SBM4202 IS Strategy Management And Acquisition

Question:

You have to answer the following questions related to week-1 to week 4 topics:

Business Strategy for the Digital World

1. Using a company example, discuss the term ‘Digital Economy’ and how importance to business.

2. Do you think Internet & www developments fit in Generic Strategies for Competitive Advantage such as:

- Low cost: How can IS/IT help?

- Differentiation: How can IS/IT help?

- Niche/focus: How can IS/IT help

Why do you think Intranet & supply-chains are becoming intertwined and what are they being used for? Week 2 Business Exploitation of ICT

1. Using a business example, what is ERP systems? How importance is ERP systems in controlling all major business processes by using a single software architecture in real time.
2. Discuss some enterprise wide issues?
3. Do you think an SIS can remain strategic?
4. How can Information Technology Supports Strategic Management?

Information Systems Development Approaches

1. Using real company case, demonstrate your understanding what can goes wrong in a project?
2. Using an example, discuss why do you think IS Projects are difficult to implement and more Problematical. Provide an example (s) of an IS project that you know of.
3. What are the four factors contributing to IS Project cancellation?

Disruptive Technologies and Applications

1. Define innovation? Using a real company example, how importance is innovation to an organisation?
2. Using examples, what is meant by disruptive technologies?
3. Discuss the historic changes of how contemporary organizations utilize disruptive technologies today.
4. Discuss Technology Push Innovation Market Pull Innovation.
5. Using a product or service, discuss the current disruptive technologies in the modern world.
6. Name and outline the different types of technological change that have occurred.

IT/IS Strategic Alignment

1. Using examples, discuss what is Enterprise Architecture.
2. Using company case example, discuss what is strategic information systems? Why is strategic information systems important for organisations?
3. Why is it important to improve business processes, reduces operational costs, and promotes real- time visibility in business performance?
4. Demonstrate your understanding of concepts of business alignment and IT/IS alignment from both an academic and practitioner perspective.

Strategic Information Management in Context (SMEs and Public Sector)

1. What are the drivers for using IS/IT?
2. Outline the inhibitors regarding IS/IT use.
3. What are emerging technologies? Provide current examples of emerging technologies.
4. Highlight issues and challenges concerning IS/IT in the Public Sector and SMEs - Similar or different?
5. Discuss the issues and challenges facing public sector organizations and SMEs in their management and strategic use of IS/IT. Provide example to illustrate your answer.
6. Analyse public sector IS/e-government initiatives using key theoretical frameworks.

Global Information Management Issues

1. What is the difference between outsourcing and offshoring? Illustrate your answer with current business example.
2. What benefits an organisation gain by adopting a web services strategy?
3. Discuss three global information management issues.
4. Using examples, discuss what is e-government?

Knowledge Management

1. Demonstrate your understanding of two fundamental approaches to knowledge management: a process and a practice approach.
2. Discuss the components of intellectual capital management with regards to individual competence, internal structure, external structure.
3. ‘knowledge management is mostly culture and people, with technology thrown in. Critically evaluate the statement.
4. Explain the difference between tacit and explicit knowledge, giving examples of each

Organizational Change, Culture and Strategic IS/IT Led Change

1. Demonstrate your understanding of the need for organizational change. Illustrate with current business example.
2. Demonstrate a critical awareness between tactical and strategic change and the organizational implications
3. What are the five strategies to deal with resistance to Change.

IS/IT Benefits Management and Realisation

1. Why do you think is it important to think about a consistent approach to the evaluation of IS investments?
2. Why do you think organisations find it difficult to evaluate and justify IT/IS?
3. Demonstrate your understanding of the origins of IT cost in organizations.
4. Evaluate current approaches to IT evaluation and suggest why they still may not deliver benefits and value to organisation.
5. What issues do IT/IS managers face when trying to measure and justify IT expenditure?
6. Compare and contrast the benefits management/realisation approach to more traditional financial ratio based approaches like Net Present Value and Return on Capital employed.

Strategic IT/IS Leadership and IT Governance

1. Discuss the differences between COBIT and ITIL.
2. List the key IT leadership traits/skills needed to lead technology innovations in contemporary business today.
3. Discuss the difficulties in managing skilled, knowledgeable technical experts (‘geeks’)
4. Explain the concept of IT governance
5. Identify and evaluate the primary IT governance approaches, processes and structures used today.
6. What are the main differences between managers and leaders.
7. Evaluate the concept of transformation leadership, giving examples of the key skills and attributes associated with this form of leadership
8. Evaluate the concept of innovative technological leadership and the skills needed to undertake this.

Being an IS Professional

1. What are the five threats to information and computer resources an organisation faces. Can you suggest five counter measures to prevent and/or reduce the negative impact of the IT security-