Management Information Systems (Discussion Questions)

Discussion.1.

How about the rest of the class, did you ever get involved in B2B or even B2C between

countries?

Discussion.2.

This one is about Alka-selzer. Alka-selzer, for you young kids, was a stomach ache

remedy. Each pill was about the size of a quarter and came stacked in a glass bottle. Due

to the fact that the pill that it could flake apart when exposed to sunlight, a paper

wrapper was put around the bottle. There was a little tear strip that you took off. Some

of the edges could be seen. So when you got down to 4 pills showing, you need to buy

some more so you will not run out. That is a graphic illustration on a Decision Support

Systems giving the decision maker information. The company had a little song, "when

you're down to four, now is the time to buy some more".

Discussion.3.

So your job is to select either Market Basket Analysis (items that are purchased together)

or Consumer Clustering (individuals who have some common demographics tend to buy

the same products/services) and give us some examples from our personal lives or from

friends/associates. Even from work.

Discussion.4.

Microsoft Operating Systems

Microsoft, after 14 years, ended support of Windows XP. Shortly after Microsoft

introduced Windows 10.

It falls right into a very standard Life Cycle model. The support costs were getting higher

and higher with no new sales to help carry the load. Windows 7 is now the work horse

by many companies and individuals. Windows 8 and 8.1 were not well received. But,

according to Microsoft, over 110 million computers have Windows 10 as their operating

systems by March of 2016.

So, please comment on why Microsoft did that?

Discussion. 5.

Spending Money on WHAT?????????????

Hi everyone: Spending money is fun. But only when it is someone else money!

Most of us have some experience in the work-a-day world. Therefore we have seen the

organizations we have worked for spending money but not too intelligently. I still

remember when having a PC with all sorts of extra stuff built into the sucker so we can

do all sorts of stuff. But most of it was not related to the actual work. When a new

processor came out, the troops just have to have that processor. It came to the point that

a justification had to be approved by a senior manager with a cost/benefit analysis done to

try and slow down the troops.

What can you report from your actual experience?