Assignment: 1
Scenario: A company called Colony Nursery and Landscaping opened a new store located a few hundred miles away from its original location. The company wants to implement an award system that awards their customers with points whenever customers make a purchase, but the two stores are not able to share information. Colony Nursery and Landscaping will need to implement an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system that will solve the information silo problem by collecting and making this user data available. Colony Nursery and Landscaping is hoping that by providing customers with this award system, they will be able to maintain competitive advantage. Colony Nursery and Landscaping cannot afford to purchase, develop, or maintain this system on-site, so they are investigating cloud solutions.
In addition, for many organizations, Colony Nursery and Landscaping included, information silos make it difficult to tap into needed information. Discuss whether or not the problem of information silos can be solved by using the cloud. Some organizations do not have the resources to construct or maintain their computer infrastructure, so they utilize cloud services instead to reduce costs and improve scalability. In this assignment, you will discuss whether or not the cloud offers solutions for Colony Nursery and Landscaping and identify an application that the ERP system could provide.
Compose an essay that includes the elements listed below.
1. Define what an information silo is.
2. Explain why information silos are a problem for organizations.
3. Discuss why organizations are moving to the cloud.
4. Determine whether or not using cloud services, such as a cloud-based host for data storage, would solve the ERP information silo problem at Colony Nursery and Landscaping.
5. Explain how using the ERP system and awards program would provide a competitive advantage for Colony Nursery and Landscaping.
6. Discuss why the implementation of an ERP system might require business process reengineering for Colony Nursery and Landscaping. Be sure to explain the business processes that will be affected (e.g., the customer awards system). Use diagrams or tables as needed, but this is not required.
Your essay must be a minimum of two pages in length (not counting the title and reference pages), and it must be formatted in APA style. You should include an introduction section that gives background and context to your reader. You must use at least two scholarly resources as references. Any information from these resources must be cited and referenced in APA format.
Assignment 2
You started on your course project by selecting an organization and developing a SMARTER outline. For this unit, you will apply the team effectiveness model discussed in this unit and the Five Cs (cooperating, coordinating, communicating, comforting, and conflict-handling) into a team-building plan. In a two-page explanation, describe how you will assemble and lead a team who will develop the new product you discussed in your Unit III Assignment. Describe who will be a part of your team, how you will ensure the team is successful, and how you will apply the Five Cs. Additionally, include how you will account for different personalities and needs. Outside sources are not a requirement for this assignment. Use your creativity and knowledge of effective teams discussed in this unit.
Assignment 3
In this unit, you have learned about management information systems (MIS) and the importance of it. For this assignment, compose a paper that discusses the key differences between data, information, information technology (IT), and information systems (IS). Your paper should address the components listed below.
1. Define what is meant by information.
2. Define what is meant by data.
3. Create two matrices (one for data and one for information) that illustrate the key differences between information and data, place the matrices into your paper, and briefly discuss the differences in one or two paragraphs. Each matrix should contain characteristics and/or facts about the subjects (data and information) that show how they are different.
4. Define IT.
5. Define IS.
6. Using the five-component model as an example, discuss some differences between IT and IS.
If you are using Microsoft Word, you can develop a matrix using this program You may use another computer software program that you are familiar with to create the matrices. However, you must submit your assignment in a Microsoft Word document, and the matrices should be included in the body of your paper.
Your paper must be a minimum of two pages in length (not counting the title and reference pages), and you must use at least two resources as references. Any information from these resources must be cited and referenced in APA format.