Information Systems in Management

Your response should address all elements of each of the following questions.

Identify one use for an information system in each of the following:

University

grocery store

bank

YourFire, Inc., is a small business owned by Curt and Julie Robards. Based in Brisbane, Australia, YourFire manufactures and sells a lightweight camping stove called the Fired Now. Curt, who previously worked as an aerospace engineer, invented and patented a burning nozzle that enables the stove to stay lit in very high winds—up to 90 miles per hour. Julie, an industrial designer by training, developed an elegant folding design that is small, lightweight, easy to set up, and very stable. Curt and Julie manufacture the stove in their garage, and they sell it directly to their customers over the Internet and via phone.

• Explain how an analysis of the five competitive forces could help YourFire.
• What does YourFire’s competitive strategy seem to be?
• Describe, in general terms, how information systems can support the competitive strategy for YourFire..

Microsoft offers free licenses of certain software products to students at colleges and universities that participate in the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) Academic Alliance (AA). Here is a partial list of the software available under the program:

Microsoft Access 2010

One Note 2010

Expression Studio 4

Windows 2008 Server

Microsoft Project 2010

Visual Studio Developer

SQL Server 2008

Visio 2010