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Chapter
    2
                    Competing
                       with
              Information Technology



McGraw-Hill/Irwin     Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
2



                    Objectives
Identify  basic competitive strategies and
  explain how IT may be used to gain
  competitive advantage.

Identify strategic uses of information
  technology.

How    does business process engineering
  frequently use e-business technologies for
  strategic purposes?
McGraw-Hill/Irwin    Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
3



                    (Objectives – continued)



Identify  the business value of using e-business
  technologies for total quality management, to
  become an agile competitor, or to form a
  virtual company.

Explain  how knowledge management systems
  can help a business gain strategic advantage.



McGraw-Hill/Irwin      Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
4



                      Section I




         Fundamentals of Strategic Advantage




McGraw-Hill/Irwin     Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
5


     Fundamentals of Strategic Advantage

Competitive   Forces (Porter)
   Bargaining power of customers

   Bargaining power of suppliers

   Rivalry of competitors

   Threat of new entrants

   Threat of substitutes




McGraw-Hill/Irwin   Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
6



      Competitive Strategies & the Role of IT
Cost  Leadership (low cost producer)
   Reduce inventory (JIT)

   Reduce manpower costs per sale (see Real

    World Case 1)
   Help suppliers or customers reduce costs

   Increase costs of competitors

   Reduce manufacturing costs (process

    control)

McGraw-Hill/Irwin    Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
7



                    Competitive Strategies & the Role of IT (continued)



Differentiation

   Create  a positive difference between your
    products/services & the competition.
   May allow you to reduce a competitor’s

    differentiation advantage.
   May allow you to serve a niche market.




McGraw-Hill/Irwin                    Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
8



                    Competitive Strategies & the Role of IT (continued)



Innovation

   New   ways of doing business
       Unique products or services

       New ways to better serve customers

       Reduce time to market

       New distribution models




McGraw-Hill/Irwin                    Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
9



                    Competitive Strategies & the Role of IT (continued)



Growth

   Expand  production capacity
   Expand into global markets

   Diversify

   Integrate into related products and services.




McGraw-Hill/Irwin                    Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
10



                    Competitive Strategies & the Role of IT (continued)



Alliance

   Broaden   your base of support
     New linkages

   Mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures,

    “virtual companies”
   Marketing, manufacturing, or distribution

    agreements.


McGraw-Hill/Irwin                    Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
11



                    Competitive Strategies & the Role of IT (continued)



Other  Competitive Strategies
   Locking in customers or suppliers

    Build value into your relationship

   Creating switching costs

    Extranets

    Proprietary software applications




McGraw-Hill/Irwin                    Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
12



                    Competitive Strategies & the Role of IT (continued)



Other  Competitive Strategies (continued)
   Raising barriers to entry

    Improve operations or promote innovation

   Leveraging investment in IT

    Allows the business to take advantage of

     strategic opportunities



McGraw-Hill/Irwin                    Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
13



                    The Value Chain
Views    a firm as a series, chain, or network of
  activities that add value to its products and
  services.
   Improved administrative coordination

   Training

   Joint design of products and processes

   Improved procurement processes

   JIT inventory

   Order processing systems
McGraw-Hill/Irwin       Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
14



                    Value Chain (continued)




McGraw-Hill/Irwin      Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
15



                        Section II




               Using Information Technology
                   for Strategic Advantage




McGraw-Hill/Irwin        Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
16


   Strategic Uses Of Information Technology

Major competitive differentiator
Develop a focus on the customer

 Customer value

   Best value

   Understand customer preferences

   Track market trends

   Supply products, services, & information
    anytime, anywhere
   Tailored customer service

McGraw-Hill/Irwin   Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
17



                Strategic Uses of IT (continued)



Business         Process Reengineering (BPR)
   Rethinking & redesign of business processes

   Combines innovation and process

     improvement
   There are risks involved.

   Success factors

      Organizational redesign

      Process teams and case managers

      Information technology
McGraw-Hill/Irwin      Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
18



                Strategic Uses of IT (continued)



Improve          business quality
   Total Quality Management (TQM)

      Quality from customer’s perspective

      Meeting or exceeding customer
        expectations
      Commitment to:

          Higher quality

          Quicker response

          Greater flexibility

          Lower cost
McGraw-Hill/Irwin      Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
19



                    Strategic Uses of IT (continued)



Becoming   agile
   Four basic strategies

    Customers’ perception of product/service

     as solution to individual problem
    Cooperate with customers, suppliers,

     other companies (including competitors)
    Thrive on change and uncertainty

    Leverage impact of people and people’s

     knowledge
McGraw-Hill/Irwin          Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
20



                    Strategic Uses of IT (continued)



The  virtual company
   Uses IT to link people, assets, and ideas

   Forms virtual workgroups and alliances

    with business partners
   Interorganizational information systems




McGraw-Hill/Irwin          Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
21



                    The Virtual Company (continued)




   Strategies

       Share infrastructure & risk with alliance
        partners
       Link complementary core competencies

       Reduce concept-to-cash time through

        sharing



McGraw-Hill/Irwin           Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
22



                    The Virtual Company (continued)




   Strategies   (continued)
       Increase facilities and market coverage

       Gain access to new markets and share

        market or customer loyalty
       Migrate from selling products to selling

        solutions




McGraw-Hill/Irwin          Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
23




                    Learning Organizations
Exploit  two kinds of knowledge
   Explicit

   Tacit




McGraw-Hill/Irwin           Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
24



                       Learning Organizations (continued)



 Knowledge         Management




McGraw-Hill/Irwin               Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
25



                    Learning Organizations (continued)



Knowledge    management systems
   Help create, organize, and share business

    knowledge wherever and whenever needed
    within the organization




McGraw-Hill/Irwin            Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
26




                    Discussion Questions
You  have been asked to develop e-business &
  e-commerce applications to gain competitive
  advantage. What reservations might you have
  about doing so?

How   could a business use IT to increase
  switching costs and lock in its customers and
  suppliers?

McGraw-Hill/Irwin         Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
27



                    Discussion Questions (continued)



How    could a business leverage its investment
  in IT to build strategic IT capabilities that
  serve as a barrier to entry by new entrants
  into its markets?

What   strategic role can information
  technology play in business process
  reengineering and total quality management?

McGraw-Hill/Irwin           Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
28



                    Discussion Questions (continued)



How   can Internet technologies help a business
  form strategic alliances with its customers,
  suppliers, and others?

How   could a business use Internet
  technologies to form a virtual company or
  become an agile competitor?



McGraw-Hill/Irwin           Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
29



                    Discussion Questions (continued)



IT  can’t really give a company a strategic
  advantage, because most competitive
  advantages don’t last more than a few years &
  soon become strategic necessities that just
  raise the stakes of the game. Discuss.

MIS   author & consultant Peter Keen says:
  “We have learned that it is not technology that
  creates a competitive edge, but the
  management process that exploits technology.”
   What does he mean?
McGraw-Hill/Irwin           Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
30


    Real World Case 1 – WESCO International, Inc.

Business-to-Business



Describe           WESCO’s original system.

Describe           WESCO’s new system.




McGraw-Hill/Irwin           Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
31



                    Real World Case 1 (continued)



What    are the business benefits to WESCO and
  its suppliers of its new e-procurement system?

Is    WESCO’s new system a strategic use of IT?




McGraw-Hill/Irwin         Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
32



                    Real World Case 1 (continued)



Does  WESCO’s new system give the company
  a competitive advantage?

What  other strategic moves could WESCO
  implement to gain competitive advantage?




McGraw-Hill/Irwin         Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
33



                Real World Case 2 – Staples, Inc.

What   is the strategic business value to Staples
  and their large business clients of the new
  web-based procurement system?

What    is the strategic business value to Staples
  and the value proposition to their customers of
  their new clicks and bricks capabilities?



McGraw-Hill/Irwin           Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
34



                    Real World Case 2 (continued)



Is an integrated clicks and bricks strategy the
  Internet strategy that most businesses, large
  and small, should adopt?

What   competitive strategies is Staples
  pursuing?




McGraw-Hill/Irwin         Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
35



                    Real World Case 2 (continued)



What   other e-business or e-commerce strategy
  would you recommend to Staples to help them
  gain a competitive advantage in their
  industry?




McGraw-Hill/Irwin         Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
36



               Real World Case 3 – Enron Corp.

What  mistakes did Enron make in the use or
  management of IT?

Did those mistakes play a part in the failure of
  Enron?




McGraw-Hill/Irwin         Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
37



                    Real World Case 3 (continued)



“Is it time to go back to the days when IT
  supported the business rather than became the
  business?” Explain your position.

What    are the major lessons for the future use
  of IT in business that you gained from this
  case?



McGraw-Hill/Irwin         Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
38



                    Real World Case 3 (continued)



How    would you apply one of the lessons from
  this case in your present job or in your future
  business career?




McGraw-Hill/Irwin         Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
39


  Real World Case 4 – Delta Technology & FirstHealth Group


What   are Delta Technology’s new
  requirements for IT investments?

What   is the business value of Delta’s new
  requirements?




McGraw-Hill/Irwin       Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
40



                    Real World Case 4 (continued)



Explain  FirstHealth’s “return on opportunity”
  guidelines.



Is FirstHealth’s “return on opportunity”
  guideline for IT investments a good way to
  evaluate investments in IT?


McGraw-Hill/Irwin         Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
41



                    Real World Case 4 (continued)



What  should be the role of ROI in IT decision-
  making?

Are   the IT investment guidelines of Delta and
  FirstHealth applicable to other companies,
  including small businesses?




McGraw-Hill/Irwin         Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
42


        Real World Case 5 – Ford, Dow Chemical, IBM, et al.


What         is Six Sigma?

What   do critics of Six Sigma see as its
  shortcomings?




McGraw-Hill/Irwin          Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
43



                    Real World Case 5 (continued)



Is  Six Sigma “an enterprise-wide business
  strategy?”

What    role does information technology play in
  Six Sigma business initiatives?




McGraw-Hill/Irwin         Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
44



                    Real World Case 5 (continued)



What  are the benefits and limitations of Six
  Sigma as a business strategy?

Can   Six Sigma make up for poor management
  and faulty vision?




McGraw-Hill/Irwin         Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Chap002 MIS

  • 1. 1 Chapter 2 Competing with Information Technology McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 2. 2 Objectives Identify basic competitive strategies and explain how IT may be used to gain competitive advantage. Identify strategic uses of information technology. How does business process engineering frequently use e-business technologies for strategic purposes? McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 3. 3 (Objectives – continued) Identify the business value of using e-business technologies for total quality management, to become an agile competitor, or to form a virtual company. Explain how knowledge management systems can help a business gain strategic advantage. McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 4. 4 Section I Fundamentals of Strategic Advantage McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 5. 5 Fundamentals of Strategic Advantage Competitive Forces (Porter) Bargaining power of customers Bargaining power of suppliers Rivalry of competitors Threat of new entrants Threat of substitutes McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 6. 6 Competitive Strategies & the Role of IT Cost Leadership (low cost producer) Reduce inventory (JIT) Reduce manpower costs per sale (see Real World Case 1) Help suppliers or customers reduce costs Increase costs of competitors Reduce manufacturing costs (process control) McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 7. 7 Competitive Strategies & the Role of IT (continued) Differentiation Create a positive difference between your products/services & the competition. May allow you to reduce a competitor’s differentiation advantage. May allow you to serve a niche market. McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 8. 8 Competitive Strategies & the Role of IT (continued) Innovation New ways of doing business Unique products or services New ways to better serve customers Reduce time to market New distribution models McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 9. 9 Competitive Strategies & the Role of IT (continued) Growth Expand production capacity Expand into global markets Diversify Integrate into related products and services. McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 10. 10 Competitive Strategies & the Role of IT (continued) Alliance Broaden your base of support New linkages Mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, “virtual companies” Marketing, manufacturing, or distribution agreements. McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 11. 11 Competitive Strategies & the Role of IT (continued) Other Competitive Strategies Locking in customers or suppliers Build value into your relationship Creating switching costs Extranets Proprietary software applications McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 12. 12 Competitive Strategies & the Role of IT (continued) Other Competitive Strategies (continued) Raising barriers to entry Improve operations or promote innovation Leveraging investment in IT Allows the business to take advantage of strategic opportunities McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 13. 13 The Value Chain Views a firm as a series, chain, or network of activities that add value to its products and services. Improved administrative coordination Training Joint design of products and processes Improved procurement processes JIT inventory Order processing systems McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 14. 14 Value Chain (continued) McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 15. 15 Section II Using Information Technology for Strategic Advantage McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 16. 16 Strategic Uses Of Information Technology Major competitive differentiator Develop a focus on the customer Customer value Best value Understand customer preferences Track market trends Supply products, services, & information anytime, anywhere Tailored customer service McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 17. 17 Strategic Uses of IT (continued) Business Process Reengineering (BPR) Rethinking & redesign of business processes Combines innovation and process improvement There are risks involved. Success factors Organizational redesign Process teams and case managers Information technology McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 18. 18 Strategic Uses of IT (continued) Improve business quality Total Quality Management (TQM) Quality from customer’s perspective Meeting or exceeding customer expectations Commitment to: Higher quality Quicker response Greater flexibility Lower cost McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 19. 19 Strategic Uses of IT (continued) Becoming agile Four basic strategies Customers’ perception of product/service as solution to individual problem Cooperate with customers, suppliers, other companies (including competitors) Thrive on change and uncertainty Leverage impact of people and people’s knowledge McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 20. 20 Strategic Uses of IT (continued) The virtual company Uses IT to link people, assets, and ideas Forms virtual workgroups and alliances with business partners Interorganizational information systems McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 21. 21 The Virtual Company (continued) Strategies Share infrastructure & risk with alliance partners Link complementary core competencies Reduce concept-to-cash time through sharing McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 22. 22 The Virtual Company (continued) Strategies (continued) Increase facilities and market coverage Gain access to new markets and share market or customer loyalty Migrate from selling products to selling solutions McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 23. 23 Learning Organizations Exploit two kinds of knowledge Explicit Tacit McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 24. 24 Learning Organizations (continued)  Knowledge Management McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 25. 25 Learning Organizations (continued) Knowledge management systems Help create, organize, and share business knowledge wherever and whenever needed within the organization McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 26. 26 Discussion Questions You have been asked to develop e-business & e-commerce applications to gain competitive advantage. What reservations might you have about doing so? How could a business use IT to increase switching costs and lock in its customers and suppliers? McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 27. 27 Discussion Questions (continued) How could a business leverage its investment in IT to build strategic IT capabilities that serve as a barrier to entry by new entrants into its markets? What strategic role can information technology play in business process reengineering and total quality management? McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 28. 28 Discussion Questions (continued) How can Internet technologies help a business form strategic alliances with its customers, suppliers, and others? How could a business use Internet technologies to form a virtual company or become an agile competitor? McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 29. 29 Discussion Questions (continued) IT can’t really give a company a strategic advantage, because most competitive advantages don’t last more than a few years & soon become strategic necessities that just raise the stakes of the game. Discuss. MIS author & consultant Peter Keen says: “We have learned that it is not technology that creates a competitive edge, but the management process that exploits technology.” What does he mean? McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 30. 30 Real World Case 1 – WESCO International, Inc. Business-to-Business Describe WESCO’s original system. Describe WESCO’s new system. McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 31. 31 Real World Case 1 (continued) What are the business benefits to WESCO and its suppliers of its new e-procurement system? Is WESCO’s new system a strategic use of IT? McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 32. 32 Real World Case 1 (continued) Does WESCO’s new system give the company a competitive advantage? What other strategic moves could WESCO implement to gain competitive advantage? McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 33. 33 Real World Case 2 – Staples, Inc. What is the strategic business value to Staples and their large business clients of the new web-based procurement system? What is the strategic business value to Staples and the value proposition to their customers of their new clicks and bricks capabilities? McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 34. 34 Real World Case 2 (continued) Is an integrated clicks and bricks strategy the Internet strategy that most businesses, large and small, should adopt? What competitive strategies is Staples pursuing? McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 35. 35 Real World Case 2 (continued) What other e-business or e-commerce strategy would you recommend to Staples to help them gain a competitive advantage in their industry? McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 36. 36 Real World Case 3 – Enron Corp. What mistakes did Enron make in the use or management of IT? Did those mistakes play a part in the failure of Enron? McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 37. 37 Real World Case 3 (continued) “Is it time to go back to the days when IT supported the business rather than became the business?” Explain your position. What are the major lessons for the future use of IT in business that you gained from this case? McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 38. 38 Real World Case 3 (continued) How would you apply one of the lessons from this case in your present job or in your future business career? McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 39. 39 Real World Case 4 – Delta Technology & FirstHealth Group What are Delta Technology’s new requirements for IT investments? What is the business value of Delta’s new requirements? McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 40. 40 Real World Case 4 (continued) Explain FirstHealth’s “return on opportunity” guidelines. Is FirstHealth’s “return on opportunity” guideline for IT investments a good way to evaluate investments in IT? McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 41. 41 Real World Case 4 (continued) What should be the role of ROI in IT decision- making? Are the IT investment guidelines of Delta and FirstHealth applicable to other companies, including small businesses? McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 42. 42 Real World Case 5 – Ford, Dow Chemical, IBM, et al. What is Six Sigma? What do critics of Six Sigma see as its shortcomings? McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 43. 43 Real World Case 5 (continued) Is Six Sigma “an enterprise-wide business strategy?” What role does information technology play in Six Sigma business initiatives? McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • 44. 44 Real World Case 5 (continued) What are the benefits and limitations of Six Sigma as a business strategy? Can Six Sigma make up for poor management and faulty vision? McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2004, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.