Discussion

Part 1

Discussion 1

"Organization Structures" Please respond to the following:

• Suppose that you were creating a new global organization. The new organization will provide Information Technology (IT) infrastructure consulting services, computer security consulting services, and cloud computing consulting services. Determine whether you would employ a hierarchical, a flat, or a matrix organizational structure, and explain why.

• From the e-Activity, propose how issues with hierarchical and flat structures should be resolved.

Discussion 2

"Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) and Instant Messaging (IM)" Please respond to the following:

• Suppose you worked for a company that uses ROWE. Predict whether you would be more productive or less productive, and explain why.

• IM applications like Microsoft's Lync, Microsoft Instant Messenger, and Yahoo Instant Messenger are being used in some organizations to facilitate communication between employees. Determine whether you believe IM improves or hinders employee productivity. Support your rationale with an explanation.

Part 2

Discussion 1

"Agility and Business Process Management (BPM)" Please respond to the following:

• Suppose that an organization did not use processes that were designed and built to be agile, particularly when it comes to IS / IT technologies. Predict the impact of environmental changes on an organization financially, socially, and in terms of survivability.

• A BPM model may help manage and streamline IT processes that are otherwise manually executed. Examine one enterprise manual process (i.e., purchase order approval) and propose two BPM models that would replace the process. Determine the IT resources that you would employ to automate the process (i.e., electronic documents instead of paper documents).

Discussion 2

"The Impact of Crowdsourcing" Please respond to the following:

• Dell's Ideastorm, Best Buy's IdeaX, New York city's Simplicity, and Samuel Adams' Facebook application to determine the next flavor of beer are a few of the examples that use crowdsourcing. From the e-Activity, assess whether ideasourcing generates the best innovative ideas for a business or organization. Explain why or why not.

• Suppose that you recently acquired a considerable amount of money and want to invest in some type of business. Determine whether or not you would use crowdsourcing to determine the type of business you invest in. Predict whether the use of crowdsourcing to select your type of business would be disastrous or advantageous, and explain why or why not.