Questions
1) Explain in your own words the capabilities of the software. Have there been any success stories of companies using it? Are there similar products from competitors and how do these compare as far as capabilities are concerned?
(700 words)
2) Give an overview of E-commerce, M-commerce and E-business. Discuss how companies that work using the E-business model can obtain a competitive advantage in relation to traditional businesses. Explain how traditional companies can implement the E-business model while keeping their traditional status. Also discuss how a traditional business can fully convert to an E-Business (dropping its traditional status). Analyse the benefits of E- commerce for the customers of such business.
(1000 words)
3) Read the case study for Assignment 2 and answer the following:
a) What were the concerns of the New York City cabbies over the new use of the new system? Were their concerns justified and why or why not?
b) If you were the manager of the New York City's Taxi & Limousine Commission, what would you have done to create a smoother transition to the new system?
c) Many cabbies expressed the opinion that the technology being installed in their cabs was inevitable, no matter what their opinion. Do you agree with this assessment? Why or why not?
d) As a customer of a cab service, would you appreciate the benefits provided by the new system in New York City? Would it help provide you with a favourable view of the city in general? List the benefits and provide your view of each.
Enterprise Information Systems
Topic 6 – Overview
Topic’s learning objectives:
· Yunnan Lucky Air Case Study
· An Empirical Study in Selecting Enterprise Resource Planning Systems
6.1 Yunnan Lucky Air Case Study
Read the case study ‘E-commerce at Yunnan Lucky Air’ by Berenguer et al 2008 and answer the following questions. The article can be found on the module website.
Questions:
i. Why is it important for Lucky Air to be a leader in IT?
ii. Consider that you worked for Yunnan Lucky Air in a role that involved technology and strategy. You have been asked to outline their future IT strategy to best utilize Web 2.0. Based on the information presented in the case study and the course material what solutions would you rcommend?
iii. Some of the advantages of using Paypal for an airline have been discussed. What could be the disadvantages?
iv. Based on what is discussed in the article and the course material how can the conversion rates of browsing and researching online be improved with a better CRM?
Pause for thought Yunnan Lucky Air operated as a low cost carrier modelling itself on the American airline Soutwest. Does this mean it should also model its IT on Soutwest or should it customise it to their environment?
6.2 An empirical study in selecting Enterprise Resource Planning Systems
Read the case study ‘An empirical study in selecting Enterprise Resource Planning Systems Article: The relation between some of the variables involve on it. Size and Investment.’ by Pacheco-Comer and Gonzalez-Castolo, 2012, and answer the following questions. The article can be found on the module website.
Questions:
i. Explain the ‘ERP anatomy’ illustrated in figure 1. Are there alternative anatomies of an ERP?
ii. What were the empirical goals of this survey? Would you add anything to these?
iii. What were the findings of this research? Does this agree with other research on this topic?
Pause for thought We have seen in a number of articles how the size of an organization impacts the choice and implementation of an ERP. We have also seen in the Lucky Air case study how IT may be important strategically. Do you believe that it is the size of the company or the business strategy that is the deciding factor for the MIS strategy?
Further reading
Rainer R.K., Watson H.J. (2012) Management Information Systems: Moving Business Forward, Wiley.
Gunasekaran, A., Shea, T. (2009) Organizational Advancements through Enterprise Information Systems: Emerging Applications and Developments: IGI Global
Motiwalla, L. And Thompson, J. (2012) Enterprise Systems for Management: International Version, 2/E, Pearson Higher Education
Magal, S. R. and Word, J. (2012) Integrated Business Processes with ERP Systems, Wiley Plus course
Cruz-Cunha, M. M. (2009) Social, Managerial, and Organizational Dimensions of Enterprise Information Systems, IGI Global
Obrien, J. and Marakas G. (2007): ‘Enterprise Information Systems’, Chapter 12: Local and International Management of Information Technology, 13th ed., McGraw Hill.