This document contains a homework assignment for a Management Information Systems course. It includes 5 questions related to information systems, decision making, competitive environments, value chain analysis, and the role of HTML and email in commercial growth. It provides context and frameworks to answer each question, including definitions and examples related to decision support systems, executive information systems, marketing information systems, office automation systems, school management information systems, partnering, bargaining power of suppliers and buyers, barriers to entry, threats of substitutes, Porter's value chain model, and how HTML and email have helped organizations commercially.

1. Homework 1-CAP570-Management Information System
Maximum Marks: 30 D.O.A-5/9/2012
D.O.S-14/9/2012
Q.1 Information also acts as a resource for an organisation. Justify the statement along with
suitable examples. (5)
Q.2 Management Information System plays a very important role in decision making. Explain
the different types of decisions. (5)
1.Decision support systems (DSS) are computer program applications used by middle
management to compile information from a wide range of sources to support problem solving
and decision making.
2. Executive information systems (EIS) is a reporting tool that provides quick access to
summarized reports coming from all company levels and departments such as accounting,
human resources and operations.
3. Marketing information systems are MIS designed specifically for managing
the marketing aspects of the business.
4. Office automation systems (OAS) support communication and productivity in the enterprise
by automating work flow and eliminating bottlenecks.
5. School management information systems (MIS) cover school administration,and often
including teaching and learning materials.
Q.3 Write a note on the following with respect to competitive environment of Business (2*5=10)
a) Partnering for Mutual Benefit
b) Bargaining power of suppliers
 Bargaining power is the ability to influence the setting of prices.
 The more concentrated and controlled the supply, the more power it wields against the
market.
 Monopolistics or quasi-monopolistic suppliers will use their power to extract better terms
(higher profit margins or ) at the expense of the market.
 In a truly competitive market, no one supplier can set the prices.

2. c) Bargaining power of buyers and customers
 Monopsonistic or quasi-monopsonistic buyers will use their power to extract better terms
(higher profit margins or ) at the expense of the market.
 In a truly competitive market, no one buyer can set the prices. Instead they are set by supply
and demand.
 Prices are set by supply and demand and the market reaches the Pareto-optimal point where
the highest possible number of buyers are satisfied at a price that still allow for the supplier
to be profitable.
OR U CAN WRITE LIKE THAT
The competitive strength of buyers can range from strong to weak. The buyers are powerful
when:
 They are concentrated and buy in large volume.
 The buyer's purchases are a sizable percentage of the selling industry's total sales.
 The supplying industry is comprised of large numbers of relatively small sellers.
d) Barriers to entry
The existence of high start-up costs or other obstacles that prevent new competitors from easily
entering an industry or area of business. Barriers to entry benefit existing companies already
operating in an industry because they protect an established company's revenues and profits from
being whittled away by new competitors.
OR
Barriers to entry can exist as a result of government intervention (industry regulation, legislative
limitations on new firms, special tax benefits to existing firms, etc.), or they can occur naturally
within the business world. Some naturally occurring barriers to entry could be technological
patents or patents on business processes, a strong brand identity, strong customer loyalty or high
customer switching costs.
Barriers to entry for firms into a market
1.Capital - need the capital to start up such as equipment, building, and raw materials.
2.Control of resources - If a single firm has control of a resource essential for a certain industry,
then other firms are unable to compete in the industry.

3. 3. Inelastic demand - One strategy to penetrate a market is to sell at a lower price than the
incumbents. This is ineffective with price-insensitive consumers.
4. Government regulations - It may make entry more difficult or impossible. In the extreme case,
a government may make competition illegal and establish a statutory monopoly. Requirements
for licenses and permits may raise the investment needed to enter a market, creating an effective
barrier to entry.
e) Threats of substitutes
 On a free market, buyers have the choice if there is a viable alternative.
 Substitute source. The exactly same product is sourced by two or more distributors.
 Full substitute products are products from different manufacturers that fulfill the exact
same purpose. For example Kellog's corn flakes and generic brand corn flakes.
 Partial substitues are products that only partially substitute each other. A holiday in
Venice is not exactly the same as a holiday in Amsterdam, even though they are both
cities and they both feature channels.
Q.4 Michael E. Porter proposed a Value Chain model for the analysis of Competitive strategy.
Explain the Model with suitable diagram. (5)
Value Chain Analysis helped identify a firm's core competencies and distinguish those
activities that drive competitive advantage. The cost structure of an organisation can be
subdivided into separate processes or functions assuming that the cost drivers for each of
these activities behave differently.
Primary activities:
1. inbound logistics: materials handling, warehousing, inventory control, transportation;
2. operations: machine operating, assembly, packaging, testing and maintenance;
3. outbound logistics: order processing, warehousing, transportation and distribution;
4. marketing and sales: advertising, promotion, selling, pricing, channel management;
5. service: installation, servicing, spare part management;
Support activities:
6. firm infrastructure: general management, planning, finance, legal, investor relations;
7. human resource management: recruitment, education, promotion, reward systems;
8. technology development: research & development, IT, product and
process development;
9. procurement: purchasing raw materials, lease properties, supplier contract negotiations.
pros:

4. 1.Value Chain Analysis provides a generic framework to analyse both the behaviour of
costs as well as the existing and potential sources of differentiation.
2.The Value Chain model was intended as a quantitative analysis. It can also be used as a
quick scan to describe the strengths and weaknesses of an organisation in qualitative terms.
cons:
1.The Value Chain is used to analyse a firm's position in relation to its direct competitors
with the assumption that rivalry drives profitability. This excludes other assumptions such as
customer bonding in Alexander Hax's delta model.
2. The Value Chain Analysis was developed to analyse physical assets in product
environments. Other authors amended the model to accommodate intangible assets and
service organisations.
Q.5 HTML and E-mail has helped a lot for the commercial growth of organisation. Justify the
statement along with illustrations. (5)