Guide ISM 2025 complete update Western
Governors University
Here's your structured and comprehensive study guide based on
the provided material from the lesson on "Global E-business
and Collaboration":
Study Guide: Global E-business and Collaboration
1. Business
Processes
Definition:
• Business processes are actions required to produce a
product or service.
• They define how tasks are performed and how work,
information, and knowledge flow within an organization.
,Importance:
• Integral to coordinating activities among employees,
customers, and suppliers.
• Success or failure depends on how effectively these
processes are designed and integrated.
Roles of Functional Areas in Business Processes:
• Research and Development: Innovate and develop new
products.
• Manufacturing and Production: Create and package
products.
• Sales and Marketing: Identify and attract customers.
• Finance and Accounting: Manage payments, cash flow, and
financial reporting.
• Human Resources: Hire employees and manage benefits.
How Information Systems Enhance Business Processes:
• Improve efIciency by automating processes.
• Enable new processes that transform the business
through better information flow.
,2. Systems for Different Management Groups
Information systems support different organizational levels and
decisions:
A. Transaction Processing Systems (TPS)—Operational
Level
• Records data from daily operations.
• Captures details such as quantity, costs, labor hours.
• Example: Energy Corporation tracks ingredients, labor, and
production details.
B. Management Information Systems (MIS)—
Management Level
• Helps managers plan, direct, coordinate, and make
structured decisions.
• Provides summaries on production status, financial trends,
budgets, and inventory.
• Example: Reporting how much material is needed for
energy bars production.
C. Decision-Support Systems (DSS)—Management Level
• Assists managers with semi-structured decisions
using internal/external data.
• Helps explore "what-if" scenarios.
• Example: Determining optimal product pricing or evaluating
packaging decisions.
D. Executive Support Systems (ESS)—Strategic Level
• Supports strategic, unstructured decisions by senior executives.
• Combines internal/external data to assess complex scenarios.
• Example: Deciding on new product lines, market entry, or
major strategic investments.
3. Enterprise Applications
Enterprise applications integrate information and processes across the
whole organization:
, • Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP):
o Integrates data from multiple departments (finance,
production, HR, sales).
o Example: Sharing production data instantly across
departments at Energy Corporation.
• Supply Chain Management (SCM):
o Manages the flow of products from suppliers to customers.
o Example: Coordinating procurement of
ingredients and distribution to stores.
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM):
o Handles customer interactions from initial order to final
delivery.
o Example: Managing customer satisfaction and sales
follow-ups for Energy Corporation.
• Knowledge Management Systems (KMS):
o Captures and distributes organizational knowledge and
expertise.
o Example: Sharing best practices and knowledge internally.
• Technology Tools:
o Intranets: Internal communication platform.
o Extranets: Connects the organization with external
stakeholders (e.g., suppliers).
4. Collaboration and Social
Business Collaboration:
• Working together internally (teams, departments) or
externally (customers, suppliers) toward shared goals.
• Examples include formal meetings, document sharing, and team-
based projects.
Social Business: