Chapter 1: The National Bank of Kuwait

1.      How has NBK benefitted from the implementation of SHOROUQ?

·         Become the largest financial institution and leasing bank in the Middle East.

NBK was awarded the title of Best Bank in Kuwait and the Middle East 2008 by Euromoney. It is ranked in the top 100 most successful banks of the world, and third among Arab banks.

·         Help the bank to be more flexible and more productive

NBK executives the new ERP system would help the bank more flexible and more productive by coordinating its business processes more closely and integrating groups of processes so that it could focus on efficient resource management and customer service.

·         Deal with different types of information and new products.

SHPROUQ can be upgraded easily, and additional server capacity can be added without a great deal of maintenance. This new system can integrate data from legacy systems for mining purposes makes SHOROUQ more flexible and dynamic when dealing with different types of information and new products.

·         Expand its market locally and worldwide

SHOROUQ helped the company to expand its market locally and worldwide, and beyond the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East.

2. List the advantages and disadvantages of implementing the SHOROUQ system at NBK.

Advantages:

• The old system has different information systems for every department. However, new system makes all departments close to each other and flow of information is easier.
• The new system able to overcome many of the shortcomings of the old system, particularly the costs of maintenance.
• The new system can easily upgrade, additional server capacity can be add without a great deal of maintenance.
• This system ensures that data quality and high availability could be maintained.
• This system enables effective business operations, decision-making and reporting.
• Identifying the most profitable customer as well as potential customers more effectively.
• Successfully meet the organization’s overall needs.
• Efficient resource management and customer service.

Disadvantages:

• This system was costly to develop and establish.
• To make this system come to reality or achieve the objectives, The National Bank of Kuwait invested too much time and money.

3. How do you think NBK’s business would have developed if it had not integrated SHOROUQ?

If NBK had not integrated SHOROUQ,

- It will unable to expand its market share, locally or globally.

- It will unable to target their current and potential customer efficiently.

- Slow speed of information flow between organization, employees and customers.

- Management decisions to counteract market changes were slow and costly.

- Maintenance cost of the data is high.

Moreover, NBK may choose to use others IT strategy, such as:

• Core system changes, the building of an SOA-driven integration platform and the delivery of a BI system as part of a fluid information architecture.
• A new Operational Data Store (ODS) is effectively a data warehouse that would consolidate data from across the enterprise and provide NBK with the ability to drive all of its enterprise BI and information requirements, and support all decisions out of one place.
• SAP Business Objects software was also chosen to cover operational reporting as the vendor’s distribution and access were felt to be in line with the needs of the bank.

Chapter 3: Burton Snowboards Speeds Ahead With Nimble Business Processe

1. Analyze Burton using the value chain and competitive forces models.

The value chain use by Burton is implemented and currently maintains SAP enterprise software, an Oracle database, a SUSE Linux enterprise server, and commodity hardware. Before making this upgrades, Burton’s information systems were a hodgepodge of inconsistently had to implemented and underutilized software. The company had to manually allocate product to customers and orders.

Burton explores basic functionalities of SAP enterprise resource planning (ERP) software and resolve IT problems without adding new layers of complexity to its IT infrastructure, and the company gained proficiency with SAP enterprise software in the process. Burton aims for standard, traditional versions of software whenever possible, realizing that with more bells and whistles comes increased maintenance costs and steeper leaning curves to understanding the software.

The competitive forces models used by Burton is substitute service, supplies and customers. Before that, Burton had to manually allocate product to customers and orders. Now, Burton substitutes it by using SAP that can improve communication between warehouses and supply chain efficiency. Both suppliers and customers could easily determine the up-to-date information which items were in stock at which warehouse.

2. Why are the business processes described in this case such an important source of competitive advantage for Burton?

SAP analysts helped Burton identify the top five transactions that were the most critical to its business operations and that needed optimization from a systems standpoint. Burton could identify unnecessarily complicated processes, backlogs, and design gaps in the flow of its business processes. Moreover, a management dashboard developed with the help of SAP shows how smoothly a critical process is running at certain point in time. Information from the dashboard helps Burton’s key users discover inconsistencies, gaps, or other areas that they should be monitoring more closely.

3. Explain exactly how these process improvements enhance Burton’s operational performance and decision making.

These process improvements enhance Burton’s operational performance and decision making during what Burton calls its “reorder” season. Burton’s dealers place orders to stock their stores well before winter sets in. As consumers start buying the merchandise, the dealers reorder with Burton to replenish their stock or to buy new products. Thus, they are able to see more timely product availability data, and receive orders more rapidly now.

Chapter 2: Achieving Competitive Advantage with Information Systems

STARBUCKS

1) Analyse starbucks using the competitive forces and value chain models.
 

Starbucks is world’s largest coffee retailer, specially whole bean coffees.

Competitive force

Competitors

• McDonald, Dunkin’ Donuts. 

           -Selling similar products, cheaper.

Substitutes

• Tea, soft drinks, juices.

Suppliers

• Coffee beans ( choose suppliers based on quality, environmental and   economic issues).
• Coffee beans can be produced only in certain geographical areas ( tropical highlands of the western Hemisphere-Brazil).

New market entrants

• Compete with Starbucks is low, because market is highly saturated and substantial amount of financial resources associated with buildings and properties are required in order to enter into the industry.

Customers

• Large variety of products.
• Coffee lovers, coffee drinkers.

Value chain models

Primary activity

Operation

• in-store wireless network to run store operation and to connect to the       company’s private corporate network systems

Sales and marketing

• Starbucks card system.
• Advertising through social media.

Support activities

Human resources

• Workforce planning system
• Reduce amount of time each employee spends marking a drink.

2) What is starbucks business strategy?  What assess the role played by technology in this business strategy?

Business strategy

• Product differentiation strategy.
• High quality of products.
• Helpful customer service.
• Premium price.
• Customer friendly baristas.
• In-store technology ( 4 store designs ).
• Free Wi-Fi wireless network.

Role of technology

• In-store technology help to improving in-the store experience.
• Free Wi-Fi wireless network attract more customers, customer who use “Starbucks Digital Network” portal will receive free Wall Street Journal access, select free iTunes downloads and variety of other content.
• Customer service will improve relationship with customers.
• Smartphone app make customers to pay money in easy method.
• Smartphone app integrated with the Starbucks Card System which allows customers to pay with a pre-paid and rechargeable card.
• All the app and Starbucks site is available for all major smartphones operating systems.

3) How much has technology helped starbucks compete?

 

Technology helped compete

In-store technology

• 4 store designs

• One for each of four stages of coffee marking

           -Growing
           -Roasting
           -Brewing
           -Aroma

• Each store with its colour, combinations, lighting scheme

           -Consumer visit to its cafes being an experience

• Mobile applications

           -Can use phone to pay for your purchases at Starbucks. It’s fast, and convent.

• Wi-Fi ( free )

           -Help keep customers connected

• Starbucks Digital Network

           -We’re bringing the most interesting stuff on the web right to your comfy chair

• In-store displays

           -Monitor featuring music playing in store visuals of  “drink of the month”.

Chapter 4: Should You Use Your iPhone for Work?

    
   1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the following employees to use their personal smartphones for work?

    Advantages

•     All companies will receive benefits of a mobile workforce, even though they not     spend their money for it
•     Avoid companies from wasting money for unnecessary devices and mobile initiatives.
•     Every employees will be feel comfortable because they using their own device.
•     Employees will feel easier because they don’t have burden to carry and manage multiple devices.

Disadvantages

• The data of a company which is private and confidential will be leak out to public. This is legal and liability risk for that company.
• Companies lose their consistency and efficiency when they have their own hardware, and control their data and scale their own It infrastructure.
• Employees have to spend their own pocket money for buy the devices needed by their company
• In a company every employees using different kind of devices. So the operating systems available, providing adequate technical support for every employees will be difficult.

2. What people, organization and technology factors should be addressed when deciding whether to allow employees to use their personal smartphones for work?

People

• Many companies are integrating these “mobility experts” into core IT functions and software development. Mobility experts can help a company leverage mobility more effectively.
• Identify or analyse that employees have ability to own their devices.
• Make sure that employees agree to safe the company’s confidential information

Organization

• Limit business smartphone use to a single platform.

This made it easier to keep track to each mobile device and to roll out software upgrades or fixes, because all employees were using the same devices, or at the very least, the same operating system. For example, BlackBerry mobile devices access corporate e-mail and data using a proprietary software and networking platform that is company–controlled and protected from outsiders.

• More than one type of mobile device and operating system

Firm need an efficient inventory management system that keeps track of which devices employees are using, where the device is located, whether it is being used, and what software it is equipped with.

Technology

• A number of software products such as Sybase Afaria, Trellia, Microsoft System Center Device Manager and Odyssey Software Athena have emerged to help companies manage diverse mobile platforms.
• Virtualization is an approach to mobile device management. Companies can install software such as Citrix Systems XenDesktop that runs Windows desktops and individual applications on any device, regardless of operating system.

3. Allowing employees to use their own smartphones for work will save the company money. Do you agree? Why or why not?

Yes, I agree.

• The company does not have to prepare administer devices like laptop, Pc and mobile phones.
• Avoid significant hardware, software IP supports costs.
• Save cost of paper and printer ink.
• Employees to do their business or communicate with customer in a convenience way.
• Employees will feel more happier if they using their own devices. Because of the heavy responsibility towards company asset like laptop is no more. They will use their devices freely and without any feeling of afraid to top management. It will help to increase company productivity.
• Companies does not have to pay for computers that break or go out of date every several years.
• Company does not have to pay for maintenance and insurance plans or antivirus software or deal with driver or software updates.