ACC/340: Accounting Information Systems I

 Write a response of no more than 1,050 words to Problem 6 from Ch. 1, "Accounting Information Systems and Firm Value" of Accounting Information Systems. 

 Using the accompanying explanations of each IT strategic role, suggest the appropriate IT strategic role (automate, informate or transform) for the following types of IT investments. Depending on your interpretation, it is possible that some of the IT investments could include two IT strategic roles. 

a. Digital health records 

b. Google Maps that recommend hotels and restaurants along a trip path 

c. Customer relationship management software 

d. Supply chain management software 

e. Enterprise systems 

f. Airline flight reservations systems 

g. PayPal (www.paypal.com) 

h. Amazon.com product recommendation on your homepage 

i. eBay 

j. Course and teacher evaluations conducted online for the first time (instead of on paper) 

 IT Strategic Roles 

Automate IT Strategic Role 

• Replace human labor by automating business processes. 

• Virtually no IT-driven transformation efforts. 

• IT providing enhancements to existing processes or practices. 

Informate-Up/-Down IT Strategic Role 

• Provide new data/information to empower management, employees, or customers. 

• An intermediate level of IT-driven transformation efforts. 

• Gain clearer picture of cause–effect relationships, greater understanding of operating environment. 

Transform IT Strategic Role 

• Fundamentally alter traditional ways of doing business by redefining business capabilities and/or (internal or external) business processes and relationships. 

• Strategic acquisition to acquire new capabilities or to enter a new marketplace. • Use of IT to dramatically change how tasks are carried out recognized as being important in enabling firm to operate in different markets, serve different customers, and gain considerable competitive advantage by doing things differently.