Discusion board - Assignment Example

Discussion Board How do Business Processes Generate Value? What is the role of IS in business process management (BPM)? Can business processes be a source of competitive advantage?Business processes are a set of activities, which are coordinated in such a way as to generate and deliver value to the customer. The processes are normally three including management, operational, and supporting. Business processes generate value when all the elements and tasks involved in the process coordinate and communicate with each other.

Business Process Management (BPM) involves the integration and coordination of the above processes to create value. Information Technology (IT) has a huge role in BPM. IT enables creation of applications, which are customized to ensure that there is a coordination of processes from inception to the realization of value for customers. The applications also enable management identify and correct any unforeseen challenges that may arise. Business processes are sources of competitive advantage. Business processes need to be unique and strategic to offer a competitive advantage.

For instance, a business with processes focused on the creation of innovative products and services or those that portray a high sensitivity to customer queries and concerns tend to create a competitive advantage over their rivals.2-How does Porters five forces shape industry competition and strategy? What are the implications? Do you agree with these five forces? Is there any other force that affects competition and strategy? What is the role of MIS in this framework?Understanding one’s business, specifically the strengths and weaknesses, is very important in facing rival competition.

This is the basis in Porter’s five forces that shape industry competition and strategy. According to Porter, these five are; supplier power, buyer power, competitive rivalry, threat of substitution and threat of new entry. The five are centered in understanding the power that lies in a business and very useful in the analysis of the current positioning of a business, from a competitive point of view. Understanding this power, according to Porter, enables one to gain an advantage position by capitalizing on the strengths and improving weaknesses.

For instance, in threat of new entry, the knowledge that competitors can easily penetrate the market and bring competition enables a business create barriers strong enough to keep off competitors thus maintain a competitive position. These forces shape the markets and industries businesses operate in. For instance, in competitive rivalry, having very few or no competitors at all offers a business competitive advantage in the industry it operates in. I agree with these five forces, as they do offer a logical explanation to how businesses compete.

However, there are other forces such as government regulations, which affect competition and strategy. Regulations, such as taxation, may create barriers to some businesses eyeing a particular market, thus favoring those already in existence. In the Porter framework, a Management Information System (MIS) is important to assist business managers use application software that enables them understand the interaction of the five forces the time of application of each force thus design an effective strategy.

3-How do you appraise open source software. Do you think open source is the future or just a hype? Haw you ever used, or would you use open source software? Why / Why not?Open source software can be defined as software that can be modified by anyone. This is because they are designed in such a manner that their accessibility is public. For instance, a computer programmer may make amendments to open source software. Appraisal of open source software is done by examining the accessibility of the source code of the software.

The source code is a software portion not accessible to users. The ability to modify the source code is the basis for determining whether software is open or closed and thus also serves as a benchmark for appraisal. Open source is the future of software usage. This is because it offers a variety of advantages such as communication especially where geographical distances are involved. Therefore, I would use open source software as it eases activities such as email management and photo sharing.

4-Think of the World we live in today, and examine the application of databases to daily activities. How databases ease our life? Where else we can use databases? What do you think about the "Hospital Patient Database Management System in the USA"? Do you think it is good enough? What can be done to improve it?Databases are used in almost all areas of our daily lives and are responsible for most of the services that we depend on in everyday life. These databases include financial, government, social.

In the financial sector, databases are used to store information about stock markets and financial institutions, which people can use while accessing services. Databases can also be used in agriculture, where farmers and industry experts can collect and share data about trends or best practices in the industry. The Hospital Patient Database Management system in the USA is a database or program that stores the health information, past and present records, of patients in a digital format. The database is effective as it enables one to easily access a patient’s entire medical history thus simplifying the process of extraction of this information when needed.

The database, as it is, is good. However, security features should be added on it to ensure the confidentiality of a patient’s health information.