Chapter 6

    The IRS is gaining ground on finding tax fraud more efficiently than previous years. After looking at the 1040 individual tax return there are numerous checks to help catch and prevent loop holes in the system that are causing the government revenue. The first thing I noticed was the two options for married couples filing together or separately. This makes the tax payer to put down the social security number, most likely the primary key in a query, of their spouse filing separately so that they may not both claim their children as dependents. Second, they chose to once again include the social security number of every person being claimed as a dependent. They once again can use this to verify that they are actually supposed to be claimed to the tax payer. Honestly anything after that starts to get too complicated for me to understand what they are trying to find out.
    The IRS had a few issues that they had to deal with when it came to the system for tax collecting, analyzing, and auditing. A management issue that could have been addressed was creating a flexible queries to make finding information in the database easier for employees and expediting the process of auditing. An organizational issue that they needed to deal with was to form policies to help managers and other workers better interpret whether the tax payer in question made a mistake or was trying to commit fraud. The implementation of these policies didn't necesarryily reduce the number of audits significantly, but it did reduce the amount of unnecessary audits on good people who just made a mistake. A technological issue that they obviously faced was the upgrade from the old database to the new database warehouse. They had to replace their old information storage, tapes, and replace them with much more effecient and less space consuming "network-attached storage applicances." They had to find the personnel to monitor the status of the servers as well as a location to keep the servers.
    This week I read chapter 6 and the case study on the terrorist watch list. We took a clicker quiz on thursday and discussed the case study. I also collaborated with my group on our project and on the business proposal that is due tomorrow. Finally, I read the case study on the IRS and am now completing the blog for this week.
    This week we learned about databases. We learned that databases make it easy for a business to keep track of alot of information, attributes, for a particular person/item, record, along with numerous other people, a field. We learned about the up-keep for these databases such as data cleansing, checking and fixing data redundancy; normalization, creating small tables that are more useful and less confusing that every piece of information about a subject; and data quality audit, which is a check to make sure that the information entered into the database is complete and correct. We learned about data mining which is finding out information that was not really being looked for. An example we learned about was the realationship between beer and diapers. As is turns out as sales for diapers went up, so did sales for beer. This is information that could be helpful and utilized for profit or efficiency.That pretty much wraps up this weeks chapter. Thanks for reading!

Week Four Chapter 5

    Selecting computer hardware and software is an important management decision because the IT department of any modern company is the foundation to it just like the now famous analogy of a cement foundation to a house. The IT department is the basis for all of the business' information systems (IS). They are the back end processes that keep companies as efficient and low cost as they are today. The company wants to make sure they select the hardware and software that is the best combination of lowest cost and most efficient/convenient. 

    Things to think think about when it comes to management is how easy the hardware and software is going to be to keep their people connected and synchronized. Another thing from the managerial point of view may also be reliability. The job of management is to make sure that every process is going smoothly and to plan and/or policy. They want the most reliable technology to keep from having to deal with crisis often.

    Choosing hardware and software on the basis of cost is more of an organizational issue. The lower that a business can get, install, house, and keep up the hardware and software, the more profit that is to be made. The second thing while thinking about the organization is how the different hardware and software may impact on the layers of the organization. If a technology can remove a layer of lower or middle management and "flatten" the organization the easier, quicker, and more efficient they can be at providing their service or product.

    Issues to be considered when talking about technology would be if the hardware and software is up-to-date but not too advanced. The hardware and software should be old enough that it can be run on most machines but not too out-of-date that it cannot complete necessary functions. Another issue concerning technology is what is the main purpose it is supposed to perform. A company doesn't want a software that has so much extra functionality that they paid for but can't utilize and they don't want to under spend and have software and hardware that can't handle their workload.

    This week I read chapter 5 and the case study for Salesforce.com and completed the assignment which was in place of a clicker or paper quiz this week. My group is still in the process of finding a company to use for our Google Ad project. That is something that I didn't get done but need to. I also am completing the weekly journal for this week. Those are all the tasks I completed/ didn't complete for this week.

    This week we learned more about technology instead of organization. We learned about the history of hardware and software and their advancement through the years. We talked about Moore's Law which basically says that technology doubles in every aspect about every 18 months. We went over IT infrastructure which includes:

Computer HW Platforms including servers, mainframes, and client machines, Operating System Platforms which manages files and controls the hardware what to do, Enterprise SW Applications which work across departments, Data Management and Storage which is just means where the data is stored, Network and Telecommunications which enables easy transfer of information, Internet Platforms like intranets, extranets, and the internet, and Consulting Systems Integration which links the systems together to work. We also went over different contemporary hardware platform trends such as cloud computing and the mobile digital platform. That is what I learned from class this week from the very informative class we had on Tuesday.

Third Week, Third Chapter

    One of the two environmental factors that has a negative effect on Apple in the tablet industry would definitely be competitive rivalry.Apple's tablets are basically the iPhone and the iPad. There are three very big competitors in this area. Google has come out with the new android powered phones which mimic, if not out-perform, Apple's iPhone. Samsung has just come out with the Galaxy Tab. The Galaxy Tab is a straight knock off of the iPad just a little bit different design. Then there is also the famous Microsoft who came out with the Zune and Zune HD, both internet enabled, app running, and music playing; however it is not a phone as well so it is not as threatening to Apple but it is a challenge to Apple as it's Microsoft's way of saying whatever you can make we can do as well. An environmental factor that is positive for Apple in this industry is with customers. The amount of people buying electronic gadgets for their convenience, necessity, or just because there cool is growing. This helps Apple in the tablet industry because it is a new fad to have a gadget that can run apps, games, view documents, surf the internet, and etc. This is very good for Apple business. Apple's competitive strategy is to have the newest, best, and most innovative technology available. As per the article states, Apple has their new designs planned out two to maybe three years in advance and are constantly improving the old tablets and gadgets they have come out with. With this strategy they will only stay on top if they can keep coming up with the next best thing.
    This week we learned all about what exactly an organization is and what things affect and shape them. We also discussed disruptive technologies that can take a company out of the game if they don't know how to adapt to the new technology. One of the things that can impact the organization is transaction costs which are the costs of having to buy the material or services that the organization cannot produce themselves. Another way IT impacts the organization is that it flattens, or creates fewer levels of administration and management in the organization which in turn brings down costs. After that we learned about the ties between task, people, structure, and technology. Any change in one of those aspects will have an effect on one or more of the other ones. Like in the discussion in class if a company changes how it takes tracking orders from phones to online, they can take out most of the phone department, structure, and switch the people from phone answering to online help/chatting, task. The next important thing we learned this week was the competitive forces model. This model can help businesses decide if a market is worth trying to get into. it focuses on the five aspects that could either be beneficial or non-beneficial. It includes competitive rivalry, such as google and yahoo; customers, how many people are actually interested in this product or service; suppliers, if there are sufficient amount of people to get supplies from; new market entrances, whether or not the market is easy to get into or the ability to get into it at all; substitutes, if there are other alternatives, such as an alternative to online gaming like Bazinga is reading a book. All of these things together can show if it is a good/easier market to get into or if it will be difficult and take alot of work. The last thing is the business value chain. This chain consists of primary and secondary activities.    
The primary activities deal with production and distribution as where secondary activities are more administering type things.
    This week I took a clicker quiz, which I think I did pretty decent on. We started talking about our group project in my group. We had a company but then it turned out that it was no longer running so now we have to find another one which I'm sure we can do. The last thing I did, probably at the last possible minute (not a good choice) is this blog. And that about wraps it up.

Carson Frank

Second week blog

The business process I am choosing to talk about is the way American Express goes about extending credit card offers to people. First an individual buys some sort of goods somehow. Then the stores or businesses that they bought the goods from sells a list of those people to the credit card company. The credit card company gets the list and send out "offers" to those who are over 18 who have a good enough credit score. The cards they send out to people are not a guarantee that they will be approved for any amount on that card. American Express could implement a better information system to improve this process. Instead of sending out offers to people without knowing much about them, they should have a system to check people's backgrounds and if they currently have a back account anywhere thats been kept up for at least a year. This would filter out a bit of the people who are most likely to throw those offers in the trash.
This process does fall into the different systems that we discussed this week. An example of the process that would fall into the TPS could be the number of offers sent out and the number of call backs on a day to day basis. Going into another system, the MIS, the weekly or monthly list of people eligible for the offers would be an example of this type of system. The very instance of the article that we read is a great example of something that would fall into the DSS. It's not very common that a three year old girl gets a credit card offer and so then there must be a system to figure out stipulations on how to handle those uncommon situations. In the ESS, a report on the total numbers of offers being sent out and offers being accepted to help decisions about how to change the offers to make them more efficient.
This week I read chapter 2 and took an assessment in class over it. We discussed chapter 2 and I handed in my signed Plagiarism Statement. I read the case study on Jet Blue and the huge incident that happened in 2007 and then we discussed that on Thursday. We also got into our groups, which I already know the people in mine. And now I'm finishing up this weeks work by completing this blog on what we did this week.
This week we learned more about business processes and how they are basically how companies get a certain thing done. We discussed how any company most likely has many, many business processes that include: TPS (Transaction Processing Systems) on a day to day basis, MIS (Management Information Systems) on a weekly or monthly basis, DSS (Decision Support Systems) for uncommon and rare cases that occur, and the ESS (Executive Support System) on a yearly basis or on a time line big enough to help decisions about modifying long term plans. There is also the Enterprise Systems which are basically systems that spread across many different departments and systems.
Thats it for my second blog, hope you enjoyed it Dr. Petter!

Blog numero uno (first week)

I just want to start out by saying that this is my first blog ever. My name is Carson Frank. My major is Computer Science and I am a sophomore. Technology interests me because ever since it came out there have been so many innovations that came with it. It made anything it really touched more convenient. Technology evolves at what seems like an increasing rate and that is what fascinates me. When I graduate I would like a job as a computer programmer or a teacher. My ability to learn a little about a lot quickly is probably my biggest strength. My weaknesses include researching and probably my inability to efficiently work well with others. If I think I know how to do something I am very stubborn and will always try my way first. The way I work is weird. I mostly procrastinate when it comes to homework. I almost always get it done but I just wait until I have to do it and it seems to work because then I don't allow any distractions because I know it HAS to get done. If I were asked to learn a new technology or skill my only reaction is, "Give me enough time and I will have it down!" My goals for this class include passing, of course, with realistically an 'A' or 'B+'. I also expect to learn quite a bit about business structure which has already, after two days, helped me in my job at a corporate IT department job. So far I have set up my blog, in the progress of blogging, formed a group possibly with *****Justin Jones and Li Li*** I have not yet read the syllabus or signed the plagiarism sheet yet but I will get to it before Tuesday. This week we were all introduced to our teacher Dr. Stacie Petter. Then we learned the difference between Data and Information and Knowledge which are interrelated. Data is the first link, Information, formed from many many instances of data put together to mean something, is the second link, and the last link is Knowledge or what we can take away from what the information tells us. We also took our first clicker quiz, which I only missed one question on. I believe it was on the question of why a business implicates a new IT system. The last thing we did really was put an actual instance of the UPS into the concepts we learned. That is all for now, see you in class on Tuesday Dr. Petter!