Week 5 Class Summary

 Learning objectives from this chapter that stood out to me are the common challenges in managing data that can be addressed through data governance, the advantages and disadvantages of relational databases and describing the benefits and challenges of implementing knowledge management systems in organizations. 

We learnt that Data Governance is the need for policies and procedures to have a way of managing or storing data. Common challenges that organizations may face is the way they store their data, the system they use, how slow or fast it is to store their data, Data Governance assists in addressing the challenges an organization may face on how to store data. Learning the advantages and disadvantages of Relational Database Model is essential so that we can be informed users, especially with a generation growing in technology. Implementing knowledge management systems has both its benefits and its challenges but is important as it is needed at organizations for growth and management. 

Reference

Gray, H., Issa, T., Pye, G., Troshani, I., Rainer, R. K., Prince, B., & Hugh, J. W. (2015). Management information systems. Wiley. 

18th March Class, Week 4

In Chapter 2, there were 3 learning objectives. Identifying IT responses to different kinds of business pressures, describing strategies that organizations typically adopt to encounter Porter's 5 competitive forces and describing the characteristics of effective business IT alignment. We learnt about competitive advantage and what it is, which refers to when a business stands out in their industry from other competitors, finding a balance between cost, quality and speed. In the business world, there are pressures from different aspects of society which may contribute to how an organization chooses to operate, treat their employees, achieve their objectives, plan their strategies, approach issues(environmental/social), contribute to change, distribute their products, collect information, and adhere to ethical considerations. These pressures can be Business Pressures, Economic Pressures, Technological pressures, Ethical Pressures and Societal or Legal Pressures. Porter's 5 competitive models are:

1. New Market Entrants

2. Supplies(bargaining power)

3. Customers(bargaining power)

4. Substitute products/services 

5. Established Competitors

There are strategies which have been created to help an organization remain competitive in their industry, gain a competitive advantage and overcome the different pressures;

• Cost leader (provide their product for lowest costs)

• Differentiation (offer different products, goods, services)

• Innovation (add new features to existing products and being innovative)

• Operational Effectiveness (more effective methods  in productions services)

• Customer Orientation (Organization is more focused on customers and how to provide better services than their competitors and offer the best experience). 

With the different types of pressures an organization experiences and its different strategies to remain competitive, it is important for the business to align Information technology with these strategies. They can do this by viewing IT as an engine of innovation and  emphasizing to employees that IT is an important part of their culture in order to remain competitive. As an  individual, IT helps one work together with another to respond quickly to business pressures and assists you in contributing to the alignment of the business strategy with the mission, vision, and goals with the IT function. 

Reference 

Gray, H., Issa, T., Pye, G., Troshani, I., Rainer, R. K., Prince, B., & Hugh, J. W. (2015). Management information systems. Wiley. 

 

11th March Class

This class was an informative class as it essentially was about the importance of Information technology(IT)and Information systems(IS), providing insight on the importance of studying IT and IS, its importance in society and its impact on organizations. Technology is advancing at a rapid speed, impacting every aspect of life and especially businesses, no matter which industry an entity belongs to. Upon reflecting on today's class, it is important to note that as an employee, adapting to the advancements of technology is important, learning more everyday assists an individual to be an informed user. With new technology, there may be disadvantages that come with it, however being computer literate contributes to an individual being helpful to its organization as there are different departments such as Accounting, Marketing, Finance, Human Resource and Operations, offering different roles which can always be assisted or modified by technology. Information Technology impacts society in a positive manner as well, it provides opportunities in different areas in society, for disabled people, improvement of ergonomic issues in the workplace, job stress, flexibility, healthcare and more. A key takeaway would be to be an informed user of technology by learning and growing through Information systems and technology. 

Gray, H., Issa, T., Pye, G., Troshani, I., Rainer, R. K., Prince, B., & Hugh, J. W. (2015). Management information systems. Wiley.

Introduction

Hi, Felila here and I'm a 1st year Business student.