1. What are the Core Drivers of the Information Age? (4)   
    
2. Define: Information Age 
    
3. Define: knowledge workers
    

1. - Data - raw facts that describe the characteristics of an event OR object
   
   - Information - data covered into a meaningful AND useful context
          - Variabe: data characteristic that stands for avalue that changes OR varies over time
   
   - Business Intelligence - information collected from multiple sources, such as: 
             - suppliers
              - customers
              - competitors 
              - partners
              - industries that analyze patterns, trends, andrelationships for strategic decision making 
       - Manipulates multiple variables and in some cases, hundereds of variables such as:
               - interest rates, weather conditions and gas prices
   
   - Knowledge - skills, experience, coupled with information and intelligence that creates a person's iintellectual resources
        - based on both information and intuition
   
    
2. when infinite quantities of facts are widely available to anyone who can use a computer
    
3. individuals valued for their ability to intepret and analyze information 

1. Internet Growth AND Technology Convergence
• Networking and Communications Revolution
• Driven by:
• Growth of Internet 
• Rapid change in Markets and Market Structure
• Internet-based technologies
• E-business/commerce/gov't
• New Business Models 
• (with favorable costs)
• Increased Obsolescence of traditional business models (going out of date)
• Network based strategies 
• Processes that Leverage new technologies
• Virtual Companies
   
2. Transformation of the Business Enterprise
      - through:
• Flattening
• Decentralization
• Felxibility
• Empowerment
• Collaborate Work and Teamwork
• Changes in cost and revenue structures
• Location independence 
• separating work from location
• Low transaction and coordination costs
   
3. Growth of a Globally Connected Economy
      - through:
• Firms that sell products on global scale
•  reach a larger market
• Firms that Produce on a Global Scale:
•  achieve Extraordinary savings in Labor Costs
• Global Delivery Systems:
• speed products to market
• Management and Control 
• Global Workshops
   
4. Rise of the Information Economy
     - through:
• New products and Services
• Knowledge as Central Productive and Strategic asset
• Time-based competition
• Shorter Product Life
• Turbulet environment
• Limited employee knowledge base
   
5. Emergence of the Digital Company
     - through:
• Digitally enabled relationships w/ customers, suppliers, and employees
• Core Business Processes accomplished using:
• Digital Networks 
• Spanning the entire Organization
• Linking Multiple Organizations

Trend #2: Transformation of the Business Enterprise

1. Friedman's '10' Forces that Flattened the World
    
2. Define: "a Flat World"

**  The "10 Forces" Converged around 2002

1. 1) Fall of Berlin Wall - 1989 
           -  Tilted wolrdwide balance of power toward Democracies and Free markets 
   
   2) Netscape IPO - 1995 
           - Sparked massive investment in fiber-optic cables
   
   3) Work Flow Software
           - Rise of applications from PayPal to VPN's enabled faster,
                - closer coordination among far-flung employees
   
   4) Open Sourcing
           - Self-organizing communities 
                 - launced a collaborative revolution
   
   5) Outsourcing
           - Migrating business funtions to India 
                 - Saved money and Third world economies
   
   6) Offshoring
           - Contract manufacturing
                - elevated China to economic prominence 
   
   7)  Supply Chaining
           - Robust Network of Suppliers, Retailers, and customers
                - increased business efficency 
   
   8) In-sourcing
           - Logistic giants took Control over Supply chains
                 - helped mom-and-pop shops go global
   
   9) Informing
           - Power searching
                  - allowed everyone to use the Internet as a "Personal Supply Chain of Knowledge"
   
   10) Wireless 
           - Wireless Technologies
                  - pumped up collaboration
                  - making wireless mobile and personal 
    
    
2. A global, Web-enabled platform for multiple forms of:
• sharing knowledge and work
• irrespective (regardless) of:
•  time, 
• distance, 
• geography
• language (increasingly)

1.   What are the Core Drivers of the Information Age? (4)   
 

2.   Define: Information Age 
 

3.   Define: knowledge workers

4.  Define: Variable

1.   - Data - raw facts that describe the characteristics of an event OR object

- Information - data covered into a meaningful AND useful context       

- Business Intelligence - information collected from multiple sources, such as: 
          - suppliers
           - customers
           - competitors 
           - partners
           - industries that analyze patterns, trends, andrelationships for strategic decision making 
    - Manipulates multiple variables and in some cases, hundereds of variables such as:
            - interest rates, weather conditions and gas prices

- Knowledge - skills, experience, coupled with information and intelligence that creates a person's iintellectual resources
     - based on both information and intuition

2.   when infinite quantities of facts are widely available to anyone who can use a computer
 

3.   individuals valued for their ability to intepret and analyze information 

4. data characteristic that stands for avalue that changes OR varies over time

         - allows managers to create hypothetical scenarios to study future possibilities 

1. How do managers utilize Business Intelligence (BI)?  
   
   
2. What are the various responsibilities of Functional Areas withing Departmental Companies? 

1. To determine the strategic direction the company must follow to remain profitable you must
      - define future of business
      - analyzing markets, industries, and economies
    
2. Areas that Affect Business Decisons:  
• Sales- 
• Function of selling goods/services
• Transactional Data 
• Accounting- 
• Records, measures, and reports Monetary Transactions
• Monetary Data
• Operations Management- 
• Manages Process of converting OR transforming OR Resources into goods/services
• Production Data
• Marketing- 
• Supports Sales by Planning, Pricing, and Promoting goods/services
• Transactional Data
• Finance- 
• Tracks Strategic financial issues including:
• Monetary data
• Banking
• Credit
• Assets
• Monetary Data
• Human Resources 
• Maintains policies, plans, and procedures for the effective management of employees 
• Employee Data

1. Define: First-Mover Advantage
• Companies that have achieved this success?
2. Define: Competitive Advantage 

1. when an organization can significantly impact its market share by being First to market with a Competitive Advantage 
• - Fed Ex: developed customer self-service software that 
• allowed people to request parcel pickups, print mailing stamps, and tracking parcels online
2. Product/Service that an organizations customers place a greater