Assignment

You are to answer each of the following questions:

1. Explain the business model using systems theory to differentiate between the physical and conceptual flows of the firm.

2. Explain Moore's Law and its significance to the executive of today's digital firm. How is Moore's Law related to the concept of disruptive technology?

3. Why is an innovation based on technology alone often subjected to intense competition? What can be done to create value above technological functionality?

4. What are network effects? How could a firm in the health care industry use network effects for competitive advantage. How would information technology facilitate this firm's advantage? Be specific in terms of technologies and applications.

5. Explain the concept of complementary benefits regarding network effects. Give at least five real-world examples of complementary benefits in the contemporary market.

6. What are congestion effects? How can congestion effects be combated? Provide examples in today's contemporary business environment where congestion effects have been experienced and overcome by organizations.

7. Considering the five firms that were presented in class (Zara, Netflix, Facebook, Amazon, and Google), which firm is in the best position considering Porter's Five Forces? Which firm is in the least favorable position? Explain and justify your answer comprehensively.

8. You are the CIO of Southern Vermont Healthcare Systems, a corporation that owns and operates 5 hospitals throughout the southern half of Vermont. Within the past 2 years, SVHS has acquired 3 of those hospitals as operating entities. Each of the three new properties has its own computerized patient management and billing system. All three use different hardware, operating systems and software.

Your Chief Financial Officer is preparing to evaluate proposals from major health insurance providers for reimbursement rates on major procedures. In order to do this, she must have consolidated information about actual costs experienced in providing those procedures.

Describe what technology you would employ to consolidate and store, in a consistent format, the information from all four information systems (your existing system that served the two original hospitals plus the three new ones). Justify the expense of this technology acquisition. Explain the process by which this technology would solve your disparate data problems.