C. 3

In chapter 3 the authors discuss organizational culture, in the Smith article, as mentioned below, he talks about how the Japanese culture views technology implementation and discusses the concept of chowa. I found this concept very interesting in reference to IT chowa means that technology should fit the people using it rather than the other way. It is very telling that as a company for a smooth transition you don't want to force a technology onto an employee rather the technology should adapt to the employees ability.

Ch. 2 Reflections

In Chapter 2 the authors the strategic use of information services. The part of the chapter that caught my attention was the concepts of CRM (customer relationship management ) and RBV(resource based view). In retail today knowing your customer is huge, CRM is a big part of that knowing what your customer will be looking for, what there wants and needs are. The examples in the text of the Ritz Carlton and Zara prove this and there stake in each industry. RBV is big in retail because obtaining or using resources to attain or create a competitive advantage over your competition is a must. In the article I found online, Modernizing retail grocery business via knowledge management-based systems by Alan D. Smith. Smith uses a case study about Giant Eagle, a retail grocery chain, to show how they use CRM and RBV through the implementation of technology system KnowAsis. What the system did was created a Networked Organizational structure , discussed in chapter 3, from the old hierarchical organizational structure the company had in place. Every store could access data shared from other stores. It also streamlined their customer advantage card so that the information collected from the use of this program could forecast trends and let the managers of the stores know what their customers were buying.

Ch. 1 Reflections

In Chapter 1 Pearlson & Saunders talk about the Information Systems Strategy Triangle, essentially aligning your companies business strategy, organizational strategy and information strategy. I will find it interesting how they develop this concept throughout the book. In chapter 1 the authors talk about Hypercompetition , basically creating and eroding advantages rapidly. I found an article online that discusses Hypercompetition further that you may find interesting ( On the edge of hypercompetition in higher education: the case of the MBA). Basically what the author talks about in the article is that like businesses in the 90s, traditional colleges are now experiencing increased competition from the likes of internet based and for profit colleges, and must diffrentiate themselfs through the use of hypercompetition. Sharkey creates a great paralell between what happened to businesses in the 90s to what is happening to traditional colleges know. It is very mirrored in the way that traditional colleges just assume that the students will enroll based on name recognition alone, but with the increaing visibility of the web based and for profit colleges. The accessability and affordability of these institutions have lured enrollments away from the traditional colleges.

Still working out the kinks

still working out the kinks. I feel as though I am writing in a diary or a journal. I always made fun of my friends who kept a live journal online saying how lame it was, ha. Now I am in some way writing in a updated version. More to come I promise.