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134 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Sustainable Competitive Advantage
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Financial performance that consistently outperforms industry averages.
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Operational Effectiveness
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Performing the SAME tasks better than rivals perform them.
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Fast follower problem
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Exists when savvy rivals watch a pioneer's efforts, learn from their successes/mishaps, then enter the market quickly with a comparable or superior product at a lower cost than before the first mover can dominate.
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Strategic positioning
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PErforming different tasks better than a rival or the same task in a different way.
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Straddling
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Attempts to occupy more than one position, while failing to match the benefits of a more efficient, singularly focused goal.
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Resource-based view of competitive advantage
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The strategic thinking approach suggesting that if a firm is to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage, it must control an exploitable resources that have FOUR critical characteristics: 1) valuable 2) rare 3) imperfectly imitable 4) non-substitutable
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Imitation resistant value chain
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A war of doing business that competitors struggle to replicate and that frequently involves technology in a key enabling role
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Value Chain
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The "set of activities through which a product or service is created and delivered to customers."
FIVE: Inbound logistics, Operations, Outbound logistics, Marketing and Sales, Service |
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Brand
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The symbolic embodiment of all the information connected with a product or service
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Viral Marketing
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Leveraging consumers to promote a product or service
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Scale advantages
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Advantages related to size
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Economies of scale
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When costs can be spread across increasing units of production or in serving multiple customers. Businesses that have favorable economies of scale (like many Internet firms) are sometimes referred to as being highly-scalable.
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Switching costs
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The cost a consumer incurs when moving from one product to another. It can involve actual money spend as well as investments in time, any data loss, and so forth.
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Network effects
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Also known as Metcalfe's Law or "network externalities". When the value of a product or service increases as its number of users expands.
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Distribution channels
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The path through which products of services get to customers.
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Porter's Five Forces for Industry & Competitive Analysis
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A framework for interplay between:
1) intensity of rivalry between existing competitors 2) threat of new entrants 3) threat of new substitute goods or services 4) bargaining power of buyers 5) bargaining power of sellers |
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Information asymmetry
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A decision situation where one party has better information than its counter party.
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Contract manufacturing
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Outsourcing production to third-party firms where they do not own the plant/employees who produce the goods
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Personal data assistants (PDAs)
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Handheld computing devices meant largely for mobile use outside an office setting. PDAs were initially (nonphone) handheld computing devices, but sophisticated computing capabilities have now been integrated into other mobile device classes, such as smartphones and tablets.
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Point-of-sale (POS) systems
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Transaction processing systems that capture customer purchases. Cash registers and store checkout systems are examples of point-of-sale systems. These systems are critical for capturing sales data and are usually linked to inventory systems to subtract out any sold items.
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Vertical integration
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When a single firm owns several layers in its value chain
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Logistics
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Coordinating and enabling the slow of goods, people, information, and other resources among locations.
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Radio frequency identification (RFID) tags
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Small chip-based tags that wirelessly emit a unique identifying code for the item that they are attached to. Think of RFID systems as a next-generation bar code.
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Information system
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An integrated-solution that combines five components: hardware, software, data, procedures, and the people who interact with and are impacted by the systems.
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Return on investment
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The amount earned from an expenditure.
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Operations
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The organizational activities that are required to produce goods and services. Operations activities can involve the development, execution, control, maintenance, and improvement of an organization's service and manufacturing procedures.
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Long tail
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In this context, refers to an extremely large selection of content or products. The long tail is a phenomenon whereby firms can make money by offering a near-limitless selection.
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Fixed costs
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A cost that does not vary according to production volume.
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Crowdsourcing
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The act of taking a job traditionally performed by a designated agent (usually an employee) and outsourcing it to an undefined generally large group or people in the form of an open call.
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Fixed Costs
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Costs that do not vary according to production volume.
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Marginal costs
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The costs associated with each additional unit produced.
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Moore's Law
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Chip performance per dollar doubles every 18 months
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microprocessor
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The part of the computer that executes the instructions of a computer program.
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random-access memory (RAM)
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The fast chip-based volatile memory storage in a computing device; temporary
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Volatile memory
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Storage that is wiped clean when power is cut off from a device; working memory
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Nonvolatile memory
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Storage that retains data even when powered down; permanent
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Flash memory
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Nonvolatile, chip-based storage often used in mobile phones, cameras, and MP3 players. Is slower than conventional RAM but holds charge when power is out.
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Solid state electronics
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Semi-conductor based devices that suffer fewer failures and require less energy bc they have no moving parts. (RAM, flash memory, microprocessor but NOT hard drives)
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Semi-conductor
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Substance such as silicon dioxide used inside most computer chips that is capable of enabling as well as inhibiting the flow of electricity. Semiconductor industry=chip industry.
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Optic fiber line
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High-speed glass or plastic-lined networking cable used in telecommunications (FAST).
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Price elasticity
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The rate at which the demand for a product fluctuates with the price change. Demand spike as prices drop.
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Supercomputers
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Computers that are among the fastest in the world at their time of introduction.
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Grid computing
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A type of computing that uses special software to enable several computers to work together on a common problem as if they were a massively parallel computer.
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Software as a Service (SaaS)
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A form of cloud computing where a firm subscribes to a third-party software and receives a service that is delivered online.
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Cloud computing
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Replacing computing resources with services provided over the internet.
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Server farm
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A massive network of computer servers running software to coordinate their collective use. Server farms provide the infrastructure backbone to SaaS and hardware cloud efforts as well as large scale internet services.
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e-waste
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Discarded, often obsolete technology (usually toxic)
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Network effects (or Metcalfe's law)
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When the value of a product or service increases as its number of users expands.
Value derived from: exchange, staying power, and complementary benefits. |
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Staying power
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The long-term viability of a product or service.
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Switching costs
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The cost a consumer incurs when moving from one product to another. It can be actual money or investments in time or data.
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Total cost of ownership (TCO)
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An economic measure of the full cost of owning a product. TCO includes purchase price (direct cost) plus training, maintenance, and support (indirect costs).
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Complementary benefits
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products or services that add additional value to the primary product or service that make up a network.
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Platforms
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Products and services that allow for the development and integration of software products and other complementary goods. Windows, the iPhone, the Wii and the standards that allow users to create Facebook apps are called platforms.
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One-sided market
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A market that derives most of its value form a single class of users (like AOL instant messenger)
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Two-sided market
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Network markets comprised of two distinct categories of participants both of which that are needed to deliver value for the network to work (video game users and programers)
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cross-side exchange benefit
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When an increase in the number of users of one side creates a rise in the other. (more programmers for Xbox, more people buy Xbox)
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Monopoly
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A market where there are many buyers but only one dominant seller
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Oligopoly
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A merket dominated by a small number of powerful sellers
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Blue ocean strategy
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An approach where firms seek to create and compete in uncontested "blue ocean" market spaces rather than competing in spaces and ways that have attracted many similar rivals.
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Convergence
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When two or more markets once considered distinctly separate, begin to offer features and capabilities. (media players converge with mobile phones)
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Backward capability
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The ability to take advantage of complementary products developed for a prior generation of technology.
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Congestion effects
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When increasing numbers of users lower the value of a product or service.
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Computer hardware
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The physical components of information technology which can include the computer itself plus peripherals such as storage devices, input devices (mouse and keyboard), output devices (monitors and printers), networking equipment etc.
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Software
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A computer program that has a precise set of instructions that tells hardware what to do.
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Operating System
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The software that controls the compuer hardware and establishes standards for developing and executing applications.
OSS=Linux Apple=iOS or OS X Microsoft= Windows |
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User interface (UI)
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The mechanism through which users interact with a computing device. The UI includes elements of the graphical user interface (GUI) such as windows, scroll bars, buttons, menus, and dialogue boxes; and can also include other forms of interaction such as touch screens, motion sensing controllers, or tactile devices iced by the visually impaired.
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Firmware
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Software stored on nonvolatile (permanent) memory chips instead of hard drives/removable discs. Despite the seemingly permanent nature of firmware, many programs allow for firmware to be upgraded online or by connecting to another device.
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Embedded system
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Special-purpose software designed and included inside physical products (often in firmware). Embedded systems help make devices "smarter" by sharing usage information, helping diagnose problems, indicating maintenance schedules, providing alerts, or enabling devices to take orders from another system.
*think integration. |
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Desktop software
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Applications installed on a personal computer, typically supporting tasks performed by a single user.
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Enterprise Software
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Applications that address the needs of multiple users throughout an organization or work group.
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Software package
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A software product offered commercially by a third party.
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Enterprise resource planning (ERP)
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A software package that integrates the many functions (accounting, finance, inventory management, human resources etc.) of a business.
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Customer relationship management (CRM)
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Systems used to support customer-related sales and marketing activities
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Supply chain management (SCM)
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Systems that can help a firm manage aspects of its value chain from the flow of raw materials into the firm though delivery of the finished product at the point-of-consumption.
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Business intelligence systems
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Systems that use data created by other systems to provide REPORTING and analysis for organizational decision making.
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Database management systems (DBMS)
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Software for creating, maintaing, and manipulating data
*sometimes called database software |
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Distributed computing
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A form of computing where systems in different locations communicate and collaborate to complete a task
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Server
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A program that fulfills the request of a client
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Client
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A software program that makes requests of a server program
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Web services
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Small pieces of code that are accessed via the application server which permit interoperable machine-to-machine interaction over a network.
*think how Southwest airlines coordinates flight, hotel, rental car etc. b/c must communicate with Alamo/Dollar/Hertz to get the best price* |
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Application programming interfaces (APIs)
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Programming hooks or guidelines published by firms that tell other programs how to get a service to perform a task such as send or receive data. (Amazon provides APIs to let developers write their own applications and Websites that can send the firms orders.)
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Service-oriented architecture (SOA)
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A robust set of Web services built around an organizations processes and procedures. (like Amazon b/c implementation of the APIs)
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EDI (electronic data interchange)
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A set of standards for exchanging messages containing formatted data between computer applications.
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extensible markup language (XML)
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A tagging language that can be used to identify data fields made available for use be other applications. Most APIs and Wed services send messages where the data exchanged is wrapped in identifying XML tags.
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Programming language
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Provides the standards, syntax, statements, and instructions for writing computer software.
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Integrated development environment (IDE)
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An application that includes an editor, debugger, and complier among other tools.
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Java
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A programming language initially developed by Sun Microsystems. "Write once write for all" because Java can be read on most any systems. Java apps are developed to be executed by Java Virtual Machine which is an interpreting layer that translates code into the format required by the operating system while executing.
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Compliance
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Ensuring that an organization's systems operate within required legal constraints and industry/organizational obligations.
*think Linux not accidentally using Apple operating system code b/c someone changed it via OSS* |
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Open Source Software (OSS)
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Software that is free and where anyone can look at and potentially modify the code.
Benefits: COST, RELIABILITY, SECURITY, SCALABILITY, AGILITY AND TIME TO MARKET |
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Virtualization
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A type of software that allows a single computer (or cluster of connected computers) to function as if it were several different computers each running its own operating system and software. Virtualization software underpins most cloud computing efforts and can make computing more efficient, cost-effective, and scalable.
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Linux
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An OSS operating system
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n00b
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Geek-slang derogatory term for an unskilled person.
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LAMP
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Acronym for Linux, the Apache web server software, the MySQL database, and any of several programming languages that start with P (Perl, Python, PHP)
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Security focused
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Term used to describe technology products that contain particularly strain security features.
Also known as "hardened" |
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Scalability
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Ability to handle increasing workloads and/or easily expand. for software this means minimal rewrites.
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Structured Query Language (SQL)
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A language for creating and manipulating databases. SQL is by far the most common database standards in use today, and is supported by many commercial and open source products.
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Utility computing
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A form of cloud computing where a firm develops its own software and then runs it over the Internet on a service provider's computer.
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Service level agreement (SLA)
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A negotiated agreement between the customer and the vendor. The SLA may specify the levels of availability, serviceability, performance, and operations or other commitment requirements.
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Vertical niches
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Sometimes referred to as vertical markets. Products and services designed to target a SPECIFIC industry.
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Hardware clouds
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A cloud computing model in which a service provider makes computing resources such as hardware and storage along with infrastructure management available to a customer on an as-needed basis. The provider typically charges for specific resources rather than a flat rate.
In the past, similar efforts have been described as utility computing, hosting, or sharing. |
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Platform as a service (PaaS)
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Where cloud providers offer services that include the hardware, operating system, tools, and hosting that its customers use to BUILD THEIR OWN APPLICATIONS on the provider's infrastructure.
In this scenario the cloud usually manages the platform while the client has control over the creation and deployment of their application. |
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Infrastructure as a service (IaaS)
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In this scenario the cloud firm manages the infrastructure (keeping the hardware and network running) while the client controls most other things (OS, storage, deployed applications etc).
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Cloudbursting
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Describes the use of cloud computing to provide excess capacity during periods of spiking demand.
Cloudbursting is a scalability solution that is usually provided as an overflow service, kicking in as needed. |
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Black swans
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Unpredicted but highly impactful events. (ie scalable computing in 2007)
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Business intelligence (BI)
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A term COMBINING aspects of reporting, data exploration, and ad hoc queries plus sophisticated data modeling and analysis.
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Analytics
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A term describing the extensive use of data, statistical and quantitative analysis, explanatory and predictive models, and fact-based management to drive decisions and actions.
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Data
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Raw facts and figures
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Information
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Data presented in CONTEXT so that it can answer a question or support decision making.
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Knowledge
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Insight derived from experience and expertise.
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Database
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A single table or a collection of related tables
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Database administrator (DBA)
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Job title focused on directing, performing, and overseeing activities associated with a database. May include: design, creation, implementation, backup and recovery, policy setting and enforcement, and security.
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Table or file
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A list of data arranged in columns (fields) or rows (records)
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Column (or field)
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Columns represent each category of data contained in a record.
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Row (or record)
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Records represent a SINGLE INSTANCE of whatever the table keeps track of.
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Key
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Code that unlocks encryption
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Relational database
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The most common standard for expressing databases, whereby tables are related based on common keys.
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Transaction processing systems (TPS)
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Systems that record a transaction such s a cash register sale, ATM withdrawal, or product return.
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Loyalty card
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Systems that provide rewards and usage incentives. Way of creating SWITCHING COSTS.
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Artificial intelligence (AI)
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Computer software that seeks to reproduce or mimic human thought, decision making, or brain functions.
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Data aggregators
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Firms that collect and resell data.
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Legacy System
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Older information systems that are often incompatible with other systems, technologies, and ways of conducting business.
Incompatible legacy systems can be a major roadblock to turning data into information, and they can inhibit firm agility, holding back operational and strategic advantage. Huge problem for mergers/acquisitions. |
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Data warehouse
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A set of databases designed to support decision making in an organization.
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Online analytical processing (OLAP)
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A method of querying and reporting that takes data from standard relational databases, calculates, and summarizes the data, and then stores the data in a special database called a data cube.
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Data mining
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The process of using computers to identify hidden patterns in, and to build models from large data sets.
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Expert systems
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AI (artificial intelligence) system that leverages rules or examples to perform a task in a way that mimics applied human expertise.
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Customer lifetime value (CLV)
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The present value of the likely future income stream generated by an individual purchaser.
Based on RFM Analysis (! is best 5 is the worst) |
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Taken private
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The process by which a publicly held company has its outstanding shares purchased by an individual or by a small group of individuals who wish to obtain complete ownership and control.
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Disruptive technology
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An innovation that creates a new market and ovverruns and existing market
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Mental Models
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Individual though process of how something worked in the world; set of rules; way of thinking
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Porter's Model of Competitive Advantage
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Industry Structure
Competitive Strategy Value Chain Business Processes Information Systems |
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Bullwhip Effect
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variability in order size and order timing increase at each stage up the supply chain; a tendency of customers to buy more of a material in short supply than they need in the immediate future
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Just-in-time management
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A PHILOSOPHY (not a technique) that originally refers to the production of good to meet the customers demand exactly in time, quality, and quantity. Currently it means producing with minimum waste.
*think Zara |
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Capital Expense Budget
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A one time amount that should be budgeted for when acquiring a property
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Metadata
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Data about the data
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