Question

Book: Information Systems Today Managing In The Digital World 7th Editon

Answer should conform APA standards

Please answer each question

Chapter 1 – Managing in the Digital World

1-4. Describe how cloud computing can improve your personal productivity.

1-5. List and describe several reasons why companies are choosing to outsource business activities.

Chapter 2 – Gaining Competitive Advantage through Information Systems

2-1. Compare and contrast the characteristics of the operational, managerial, and executive levels of an organization.

2-6.What is freeconomics, and what are several approaches to applying its concept to various industries?

Chapter 3 – Managing the Information Systems Infrastructure and Services

3-3. Describe the key functions of system software.

3-5.What are the distinguishing characteristics of different storage media?

Chapter 4 – Enabling Business-to-Consumer Electronic Commerce

4-2.What are the primary forms of e-government? Provide examples for each.

4-7.What is the online consumer’s hierarchy of needs, and why is it important to e-tailers?

Chapter 5 – Enhancing Organizational Communication and Collaboration Using Social Media

5-1.What are virtual teams, and how do they help to improve an organization’s capabilities?

5-5. Why is social media an important factor for attracting and retaining employees?

Answer 1

Listed below are various factors that explains how cloud computing can improve the personal productivity.

1. Efficient Collaboration: With the help of efficient collaboration, employees can collaborate to have a detailed overview of the progress on different projects in real time. This was not possible before the advent of cloud computing as the employees are becoming far more productive now in managing work processes and demonstrating products and services to clients. This productivity can be increased when they are out in the field, instantly accessing files from the company as needed, managing work processes without waiting until they’re back on-site, demonstrating products and service and even processing transactions on the spot.
2. Efficient Workforce: There has been a large demand towards “Bringing your own desktop” over these last few years and more companies are realizing that it is a tide that cannot be stopped. Many are starting to realize that embracing it early with some added security through cloud services creates great chance for increasing productivity as well. Bringing your own desktop simply empowers the modern world of employees. They can work on their own devices and can go even on remote. In fact, many employees end up putting in extra hours from the comfort zone of their own home with no rise in pay, and you don’t even have to ask them to do so. Increased productivity can also be found through better technologies in the consumer tech markets. Business cannot typically provide this type of techniques in-house but providing access on their own devices brings in an army of new tech that is ever-growing and without added cost to you.
3. Efficient IT Infrastructure: Treating “computing” as a utility service makes it more scalable and reduces bottlenecks. Cloud computing can increase productivity but one have to come at it conscious of what is actually possible.
4. Flexibility, Functionality, Efficiency: In the ever-changing business landscape, there are various business aspects that are difficult to adapt. With cloud computing, we have witnessed companies that are adapting to market conditions with the kind of flexibility that is not possible when using on-site physical solutions. This is a virtual solution to internal demands that will integrate with the tools that one already uses in their business. Cloud services are used to meet the demands and their use can then be easily decreased as the demand drops. This eliminates the problem of overloading IT systems.

Several reasons why companies are choosing to outsource business activities are as follows:

1. Outsourcing saves time and focus more on business.
2. Saves money as account sourcing is cheaper than hiring a full time (FT) accountant.
3. Access to professionals who will ensure the accuracy.
4. Keeping a track of all would be easy
5. Outsourcing can provide quality results(when we outsource artwork creation, advertising and socialising)

Below is the comparison and contrast of the characteristics of the operation, managerial, and executive levels of an organization.

1. Operational level- Day-to-day business processes and interactions with customers occur here. Information Systems at this level are designed to automate repetitive activities taking place in the organisation. Structured decisions are those in which the procedures to follow for a given situation can be specified in advance. These decisions are very straightforward and can be programmed into operational information systems to avoid human intervention.

1. Managerial level- At the managerial level, functional managers (Marketing managers, finance managers, etc.) focus on monitoring and controlling operational-level activities and providing information to higher levels of the organization. They focus on effectively utilizing and deploying organizational resources to achieve the desired objectives of the organization. Semi-structured decisions define some procedures to follow for a given situation which can be specified in advance but not to the extent where a specific recommendation can be made.

1. Executive level- Here managers focus on long-term strategic questions facing the organization. Executive level decisions deal with complex problems with broad and long-term ramifications for the organization. Unstructured decisions exist here where few or no procedures to follow for a given situation can be specified in advance.

Free economics or market is an idealized system in which the prices for goods and services are determined by the open market and consumers. The laws and forces of supply and demand are free from any intervention by a government, price-setting monopoly, or other authority. The concept on which free market lies are: Demand and supply: It is the economic model of how prices are determined in a market. Demand for goods refers to the pressure in the market from people trying to buy it. Consumers have a maximum price they are willing to pay for a good as opposed to the minimum price sellers have in order to offer it. Prices and the number of items that are adjusted based on the economic conditions at the time. In a free market, anyone has the freedom to enter, leave and take part in the market as they wish. A free market should also offer low barriers to entry. A free market does not need competition in order to exist but it should allow the chance for other players to join in. That means that the lack of barriers with little or no entry costs helps competition thrive in a free market economy.