AGUSTIN,JudithAndreaR.

TTh,9:0010:30,S

IIIBSBAMM

March23,2015

1. Why are standards provided to the information processor in the general systems modelof
thefirm?
Based on
Business Dictionary
, Standards aredefinedinto
writtendefinition,limit,or
rule
,approvedand
monitored for
compliance by an authoritative
agency or
professional or recognizedbodyasaminimum
acceptable
benchmark
. Standards may be
classified as
government or
statutory agency standards and
specifications
enforced by
law
,
proprietary standards
developed by a firm or
organizationandplacedin
public domain to encourage their widespread use, and
voluntary standards
established by
consultation
and
consensus and available for use by any
person
, organization, or
industry
. Once established,
standardsareverydifficultto
change
ordislodge.
Meanwhile, according to GATT, margin is a technicalspecificationscontainedina
documentthatlays
characteristics of a
product such aslevelsof
quality
,
performance
,
safety
,or
dimensions
.Standardsmay
include or
deal exclusively with terminology,
symbols
,
testing and
methods
,
packaging
, or
labeling
requirements
asthey
apply
toaproduct."
According to ETSI, setting standards is very essential in the firm. Below are thespecialsignificanceof
standards:
They address especially the needs for interconnection and
interoperability
. This is particularly
important for
open markets
, where users, who are increasingly mobile, can mix and match
equipmentandservices,andwheresupplierscanbenefitfromeconomiesofscale.
Standardsareequallyimportantforensuringsafety,reliabilityandenvironmentalcare.
They are also frequently referencedby
regulatorsand legislatorsforprotectinguserandbusiness
interests,andinsupportofgovernmentpolicies.
Therefore, management is guided in its decision making by the firms performance standards. These
performance standards can also be used by the information processor to determine whenthefirmisnot
performingasplanned.
2. Whataretheeightenvironmentalelements?
Every firm and organizations consider these eight environmental elements in establishing their
business.Theseeightelementsarethefollowing:
Suppliers
These are individuals or businesses that provide raw materials, goods or servicesto
firms in exchange of an agreed compensation.Suppliersdonotdirectlyinteractwithconsumers,
they distribute their products to vendors, selling firms or shop owners. Firms that have a
longterm contracts or ordered large quantities are given volume discounts buy suppliers asitis
part of their marketing strategies. Often times, suppliers offer wholesale distribution of their
products to theretailindustry,thisiswheretheymanufactureanddeliverlargequantities oftheir
goods to their clients. Supply companies also work in niche markets such as importing and
exporting packaged goods, ethnic or cultural goods, or any other range of products that have
smallbutreliabledemand.
Customers
An individual or business that a marketer believes will benefit from the goods or
services produced by a business. The customer is the end goal of businesses, since it is the
customer who pays for supply and creates demand. Businesses will often compete through
advertisements or sales in order to attract a larger customer base. However, customers are not
necessarily someone who iscurrentlypurchasingfromthemarketer.Infact,therearethreetypes

of customers: the
existing customer,
former customer,
and
potential customer.
Existing
customers
are customers who have purchased or availed a firms goods or services, within a
designated span of time. For some firms, the time frame is short, like for example, a bakery
would consider someone as existing customer if he had purchased within the last three weeks.
Existing Customers are by far the most importantofthethreecustomergroupssincetheyhavea
current relationship with a company and, consequently, they give a companya reasontoremain
in contact with them. Existing customers represent the best market for future sales,especiallyif
they are satisfied with the relationship they presently have with their marketer. Next is
former
customers
, this type is consists of those who have formerly relations with the marketing
organization most likely, through a previous purchase. However, the firm may no longer feels
the customer as an existing customer either because they have not purchased from the firm
within a certain time frame or purchased the same product to the firms competitors. The value
or significance of this group depends on the customers previous relationship with the firms,
whether the customer felt satisfied to the product/services offered by the firm. Lastly, the
potential customers
, these are customers who have yet to purchase but possess what the
marketer believes are the qualifications to eventually become an existing customer. The
qualifications include the following: issues as having a need to buy for a product, has the
financialmeanstobuy,andhavingtheauthoritytomakeabuyingdecisions.
Labor unions
An organization intended to represent the collective interests of workers in
negotiations with employers over wages, hours and working conditions.
They help w
orkers in
issues like fairness of pay, goodworkingenvironment,hoursof workandbenefits.Laborunions
are often industryspecific and tend to bemorecommoninmanufacturing,mining,construction,
transportation and the public sector. Workers employed by transportation, shipping and
manufacturing companies typically maintain contracts with labor unions. The unions agree to
engage employers in collective bargaining in return for union dues withheld from
payroll
. The
purpose of these unions is to look intothegrievancesofwagersandpresentacollectivevoicein
front of the management. Hence, it acts as the medium of communication between the workers
and management. Labor unions are specifiedinthe
LaborCodeofthePhilippines
.Herein the
country, the labor union covers 38 million Filipinos that belong to the labor force
and to some
extent, also the overseas workers. There is a sector that is assigned to this field, this is the
DepartmentofLaborandEmployment
.
Financial Community
It consists of institutions such as banks and other lending institutions
that influence the financial resources that are available to the firm.
The industry of helping
private and businessclients managerevenuesandinvestmentsFinanceprofessionalsresearchthe
marketplace for suitable products and services. They subsequently advise their clients of which
products and services are available and make recommendations based on their clients' needs at
any particular time. The role involves a substantial amount of marketing as well as providing
advice. Finance professionals promote and sell products and negotiate withproductprovidersto
obtain the most competitive rate for their clients. Some finance professionals focus on specific
areas such as mortgages or pensions, while others provide advice on the whole spectrum of
financial products and services. Finance professionals must also comply with strict government
legislation. They frequently contact their clients to keep them informed of any changes to
legislationthatmayaffecttheirsavingsandinvestments.
Stockholders and Owners
Accordingto
Investopedia.com
,anonlinedictionary,stockholders
are
any person, company or other institution that owns at least one share of a companys stock.
Shareholdersareacompany'sowners.Theyhavethepotentialtoprofitif thecompanydoeswell,
but that comes with the potential to lose if the companydoespoorly.Ashareholdermayalsobe
referred to as a "stockholder". Unlike the owners of sole proprietorships or partnerships,
corporate shareholders are not personally liable for the companys debts and other obligations.
Also, corporate shareholders do not play a major role in running the company. The board of

1.
2.
3.
4.

directors and executive management perform thatfunction.Commonstockholdersare,however,

able to vote on corporate matters, such as who sits on the board of directors and whether a
proposed merger should go through. They also benefit when the company performs wellandits
share price increases, and they have the right to trade their shares on a stock exchange, which
makes stock a highly liquid investment. Shareholders do have rights, which are defined in the
corporations charter and bylaws. They can inspect the companys books and records, sue the
corporation for misdeeds of the directorsandofficers,andifthecompanyliquidates,theyhavea
righttoashareoftheproceeds.However,creditors,bondholdersandpreferredstockholdershave
precedence over common stockholders in a liquidation.Shareholdersalsohavearighttoreceive
aportionofanydividendsthecompanydeclares.
Competitors
These are all of the organizations that compete with the firm in its marketplace.
Many companies spend a lot of time focusing on similar companies in their industry, ignoring
alternatives in other industries. This is a waste of time, effort and resource. It is also likely to
result in the alternatives stealing market share from the company. Part of any competitor
intelligence system should be a process for monitoring major competitors and the overall
competitive environment. The decision on who is a major competitor should be based on who
competes for YOUR customers. The industry is irrelevant. Meanwhile, according to
Marketing
Management

by
PhilipKotler
,therearefourdefinitionsofcompetitors,thesearethefollowing:
A company offering a similar product and services to the samecustomersatsimilar pricese.g.
Ford,Toyota,HondabutnotSkodaorRollsRoyce.
A company making the same product or class of products e.g. all car/automobile
manufacturers.
A company making products that supply the same service e.g. car, truck, motorcycle
manufacturers.
A company competing forthesamecustomer'savailablemoneye.g.anyproductorservicethat
a customer could spend money on instead of a new car. Holidays, home repairs, consumer
durables,etc.
However, professionals seemed to have problemswithKotlersdefinitionsofcompetitorsthatis
why another definition has been given. According tothebook,
Coopetitionby
Brandenburger
and Nalebuff
competitor is defined as this,
A company is your competitor if customers value
your productlesswhentheyhavetheothercompany'sproductthanwhentheyhaveyourproduct
alone
.

Government
According to
Amosweb Encyclonomic
,
government sector is the aggregate
macroeconomic sector that includes all levels of government, including federal, state,andlocal.
The primary function of the government sector, also termed the public sector, is to impose
resource allocation decisions on the rest of the economy that mightnotbemade otherwise.This
is one of the four macroeconomic sectors. The other three arehouseholdsector,businesssector,
and foreign sector. The government sector includes all levelsofgovernment:national,state,and
local. These threelevelsinterveneintheeconomybycollectingandspendingtaxrevenueandby
establishing and enforcing laws, rules, and other regulations. The government sectorundertakes
this intervention because society has deemed that the provision of some goods and services are
better handled by the imposition of government than by voluntary market decisions. The
spending side of the government sector suggests two relatedconceptsgovernmentspendingand
governmentpurchases.
1. Government Spending
: This is the generic term for all spending by the government sector. It
includes spending for the purchase of goods and services which falls under the title of
government purchases. It also includes expenditures that are not for goods and services, which
aretermedtransferpayments.

2. Government Purchases
: This is a more specific term meaning actual expenditures by the
government sector on final goods and services. These expenditures are used to purchaseashare
ofgrossdomesticproduct.
Global Community
It is the geographic area where the firmperformsitsoperations.Thefirm
demonstrates its responsibility to the global community by respecting the natural environment,
providing products and servicesthatcontributetoqualityoflife,andconductingitsoperationsin
an ethical manner. Meanwhile, according to
Collins English Dictionary, global community are
people or nations of the world, considered as being closely connected by modern
telecommunicationsandasbeingeconomically,socially,andpoliticallyinterdependent.

Figure1.1
Eight
Environmental
Elements

3. Whatprovidestheconnectionsbetweenthefirmanditsenvironment?
The firm is connected to its environmental elements by the socalled
environmental resource flows.
According to
Instrumental change
,
environmental resource flow involves business, government,
communities and households contributing to environmental quality throughtheefficientproductionand
useofnaturalresources,theminimizationofwastes,andtheoptimizationofproductsandservices.

Meanwhile, according to NickRobins,ERPtheemphasisofsustainableproductionisonthesupplyside

of the equation, focusing on improving environmental performance in key economic sectors, such as
agriculture,energy,industry,tourismandtransport.Sustainableconsumptionaddressesthedemandside,
looking at how the goods andservicesrequiredtomeetbasicneedsandimprovequalityoflifesuchas
food and health, shelter, clothing, leisure and mobilitycanbedeliveredinwaysthatreducetheburden
ontheEarth'scarryingcapacity.

4. Whatismargin?Howdoesitrelatetocompetitiveadvantage?
Margin
, according to
Solution Matrix Limited, was defined into three different ways. First,
in an
investment term, margin refers to buying shares of stock or other securities with a combination of the
investor's own funds and borrowed funds. If the stock price changes between its purchase and sale,the
result for the investor is leverage: the investor's percentage gain or loss is magnified, compared to the
percentage gainorlosshadtheinvestorpurchasedshareswithoutborrowing.Whiletheseconddefinition
is the general term in business and commerce,where margin refers to the difference between selling
price and the seller's costs for the goods or services being sold. Margin includes only the seller's direct
cost for the item or services, but not the costsofsellingthem,likestoreleasingfeesormarketingcosts,
and not business overhead costs such as computer systems for the business or management salaries.
Lastly, for the finance approach, margin referstothreespecificincomestatemen
tresults,comparedasa
percentage of sales revenues:gross,operating,andnetprofitmargins.Analystsandmanagementlookto
thesemarginsasmeasuresofthecompany'searningperformance.

Meanwhile,
Competitive Advantage,
according to
Investopedia.com
, is an
advantage that a firm has
over its competitors, allowing it to generate greater sales or margins and/or retain more customersthan
its competition. There can be many types of competitive advantages including the firm's cost structure,
product offerings, distribution network and customer support. Competitive advantages give a company
anedgeoveritsrivalsand anability togenerategreater valueforthefirmanditsshareholders.Themore
sustainable the competitive advantage, the more difficult it is for competitors to neutralize the
advantage.
There were two types of competitive advantage:
comparative advantage
, orcostadvantage,isafirm's
ability to produce a good or service at a lowercostthanitscompetitors,whichgivesthefirmtheability
sell its goods or services at a lower price than its competition or to generate a larger margin on sales,
and
differential advantageiscreatedwhenafirm'sproductsorservicesdifferfromitscompetitorsand
areseenasbetterthanacompetitor'sproductsbycustomers.
According to
Generic Competitive Strategies from the website,
Reference for Business, margin and
competitive advantage are related to each other according to the overall cost leadership approach, a
genericstrategywhichlowersthepriceofahighqualityproduct/service.

The implementation of anoverallcostleadershipapproach requiresfirmstodeveloppoliciesaimedat

becoming and remaining the lowestcost producerand/ordistributorintheindustry.Companystrategies
aimed at controlling costs include construction of efficientscale facilities, tight control of costs and
overhead, avoidance of marginal customer accounts, minimization of operating expenses, reduction of
input costs, tight control of labor costs, and lower distribution costs. The lowcost leader gains
competitive advantage by getting its costs of production or distribution lower than those of the other
firms initsmarket.Thestrategyisespeciallyimportantforfirmssellingunbrandedcommoditiessuchas
beeforsteel.

CompetitiveAdvantageThroughLowCostLeadership
Therearetwochoicesastohowtotakeadvantageofafirmsreducedcosts.
First, department stores and other highmargin firms often leave their selling price as
SP,
the
original selling price. This allows the lowcost leader to obtain a higher profit margin than they
received before the reduction in costs. Since the competition was unable to lower their costs,
they are receiving the original, smaller profit margin. The cost leader gains competitive
advantageoverthecompetitionbyearningmoreprofitforeachunitsold.
Meanwhile, discount stores such as WalMart are morelikelytopassthesavingsfromthelower
costs on to customers in the form of lower prices. These discounters retain the original profit
margin, which is the same margin as their competitors. However, they are able to lower their
selling price due to their lower costs. They gain competitive advantage by being able to
underpricethecompetitionwhilemaintainingthesameprofitmargin.

Overall cost leadership is not without potential problems. Two or more firms competing for cost
leadership may engage in price wars that drive profits to very low levels. Ideally, a firm using a cost
leader strategy will develop an advantage that is not easily copied by others. Cost leaders also must
maintain their investment in stateoftheart equipment or face the possible entry ofmorecosteffective
competitors. Major changes in technology may drasticallychangeproductionprocessessothatprevious
investments in production technology are no longer advantageous. Finally, firms may become so
concerned with maintaining low costs that needed changes in production or marketing are overlooked.
The strategy may be more difficult in a dynamic environment because some of the expenses that firms
may seek to minimize are research and development costs or marketing research costs, yet these are
expensesthefirmmayneedtoincurinordertoremaincompetitive.

To summarize, firms goal is to have a competitive advantage over their competitors, and to gain a
broaderandwidermargin.

Figure 1 shows the competitive advantage firms may achieve

through costleadership.
C
istheoriginalcostofproduction.
C
is
the new cost ofproduction.
SP
istheoriginalsellingprice.
SP
is
the new selling price.
P
is the original profit margin.
P
is the
newprofitmargin.
If we assume our firm and the other competitors are producing
the product for a cost of
C
and selling it at
SP,
we are all
receiving a profit of
P.
As cost leader, we are able to lowerour
costto
C
whilethecompetitorsremainat
C.

5. WhatarePortersprimaryvalueactivities?Whatarehissupportvalueactivities?
Michael Porter, a Harvard Professor, introducedthevaluechainanalysisconceptin his1985book
The
Competitive Advantage
.Portersuggestedthatactivitieswithinanorganizationaddvaluetotheservice
and products thattheorganisationproduces,andalltheseactivitiesshouldberunatoptimumlevelifthe
organisation is to gain any real competitive advantage. If they are run efficiently the value obtained
should exceed the costs of running them i.e. customers should return to the organisation and transact
freely and willingly. Michael Porter suggested that the organization is split into
primary activities

and
supportactivities
.
Porter distinguishes between primary activities and support activities. Primary activities are directly
concerned with the creation or delivery of a product or service. They can be grouped into five main
areas:inboundlogistics,operations,outboundlogistics, marketingand sales,andservice.(Thefollowing
arePortersprimaryactivitiesinthevaluechain):
The
primary activities of Porters value chain was categorized into to two according to its functions:
the
productrelatedactivities
andthe
marketrelatedactivities
.
Product related activities
Activities that the organization performs to add value to the products and
servicesitself.

1. Inbound logistics: These are all the processes related to receiving, storing, and distributing inputs
internally. Your supplier relationships are a key factor in creating value here. For the production and
development activities, organizations need inputs as goods which are received from the suppliers.
Inbound logistics refer to alltheactivitiesrelatedtoreceivegoodsfromthesuppliers,decisionaboutthe
transportation scheduling, storing the goods as inventory, managing the inventory, and make theinputs
readytousefortheproductionofendproducts.

2. Operations:
These are the transformation activities that change inputs into outputs that are sold to
customers. These include the production process, development activities, testing, packaging,
maintenance,andallotheractivitiesthattransformtheinputsintofinishedproduct.

3. Services: These are the activities related to maintaining the value of your product or service to your
customers, once it's been purchased. Organization offers the services after the products and/or services
have been sold. These service activities enhance the products value in the form of after sales
guarantees,warranties,sparepartsmanagement,repairservices,installation,updating,trainings,etc.


Market related activities Activities that theorganizationperformstotransferthefinishedproductsor
servicestothecustomers.

1. Outbound Logistics These activities deliver your product or service to your customer. These are
things like collection, storage, and distribution systems, and they may be internal or external to your
organization. The finishedproducts aredevelopedusingtheproductrelatedactivities.Nowactivitiesare
required to transfer the finished products to the customers via warehousing, order fulfillment,
transportation,anddistributionmanagement.
2. Marketing and Sales These are the processes you use to persuade clients to purchase from you
insteadofyourcompetitors. Thebenefitsyouoffer,andhowwellyoucommunicate them, aresourcesof
value here. These activities include the advertising, channel selection, product promotion, selling,
product pricing, retail management, etc. The activities are performed to make surethattheproductsare
transferred to the targeted customer groups. Marketingmixcanbeaninstrumenttotake thecompetitive
advantagetothetargetcustomers.

Each of these primary activities is linked to support activities which helptoimprovetheireffectiveness

or efficiency. There are four main areas of support activities: procurement, technology development,
human resource management, and infrastructure. The following are the
support activities of Porter
accordingtothevaluechain:

1. Procurement This is the purchasing activity of the inputs to transform theseintofinishedproducts

or services. Procurement adds value bytheacquisitionofappropriategoodsorservicesatthebestprice,
at the right time, and in the desired place with the desired quality and quantity. This includes finding
vendorsandnegotiatingbestprices.

2. Technology Management These activities relate to managing and processing information, as well
as protecting a company's knowledge base. Minimizing information technology costs, staying current
with technological advances, and maintaining technical excellence are sources of value creation.This is
very important in todays technologically driven environment. Technology canbeusedinproductionto
reduce cost, to develop new products, increasecustomerservicefacility,buildupcosteffectiveprocess,
etc. It supports the value chain activitiessuchasresearchanddevelopment,processautomation,process
design,etc.

3. Human Resource Management The key roles of HR are to support the attainment of the overall
strategic business plan and the objectives. AsastrategicbusinesspartnerHRdesignstheworkpositions
by hiring, recognition,reward, appraisalsystems,carrierplanning,andemployeedevelopment.Theyact
as an advocate of the employees to motivate them and create a happy working environment. For the
organizational changing situation, HR executes the strategic needs of the organization with minimum
employeedissatisfactionandresistancetochange.

4. Infrastructure These are a company's support systems, and the functions that allow it to maintain
daily operations. Accounting, legal, administrative, and general management areexamplesofnecessary
infrastructure that businesses can use to their advantage. These are required to performthevalueadded
activitiesefficientlytodrivetheorganizationforwardtomeetthestrategicplanandtheobjectives.


6. Whatisavaluechain?
Value Chain
, according to
Investopedia.com
, is
a highlevel model of how businesses receive raw
materialsasinput,addvaluetotherawmaterialsthroughvariousprocesses,and sellfinishedproductsto
customers. It looks at every step a business goes through, from raw materials to the eventual enduser.
Thegoalistodelivermaximumvaluefortheleastpossibletotalcost.
Meanwhile, according to
Management Innovation Exchange
, Michael Porter discussed this in his
influential 1985 book "
Competitive Advantage
," in which he first introduced the concept of the value
chain.
According to him, value is the chain of activities for acompanythatoperatesinaspecificindustry.For
gaining the competitive advantages, Porter suggested that going through the chain of organization
activities will add more value to the product and services than the sumofaddedcostoftheseactivities.
And thus, the company will gain marginal value for that product or service. If these activities run
efficiently the company gains competitive advantage on the product or service. For this case the
customers should transact the product or services willingly and provide return on value to the
organization.

The value chain framework can be used as powerfulanalysistool forthestrategicplanningandtobuild

theorganizationalmodelensuringaneffectiveleadershipmodel.Thevaluechainconceptcanbeapplied
also in the individual business unit and can be extended to the whole supply chains and distribution
networks. To form a successful product for an organization it is important to add value ineachactivity
that the product goes through during the life cycle. The best possible value can be achieved in the
product development process by adding value in each stage. For that it needs all, or a combination of,
value chain activities and a proper synchronization among all the related activities. A proper
organization is required that contains all the required functional departments to perform theseactivities
and a proper communication approach is required to synchronize the activities of thesefunctionalunits
efficiently.

According to
LearnMarketing
, Porter suggests that activities within an organization add value to the
service andproducts that thecompanyproduces,andthatalloftheseactivities shouldberunatoptimum
level if the organization is to gain any real competitive advantage. If they are run efficiently, the value
obtained should exceed the costs of running them for example, customers should return to the
companyandtransactfreelyandwillingly.

In addition, the value chain model is a useful analysis tool for defining a firms core competenciesand
theactivitiesinwhichitcanpursueacompetitiveadvantageasfollows:
Cost Advantage It is understanding the costs and squeezing them out of the valueadding
activities.
Differentiation It is focusing on those activities associated with core competencies and
capabilitiesinordertoperformthembetterthandocompetitors.
Porterhaveidentifiedthe10costdriversthatarerelatedtothevaluechainactivities:
1. EconomiesofScale
2. Learning
3. CapacityUtilization
4. Linkagesamongactivities
5. Interrelationshipsamongbusinessunits
6. Degreeofverticalintegration
7. Timingofmarketentry
8. Firmspolicyofcostordifferentiation
9. Geographiclocation
10. Institutionalfactors
Based on
Mind Tools
, to identify and understand your company's value chain, firms must follow these
steps:
Step1Identifysubactivitiesforeachprimaryactivity
For each primary activity, the firm must determine which specific subactivities createvalue.Thereare
threedifferenttypesofsubactivities:
Direct activities create valuebythemselves.Forexample,inabookpublisher'smarketing
and sales activity, direct subactivities include making sales calls to bookstores,
advertising,andsellingonline.
Indirect activities allow direct activities to run smoothly. For the book publisher's sales
and marketing activity, indirect subactivities include managing the sales force and
keepingcustomerrecords.
Quality assurance activities ensure that direct and indirect activities meet the necessary
standards. For the book publisher's sales and marketing activity, this might include
proofreadingandeditingadvertisements.
Step2Identifysubactivitiesforeachsupportactivity.
For each of the Human Resource Management, Technology Development and Procurement support
activities,thefirmshoulddeterminethesubactivitiesthatcreatevaluewithineachprimaryactivity.
Then it has to identify the various valuecreating subactivities in the company's infrastructure. These
willgenerallybecrossfunctionalinnature,ratherthanspecifictoeachprimaryactivity.
Step3Identifylinks
The firm must find the connections between all of the value activities it had identified. This will take
time,butthelinksarekeytoincreasingcompetitiveadvantagefromthevaluechainframework.
Step4Lookforopportunitiestoincreasevalue

Review each of the subactivities and links that the firm have identified, and think about how the
organizationcanchangeorenhanceittomaximizethevaluethefirmsoffertocustomers.

Figure1:
Value
Activities

Porters
Chain

7. Whatisavaluesystem?
According to
Guide to Business Planning,
value system
or
industry value chain extends the value
chain beyond the boundaries ofthebusinessandrecognisesthatabusinessisdependentonrelationships
with suppliers and buyers. The term value system underlines the fact that activities are not necessarily
organised in a linear fashion, but viewing the activities that make up the finalproductasachainisalso
usefulandunderlinesthelinkagebetweentheconceptofthevaluechainandthevaluesystem.
Competitors may have organized their value chain differently. For example, a mobile phone operator
may have its own retail outlets, thus ensuring that the services can be sold directly to consumer. A
competing operator without its own retail outlets will have to ensure adequate levels commission are
paid in order to ensure that independent retailers sellitsservice.Inthefirstcase costs arefixedwhereas
in the latter case costs are variable but there is lack of control. Informulatingyourcompanysstrategy,
thecosts,rewardsandrisksofdifferentstrategiesshouldbeanalysedcarefully.
Analysis of the value system may reveal that a sourceofcompetitiveadvantageforyourbusinesscould
be a better selection of suppliers, for example suppliers that have a labourcostadvantage.Makeorbuy
decisions are also affected by a downstream analysis of the value system, and the distribution strategy
can be optimised by understanding the distribution value chain. For example,somemanufacturershave
their own retail outlets but also supply competing retailers. The question is whether or not such an
arrangement produces competitive advantage. The decision as to what of the industry value chain you
would operate in would also be affected by scale economies in the different parts of the value system.
The industry supplychainisarelatedconceptwhichfocusesonthefloworrawmaterialstothefinished
product.
According to
Create Advantage
, value system have five dimensions. The following explain the five
approachesofvaluesystem:
Value system and competitive advantage
Value activities are the discrete building blocksof
competitive advantage. How each activity is performed with its economics will determine if a
firm is high or low costrelativetoitscompetitors.Thefirm'scompetitiveadvantagecomesfrom
the way activities fit and reinforce one another. By seeing the company's value chain and its
value system as a whole, the firm can tailoritscompetenciestofittogethertoprovideasuperior
valuepropositiontothecustomer.

 Value system, strategy, and business design Value chain formulation focuses on how these
activities create value and what determines their cost, giving the firm considerable latitude in
determininghowactivitiesareconfigured.
Value systemarchitectureAsinall'architecture,'astyleormethodof designandconstruction
should become evident, as well as opportunities to better design the system. There should be a
thematicandcomplementaryarrangementoftheactivitiesfirstfollowedbyforming theactivities
into a structure. A value system design with gaps, without a defined flow, or unidentified and
unaligned value propositions of the players raises a red flag for the possibility of anincomplete
orineffectivestrategy.
Value system and strategy formation
Thevaluesystemdesignoccursearlyoninthestrategy
creation processes. This activity produces strategic insights. For example, the incorporation of
substitute offerings and competitors into a value system view isameansfordevelopinginsights
into strategic opportunities. As specific strategic alternatives are developed and assessed,
definingeachalternative'svaluesystemservestorevealanyweaklinksinthesystem.
Value system and strategy deployment As for definingthebusinessmodelinpreparationfor
deployment, the value system becomes a clear representation of what you want the process
battlefield to look like at the end of deployment. As such, it serves as a guide to thoseinvolved
with the ongoing dynamics of strategy deployment where twists and turns are an everyday
occurrence as the processes, functions, and business relationships are further refined. Referring
to the value systemdesignduringtheheatofbattlecaninsurethattheachievementoftheoverall
value proposition as definedinthestrategy andthatthehypothesisofthestrategyisinfactbeing
tested.

8. How canafirmachievestrategic fromaninformationsystemthatprocessorcustomersales

orders?
According to
Harvard Business Review
, information technology is transfusing the value chain at every
point, transforming the way value activitiesareperformedandthenatureofthelinkagesamongthem.It
also is affecting competitive scope and reshaping the way products meet buyer needs. These basic
effects explain why information technology has acquired strategic significanceandisdifferentfromthe
manyothertechnologiesbusinessesuse.
Every value activity has both a physical and an informationprocessing component. The physical
component includes all the physical tasks required to perform the activity. The informationprocessing
component encompasses the steps required to capture, manipulate, and channel the data necessary to
performtheactivity.
Every value activity creates and uses information of some kind. A logistics activity, for example, uses
information like scheduling promises, transportation rates, and production plans to ensure timely and
costeffective delivery. A service activity uses information about service requests to schedule calls and
order parts, and generates information on product failures that a company can use to revise product
designsandmanufacturingmethods.
An activitys physical and informationprocessing components may be simple or quite complex.
Different activities require a different mix of the two components. For instance, metal stamping uses
more physical processing than information processing processing of insurance claims requires just the
oppositebalance.
For most of industrial history, technological progress principally affected the physical component of
what businesses do. During the Industrial Revolution, companies achieved competitive advantage by

substituting machines for human labor. Information processing at that time was mostly the result of
humaneffort.
This technological transformation is expanding the limits of what companies can do faster than
managers can explore the opportunities. The information revolution affects all nine categories of value
activity, from allowing computeraided design in technology development to incorporating automation
in warehouses. The new technology substitutes machines for human effort in information processing.
Paperledgersandrulesofthumbhavegivenwaytocomputers.
Initially, companies used information technology mainly for accounting and recordkeeping functions.
In these applications, the computers automated repetitive clerical functions such as order processing.
Today information technology is spreading throughout the value chain and is performing optimization
and control functions as well as more judgmental executive functions. General Electric, for instance,
uses a database that includes the accumulated experience and knowledge of its appliance service
engineerstoprovidesupporttocustomersbyphone.
Information technology is generating more data as acompanyperformsitsactivitiesandispermittingit
to collect or capture information that was not available before. Such technology also makes room fora
morecomprehensiveanalysisanduseoftheexpandeddata.Thenumberofvariablesthatacompanycan
analyze or control has grown dramatically. HuntWesson, for example, developed a computermodelto
aid it instudyingdistributioncenterexpansionandrelocationissues.Themodelenabledthecompanyto
evaluate many more different variables, scenarios, and alternative strategies than had been possible
before. Similarly, information technology helped Sulzer Brothers engineers improve the design of
dieselenginesinwaysthatmanualcalculationscouldnot.
Information technology is also transforming the physical processing component of activities.
Computercontrolled machine tools are faster, more accurate, and more flexible in manufacturing than
the older, manually operated machines. Information technology not only affects how individual
activities are performed but, through new information flows, it is also greatly enhancing a companys
ability to exploit linkages between activities, both within and outside the company. The technology is
creating new linkages between activities, and companies can now coordinate their actionsmoreclosely
with those of their buyers and suppliers. For example, McKesson, the nations largest drug distributor,
provides its drugstore customers with terminals. The company makes it so easy for clients to order,
receive, andprepareinvoicesthatthecustomers,inreturn,arewilling toplacelargerorders.Atthesame
time,McKessonhasstreamlineditsorderprocessing.
Finally, the new technology has a powerful effect on competitive scope. Information systems allow
companies to coordinate value activities in farflung geographic locations. Information technology is
also creating many new interrelationshipsamongbusinesses,expandingthescopeofindustriesinwhich
acompanymustcompetetoachievecompetitiveadvantage.
So pervasive is the impact of information technology that itconfrontsexecutiveswithatoughproblem:
too muchinformation.Thisproblemcreatesnewusesofinformationtechnologytostoreandanalyzethe
floodofinformationavailabletoexecutives.
information technology is changing the rules of competition in three ways.
First
, advances in
information technology are changing the industry structure.
Second
, information technology is an
increasingly important lever that companies can use to create competitive advantage. A companys
search for competitive advantage through information technology often also spreads to affect industry
structure as competitors imitate the leaders strategic innovations.
Finally
,theinformationrevolutionis
spawning completely new businesses. These three effects are critical for understanding the impact of
informationtechnologyonaparticularindustryandforformulatingeffectivestrategicresponses.


Figure: Information
Technology
permeates the value
chain

9. Explain how you would achieve a tactical advantage by tying a sales order system to a
customerservicesystem.
According to
CRM Trends
, CRM or customer relationship management is putting your customer atthe
heart of your business. Today it is more important than ever to build better relationships with your
customers as, in this day and age of
social media
, they now talk to 130+ people at a time. Theyhavea
megaphone,makingiteasierforpositiveandnegativemessagestospreadfastandwide.

Meanwhile, according to
One Strategy
, tactics are the specific actions that lead to implementing your
strategies. The tactics are broken down into four areas (product,price,promotion,distribution)andwill
provide the framework for creating action items to accomplish your strategic market objectives of
reaching your target market. Together, they are a set of tools that thefirm blendstoproducearesponse
it wants in the target market. There are different tactical positions for each functionalareabasedonthe
selectedstrategy.Thetacticalpositionsreinforceyourstrategy.
Fromaproductfocusedapproach,thefourareasaredefinedas:
Product
:Theproductorserviceyouareofferingtoyourtargetmarket
Price
:Theamountofmoneycustomershavetopaytoobtainyourproduct.
Promotion
:Theactivitiesthatcommunicatethemeritsoftheproductandpersuadetarget
customers.
Distribution
: The companys activities that make the product available to target
consumers.
Fromacustomerfocusedapproach,thefourareasaredefinedas:

CustomerNeed
CustomerCost
Communication
Convenience

Each tactical area contains numerous considerations and issues firms need to be aware of, and
sometimesaddress,whenimplementingstrategies.

Given that customer loyalty is directly correlated to the customer's brand experience, having authentic
personal interactions both before and after a purchase has been madewillbethenumberonepriorityof
all customerfacing companies. Tactics like content creation,
loyalty programs and
gamification will
continue to play an integral role in the customer experience development, but so will initiatives that
enableaholisticexperience.
Retailers, that in the past have tended to tie their loyalty programs to a
private labelor generalpurpose
credit card
, will begin to experiment with multitender
loyalty programs
. As a result of the Great
Recession and legal requirements, the cold hard truth is that
twothirds ofadultsunderage30currently
have no credit cards at all. Retailers wantingtocapturetheMillennialmarket willhavetobecomemore
inventive in order to capture this shopper. Using cash or debit will no longer preclude consumers from
participatinginaretailer'sloyaltyprogramefforts.

According to Michael Porter, "It's incredibly arrogant for a company to believe it candeliverthesame
sort of product that its rivals do and actually do betterforverylong.That'sespeciallytruetoday,when
theflowofinformationandcapitalisincrediblyfast."

Also, firms should consider the checklistbelow.Itisproventhatthesestrategieswillenhancethefirms

likelihoodoflongtermCRMsuccess.

1:Getsponsorshipfromthetopbrass
2:Buildateam
3:Defineyourbusinessobjectives
4:Identifywhoyourcustomeris
5:Differentiate
6:UnderstandyourCustomers
7:Agreeondesiredcustomerbehaviors
8:Definecustomerexperiencegoals
9:Haveanintegratedcustomerstrategy
10:Defineandmapdatarequirements
11:Standardizedata
12:Dialoguewithyourcustomers
13:Getpersonal
14:Developsuccessmetrics
15:Createcustomerengagementprograms
16:CollectData
17:Testthetargetcustomer
18:Monitor
19:Automateprocesses
20:Empowerstaff
21:Keepthesystemsimple
22:Communicate

10. How would you design an information system to take advantage of operational
opportunities?
The way to fruitful data frameworks is great configuration. Anyway what makes a decent outline?
Various controls say something regarding this theme. We will take a gander at configuration from
various alternate points of view. At whatever point conceivable we will differentiate great and terrible
plans.


Distinctive individuals utilize the expression plan as a part of diverse settings. At the point when IS
experts discuss outline, they are alluding to business forms. Issues must be investigated andnecessities
recorded beforearrangementsareplanned,created,andactualized.Afteralliftheconfigurationdoesnot
fulfill the business need, then what's the point? Then again, fulfilling the business need is truly a
benchmark standard. The attacked doctor's facility framework depictedpriormeetsthebusinessneedof
enlisting patients. But then its outline is in different ways lacking. Likewise, fast food addresses the
issue for bolstering one's yearning. In any case, we need to be allegorically superior to fast food inour
plans.
Ease of use depicts how simple the framework is to explore. The simpler the framework is to explore,
the less time a client will need to spend figuring out how to utilize the framework. A more usable
framework additionally leaves less space for slip. Convenience hypothesis gives dependable guidelines
(heuristics) that record best practice traditions for planning a client interface. Amazon.com has a
standout amongst the most usable online frameworks in light of the fact that they take after settled
traditions. Taking after traditions enormously builds the potential acknowledgement of your site or
application.
Visual communication alludes to the visual advance and association of the client interface. There is
clearly some cover here with convenience. Usable frameworks commonly stick to at any rate some
visual computerization rules. On the other hand, a usable framework could be flat and uninteresting.
Utilizing visual communication standards aides guarantee that the framework will havevisualadvance.
Plans likewise need to fit with the general brand of the customer. Existing hues, text styles, and logos
areeveryoneoftheapieceofthebrandforwhichtheframeworkisbeingmade.
Scientific Design portrays how to best speak to data particularly quantitative data to impart plainlyand
truthfully. Each data frameworks venture has quantitative measurements connected with undertaking
administration.Theseincorporateassessingexpenses,timecalendarsandsoon.
What are the profits of innovation for a business? There are numerous, yet most fall under a couple of
classifications:
Reachmorepotentialclients,buildupabusinessassociationwithpotentialclients
Streamline operations, decrease expenses, enhance effectiveness, expand benefit, minimize
waste,giveabilitytocenterbusinessratherthanoverhead
Givebetteradministrationtoclients
Bolsterbetterassociationswithkeyaccomplices
Permitclientstobetterguidethebusiness

11. Whatarethefeaturesthatdistinguishamultinationalcompany(MNC)?
Let us first define
Multinational Company or MNC.
According to
David E. Liliental, considering a
wider parameter, MNC is a "corporations which have their home in one country but operate and live
under the laws and customs of other countries as well." While for brevity, MNC refers to the business
enterprise operating in more than one nation. In addition, according to
GKSPRED.com
, MNC from the
two words multi and national, means a company which operates inmorethanonecountryorwhichhas
accesstoInternationalmarkets.
BelowarethekeyfeaturesofMultinationalCompanyaccordingto
GkSpread.com
:
Giant Size : The assets and sale of Multinational corporations are quite large . These
companies operate on large scale as they trade in more than one companies. These

companies generate large wealth.Their operations are so huge that sometimes their sales
turnover exceeds the gross national product (GNP) of a developing Countries. By this we
can imagine about the powers and calibreofamultinationalcompany.ExampleofMNCs
are,ThephysicalassetsofIBMexceeds8billiondollars.
International Operation :Amultinationalcorporationoperatesinmorethanonecountry.
It has branches , factories , offices in several countries. It operates through a network of
branches and subsidiaries in host countries. They sell their products indifferentcountries.
Forexample:CocaColaandapple.
Professional Management :
A Multinational corporation employs professional experts ,
specialised people. MNCS Try to keep their employees updated by imparting them
training from time to time. It employs professionals to handle the advance in technology
effectively.
Centralized Control
: The branches of Multinational companies spread in different
countries are controlled and managed from the headquarters situated in the home country.
headquarters in the home country is theisthemainbranch.Allbranchesoperate withinthe
policyframeworkformedbyheadquarters.
Oligopolistic Powers
: Oligopoly means power in the hands of few companies only.Due
to their giant size , the multinational companies occupy dominating position in the market
.They join hands with big business houses and give rise to monopoly. They also takeover
otherfirmstoacquirehugepowerandimprovemarketshare
Sophisticated Technology : Multinational companies make use of latest and advanced
technology to supply world class products . They use capitalintensive technology and
innovativetechniquesofproduction.

12. WhatisasourceofuncertaintyforanMNC?
According to the
Wikipedia
, uncertainty is defined as
the lack of certainty or state of having limited
knowledge where it is impossible to exactly describe the existing state, a future outcome, or more than
onepossibleoutcome.
MultinationalCorporationsreceiveuncertaintyfromthefollowingsources:
TheSpecialNeedforInformationProcessinginanMNC
Albeit all organizations have a requirement for data preparing and coordination, these needs are
particularly vital for the MNC. The MNC is an open framework that tries to minimize instability in its
surroundings. In this connection, vulnerability is "the contrast between the measure of data needed to
performundertakingandthemeasureofdataofficiallycontrolledbytheassociation.

13. HowdotheexecutivesofanMNCrespondtouncertainty?
According to,
Overcoming the Problems of Cultural Differences,
executives must be able to handle
uncertainties properly.
In a worldwide connection the administration and advancement of individuals
inexorably prompts contemplations of assorted qualitiesandrelateddifficulties.Bartlett andGoshaltalk
about the difficulties confronting associations which are meaning to work adequately crosswise over
fringes. They recognize the significant difficulties as having the capacity to create rehearses which
adjust worldwide intensity, multinational adaptability and the building of an overall learning ability.
They keep up that accomplishingthis offsetwillobligeassociationstoaddtothesocialaffectabilityand
capacitytooverseeandinfluencefiguringouthowtomanufacturefuturecapacities.
Turning to the point of teamworking there is mounting proofandassessmentthatthisspeakstothebest
system for attaining to execution objectives in associations obliging more prominent smoothness and

adaptability in reacting quickly to market difficulties and opportunities. Senge in taking a ganderatthe
progress included in authoritative learning and focused achievement highlightsthekeypartofpowerful
team working. All the more as of late Fisher et al. have delivered proof which illustrated, inabusiness
instead of "classroom" setting, that differing qualities of group sorts inside a group prompts more
successfulexecution.
For worldwide associations there is an expanding need to get gatheringsofsupervisorsfromdistinctive
nationalities to cooperate viablyeitheraspersistingadministrationgroupsortoassetparticularactivities
tending to key business issues. Numerous associations have observed that bringing such gatherings of
supervisors together can be dangerous and execution is not generally atthelevel obliged oranticipated.
In tending to the issues identifying with creating successful global administrationgroupsitappearsthat
theaccompanyingterritoriesoughttobeconsidered:

Recognizingthenatureandramificationsofnationalsocialcontrastsinsidethegroup.
Making a premise for building comprehension and attention to social contrasts and how they
maybeoverseen.
Figuring a structure for building up a high performing group which makes note of social
contrastsandinfluencesthedifferingqualitiesdisplayinaworldwidegroup.

Aside from that, the need for coordination in an MNC was called out. Coordination is critical to
attaining to upper hand in the worldwide commercial center. Organizations that arenotabletoincrease
key control of theiroverall operationsandoverseetheminanallinclusivecomposedwaywon'tsucceed
intheglobaleconomy.

14. WhatsingleworddescribesthekeytoachievingcompetitiveadvantageforanMNC?
Coordination is the best adjective that would best describe thekeyinachievingcompetitiveadvantage
for MNC. According to
Management Study Guide,
coordination is the unification, integration,
synchronization of the efforts of group members so as to provide unity of action in the pursuit of
common goals. It is a hidden force whichbinds all theotherfunctionsofmanagement.Whileaccording
to
Mooney and Reelay
, coordination is orderly arrangement of group efforts to provideunityofaction
inthepursuitofcommongoals.

Management looks to accomplish coappointment through its essential capacities of arranging, sorting
out, staffing, coordinating and controlling. That is the reason,coappointmentisnotadifferent capacity
of administration on the grounds that attaining to of agreement between people endeavors towards
accomplishment of gathering objectives is a key to achievement of administration. Coordination is the
embodimentofadministrationandisimpliedandnaturalinallcapacitiesofadministration.

An administrator can be contrasted with anensembleconductorsincethemtwoneedtomakemoodand

solidarity in the exercises of gatheringindividuals.Coordinationisavitalcomponentorfixingofallthe
administrativecapacitiesastalkedaboutbeneath:

Coordination through Planning Planning encourages coappointment by incorporating the

different plans through common dialog, trade of thoughts. e.g. coappointment between fund
planandbuysplan.

Coordination through Organizing Mooney considers coappointment as the very pith of

arranging. Actually when an administrator aggregates and appoints different exercises to
subordinates,andwhenhemakesdivision'scoappointmenthighestinhisbrain.

 Coordination through Staffing A chief ought to tolerate at the top of theprioritylistthatthe

right no. of staff in different positions with right sort of instructionandabilitiesaretakenwhich
willguaranteerightmenontherightoccupation.

Coordination through Directing The reason forgivingrequests,guidelines&directiontothe

subordinatesisservedjustwhenthereisaconcordancebetweenbosses&subordinates.

Coordination through Controlling

Managerguaranteesthatthereoughttobecoappointment
betweengenuineexecution&standardexecutiontoaccomplishauthoritativeobjectives.
Meanwhile, according to
Smriti Chand
, coordination in business have 6 features, these are the
following:

Coordination Integrates Group efforts:

The idea of coordination dependably applies to
gathering endeavors. There is no requirement for coordination when just single individual is
working. The requirement for deliberateness, joining emerges just when more people are filling
in as diverse people originate from distinctive foundations, have diverse styles of working so
thereishavetobringtogethertheirendeavorsinlikemannerbearing.
Ensure Unity of Efforts:
Coordination dependably accentuates on binding together the
endeavors of distinctive people on the grounds that clashing endeavors may cause harm to
association. The primary point of each director is to arrange the exercises and capacities of all
peopletoregularobjective.
Continuous Process:
Coordination is a nonclosure capacity.Itis aconstantcapacityinspiteof
the fact that its degree may shift. The administrators work persistently to accomplish
coordination and keepupcoordinationin lightofthefactthatwithoutcoordinationorganizations
can'tworkeffectively.
Coordination is a pervasive function:
Coordination is ageneralcapacityitisneededatallthe
levels, in all the divisions and to perform all the capacities because of association of different
exercises on one another. For instance if low quality inputs are bought by buy division, it will
bringaboutgenerationoflowqualityitemwhichfurtherresultinlowdeal,lowincomeetc.
Coordination is the responsibility of all managers:
Coordination is not theassignmentofjust
topleveladministratorshoweversupervisorsworkingatdistinctivelevelsattempttofacilitatethe
exercises of association. The top level attempt to arrange the general arrangements and
approaches of association, center level attempt to facilitate departmental exercises and lower
levelorganizetheexercisesoflaborers.
Coordination is a deliberate function:
Each administrator tries to arrange the exercises of
association to evade perplexity and disorder. Without coordination endeavors of people can'tbe
united and coordinated that is the reason while performingdifferentexercisesintheassociation
administratorsdeliberatelyperformcoordinationcapacity.

Expanding coordination inside can be fulfilled by keeping all moving parts of the association in
agreement. There are various approaches to enhance the coordination of diverse divisions, work
gatherings, groups, or utilitarian experts. These incorporate making a decently imparted and exact
statement of purpose unmistakably characterizing key destinations checking and assessing every
utilitarian gathering giving vast redesigns and interchanges from every office and, wherever
conceivable, advancing crossdepartmental gatherings and ventures. While this rundown is long and
complex, the fundamental idea is moderately basic: supervisors ought to reinforcecorrespondenceover
allfeaturesoftheassociationtoexpandthelevelofcombinationbetweeneverymovingpart.

15. Identify three ways that cultural and communication barriers can pose challenges in
developingaglobalinformationsystem.
According to
Sharon Penn,
in themulticulturalworkingenvironmentordinary ofworkingtogetherina
worldwide economy, social hindrances to correspondence flourish. Other than the conspicuous trouble
in comprehension individuals whose dialect is distinctive, there are different variables that test
individuals who are attempting to work concordantly with othersofanalternatefoundation.Individuals
from distinctive parts of the world have an alternate edge of reference, and they may show feelings
distinctivelyandshowdiversepractices.
For organizations included in worldwide business operations the relationshipofchiefsandsubordinates
in multinational firms is critical. In exploration directed by Thomas and Ravlin it was observed that
members to whom nationality was more critical demonstrated lower view of similitude with the chief,
lower plans to partner, and lower impression of administrative viability. The consequencesofthestudy
unequivocally show that showing individuals from diverse societies to carry on like one another is an
insufficient way to enhancing intercultural communications in business settings. Center ought to be set
on utilizingindividualcontraststomakedevelopment.Preparingandimprovementofpeopleincluded in
interculturalassociationsoughttoincludemorethanbasicallyadvancingsocialadjustment.

Meanwhile,thethree waysthatculturalandcommunicationbarrierscancreateproblemsindevelopinga
globalinformationsystemareasfollow:
Restrictions on Hardware Purchases and Imports
National government look to ensure
nearby makers and invigorate outside interest in neighborhood fabricating by determining that
just gear created or collected in that nation is to be utilized. This necessity can influence
interoperabilityofdiverseequipmentandprogrammingframeworks.
Restrictions on Data Processing National approach may direct that information be handled
insidethenation,asopposedtotransmittedoutofthenationandtransformedsomewhereelse.
Restrictions on Data Communications The most advertised information correspondences
limitation is that put on transborder information streams. Transborder information data flow or
TDF, is thedevelopmentofmachineintelligibleinformationcrosswiseovernationallimits.TDF
enactment, which started in the 1970s hasbeeninstitutedbynumerousnationsasanapproachto
securetheindividualprotectionoftheirnational.

16. List seven types of information resources. Place an asterisk next to those that are always
locatedininformationservices.
Afirms
informationresources
consistof:
*Computer Hardware
Hardware, in the computer world, refers to the physical components
that make up a computer system.
The PCequipmentinyourbusinesshasatremendouseffecton
how you function. Having the right PCs, servers, printers, fax machines can help move your
organizationinthecourseyouseek.
*Computer Software
Programming is a program that empowers a PC to perform a particular
errand, rather than the physical parts of the framework. This incorporates application
programming, for example, a statement processor, which empowers a client to perform an
assignment, and framework programming, for example, a workingframework,whichempowers
other programming to run appropriately, by interfacing with equipment and with other
programming. Pragmatic PC frameworks isolate programming into three noteworthy classes:
framework programming, programming and application programming, in spite of the fact that
the qualification is discretionary, and regularly obscured. PC programming must be "stacked"
intothePC'scapacity.
*Information Specialists
PC data masters overseePCframeworksfororganizations.Theyare
generally in charge of programming, information investigation and specialized backing in

different limits, for different customers. PC data experts oversee PC frameworks for
organizations. They are normally in charge of programming, information examination and
specializedbackingindifferentlimits,fordifferentcustomers.
Users
A person who utilizes a PC.Thisincorporatesmastersoftwareengineersandinaddition
amateurs.Anendclientisanypersonwhorunsanapplicationprogram.
Facilities It is something designed, built, installed, for the purpose to serveaspecificfunction
affordingaconvenienceorservice.
*Databases
It isfundamentallyagatheringofdatasortedoutinsucharoute,tothepointthata
PC system can rapidly choose fancied bits of information. You can think aboutadatabaseasan
electronic documenting framework. Customary databases are composed by fields, records, and
documents. A field is a solitary bit of data a record is one complete situated of fields and a
document is a gathering of records. For instance, a phone directory ispractically equivalenttoa
record. It contains a rundown ofrecords,eachofwhichcomprisesofthreefields:name,address,
andphonenumber.
*Information
It is boosts that has significance in some setting for its collector. At the point
when data is gone into and put away in a PC, it is by and largealludedtoasinformation.Inthe
wakeofpreparing,(forexample,organizingandprinting),yieldinformationcanagainbeseenas
information.
17. Identifyfourdimensionsofinformationthatamanagershouldconsider.
The following are the four dimensions of information, according to
The Multiple Dimensions of
InformationQuality
,thatamanagershouldconsider:
Relevancy
The key part for data quality is whetherthedataaddressesitsclient'snecessities.If
not, that client will discover thedatadeficientpayinglittlemindtohowwellthedataratesalong
different measurements examined beneath. This does not imply that immaterial data to a data
client is of "low quality". It simply shows that the data is an individual from an alternate data
class much in the same way that an extravagance auto and a games auto are both individuals
from diverse classes of cars. Sometimes "low quality" data might really be great what is
requiredistoinstructthedata'sclientsotheycancomprehenditandutilizationit.
Accuracy
Precise data mirrors the basic reality. That quality data ought to be exact appears
glaringly evident. By and by, data utilized for diverse purposes obliges different levels of
exactness and it is even workable for data to be excessively precise in the feeling of being
excessively exact. Dataerrorandrelatedissueshappensin numerousdataframeworks.Theissue
is remarkable and is tended to by data frameworks experts through the cycle from frameworks
outline to execution to upkeep. Less well comprehended is that data can be excessively exact
when its level of accuracy surpasses its client's transforming ability. This can expand data
frameworks expense, turn into a channelonframeworkvalidityandeven,throughtheperplexity
broughtabout,resultinabuseordeserting.
Timeliness
Auspicious data is still present. Verifiable in this definition is an element process
where new data emerges to supplant the old. Data has a process duration which relies on upon
how rapidly new data can be prepared and imparted to its client. Data convenience runs as an
inseparable unit withdataexactness.Theideaofwhatisauspiciousisitselfcontinuallychanging
and being reclassified, because of changes in client recognitions brought on by innovation and
the focused environment. Today, time based rivalry and the associative lessening in operations
processdurationshasenergizedaninterestforevergreendata.
Completeness
Fragmented data can lead its client adrift. A sample of this is the old story of
visually impaired voyagers experiencing an elephant in the street with each, in the wake of
analyzing a little area, reaching an alternate conclusion in regardstotheobject'spersonality.On
the other hand, complete data for one individual may be fragmented for an alternate. For
instance, the advertising VP and the executive of innovative work for a pharmaceutical

organization may be both be occupied with the clinical trials tests for another medication, yet
every may oblige distinctive levels of point of interest. Generally as data whose accuracy
surpasses a client's handling capacity may be excessively exact, data might likewise be
excessively finish. The fantastic illustration is the lawyer dumping boxes of material on an
enemy's work area, realizing that it will be difficult to uncover the few applicable certainties
covered inside. The peril in business, are data frameworks that create so much data that clients
can'thandleitallinanauspiciousmanner.
18. Whatisknowledgemanagement?
According to
Michael Koenig
, knowledge management, (KM) is a concept and a term that arose
approximately two decades ago, roughly in 1990. Quite simply one might say that it means organizing
an organization's information and knowledge holistically, but that sounds a bit wooly, and surprisingly
enough, even though it sounds overbroad, it is not the wholepicture.Knowledgemanagementisatrain
that elevates an incorporated way to distinguishing, catching, assessing, recovering, and offering the
greater part of a venture's dataresources.Thesebenefitsmayincorporatedatabases,archives,strategies,
techniques,andbeforehanduncaughtskillandinvolvementinindividuallaborers.
KM consequently infers an in number attach to authoritative objectives and procedure, and it includes
the administration of learning that is helpful for some reason and which makes esteem for the
association.
Knowledge management is basically about getting the right information to one side individual at the
opportune time. This in itself may not appear to be so perplexing,yetitsuggestsaninnumberattachto
corporate methodology, comprehension of where and in what structures information exists, making
methods that compass authoritative capacities, and guaranteeing that activities are acknowledged and
upheld by hierarchical individuals. Learning administrationmightlikewiseincorporatenew information
creation,oritmightsingularlyconcentrateoninformationimparting,stockpiling,andrefinement.
The general target is to make esteem and to influence, enhance, and refine the company's skills and
learningresourcesfor meethierarchicalobjectivesandtargets.Actualizinginformationadministrationin
thismannerhasafewmeasurementsincluding:
KM Strategy
Learning administration procedure must be subject to corporate technique. The
goal is to oversee, impart, and make important learning resources that will help meet strategic
andvitalnecessities.
Organizational Culture
The authoritative society impacts the way individuals cooperate, the
connection inside which information is made, the resistance they will have towards certain
progressions,andeventuallythewaytheyimpartlearning.
Organizational Process
The right courses of action, situations,andframeworksthatempower
KMtobeactualizedintheassociation.
Management&Leadership
KMrequiresskillfuland experiencedinitiativeatalllevels.There
are a wide mixture of KMrelated parts that an association could possibly need to execute,
includingaCKO,informationadministrators,learningmerchantsetc.
Technology
The frameworks, instruments, and innovations that fit the association's
prerequisiteslegitimatelycomposedandexecuted.
Politics
The long haul backing to actualize and support activities that include practically all
hierarchical capacities, which may beexorbitanttoexecute (bothfromtheviewpointoftimeand
cash),andwhichfrequentlydon'thaveastraightforwardlyobviousrateofprofitability.
19. Commentonthefollowingstatements:
a. Informationproducedbytheinformationprocessorshouldbefreeoferrors.
Not necessarily free of errors but rather, accurate and precise. The nonspatial information
connected to area might likewise be erroneous or uncertain. Mistakes may come about because

ofmisstepsofnumeroussorts.Nonspatialinformationcan likewiseshiftincrediblyinexactness.
Exact property data depicts phenomena in extraordinary subtle element. Case in point, an exact
portrayal of a man living at a specific location may incorporate sex, age, pay, occupation, level
of instruction, and numerous different qualities. An uncertain depiction may incorporate simply
wage,orsimplysex.
b. An information processor should provide the manager with as much information as
possible.
Information is a basic asset in the operation and administration of associations. Opportune
accessibility of important data is key for viable execution of administrative capacities, for
example, arranging, sorting out, driving, and control. An information framework in an
association is similar to thesensorysysteminthe humanbody: itistheconnectionthatunitesall
the association's parts together and accommodates better operation and survival in a focused
situation. Surely, today's associations run on data. Information comprises of information that
have been handled and are significant to a client. A framework is a situated of segments that
work together to attain to a typical reason. In this manner an administration data framework
gathers, transmits, procedures, and stores information on an association's assets, projects, and
achievements. The framework makes conceivable the transformation of these information into
administration data for utilization by leaders inside the association. An administration data
framework, in this way, delivers data that backings the administration capacities of an
association.

20. Whyshouldanorganizationcapturedatafromitslegacysystem?
In numerous commercial enterprises, business basic frameworks dwell on legacy stages and legacy
applications. One advantage of these frameworks is their unwavering quality and elite. Thus,
associations are hesitant to relinquish them for new advancements. What's more, the information
dwelling in legacy frameworks is to a great degree significant to the business, utilized as a part of
fundamental activitiesincludingbusinessintelligence(BI)andinvestigationtobolsteradvertising,client
bolster,account,logistics,andthat'sonlythetipoftheiceberg.

In spite of the fact that legacy information is a basic asset, IT groups battle to discover productive and
financially savvy approaches to get to and influence it for business purposes. Consider the
accompanyingdifficulties:

The expense and unpredictability of moving to more current stages is restrictive. In a period
where IT groups must accomplish more with less, modernizingtheITframeworkandrelocating
legacystagesanddatabasestofresherinnovationsmightjustnotbeconceivable.

Getting to information in legacy frameworksistesting.ITgroupsperceivethatopportuneaccess

to information in legacy frameworks is vital for inside clients, yet getting to that data and
incorporatingitwithotherdatabaseframeworkscanbeextremelytroublesome.

Information revives from legacy frameworks may be too moderate for BI and investigation
purposes. Long postponesinlegacyframeworkinformationinvigorateshaveanegativeeffecton
the lines of business. Investigators must work with obsolete data or hold up for inadmissibly
drawnoutstretchesoftimetogetupgradedinformation.

Getting to information in legacy frameworks is regularly a weight for IT groups. In numerous

associations, business clients send the IT division their data demands for BI and investigation
errands. Getting to legacy framework information to address these issues can take quite awhile
becauseofrestrictedhumanassetsandanabsenceofapparatuses.

21. How has the increased use of Web sites by forms increased the importance of image
management?
It'sinsufficientto"oversee"content.Thecapacitytogettotherightformofarecordorrecordiscritical.
Contentmustbeoverseensoitisutilizedtoattaintobusinessobjectives.

Enterprise Content Management is the deliberate accumulation and association of data that is to be
utilized by an assigned gathering of people business officials, clients, and so forth. Neither a solitary
innovation nor a strategy nor a methodology, it is an element blend of methods, strategies, anddevices
used to catch, oversee,store, protect,andconveydatasupportingkeyhierarchicaltechniquesthroughits
wholelifecycle.

Catchcomesdowntoenteringsubstanceintotheframework.
Oversee is your main thing beside it, so it can be discovered and utilized by whomever it is
plannedfor.
Putting away it means discovering it a proper home in your base, be it a formal substance
administrationframeworkorotherdataarrangement.
Safeguard alludes to long haul care filing, maybe the act of ensuring it so it can be used
howeverfarintothefuturetheassociationneedsittobeaccessible.
What's more, convey is about putting the data in the right individuals' hands right when they
requireittobethere.

Report administration inthelongrunwassubsumedinto substanceadministrationinnolittlemeasurein

light of the fact that there is more data accessible to us today than any time in recent memory, and the
greater part of it is notbeingmadebyus.Onaccountofthemainstreamingofanentirescopeofsources
like the Web, thumb drives, cell phones, cloud, and so on., the need has quickened to manage data of
numerous sorts: not simply as far as more media sorts likecontentversuspicturesversusvoicerecords,
additionallyasfarashoworganizedandconsequentlyhowpromptlyoversaw.

Below is anaccuratestatisticsabout theSearchEngineOptimizationStats:(Thisishowwebsitesctreate

hugeimpactsonafirm)
61% of global Internet users research products online. (Interconnected World: Shopping and
PersonalFinance,2012)
44% of online shoppers begin by using a search engine. (Interconnected World: Shopping and
PersonalFinance,2012)
On average, we conduct 12 billion searches per month on the web in the United States.
(Comscore,July2014)
The average clickthrough rate for paid search in2010(worldwide)was2%.(Convario,January
2011)
Businesses with websites of 4011000 pages get 6x more leads than those with 51100 pages.
(
HubSpotLeadGenerationLessonsfrom4,000Businesses
,2011)
86% of consumers stated that using a search engine allowed them to learn something new or
important that helped him/her increasehis/herknowledge.(PewResearchCenter,SearchEngine
Use2012)
The average content length for a web page that ranks in the top 10 results for any keyword on
Google has at least 2,000 words. The higher up you go on the search listings page, the more
contenteachwebpagehas.(QuickSprout)
If a post is greater than 1,500 words, on average itreceives68.1%moretweetsand22.6%more
Facebooklikesthanapostthatisunder1,500words.(QuickSprout)

 60%ofallorganicclicksgototheorganictop3searchresults.(Business2Community)
YouTube has become the 2nd Largest Search Engine bigger than Bing, Yahoo, Ask & AOL
combined.(SocialMediaToday)
50% of all mobile searches are conducted in hopes of finding local results, and 61% of those
searchesresultinapurchase.(SearchEngineWatch)
SEO leads have a 14.6% close rate, while outbound leads (such as direct mail or print
advertising)havea1.7%closerate.(SearchEngineJournal)

22. CouldamanagerbeaCIOeventhoughheorshedoesnothavethattitle?Explain.
YES,
amanagercanbeaCIOevenifhe/shedoesnothaveatitle.
WilliamR.SynnottandWilliamH.Gruberin1981,suggestedthattheCIOshouldbe:

amemberofthesenioradministrativeteam,
amanagerofthetechnologyandotherinformationresources,
theindividualresponsibleforITplanning,
theindividualresponsibleforthedevelopmentofnewsystems,
theindividualresponsibleforpolicydevelopment,and
aparticipantintheoverallinstitutionalstrategicplanningprocesses.

The centerofaCTO,a positionlikenedtoperiodicallystillalludedtoas"VPofdesigning,"isordinarily

to create and execute new advances.ACIO,conversely,isinclined totackleissuesthroughlookinginto
andexecutinginstantadvances.ACTObyandlargeattemptstogrownewinnovationarrangements.

Tofurtherjustifytheanswerabove,hereisanexample:
In 2008, as per a study by CIO magazine called "Condition of the CIO," 60 percent of U.S. leaders of
their organization's IT office overviewed had the title CIO. That is the most noteworthy percent in the
overviewhistory.Relatively,11percenthadaVPtitle,and4percentwereCTOs.
Along these lines, parts change a bit thus do real titles. A VP of designing or a VPofinnovationisa
CTO/CIO without the official level title and, truly, any technologist at the leader of an expansive
divisionperformsacomparableperformance.
23. WouldadegreeinbusinessadministrationhelpaCIO?Explain.
Yes,
definitely it will be a big help. A CIO, generally, incharged on developing the technology and
effectively implementing it to the business. A Chief Information Officer is the individual accountable
for everything identified with the data innovation exercises of an organization. These IT exercises may
incorporate information preparing, administration data, key arranging, arrangements and projects and
system interchanges, which help organizations meet savvy objectives and accomplish strong and long
haulstrategicachievement.

To be qualified as a boss data officer, getting four year certification in software engineering, business
organization or a related field. A graduate degree in software engineering, business organization or
advanced education organization will be preference. A boss data officermustbedecentlyoutfittedwith
online administrations that can settle business issues andbolstercustomerneeds.Heorsheoughttoace
taking care of CSS, XHTML, AJAX and JavaScript structures and must have information about UNIX
framework organization and web server design, Internet conventions and RFC norms, of Internet
advertisingandsiteimprovement.

Obligations of a boss data officer incorporate coordinating and overseeing data innovation key plans,
projects and arrangements, administration data, PC administrations and system correspondences
planning targets and planning for a sorted out data catch, stockpiling, transforming and scattering
chipping inwithorganizationdirectorsontheeffectofdatagainedand scatteredinbothinsideandouter
operations inspecting and approbation of real contracts ofgearutilizedforfiguring anddatainnovation
administrations, and managing the advancement, plan, changes and usage of new applications to the
currentPCprogrammingandframeworkswithcomparingcertificateandgodownrecuperation.

To end up effective in this field, a boss data officer ought to have great administration attributes and
astoundingcomposedandoralinterchangesabilities.Heorsheoughttopropelandempowerindividuals
asagroupwhichmake adecentcooperativeperson.Abossdataofficermusthaveinventiveexperiences
and arrangements having incredible systematic andcriticalthinkingaptitudes.Heorshemusthavehigh
information of data innovation and all its viewpoints, which incorporates involvement in usage of data
innovationinanassociation.

24. What are the twobasicelementsthatshouldbeincludedinastrategicplanforinformation

resources?
At the point when a firm composes its administrators into an official panel, this gathering constantly
accept akeyarrangingobligationregardingthewholefirm.Atanyrate,theofficialcouncilcomprisesof
the president and the VPs of the company's business ranges. This council decidestheassociation'svital
strategy for success. When an arrangement is set up, the official council screens execution during the
time and makes fitting move, asrequired.Sometimes,thearrangementcan bealteredtoreflectevolving
circumstances. Additionally the advisory group can launch choices went for guaranteeing that the
arrangement'sobjectivesaremet.