Assignment:
Instructions: Answer each question thoroughly. Points will be deducted for fragmentary answers.
1. Why shouldn't every organization deploy innovative information systems?
a. Discuss some of the recommended characteristics of an organization that are necessary in order for that organization to successfully deploy innovative technologies?
b. Identify several examples (not discussed in class) of disruptive innovations that successfully displaced or marginalized an industry or technology.
2. The following questions relate to information systems investment decision making:
a. Identify and describe three different situations where fear, faith, or fact arguments would be most compelling when making an information systems investment decision.
b. Contrast the differing perspectives of different stakeholders involved in making information systems investment decisions.
3. Reports show that broadband penetration in the United States is growing steadily. In late 2013, 70 percent of the U.S. population had access to broadband connections at home, and the gap between different population segments is shrinking. Still, a higher percentage of people with higher household income and higher educational attainment tend to have access to broadband Internet. Further, in terms of average connection speed, the United States is back in eighth place, not only behind South Korea and Hong Kong, but also behind countries such as Latvia and the Czech Republic.
a. Search the Web for the most up-to-date statistics.
b. Interpret these numbers. What is striking or important about these statistics?
c. Discuss how these numbers will look in 5 years and 10 years. What changes have to be made to the global networking infrastructure? What issues/ opportunities do you see arising?
4. You work in the information technology group of a chain of sporting goods stores. The company operates 40 locations in seven states. The 40 locations are organized into four regions (north, south, east, and west) with 10 stores each. Regional managers are responsible for inventory management, procurement of inventory, sales, and marketing for their particular region. The company has been processing all transactions electronically (with customers and suppliers), and it has captured all the data in a large data warehouse. Unfortunately, the regional managers are complaining that there is so much information in the data warehouse that extracting meaningful data has become difficult. You've just been placed on the team that will be designing a new data strategy for the company.
a. Setting up data marts would probably help with the accessibility of information. What type of data marts would you suggest setting up? Make sure you explain who will benefit from the data marts you suggest.
b. For the data marts you identified, list the data that should be stored in each data mart and explain how the regional managers could make use of that information to manage their group of stores.