COIS11011—Foundations of Business Computing
Assessment details for ALL students
Assessment item 2—Part B: Survey of IS Theory—Term 3 2019
Objectives
This assessment item relates to unit learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4 & 6 as listed in unit profile. The main purpose of this assignment is to guide you through an exploration of major topics in Information Systems (IS) to build up your knowledge, and for you to demonstrate that you understand and can explain the basic concepts underlying IS. The use of word processing skills is required in completing the assignment.
Part B – Theory questions
All students will complete this part, to be submitted as a word-processed document on the Assignment Submission System available in the Moodle.
You are to research and prepare answers to all questions listed below. You may use referenced paraphrasing, but you must always summarise your findings and conclusions in your own words. Failure to do this will cost you marks – see marking guide.
Do not use direct quotations. Instead, you are required to research, read, understand and then explain in your own words. Any paraphrasing from sources must be correctly referenced in- text and in the References section, using the Harvard referencing standard.
Use a variety of web sources, journals and books (avoid using Wikipedia). It is always helpful to read about the same topics from more than one source.
Document layout and formatting requirements
The answers should be discussed from the third person point of view, which is standard in academic writing. Your document must have the following sections in the order listed:
Hint - you do not have to make the entire question a heading that appears in the Table of Contents. You can use the first sentence of the question as the heading which should appear in the table of contents. Do not attempt to shorten or to re-phrase the question, as this runs the risk of accidentally changing the question. Marking will always be against the original question as published in this specification.
Foundations of Business Computing
INTRODUCTION
Business computing is a systematic advanced procedure of using computer technology for accomplishing various tasks, activities, and operations of a corporate firm. Mainly, these operations include several activities that might directly or indirectly support financial, administrative or various other data that is a basic aspect for running a business (Motahari-Nezhad, Recker and Weidlich, 2015). Therefore, the main objective of this assignment is to explore the topics related to Information systems by explaining the core concepts which underline the IS. Thus, the report is reveals the classification into distinct questions to cover the significance websites and its role in business management by writing things in a deeper sense. Additionally, Porter's five force model will also outline with the help of the Video rental industry and throw some lights on the dependency of business on mobile applications. Eventually, this project will fully surround technologies related to IS and its role in the corporate world.
1. Three current technologies which are significant for managers
In this present era, computers and information systems are the most indispensable parts for the overall corporate world because technology is seen in both ways one is a cost of performing business and another is an opportunity to do more or more business. Thus, advancement in computer-based information systems in the current world provided numerous tools that managers are using to make effective decisions. Therefore, three foremost current technologies that play a very significant role for business managers are discussed as follows-
Video Everywhere- In this phase, video is identified everywhere whether it is smartphones, TVs, automotive displays, home security, organizational premises, video surveillance, public places and so on. The ubiquity of video is coordinated by its simple accessibility which is gained through issuing and over-the-counter payment. Business managers are using this technology by setting a video camera in the business premise for capturing every moment which was happening in an office such as; whether the employees were working or not, who is going out or when, who is coming at the office and many more. It means that managers can notice every activity and judge things based on captured information which is done via video camera at the workplace. As a result, this can reduce the possibilities of confusion, disputes between employees and support managers during deciding for appraisal programs by considering the recorded data (Holsapple, Lee-Post and Pakath, 2014).
5G- It’s a next to generate or the fifth one in a wireless communication system which enhances the speed of the internet and forecasted that this will increase at least 40 times faster than 4G LTE. However, this technology has used several spectrum bands that include; millimeter-wave radio spectrum that can carry large amounts of information in a very short distance. Therefore, this advancement in internet speed automatically increases the working speed of managers too by supporting via high connectivity and complete business activities in a mini second. For example; transferring a message to customers about product change, sharing relevant facts with shareholders in one go, instant connectivity with long-distance users and various things can easily be done through network advancement which results in the maximization of business productivity (Huang and Wu, 2017).
Biometrics- This technology signifies the calculation and statistical assessment of individual physical as well as biological characteristics. Mainly, this aspect is used for security purposes for enhancing the safety of an organization via an information system to protect relevant business facts or figures from getting misused. Thus, business managers set this equipment for using the physical appearance of employees as their official ID such as; fingerprints, voice or any other characteristics for verification. Simply, authentication from biometrics prefers scanning of face, fingerprints or any other body part for instant confirmation of individual identity.
2. Evaluate the attractiveness of entering into movie rental business
Video rental industry involved in renting household videos like; new movies, pre-recorded TV shows, games, series, and various other entertaining contents. Simply, a rental shop implements a business with users under certain terms and conditions which is seen as a rental contract that might be implied, explicit or written. Apart from this, numerous rental stores also engaged in selling previously seen movies or new lots of unopened movies. In the current phase, Netflix has gained international attention with its advanced features and customers are using it on a large scale. Thus, the movie rental industry is a highly competitive sector with several avenues to rent movies. Therefore, Porter five force model is the most appropriate tool which helps in understanding the attractiveness of industry before entering into this business (Gretzel and et. Al., 2015).
Buyer power- Potentiality of purchaser in this industry is very high because they have plenty of options for renting movies as there are numerous of traditional shops which are named as; Blockbuster, Kiosks, Redbox, mail-in rental firm like; Netflix, pay per options from cable firms, download rentals from various sources of internet and online subscriptions too. As a result, all these things can make this industry more or more competitive which means that the business of rental can surely create competitive benefits. For example; Redbox is seeking the mind of customers by minimizing the rental cost and by providing 24-hour availability.
Supplier power- The power of suppliers is very minimal in this industry due to the availability of several options for users. Few firms are attempting this to design a competitive advantage by creating contracts with movie studios such as; when and what options are going to offered by the rental business. For example; Netflix did this by signing several licensing agreements (Galegher, Kraut and Egido, 2014).
The threat of substitute products or services- Threat for a close substitute is highly available in this business because the cost of own digital options minimizes by existing firms, site of file sharing becomes much more famous and many more things get incurred which threatened the rental industry in various ways. As a result, it has been understood that rental movie firms always vigilant in making that there is a fluctuation in the cost of convenience.
The threat of new entrants- High level of possibility for a threat from new firms because while entering into the sector, there are numerous barriers such as; website potentiality, content agreements and so on which keep new emergence out. On the other hand, this is possible for established IT firms like; Amazon or Google for entering into the rental industry.
Rivalry amongst existing competitors- It has been observed that possibilities of rivalry are very high in between current competitors as there is a fierce competition between various rental enterprises because everyone is having tactic to acquire a competitive advantage (Houy, Fettke and Loos, 2014).
3. Search online for the article from The Atlantic; “Is Google Making Us Stupid?
According to the viewpoint of JANNA ANDERSON, 2010 use of the internet is enhancing more or more by 2020 because human beings are permitted extraordinary access to maximum data. Simply, ANDERSON believes that Nicholas Carr was wrong because Google does not make people stupid. At the same time, few people also state that the use of the internet is not improving the intelligence of human beings as well as this facility is minimizing IQs level of numerous people because they are depending upon Google for every query instead of using their brain. Therefore, this statement proves that Carr was right in his Atlantic article that Google is Making Us Stupid. On contrary to this, Jamais Cascio who was affiliated at the Institute for Future and senior fellow at the Institute for Ethics and Emerging technologies gives a challenge to Carr in his subsequent article. Cascio felt that in this problematic array, a phase where fossil-fuel is ending, the growing density of population as well as the spread of pandemics among common people enforce society to become more smarted for smooth survival. Google provides instant information and direction about modern tools which make things easier as well as understanding.
Consequently, many scholars believe that if there is an option to acquire instant information then what’s the need to read a lengthy book and waste time because Google gives an overview of complex terminologies which easy to understand. Then how Carr is saying that Google is making human beings stupid through its numerous options. Thus, this topic has gone through sparking debate and every individual is having their own opinions upon this subject but most people believe that the advancement of Google is very supportive in this running or competitive world (ALEXIS C. MADRIGAL, 2010).
4. Recent articles on ERP implementation. How successful were these implementations? How could problems have been overcome?
Enterprise resource planning is a kind of business procedure management software that permits an enterprise to use an appropriate system of integrated applications for business management. According to Tom Miller, 2019 article after ERP selection, the implementation process has started. Thus Benjamin Franklin stated that; if an association fail in planning then also it's not necessary to fail the execution process so some of the useful practices for it are discussed as follows-
Create a plan- Initiate with prioritized need firm has set while choosing ERP and make sure that all of it must visible throughout implementation for reducing the probabilities of missing anything in procedure. Along with this, requisite to develop a few KPI for execution and need to interact set indicators with overall associations (Chen, 2017).
Manage change- Every individual at the workplace resist change at some point which might occur in several forms such as; hesitation, emotional breakdown and many more. Thus, it is essential to prepare for supporting every user in adapting new ERP by interacting with executive management and others too.
Need to be smart with legacy information- a Legacy system of an organization is having information that might get back for decades and every user is aware of those facts as well as aware of the way of finding whatever they need. However, that information requisite storage space and surely available in several formats so it’s time to clean up previous information to decide which facts need to get loaded into new ERP.
Consequently, the author states that problems can easily overcome by following above directed path because this will support an enterprise managing the overall ERP process by implementing it at the workplace successfully with full dedication (Zhang and Galletta, 2015).
5. Why are businesses becoming so dependent on mobile applications? Give specific examples.
Mobile applications are becoming very much important for corporate firms in various ways because this technology makes things more easy or simple to accomplish it in a very fast manner. Business is using this for maximizing their loyalty with end-users because it permits companies to interact directly with consumers via purchase applications, advertisements, promotions and notifications which are sent to end-users via mobile applications. It’s the most famous advertising technique and convenient for both customers as well as an organization too. For example; Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook, and various other mobile apps are used by the seller for sharing product information with customers instantly (Legner and et. Al., 2017).
6. Three downsides and dangers using social media applications.
Social media is a mostly used application in this current era as every individual is preferring applications of social media for accomplishing any personal and professional activities. This shows that the use of this is increasing day by day which also increases the risk factor too. Therefore, social media is having some dangers and downsides that affect consumers as well as firm too in various ways (Maiyya and et. Al., 2019).
Eliminate face-to-face communication skills- Dependency of computer and social media connectivity reduces the facing ability of an individual as sometimes people feel awkward in encountering a situation and prefer a message for sharing feelings.
Conveying inauthentic expression- Social media is full of unique signs for expressing various feelings such as; “hahaha”, “LOL”, or several other exclamations which are used for representing laughter. This shorthand becomes a nature of a person and sends it by the sender even he/she is not feeling it just for the sake of receiver which creates a situation of misunderstanding between two persons.
Laziness- Social networking becomes so convenient which makes people lazy as every individual prefers to use this application for hours and doing nothing by wasting time on it.
7. Define a database Management Systems. What is an entity? Difference between records and attributes with example.
Database management systems are a kind of software package which is used by the firm for defining, manipulating, retrieving and managing relevant information in the database. Simply, it manipulates facts itself, format it, field names, record the structure and files the structure based on defined norms for validating selected information.
An entity in a database is an object which exists but doesn’t need to perform anything as it’s a single thing, person, place or object because information gets stored about such entities. Simply, it’s design equipment that permits database administrators for observing the connectivity between various entities that is known as the entity-relationship diagram (Sehgal and Bhatt, 2018).
The data field is responsible for represents an attribute which means a characteristic or quality of few entities whereas record highlight a gathering of attributes that explains a real-world entity. Eventually, a record is full of fields and every field focussed on narrating an attribute of an entity.
8. Five frequent visited websites and what makes come back to these? Why?
There are number of websites which comes under frequent visited one but five selected are-
Google.co.in
Wikipedia
Gmail
Yahoo.com
These are most famous sites which are preferred by the almost entire world for identifying facts such as; Google.co.in and Wikipedia is used for acquiring information on certain topics, Facebook is a social site which is for entertainment purpose too and Gmail or Yahoo.com is mostly for official reasons. Thus, all these things bring back to customers because these are the top most used sites for completing personal and professional objectives (Veit and et. Al., 2014).
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it has been understood that information technology or systems are playing a significant role in the corporate world by facilitating several opportunities. Numerous business is preferring advanced applications for accomplishing organizational operations in a minimum period. For example; social media is used for maximizing business sales and to maintain long-distance connectivity with domestic as well as international clients. The social media is having some dangers and downsides that affect consumers as well as firm too in various ways. Therefore, all the companies needs to align their marketing business strategies with the available social media tool to strengthen the marketing plans.