BBA 3551, Information Systems Management 1
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit II
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
4. Explain how IS can be used to gain and sustain competitive advantage.
7. Discuss the requirements for successful collaboration as it pertains to
Information Systems Management.
Unit Lesson
Chapter 2 investigates ways information systems can support collaboration. The
chapter defines collaboration, discusses collaborative activities and criteria for
successful collaboration, discusses kinds of work collaborative teams do, identifies
requirements for collaborative information systems, and examines important
collaborative tools for improving communicating content. Three different collaboration
IS are presented for student collaborations. The chapter ends with a discussion of
collaboration in 2024!
Collaboration and Cooperation
Cooperation occurs when people on a project work independently from each other, by
dividing the project into separate tasks, and work without consultation with the other
group members. Collaboration occurs when people work together to achieve a
common goal, result, or work product.
Feedback and iteration is involved so that the results of the collaborative effort are
greater than could be produced by any of the individuals working alone.
The author of your textbook further illustrates this point with the following:
Using feedback and iteration, one person will produce something, say
the draft of a document, and a second person will review that draft
and provide critical feedback. Given the feedback, the original author
or someone else will then revise the first draft to produce a second.
The work proceeds in a series of stages, or iterations (Kroenke, 2015,
p. 37).
Reading
Assignment
Chapter 2:
Collaboration Information
Systems
Chapter 3:
Strategy and Information
Systems
Suggested Reading
See information below.
Learning Activities
(Non-Graded)
See information below.
UNIT II STUDY GUIDE
Collaboration Information Systems and
Strategy and Information Systems
BBA 3551, Information Systems Management 2
The three criteria for successful collaboration are successful outcome, growth in team
capability, and meaningful and satisfying experience. The four primary purposes of
collaboration are becoming informed, making decisions, solving problems, and
managing projects. Collaboration tools can be used to manage shared content such
as shared content with no control, shared content with version management on
Google Drive, and shared content with version control.
In short, a collaborative group works together to achieve a common goal via a process
of feedback and iteration by communicating, sharing information, sharing knowledge,
combining skills, and sharing time. The qualities, attitudes, and skills of a good
collaborator are shown in Figure 2.
Many people are surprised to learn that 5 (in red) of the top 12 characteristics involve
disagreement.
Most people think avoiding conflict and having similar ideas and opinions makes a
group better. While social ability is important, research indicates the importance of
having different ideas and opinions expressed. Team members must have the skills to
accept critiques, criticism, and revisions of their work. In some student teams, the
focus is strictly on fulfilling a requirement and not necessarily producing the highest
quality work product possible through the collaborative efforts of the team members.
The characteristics of an ineffective team member will include lack of interest and
commitment, unwillingness to give or take criticism, unwillingness to listen, and
indifference. Students are typically not too tolerant of ineffective team members, but
are not always willing to boot them off the team, preferring instead to just work around
Figure 1. Twelve Most Important Characteristics for an Effective Collaborator
(Kroenke, 2015, p. 38)
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them. Characteristics of collaborative success center on the output of the group being
superior to the output that could have been created by an individual working alone,
including such things as being more productive, more creative, and generating more
and better ideas. When forming a collaborative group, it is useful to begin with a
discussion of critical feedback guidelines (Figure 3).
Bottom line: The two key characteristics of collaboration are iteration and feedback.
Collaboration Information Systems
There are five components of an IS for collaboration:

Figure 2. Critical Feedback Guidelines
(Kroenke, 2015, p. 39)
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Solving Problems
 Define the problem: Problem definition varies due to differences in
experience, education, training, personal goals, or job responsibilities. Group
needs to develop a shared definition of the problem through research,
discussion, and compromise.

and modifying as needed.
Shared Tools
Collaboration tools for communication enable and support team communication and
are major functions of collaboration systems. Tools depend upon ways a team needs
or wants to communicate. For most class projects, students should forego face-to-face
meetings and use conference calls, multiparty text chat, screen sharing, Webinars, or
videoconferencing.
Egocentric Versus Empathetic Thinking
Egocentric thinking centers on the self. A person who is egocentric believes that their
view is the only view available and are often not able to think “outside the box.”
Empathetic thinking is the ability to see more than one view: the ability to understand
the other person’s perspective. A person who is empathetic is able to consider
multiple view points and realize that people who hold a perspective different from their
own are not necessarily wrong (but you do not have to be wrong either). Using
empathetic thinking is smart and results in better relationships because you do not
need to change your way of thinking to match the other person’s way of thinking.
Business is people working together in relationships. Better relationships equate to
better business.
Figure 3. Problem-Solving Tasks
(Kroenke, 2015, p. 44)
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Negotiators, for example, need to know what the other side wants, what is important to
it, what issues they can give on, and which ones are nonnegotiable. Another example
is a business meeting that appears to be going nowhere. Whenever we find ourselves
in such a meeting, is the problem due to different perspectives? If so, one can
sometimes find the root cause by engaging in empathetic thinking.
In Chapter 3, we will practice using Porter’s five forces model: competitive strategy is
threatened by 3D printing, learn the application of competitive strategy, consider the
risks of changes in the market to competitive strategy, understand that major changes
in company operations (3D printing), necessitate major changes in processes and IS,
and analyze the five forces and the competitive strategy of AllRoad.
Figure 5 summarizes a planning process used by many organizations. Start with
Porter’s five forces to analyze industry structure.
Competitive strategy determines value chain structure by primary activities in the
value chain, support activities in the value chain, and value chain linkages. Information
systems provide competitive advantages via products and via business processes.
Let’s take a look at Case Study 3 (Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)) from the textbook.
What is the competitive strategy of AllRoad Parts? AllRoad Parts has chosen the
differentiation strategy of having the largest inventory of spare parts for the off-road
cycling, dirt bike, and off-road vehicle markets.
What are the advantages and disadvantages for AllRoad Parts to sell items via
Amazon.com? AllRoad Parts could sell items via Amazon.com and gain access to the
Figure 4. Organizational Planning Process
(Kroenke, 2015, p. 83)
BBA 3551, Information Systems Management 6
huge number of shoppers that use that site. It would have to do business following
Amazon’s rules, however. In addition, AllRoad Parts is “the place to go” for spare parts
for off-road cycles, dirt bikes, and off-road vehicles. So, AllRoad Parts might want to
keep customers coming to its web site rather than lose the customers to Amazon’s
site.
For items that AllRoad Parts sells itself, AllRoad Parts’ cost of using FBA to process
(Question 3-6, p. 107):
a. An order of 10 sets of bicycle pedals weighing a total of 25 pounds.

*Assumes no storage costs due to immediate repackaging and shipping after the
order is received at the Amazon warehouse.
b. An order of a single set of bicycle pedals weighing 2.5 pounds.

*Assumes no storage costs due to immediate repackaging and shipping after the
order is received at the Amazon warehouse.
c. The cost of a cycling shirt weighing 10 ounces.

*Assumes no storage costs due to immediate repackaging and shipping after the
order is received at the Amazon warehouse.
d. The cost of storing 1,000 sets of bicycle pedals for three months
Assuming a box containing a set of bicycle pedals requires one cubic foot of storage,
1,000 boxes would require 1,000 cubic feet of storage space. For three months of
storage, this would cost $1,350 (1,000 cu ft. * $.45/cu ft. * 3 months).
If AllRoad Parts were to use FBA, what business processes would it not need to
develop? What costs would it save? AllRoad Parts would not need to develop
business processes for receiving, repackaging, and shipping. It would save on labor
costs associated with these processes, plus it would no longer need warehouse space
for these processes. AllRoad Parts could use FBA’s systems for placing orders with its
vendors and paying its vendors for these orders; it would also not need to develop
systems that interface with the shippers. AllRoad Parts would save the costs of
developing and supporting these systems.
Suppose AllRoad Parts were to use FBA, how would it integrate its information
systems with Amazon’s? (Google the term Amazon MWS.) Amazon’s integrated Web
Service API (application programming interface) helps Amazon sellers to
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programmatically exchange data on listings, orders, payments, reports, and more.
XML data integration with Amazon enables higher levels of selling automation, which
helps sellers grow their business.
Does it make sense for AllRoad Parts to use FBA?
By no longer needing to have warehouse space set aside for the fulfillment of the
customers’ orders, AllRoad Parts could benefit greatly. Utilizing Amazon’s existing
fulfillment capabilities and warehouse capacity should deliver significant savings in
AllRoad Parts’ cost structure.
What would happen if AllRoad Parts makes some of its parts using 3D printing? The
major process changes if AllRoad Parts decided to use 3D printing would be inserting
a manufacturing step after the receipt of an order for a 3D printed part. AllRoad Parts
would not have to maintain that part in inventory any longer so it would not be sorted
in Amazon’s warehouses. However, AllRoad Parts would have to receive notification
of the order for the 3D printed part, then manufacture the part and arrange for
shipment to the customer.
Let’s also take a look at Question 3-12 of MyMIS Lab (Please note that we will not be
using the MyMIS Lab for this course. We will be looking at this scenario alone for
instructional purposes, and will not require access to the Lab) on page 108:
Samantha Green owns and operates Twigs Tree Trimming Service. Samantha
graduated from the forestry program of a nearby university and worked for a large
landscape design firm, performing tree trimming and removal. After several years of
experience, she bought her own truck, stump grinder, and other equipment and
opened her own business in St. Louis, Missouri. Although many of her jobs are onetime operations to remove a tree or stump, others are recurring, such as trimming a
tree or groups of trees every year or every other year. When business is slow, she
calls former clients to remind them of her services and of the need to trim their trees
on a regular basis.
Samantha has never heard of Michael Porter or any of his theories. She operates her
business, “by the seat of her pants.”
a. Explain how an analysis of the five competitive forces could help Samantha.
By looking at the five competitive forces, Samantha can better understand how to
achieve a profitable performance in her industry. In this situation, the bargaining power
of customers may be relatively strong with the ability to select another tree service
based on price and responsiveness. Customers will not perceive differences in quality
when removing a tree, other than judging response time and the thoroughness of
cleanup. With tree trimming for tree maintenance, quality work will be harder for
customers to appreciate. Samantha will have to sell her training and experience. The
threat of substitution is a fairly weak force with few alternatives available to customers
who have a dead or damaged tree that needs removing. There is, however, the option
of doing nothing in terms of tree maintenance. Samantha needs to emphasize the
benefits of performing regular tree trimming for long-term tree health. The bargaining
power of suppliers of equipment is a weak force with many options available for
machinery and equipment. The threat of new entrants is somewhat strong because
anyone with a ladder, saw, and no fear of heights could sell him/herself as a tree
trimmer. Samantha will have to sell her training and expertise. Finally, rivalry among
existing firms is probably strong. Samantha will have to work to make her company’s
name well known, sell her professional knowledge and training, be responsive, and
keep her prices competitive.
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b. Do you think Samantha has a competitive strategy? What competitive strategy
would seem to make sense for her?
Samantha probably has not thought about a competitive strategy. Many small
business owners have not stepped back from the hectic pace of just keeping the
business going to consider this issue. For Samantha, given her forestry education, a
differentiation strategy with a focus on the tree health and maintenance industry
segment may make sense. Her education will clearly distinguish her from many others
in the field, and she should be able to capitalize on that with residential and
commercial properties requiring regular tree maintenance.
c. How would knowledge of her competitive strategy help her sales and marketing
efforts?
Samantha should not try to be all things to all parts of her market. She should focus
her efforts on making her company’s name well known, selling her professional
knowledge and training, being responsive to customer calls, and keeping her prices
competitive but not necessarily rock-bottom.
d. Describe, in general terms, the kind of information system that she needs to
support sales and marketing efforts.
Samantha needs several things from an information system. She needs to be
responsive to customer calls, so she needs a system to help her track and respond to
calls in a timely way. This system should also build her database of customer
prospects so that she can target her follow up and ongoing tree maintenance sales
efforts. The system should allow her to keep good notes about each customer’s trees
so she can provide helpful information and services as needed to combat diseases
that might threaten tree health.
Reference
Kroenke, D. (2015). Using MIS 2014 (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Suggested Reading
Chapter 2 Presentation
Chapter 3 Presentation
Learning Activities (Non-Graded)
Course Flashcards:
http://media.pearsoncmg.com/ph/bp/bp_kroenke_umis_7/flashcards/index.html
From the Textbook:
Ethics Guide, I Know What’s Better, Really, pp. 56-57
Ethics Guide, Yikes! Bikes! pp. 86-87
Security Guide, Securing Collaboration, pp. 68-69
Security Guide, Differentiating on Security, pp. 100-101
Guide, Egocentric versus Empathetic Thinking, pp. 70-71
Guide, Your Personal Competitive Advantage, pp. 102-103
Using MIS InClass 2, Does AllRoad Parts Need Microsoft Office? Do You? pp. 60-61
Using MIS InClass 3, Competitive Strategy Over the Web, p. 94
Using Your Knowledge, p. 73
BBA 3551, Information Systems Management 9
Using Your Knowledge, p. 105
Case Study 2, Eating Our Own Dog Food, pp. 74-77
Case Study 3, Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), pp.106-107
Non-graded Learning Activities are provided to aid students in their course of study.
You do not have to submit them. If you have questions, contact your instructor for
further guidance and information.