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• Decide when and what to produce, store, and move
• Rapidly communicate orders
• Track the status of orders
Customer relationship management (CRM) systems enable a business to better
manage its relationships with existing and potential customers. With the growth of the
Web, potential customers can easily comparison shop for retail and wholesale goods
and even raw materials, so treating customers better has become very important.
Business benefits include:
• CRM systems provide information to coordinate all the business processes
that deal with customers in sales, marketing, and service to optimize revenue,
customer satisfaction, and customer retention. This information helps firms
identify, attract, and retain the most profitable customers; provide better
service to existing customers; and increase sales.
Knowledge management systems (KMS) enable organizations to better manage
processes for capturing and applying knowledge and expertise. These systems collect
all relevant knowledge and experience in the firm, and make it available wherever
and whenever it is needed to improve business processes and management decisions.
They also link the firm to external sources of knowledge.
Business benefits include:
• KMS support processes for acquiring, storing, distributing, and applying
knowledge, as well as processes for creating new knowledge and integrating it
into the organization.
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• KMS use intelligent techniques that codify knowledge and experience for use
Explain how intranets and extranets help firms integrate information and
business processes.
Because intranets and extranets share the same technology and software platforms as
the Internet, they are easy and inexpensive ways for companies to increase integration
and expedite the flow of information within the company (intranets alone) and with
2-3 Why are systems for collaboration and social business so important and what
technologies do they use?
Define collaboration and social business and explain why they have become so
important in business today.
Collaboration is working with others to achieve shared and explicit goals. It focuses
on task or mission accomplishment and usually takes place in a business, or other
Social business is part of an organization’s business structure for getting things done
in a new collaborative way. It uses social networking platforms to connect employees,
Collaboration and social business are important because:
• Changing nature of work. More jobs are becoming “interaction” jobs. These
kinds of jobs require face-to-face interaction with other employees, managers,
vendors, and customers. They require systems that allow the interaction
workers to communicate, collaborate, and share ides.
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• Growth of professional work. Professional jobs in the service sector require
close coordination and collaboration.
List and describe the business benefits of collaboration and social business.
The general belief is that the more a business firm is collaborative in nature, the more
successful it will be and that collaboration within and among firms is more essential
than in the past. The overall economic benefits of collaboration and social business
are significant.
The business benefits of collaboration and social business are listed in Table 2.3:
• Productivity: people working together accomplish tasks faster, with fewer
errors, than those working alone.
(Learning Objective 2.3: Why are systems for collaboration and social business so
important and what technologies do they use? AACSB: Application of knowledge.)
Describe a supportive organizational culture and business processes for
collaboration.
Historically, organizations were built on hierarchies which did not allow much
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are much more dependent on teams at all levels of the organization to devise, to
create, and to build. Rather than employees being rewarded for individual results,
List and describe the various types of collaboration and social business tools.
Some of the more common enterprise-wide information systems that businesses can
use to support interaction jobs include:
• Internet-based collaboration environments such as IBM Notes and WebEx
provide online storage space for documents, team communications
(separated from e-mail), calendars, and audio-visual tools members can
use to meet face-to-face.
• E-mail and instant messaging (IM) are reliable methods for
communicating whenever and wherever around the globe.
• Cell phones and wireless handhelds give professionals and other
employees an easy way to talk with one another, with customers and
vendors, and with managers. These devices have grown exponentially in
sheer numbers and in applications available.
2-4 What is the role of the information systems function in a business?
Describe how the information systems function supports a business.
The information systems department is the formal organizational unit responsible for
Compare the roles played by programmers, systems analysts, information
systems managers, the chief information officer (CIO), chief security officer
(CSO), chief data officer (CDO) and chief knowledge officer (CKO).
• Programmers are highly trained technical specialists who write the software
instructions for computers.
• Systems analysts constitute the principal liaisons between the information
systems groups and the rest of the organization. The systems analyst’s job is
to translate business problems and requirements into information requirements
and systems.
• Information systems managers lead teams of programmers and analysts,
Discussion Questions
2-5 How could information systems be used to support the order fulfillment process
illustrated in Figure 2.1? What are the most important pieces of information
these systems should capture? Explain your answer.
Student answers to this question will vary.
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2-6 Identify the steps that are performed in the process of selecting and checking a
book out from your college library and the information that flows among these
activities. Diagram the process. Are there any ways this process could be
improved to improve the performance of your library or your school? Diagram
the improved process.
Student answers to this question will vary.
2-7 Use the Time/Space Collaboration and Social Tool Matrix to classify the
collaboration and social technologies used by Kluwer?
Student answers to this question will vary.
Hands-On MIS Projects
Management Decision Problems
2-8 Don’s Lumber Company: The price of lumber and other building materials are
constantly changing. When a customer inquiries about the price on prefinished wood
flooring, sales representatives consult a manual price sheet and then call the supplier
for the most recent price. The supplier in turn uses a manual price sheet, which has
been updated each day. Often the supplier must call back Don’s sales reps because
2-9 Henry’s Hardware: Owners do not keep automated, detailed inventory or sales
records. Invoices are not maintained or tracked (other than for tax purposes). The
owners use their own judgment in identifying items that need to be reordered. What is
the business impact of this situation? How could information systems help Henry and
Kathleen run their business? What data should these systems capture? What decisions
could the systems improve?
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Improving Decision Making: Using a Spreadsheet to Select Suppliers
Software skills: Spreadsheet date functions, data filtering, DAVERAGE functions.
Business skills: Analyzing supplier performance and pricing.
2-10 Although the format of the student’s answers will vary, a suggested solution can be
found in the Microsoft Excel File named: MIS14ch02_solutionfile.xls.
This exercise requires some student knowledge of spreadsheet database functions. At a
minimum, students should know how to sort the database by various criteria such as item
description, item cost, vendor number, vendor, name, or A/P terms. Students may need to
Students will need to add additional columns for calculating the actual delivery time for
each order and the number of days the delivery is late. The Actual Delivery Time can be
calculated by subtracting the Promised Ship Date from the Arrival Date. The number of
days late can be calculated by subtracting the Promised Transit Time from the Actual
Delivery Time. If the number of days late is negative, it indicates that the order arrived
early.
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Achieving Operational Excellence: Using Internet Software to Plan Efficient
Transportation Routes
Software skills: Internet-based software
Business skills: Transportation planning
2-11 Obviously, the shortest amount of time is more cost effective than the shortest
distance because there’s only a difference of 27.05 miles. Saving the 27 miles will take 2
hours, 24 minutes longer. Encourage students to use the Advanced Tools option to
Shortest distance: 10 hours, 11 minutes; 506.56 miles
Shortest time: 8 hours, 35 minutes; 533.61 miles
Collaboration and Teamwork Project
2-12 In MyMISLab, you will find a Collaboration and Teamwork Project dealing
with the concepts in this chapter. You will be able to use Google Drive, Google Docs,
Google Sites, Google +, or other open source collaboration tools to complete the
assignment.
Case Study: Should a Computer Grade Your Essays?
2-13 Identify the kinds of systems described in this case
The software programs used to grade student essays use both management information
systems and decision-support systems. All of the programs use artificial intelligence
technology. The e-rater uses syntactic variety, discourse structure and content analysis
2-14 What are the benefits of automated essay grading? What are the drawbacks?
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The two biggest benefits of automated essay grading are speed and cost. The e-rater
program can score 16,000 essays in 20 seconds. Many of the AES programs are free or
share revenues with the universities and colleges that use them.
2-15 Can automated essay grading replace a human grader? Why or why not?
Automated essay scoring (AES) systems use artificial intelligence technology to score
essays and short test answers primarily in college courses. The systems immediately
score students’ work and provide feedback in a short time. The feedback allows students
to revise, rewrite, and resubmit their work in an effort to improve their skills and grades.
When humans review and grade the work, it may take much longer to provide feedback
to students.
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2-16 What management, organization, and technology factors should be considered
when deciding whether to use AES?
Management: professors, instructors, and teachers in high schools, colleges, and
universities must have their say in how the programs are used, to what extent they are
incorporated in courses, and whether the programs are allowed to supplant humans or
supplement them. Students must be given the opportunity to learn proper writing skills
2-17 Would you be suspicious of a low grade you received on a paper graded by
AES software? Why or why not? Would you request a review by a human grader?
Student answers will vary. However, most students will probably be suspicious of a low
grade they receive on a paper graded by AES software because of the lack of human
2-18 Identify and describe the capabilities of enterprise social networking software.
Visit MyMISLab for suggested answers.
2-19 Describe the systems used by various management groups within the firm in
terms of the information they use, their outputs, and groups served.
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Visit MyMISLab for suggested answers.