CHAPTER 14: CREATING COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIP

TEAM,PARTNERSHIP AND ALLIANCES

• Organizations create and use teams, partnership and alliances to:

          →Undertake new initiatives 

          →Address both minor and major problems

          → Capitalize on significant opportunities

• Organizations create teams, partnerships, and alliances both internally with employees and externally with other organizations
• Collaboration systems- supports the work of teams by facilitating the sharing and flow of information

• Organizations from alliances and partnership with other organizations based on their core competency

          →Core competency- an organization's key strength, a business function that it does better than                 any of its competitors

          →Core competency strategy-organization chooses to focus specifically on its core                                     competency and forms partnerships with other organizations to handle non-strategic                             business processes

• Information technology can make a business partnership easier to establish and manage

           ⇉Information partnership -occurs when two or more organizations cooperate by integrating                   their IT systems, thereby providing customers with the best of what each can offer

           ⇉The internet has dramatically increased the ease and availability for IT-enabled                                     organizational alliances and partnership

COLLABORATION SYSTEMS

• Collaboration solves specific business tasks such as telecommuting, online meetings, deploying applications and remote project and sales management
• Collaboration system-an IT based set of tools that supports the work of teams by facilitating the sharing and flow of information
• Two categories of collaboration:

           ↳Unstructured collaboration (information collaboration)- includes document exchange,                      shared whiteboards, discussion forums and e-mail

           ↳Structured collaboration (process collaboration)- involves shared participation in business                 processes such as workflow in which knowledge is hardcoded as rules

• Collaboration system include: 

         →knowledge management systems

         →content management systems

         →workflow management systems 

         →Groupware systems

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

• Knowledge management(KM) -involves capturing, classifying, evaluating, retrieving and sharing information assets in a way that provides context for effective decision and actions
• Knowledge management system-supports the capturing and use of an organization's "know-how"

EXPLICIT AND TACIT KNOWLEDGE 

• Intellectual and knowledge based assets fall into two categories:

         ⧭ Explicit knowledge -consists of anything that can be documented,archived and                   codified, often with the help of IT

         ⧭Tacit knowledge- knowledge contained in people's heads

• The following are two best practices for transferring or recreating tacit knowledge

       🔺 shadowing- less experienced staff observe more experienced staff to learn how                   their more experienced counterparts approach their work

       🔺Joint problem solving - a novice and expect work together on a project.

Shadowing – less experienced staff observe more experienced staff to learn how their more experienced counterparts approach their work

·         Joint problem solving – a novice and expert work together on a project

Ø  Reasons why organizations launch knowledge management programs

Ø  KM Technologies

Ø  Knowledge management systems include:

·         Knowledge repositories (databases)

·         Expertise tools

·         E-learning applications

·         Discussion and chat technologies

·         Search and data mining tools

Ø  KM and Social Networking

Ø  Finding out how information flows through an organization

Social Networking 

·         Social networking analysis (SNA) – a process of mapping a group’s contacts (whether personal or professional) to identify who knows whom and who works with whom

·         SNA provides a clear picture of how employees and divisions work together and can help identify key experts

·         Social Networking

Ø  Content Management

Ø  Content management system (CMS) – provides tools to manage the creation, storage, editing, and publication of information in a collaborative environment

Ø  CMS marketplace includes:

·         Document management system (DMS)

·         Digital asset management system (DAM)

·         Web content management system (WCM)

Document management system (DMS)

Ø  Supports the electronic capturing, storage, distribution, archival,  and accessing of documents

Digital asset management system (DAM)

Ø  Similar to DMS, generally works with binary rather than text files, such as multimedia files types.

Web content management system (WCM)

Ø  Adds an additional layer to document and digital asset management that enables publishing content both to intranets and to public Web sites

Ø  Content management system vendor overview

WORKING WIKIS

Ø  Wikis - Web-based tools that make it easy for users to add, remove, and change online content

Ø  Business wikis - collaborative Web pages that allow users to edit documents, share ideas, or monitor the status of a project

Ø  Business wikis

Ø  Workflow Management Systems

Ø  Work activities can be performed in series or in parallel that involves people and automated computer systems

Ø  Workflow – defines all the steps or business rules, from beginning to end, required for a business process

Ø  Workflow management system – facilitates the automation and management of business processes and controls the movement of work through the business process

Ø  Messaging-based workflow system – sends work assignments through an e-mail system

Ø  Database-based workflow system – stores documents in a central location and automatically asks the team members to access the document when it is their turn to edit the document

Ø  Groupware Systems

Ø  Groupware technologies

Ø  Groupware – software that supports team interaction and dynamics including calendaring, scheduling, and videoconferencing

VIDEOCONFERENCING

Ø  Videoconference - a set of interactive telecommunication technologies that allow two or more locations to interact via two-way video and audio transmissions simultaneously.

WEB CONFERENCING

Ø  Web conferencing - blends audio, video, and document-sharing technologies to create virtual meeting rooms where people “gather” at a password-protected Web site.

INSTANT MESSAGING

Ø  E-mail is the dominant form of collaboration application, but real-time collaboration tools like instant messaging are creating a new communication dynamic

Ø  Instant messaging - type of communications service that enables someone to create a kind of private chat room with another individual to communicate in real-time over the Internet

Ø  Instant messaging application

chapter 15 – Outsourcing in the 21st Century

chapter 15 – Outsourcing in the 21st Century

Outsourcing Project

• Insourcing (in-house-development) – A common approach using the professional expertise within an organization to develop and maintain the organization’s information technology systems
• Outsourcing – An arrangement by which one organization provides a service or services for another organization that chooses not to perform them in-house

• Onshore outsourcing – engaging another company within the same country for services
• Near shore outsourcing – contracting an outsourcing arrangement with a company in a nearby country
• Offshore outsourcing – using organizations from developing countries to write code and develop systems
• Big selling point for offshore outsourcing “inexpensive good work”

• Factors driving outsourcing growth include;

• Core competencies
• Financial savings
• Rapid growth
• Industry changes
• The Internet
• Globalization

• According to PricewaterhouseCoopers “Businesses that outsource are growing faster, larger and more profitable than those that do not”
• Most organizations outsource their noncore business functions, such as payroll and IT

Outsourcing Benefits

Outsourcing benefits include;

• Increased quality and efficiency
• Reduced operating expenses
• Outsourcing non-core processes
• Reduced exposure to risk
• Economies of scale, expertise and best practices
• Access to advanced technologies
• Increased flexibility
• Avoid costly outlay of capital funds
• Reduced headcount and associated overhead expense
• Reduced time to market for products or services

Outsourcing challenges

Outsourcing challenges include;

• Contract length

• Difficulties in getting out of a contract
• Problems in foreseeing future needs
• Problems in reforming an internal IT department after the contract is finishe

• Competitive edge
• Confidentiality
• Scope definition 

CHAPTER 13 : E-BUSINESS

E-BUSINESS

• The internet is a powerful channel that presents new opportunities for an organization to :

          - Touch customers
          - Enrich products and services with information
          - Reduce costs

• How do e-commerce & e-business differ?

         - E-commerce -the buying and selling of goods and services over the internet
         - E-business - the conducting of business on the internet including, not only buying and selling                                   but also serving customers and collaborating with business partners

-Industries using E-Business

E-BUSINESS MODELS

- E-BUSINESS MODEL = an approach to conducting electronic

                        business on the internet

BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS (B2B)

• Electronic markerplace (e-market place) - interactive business communities providing a                                                                                central market where multiple buyers and                                                                                      sellers can engage in e-business activities

BUSINESS-TO-CONSUMER (B2C)

• e-shop - a version of a retail store where customers can shop at any hour of the day without                      leaving their home or office
• e-mall - consists of a number of e-shop ; it serves as a getaway through which a visitor can                     access other e-shops
• Business type:

          - Brick-and-mortar business

          - Click-and-mortar business

          - Pure-play business

BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS (C2B)

• Priceline.com is an example of a C2B e-business model
• The demand for C2B e-business will increase over the next few years due to customer's desire for greater convenience and lower prices
• Online auctions

          - Electronic auction (e-auction) -sellers and buyer solicit consecutive bids from each other                                                                         and prices are determined dynamically

          - Forward auction - sellers use as a selling channel to many buyers and the highest bid wins

          - Reverse auction - buyers use to purchase a product or service, selecting the sellers with the                                              lowest bids

CONSUMER-TO-CONSUMER (C2C)

• C2C communities include :

          - Communities of interest - people interact with each other on specific topics such as golfing                                                           and stamp collecting

          - Communities of relations - people come together to share certain life experiences such as                                                                 cancer patients, senior citizens and car enthusiasts

          - Communities of fantasy - people participate in imaginary environments such as fantasy                                                                football teams and playing one-on-one with Michael Jordan

E-BUSINESS BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES

• E-business benefits include :

         - Highly accessible

         - Increase  customers loyalty

         - Increase convenience 

• E-business challenges include :

          - Protecting consumers

          - Increasing liability

          - Providing security

• Numerous advantages & limitations in e-business revenue models including:

          - Transactions fees

          - License fees

          - Advertising fees

E-BUSINESS TOOLS FOR CONNECTING & COMMUNICATING 

• E-mail
• Podcasting 
• Web conferencing

MASHUPS

• Web mashup - a Web site or web application that use content from more  than one source to                              create a completely new service

          - Application programming interface (API) - a sets of routines , protocols, and tools for                                                                                                building software applications

          - Mashup editor - WSYIWYGs ( What You See Is What You Get ) for mashups. 

CHAPTER 12 - INTEGRATING THE ORGANIZATION FROM END TO END - ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING

CHAPTER 12 - INTEGRATING THE ORGANIZATION FROM END TO END - ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING

•       At the heart of all ERP systems is a database, when a user enters or updates information in one module, it is immediately and automatically updated throughout the entire system.

- ERP Integration Data Flow

- ERP Process Flow

BRINGING THE ORGANIZATION TOGETHER

Information has traditionally been isolated within specific departments,

whether on an individual database, in a file cabinet or on an employee's PC

- The Organization before ERP

- ERP - Bringing the Organization Together

The Evolution Of ERP

INTEGRATING SCM, CRM, And ERP

-SCM,CRM and ERP are the backbone of e-business

-Integration of these applications is the key to success for many companies 

-Integration allows the unlocking of information to make it available to any

 user,anywhere and anytime. 

INTEGRATION TOOLS.

-Many companies purchase modules from ERP vendor,an SCM vendor

 and CRM vendor and must integrate the different modules together.

-MIDDLEWARE - several different types software which sit in middle 

                                     and provide connectivity between two or more software

                                     applications

-ENTERPRISE APPLICATION INTEGRATION (EAI)

 MIDDLEWARE - packages together commonly used functionality

                                     which reduced the time necessary to develop solutions 

                                     that integrate applications from multiple vendors. 

- Primary Users and Business Benefits of Strategic Initiatives

- Integrations between SCM, CRM, and ERP Applications