A FRIEND FOR LIFE.

1. Is the recommendation of the marketing vice president legal? Is it ethical? Why or why not?

Ans:  Marketing vice president recommends using the less-expensive fur. I think it is illegal because at first the bear was marked as a product a child could play with for years and years and after substituting the fur it’ll last only for eight month. So, it’ll be illegal to change the quality in middle without informing the buyer.

It’ll not be ethical if they didn’t inform the buyer about the change in the product. Because buyer are paying their money expecting the same quality as before and it is

Failure of Boo.com

1. Was boo.com doomed more by its faulty strategy or by its poor implementation?

Ans: The main vision of Boo.com is to make a global brand. Although this strategy can be faulted on many counts, projecting a global reach is not in itself mistake; it is however, problematic to hope to achieve that all at once. Because the company’s website was launched in many countries at the same time, he firm had to insure that it had an effective presence in all of those countries. As a result its resources were spread thin. The company may have been served by

Amazon, eBay, and Google: Unlocking and sharing Business Databases

1)      What are the business benefits to Amazon and eBay of opening up some of their databases to developers and entrepreneurs? Do you agree with this strategy? Why or why not?

Amazon and eBay became more popular and productive by opening up some of their database to developers and entrepreneurs. Their sales volume increased tremendously resulting better profit margins. After opening up to some developers and entrepreneurs it became more reachable, creating employment opportunities to several people.

Emerson and Sanofi: Data Stewards seek data conformity

1)      Why is the role of data steward considered to be innovative? Explain

As specified in the case data steward is not just responsible for the database management in an organization it’s more about the presentation of the content. Data steward in each business unit reviews the data and correct errors before the data are put into the operational systems. They also research customer relationships, locations of customers and the corporate hierarchies. Along with this they also facilitate the training of overseas workers to fix data in their native languages. They also serve as the main contact with the data administrator and database architect for new requirements and bug fixes.

Cogent Communications, Intel, and Others: Mergers Go More Smoothly When Your Data Are Ready

1)      Place yourself in the role of a manager at a company undergoing a merge or acquisition. What would be the most important things customers would expect from you while still in that process? What role would IT play in meeting those expectations? Provide at least three examples.

Customers are the most important assets of the organization. Mostly organizations are merged and acquired for the customer trust they have. It’s a very tough a well as important job to keep and hold the initial customers, after the organization is acquired and merged. Whoever owns the organization customers expects smooth service and generous treat. They expect their works to be done the same way it used to be or may be even better way. They don’t want their

Applebee’s Travelocity, and Others: Data Mining for Business Decisions

1)      What is the business benefits of taking the time and effort required to create and operate data warehouses such as those described in the case? Do you see any disadvantages? Is there any reason why all companies shouldn’t use data warehousing technology?

Data’s as described in the case are, gold. Gold benefit makes the business much capable and strong. Data ids the source of information and information’s are the most important tools for taking business decisions and actions. Efficiency and smooth operation of activities is one of the main reasons why to make and keep data warehouses. It enhances the effectiveness of the performance by providing necessary information’s on time. Business can be more productive, systematic and competitive by maintaining such data warehouses.

Google, Microsoft, and Others: Transforming the Desktop with Web Top software applications

1)       Do you agree that Web top software will one day replace suites of desktop applications? Why or Why not? Check out the features of a few of the web top products mentioned in the case on the internet to support your answer.

WebTop applications can replace desktop applications so long as network connectivity isn't an issue. People who work off-line will still require desktop applications or downloadable application modules. 4-16 Chapter 04 - Computer Software Arguments supporting WebTop applications: Increased real-time collaboration Internet ubiquity Personal mobility (login from anywhere) Minimal footprint on the local

Chapter 4: Discussion Question

1)       What major trends are occurring in software?  What capabilities do you expect to see in future software packages?

Major trends that have been developing in software are towards easy-to-use features, general-purpose application packages and toward natural languages.  Expect powerful, multi-purpose, expert-assisted software packages with natural language and graphics-based user interfaces have fast become the norm.  Future software packages will no doubt incorporate more voice activated features than we have previously seen. General purpose software packages will probably not incorporate many new features; however the software industry will continue to strive towards ensuring that their new releases are better written, and easier to use.

2)       How do the different roles of system software and application software affect you as a business end user?  How do you see this changing in the future?

The system software acts as an interface between the computer hardware and the application software. To run any application it is very much important for a application software to be supported by system software. The end user will interact mainly with application software and application software performs as per the permission of system software.  In the future this type of interface will become even easier to use as it moves towards natural interfaces.

3)      Refer to the Real World Case on Wolf Peak International in the chapter. If you were   starting a small business, what business application software would you choose for accounting and control of business operations and management reporting? Why?

Managers should seek to strike a balance between functionality, cost, scalability, and flexibility. QuickBooks offers a low cost solution that can modestly scale up. Management can purchase additional functionality, and QuickBooks' immutable data structures greatly simplify migration to more sophisticated applications. Its most basic version is available for free download with the caveat that users are limited to entering no more than twenty customers. This limitation can be removed for $99. Some students may base their selection upon familiarity with a specific package. This is a legitimate consideration as familiarity with a package helps increases certainty that......... Click below to read all.

the software fits well with the organization's needs. It also helps reduce the individual's learning curve and training costs. However, the choice must still be appropriate for a small business as well as allow for future growth, etc.

4)      Why is an operating system necessary?  That is, why can’t an end user just load an application program in a computer and start computing?

The instruction set implemented on the computer hardware (the machine language) is very limited. Programs using only these instructions would have to be extremely long and complicated, to perform the various processing tasks required by end users.  Application programs thus require the operating system to act as an interface with the hardware, allowing application programs to be shorter, easier to understand, easier to use, and possibly allow multiple applications to run concurrently.

5)       Should a web browser be integrated into an operating system?  Why or why not?

Since it influences lots of other things in system, Opinion about weather to integrate web browser into operating system or not will probably vary. If done so there will be lots of advantages like, convenience of using and availability, growing popularity of Internet, extranets, and intranets. It also has disadvantage as it will take additional resource requirements, it may result in abuse of corporate resources using the web browser for activities not related to company business, etc.

3) Refer to the Real World Case on data sharing and XML on the chapter. As noted above, XML needs to be customized with tags or labels that are tied to the business domain for which it will be used. How do companies manage the need create schemas that are specific to their organization versus the ideal of sharing data with their partners? Is there a risk of ending up with a bunch of proprietary XML specifications?

  Yes, there is a risk that the business world will end up with a bunch of proprietary XML specifications. Organizations with captive suppliers, can simply dictate their standards. More commonly, businesses within an industry often create or join consortiums or other representative organization. These consortiums may undertake to create an open standard for data exchange. These open standards accomplish two important goals. First, they enable fast and easy data exchange. Second, the existence and adoption of these standards motivates software vendors to accommodate them as a value-added feature.

6)      Are software suites, web browsers, and groupware merging together?  What are the implications for a business and its end users?

Definitely, the capabilities of these systems are merging together.  The growing areas such as the Internet, extranets, and intranets are pushing technology towards tighter integration of these capabilities. This merging has resulted the much wider and meaningful approach of web development throughout the world. As for the Implications for a business and its end users, it ensures greater efficiencies due to the collection of information’s from wider options, and it also facilitates the function of the collaboration of workgroup computing.

7)       How are the HTML, XML, and Java programming languages affecting business applications on the Web?

HTML and Java are becoming vital tools for building multimedia web pages, web sites, and web-based applications.  Business can use HTML to create hypertext and hypermedia documents, creating hyperlinks to other parts of documents anywhere on the Web.  Java is a simple and secure programming language, and is computing platform independent.  It is specifically designed for real-time, interactive, web-based network applications.  As well, it uses applets, which can be executed by any computer and any operating system anywhere in a network.  Applets can reside at web sites on a network server until needed by client systems, and are easy to distribute over the Internet or intranets and extranets.  Java is becoming the programming language choice for many organizations intent on capitalizing on the business potential of the Internet, as well as their own intranets and extranets.  The casual user will be able to download the applet on an as-needed basis by using browser software.  This will greatly reduce the cost of having to install expensive software on the users’ PCs.  As well, valuable resources such as RAM, disk space, expensive processors etc. will be freed up for other business uses.

8)      Do you think Linux will surpass other operating systems for network and Web servers? Why or why not?

Linux has come up with very wide range of facilities in totally free of cost. Its features have given new definitions to operating systems. It has to be more competitive and easy to use in order to compete with Microsoft. Over the years it could be the most sought after system because of its flexibility and accessability.But it should focus on various issues below:

 Suggested issues would include:

·         Security.

·         Open source environment encourages users to discover and share problems and patches before hacker attacks.

·         The difficulty of installation of Linux vs. easier installation for other operating systems.

·         Device drivers are not as readily updated for Linux as compared to what is usual for other operating systems.

9)      Which application software packages are the most important for a business end user to know how to use?  Explain the reasons for your choices.

Word processing – software that handles electronic storage, editing, formatting, and printing of documents.

Spreadsheets – software displaying data in a grid of columns and rows, with the capability of easily recalculating numerical data.

Databases management systems – special software to create and maintain a database and enable individual business applications to extract the data they need without having to create separate files or data definitions in their computer programs.

Groupware – software that supports the collaborative activities of work groups.

E-mail – facilitates the computer-to-computer exchange of messages.

Web browser – easy-to-use software for accessing the World Wide Web and the Internet.

Presentation graphics – software to create professional-quality graphics presentations that can incorporate charts, sound, animation, photos, and video clips.

Desktop publishing software – software that provides more control over the placement of text, graphics, and photos in the layout of a page than word processing software.

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Power Distribution and Law Enforcement: Reaping the benefits of Sharing Data through XML

1)      What is the business value of XML to the organizations described in the case? How are they able to achieve such large returns on investment?

XML has been one of the revolutionary finding and implication for the organizations described in the case. Use of XML has increased their productivity, efficiency and effectiveness. XML has made it easier for them to make most tedious and complicated tasks more easy and understandable along with accurate calculations of important as well as difficult to calculate figures. It has helped in sharing and security along with better management of data’s and information’s.

Due to use of XML in the most effective way as per the nature and demand of their organizational activities these organizations were able to achieve such large returns on investment. By using XML they made their performance very fast, easy and user friendly along with creating value of their work with....... click below to read all.

differentiation and qualitative improvements, increasing overall productivity of organization, as a whole resulting the large return on investment.

2)       What are other ways in which XML could be used by organizations to create value and share data? Look for examples involving for-profit organizations to gain a more complete perspective on the issue.

Profit organizations are value oriented and those with various branch and sections needs to share data allover so that uniformity in action and control can be maintained throughout the organization. XML makes it easier for them to be more precise and distinctive about their performance. They could reach out to their costumers more easily and make positive impact in their mind regarding the costumer concern of the organization. They could also use it as a tool for advertisement making their activities systematic and in time. Profit organizations can also use it to make their products and services more competitive and easily locatable.

Profit organizations can use XML to make it clear to the mass about the objectives and offerings of organization in order to increase the revenue and profit of the organization. They can use it as a promotional tool to highlight their concerns and actions and become recognized in their work environment.

3)      What seem to be important elements in the success of projects relying on extensive use of XML across organizations and why? Research the concept of metadata to inform your answer.

By using XML websites of organizations can be more focused and quickly located whenever a user types some keywords with XML effects. When people search for the products and services and they find it easily with very descriptive information’s they become more attracted towards the organization. It makes the user much satisfied and sure about his/her search and findings, as a result people increase their trust towards organization and enjoy the ROI.

Metadata is the combination of information from two different agencies in order to find the common data elements in two different aspects. We can also say that metadata is the sum total of two different verities of data, it’s the aggregation of different groups of data’s.

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Wolf Peak International: Failure and success in application software for the small to medium enterprise

1)      What problems occurred when Wolf Peak upgraded from QuickBooks to a new accounting software package? How could these problems have been avoided?

For organizations it’s a very tough job to decide which and what kind of software to choose from all the available options. Use of accounting packages does helps in efficiency and effectiveness of the organization only if right kind of package is used in right place. Wolf Peak International used an accounting package to replace its traditional QuickBooks in order to make the process easier and systematic but because of their inappropriate and unfocused decision regarding the package they turned on to the wrong one. They had several problems because of implementation of this software; some of them are listed below:

·         It was very complicated and hard to learn, not so user friendly.

·         Time consuming and sophisticated.

·         Very expensive

In order to avoid these problems, I think the first thing they could have done is, they could have decided to choose the software after being sure about the accounting need of organization from detail discussions and expert advice. It’s very important to know what you are using in...... click below to read all.

order to make the best out of it, so they should have understand the functionality of the software first and made it clear to everybody using it, so that problems in execution wouldn’t appear. They could have developed the time frame with clear chain and pattern of doing things so that it wouldn’t have taken much time for execution.

2)      Why did SAP’s Business One prove to be a better choice for wolf Peak’s management that the new accounting software? Give several examples to illustrate your answer.

As the new accounting software, which was replacement for QuickBooks, was difficult to use, hard to get right information in time and was more sophisticated. Wolf Peak decided to replace new accounting software with SAP Business One software suite. SAP Business One is an integrated business management software package designed specifically for Small to midsize enterprise like wolf peak .The application automates critical operations including sales, finance, purchasing, inventory, and manufacturing and delivers and accurate, up-to-the minute view of the business. Its relative affordability promises a rapid return on investment, and its simplicity means user have a consistent, intuitive environment that they can learn quickly and use effectively.

The benefits of SAP Business One far outweighed the costs and time already invested in that software system. With Business one they can perform task that previous accounting cannot. Wolf Peak’s management has also begun using the customer relationship management (CRM) functionality within Business One to assist with its Collection of receivables.

3)      Should most SME’s use an integrated business software suite like SAP Business One instead of specialized accounting and other business software packages? Why or why not?

Using where, for what kind of job is more important than using what. Different business has different patterns to function and have several process of doing things. So effectiveness of suit is determined by its ability to make the functioning more systematic and efficient. Suit like SAP Business One help to do various other functions like customer relationship management rather than just accounting. In Business One tool like XL Reporter tool user can prepare reports on the quick time. Business one includes a seamlessly integrated reporting and financial analysis tool called XL Reporter that works with Microsoft Excel to provide instant access to financial and operational data. It reports on live data drawn from a variety of sources including general ledger, receivables, payables, sales, purchasing, and inventory software. Business One is very easy to operate.  Even people who aren’t serious programmers can go in and create the documents they need within the limits of their authorizations. Program like XL Reporters let user to build custom reports, present regular updates, and then work within Microsoft Excel. That might be very valuable to the firm. But SAP Business may be the best option for Wolf Peak international but I don’t think it will be appropriate to every SME’s since different organizations have different ways of doing things.

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Microsoft and Others: Developing Software for How Companies Do Business

1)      A common phrase among IT professionals is, “The world views its data through windows.”Why does Microsoft dominate the desktop and networked software market? Visit its website at www.microsoft.com and review its broad range of software products and service to develop your answer.

Microsoft is one of the most popular and trusted name in the field of information technology. More than 90% of the world’s software market is dominated by Microsoft. Because 0of its user friendly packages and their efficient implications Microsoft has been able to rise and make its mark as an industry leader. Microsoft windows are one of the most important inventions in the history of organization. Windows is the most widely used system software and has a very high market share.

For this dominance over desktop and networked software market, its research team is the most important phenomena. Development of smart products and packages with smart ideas to make them productive and effective Microsoft simply has been best in its area. Its findings about the new areas to create impact on and concentration to meet their needs may be....... click below to read all.

the next thing that has made it popular and user friendly. Its experimenting nature and ability to include everybody within its workspace as well is its strength.

2)      How successful will Microsoft be in competing with software vendors that specialize in specific market applications like health care, retail, and other specialty services? Why?

With so many years of experience in developing defining software’s and intellectual as well as creative research team to find out the best out of best Microsoft has very little to think about its competitors. But because of its sophisticated and limited features, which may not support every system it may find it not that easy to keep its space in this growing market. It’s always a risky business to have so many partners in vertical applications, and Microsoft has so much of it. So it may bring some kind of complications later on if not focused to manage it.

Microsoft has been providing remarkable service in health care, retail and other specialty service in the recent years. It has broadened the Microsoft’s market and also has increased the productivity of the organizations using it. Improvements regarding the limitations of the software, cost and availability, if looked after it can keep the trend of its victory and make a smooth survival. But since there are lots of good players in the market now, it definitely has to think about outstanding them with best facilities for the most complicated areas.

3)      Do you agree with Microsoft’s strategy to develop industry specific partners to capitalize on opportunities in both large and small business sectors? Is there an advantage or a disadvantage to being one of Microsoft’s partners in this type of relationship? Explain.

It’s always good to search out new and fresh segments of markets which have greater possibilities to flourish. Creating a market, facilitating both user and the provider is what creating and finding opportunities about. But there are lots of things that are to be taken into consideration in order to make this effort more effective. Which segment to choose and how to give the best to it is one of the most important considerations to be made. So with clear plans regarding what to do, where to do and which to do I think Microsoft’s strategy to develop industry specific partners to capitalize on opportunities in both large and small business sectors is very intelligent.

Microsoft is a growing name, one of the most reputed names in the industry so far and most widely used system. So relating with Microsoft organizations can gain competitive advantage and along with that their products become easily saleable. But along with that there comes the risk to survive among huge mass of competitors sharing the same brand value. Differentiation and organization’s self goodwill goes to stake with this decision to become Microsoft’’s partner.

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IBM, Wachovia, and PayPal: Grid computing makes it Easier and Cheaper.

1)      Applications for grid computing in this case include medical diagnosis and financial transaction processing. What other areas do you think would be suited to the use of grid computing and why? Provide several examples from organizations other than those included in the case.

Grid Computing is one of the most reliable and detail application used by organization to get the accurate results in a very easy way with consideration to cost of the technology. It’s far cheaper than using mainframes and big servers and at the same time very easy to access and maintain. Grid computing is a technology used to harness computing powers from various sources and use them in harmony to achieve a specific goal. The great advantage of grid computing is the ability to significantly reduce the time that is taken to accomplish that goal, also increasing efficiency.

Educational organizations like colleges and universities can use grid computing and support their online teaching program. By doing this they can bring all the students together in one forum and solve problems and have discussions. By using grid computing they can save cost and time of both, theirs and their students.

Weather forecasting agencies can use grid computing to make the process more reliable and less time consuming. Adjustments can be made by information providers from different place at the same time, which makes it easy to update and give accurate readings.

Grid computing can also be used while making movies. It facilitates in adding up of different sections from different sets at the same time, reducing the cost and increasing the profitability of operation.

2)      The joint effort by IBM and the cancer institute of New Jersey works by digitalizing medical diagnoses on the world community grid (WCG).What are the advantages and disadvantages of relying on a volunteer based network such as this? Provide examples of both.

Grid computing is an emerging concept in Information sharing. It’s been very fruitful to those organizations whose market is huge. There are several advantages of this along with some disadvantages. Examples of both advantage and disadvantages of using grid computing are listed below.

ADVANTAGES

·         Better understanding of the process due to classification of the process into several bits and bytes.

·         No need to buy big servers, which costs a fortune.

·         Helps in making accurate comparisons between........ Click below to read all.

condition of disease now and before, which helps in understanding the effectiveness of the treatment.

·         Facilitates prediction procedure and reduces the chances of danger.

·         Ensures the accuracy of the diagnosis.

·         Volunteers can donate their free time as per their convenience, which helps in saving time and cost.

DISADVANTAGES

·         Need to have very fast interconnection between computing resources.

·         Some applications may need to be changed to take the full advantage of new model.

·         Political challenges associated with sharing resources may arise due to such kind of sharing.

·         Since it’s a volunteer based network so it may take long to find a certain fact, since nobody in particular is obligated towards it.

·         Efficient tools for managing change and keeping configurations in synchronization can be challenging in large environments.

3)      IBM, Wachovia and PayPal are arguably large organizations. However, several vendors have started offering computing power for rent to smaller companies, using the principles underlying grid computing. How could a small and medium companies benefit from these technologies?

Technologies get all over once they get started. Every organization gets benefit by using it, if managed properly considering every aspects of the business. Small and medium companies as well can use small scale of grids in minimizing their cost and maximizing the accuracy of their business. The advantages of using Grid computing in small and medium organizations are listed below:

·         Small cluster grid can be developed and maintained in very low cost, which enhances the profitability of companies along with easy accessing.

·         Improves the client-organization relationship by providing information to them in double rate.

·         Decision making process becomes easier and faster.

Increases the chances of substantial growth in future by doing something very small in everyday basis.

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