Question: Product Supply Turns to Shadow IT You are a section manager in the product supply department of a midsized manufacturing firm. The department manager has called a meeting of all section managers to outline his plan to contract with a cloud service provider to provide sales forecasting and inventory management software and services. The goal is to reduce the number of out-of-stock occurrences while maintaining a minimum level of finished product inventory. The cloud service provider requires detailed order, shipment, and promotion data for the past three years in addition to ongoing current data. Members of the product supply department will be able to access the software to develop sales forecasts and make better manufacturing and inventory decisions.

Review Questions

1. What are the arguments for and against shadow IT?

2. What are the possible motivations for your manager to recommend the use of shadow IT?

Critical Thinking Questions

1. What potential issues could arise from this proposed project?

2. The department manager has just completed his discussion and is asking for comments and questions. What would you say?

Review Questions

1.What is the difference between a value chain and a supply chain?

2. What activities are encompassed by supply chain management?

3. What are some of the characteristics of a virtual team?

4. dentify and briefly describe the differences between the two types of innovation discussed in the chapter.

5. Briefly define the term "business process reengineering."

6.What is meant by continuous improvement?

7.What is outsourcing? How is it different from offshoring?

8.What is meant by the term "the soft side of implementing change"?

9.What do the terms "organizational culture" and "organizational learning" mean?

10.Sketch and briefly describe Leavitt's diamond.

11. List and describe three popular job-finding Web sites.

12.Describe the role of a CIO within an organization.

13 What is meant by the term "shadow IT"?