Proficiency in Systems Analysis
Proficiency in Systems Analysis
Relationship skills can be focused either externally or internally. An externally focused relationship skill includes the ability to respond to the firm’s market and to work with customers and suppliers. The internal relationship between a firm’s IS managers and its business managers is a spanning relationship skill and includes the ability of IS to manage partnerships with the business units. Even though it focuses on relationships in the firm, it requires spanning beyond the IS department. Rela- tionship skills develop over time and require mutual respect and trust. They, like the other information resources, can create a unique advantage for a firm. Figure 2.2 summarizes the different types of information resources and provides examples of each.
IT Management Skills
• Business process knowledge • Ability to evaluate technology options • Project management skills • Envisioning innovative IT solutions
Relationship Skills
5 G. Piccoli and B. Ives, “IT‐Dependent Strategic Initiatives and Sustained Competitive Advantage: A Review and Synthesis of the Literature,” MIS Quarterly 29, no. 4 (2003), 747–76.
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37How Can Information Resources Be Used Strategically?Using Information Resources to Influence Competitive Forces Porter provides the general manager a classic view of the major forces that shape the competitive environment of an industry, which affects firms within the industry. These five competitive forces are shown in Figure 2.3 along with some examples of how information resources can be applied to influence each force. This view reminds the general
FIGURE 2.2 Information resources. Source: Adapted from G. Piccoli and B. Ives, “IT‐Dependent Strategic Initiatives and Sustained Competitive Advantage: A Review and Synthesis of the Literature,” MIS Quarterly 29, no. 4 (2005), 755.
IT Assets IT Capabilities
IT Infrastructure
• Hardware • Software and company apps • Network • Data • Web site
Information Repository
• Customer information • Employee information • Marketplace information • Vendor information
Technical Skills
• Proficiency in systems analysis • Programming and Web design skills • Data analysis/data scientist skills • Network design and implementation skills
IT
You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes.
Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages.
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The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument.
