INT401I/202/0/2013

Tutorial Letter 202/0/2013
Information and Technology Management IV

INT401I
Year module
School of Computing
This tutorial letter contains the model answers to assignment 1 & 2, and the Oct/Nov 2013 examination and
Jan/Feb 2014 supplementary examination preparation notes.

Bar code

CONTENTS
1

TUTORIAL MATTER THAT YOU SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED TO DATE .................................. 3
Plagiarism ................................................................................................................................... 3

2

THE MODEL ANSWERS TO ASSIGNMENT 1 ........................................................................... 3

3

THE MODEL ANSWERS TO ASSIGNMENT 2 ........................................................................... 6

4

THE OCT/NOV 2013 EXAMINATION AND JAN/FEB 2014 SUPPLEMENTARY EXAMINATION
PREPARATION NOTES ............................................................................................................12

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INT401I/202

1 TUTORIAL MATTER THAT YOU SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED TO DATE
Title

Description

TUTORIAL LETTER 101/0/2013

Tutorial letter 101 contains important information about your module. VERY important information.

TUTORIAL LETTER 201/0/2013
TUTORIAL LETTER 202/0/2013

Tutorial letter 202 contains the model answers to assignment
1 & 2, and the Oct/Nov 2013 examination and Jan/Feb 2014 supplementary examination preparation notes (this tutorial letter). Plagiarism
NB: Plagiarism is the act of taking words, ideas and thoughts of others and passing them off as your own. It is a form of theft which involves a number of dishonest academic activities. The
Disciplinary Code for Students (2004) is given to all students at registration. Students are advised to study the Code, especially Sections 2.1.13 and 2.1.4 (2004:3-4). Kindly read the University’s
Policy on Copyright Infringement and Plagiarism as well.
NB: When answering assignment and examination questions for this module please provide the exact wording from the textbook as far as possible. The textbook has been correctly and completely acknowledged by the module and it is designed by the authors for this purpose, so there is no plagiarism in this case.

2 THE MODEL ANSWERS TO ASSIGNMENT 1
Assignment
01

Compulsory?
Yes

Unique Number
800513

Chapters
1-2

Due date
19 April 2013

ASSIGNMENT 01:

(50 Marks)

Chapter 1 Essay Type Questions:

(25 Marks)

1.1
Describe how to assess the value of an innovation. th Page 7 (8 ed.)
Innovation leads to profitable growth if it:

Generates new profit pools;

Increases demand for products and services;

Attracts new customers;

Opens new markets;

Sustains the business for years to come.

(5)

1.2
Define an information system.
(5)
th
Page 8 (8 ed.)
An information system (IS) collects, processes, stores, analyzes, and distributes information for a

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specific purpose or objective.
Basic functions of an IS are:

Input - Data and information about business transactions are captured or collected by point-of-sale (POS) scanners, Web sites, and received by other input devices.;

Processing - Data is transformed, converted, analyzed for storage or transfer to an output device;

Output - Data, information, reports, etc. are distributed to digital screens or hardcopy
(paper); sent as audio; or transferred to other ISs via communication networks;

Feedback - A mechanism that monitors and controls operations.
1.3
List and describe all the strategies for competitive advantage.
(12)
th
Page 19 (8 ed.)

Cost leadership - Produce product/service at the lowest cost in the industry;

Differentiation - Offer different products, services, or product features;

Niche - Select a narrow-scope segment (market niche) and be the best in quality, speed, or cost in that segment;

Growth - Increase market share, acquire more customers, or sell more types of products; 
Alliance - Work with business partners in partnerships, alliances, joint ventures, or virtual companies;

Innovation - Introduce new products/services; put new features in existing products/services; develop new ways to produce products/services;

Operational effectiveness - Improve the manner in which internal business processes are executed so that the firm performs similar activities better than rivals;

Customer orientation - Concentrate on customer satisfaction;

Time - Treat time as a resource, then manage it and use it to the firm’s advantage;

Entry barriers - Create barriers to entry. By introducing innovative products or using IT to provide exceptional service, companies can create entry barriers to discourage new entrants; 
Customer or supplier lock-in - Encourage customers or suppliers to stay with you rather than going to competitors. Reduce customers’ bargaining power by locking them in;

Increase switching costs - Discourage customers or suppliers from going to competitors for economic reasons.
1.4
What is a business model?
(2)
th
Page 7 (8 ed.)
A business model is a method of doing business by which a company can generate sales revenue and profit to sustain itself. The model spells out how the company creates or adds value in terms of the goods or services the company produces.
1.5
Describe strategic planning.
(1)
th
Page 16 (8 ed.)
Strategic planning is a series of processes in which an organization selects and arranges its businesses or services to keep the organization viable (healthy or functional) even when unexpected events disrupt one or more of its businesses, markets, products, or services.

Chapter 2 Essay Type Questions:
2.1
Define data, information, and knowledge.
Page 34 (8th ed.)
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(25 Marks)
(4)

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




Data, or raw data, refers to a basic description of products, customers, events, activities, and transactions that are recorded, classified, and stored. Data is the raw material from which information is produced; and the quality, reliability and integrity of the data must be maintained for the information to be useful;
Information is data that has been processed, organized, or put into context so that it has meaning and value to the person receiving it;
Knowledge consists of data and/or information that have been processed, organized, and put into context to be meaningful, and to convey understanding, experience, accumulated learning, and expertise as they apply to a current problem or activity.

2.2

List the main types of Information Support Systems and corresponding types of workers supported, and describe each type of Information Support System.
(16)
th
Page 42 (8 ed.)

Management information system (MIS) Middle managers Provides routine information for planning, organizing, and controlling operations in functional areas;

Decision support system (DSS) Decision makers, managers Combines models and data to solve semi-structured problems with extensive user involvement;

Business intelligence (BI) Decision makers, managers, knowledge workers Gathers and uses large amounts of data for analysis by business analytics and intelligent systems; 
CAD/CAM Engineers, drafts people Allows engineers to design and test prototypes; transfers specifications to manufacturing facilities;

Electronic records management system Office workers Automates management, archiving, and flow of electronic documents;

Knowledge management system (KM) Managers, knowledge workers Supports the gathering, organizing, and use of an organization’s knowledge;

Data mining and text mining Knowledge workers, professionals Enables learning from historical cases, even with vague or incomplete information;

Automated decision support (ADS) Frontline employees, middle managers Supports customer care employees and salespeople who need to make quick, real-time decisions involving small dollar amounts.
2.3
Explain the clouds offered by Salesforce.com.
(5)
th
Page 49-50 (8 ed.)

Sales Cloud is used by almost 80,000 companies - sales representatives (reps) have almost everything they need to do their jobs in one place. They spend less time on administrative work and have more time with customers and closing deals. For sales managers, the Sales Cloud gives real-time visibility into their team’s activities;

Service Cloud is a platform supporting customer service activities that range from call
(contact) centers to social Web sites. Tools provided by the Service Cloud include knowledge-as-a-service, giving agents and customers the ability to find answers online,
24/7; Twitter integration for real-time service conversations; and analytics that provides dashboards and real-time reports to monitor performance.

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3 THE MODEL ANSWERS TO ASSIGNMENT 2
Assignment
02

Compulsory?
Yes

Unique Number
766374

Chapters
3-9

Due date
21 June 2013

ASSIGNMENT 02:

(100 Marks)

Chapter 3 Essay Type Questions:

(14 Marks)

3.1

Answer the discussion questions in the ―IT at Work 3.3‖ box regarding ―Data Mining
Used by Intelligence Agencies‖ on page 66 (8th ed).
(10)

3.1.1
Why is data mining important to national security?
(3)
Data mining provides intelligence—not just data and facts, but actionable information.
The quality of intelligence depends upon statistical models, powerful processors, and artificial intelligence (AI) to find, integrate, and understand huge volumes of information.
3.1.2

What are the two types of data mining systems, and how do they provide value to defense organizations?
(7)
There are two types of data mining systems: subject-based systems that retrieve data to follow a lead, and pattern-based systems that look for suspicious behaviors. An example of a subjectbased technique is link analysis, which uses data to make connections among seemingly unconnected people or events. Link analysis software identifies suspicious activities, such as a spike in the number of e-mail exchanges between two parties (one of whom is a suspect), checks written by different people to the same third party, or airline tickets bought to the same destination on the same departing date. Intelligence personnel then follow these ―links‖ to uncover other people with whom a suspect is interacting. Experts consider intelligence efforts such as these to be crucial to global security. Some military experts believe that war between major nations is becoming obsolete and that our future defense will rely far more on intelligence officers with databases than on tanks and artillery.

3.2

What three general data principles illustrate the importance of the data life cycle perspective and guide IT investment decisions?
(4)
Page 61 (8th ed.)

Principle of diminishing data value - viewing data in terms of a life cycle focuses attention on how the value of data diminishes as the data age - the more recent the data, the more valuable they are - this is a simple, yet powerful, principle, and most organizations cannot operate at peak performance with blind spots (lack of data availability) of 30 days or longer;

Principle of 90/90 data use - being able to act on real-time or near real-time operational data can have significant advantages - according to the 90/90 data-use principle, a majority of stored data, as high as 90 percent, is seldom accessed after 90 days
(except for auditing purposes) - put another way, data lose much of their value after three months;

Principle of data in context - the capability to capture, process, format, and distribute data in near real-time or faster requires a huge investment in data management infrastructure to link remote POS systems to data storage, data analysis systems, and reporting applications. The investment can be justified on the principle that data must be integrated, processed, analyzed, and formatted into ―actionable information.‖ - end
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users need to see data in a meaningful format and context if the data are to guide their decisions and plans.

Chapter 4 Essay Type Questions:
4.1

(15 Marks)

Answer the discussion questions in the ―IT at Work 4.3‖ box regarding ―The Pub, a Beer
Information Portal‖ on page 106 (8th ed).
(7)

4.1.1
How do information silos block productivity?
(2)
Traditionally, the company used employee meetings and postings on bulletin boards to keep employees informed, but with Labatt employees spread across Canada, the company was faced with the challenge of delivering information to employees in a consistent and timely manner Much of Labatt's corporate information had been tough to share because it was housed in silos belonging to various business units, meaning employees had difficulty finding up-to-date, pertinent information. 4.1.2
Why was a single point of access an important feature?
(1)
After determining Labatt's business and technology requirements, the Labatt IT team decided that an intranet would provide the most efficient way of delivering the single point of access to employees. 4.1.3
How has sharing information via The Pub improved collaboration at Labatt?
A summary of the benefits of The Pub are:

Empower employees;

Help improve overall employee communication;

Create efficiencies with the IT department;

Help make a significant impact on employee productivity and collaboration.

(4)

4.2
Why is group work challenging?
(8)
th
Page 111 (8 ed.)
Group work involves process that can be quite complex depending on the task, human factors, and available decision support. Some characteristics of group work are:

Group members may be located in different places or work at different times;

Group members may work for the same or for different organizations;

A group can be at a single managerial level or span several levels;

There can be synergy (process and task gains) or conflict in group work;

There can be gains and/or losses in productivity from group work;

Some of the needed data, information, or knowledge may be located in many sources, several of which are external to the organization;

The expertise of non-team members may be needed;

Groups perform many tasks; however, groups of managers and analysts concentrate frequently on decision making.

Chapter 5 Essay Type Questions:
5.1

Explain the three major categories of unintentional threats.

(14 Marks)
(8)

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Page 132 (8th ed.)
Unintentional threats fall into three major categories: human errors, environmental hazards, and computer system failures:

Human errors - can occur in the design of the hardware or information system, during programming, testing, or data entry. Not changing default passwords on a firewall or failing to manage patches create security holes, and human errors also include untrained or unaware users responding to phishing or ignoring security procedures human errors contribute to the majority of internal control and infosec problems.

Environmental hazards - include volcanoes, earthquakes, blizzards, floods, power failures or strong fluctuations, fires (the most common hazard), defective air conditioning, explosions, radioactive fallout, and water-cooling-system failures - in addition to the primary damage, computer resources can be damaged by side effects, such as smoke and water. Such hazards may disrupt normal computer operations and result in long waiting periods and exorbitant costs while computer programs and data files are recreated.

Computer systems - failures can occur as the result of poor manufacturing, defective materials, outdated or poorly maintained networks, lack of experience, and inadequate testing. 5.2
Explain the types and characteristics of organizational fraud.
(6)
th
Page 136 (8 ed.)

Operating management corruption - Occurs off the books - Median loss due to corruption: over 6 times greater than median loss due to misappropriation ($530,000 vs.
$80,000).

Conflict of interest - A breach of confidentiality, such as revealing competitors’ bids; often occurs with bribery.

Bribery - Uses positional power or money to influence others.

Embezzlement or ―misappropriation‖ - Employee theft: employees’ access to company property creates the opportunity for embezzlement.

Senior management financial reporting fraud - Involves a massive breach of trust and lever-aging of positional power.

Accounting cycle fraud - This fraud is called ―earnings management‖ or earning engineering, which are in violation of GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) and all other accounting practices.
Chapter 6 Essay Type Questions:
6.1

(13 Marks)

Answer the discussion questions in the ―IT at Work 6.2‖ box regarding ―IT Patents Are
Amazon.com’s Edge‖ on page 168 (8th ed).
(7)

6.1.1
Why is order fulfillment critical to Amazon’s success?
(1)
Many companies sell through Amazon.com because of their order fulfillment capabilities - order fulfillment also is important to the customer’s experience.
6.1.2
Why did Amazon patent One-Click and other IT infrastructure developments?
(2)
Customers can personalize their Amazon accounts and manage orders online with the patented
―One-Click‖ order feature - this personalized service includes an electronic wallet, which enables shoppers to place an order in a secure manner without the need to enter their address, credit card number, and so forth, each time they shop - One-Click also allows customers to view their order status and make changes on orders that have not yet entered the shipping process. This gives
Amazon a competitive advantage.
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6.1.3
How has Amazon adapted the Kindle to new technologies?
(3)
In mid-2010, Amazon started rolling out a software upgrade for Kindle, adding the ability for users to share e-book passages with others on Facebook and Twitter. The new social networking feature in version 2.5 adds another Web link to the standard Kindle and the larger Kindle DX, as
Amazon finds itself in an increasingly competitive market because of the iPad’s features. The iPad is designed for reading digital books, watching online video, listening to music, and Web browsing.
6.1.4
Why would other retailers form an alliance with Amazon.com?
(1)
The patents explain why numerous major retailers, such as Sears and Sony, have used
Amazon.com as its sales portal.

6.2
What are the major e-commerce support services?
(6)
th
Page 176 (8 ed.)
Implementation of e-commerce requires support services, the major e-commerce services include:

E-infrastructure: technology consultants, system developers, integrators, hosting, security, wireless, and networks;

E-process: payments and logistics;

E-markets: marketing and advertising;

E-communities: citizens, audiences and business partners;

E-services: CRM, PRM, and directory services;

E-content: supplied by content providers.

Chapter 7 Essay Type Questions:
7.1

(14 Marks)

Answer the discussion questions in the ―IT at Work 7.1‖ box regarding ―Mobile Godiva‖ on page 202 (8th ed).
(9)

7.1.1
Why is Mobile Godiva a good application for Godiva?
(9)
Godiva Mobile was designed to overcome the inherent shortcomings of mobility as a way to purchase goods and build intimate customer relationships. A device-resident app, Godiva Mobile includes Godiva's best-selling products and can integrate with other applications on a BlackBerry smartphone, including the address book and mapping applications. Consumers purchase products by simply scrolling and clicking.
Godiva Mobile includes:

Quick access to Godiva Chocolatier's most popular products;

The ability to complete a shopping transaction in less than thirty seconds;

Rich product descriptions and full-color images;

Address book integration, allowing users to ship with just a few clicks;

A "One-Touch Store-Locator" that uses GPS or cell-towers to automatically identify stores close to the user's location;

Secure transactions and password protected buying.

7.2
Explain the mobile banking security risks.
(5)
th
Page 199 (8 ed.)

Cloning – duplicating the Electronic Serial Number (ESM) of one phone and using it in second phone, the clone - this allows the perpetrator to have calls and other

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




transactions billed to the original phone;
Phishing – Using a fraudulent communication, such as an email, to trick the receiver into divulging critical information such as account numbers, passwords, or other identifying information;
Smishing – Similar to phishing, but the fraudulent communication comes in the form of an SMS message;
Vishing – Again, similar to phishing, but the fraudulent communication comes in the form of a voice or voicemail message encouraging the victim to divulge secure information; Lost or Stolen Phone – Lost or stolen cell phones can be used to conduct financial transactions without the owner’s permission.

Chapter 8 Essay Type Questions:

(13 Marks)

8.1

Identify some specific ways in which managers or leaders of organizations will need to change in response to the opportunities and challenges presented by social media.(5)
Page 236 (8th ed.)

According to Cecil Dijoux (2009), Enterprise 2.0 is likely to lead to changes in organizational culture the same way that Web 2.0 is creating fundamental changes in the broader culture;

Dijoux claims that organizations will need to communicate with their employees using a conversation rather than a broadcast model;

Important ideas are more likely to come from the bottom up (the workforce) than from managers at the top;

Managers won’t be able to rely as much on their job title to maintain respect - they’ll have to earn it on the enterprise social network;

Other benefits include greater transparency in the organization, increased agility and simplicity, creation of a sharing culture and the emergence of more efficient and effective organizational structures.

8.2

List social media strategies that businesses might pursue, and what kind of information could they collect to see if they are being effective with social media?
(8)
Page 243 (8th ed.)
Various authors have attempted to identify higher level objectives that more fully capture the potential of social media than what is described by focusing on a specific Web 2.0 tool or tactical objectives. In their influential book on social media strategies Li and Bernoff (2008) identify five strategic objectives that companies can pursue using social media:

Listening: Learn about your customers by paying attention to what they are saying online to one another or directly to you;

Talking: Communicate with your customers by engaging in conversations;

Energizing: Encourage current customers and fans to spread the word through ratings, reviews and other positive ―buzz‖;

Support: Help customers solve problems by providing information and online resources like user forums, knowledge bases and other tools;

Embracing: Invite customers to generate ideas for new products and services.
Organizations that seek to optimize their performance in each of these areas will identify and implement social media tactics as well as track related metrics to evaluate progress towards goals.
For instance, companies that use crowdsourcing to generate new product ideas might count the number of ideas submitted, the number of people who vote on the ideas, the number of positive vs. negative comments made about each idea, etc. Companies who want to strategically ―listen‖ to
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their markets might measure the number of ―conversations‖, identify who is ―talking‖, identify what people are saying, etc.

Chapter 9 Essay Type Questions:
9.1

(17 Marks)

Answer the discussion questions in the ―IT at Work 9.2‖ box regarding ―First Choice Ski
Beats Its Competition with Yahoo! Web Analytics‖ on page 263 (8th ed).
(8)

How is being able to respond quickly to visitors’ clickstream behavior related to its profit margin? (3)
First Choice Ski (firstchoice-ski.co.uk/) holds a 14% market share of the online UK ski market. TUI
Travel, its parent company, is an international leisure travel group, which operates in 180 countries and serves more than 30 million customers.
In the highly competitive tour operator industry, margins are tight. As a result, real-time reporting is key to maintaining a profitable business. By using Yahoo! Web Analytics
(web.analytics.yahoo.com/), First Choice Ski was able to gain insights into its customers to respond in near real-time to their online behaviors--by revamping its travel Web site.
9.1.1

Recall the principle: if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. Explain how this case illustrates this principle.
(3)
Using these different datasets and tools from YWA, TUI redesigned and changed the content of its
First Choice Ski homepage. As a result, the homepage experienced an 18% decrease in bounce rate and a 13% decrease in exit rate--with more than two-thirds of the improvement directly attributed to the changes made. More importantly, the number of sales driven by the home page increased 266%.
9.1.2

9.1.3

Does Web analytics impact barriers to entry and rivalry among incumbents in this industry? (2)
Yes, at First Choice Ski, customers spend a lot of time researching and selecting their vacation.
Users return multiple times from multiple sources such as paid search, e-mail and even social networking as they try to find the vacation that suits them the best - capturing as much information as possible allows us to identify the best way to complete the sale and optimize for it.

9.2
Explain how projects differ from operations.
(9)
Page 267 (8th ed.)
A project is collection of tasks to achieve a result, such as implementing a new JIT inventory management system. Projects have a defined beginning and end; a scope, resources, and a budget. Projects are approved before they are allocated resources.
Project management has these characteristics:

Are unique undertakings;

Have a high degree of uncertainty with respect to costs and completion times due to the generally long length;

Involve participation of outsiders, which is difficult to control;

Requires extensive interaction among participants;

May compete and conflict with other business activities making changes in planning and scheduling difficult;

Involve high risk of delay, failure, and costly changes, but also has high profit potential

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or benefit.

4 THE OCT/NOV 2013 EXAMINATION AND JAN/FEB 2014 SUPPLEMENTARY
EXAMINATION PREPARATION NOTES
Each examination will cover all five parts of the textbook, namely parts 1 to 5. Please make sure that you can discuss, in detail, the major aspects in each part.
The structure of each paper is 5 essay-type questions only, one question for each part of the textbook. In particular:

It is imperative that you understand and can define per the textbook definitions: an information system (IS), its basic functions, and its basic components; data; information; and knowledge – these are core to the course.


Ensure that you can draw in detail, with all the necessary textual detail and correct object shapes, the diagrams in sections: Data, text, and document management;
Network management and portals; and Information assurance and risk management.



Ensure that you understand in detail e-tailing; l-commerce, and electronic payments methods. 

Ensure that you understand in detail ERP, SCM, CPFR, CRM, and KM; on-demand
CRM; and enterprise systems.



Ensure that you understand in detail IT governance; outsourcing; and key resource attributes that create competitive advantage.

Please also work through all the past examination papers that are available for download from myUNISA under Official Study Material, and work through all the assignments in your tutorial letter
101.

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