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4. Visit Coca-Cola’s Facebook page. Can you buy coke products there? What social media
tools are present that allow you to communicate with Coca-Cola?
5. Now, visit Pepsi’s Facebook page. Compare and contrast it to Coca–Cola’s Facebook page.
Which have more eye appeal? Which seems to have more activity? Why do you think this
is true?
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CLOSING CASE STUDY TWO (p. 60)
THE BUSINESS OF SOCIAL MEDIA AND MAKING THE ROI CASE
Regardless of the initiative, a business must determine how to receive the appropriate return
on its investment. This case study covers some ROI perspectives for social media.
QUESTIONS
1. Let’s suppose your current annual sales are $1 million. You implement a social media
strategy and begin generating $200,000 in revenue through your Facebook page. At the
end of the year, your sales are still $1 million. Was your social media strategy successful?
Why or why not?
2. Every social media strategy costs money to implement, and we listed a few of those in this
case study. Create a more comprehensive list of social media strategy costs. Briefly
describe each cost and identify it as either a fixed cost or a variable cost.
DISCUSSION
3. Suppose you have a successful business with a well-liked product. One day something goes
wrong and you ship 100,000 defective products. Almost the entirety of your customer
based is disgruntled. What social media strategy would you employ? Why? Would you be
better off just “sticking your head in the sand?”
DISCUSSION
• Good set of questions
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4. In the case study, we listed five steps to success. Identify two others and briefly describe
them.
DISCUSSION
• Again, many good answers here
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SHORT-ANSWER QUESTIONS (p. 62)
1. Why is the traditional buy-hold-sell inventory model an expensive and potentially risky one?
2. What is the role of a supply chain management (SCM) system?
3. How does SCM fit into Porter’s three generic strategies?
4. What are the typical functions in a CRM system?
5. How does CRM fit into the RGT framework?
6. What is the difference between front office and back office systems?
7. What is an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system?
8. What is software-as-a-service? What are its advantages?
9. What is the relationship between social media and Web 2.0?
10. What are massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs)?
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11. What are some popular social locationing systems?
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ASSIGNMENTS & EXERCISES (p. 62)
1. WAL–MART’S SCM SYSTEM Wal-Mart is famous for its low prices, and you may have
experienced its low prices first-hand. At least, you have probably seen its motto, “Always
Low Prices – Always.” One of the biggest reasons Wal-Mart is able to sell at prices lower
than almost everyone else is that it has a superefficient supply chain. Its IT-enabled supply
chain management system is the envy of the industry because it drives excess time and
unnecessary costs out of the supply chain. So, because Wal-Mart can buy low, it sells low.
As a matter of fact, if your company wants to sell items to Wal-Mart for it to sell in its
stores, you will have to do business with it electronically. If your company can’t do that,
Wal-Mart won’t buy anything from you. Log on to Wal–Mart’s Web site
(www.walmart.com), search for supplier information, and find out what Wal-Mart’s
requirements are for its suppliers to do business with it electronically. Prepare a brief
summary of its requirements for presentation in class.
DISCUSSION
2. REAL WORLD APPLICATIONS In the chapter we mentioned that many CRM installations
have been less than successful. On the other hand, there are many satisfied users of CRM
applications. Log on to the Internet and find at least three examples of companies that are
getting real business benefits from their CRM systems. Prepare a report on the results they
3. ERP FOR THE SMALL BUSINESS Most major ERP vendors have been focusing on selling
multi-million dollar installations of their software to very large organizations. That is
shifting in focus somewhat as ERP vendors realize that the small-to-medium-size business
market is probably just as large. Search the Internet for ERP vendors that focus on small–to–
medium size businesses. Also, search for open-source ERP software. Prepare a short report
for class presentation and offer the vendors that you found and their Web site addresses.
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DISCUSSION
4. SET UP A BLOG Connect to any of the many sites that offer blog services and create a blog.
The content doesn’t really matter; simply go through the steps to create a blog. Which blog
site did you choose to use and why? What is the registration process? How can you
advertise your blog to other people? Why must blogs be constantly updated with new
content?
5. START LOCATIONING WITH FOURSQUARE Sign for the services of the social locationing
service Foursquare. (After completing this assignment, you can delete your account
immediately.) Do some playing around to learn the features of the system, check in at a
few places, and wander around (virtually). What deals of specials did you find near your
location? What is the concept of a Mayor? What privileges do Mayors have? How can you
add friends? Do you have to upload a photo? What’s your overall view… is social
locationing good or bad?
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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS (p. 60)
1. Do you think your school would benefit from installing a customer relationship
management (CRM) system? How might it benefit you as a student? How could it benefit
your school?
DISCUSSION
• Schools can definitely benefit from CRM systems.
2. In the Run-Grow-Transform (RGT) framework, the third component is that of
transformation, or enabling your organization to operate in entirely new ways. Of the three
major business IT applications we discussed in this chapter (supply chain management,
customer relationship management, and social media), which one(s) do you believe most
support organizational transformation? Justify your answer.
3. In the text, we noted that it is extremely difficult to measure the success of a CRM system
prior to its implementation and use. Why do you believe this to be so? What can
organizations do to develop measures of success in advance of implementing a CRM
system?
DISCUSSION
• Many CRM installations focus on providing the customer with a “better” experience and
4. In 10 years, will Facebook still be so popular and so dominant? What competitors might
overtake it? What are substitute products to social networking sites like Facebook?
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5. Do you think ERP software is available through the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model? Do
some research and find out? What were the results of your research? If ERP is available
through SaaS, who are the leading providers in this space? Who benefits more from SaaS–
delivered ERP, small businesses or large businesses? Justify your answer.
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INDUSTRY & GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES
INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE – Frito Lay Goes Green with Its Supply Chain Management Initiatives
(p. 39)
• Going “green” is very popular.
• This details Frito Lay’s efforts in its SCM to go green.
INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE – eBay Offers End-to-End Solution for Internet Retailers (p. 49)
• Internet retailers need ERP support, just like any other business.
• In that arena, there are two “different” ERP players
• They include Amazon and eBay, both of which offer ERP solutions for retailers who use their
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ADDITIONAL ASSIGNMENTS AND EXERCISES
UNDERSTANDING SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT IN YOUR BUSINESS STRATEGY
Note: Use this in the supply chain management section
It’s now time for you to consider supply chain management (SCM) and SCM systems within the
context of business strategy. Prior to answering the following questions, pick any organization
you wish and prepare a one-page summary of who it is, it’s primary customers, and how it
attempts to differentiate itself in the market. You are free to choose any organization that
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UNDERSTANDING CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT IN YOUR BUSINESS STRATEGY
Note: Use this in the customer relationship management section
It’s once again time for you to use business strategy to evaluate a major business initiative,
customer relationship management. For this project, we would like for you to consider that
you are in a family with your spouse and two children. With the same bank, you have a home
mortgage, two car loans, you’re building up a retirement account, and you’re putting away
money for the college education of both your children.
First, we would like for you to list every piece of information that the bank probably
tracks about you, including when you withdraw money from an ATM, the ages of your family
members, when you bought your home, you and your spouse’s annual salaries… basically
anything and everything the bank would know about you and your family. All of this
information should be tracked by a CRM system within your bank.
For the following scenarios, write a short description of what actions the bank could
take using the information in its CRM system.
2. You lose your job.
4. You consistently incur transaction fees for using an ATM not in your bank’s ATM network.
6. You decide to build on to your home.
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