Group F Reflections Guide (pg 82)

1. Group FReflections Guide (pg 82) Your Personal Competitive Advantage

2. Principles of Competitive Advantage: Product Implementations • Create a new product or service • Enhance products or services • Differentiate products or services System Implementations 4. Lock in customers and buyers 5. Lock in suppliers 6. Raise barriers to market entry 7. Establish alliances 8. Reduce costs

3. The passage focuses on “Your” personal competitive advantage, as an employee. • The skills and abilities you offer are your personal product. • The first three questions have to do with implementations on the “product”, so the guide asks the reader to consider: “How can I use my time in school -and in this MIS class, in particular- to create new skills, to enhance those I already have, and to differentiate my skills from the competition?” • As an employee working for a certain business in a certain industry, you need to reflect on how that business is using MIS to gain competitive advantage. • How can your knowledge of such systems differentiate you from your competition for a job there?

4. The fourth and fifth principles relate to locking in customers, buyers, and suppliers. • To lock in, you first have to have a relationship to lock in. An example the guide uses is an internship. - If the company you’re interning for uses any type of information system that is important to the company, you should ask yourself these questions: • If users are happy with the system, what characteristics make it worthwhile? • Can you lock in a job by becoming and expert user of this system? • How can I improve this system? (By using your knowledge of the system as well as the company, could you be able to lock in an extension of your job?) • Use all of your MIS knowledge to think of how you could save costs for your employers.

5. “Networking is one of the most effective ways of finding a job.” • How can you use this class to help start alliances with other students? • Does your class have a website? • Is there an email list server for the students in your class? • How can you use those facilities to develop job-seeking alliances with other students? • Who in your class already has a job or internship? • Can any of those people provide hints or opportunities for finding a job?

6. Even though few of the ideas that you generate for a potential employer will be logically useful, you will still benefit from doing so. Why? • You are thinking creatively. This will signify (to an impending employer) that you are creative and are tackling the problems that real businesses have.

7. Discussion Questions • Q:Summarize the efforts you have taken thus far to build an employment record that will lead to job offers after graduation. A: My first job was working at Sears as a cashier when I was only 16 years old. My second job was working at Best Buy as a digital imaging specialist. Hopefully by summer I will have an internship.

8. 2. Q:Considering the first three principals in 3-11, describe one way in which you have a competitive advantage over your classmates. If you do not have such competitive advantage, describe actions you can take to obtain one. A: While working in a retail store, I operate an information system all day. It is called Accuterm- A point-of-sale program that the employees use to: ring up a customer, put a customer in the system which automatically puts them on our mailing list, look at inventory, look at all types of reports, make purchase orders…etc *I now have a competitive advantage over any other applicants of a job that may use a system similar to this. Or I could always try to recommend this point-of-sale program to the business hoping it will be successful. *The business, has a competitive advantage over its competitors because this program may be more efficient than most point-of-sale programs that may not do everything this one does. This program uses technology to perform many tasks. 5 Components of an Information System Computer hardware- computer, keyboard, monitor Software- EasyCo (gateway to program) Data- words Procedures- methods to start program, close, save, entering information People- all employees

9. 3. Q:Describe two specific ways in which you can use your status as a student and the list in Figure 3-11 to build your network in this way. A: Building your network: Product Implementations 1. Create a new product or service 2. Enhance products or services 3. Differentiate products or services System Implementations 1. Lock in customers and buyers 2. Lock in suppliers 3. Raise barriers to market entry 4. Establish alliances 5. Reduce costs For example, I would like to work in the management department for a professional sports team. Being that I am about to graduate I need to contact different people in the business to gain more information in what I would like to pursue, and this will lead to building my network and gaining that competitive advantage that I would need over others in the field. First, I may contact someone who works with a specific team and see what he/she does daily and what I exactly need to know and do to meet the criteria of the job. Maybe I have a competitive advantage in being that I will know more about information systems than the others that will be working with me, having taken this class. I may also have a competitive advantage in the position of management, being that I was a manager in my previous job, and I have an idea of what to look for from the other workers. Being a manager makes you more responsible for the work being done and making sure everything gets done right and on time, while thinking of new ideas that can help the company, and already having some of that before applying for this job, might catch the eye of the person in charge.

10. 4. Q: Describe two ways that you can use student alliances to obtain a job. How can you use information systems to build, maintain, and operate such alliances? A: Human resources personnel say that networking is one of the most effective ways of finding a job. Student alliances are very helpful at times in finding a job for the future. Think about it; in this class we have everyone’s emails. Maybe you become friends with a couple of these students, and maybe they have a job or internship in a field you are interested. This student can help you get that job or even be a personal reference on your application, which will be noticed once they see the reference is employed with that business. You should always try to broaden your search for jobs too. There is not always a lot of jobs open in the field you are going for around this area. There may be other areas around the country, which are in need of positions in exactly what you want to do. Management information systems can help you at this point because you can find people in other states that are in your field and they can then help you in getting what you need to become a part of the organization.