDM) is a security strategy comprised of products and services that offer remote support for mobile devices, such as smart phones, laptops, and tablets. MDMs helps to enforce epolicies for maintaining the desired level of MIS control across platforms and geographic locations.

Mobile application management (MAM) is a security strategy that administers and enforces corporate epolicies for applications on mobile devices. MAM software assists with software delivery, licensing, and maintenance and can limit how sensitive applications can be shared among applications and help prevent corporate data leakage.

Mobile information management (MIM) is a security strategy that involves keeping sensitive data encrypted and allowing only approved applications to access or transmit it.

MIM limits the sharing of corporate data among applications and ensures a secure information management strategy for mobile workforces.

9. What are the three MDM policies?  Bring your own device (BYOD): Employees use their own device. Save company money. Zero control over security, reliability, and compatibility 

Choose Your Own Device (CYOD): Employees choose a company approved

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and configured device. Costs company money to purchase and maintain device. No personal use allowed. Complete control over security, reliability, and compatibility.  Company-Issued, Personally Enabled (COPE): Employees provided with corporate devices. Costs company to purchase and maintain devices. Partial control over security, reliability, and compatibility as employees can use for personal use.

10. How does containerization support mobile application management?

An important feature of MAM is containerization, or application sandboxing, which isolates corporate applications from personal applications on a device. Data within this isolated area, known as a container, cannot leave, and apps within the container cannot interact with those on the outside.

11. How does an accelerometer support mobile application development?

Mobile applications are often written specifically to take advantage of the unique features a mobile device offers. One such feature is accelerometer, a device that can measure the force of acceleration, whether caused by gravity or by movement. Accelerometers allow the user to understand the surroundings of an item and determine if an object is moving uphill, downhill, falling, flying, or still. For example, smart phones rotate their display between portrait and landscape mode depending on how the phone is tilted. A gaming app might be written to take advantage of the iPhone’s accelerometer or a mobile health app might be written to take advantage of a smart watch’s temperature sensor.

12.

What are the three different states of data?  Data at rest refers to all data in computer storage.  Data in motion (also known as transit or flight) is a stream of data that is moving or being transported between locations within or between computer systems.  Data in use is data that is currently being updated, processed, erased, accessed, or read by a system.

13. What is RFID and how does it help track a product?

Radio-frequency identification uses electronic tags and labels to identify objects wirelessly over short distances.

14. What are the three primary business applications of wireless technology?

Geographic information systems store and view geographic data. Global positioning systems use satellite-based navigation systems for location purposes. Location based services use GIS and GPS to provide value by offering services that take advantage of wireless technologies.

15. How are businesses using wireless technology to build competitive advantages?

Wireless technologies have also aided the creation of new applications. Some build upon and improve existing capabilities. UPS, for example, is combining several types of wireless network technologies from Bluetooth to WWANs and deploying scanners and wearable

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data-collection terminals to automate and standardize package management and tracking across all its delivery centers.

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CLOSING CASE ONE QUESTIONS LIBERATING DRIVERS AND RIDERS: UBER 1. How did Uber take advantage of mobile technologies to create a disruptive business model?

Uber disrupted the taxi business by turning every car into a potential taxi. With wireless technology a customer can see all of the Ubers in the area and select the price and type of ride from their location. Prior to wireless technology people had to stand on a corner and wait for a taxi to pass by to hail the ride or call for a taxi. This new technology is far more efficient and effective for both the passengers and customers. Can you imagine a world without Uber or Lyft?

2. As 5G enters the market, can you think of any new services Uber can offer its customers?

5G is going to offer so many new services. 5G is like 4G a millions times faster. New services offered in Tesla will be similar to things the Uber can do to make customers more comfortable. Large screen to watch content, a warm fire or a beach scene in the car to relax the customer. Better safety features in the car.

3. Lyft is a fast follower to Uber. Would you want to be CEO of Uber or Lyft?

This is such a great discussion. Lyft can move past Uber by not making their mistakes.

Uber has the advantage of being first to market so it is ahead of its competitors, but for how long? Uber will need to keep innovating and updating to stay as the leader.

4. How will driverless cars impact Uber’s business model?

With driverless cars there will be car sharing where you summon the car from your home and it shows up in your driveway. No driver means more security as you are not worried about the driver being a bad actor. The car will drive safely and avoid accidents. Will we even need Uber and Lyft if we can contact the car directly?

CLOSING CASE TWO SPOTIFY AS A MUSIC SERVICE 1. How is Spotify taking advantage of mobile devices?

Since 2008, when Spotify launched, it has remained the global music leader using the cloud to stream music, popularizing the idea of music as a service rather than goods that consumers own. With 100 million paying subscribers, Spotify currently remains the top cloud music provider, although Apple and Google are approaching fast in the rearview mirror.

2. How is Spotify a Music as a Service business?

Spotify uses devices connect to the cloud to provide music to cell phones, computers, and cars. You pay a subscription fee and can listen to all the music you want for a month.

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3. Why should Spotify care about mobile device management?

MDMs helps to enforce epolicies for maintaining the desired level of MIS control across platforms and geographic locations. Just imagine your sales force deployed all over the country or the world and attempting to ensure every network they use is safe and every device is protected. Most MIS departments implement MDM by requiring passcodes on corporate devices to ensure data encryption and, in the event of a lost device, that all data on the device can be deleted remotely. MDM tools can also enforce policies, track inventory, and perform real-time monitoring and reporting.

4. Why should Spotify care about mobile application management?

Mobile application management (MAM) is a security strategy that administers and enforces corporate epolicies for applications on mobile devices. Spotify needs to care about how its application is protected from hackers and viruses on the many different devices that its customers use to enjoy the service.

5. Without wireless technologies and mobile devices, would Spotify be successful? Why or why not?

Makes for a great debate for your students!

MAKING BUSINESS DECISIONS Instructor Note: There are few right or wrong answers in the business world. There are only efficient and inefficient, and effective and ineffective business decisions. If there were always right answers businesses would never fail. These questions were created to challenge your students to apply the materials they have learned to real business situations. For this reason, the authors cannot provide you with one version of a correct answer. When grading your students’ answers, be sure to focus on their justification or support for their specific answers. A good way to grade these questions is to compare your student’s answers against each other.

1. CARS HACKED The future of the connected car is just beginning to be realized. As our cars become smart cars how many criminals will be focused on stealing the information in the car and not the car itself.

2. GOOGLE COLLECTED PUBLIC WI-FI DATA…BY MISTAKE Students answers will vary depending on each student’s view of personal privacy.

3. SECURING YOUR HOME WIRELESS NETWORK These days wireless networking products are so ubiquitous and inexpensive that anyone can easily build a wireless network with less than $100 worth of equipment. However, wireless networks are exactly that–wireless - they do not stop at walls. In fact, wireless networks often carry signals more than 300 feet from the wireless router. Living in an Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual

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apartment, dorm, condominium, or house means that you might have dozens of neighbors who can access your wireless network.

It is one thing to let a neighbor borrow a lawn mower, but it is another thing to allow a neighbor to access a home wireless network. There are several good reasons for not sharing a home wireless network including:  Slow down Internet performance  Allow others to view files on your computers and spread dangerous software such as viruses  Allow others to monitor the websites you visit, read your email and instant messages as they travel across the network, and copy your usernames and passwords  Allow others to send spam or perform illegal activities with your Internet connection First off students should create a requirements document to define what the system is supposed to do as well as adequately identify and analyze the needs of users, existing systems, potential RF interference, and so on.

In general, students need to define the types of applications that users will need. For example, enable the use of email and web browsing as a basic service. As options, you could include the use of VPNs and video conferencing.

The following are suggestions for defining requirements that pertain specifically to public WLANs:  Keep the user interface as open as possible - With public WLANs, be sure the solution interfaces with the widest possible number of users. This maximizes the number of subscribers. Most WLAN users today have 802.11b radio NICs, but plan and insist on access points that support both 802.11b/g and 802.11a.  Provide adequate authentication mechanisms - To regulate access to the network, the system needs to include a process that requires users to subscribe and log in. RADIUS is the most common authentication database in use today, but be sure to require authentication elements that provide a level of security consistent with application requirements.  Consider implementing local advertisements - A public WLAN can provide a mechanism to deliver advertisements to subscribers like other online services. In fact, you can provide a free subscription to users for basic Internet access, and drive ads to them with hopes that they'll purchase enough from the ads to offset the cost of system.

Keep the advertising to a minimum, though, especially when users are paying for services.

A good design involves the application of technologies and products to bring about a system that satisfies requirements. For example, you'll need to determine the optimum location of access points and find out whether there is any significant RF interference that will impact performance.

When configuring a public WLAN, here are some specific tips:  Turn WEP off - Despite all the controversy, WEP (wired equivalent privacy) does provide some security, but WEP's not practical to use in a public WLAN because of key Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual

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

distribution problems. As a result, use alternative, dynamic forms of security that are available on typical user devices (e.g., EAP-TLS) to satisfy the open systems requirement of public WLANs. Broadcast SSIDs - The SSID (service set identifier) is an obstacle to public WLAN users because in many cases the user must configure their SSID to match the one that the local public WLAN uses. Windows XP sniffs the SSID (if the access point broadcasts the SSID) and automatically configures the radio NIC without end user intervention. As a result, be sure to enable SSID broadcasting when configuring the access point. To avoid hanging signs up in your facility indicating the SSID and instructing users on how to configure their radio NICs, offer (but do not require) smart client software that performs the SSID sniffing and card configuration for users having older Windows operating systems.

Include DHCP services - As users roam to different hotspots, their user device will need an IP (Internet protocol) address that corresponds to the local network. To enable roaming with as few end users’ actions as necessary, establish dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) services to automatically assign IP addresses to visiting users. Most versions of Windows operating systems by default activate DHCP, so users probably will not have to do anything.

4. WEATHER BOTS Understanding the uses of GPS and GIS can be used in all sorts of devices, in many different industries, for multiple purposes. You want to compete, and win first prize, in the PennVention next year. Create a product, using a GPS or GIS, that is not currently in the market today that you will present at the fourth annual PennVention.

Student answers to this question will vary. GPS and GIS can be used in a variety of ways to track and locate people, automobiles, or items (such as the weather bots). A few examples include:  Website where you can use GIS to track running that can tell athletes how far they ran (or skiers, mountain climbers, boats, jet skis, bikers, hikers, etc.)  OnStar products for automobiles  GPS products for PDAs that can tell you directions or locations  GPS tools tracking tools for children, pets, computer equipment’s, cars, artwork, and anything of value  Use GIS and GPS to locate teachers and children in public schools, doctors and nurses in hospitals, employees in office campus, or students on a college campus.  Excellent for Pizza Delivery to find the location and to track the delivery person Students can use their imaginations and come up with any number of products for this assignment.

5. FREE WI-FI IN AFRICA Here is another exercise that students should find interesting. The most obvious choice would be to use VoIP. Since VoIP runs over the Internet, the infrastructure is already Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual

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available. This issue that students should be concerned with is reliability. Conventional phones are connected directly to telephone company phone lines, which in the event of a power failure are kept functioning by backup generators or batteries located at the telephone exchange. However, household VoIP hardware uses broadband modems and other equipment powered by household electricity, which may be subject to outages in the absence of an uninterruptible power supply or generator. VoIP phones infrastructure are built upon routers. If there is a down router in your transmission link, your call will be automatically redirected on a different path to reach your call destination. If the first router is down in your infrastructure between you and your end call destination, your will receive a failed connection. Voice travels over the internet in almost the same manner as data does in packets. So, when you talk over an IP network your conversion is broken up into small packets. The voice and data packets travel over the same network with a fixed bandwidth. The routers on the networks push the data packets across as fast as possible. When the volume of traffic is high it will slow the network down, therefore diminishing the quality and reliability. The voice transmission will sound like you are on a push to talk network. To increase the reliability of VoIP phones the VoIP provider needs to increase dedicated and redundant connectivity via T-1 access and backup DSL, with automatic failover at each location.

Something else students might mention is quality of service. Some broadband connections may have less than desirable quality. Where IP packets are lost or delayed at any point in the network between VoIP users, there will be a momentary drop-out of voice. This is more noticeable in highly congested networks and/or where there are long distances and/or interworking between end points. Technology has improved the reliability and voice quality over time and will continue to improve VoIP performance as time goes on.

6. DINA-A-LING TOOK MY $400 Taking the time to review and research the many different plans, as well as understanding the fine print associated with each plan, can save an individual and a business big money. There are several websites your students can visit including:  Cell Phone Plans: Full Report We’ve split our coverage of cell phone plans into two reports. This report compares traditional cell phone plans, which usually require a two-year contract. You may also want to consider a pay-as-you-go prepaid wireless plan. Once considered a last resort for people with bad credit, prepaid wireless plans have evolved into a good option for anybody, experts say. We cover these plans briefly in the Prepaid Cell Phones section of this report, or see our separate report on prepaid wireless for more information.

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7. 911 MCNUGGETS A wireless network can enhance mobility, provide immediate data access, increase location and monitoring capabilities, provide mobile commerce opportunities, improve workflow, and provide an alternative to wiring. But it can also help some individuals make bad decisions quicker. In the past a person would have to take the time to find a phone and this could include driving home. By the time the person found the phone they would have had the time to cool down and not make the mistake of calling too quickly. Perhaps all the wireless networks are helping some of us to make decisions too fast.

8. WIRELESS NETWORKS AND STREETLIGHTS Researchers at Harvard University and BBN Technologies have designed CitySense, a wireless network capable of reporting real-time sensor data across the entire city of Cambridge, Mass. CitySense is unique because it solves a constraint on previous wireless networks–battery life. The network mounts each node on a municipal streetlamp, where it draws power from city electricity. Researchers plan to install 100 sensors on streetlamps throughout Cambridge by 2011, using a grant from the National Science Foundation. Each node will include an embedded PC running the Linux OS, an 802.11 Wi-Fi interface and weather sensors.

One of the challenges in the design was how the network would allow remote nodes to communicate with the central server at Harvard and BBN. CitySense will do that by letting each node form a mesh with its neighbors, exchanging data through multiplehop links. This strategy allows a node to download software or upload sensor data to a distant server hub using a small radio with only a 1-kilometer range.

You are responsible for deploying a CitySense network around your city. What goals would you have for the system besides monitoring urban weather and pollution? What other benefits could a CitySense network provide? How could local businesses and citizens benefit from the network? What legal and ethical concerns should you understand prior to deploying the network? What can you do to protect your network and your city from these issues? A CitySense network could offer any number of additional benefits including:  Digital video surveillance for preventing crime  Wireless network access for individuals that the city could charge to generate additional revenue for the city (such as FON.com)  911 help, if someone with a PDA can access the network, they could call 911 for emergencies Upload all kinds of statistics beyond weather and pollution including humidity, pollen, toxins, gas, smoke 9. TEDDY THE GUARDIAN There are so many uses for Teddy the Guardian in hospitals and doctor offices where young children are sick and scared. Police departments and fire departments could use the same type of bear when they are called to stressful situations to help any children involved in the situation. Even parents could use Teddy at home when their Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual

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children are sick or just have a stressful time. I think even some adults could value having Teddy in their lives – especially if it could be programmed with a friend or family members voice stating positive statements that everything is going to be okay.

10.

WI-FI FOR FISHES This is a great chance for your students to have some fun thinking about new uses for Wi-Fi. An art museum could use it to set the customers on a virtual scavenger hunt to find objects in art. A zoo can use it to send its employees around the zoo as the shifts in crowds move to different exhibits.

11.

• • •

POKEMON GO FOR PLAYGROUNDS Can you think of another way to get kids moving using wireless technologies?

How can Pokémon Go be used to help children exercise beyond a playground?

How could a gym incorporate the same technology for adults?

12.

WHERE WOULD YOU GOPRO? The nice part of GoPro is that you don’t have to use your hands. With a cell phone you need your hands to take the video, GoPro moves with you or anyone that it is attached to. I have often thought of placing one on my dog as he tends to wander away from time-to-time. I wonder where he goes and what kind of mischief he gets into. There are endless ideas of ways a business can use a GoPro, your students will enjoy getting creative with this technology.

BDIS 8E

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INSTRUCTOR’S MANUAL

Paige Baltzan

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ENTERPRISE APPLICATIONS: BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS

8 CHAPTER

This guide provides many classroom activities, videos, and debates to accompany Business Driven Information Systems. A few course suggestions:  Create one or two test questions based on the classroom activity to help reward students who attend lectures.  Many professors have found that assigning an activity and then lecturing on the material helps students gain a deeper understanding of the core MIS concepts as they have already struggled with applying the material to a real-world situation.  Asking a small group of students to explain their answer to the activity to the entire class after completion ensures students come to class prepared. I select a different group each activity to explain their answer and they do not want to look unprepared in front of their fellow classmates. It is a powerful motivator to get my students reading prior to class.

After the activity and student’s presentations then I lecture – keeps my students engaged and helps to achieve a higher level of learning outcomes as they are constantly tasked with applying the concepts during class.  Create an Ask the Professor Discussion board that runs the entire course where students can ask course and content related questions. I typically promise to respond within 24 hours, and I always encourage my students to check the discussion board before sending an email. Many times, if one student a question so does other students.  **Three Before Me Rule! This is something I have found that saves a great deal of time answering email. I state the Three Before Me rule in my syllabus. Before a student comes to me with a question, they must provide three sources they used to answer the question themselves. This significantly cuts down on emails as many times students can find the answer to their questions, but it seems easier just to email the professor.

Sources can include the syllabus, the Ask the Professor Q&A Discussion Board, classmates, the textbook, etc. If I ask the student for the three sources and they do not have them I dock participation points. Works great on significantly cutting down my emails and helps to prepare my students for the real world!  The core chapter material is covered in detail in the PowerPoint slides. Each slide contains detailed teaching notes including exercises, class activities, questions, and examples.

Please review the PowerPoint slides for detailed notes on how to teach and enhance the core chapter material.

Enjoy your course and best of luck! Please feel free to email me directly if you have any questions, ideas, suggestions, or feedback! For additional course materials, content, and cases visit www.baltzan.net or email me directly at pbaltzan@baltzan.net

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CHAPTER EIGHT Companies that excel in supply chain operations perform better in almost every financial measure of success, according to a report from Boston-based AMR Research Inc. When supply chain excellence improves operations, companies experience a 5 percent higher profit margin, 15 percent less inventory, 17 percent stronger ―perfect order‖ ratings, and 35 percent shorter cycle times than their competitors. ―The basis of competition for winning companies in today’s economy is supply chain superiority,‖ said Kevin O’Marah, vice president of research at AMR Research. ―These companies understand that value chain performance translates to productivity and marketshare leadership. They also understand that supply chain leadership means more than just low costs and efficiency: It requires a superior ability to shape and respond to shifts in demand with innovative products and services.‖ Traditional SCM thinking involved ―I buy from my suppliers, I sell to my customers.‖ Today, organizations are quickly realizing the tremendous value they can gain from having visibility throughout its supply chain. Knowing immediately what is transacting at the customer end of the supply chain, instead of waiting days or weeks for this information to flow upstream, allows the organization to react immediately. The role of SCM is evolving and it is not uncommon for suppliers to be involved in product development and for distributors to act as consultants in brand marketing. This chapter looks at extending an organization through SCM. SECTION 8.1 – ENTERPRISE SYSTEMS AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT  Building a Connected Corporation through Integration  Supply Chain Management  Technologies Reinventing the Supply Chain SECTION 8.2 – CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT AND ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING  Customer Relationship Management  The Benefits of CRM  Enterprise Resource Planning  Organizational Integration with ERP

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SECTION 8 . 1 SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT Traditional SCM thinking involved ―I buy from my suppliers, I sell to my customers.‖ Today, organizations are quickly realizing the tremendous value they can gain from having visibility throughout its supply chain. Knowing immediately what is transacting at the customer end of the supply chain, instead of waiting days or weeks for this information to flow upstream, allows the organization to react immediately. The role of SCM is evolving and it is not uncommon for suppliers to be involved in product development and for distributors to act as consultants in brand marketing. This chapter looks at extending an organization through SCM.

LEARNING OUTCOMES Learning Outcome 8.1: Explain integrations and the role they play in connecting a corporation.

Integrations allow separate systems to communicate directly with each other, eliminating the need for manual entry into multiple systems. Building integrations allows the sharing of information across databases along with dramatically increasing its quality.

Learning Outcome 8.2: Describe supply chain management along with its associated benefits and challenges.

A supply chain consists of all parties involved, directly or indirectly, in obtaining raw materials or a product. To automate and enable sophisticated decision making in these critical areas, companies are turning to systems that provide demand forecasting, inventory control, and information flows between suppliers and customers. Supply chain management (SCM) is the management of information flows between and among activities in a supply chain to maximize total supply chain effectiveness and corporate profitability. In the past, manufacturing efforts focused primarily on quality improvement efforts within the company; today these efforts reach across the entire supply chain, including customers, customers’ customers, suppliers, and suppliers’ suppliers. Today’s supply chain is an intricate network of business partners linked through communication channels and relationships.

Improved visibility across the supply chain and increased profitability for the firm are the primary business benefits received when implementing supply chain management systems.

Supply chain visibility is the ability to view all areas up and down the supply chain in real time. The primary challenges associated with supply chain management include costs and complexity. The next wave in supply chain management will be home-based supply chain fulfillment. No more running to the store to replace your products as your store will come to you as soon as you need a new product.

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Learning Outcome 8.3: Identify the three technologies that are reinventing the supply chain.

The goal of ERP is to integrate all the organizational systems into one fully functioning, highperformance system that can meet all business needs and user requirements. Of course, this goal is incredibly difficult to achieve because businesses and technologies experience rapid change, and ERP must support mobility, cloud, SaaS, and tiered architectures.

CORE MATERIAL The core chapter material is covered in detail in the PowerPoint slides. Each slide contains detailed teaching notes including exercises, class activities, questions, and examples. Please review the PowerPoint slides for detailed notes on how to teach and enhance the core chapter material. Please feel free to email me directly if you have any questions, ideas, suggestions, or feedback! For additional course materials, content, and cases visit www.baltzan.net or email me directly at pbaltzan@baltzan.net

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SECTION 8 . 2 CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT AND ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING Customer relationship management (CRM) involves managing all aspects of a customer’s relationship with an organization to increase customer loyalty and retention and an organization’s profitability. As organizations begin to migrate from the traditional productfocused organization toward customer-driven organizations, they are recognizing their customers as experts, not just revenue generators.

Organizations are quickly realizing that without customers, they simply would not exist, and it is critical they do everything they can to ensure their customers’ satisfaction. In an age when product differentiation is difficult, CRM is one of the most valuable assets a company can acquire. The sooner a company embraces CRM the better off it will be and the harder it will be for competitors to steal loyal and devoted customers.

LEARNING OUTCOMES Learning Outcome 8.4: Explain operational and analytical customer relationship management.

Customer relationship management (CRM) is a means of managing all aspects of a customer’s relationship with an organization to increase customer loyalty and retention and an organization’s profitability. CRM allows an organization to gain insights into customers’ shopping and buying behaviors. Every time a customer communicates with a company, the firm has the chance to build a trusting relationship with that customer.

Companies that understand individual customer needs are best positioned to achieve success.

Building successful customer relationships is not a new business practice; however, implementing CRM systems allows a company to operate more efficiently and effectively in the area of supporting customer needs. CRM moves far beyond technology by identifying customer needs and designing specific marketing campaigns tailored to each. A decade ago if you had a complaint against a company you could make a phone call or write a letter. Now you can contact people around the globe and voice your complaint or anger with a company or product. Companies must listen, making CRM the primary challenge facing organizations.

Organizations are discovering a wave of other key business areas where it is beneficial to build strong relationships beyond customers. These include supplier relationship management Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual

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(SRM), partner relationship management (PRM), and employee relationship management (ERM).

Learning Outcome 8.5: Identify the core and extended areas of enterpriseresource planning.

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) integrates all departments and functions throughout an organization into a single IT system (or integrated set of IT systems) so employees can make decisions by viewing enterprisewide information about all business operations. Enterprise resource planning systems provide organizations with consistency. They allow for the effective planning and controlling of all the resources required to plan, source, make, and deliver goods and services.

The first generation of ERP systems focused on improving the manufacturing process through automation, primarily addressing back-office business processes such as inventory ordering and product distribution. The second generation of ERP systems extended its reach into the front office and primarily addressed customer issues including marketing and sales. The third generation of ERP systems, known as ERP-II, allows a company to compete on a functional level, adopting an enterprisewide approach using the Internet to connect all participants in the value chain. One of the biggest challenges of an ERP system is cost. ERP systems contain multiple complex components that are not only expensive to purchase, but also expensive to implement. Costs can include the software itself, plus consulting charges, hardware expenses, and training fees.

Applications such as SCM, CRM, and ERP are the backbone of ebusiness, yet most organizations today must piece together these systems. A firm might choose its CRM components from Siebel, SCM components from i2, and financial components and HR management components from Oracle. Integrating all these enterprise systems allows an organization to function as a single unit meeting customer, partner, and supplier needs.

Learning Outcome 8.6: Discuss the current technologies organizations are integrating in enterprise resource planning systems.

The goal of ERP is to integrate all the organizational systems into one fully functioning, highperformance system that can meet all business needs and user requirements. Of course, this goal is incredibly difficult to achieve because businesses and technologies experience rapid change, and ERP must support mobility, cloud, SaaS, and tiered architectures.

CORE MATERIAL The core chapter material is covered in detail in the PowerPoint slides. Each slide contains detailed teaching notes including exercises, class activities, questions, and examples. Please review the PowerPoint slides for detailed notes on how to teach and enhance the core chapter material. Please feel free to email me directly if you have any questions, ideas, suggestions, or feedback! For additional course materials, content, and cases visit www.baltzan.net or email me directly at pbaltzan@baltzan.net

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CHAPTER EIGHT CLOSING MATERIAL REVIEW QUESTIONS 1. How do integrations connect a corporation?

Integrations allow separate systems to communicate directly with each other, eliminating the need for manual entry into multiple systems. Building integrations allows the sharing of information across databases along with dramatically increasing its quality. The army can now generate reports detailing its state of readiness and other essential intelligence, tasks that were nearly impossible before the integrations 2. What is the difference between forward and backward integrations?

Forward integration takes information entered into a given system and sends it automatically to all downstream systems and processes. A backward integration takes information entered into a given system and sends it automatically to all upstream systems and processes.

3. What are the five primary activities in a supply chain?

Plan, source, make, deliver, and return are the primary activities in a supply chain.

4. What is the bullwhip effect and how can it impact a supply chain and a firm’s profitability?

The bullwhip effect distorted product-demand information ripples from one partner to the next throughout the supply chain. The misinformation regarding a slight rise in demand for a product could cause different members in the supply chain to stockpile inventory.

5. Why are customer relationships important to an organization? Do you agree that every business needs to focus on customers to survive in the information age?

Without customers you will not have an organization. CRM is critical to ensure customers are happy and heard and attended to if they are upset or disgruntled.

6. What is the difference between operational and analytical CRM? Operational CRM focuses on business operations such as sales and marketing while analytical CRM provides business intelligence to identify patterns in product sales and customer behaviors.

7. How can a sales department use CRM to improve operations?

Sales departments can use customer service and support, sales force automation, Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual

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contact management CRM, and opportunity management CRM. 8. How can a marketing department use CRM to improve operations?

Marketing departments can use list generators, campaign management, cross-selling, and up-selling as CRM advantages.

9. What is an enterprise resource planning system?

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) integrates all departments and functions throughout an organization into a single IT system (or integrated set of IT systems) so employees can make decisions by viewing enterprisewide information about all business operations.

10. What are the primary and core ERP components?

Core ERP components are the traditional components included in most ERP systems and primarily focus on internal operations. The three most common core ERP components focusing on internal operations are accounting and finance, production and materials management, and human resources. The four most common extended ERP components business intelligence, customer relationship management, supply chain management, and ebusiness.

CLOSING CASE ONE QUESTIONS DREAM IT DESIGN IT 3D PRINT IT 1. Define 3D printing and its impact on business.

3D printers work by first creating a digital computer aided design (CAD) file, produced with a 3D modeling program or scanned into a 3D modeling program with a 3D scanner.

To get from this digital file to instructions that the 3D printer understands, software then slices the design into hundreds or thousands of horizontal layers. Typically, the 3D printer uses either a fused deposition modeling printer, which applies the tiny layers of material, or a laser sintering process by which a laser fuses the material together.

2. Explain CRM and how 3D printing could affect customer relations.

Operational CRM supports traditional transactional processing for day-to-day front-office operations or systems that deal directly with the customers. Analytical CRM supports back-office operations and strategic analysis and includes all systems that do not deal directly with the customers. The primary difference between operational CRM and analytical CRM is the direct interaction between the organization and its customers. With 3D printing companies will be able to print on demand anything the customer wishes to buy allowing for incredible customization of products.

3. Explain SCM and how 3D printing could affect global supply chains.

Supply chains will be greatly impacted by 3D printing. Companies will no longer have to source parts for other vendors as they can just print any part they need on demand. 3D printing is going to greatly change the supply chain as we still need all the products, we

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will just have many alternatives how to get the product to our company. Just imagine, McDonald’s 3D printing each happy meal toy right in the store.

4. Argue for or against the following statement: ―3D printing will be more disruptive to business than the Internet.‖ Student answers to this question will vary. This works as an excellent classroom debate if you want to break your students into groups and make this into a classroom activity.

CLOSING CASE TWO HOOTSUITE 1. Why is social media critical to business success?

All businesses need to capitalize on the amazing amount of information that can be found in social media. Not just using social media to promote their own brand, but for competitive intelligence into what other brands are doing and where they are headed.

2. Why is monitoring, responding, creating, and an analyzing social media content critical to any business?

Without knowing what your customers are saying and thinking about your product you can’t respond to their needs and wants. Customers provide tremendous insight into how products and services are used and valued. Customers can create new ideas for how to use your product or if there is a problem with your product. You want to be the first to know if something is wrong with your product so you can combat any negative advertising about your product. Social media is a great way to keep your finger on the pulse of your customer base.

3. What can you do if you find from Hootsuite that several customers are complaining about your product on Facebook?

The best thing you can do is face the problem head-on. Reach out to the customers and find out if the complaints are valid and what you can do to help your customers and your product. The only problems a business has are the ones that they ignore.

Engaging your customers to be honest with you thru social media is a fantastic way to ensure any problems are addressed as soon as possible. Every business will face problems, how they face the problems is what makes the difference between success and failure.

4. What types of analytics will a business want to measure for analyzing its social media content?

The metrics here will vary from business to business. Could be quality defects, usage rates, engagement times, number of complaints, average time to service a customer.

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MAKING BUSINESS THINKING

Instructor Note: There are few right or wrong answers in the business world. There are only efficient and inefficient, and effective and ineffective business decisions. If there were always right answers businesses would never fail. These questions were created to challenge your students to apply the materials they have learned to real business situations. For this reason, the authors cannot provide you with one version of a correct answer. When grading your students’ answers, be sure to focus on their justification or support for their specific answers. A good way to grade these questions is to compare your student’s answers against each other.

1. CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES CRM is a business philosophy based on the premise that those organizations that understand the needs of individual customers are best positioned to achieve sustainable competitive advantages in the future. Operational CRM supports traditional transactional processing for day-to-day front-office operations or systems that deal directly with the customers. Analytical CRM supports back-office operations and strategic analysis and includes all systems that do not deal directly with the customers. Implementing a CRM system can help the organization view detailed customer information providing insights into the decline in sales. Analytical CRM solutions can dig deep into the company’s historical customer information and expose patterns of behavior, which might help explain the declining sales. The analytical CRM system can also analyze industry trends, market trends, and other external factors such as the terrorist attacks, to help understand if other businesses in the luggage market have also lost sales.

2. DRIVING UP PROFITS WITH LOYALTY (OR DRIVING DOWN?) This is such a great debate – what should Penny do? If she sells the personal data from her customers is she risking losing customers for disloyalty? If she doesn’t sell the data is she missing out on an opportunity for a new line of cash flow? As a customer how do you feel about a business making a profit on your data? Is there a way Penny can include the customers to opt in to selling the data and giving them a loyalty bonus for the sale?

There might be an opportunity for a win-win in this situation.

3. SUPPORTING CUSTOMERS A contact center (or call center) is where customer service representatives (CSRs) answer customer inquiries and respond to problems through several different customer touchpoints. A contact center is one of the best assets a customer-driven organization can have because maintaining a high level of customer support is critical to obtaining and retaining customers. Numerous systems are available to help an organization automate its contact centers. Contact centers also track customer call history along with problem resolutions - information critical for providing a comprehensive customer view to the CSR. CSRs who can quickly comprehend and understand all a customer’s products and issues Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual

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provide tremendous value to the customer and the organization. Nothing makes frustrated customers happier than not having to explain their problems to yet another CSR. A few features the customer service center can use to help it operate effectively include:  Automatic call distribution - a phone switch routes inbound calls to available agents.  Interactive voice response (IVR) - directs customers to use touch-tone phones or keywords to navigate or provide information.  Predictive dialing - automatically dials outbound calls and when someone answers, the call is forwarded to an available agent.

4. IMPLEMENTING AN ERP SYSTEM The biggest benefit of an ERP system is its ability to provide an enterprisewide view of organizational information. The biggest risk is cost and implementation time. Students should use a combination of SCM and CRM industry success factors for ERP industry success factors. These should include clearly communicate the strategy, define information needs and flows, build an integrated view of the entire organization, implement in iterations, and be future oriented, ensuring the ERP system is scalable for organizational growth.

5. RUBY RECEPTIONISTS Without excellent customer service you would have a hard time keeping customers. With the Internet buyer power shifted to the customer and the customer has power! You need to meet the needs of your customers or they will quickly turn to other competitors.

6. BUY ONE, GET ONE GROCERIES Safeway cuts costs by not performing customer analytics upfront to send coupons. King Soopers spends the money upfront to send personalized coupons. Both strategies are effective as both are big brands. Might depend on the type of customer that visits Safeway vs King Soopers. Makes for a great debate for your students.

7. GREAT STORIES CRM is a business philosophy based on the premise that those organizations that understand the needs of individual customers are best positioned to achieve sustainable competitive advantage in the future. Many aspects of CRM are not new to organizations; CRM is simply performing current business better. Placing customers at the forefront of all thinking and decision making requires significant operational and technology changes, however. These Web sites show the power people have in the consumer market today

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8. JETBLUE ON YOUTUBE CRM solutions make organizational business processes more intelligent. This is achieved by understanding customer behavior and preferences, then realigning product and service offerings and related communications to make sure they are synchronized with customer needs and preferences.

JetBlue’s Apology http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-r_PIg7EAUw There are many pros and cons to using YouTube as a communication vehicle for an organization. Show your students the JetBlue apology prior to discussing this problem.

An interesting CRM approach - using YouTube to apologize. Look. That’s JetBlue founder and CEO David Neeleman apologizing to customers via YouTube after a very, very bad week for the airline: 1,100 flights canceled due to snow storms and thousands more irate passengers.

Neeleman’s unpolished, earnest delivery makes this apology worth accepting. But then again, we were not stuck on a tarmac for eight hours. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-r_PIg7EAUw Do you think this is a good way to reach customers? What else could JetBlue do to help gain back the trust of its customers?

The pros of using YouTube as a communication vehicle is that it is new, inventive, and can give the customers a wealth of information in a short video. The cons of using YouTube as a communications vehicle is that customers who are not Internet savvy will not see the video and customers who need to be informed that the video exists. YouTube has market reach issues in a small community with older customers.

Students can use numerous tools to communicate including:  Blogs  Wikis  Podcasts  Videos  E‐Mail  Newsletters Companies are now starting to use Second Life as a vehicle for communication with customers.

9. SEARCHING TELEPHONE CALLS Student answers will vary. Encourage your students to use tools to create their marketing pitch such as YouTube, Facebook, or Twitter. Have your students demonstrate their pitches to the entire class for extra credit.

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10. SHARPTOOTH INCORPORATED Stephen Kern is the founder and CEO of Sharptooth, a small business that buys and sells comic strips to magazines and newspapers around the country. Some of Sharptooth’s artists have made it big and are syndicated in hundreds of magazines and newspaper, while others are new to the industry. Stephen started in the business as an artist and began contracting other artists when he realized he had a knack for promoting and marketing comic materials.

Stephen’s artistic background is great for spotting talented young artists, but not so great for running the business.

Stephen recently began selling comics to new forms of media such as blog sites, Web sites, and other online tools. Stephen has hired you to build him a new system to track all online comic sales. You quickly notice that Stephen has a separate system for each of his different lines of business including newspaper sources, magazine sources, billboard sources, and now online sources. You notice that each system works independently to perform its job of creating, updating, and maintaining sales information, but you are wondering how Stephen operates his business. Create a list of issues Stephen will encounter if he continues to run his business with four separate systems performing the same operations. What could happen to Stephen’s business if he cannot correlate the details of each? Be sure to highlight at least 10 issues where separate systems could cause Stephen problems.

Stephen is going to have a very difficult time running Sharptooth Incorporated with separate systems. The biggest problem for Stephen is that he is maintaining duplicate (or redundant) information. This will cause many problems including:  It will be difficult to tell total revenue for a piece of art work that is sold to different media forms  Costly to maintain redundant information  Updates need to be made multiple times which costs money and can lead to inconsistencies in data. For example. Customers and suppliers will be listed in each system and if an address or name changes how will Stephen ensure the change is made in all the systems  If a supplier sends one check to cover multiple sources how will Stephen apply the payments to each piece of work (especially if the check is under).  It will be difficult to tell such things as revenue per job (especially if it is across systems), revenue per customer, costs per supplier, etc. All this information will require Stephen to consolidate the information he has in his different systems – which is a hard task to complete.  Customer numbers could be different across systems  Supplier numbers could be different across systems  Art work numbers could be different across systems  How will Stephen charge back items such as rent, electricity, payroll, etc. Will he charge it all to one system or all systems equally?  How will Stephen track due dates for work? Will he look at each system every day and record what is due?  How is the detail tracked in each system? If it is tracked differently this will cause additional problems. For example, billboards might track sales by month since you rent the bill board for the month. Newspapers might track sales by day and online might track Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual

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by the hour. Stephen will have to do some work to put all of these in one common category (by hours) to perform data analysis.

11. EATING IN As Mrs. Lively begins to plan her expansion, she needs your assistance in answering the following questions: 1. How important is customer loyalty for Lively’s business? What can she do to ensure her customers remain loyal? How could one disgruntled customer hurt business? What can she do to combat this challenge?

Customer service is key, and Dell has taken a great deal of negative publicity when its service level decreased after outsourcing its help centers to India. Without proper service the company will lose its customers.

2.

Research the business Yelp.com. What service does Yelp.com perform? Would a small business see Yelp.com as an opportunity or a threat? What are the pros and cons a customer should be aware of when using yelp.com?

3.

Lively’s responsibilities include forecasting, inventory control, scheduling, and ensuring high-quality products. What types of forecasts would she require to run her business? What types of inventory would she want to track? What might happen if her inventory tracking tool was off by 50 percent? What types of schedules does Lively need to generate? What things might occur to disrupt schedules and cause her to reschedule? How can a supply chain management system help run the business?

Managers can use IT to heavily influence operational decisions including productivity, costs, flexibility, quality, and customer satisfaction. One of the greatest benefits is in making operational decisions as operations management exerts considerable influence over the degree to which the goals and objectives of the organization are realized. Most decisions involve many possible alternatives that can have varying impacts on revenues and expenses. Information systems are critical for managers to be able to make well-informed decisions. Recall how decision support systems and executive information systems can help an organization perform what-if analysis, sensitivity analysis, drill-down, and consolidation. Numerous managerial and strategic key decisions are based on OM information systems that affect the entire organization including:  What: What resources will be needed, and in what amounts?  When: When will each resource be needed? When should the work be scheduled? When should materials and other supplies be ordered? When is corrective action needed?  Where: Where will the work be performed?  How: How will the product or service be designed? How will the work be done (organization, methods, equipment)? How will resources be allocated?  Who: Who will perform the work?

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Operations strategy is concerned with the development of a long-term plan for determining how to best utilize the major resources of the firm so that there is a high degree of compatibility between these resources and the firm’s long-term corporate strategy. Operations strategy addresses very broad questions about how these major resources should be configured in order to achieve the desired corporate objectives. Some of the major long-term issues addressed in operations strategy include:  How big to make the facilities?  Where to locate the facilities?  When to build additional facilities?  What type of process(es) to install to make the products?

4.

Lively wants to create a business based on loyal customers and loyal employees. She offers her employees bonuses for new ideas, recipes, or business referrals. What risk is Lively encountering by offering these bonuses? One employee idea that she has implemented is turning out to be a competitive advantage for her business; however, the employee has quit and is now working for a competitor. Should Lively still pay the employee the bonus? What should she do to ensure she is building strong employee relationships?

BDIS 8E

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INSTRUCTOR’S MANUAL

Paige Baltzan

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SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT

9 CHAPTER

This guide provides many classroom activities, videos, and debates to accompany Business Driven Information Systems. A few course suggestions:  Create one or two test questions based on the classroom activity to help reward students who attend lectures.  Many professors have found that assigning an activity and then lecturing on the material helps students gain a deeper understanding of the core MIS concepts as they have already struggled with applying the material to a real-world situation.  Asking a small group of students to explain their answer to the activity to the entire class after completion ensures students come to class prepared. I select a different group each activity to explain their answer and they do not want to look unprepared in front of their fellow classmates. It is a powerful motivator to get my students reading prior to class.

After the activity and student’s presentations then I lecture – keeps my students engaged and helps to achieve a higher level of learning outcomes as they are constantly tasked with applying the concepts during class.  Create an Ask the Professor Discussion board that runs the entire course where students can ask course and content related questions. I typically promise to respond within 24 hours, and I always encourage my students to check the discussion board before sending an email. Many times, if one student a question so does other students.  **Three Before Me Rule! This is something I have found that saves a great deal of time answering email. I state the Three Before Me rule in my syllabus. Before a student comes to me with a question, they must provide three sources they used to answer the question themselves. This significantly cuts down on emails as many times students can find the answer to their questions, but it seems easier just to email the professor.

Sources can include the syllabus, the Ask the Professor Q&A Discussion Board, classmates, the textbook, etc. If I ask the student for the three sources and they do not have them I dock participation points. Works great on significantly cutting down my emails and helps to prepare my students for the real world!  The core chapter material is covered in detail in the PowerPoint slides. Each slide contains detailed teaching notes including exercises, class activities, questions, and examples.

Please review the PowerPoint slides for detailed notes on how to teach and enhance the core chapter material.

Enjoy your course and best of luck! Please feel free to email me directly if you have any questions, ideas, suggestions, or feedback! For additional course materials, content, and cases visit www.baltzan.net or email me directly at pbaltzan@baltzan.net

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CHAPTER NINE Organizations must learn how to build and implement systems to remain competitive.

Software that is built correctly can support agile organizations and can transform as the organization and its business transforms. Software that effectively meets employee needs will help an organization become more productive and enhance decision making. Software that does not meet employee needs may have a damaging effect on productivity and can even cause a business to fail. Employee involvement along with using the right implementation methodology when developing software is critical to the success of an organization.

SECTION 9.1 – DEVELOPING ENTERPRISE APPLICATIONS  The Systems Development Life Cycle  Software Development Methodology: Waterfall  Agile Software Development Methodologies  Service-Oriented Architectures SECTION 9.2 – PROJECT MANAGEMENT  Using Project Management to Deliver Successful Projects  The Elements of Project Planning  Primary Project Planning Diagrams  Outsourcing Projects

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SECTION 9 . 1 DEVELOPING ENTERPRISE APPLICATIONS Organizations must learn how to build and implement disruptive technologies, such as software for wireless devices, to remain competitive. Software that is built correctly can support agile organizations and can transform as the organization and its business transforms. Software that effectively meets employee needs will help an organization become more productive and enhance decision making. Software that does not meet employee needs may have a damaging effect on productivity and can even cause a business to fail.

LEARNING OUTCOMES Learning Outcome 9.1: Describe the seven phases of the systems development life cycle.

The seven phases in the SDLC include:  Planning phase – involves establishing a high-level plan of the intended project and determining project goals  Analysis phase – involves analyzing end-user business requirements and refining project goals into defined functions and operations of the intended system  Design phase – involves describing the desired features and operations of the system including screen layouts, business rules, process diagrams, pseudo code, and other documentation  Development phase – involves taking all of the detailed design documents from the design phase and transforming them into the actual system  Testing phase – involves bringing all the project pieces together into a special testing environment to test for errors, bugs, and interoperability and verify that the system meets all the business requirements defined in the analysis phase  Implementation phase – involves placing the system into production so users can begin to perform actual business operations with the system  Maintenance phase – involves performing changes, corrections, additions, and upgrades to ensure the system continues to meet the business goals Learning Outcome 9.2 Summarize the different software development methodologies.

There are several different software development methodologies including:

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     

Agile methodology – aims for customer satisfaction through early and continuous delivery of useful software components developed by an iterative process with a design point that uses the bare minimum requirements Waterfall methodology – an activity-based process in which each phase in the SDLC is performed sequentially from planning through implementation and maintenance Rapid application development methodology (RAD) – emphasizes extensive user involvement in the rapid and evolutionary construction of working prototypes of a system to accelerate the systems development process Extreme programming (XP) methodology – breaks a project into tiny phases, and developers cannot continue to the next phase until the first phase is complete Rational Unified Process (RUP) – provides a framework for breaking down the development of software into four gates.

SCRUM – uses small teams to produce small pieces of deliverable software using sprints, or 30-day intervals, to achieve an appointed goal

CORE MATERIAL The core chapter material is covered in detail in the PowerPoint slides. Each slide contains detailed teaching notes including exercises, class activities, questions, and examples. Please review the PowerPoint slides for detailed notes on how to teach and enhance the core chapter material. ! Please feel free to email me directly if you have any questions, ideas, suggestions, or feedback! For additional course materials, content, and cases visit www.baltzan.net or email me directly at pbaltzan@baltzan.net

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SECTION 9 . 2 PROJECT MANAGEMENT No one would think of building an office complex by turning lose 100 different construction teams to build 100 different rooms, with no single blueprint or agreed-upon vision of the completed structure. Yet this is precisely the situation in which many large organizations find themselves when managing information technology projects. Organizations routinely overschedule their resources (human and otherwise), develop redundant projects, and damage profitability by investing in nonstrategic efforts that do not contribute to the organization’s bottom line. Project management offers a strategic framework for coordinating the numerous activities associated with organizational projects.

Business leaders face a rapidly moving and unforgiving global marketplace that will force them to use every possible tool to sustain competitiveness. A good project manager understands not only the fundamentals of project management, but also how to effectively deal with change management and risk management. This chapter explores project management, change management, risk management, and outsourcing in detail.

LEARNING OUTCOMES Learning Outcome 9.3: Explain project management and identify the primary reasons projects fail.

A project is a temporary or short-term endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result, such as developing a custom ecommerce site or merging databases. Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements. A project manager is an individual who is an expert in project planning and management, defines and develops the project plan, and tracks the plan to ensure the project is completed on time and on budget.

The triple constraints are scope, resources, and time. These three components are interdependent, and if you change one the others must change. The three primary activities performed by a project manager include choosing strategic projects, setting the project scope, and managing resources and maintaining the project plan.

Project stakeholders are individuals and organizations actively involved in the project or whose interests might be affected as a result of project execution or project completion.

While all stakeholders are important, one stands out as having the most impact on the success or failure of a project. That person is the executive sponsor or the person or group who provides the financial resources for the project. Techniques for choosing strategic projects include focusing on organizational goals, categorizing projects, or performing a financial analysis.

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Learning Outcome 9.4: Identify the primary project planning diagrams.

A PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) chart is a graphical network model that depicts a project’s tasks and the relationships between those tasks. A dependency is a logical relationship that exists between the project tasks, or between a project task and a milestone.

A Gantt chart is a simple bar chart that depicts project tasks against a calendar. In a Gantt chart, tasks are listed vertically, and the project’s time frame is listed horizontally. A Gantt chart works well for representing the project schedule. It also shows actual progress of tasks against the planned duration. The three primary areas a project manager must focus on managing to ensure success are managing people, communications, and change.

Learning Outcome 9.5: Identify the three different types of outsourcing along with their benefits and challenges.  Onshore outsourcing—engaging another company within the same country for services.  Nearshore outsourcing—contracting an outsourcing arrangement with a company in a nearby country.  Offshore outsourcing—using organizations from developing countries to write code and develop systems.

The many benefits associated with outsourcing include increased quality and efficiency of a process, service, or function; reduction of operating expenses and exposure to risks involved with large capital investments; and access to outsourcing service provider’s expertise, economies of scale, best practices, and advanced technologies. Outsourcing comes with several challenges including length of contracts, losing competitive advantages, and risking a breach of confidential information.

CORE MATERIAL The core chapter material is covered in detail in the PowerPoint slides. Each slide contains detailed teaching notes including exercises, class activities, questions, and examples. Please review the PowerPoint slides for detailed notes on how to teach and enhance the core chapter material. ! Please feel free to email me directly if you have any questions, ideas, suggestions, or feedback! For additional course materials, content, and cases visit www.baltzan.net or email me directly at pbaltzan@baltzan.net

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CHAPTER NINE CLOSING MATERIAL REVIEW QUESTIONS 1. What role does project management play in the systems development effort?

Any systems development effort needs to be properly projected managed. Each step in the systems development life cycle needs to be measured, managed, and reviewed to ensure completion within budget and in scope.

2. What role does the project manager play in determining a project’s success?

The success of a project completely depends on the ability of the project manager to execute the project successfully. The project manager is an individual who is an expert in project planning and management, defines and develops the project plan, and tracks the plan to ensure the project is completed on time and on budget.

3. Why would a project require an executive sponsor?

The person or group who provides the financial resources for the project is the executive sponsor. Executive sponsor plays a critical role in systems development as the projects needs funding and executive level support for resources and momentum.

4. Which phase in the systems development life cycle is the most important?

All phases in the systems development life cycle are important. One of the most critical phases is analysis of the business requirements. Without the right business requirements every area of the project will be heading in the wrong direction.

5. If you had to skip a phase during the development of a system, which phase would it be and why?

You should never skip any phases during the systems development life cycle. If you must make a choice reduce scope, increase resources, or increase time but it is critical to complete each phase.

6. Which phase in the systems development life cycle contains the most risk? Be sure to explain your answer.

All phases have risk but where most projects fail is in analysis of the business requirements. If you do not gather the correct business requirements it will be impossible to complete the project. 70 percent of project fail due to inaccurate business requirements.

7. Which project management methodology would you choose to run your software development project?

Answers to this question will vary. No student should choose waterfall. Any of the agile Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual

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software development methodologies will work.

8. If you started on a new software development project and the project plan was using the waterfall methodology, would you remain on the project? What could you do to better prepare your project for success?

Any project using the waterfall approach is doomed for failure and you should exit the project if possible. If you stay on the project you would want to recommend switching to one of the agile methodologies to ensure the project’s success.

9. Explain the different types of feasibility studies a project manager can use to prioritize project importance.

The different feasibility studies include economic, operational, schedule, technical, political, and legal. All these studies will help managers prioritize projects based on completion success.

10. Why should end users be involved in the systems development effort?

End users should be heavily involved in every phase of the systems development life cycle to ensure the project is complete to their expectations. No matter how good a system is developed if it does not meet the end users’ needs or approval it will become vaporware.

11. Why would a project manager use Gantt and PERT charts?

A PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) chart is a graphical network model that depicts a project’s tasks and the relationships between them. A Gantt chart is a simple bar chart that lists project tasks vertically against the project’s time frame, listed horizontally. Both are tools the project manager can use to ensure the project is performing as expected.

12. Why is gathering business requirements a challenge for most projects?

Gathering business requirements is difficult as most users do not understand the entire business processes from end-to-end and gathering workflow information that crosses departments is a difficult task. It is even harder to capture the vision of future business processes based on continued change.

13. What are the different types of outsourcing available for a project?

Onshore outsourcing —engaging another company within the same country for services.

Nearshore outsourcing —contracting an outsourcing arrangement with a company in a nearby country. Often this country will share a border with the native country. Offshore outsourcing —using organizations from developing countries to write code and develop systems. In offshore outsourcing the country is geographically far away.

14. What are the risks associated with outsourcing?

Length of contract, threat to competitive advantage, and loss of confidentiality are all challenges of outsourcing.

15. Explain the goals of the Project Management Institute and identify three key terms associated with PMBOK. Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual

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The Project Management Institute created the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) for the education and certification of project managers.

There are several terms associated with PMBOK in the figure in the text.

CLOSING CASE ONE GAMERS DELIGHT 1. What are the three interdependent variables shaping project management?

Why are these variables important to a video gamesoftware development company?

The triple constraints include scope, resources, and time. These three components are interdependent and if you change one the others must change. The three primary activities performed by a project manager include choosing strategic projects, setting the project scope, and managing resources and maintaining the project plan. Every company that develops software must watch these three variables closely to ensure project are executed in a timely and efficient manner.

2. If you were consulting to a business that wanted to build a video game for the iPhone, which development methodology would yourecommend and why?

One of the agile development methodologies should be recommended. If a student recommends the waterfall methodology, ensure they have a solid reason for not going back to requirements constantly to ensure success.

3. Illustrate the triple constraints role when building anew game. Whyis the cost of finding errors important to a business when developing and designing video games?

The triple constraints include scope, resources, and time. These three components are interdependent and if you change one the others must change. The three primary activities performed by a project manager include choosing strategic projects, setting the project scope, and managing resources and maintaining the project plan. The later in the lifecycle you find an error the more expensive it is to fix. Finding errors early and quickly

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during the requirements phase is the key to a successful project.

4. Which phase in the systems development life cycle is most critical when building a video game? Which phase in the systems development life cycle is least critical when building a video game?

The requirements phase is typically more critical – wrong requirements and all other phases suffer. Answers to this question will vary – the key is to understand the students rational for the phases they pick as most and leave critical. All phases in the life cycle are critical and for success a project should decrease scope, increase time or resources before eliminating a phase in the life cycle.

5. What are the ethical and security issues associated with outsourcing the development of a video game to India or China?

Outsourcing a project can have all kinds of ethical and security issues including copyright infringement, lack of coding standards, quality of work, and delivery of the system. Outsourcing is always risky! Length of contract, threat to competitive advantage, and loss of confidentiality are all challenges of outsourcing.

CLOSING CASE TWO REDUCING AMBIGUITY IN BUSINESS REQUIREMENTS 1. Why are ambiguous business requirements the leading cause of system development failures?

The most common reason systems fail is because the business requirements are either missing or incorrectly gathered during the analysis phase. The business requirements drive the entire system. If they are not accurate or complete, the system will not be successful.

2. Why do the words ―and‖ and ―or‖ tend to lead to ambiguous requirements?

And and or have well defined meanings and ought to be completely unambiguous; yet they are often understood only informally and interpreted inconsistently. For example, consider the statement ―The alarm must ring if button T is pressed and if button F is pressed.‖ This statement may be intended to mean that to ring the alarm, both buttons must be pressed or it may be intended to mean that either one can be pressed.

3. Research the Web and determine other reasons for ―bad‖ business requirements.

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Student answers to this question will vary.

4. What is wrong with the following business requirement: ―The system must support employee birthdays since every employee always has a birthday every year.‖ Every employee does not have a birthday every year. Some employees could be born on leap year and therefore would not have a birthday every year. If you build the system with this requirement, you would find yourself in the position of having to find a work around for those employees born on leap year.

MAKING BUSINESS DECISIONS Instructor Note: There are few right or wrong answers in the business world. There are only efficient and inefficient, and effective and ineffective business decisions. If there were always right answers businesses would never fail. These questions were created to challenge your students to apply the materials they have learned to real business situations. For this reason, the authors cannot provide you with one version of a correct answer. When grading your students’ answers, be sure to focus on their justification or support for their specific answers. A good way to grade these questions is to compare your student’s answers against each other.

1. METHODS BEHIND METHODOLOGIES There are numerous other systems development methodologies including spiral, Vmethod, and rational unified process (RUP). Ensure your students can explain the difference in the other methods and the waterfall approach and the agile methodology.

The best way to get the project back on track is to change from the waterfall methodology to an iterative or agile methodology. Skipping testing feels like the easiest phase to skip but unfortunately leads to huge quality problems in the end.

Signatures Inc. specializes in producing personalized products such as coffee mugs and pens with company logos. The company generates over $40 million in annual revenues and has more than 300 employees. The company is in the middle of a large multimilliondollar SCM implementation, and it has just hired your project management outsourcing firm to take over the project management efforts.

On your first day, your team is told that the project is failing for the following reasons:  The project is using the traditional waterfall methodology.  The SDLC was not followed and the developers decided to skip the testing phase.  A project plan was developed during the analysis phase, but the old project manager never updated or followed the plan.

Determine what your first steps would be to get this project back on track.

This is a great project to get your students thinking about the problems they are going to face when they start managing project. There are numerous things your students can do to get the project on the right track including:  Change methodologies – waterfall is pure failure Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual

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 

Do not skip any phases in the SDLC. They should change one of the triple constraints to get the project back on track. They can increase the timeframe, decrease the scope, and increase the budget.

Review the old project plan and revise it to the current status of the project and continue to update and monitor the plan daily

2. MISSING PHASES IN THE SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE Every phase in the SDLC must be followed or else the project will be in jeopardy of failure.

Testing is one of the most important phases. You would never consider handing in a term paper that has not been spell checked, and the same goes for an information system. You should never consider placing a system into production that has not been tested.

3. REFUSING TO SIGN-OFF Sign-off is the system users’ actual signatures indicating they approve all the business requirements. Student answers to this question will vary. The important part of their answer will be their justification for providing sign-off, or not providing their sign-off.

4. SAVING FAILING SYSTEMS The scope of the project can be decreased. The project timeframe can be extended. More resources such as analysts, developers, and tested can be added to the project. More money can be allocated to the project to hire consultants and temporary employees to fill the spots of the three developers.

5. EXPLAINING PROJECT MANAGEMENT Without project management, it is impossible to determine whether a project is on the path to success. Scope creep occurs when the scope increases. Feature creep occurs when extra features are added. The best strategy for delivering a successful project on time is to continuously monitor and update the project plan, watch for change, and mitigate risk.

6. PLANNING FOR THE UNEXPECTED I am sure your students have had to work on a group project and the hardest part is finding a time when everyone can meet. Planning for absenteeism is a key to success. A project plan can help identify which dates unique individuals are out of the office and can ensure no critical paths are being jeopardized. Of course, employees get sick or encounter a family situation they need to tend to and these are not always planned. The project plan can immediately identify the tasks the employee was working on and they can be reassigned to ensure the project continues smoothly.

7. SCRATH Scratch is using an agile/iterative approach to building software. Small pieces are built and tested before additional pieces are added. Scratch is a fun site to review if your students are curious about software and coding.

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8.

CONFUSING COFFEE Business requirements are the detailed set of business requests that the system must meet to be successful. At this point, there is little or no concern with any implementation or reference to technical details. For example, the types of technology used to build the system, such as an Oracle database or the Java programming language, are not yet defined. The only focus is on gathering the true business requirements for the system. A sample business requirement might state, ―The system must track all customer sales by product, region, and sales representative.‖ This requirement states what the system must do from the business perspective, giving no details or information on how the system is going to meet this requirement. Gathering business requirements is basically investigating in which users identify all the organization’s business needs and take measurements of these needs.

All employees must have a unique employee ID. There are no issues with this requirement; in fact, this is a good requirement since each employee must have a unique employee ID. The system must track employee hours worked based on employee’s last name.

The system cannot track employee by last name since two or more employees could have the same last name, for example, Smith. The requirement should state that the system will track employees by employee ID since we know this will be unique.

Employees must be scheduled to work a minimum of eight hours per day.

This requirement is too detailed. The requirement should state that a full-time employee must work a minimum of 40 hours per week and a part-time employee must work a minimum of 20 hours per week. This requirement needs to move from a day level to a weekly level.

Employee payroll is calculated by multiplying the employee’s hours worked by $7.25.

This requirement is only correct if ever employee makes $7.25 an hour. Since managers are typically paid more than other workers this cannot be correct. The correct requirement would state that employee payroll is calculated by multiplying the employee’s hours worked by the employee’s wage.

Managers must be scheduled to work morning shifts.

This requirement is correct, but it is missing information. Managers typically need to be scheduled for every shift including afternoons and evenings. The correct requirement would state that a manager must be scheduled to work during every shift.

Employees cannot be scheduled to work more than eight hours per day.

This requirement is in direct conflict with requirement #3. Conflicting requirements is very common during requirements gathering.

Servers cannot be scheduled to work morning, afternoon, or evening shifts.

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This requirement is incorrect since servers will never work and the business requires servers to serve the food. Cannot should be changed to can or must. Servers must be scheduled to work morning, afternoons, and evening shifts.

The system must allow managers to change and delete employees from the system.

This requirement is missing information; the managers must also be allowed to add employees into the system.

9.

PICKING PROJECTS A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product or service.

According to the Project Management Institute, project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities in order to meet or exceed stakeholder needs and expectations from a project One of the most difficult decisions organizations make is determining the projects in which to invest time, energy, and resources. An organization must identify what it wants to do and how it is going to do it. The ―what‖ part of this question focuses on issues such as justification for the project, definition of the project, and expected results of the project. The ―how‖ part of the question deals with issues such as project approach, project schedule, and analysis of project risks. Determining which projects to focus corporate efforts on is as necessary to projects as each project is to an organization. The three common techniques an organization can use to select projects include:  Focus on organizational goals.  Categorize projects.  Perform a financial analysis The projects that contain business critical needs should be prioritized first, and the projects that are simply nice-to-haves should be last. For example, developing backup and recovery strategies are considered business critical needs. Whereas enhancing the employee intranet and developing an employee vacation tracking system are not as critical to running the core business.

Student answers to this question will vary. The important part of the answer is the justification for their answer. Potential answer includes:  Develop backup and recovery strategy – without this strategy the business is at risk.  Implement supply chain management system – implement means there is not a current system. A SCM system can help improve the business.  Performance test all hardware to ensure 20 percent growth scalability – if the business cannot grow there is no need to continue the business.  Implement changes to employee benefits system – employee benefits are core to employees and the business should not risk alienating its employees.  Upgrade accounting system – the accounting system is critical to the core business and an upgrade could help the business with better financial information.

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 

  

Upgrade customer relationship management system – CRM is critical to a business, without customers there is no business.

Cleanse and scrub data warehouse information – without clean information there is no level of accuracy or completeness in data warehouse report information. This is not as critical because core reports can be run straight from the systems (not from the data warehouse).

Build executive information system for CEO – this is a nice to have, the CEO will have an easier time tracking the business Develop employee vacation tracking system – this is a nice to have, the business can track this on paper until the system is built.

Enhance employee intranet – this is a nice to have, employees can find information from other sources until the intranet is enhanced.

10. KEEPING TIME Time Keepers Inc. is a small firm that specializes in project management consulting.

You are a Senior Project manager and you have recently been assigned to the Tahiti Tanning Lotion account. The Tahiti Tanning Lotion company is currently experiencing a 10 percent success rate on all internal IT projects. Your first assignment is to analyze one of the current project plans being used to develop a new CRM system.

Data File: BadProject.mpp, MSProjectGuidelines.doc Please note that you do not need to use the data file if you are not covering Microsoft Project in your course. You can view the sample project plan on page 274 or open the Project Plan in your course in badproject.mpp if you have project and just want to show the plan to the students.

There are numerous issues in the project plan. Primary issues include:  Managers are only on the beginning of the project  The ratio of managers to analysts is 4 to 2 - does it take two managers to manage one resource  The same analysts are performing each phase in the life cycle and all corresponding tasks – can one analyst code, test, and write requirements?  Analysts are scheduled to work July 4th  Analysts are schedule to work weekends  Analysts are not fully utilized in some weeks  The project is missing major phases in the lifecycle – the development phase and maintenance phase are missing  The project performs implementation during design  Tasks are vague and missing, all it states under each phase is product 1, it does not state what is happening to product 1, for example, gather business requirements for product one, write code for product 1, design database, build IT infrastructure, build database, perform unit testing on product 1, etc.  The project follows the waterfall approach, an iterative plan would take product 1 all the way through testing prior to starting Product 2  Analysis phase is called requirements, gathering requirements should be a task under the analysis phase Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual

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

The project is using the waterfall approach or ―Big Bang‖ approach. It should use an iterative approach

11. GEM ATHLETIC CENTER First Information Corporation is a large consulting company that specializes in systems analysis and design. The company has over 2,000 employees and first quarter revenues reached $15 million. The GEM Athletic Center is interested in implementing a new payroll system. The current payroll process is manual and takes three employees, two day each month to complete. The GEM Athletic Center does not have an IT department and is outsourcing the entire procurement, customization, and installation of the new payroll system to First Information Corporation. First Information has just been assigned the GEM Athletic Center project and must define the initial business requirements for the development of the new payroll system.

This is a good project for students to gain a firsthand look at the difficulty involved with gathering business requirements. This project is best performed in a group.

First, ask your students to review BusinessRequirements.doc, which explains many tricks and tips on gathering accurate business requirements. Second, ask your students to document the business requirements for the new system. Finally, ask them to list any assumptions they are making or questions they would need to ask for any missing information they might require.

Sample Business Requirements could include:  The system must be able to track commissions  The system must be able to track employee vacation and sick time  The system must be able to handle negative vacation and sick time  The system must be able to handle salary, bonus, and commissions for a single employee  The system must be able to track holiday and overtime pay  The system must be able to calculate all W2s  The system must be able to audit the amount of the checks written against the total calculated for employee pay  The system must be able to calculate all taxes, quarterly tax forms, and W2s  The system must automatically track employee timesheets Sample missing business requirements and assumptions include:  What happens to sales representative’s commissions if the member quits right after joining the club?  What happens to sales representative commissions if the member fails to pay their bills?  Do sales representatives receive holiday pay?  Do commissions for sales bonuses include membership type pay and initiation fees?  What is the amount that the commission rate decreases if the membership is sold during a promotion?  How is sick time and vacation tracked for sales representatives?

Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual

Chapter 9

Page 16 of 17

© McGraw Hill LLC. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw Hill LLC.

       

How much are aerobics instructors paid per class?

Who are the salaried employees, and do they have any special requirements?

Should the aerobics instructor schedule be validated against the classes that were taught?

What happens if an employee paycheck is lost or stolen?

What happens if the amount on the check is incorrect?

What happens if the commission rate on the check is inaccurate?

Are there additional audits that need to be performed?

What kinds of analysis and reports should the system produce?

A HARDW ARE AND SOFTWA RE BASICS APPENDIX

This guide provides many classroom activities, videos, and debates to accompany Business Driven Information Systems. A few course suggestions:  Create one or two test questions based on the classroom activity to help reward students who attend lectures.  Many professors have found that assigning an activity and then lecturing on the material helps students gain a deeper understanding of the core MIS concepts as they have already struggled with applying the material to a real-world situation.  Asking a small group of students to explain their answer to the activity to the entire class Page 17 of 4 © McGraw Hill LLC. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw Hill LLC.

HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE BASICS

after completion ensures students come to class prepared. I select a different group each activity to explain their answer and they do not want to look unprepared in front of their fellow classmates. It is a powerful motivator to get my students reading prior to class. After the activity and student’s presentations then I lecture – keeps my students engaged and helps to achieve a higher level of learning outcomes as they are constantly tasked withapplying the concepts during class.  Create an Ask the Professor Discussion board that runs the entire course where students can ask course and content related questions. I typically promise to respond within 24 hours, and I always encourage my students to check the discussion board before sending an email. Many times, if one student a question so does other students.  **Three Before Me Rule! This is something I have found that saves a great deal of time answering email. I state the Three Before Me rule in my syllabus. Before a student comes to me with a question, they must provide three sources they used to answer the question themselves. This significantly cuts down on emails as many times students can find the answer to their questions, but it seems easier just to email the professor. Sources can include the syllabus, the Ask the Professor Q&A Discussion Board, classmates, the textbook, etc. If I ask the student for the three sources and they do not have them I dock participation points. Works great on significantly cutting down my emails and helps to prepare my students for the real world!  The core chapter material is covered in detail in the PowerPoint slides. Each slide contains detailed teaching notes including exercises, class activities, questions, and examples.

Please review the PowerPoint slides for detailed notes on how to teach and enhance the core chapter material. Enjoy your course and best of luck! Please feel free to email me directly if you have any questions, ideas, suggestions, or feedback! For additional course materials, content, and cases visit www.baltzan.net or email me directly at pbaltzan@baltzan.net 

to check the discussion board before sending an email. Many times, if one student a Enjoy

Page 18 of 4 © McGraw Hill LLC. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw Hill LLC.

HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE BASICS

APPENDIX HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE

Technical architecture refers to the structured process of designing and building software architecture, with focus on interaction with software and hardware developers. Technical architecture is a part of software architecture, which focuses on how to deal with certain aspects of the software engineering process. It allows us to design better systems by:  Meeting system requirements and objectives: Both functional and non-functional requirements can be prioritized as "must have", "should have" or "want", where "must have" identifies properties that the system must have in order to be acceptable. An architecture allows us to evaluate and make tradeoffs among requirements of differing priority. Though system qualities (also known as non-functional requirements) can be compromised later in the development process, many will not be met if not explicitly taken into account at the architectural level.  Enabling flexible partitioning of the system: A good architecture enables flexible distribution of the system by allowing the system and its constituent applications to be partitioned among processors in many different ways without having to redesign the distributable component parts. This requires careful attention to the distribution potential of components early in the architectural design process.  Reducing cost of maintenance and evolution: Architecture can help minimize the costs of maintaining and evolving a given system over its entire lifetime by anticipating the main kinds of changes that will occur in the system, ensuring that the system's overall design will facilitate such changes, and localizing as far as possible the effects of such changes on design documents, code, and other system work products. This can be achieved by the minimization and control of subsystem interdependencies.  Increasing reuse and integration with legacy and third party software: An architecture may be designed to enable and facilitate the (re)use of certain existing components, frameworks, class libraries, legacy or third-party applications, etc.

HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE BASICS  Hardware Basics  Computer Categories  Software Basics

LEARNING OUTCOMES

1. Describe the six major categories of hardware and provide an example of each.

Hardware consists of the physical devices associated with a computer system. The six major categories of hardware include:  Central processing unit (CPU) The actual hardware that interprets and executes the program (software) instructions and coordinates how all the other hardware devices work together (e.g., Intel processor)  Primary storage The computer’s main memory, which consists of the random access memory (RAM), cache memory, and the read-only memory (ROM) that is directly accessible to the central processing unit (CPU) (e.g., RAM) Page 19 of 4 © McGraw Hill LLC. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw Hill LLC.

HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE BASICS

      

  





 

Secondary storage Equipment designed to store large volumes of data for long-term storage (e.g., diskette, hard drive, memory card, CD). Input devices Equipment used to capture information and commands (e.g., keyboard, scanner). Output devices Equipment used to see, hear, or otherwise accept the results of information processing requests (e.g., monitor, printer). Communication devices Equipment used to send information and receive it from one location to another (e.g., modem). Personal digital assistant (PDA) - A small hand-held computer that performs simple tasks such as taking notes, scheduling appointments, and maintaining an address book and a calendar. Laptop - A fully functional computer designed to be carried around and run on battery power. Laptops come equipped with all of the technology that a personal desktop computer has, yet weigh as little as two pounds. Tablet - A pen-based computer that provides the screen capabilities of a PDA with the functional capabilities of a laptop or desktop computer. Similar to PDAs, tablet PCs use a writing pen or stylus to write notes on the screen and touch the screen to perform functions such as clicking on a link while visiting a website. Desktop - Available with a horizontal system box (the box is where the CPU, RAM, and storage devices are held) with a monitor on top, or a vertical system box (called a tower) usually placed on the floor within a work area. Workstation - Similar to a desktop but has more powerful mathematical and graphics processing capabilities and can perform more complicated tasks in less time. Typically used for software development, Web development, engineering, and ebusiness tools. Minicomputer (midrange computer) - Designed to meet the computing needs of several people simultaneously in a small to medium-size business environment. A common type of minicomputer is a server and is used for managing internal company networks and websites. Minicomputers are more powerful than desktop computers but also cost more, ranging in price from $5,000 to several hundred thousand dollars. Mainframe computer - Designed to meet the computing needs of hundreds of people in a large business environment. Mainframe computers are a step up in size, power, capability, and cost from minicomputers. Mainframes can cost in excess of $1 million. With processing speeds greater than 1 trillion instructions per second (compared to a typical desktop that can process about 2.5 billion instructions per second), mainframes can easily handle the processing requests of hundreds of people simultaneously. Supercomputer - The fastest, most powerful, and most expensive type of computer.

Organizations such as NASA that are heavily involved in research and number crunching employ supercomputers because of the speed with which they can process information. Primary storage - The computer’s main memory, which consists of the random access memory (RAM), cache memory, and the read-only memory (ROM) that is directly accessible to the central processing unit (CPU). Secondary storage - Equipment designed to store large volumes of data for long-term storage (e.g., diskette, hard drive, memory card, CD).

Page 20 of 4 © McGraw Hill LLC. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw Hill LLC.

HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE BASICS

    

Input devices - Equipment used to capture information and commands (e.g., keyboard, scanner) Output devices - Equipment used to see, hear, or otherwise accept the results of information processing requests (e.g., monitor, printer). Primary storage - The computer’s main memory, which consists of the random access memory (RAM), cache memory, and the read-only memory (ROM) that is directly accessible to the central processing unit (CPU). Secondary storage - Equipment designed to store large volumes of data for long-term storage (e.g., diskette, hard drive, memory card, CD). Communication devices - Equipment used to send information and receive it from one location to another (e.g., modem).

2. Describe the eight categories of computers by size.  Personal digital assistant (PDA) – a small hand-held computer that performs simple tasks such as taking notes, scheduling appointments, and maintaining an address book and a calendar.  Laptop computer – a fully functional computer designed to be carried around and run on battery power.  Tablet computer - a pen-based computer that provides the screen capabilities of a PDA with the functional capabilities of a notebook or desktop computer.  Desktop computer – the most popular choice for personal computing needs.  Workstation computer – Has more mathematical and graphics power than a desktop  Minicomputer (sometimes called a mid-range computer) – designed to meet the computing needs of several people simultaneously in a small to medium-size business environment.  Mainframe computer (sometimes just called a mainframe) – a computer designed to meet the computing needs of hundreds of people in a large business environment.  Supercomputer – the fastest, most powerful, and most expensive type of computer. 3. Identify the two main types of software.

Operating system software controls the application software and manages how the hardware devices work together, whereas utility software provides additional functionality to the operating system. Utility software includes antivirus software, screen savers, disk optimization software, and anti-spam software

CORE MATERIAL The core chapter material is covered in detail in the PowerPoint slides. Each slide contains detailed teaching notes including exercises, class activities, questions, and examples. Please review the PowerPoint slides for detailed notes on how to teach and enhance the core chapter material. ! Please feel free to email me directly if you have any questions, ideas, suggestions, or feedback! For additional course materials, content, and cases visit www.baltzan.net or email me directly at pbaltzan@baltzan.net

Networks and Telecommunications - Instructor’s Manual

Page 21 of 5 © McGraw Hill LLC. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw Hill LLC.

B NETWO RKS AND TELECO MMUNI CATIONS APPENDIX

This guide provides many classroom activities, videos, and debates to accompany Business Driven Information Systems. A few course suggestions:  Create one or two test questions based on the classroom activity to help reward students who attend lectures.  Many professors have found that assigning an activity and then lecturing on the material helps students gain a deeper understanding of the core MIS concepts as they have already struggled with applying the material to a real-world situation.  Asking a small group of students to explain their answer to the activity to the entire class after completion ensures students come to class prepared. I select a different group each activity to explain their answer and they do not want to look unprepared in front of their fellow classmates. It is a powerful motivator to get my students reading prior to class.

After the activity and student’s presentations then I lecture – keeps my students engaged and helps to achieve a higher level of learning outcomes as they are constantly tasked with applying the concepts during class.  Create an Ask the Professor Discussion board that runs the entire course where students can ask course and content related questions. I typically promise to respond within 24 hours, and I always encourage my students to check the discussion board before sending an email. Many times, if one student a question so does other students.  **Three Before Me Rule! This is something I have found that saves a great deal of time answering email. I state the Three Before Me rule in my syllabus. Before a student comes to me with a question, they must provide three sources they used to answer the question themselves. This significantly cuts down on emails as many times students can find the answer to their questions, but it seems easier just to email the professor. Sources can include the syllabus, the Ask the Professor Q&A Discussion Board, classmates, the textbook, etc. If I ask the student for the three sources and they do not have them I dock participation points. Works great on significantly cutting down my emails and helps to Networks and Telecommunications - Instructor’s Manual

Page 22 of 5 © McGraw Hill LLC. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw Hill LLC.

prepare my students for the real world!  The core chapter material is covered in detail in the PowerPoint slides. Each slide contains detailed teaching notes including exercises, class activities, questions, and examples.

Please review the PowerPoint slides for detailed notes on how to teach and enhance the core chapter material.

Enjoy your course and best of luck! Please feel free to email me directly if you have any questions, ideas, suggestions, or feedback! For additional course materials, content, and cases visit www.baltzan.net or email me directly at pbaltzan@baltzan.net

Networks and Telecommunications - Instructor’s Manual

Page 23 of 5 © McGraw Hill LLC. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw Hill LLC.

APPENDIX B: NETWORKS AND TELECOM

Networks and telecommunications are the transmission of signals over a distance for the purpose of communication. In modern times, this process almost always involves the sending of electromagnetic waves by electronic transmitters but in earlier years it may have involved the use of smoke signals, drums or semaphore. Today, network and telecommunication is widespread and devices that assist the process such as the television, radio and telephone are common in many parts of the world. There is also a vast array of networks that connect these devices, including computer networks, public telephone networks, radio networks and television networks. Computer communication across the Internet, such as email and instant messaging, is just one of many examples of telecommunication.

NETWORKS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS  Network Basics  Architecture  Topology  Protocols  Media  Ebusiness Networks

LEARNING OUTCOMES 1.

Compare LANs, WANs, and MANs.  A local area network (LAN) is designed to connect a group of computers in close proximity to each other such as in an office building, a school, or a home.  A wide area network (WAN) spans a large geographic area, such as a state, province, or country. WANs often connect multiple smaller networks, such as local area networks (LANs) or metropolitan area networks (MANs).  A metropolitan area network (MAN) is a large computer network usually spanning a city.

Networks are differentiated by the following:  Architecture—peer-to-peer, client/server  Topology—bus, star, ring, hybrid, wireless  Protocols—Ethernet, Transmission Control Protocol  Media—coaxial, twisted-pair, fiber-optic

2.

Compare the two types of network architectures.

A peer-to-peer (P2P) network is any network without a central file server and in which all computers in the network have access to the public files located on all other workstations. A client is a computer that is designed to request information from a server.

A server is a computer that is dedicated to providing information in response to external requests. A client/server network is a model for applications in which the bulk of the back-end processing, such as performing a physical search of a database, takes place on a server, while the front-end processing, which involves communicating with the users, is handled by the clients

Networks and Telecommunications - Instructor’s Manual

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3.

Explain topology and the different types found in networks.

Network topology refers to the geometric arrangement of the actual physical organization of the computers and other network devices) in a network. The five common types found in networks include:  Bus - All devices are connected to a central cable, called the bus or backbone. Bus networks are relatively inexpensive and easy to install for small networks.  Star - All devices are connected to a central device, called a hub. Star networks are relatively easy to install and manage, but bottlenecks can occur because all data must pass through the hub.  Ring - All devices are connected to one another in the shape of a closed loop, so that each device is connected directly to two other devices, one on either side of it. Ring topologies are relatively expensive and difficult to install, but they offer high bandwidth and can span large distances.  Hybrid - Groups of star-configured workstations are connected to a linear bus backbone cable, combining the characteristics of the bus and star topologies.  Wireless - Devices are connected by a receiver/transmitter to a special network interface card that transmits signals between a computer and a server, all within an acceptable transmission range.

4.

Describe protocols and the importance of TCP/IP. Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) provides the technical foundation for the public Internet as well as for large numbers of private networks.

5.

Identify the different media types found in networks.

Wire media are transmission material manufactured so that signals will be confined to a narrow path and will behave predictably. The three most commonly used types of guided media are  Twisted-pair wiring  Coaxial cable  Fiber-optic cable Wireless media are natural parts of the Earth’s environment that can be used as physical paths to carry electrical signals.

CORE MATERIAL The core chapter material is covered in detail in the PowerPoint slides. Each slide contains detailed teaching notes including exercises, class activities, questions, and examples. Please review the PowerPoint slides for detailed notes on how to teach and enhance the core chapter material. ! Please feel free to email me directly if you have any questions, ideas, suggestions, or feedback! For additional course materials, content, and cases visit www.baltzan.net or email me directly at pbaltzan@baltzan.net

Networks and Telecommunications - Instructor’s Manual

Page 25 of 5 © McGraw Hill LLC. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw Hill LLC.

APPLY YOUR KNOWLEDGE

Instructor Note: There are few right or wrong answers in the business world. There are really only efficient and inefficient, and effective and ineffective business decisions. If there were always right answers businesses would never fail. These questions were created to challenge your students to apply the materials they have learned to real business situations.

For this reason, the authors cannot provide you with one version of a correct answer. When grading your students’ answers, be sure to focus on their justification or support for their specific answers. A good way to grade these questions is to compare your student’s answers against each other.

1. NETWORK ANALYSIS Project Purpose: To implement a wireless network.

Potential Solution: There are a number of advantages to implementing a wireless network such as using a PDA to find information while walking around the club. Customers could connect to the wireless network with their own laptops to check email and perform work while at the club. Wireless iPods are on the market and customers could download songs and podcasts while working out. The numbers of advantages of a wireless network are endless. However, the club should also be aware of the security issues associated with a wireless network.

2. SECURE ACCESS Project Purpose: To begin to understand how vulnerable all computer networks are, and the security features needed to protect them.

Potential Solution: There are a variety of answers here. Students should separate their responses according to software and hardware:  Software o Virus protection software is crucial to network security. These software programs scan all data entering a network from any outside source for known viruses and warn of any viruses encountered to avoid corrupting network software. Updates for virus software are made available through the vendor, usually on a subscription basis.  Hardware o Protection against unauthorized access from outside a network is usually provided through some sort of firewall service. Firewalls are either computers or routers that are set up to provide a secured ―doorway‖ through which users can access the Internet and Internet users can access Web data. Firewall services can be configured to meet specific security needs. They can be set up to screen Internet users trying to access a network, and to allow only certain authorized employees to access the Internet from within a network. o In addition, many firewalls now feature remote authorization for employees using a remote (off-site) Internet connection to access restricted network resources. Other non-Internet applications for firewall services include protecting mainframes or Networks and Telecommunications - Instructor’s Manual

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subnetworks from general access within an organization and ensuring confidentiality of data transmitted across networks.

3. TELECOMMUNICATION OPTIONS Project Purpose: To research current telecommunication technologies and their attributes.

Potential Solution: Here is another exercise that students should find interesting and ―hot.‖ This may take some outside research but encourage students to think on their own to answer this. Some responses might include:  Improving communication between employees and customers  Video conferencing/ Web conferencing  Short-notice meetings  Problem-solving brainstorm sessions 4. FRYING YOUR BRAINS Project Purpose: The disadvantages to wireless networks Potential Solution: Researching the issues related to using telecommunication equipment can be enlightening as more and more people use technology from a younger age, we are seeing many issues, such as ergonomics. Encourage your students to create a product that reaches this growing market as more and more people suffer from computer related illnesses such as carpel tunnel syndrome.

5. HOME NETWORK EXPERIENCE Project Purpose: To understand how easy it is to implement a home network Potential Solution: Many of your students already have experience implementing a home network. A simple Google research on setting up a home network will provide your students with videos and detailed information on how easy this task is to accomplish. For a twist on this activity also ask your students to research how to ―hack‖ a home network.

6. THE INTERNET IS ALMOST FULL Project Purpose: To understand IPv4 Potential Solution: Here is another exercise that students should find interesting and ―hot.‖

C DESIGNI NG APPENDIX

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Designing Databases

DATABA SES This guide provides many classroom activities, videos, and debates to accompany Business Driven Information Systems. A few course suggestions:  Create one or two test questions based on the classroom activity to help reward students who attend lectures.  Many professors have found that assigning an activity and then lecturing on the material helps students gain a deeper understanding of the core MIS concepts as they have already struggled with applying the material to a real-world situation.  Asking a small group of students to explain their answer to the activity to the entire class after completion ensures students come to class prepared. I select a different group each activity to explain their answer and they do not want to look unprepared in front of their fellow classmates. It is a powerful motivator to get my students reading prior to class.

After the activity and student’s presentations then I lecture – keeps my students engaged and helps to achieve a higher level of learning outcomes as they are constantly tasked with applying the concepts during class.  Create an Ask the Professor Discussion board that runs the entire course where students can ask course and content related questions. I typically promise to respond within 24 hours, and I always encourage my students to check the discussion board before sending an email. Many times, if one student a question so does other students.  **Three Before Me Rule! This is something I have found that saves a great deal of time answering email. I state the Three Before Me rule in my syllabus. Before a student comes to me with a question, they must provide three sources they used to answer the question themselves. This significantly cuts down on emails as many times students can find the answer to their questions, but it seems easier just to email the professor. Sources can include the syllabus, the Ask the Professor Q&A Discussion Board, classmates, the textbook, etc. If I ask the student for the three sources and they do not have them I dock participation points. Works great on significantly cutting down my emails and helps to prepare my students for the real world!  The core chapter material is covered in detail in the PowerPoint slides. Each slide contains detailed teaching notes including exercises, class activities, questions, and examples.

Please review the PowerPoint slides for detailed notes on how to teach and enhance the core chapter material.

Enjoy your course and best of luck! Please feel free to email me directly if you have any questions, ideas, suggestions, or feedback! For additional course materials, content, and cases visit www.baltzan.net or email me directly at pbaltzan@baltzan.net Page 28 of 8 © McGraw Hill LLC. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw Hill LLC.

Designing Databases

LEARNING OUTCOMES

1. Identify the relational database model’s basic components.

The relational database model stores information in the form of logically-related twodimensional tables.  Entities  Attributes  Entity identifiers  Constraints  Primary keys  Foreign keys 2. Explain the importance of documenting entity relationship diagrams.

An entity is a person, place, thing, transaction, or event about which information is stored.

A customer is an entity, as is a merchandise item. Entities are not necessarily tangible, such as an appointment to see the doctor is an entity. Attributes are characteristics or properties of an entity. For example, a CUSTOMER entity can be described by have attributes such as a Customer Number, First Name, Last Name, Street, City, State, Zip Code, Phone Number, Credit Card No, and Credit Card Exp. 3. Explain the need for an entity-relationship diagram in a database management system.

An entity-relationship diagram (ERD) is a technique for documenting the entities and relationships between entities in a database environment.

The Chen model uses rectangles to represent entities, diamonds for relationships, and lines with arrows to show the type of relationship between entities.

CORE MATERIAL The core chapter material is covered in detail in the PowerPoint slides. Each slide contains detailed teaching notes including exercises, class activities, questions, and examples. Please review the PowerPoint slides for detailed notes on how to teach and enhance the core chapter material. ! Please feel free to email me directly if you have any questions, ideas, suggestions, or feedback! For additional course materials, content, and cases visit www.baltzan.net or email me directly at pbaltzan@baltzan.net

Page 29 of 8 © McGraw Hill LLC. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw Hill LLC.

Designing Databases

APPLY YOUR KNOWLEDGE

Instructor Note: There are few right or wrong answers in the business world. There are really only efficient and inefficient, and effective and ineffective business decisions. If there were always right answers businesses would never fail. These questions were created to challenge your students to apply the materials they have learned to real business situations.

For this reason, the authors cannot provide you with one version of a correct answer. When grading your students’ answers, be sure to focus on their justification or support for their specific answers. A good way to grade these questions is to compare your student’s answers against each other.

1. SportTech Events Project Purpose: Get students comfortable identifying entities, attributes and relationships.

Solution:  Make sure students know that POTENTIAL_SPONSOR is an associative entity. This can be confusing, since a SPONSOR can be a POTENTIAL_SPONSOR as well. That creates a many-to-many relationship if POTENTIAL_SPONSOR is not an associative entity.  Suggested ERD: Support

SPONSOR

Can Be

POTENTIAL_SPONSOR

Support

EVENT

Has

LOCATION

Suggested Normalization:

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Designing Databases

2. Course and Student Schedules Project Purpose: Get students comfortable identifying entities, attributes and relationships.

Solution:  Make sure that students identify the many-to-many relationship between STUDENT and SECTION. They will have to create an associative entity called ENROLL to normalize this.  Suggested ERD: STUDENT

Enrolls

INSTRUCTOR

Assigned

SECTION

Has

COURSE



Suggested Normalization:

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Designing Databases

3. Foothills Athletics Project Purpose: Get students comfortable identifying entities, attributes and relationships.

Solution:  The main business functions to be addressed include the tracking of: 1) members; 2) memberships; 3) personnel, including those who teach fitness classes as well as those who perform administrative functions; 4) facilities (rooms) and exercise equipment; and 5) equipment maintenance.  Make sure students identify the many-to-many relationship between MEMBER and CLASS. They will have to create an associative entity called ENROLL to normalize this.  Suggested ERD:

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Designing Databases



Suggested Normalization:

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Designing Databases

4. Slopeside Ski Rentals Project Purpose: Get students comfortable identifying entities, attributes and relationships.

Recommended Solution:  The main business functions to be addressed include the tracking of: 1) customers, both corporate and individual; 2) wine orders placed by customers; 3) wine products available for sale; 4) grape harvest information, including details on variety, quantity, and vineyard source; and 5) employees of the vineyard.  There are several many-to-many relationships in this exercise.  Suggested ERD:



Suggested Normalization:

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Designing Databases

E M ER GI N G TR Page 35 of 4

D APPENDIX

© McGraw Hill LLC. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw Hill LLC.

E N D S A N D TECHNO LOGIES This guide provides many classroom activities, videos, and debates to accompany BusinessDriven Information Systems. A few course suggestions:  Create one or two test questions based on the classroom activity to help reward studentswho attend lectures.  Many professors have found that assigning an activity and then lecturing on the material helps students gain a deeper understanding of the core MIS concepts as they have alreadystruggled with applying the material to a real-world situation.  Asking a small group of students to explain their answer to the activity to the entire class after completion ensures students come to class prepared. I select a different group Page 36 of 4

© McGraw Hill LLC. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw Hill LLC.

eachactivity to explain their answer and they do not want to look unprepared in front of their fellow classmates. It is a powerful motivator to get my students reading prior to class.

After the activity and student’s presentations then I lecture – keeps my students engaged and helps to achieve a higher level of learning outcomes as they are constantly tasked with applying the concepts during class.  Create an Ask the Professor Discussion board that runs the entire course where students can ask course and content related questions. I typically promise to respond within 24 hours, and I always encourage my students to check the discussion board before sendingan email. Many times, if one student a question so does other students.  **Three Before Me Rule! This is something I have found that saves a great deal of time answering email. I state the Three Before Me rule in my syllabus. Before a student comesto me with a question, they must provide three sources they used to answer the question themselves. This significantly cuts down on emails as many times students can find the answer to their questions, but it seems easier just to email the professor. Sources can include the syllabus, the Ask the Professor Q&A Discussion Board, classmates, the textbook, etc. If I ask the student for the three sources and they do not have them I dock participation points. Works great on significantly cutting down my emails and helps to prepare my students for the real world!  The core chapter material is covered in detail in the PowerPoint slides. Each slide containsdetailed teaching notes including exercises, class activities, questions, and examples. Please review the PowerPoint slides for detailed notes on how to teach and enhance the core chapter material.

Enjoy your course and best of luck! Please feel free to email me directly if you have any questions, ideas, suggestions, or feedback! For additional course materials, content, and cases visit www.baltzan.net or email me directly at pbaltzan@baltzan.net

Page 37 of 4

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LEARNING OUTCOMES

1. Identify the trends that will have the greatest impact on future business.

The following trends have the potential to change our world, our future, and our lives:  World’s population will double in the next 40 years  People in developed countries are living longer  Growth in information industries is creating a knowledge-dependent global society  The global economy is becoming more integrated  The economy and society are dominated by technology  Pace of technological innovation is increasing  Time is becoming one of the most precious commodities 2. Identify the technologies that will have the greatest impact on future business.

The following technologies have the potential to change our world, our future, and our lives:  The Digital Mesh o The Device Mesh o Ambient User Experience o 3D Printing Materials  Smart Machines o Information of Everything o Advanced Machine Learning o Autonomous Agents and Things  The New IT Reality o Adaptive Security Architecture o Advanced System Architecture 3. Explain why understanding trends and new technologies can help an organization prepare for the future.

Obtaining a broad view of emerging trends and new technologies as they relate to business can help an organization anticipate and prepare for the future. Organizations that can most effectively grasp the deep currents of technological evolution can use their knowledge to protect themselves against sudden and fatal technological obsolescence.

CORE MATERIAL The core chapter material is covered in detail in the PowerPoint slides. Each slide contains detailed teaching notes including exercises, class activities, questions, and examples. Please review the PowerPoint slides for detailed notes on how to teach and enhance the core chapter material. ! Please feel free to email me directly if you have any questions, ideas, suggestions, or feedback! For additional course materials, content, and cases visit www.baltzan.net or email me directly at pbaltzan@baltzan.net

Page 38 of 4

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APPLY YOUR KNOWLEDGE

Instructor Note: There are few right or wrong answers in the business world. There are really only efficient and inefficient, and effective and ineffective business decisions. If there were always right answers businesses would never fail. These questions were created to challenge your students to apply the materials they have learned to real business situations.

For this reason, the authors cannot provide you with one version of a correct answer. When grading your students’ answers, be sure to focus on their justification or support for their specific answers. A good way to grade these questions is to compare your student’s answers against each other.

1. Identify the Following Trends Project Purpose: To watch for future trends.

Potential Solution: Student answers to this question will vary depending on the trends they find on the Internet. Be sure each answer details the business impact for each trend.

Business impacts are detailed throughout the appendix.

2. NAO Robots Project Purpose: To understand robotics and the future.

Potential Solution: There are so many potential opportunities for NAO robots including individual care, household chores, pet sitting, teaching, nursing, manufacturing, etc.

Almost any job can be enhanced with a robot – even if it just makes coffee or can provide words of praise and encouragement during late night sessions.

3. Educational Robots Project Purpose: To understand the correlation between robots and education.

Potential Solution: A robot professor can reverse and rev-up the material to deliver the content for the specific student allowing students that are behind to continually review the material until they have it mastered. Robot professors could also work when the student is ready – not only during certain hours of the week. Robot professors can test the students on material and even make suggestions on improvements. As the robot learns the students particular behaviors the test robot can use different strategies to teach depending on the students preferred learning method.

4. Less is More Project Purpose: To understand autonomic computing.

Potential Solution: Autonomic computing is a self-managing computing model named after, and patterned on, the human body’s autonomic nervous system. The potential business impacts from autonomic computing include:  Autonomic computing will be used in complex IT infrastructures for security, storage, network management, and redundancy/failover  Computers will monitor components and fine-tune workflows  Autonomic computers will be able to ―self-heal‖  Autonomic computers will be able to ―self-protect‖ Page 39 of 4

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5. Real-Time Adaptive Security Project Purpose: To watch for future trends.

Potential Solution: Viruses frequently infect school computers. Hackers are always looking to steal the identity of college students. There are so many digital and virtual threats that students need to be aware of and combat. Here is a great resource to get your students heading in the right direction: https://www.usa.gov/identity-theft 6. Alternative Energy Project Purpose: To research the potential for new energy systems Potential Solution: There are over 500,000 homes in the United States that provide their own energy through sources such as wind, water, and sun. Many of these homes even resell their excess energy making a small profit. The electronic world runs on energy and understanding and researching the alternative forms that are available is exciting.

E OVERVIE W OF A CONNEC TED WORLD APPENDIX

This guide provides many classroom activities, videos, and debates to accompany Business Driven Information Systems. A few course suggestions:  Create one or two test questions based on the classroom activity to help reward students who attend lectures.  Many professors have found that assigning an activity and then lecturing on the material helps students gain a deeper understanding of the core MIS concepts as they have already struggled with applying the material to a real-world situation.  Asking a small group of students to explain their answer to the activity to the entire class after completion ensures students come to class prepared. I select a different group each activity to explain their answer and they do not want to look unprepared in front of their Page 40 of 2

© McGraw Hill LLC. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw Hill LLC.

fellow classmates. It is a powerful motivator to get my students reading prior to class.

After the activity and student’s presentations then I lecture – keeps my students engaged and helps to achieve a higher level of learning outcomes as they are constantly tasked withapplying the concepts during class.  Create an Ask the Professor Discussion board that runs the entire course where students can ask course and content related questions. I typically promise to respond within 24 hours, and I always encourage my students to check the discussion board before sending an email. Many times, if one student a question so does other students.  **Three Before Me Rule! This is something I have found that saves a great deal of time answering email. I state the Three Before Me rule in my syllabus. Before a student comes to me with a question, they must provide three sources they used to answer the question themselves. This significantly cuts down on emails as many times students can find the answer to their questions, but it seems easier just to email the professor. Sources can include the syllabus, the Ask the Professor Q&A Discussion Board, classmates, the textbook, etc. If I ask the student for the three sources and they do not have them I dock participation points. Works great on significantly cutting down my emails and helps to prepare my students for the real world!  The core chapter material is covered in detail in the PowerPoint slides. Each slide contains detailed teaching notes including exercises, class activities, questions, and examples.

Please review the PowerPoint slides for detailed notes on how to teach and enhance the core chapter material.

Enjoy your course and best of luck! Please feel free to email me directly if you have any questions, ideas, suggestions, or feedback! For additional course materials, content, and cases visit www.baltzan.net or email me directly at pbaltzan@baltzan.net

Page 41 of 2

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LEARNING OUTCOMES 1.

Explain the five networking elements creating a connected world.  







2.

Network categories: Networks are categorized based on geographic span: local area networks, wide area networks, and metropolitan area networks.

Network providers: At the top of the hierarchy are national service providers (NSPs), private companies that own and maintain the worldwide backbone that supports the Internet. Regional service providers (RSPs) offer Internet service by connecting to NSPs, but they also can connect directly to each other. Another level down are the Internet service providers (ISPs); recall from Chapter 3 that an ISP provides access to the Internet for a monthly fee.

Network access technologies: A modem is a device that enables a computer to transmit and receive data. Broadband is a high-speed Internet connection that is always connected. A Digital subscriber line (DSL) allows high-speed digital data transmission over standard telephone lines. Internet cable connections provide Internet access using a cable television company’s infrastructure and a special cable modem. A T1 line is a type of data connection able to transmit a digital signal at 1.544 Mpbs.

Network protocols: A protocol is a standard that specifies the format of data as well as the rules to be followed during transmission. Network access technologies use a standard Internet protocol called transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP); it provides the technical foundation for the public Internet as well as for large numbers of private networks.

Network convergence: Network convergence is the efficient coexistence of telephone, video, and data communication within a single network, offering convenience and flexibility not possible with separate infrastructures. Voice over IP (VoIP) uses IP technology to transmit telephone calls. Internet protocol TV (IPTV) distributes digital video content using IP across the Internet and private IP networks. Learning Outcome

Identify the benefits and challenges of a connected world.

Before networks, transferring data between computers was time-consuming and laborintensive. People had to copy data physically from machine to machine using a disk.

Networks offer many advantages for a business, including: Sharing resources Providing opportunities Reducing travel Networks have created a diverse yet globally connected world. By eliminating time and distance, networks make it possible to communicate in ways not previously imaginable. Even though networks provide many business advantages, they also create increased challenges in (1) security and (2) social, ethical, and political issues.

CORE MATERIAL The core chapter material is covered in detail in the PowerPoint slides. Each slide contains detailed teaching notes including exercises, class activities, questions, and examples. Please review the PowerPoint slides for detailed notes on how to teach and enhance the core chapter material. ! Please feel free to email me directly if you have any questions, ideas, suggestions, or feedback! For additional course materials, content, and cases visit www.baltzan.net or 4 2

© McGraw Hill LLC. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw Hill LLC.

email me directly at pbaltzan@baltzan.net

F

BUSINES S IN TE LL IG E N CE A N D APPENDIX

4 3 © McGraw Hill LLC. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw Hill LLC.

D AT A MI NI N G This guide provides many classroom activities, videos, and debates to accompany Business Driven Information Systems. A few course suggestions:   



Create one or two test questions based on the classroom activity to help reward students who attend lectures.

Many professors have found that assigning an activity and then lecturing on the material helps students gain a deeper understanding of the core MIS concepts as they have already struggled with applying the material to a real-world situation.

Asking a small group of students to explain their answer to the activity to the entire class after completion ensures students come to class prepared. I select a different group each activity to explain their answer and they do not want to look unprepared in front of their fellow classmates. It is a powerful motivator to get my students reading prior to class. After the activity and student’s presentations then I lecture – keeps my students engaged and helps to achieve a higher level of learning outcomes as they are constantly tasked with applying the concepts during class.

Create an Ask the Professor Discussion board that runs the entire course where students can ask course and content related questions. I typically promise to respond within 24 hours, and I always encourage my students to check the discussion board before sending an email. Many times, if one student a question so © McGraw Hill LLC. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw Hill LLC.

4 4





does other students. **Three Before Me Rule! This is something I have found that saves a great deal of time answering email. I state the Three Before Me rule in my syllabus. Before a student comes to me with a question, they must provide three sources they used to answer the question themselves. This significantly cuts down on emails as many times students can find the answer to their questions, but it seems easier just to email the professor. Sources can include the syllabus, the Ask the Professor Q&A Discussion Board, classmates, the textbook, etc. If I ask the student for the three sources and they do not have them I dock participation points. Works great on significantly cutting down my emails and helps to prepare my students for the real world!

The core chapter material is covered in detail in the PowerPoint slides. Each slide contains detailed teaching notes including exercises, class activities, questions, and examples. Please review the PowerPoint slides for detailed notes on how to teach and enhance the core chapter material.

4 5 © McGraw Hill LLC. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw Hill LLC.

Enjoy your course and best of luck! Please feel free to email me directly if you have any questions, ideas, suggestions, or feedback! For additional course materials, content, and cases visit www.baltzan.net or email me directly at pbaltzan@baltzan.net

APPENDIX F: BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE AND DATA MINING LEARNING OUTCOMES

1. Compare tactical, operational, and strategic BI. STRATEGIC BI

OPERATIONAL BI

Helps with Planning

Helps with Immediate actions

Results in Marketing Campaign

Results in sales revenue

TACTICAL BI Helps with daily analysis Results in refined campaign

2. Explain how data mining can help improve the business process.

4 6 © McGraw Hill LLC. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw Hill LLC.

Data mining: The process of analyzing data to extract information not offered by the raw data alone.

4 7 © McGraw Hill LLC. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw Hill LLC.

Data mining can also begin at a summary information level (coarse granularity) and progress through increasing levels of detail (drilling down) or the reverse (drilling up). Companies use data mining techniques to compile a complete picture of their operations, all within a single view, allowing them to identify trends and improve forecasts. The three elements of data mining include:  Data: Foundation for data-directed decision making.  Discovery: Process of identifying new patterns, trends, and insights.  Deployment: Process of implementing discoveries to drive success. One retailer discovered that loyalty program customers spent more

3. Describe the four categories of BI business benefits.

A practical way of breaking down the numerous benefits of BI is to separate them into four main categories:  Quantifiable benefits: Quantifiable benefits include working time saved in producing reports, selling information to suppliers, etc.  Indirectly quantifiable benefits: Indirectly quantifiable benefits can be evaluated through indirect evidence— improved customer service means new business from the same customer, and differentiated service brings new customers.  Unpredictable benefits: Unpredictable benefits are the result of discoveries made by creative users and a few.  Intangible benefits: Intangible benefits include improved communication throughout the enterprise, improved job satisfaction of empowered users, and improved knowledge sharing.

CORE MATERIAL The core chapter material is covered in detail in the PowerPoint slides. Each slide contains detailed teaching notes including exercises, class activities, questions, and examples. Please review the PowerPoint slides for detailed notes on how to teach and enhance the core chapter material. ! Please feel free to email me directly if you have any questions, ideas, suggestions, or feedback! For additional course materials, content, and cases visit www.baltzan.net or email me directly at pbaltzan@baltzan.net

4 8 © McGraw Hill LLC. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw Hill LLC.