Assignment 1: Models for Competitive Dynamics
Competition has, since the 90s, led to wider gaps between industry leaders and laggards. There are more "winner-take-all" environments and greater churns among industry sector rivals. We have witnessed sharp increases in quality and quantity of IT (Information Technology) investments. We've seen striking competitive dynamics, particularly in sectors that spend the most on IT. Some of the competitive dynamics models include the Destroy Your Business (DYB) strategy, the Grow Your Business (GYB) strategy, the Information Systems (IS) and strategic advantage, and the social business strategy.
Write a four paper in which you:
1. Compare and contrast the DYB and GYB strategies in terms of the ability to sustain a business in the marketplace over the long term, to be competitive against rivals, and profitability.
2. Examine the "cannibalization" strategy and determine if it is or is not a better strategy compared to the DYB strategy for growth, competitiveness, and market leadership. Provide two business examples.
3. Determine whether or not changes in business strategy should entail reassessment of IS. Provide three reasons to support your position.
4. Examine how firms can use social IT in alignment with organizational strategy and IS strategy. Consider collaborative capabilities; and what, how, and who should use social IT for a social business strategy.
Assignment 2: IT Support for Virtual Teams
Global organizations have branches that are located in multiple countries. Some of these organizations develop software and take advantage of the global talent pool of software developers while others have global technical support teams, customer service, and so on. Virtual teams are created when two or more people work together from different locations, organizations, times zone, and / or time shifts. Global organizations use virtual teams in order to provide global support, reduce travel costs, reduce training costs, and take advantage of local cultural knowledge that may impact the organization's operations.
Write a two page paper in which you:
1. Examine five issues that the IT department is likely to face when it comes to supporting virtual teams.
2. Describe five advantages and five disadvantages of using virtual teams for the organizations described in the scenario.
3. Describe challenges imposed by:
1. IT / IS national standards and propose how they could be handled or resolved.
2. Protocols and propose how they could be handled or resolved.
3. Procedures on virtual teams and propose how they could be handled or resolved.
4. Compare and contrast virtual teams and traditional teams with respect to communications, technology use, and team diversity.
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
1. The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
3. Also include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.
The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:
• Describe the process of administering enterprise systems, including the use of virtualization and monitoring, and power and cooling issues.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in enterprise architecture.
• Write clearly and concisely about enterprise architecture topics using proper writing mechanics and technical style conventions.