Information Systems Management : Unit IV Journal/Unit IV Essay/Unit V Journal/Unit V Scholarly Activity

Unit IV Journal Instructions When you started your small business, you managed all business processes on your own. Now, your business is expanding and you have hired employees to help. Would you consider implementing an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, or would you continue to use applications, such as Microsoft Office (e.g., Word, Excel, Access), to manage your business processes? Be sure to explain the reasons behind your choice. Your journal entry must be at least 200 words. No references or citations are necessary. Unit IV Essay Instructions Scenario: A company called Colony Nursery and Landscaping opened a new store located a few hundred miles away from its original location. The company wants to implement an award system that awards their customers with points whenever customers make a purchase, but the two stores are not able to share information. Colony Nursery and Landscaping will need to implement an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system that will solve the information silo problem by collecting and making this user data available. Colony Nursery and Landscaping is hoping that by providing customers with this award system, they will be able to maintain competitive advantage. Colony Nursery and Landscaping cannot afford to purchase, develop, or maintain this system on-site, so they are investigating cloud solutions. In addition, for many organizations, Colony Nursery and Landscaping included, information silos make it difficult to tap into needed information. Discuss whether or not the problem of information silos can be solved by using the cloud. Some organizations do not have the resources to construct or maintain their computer infrastructure, so they utilize cloud services instead to reduce costs and improve scalability. In this assignment, you will discuss whether or not the cloud offers solutions for Colony Nursery and Landscaping and identify an application that the ERP system could provide. Compose an essay that includes the elements listed below. Define what an information silo is. Explain why information silos are a problem for organizations. Discuss why organizations are moving to the cloud. Determine whether or not using cloud services, such as a cloud-based host for data storage, would solve the ERP information silo problem at Colony Nursery and Landscaping. Explain how using the ERP system and awards program would provide a competitive advantage for Colony Nursery and Landscaping. Discuss why the implementation of an ERP system might require business process reengineering for Colony Nursery and Landscaping. Be sure to explain the business processes that will be affected (e.g., the customer awards system). Use diagrams or tables as needed, but this is not required. Your essay must be a minimum of two pages in length (not counting the title and reference pages), and it must be formatted in APA style. You should include an introduction section that gives background and context to your reader. You must use at least two scholarly resources as references. Any information from these resources must be cited and referenced in APA format. Unit V Journal Instructions Recall the social media information systems scenario about augmented reality at the beginning of Chapter 8. Based on what you have learned in this unit, how would you respond if you were the head of marketing at ARES when Cassie and Raj presented their ideas about a mixed-reality environment? What do you think will happen if the company does not shift its current advertising ideology to embrace virtual environments? Be sure to use examples to support your arguments. Your journal entry must be at least 200 words. No references or citations are necessary. Unit V Scholarly Activity Instructions Choose one of the scenarios below (A or B) to complete the assignment. Scenario A You are the business owner of a local small engine repair shop, and you have been thinking about implementing a knowledge management system for your customer service technicians. You are thinking about this because there are times when some of your technicians know how to fix certain engine problems and others do not. Providing a central knowledge repository could help share troubleshooting and repair knowledge among your technicians. Scenario B You are the business owner of a local cleaning service, and you have been thinking about implementing a knowledge management system for your cleaning technicians, especially for those who troubleshoot and solve cleaning problems, such as removing certain carpet and water stains, addressing mold, and selecting the proper tools and products to use for other types of cleaning issues. You are thinking about this because there are times when some of your cleaning technicians know how to properly clean carpets and others do not. Providing a central knowledge repository could help share cleaning knowledge among your cleaning technicians. After you chose your scenario (A or B), compose a paper that addresses the elements listed below. Explain the role of knowledge management systems. Explain what is meant by expert systems. Explain what is meant by content management systems. Discuss how the business in the selected scenario could benefit from an expert system and a content management system, and provide two examples for each type of system. Discuss how the business in the selected scenario could benefit from business intelligence, and provide two examples of these benefits. Discuss how the business in the selected scenario can use social media to not only obtain information and knowledge but to share it as well, and provide two examples of how the business might use social media information systems.  Your paper must be at least two pages in length (not counting the title and reference pages), and you must also use at least two scholarly sources, one of which must come from the CSU Online Library. Any information from a source must be cited and referenced in APA format, and your paper must be formatted in accordance to APA guidelines.