1. Explain the difference between hardware and software.
2. Why should a manager care about software and how software works? What critical organizational and competitive factors can software influence?
3. What does an operating system do? Why do you need an operating system? How do operating systems make a programmer's job easier? How do operating systems make life easier for end users?
4. What are embedded systems? When might firms want to install software on chips instead of on a hard drive?
5. What is the difference between desktop and enterprise software?
6. What do the acronyms ERP, CRM, SCM, and BI stand for? Briefly describe what each of these enterprise systems does.
7. What are marginal costs? Are there other industries that have costs economics similar to the software industry? If so, name some.
8. How might the rise of OSS, SaaS, and cloud computing impact hardware sales? How might it impact entrepreneurship and smaller businesses?
9. Discuss problems that may arise because SaaS solutions rely on Internet connections. Discuss the advantages of through-the-browser access.
10. What are factors that must be considered when making the make, buy, or rent decisions?