Download JNTU Anantapur (Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Anantapuramu) MBA 2017 November Fourth Semester (4th Semester/2-2) Regular & Supplementary Examinations 14E00410 Corporate Information Management Question Paper.
MBA IV Semester Supplementary Examinations November/December 2017
CORPORATE INFORMATION MANAGEMENT
(For students admitted in 2014 & 2015 only)
Time: 3 hours Max. Marks: 60
All questions carry equal marks
*****
SECTION ? A
Answer the following: (05 X 10 = 50 Marks)
1 How do information systems help businesses use synergies, core competencies and network-based
strategies to achieve competitive advantage?
OR
2 What are the challenges posed by strategic information systems and how should they be addressed?
3 How do enterprise applications, collaboration and communication systems and intranets improve
organizational performance?
OR
4 What are business processes? How are they related to information systems?
5 What are the challenges of managing IT infrastructure and management solutions?
OR
6 What are the stages and technology drivers of IT infrastructure evolution?
7 What are advantages and disadvantages due to IT outsourcing?
OR
8 Briefly explain the NOLANS ?MODEL of Outsourcing.
9 What is project management? Briefly describe the project management framework, providing examples of
stakeholders, knowledge areas, tools & techniques, and project success factors.
OR
10 What is a project, and what are its main attributes? How is a project different from what most people do in
their day-to-day jobs? What is the triple constraint?
SECTION ? B
(Compulsory Question) 01 X 10 = 10 Marks
11 Case study:
Barnes & Noble (B&N) has been portrayed in the past as a big bully that drove small independent
bookstores out of business with aggressive pricing tactics and an unbeatable inventory of books. Today,
B&N finds its role reversed as the company fights a fierce battle to survive in the inevitable era of e-books.
Booksellers were one of the many industries disrupted by the Internet and, more specifically, the rise of e-
books and e-readers. B&N hopes to change its business model to adapt to this new environment before it
suffers a similar fate as many of its competitors, like Borders, B. Dalton, and Crown Books, or their peers
in other industries, like Blockbuster, Circuit City, and Eastman Kodak. More than ever, consumers are
reading books on electronic gadgets?e-readers, iPods, tablets, and PCs?instead of physical books.
Although B&N still depends on its physical, brick-and-mortar stores to drive its business (B&N operates
691 bookstores in 50 states, as well as 641 college bookstores), the company has thrown its energies
behind development and marketing of the Nook series of e-readers and tablets. Once simply a bookseller,
B&N now styles itself as a seller of e-books, devices to read them on, and apps that enhance the reading
experience.
Contd. in page 2
Page 1 of 3
FirstRanker.com - FirstRanker's Choice
Code: 14E00410
MBA IV Semester Supplementary Examinations November/December 2017
CORPORATE INFORMATION MANAGEMENT
(For students admitted in 2014 & 2015 only)
Time: 3 hours Max. Marks: 60
All questions carry equal marks
*****
SECTION ? A
Answer the following: (05 X 10 = 50 Marks)
1 How do information systems help businesses use synergies, core competencies and network-based
strategies to achieve competitive advantage?
OR
2 What are the challenges posed by strategic information systems and how should they be addressed?
3 How do enterprise applications, collaboration and communication systems and intranets improve
organizational performance?
OR
4 What are business processes? How are they related to information systems?
5 What are the challenges of managing IT infrastructure and management solutions?
OR
6 What are the stages and technology drivers of IT infrastructure evolution?
7 What are advantages and disadvantages due to IT outsourcing?
OR
8 Briefly explain the NOLANS ?MODEL of Outsourcing.
9 What is project management? Briefly describe the project management framework, providing examples of
stakeholders, knowledge areas, tools & techniques, and project success factors.
OR
10 What is a project, and what are its main attributes? How is a project different from what most people do in
their day-to-day jobs? What is the triple constraint?
SECTION ? B
(Compulsory Question) 01 X 10 = 10 Marks
11 Case study:
Barnes & Noble (B&N) has been portrayed in the past as a big bully that drove small independent
bookstores out of business with aggressive pricing tactics and an unbeatable inventory of books. Today,
B&N finds its role reversed as the company fights a fierce battle to survive in the inevitable era of e-books.
Booksellers were one of the many industries disrupted by the Internet and, more specifically, the rise of e-
books and e-readers. B&N hopes to change its business model to adapt to this new environment before it
suffers a similar fate as many of its competitors, like Borders, B. Dalton, and Crown Books, or their peers
in other industries, like Blockbuster, Circuit City, and Eastman Kodak. More than ever, consumers are
reading books on electronic gadgets?e-readers, iPods, tablets, and PCs?instead of physical books.
Although B&N still depends on its physical, brick-and-mortar stores to drive its business (B&N operates
691 bookstores in 50 states, as well as 641 college bookstores), the company has thrown its energies
behind development and marketing of the Nook series of e-readers and tablets. Once simply a bookseller,
B&N now styles itself as a seller of e-books, devices to read them on, and apps that enhance the reading
experience.
Contd. in page 2
Page 1 of 3
Code: 14E00410
The company has had success gaining market share, but at a steep cost, and to stay afloat, it will
need to contend with increased competition from Amazon, Apple, and Google?not exactly feeble
opposition. B&N has a market capitalization of $1 billion. Amazon, B&N?s current top competitor, has a
market capitalization of $98 billion. How can B&N compete against these tech titans? The answer remains
to be seen. B&N was likely the only bookseller big enough to complete the considerable task of developing
an e-reader, marketing it, and setting up manufacturing and retail operations for the device. Even if its
competitors had been faster to react to consumer demand for e-books, it?s unlikely they would have made
the inroads that B&N has achieved into the e-book space. Reaction to the Nook has been positive, as B&N
has grabbed a significant market share from Amazon and Apple in the e-book marketplace. In 2011,
analysts estimated that B&N controlled approximately 27 percent of the digital book market (Amazon held
60 percent). B&N?s progress with e-books has come at a steep cost, however. The company incurred a
loss of $73.9 million in 2011, compared to a $36.7 million profit the previous year. The investment required
to launch and promote the Nook was the primary reason for the shortfall, and expenditures are expected
to continue to climb. In response, B&N canceled its stock dividend. The key questions for B&N are
whether the Nook will eventually bring in revenues that justify its steep development and marketing costs,
as well as whether the Nook can help drive traffic to B&N?s brick-and-mortar stores. The economics of e-
book sales are very different from traditional book sales. Customers who visit B&N?s Web site buy three
digital books for every one physical book, but booksellers still make more money on print books than e-
books. Still, B&N?s Nook business has been growing rapidly, and traditional bookstores are not. Total e-
book sales were nearly $970 million in 2011, more than double from the previous year, and the percentage
of e-books within the total number of books sold is still on the rise, measuring 14 percent that same year.
Ironically, one of the first companies to realize the potential of e-books was B&N itself. As early as 1998,
the company had partnered with software companies like NuvoMedia to develop prototype e-reader called
the Rocket, but in 2003 it nixed the project because there didn?t appear to be any money in it. At the time,
B&N was right, but technology has come a long way since 2003, and so too have e-books. B&N clearly
took notice of the fate of Borders, its chief rival. Borders stubbornly refused to adapt to the Internet, first
handing over its entire Internet operations to Amazon, and waiting to relaunch its own Web site until 2008,
at which point the company was already on the road to bankruptcy. Borders had a devoted following, but it
wasn?t enough to combat the company?s $350 million debt and dwindling profitability. B&N is the only
national bookstore chain remaining in the United States, and while the company saw a bump in store
traffic in the immediate aftermath of the Borders collapse, it also knew it would need to shake things up to
avoid a similar fate. Other companies also have a stake in B&N?s transformation. Publishing companies
have been forced to adjust their allocations of printed books and new titles for stores, and books are
beginning to be released as apps in addition to physical books. Apps for books are adding more features
all the Chapter 3 Information Systems, Organizations, and Strategy 147 MIS_13_Ch_03_Global.indd 147
1/17/2013 2:26:26 PM time, including the ability to manipulate and enlarge images, flip through photo
albums, watch videos, read instant messages, and listen to the music of characters within the book. These
books, called ?enhanced e-books,? are considered to be the next step in the growth of digital books, but
thus far, the performance of enhanced e-books has been mixed. Publishers and e-reader manufacturers
both are teaming up on enhanced e-book projects. Penguin will release 50 enhanced e-books over the
course of 2012. Apple is working with publishers to create interactive digital versions of textbooks. But do
readers really need these features? Some publishers believe that these apps cost more money than they
are worth, and worry that there is not a big enough market for enhanced e-books to justify the expenditure
of time and money. However, this is the same line of thought that was used about e-books themselves in
the early 2000s, and e-book skeptics turned out to be dead wrong. Publishers are doing anything they can
to support B&N?s efforts to stay afloat, because the survival of physical book retailers is important to
effectively market and sell books. Bookstores spur publisher sales with the ?browsing effect.? Surveys have
shown that only one-third of the people who visit a bookstore and walk out with a book actually arrived with
the specific desire to purchase one. According to Madeline McIntosh, Random House president of sales,
operations, and digital, a bookstore?s display space is ?one of the most valuable places that exists in this
country for communicating to the consumer that a book is a big deal.? Brick-and-mortar retail stores are not
only essential for selling physical books, but also stimulate sales of e-books and audio books. The more
visibility a book has, the more likely readers will want to purchase it. With the demise of B. Dalton, Crown
Books, and Borders, B&N is the only retailer offering an extensive inventory of physical books. Book
publishers need a physical presence. Without B&N, the likely candidate to fill the void is Amazon, and
publishers are not eager for that to happen.
Contd. in page 3
Page 2 of 3
FirstRanker.com - FirstRanker's Choice
Code: 14E00410
MBA IV Semester Supplementary Examinations November/December 2017
CORPORATE INFORMATION MANAGEMENT
(For students admitted in 2014 & 2015 only)
Time: 3 hours Max. Marks: 60
All questions carry equal marks
*****
SECTION ? A
Answer the following: (05 X 10 = 50 Marks)
1 How do information systems help businesses use synergies, core competencies and network-based
strategies to achieve competitive advantage?
OR
2 What are the challenges posed by strategic information systems and how should they be addressed?
3 How do enterprise applications, collaboration and communication systems and intranets improve
organizational performance?
OR
4 What are business processes? How are they related to information systems?
5 What are the challenges of managing IT infrastructure and management solutions?
OR
6 What are the stages and technology drivers of IT infrastructure evolution?
7 What are advantages and disadvantages due to IT outsourcing?
OR
8 Briefly explain the NOLANS ?MODEL of Outsourcing.
9 What is project management? Briefly describe the project management framework, providing examples of
stakeholders, knowledge areas, tools & techniques, and project success factors.
OR
10 What is a project, and what are its main attributes? How is a project different from what most people do in
their day-to-day jobs? What is the triple constraint?
SECTION ? B
(Compulsory Question) 01 X 10 = 10 Marks
11 Case study:
Barnes & Noble (B&N) has been portrayed in the past as a big bully that drove small independent
bookstores out of business with aggressive pricing tactics and an unbeatable inventory of books. Today,
B&N finds its role reversed as the company fights a fierce battle to survive in the inevitable era of e-books.
Booksellers were one of the many industries disrupted by the Internet and, more specifically, the rise of e-
books and e-readers. B&N hopes to change its business model to adapt to this new environment before it
suffers a similar fate as many of its competitors, like Borders, B. Dalton, and Crown Books, or their peers
in other industries, like Blockbuster, Circuit City, and Eastman Kodak. More than ever, consumers are
reading books on electronic gadgets?e-readers, iPods, tablets, and PCs?instead of physical books.
Although B&N still depends on its physical, brick-and-mortar stores to drive its business (B&N operates
691 bookstores in 50 states, as well as 641 college bookstores), the company has thrown its energies
behind development and marketing of the Nook series of e-readers and tablets. Once simply a bookseller,
B&N now styles itself as a seller of e-books, devices to read them on, and apps that enhance the reading
experience.
Contd. in page 2
Page 1 of 3
Code: 14E00410
The company has had success gaining market share, but at a steep cost, and to stay afloat, it will
need to contend with increased competition from Amazon, Apple, and Google?not exactly feeble
opposition. B&N has a market capitalization of $1 billion. Amazon, B&N?s current top competitor, has a
market capitalization of $98 billion. How can B&N compete against these tech titans? The answer remains
to be seen. B&N was likely the only bookseller big enough to complete the considerable task of developing
an e-reader, marketing it, and setting up manufacturing and retail operations for the device. Even if its
competitors had been faster to react to consumer demand for e-books, it?s unlikely they would have made
the inroads that B&N has achieved into the e-book space. Reaction to the Nook has been positive, as B&N
has grabbed a significant market share from Amazon and Apple in the e-book marketplace. In 2011,
analysts estimated that B&N controlled approximately 27 percent of the digital book market (Amazon held
60 percent). B&N?s progress with e-books has come at a steep cost, however. The company incurred a
loss of $73.9 million in 2011, compared to a $36.7 million profit the previous year. The investment required
to launch and promote the Nook was the primary reason for the shortfall, and expenditures are expected
to continue to climb. In response, B&N canceled its stock dividend. The key questions for B&N are
whether the Nook will eventually bring in revenues that justify its steep development and marketing costs,
as well as whether the Nook can help drive traffic to B&N?s brick-and-mortar stores. The economics of e-
book sales are very different from traditional book sales. Customers who visit B&N?s Web site buy three
digital books for every one physical book, but booksellers still make more money on print books than e-
books. Still, B&N?s Nook business has been growing rapidly, and traditional bookstores are not. Total e-
book sales were nearly $970 million in 2011, more than double from the previous year, and the percentage
of e-books within the total number of books sold is still on the rise, measuring 14 percent that same year.
Ironically, one of the first companies to realize the potential of e-books was B&N itself. As early as 1998,
the company had partnered with software companies like NuvoMedia to develop prototype e-reader called
the Rocket, but in 2003 it nixed the project because there didn?t appear to be any money in it. At the time,
B&N was right, but technology has come a long way since 2003, and so too have e-books. B&N clearly
took notice of the fate of Borders, its chief rival. Borders stubbornly refused to adapt to the Internet, first
handing over its entire Internet operations to Amazon, and waiting to relaunch its own Web site until 2008,
at which point the company was already on the road to bankruptcy. Borders had a devoted following, but it
wasn?t enough to combat the company?s $350 million debt and dwindling profitability. B&N is the only
national bookstore chain remaining in the United States, and while the company saw a bump in store
traffic in the immediate aftermath of the Borders collapse, it also knew it would need to shake things up to
avoid a similar fate. Other companies also have a stake in B&N?s transformation. Publishing companies
have been forced to adjust their allocations of printed books and new titles for stores, and books are
beginning to be released as apps in addition to physical books. Apps for books are adding more features
all the Chapter 3 Information Systems, Organizations, and Strategy 147 MIS_13_Ch_03_Global.indd 147
1/17/2013 2:26:26 PM time, including the ability to manipulate and enlarge images, flip through photo
albums, watch videos, read instant messages, and listen to the music of characters within the book. These
books, called ?enhanced e-books,? are considered to be the next step in the growth of digital books, but
thus far, the performance of enhanced e-books has been mixed. Publishers and e-reader manufacturers
both are teaming up on enhanced e-book projects. Penguin will release 50 enhanced e-books over the
course of 2012. Apple is working with publishers to create interactive digital versions of textbooks. But do
readers really need these features? Some publishers believe that these apps cost more money than they
are worth, and worry that there is not a big enough market for enhanced e-books to justify the expenditure
of time and money. However, this is the same line of thought that was used about e-books themselves in
the early 2000s, and e-book skeptics turned out to be dead wrong. Publishers are doing anything they can
to support B&N?s efforts to stay afloat, because the survival of physical book retailers is important to
effectively market and sell books. Bookstores spur publisher sales with the ?browsing effect.? Surveys have
shown that only one-third of the people who visit a bookstore and walk out with a book actually arrived with
the specific desire to purchase one. According to Madeline McIntosh, Random House president of sales,
operations, and digital, a bookstore?s display space is ?one of the most valuable places that exists in this
country for communicating to the consumer that a book is a big deal.? Brick-and-mortar retail stores are not
only essential for selling physical books, but also stimulate sales of e-books and audio books. The more
visibility a book has, the more likely readers will want to purchase it. With the demise of B. Dalton, Crown
Books, and Borders, B&N is the only retailer offering an extensive inventory of physical books. Book
publishers need a physical presence. Without B&N, the likely candidate to fill the void is Amazon, and
publishers are not eager for that to happen.
Contd. in page 3
Page 2 of 3
Code: 14E00410
Amazon?s goal for e-books is to cut out the publishers and publish books directly, selling books
at an extremely steep discount to drive sales of its Kindle devices. Editors, publicists, and other entities
within the publishing business view Amazon as an enemy. Selling books at Amazon?s prices is not a
tenable business model for publishers in the long-term. Publishers received even worse news in April
2012, as the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) sued Apple and five of the country?s largest publishing
houses for colluding to fix e-book prices. In response to Amazon?s aggressive pricing strategy, publishers
and Apple had agreed to an ?agency pricing? model, in which publishers set the price and retailers take a
commission. (Under the wholesale arrangement with Amazon, the publishers received half of the list price,
but this gave them no control over the pricing of their product.) Many books would be sold by Apple for
about $13, with Apple taking a 30 percent cut. By increasing the price of e-books by a dollar or two,
publishers stood to gain an extra $100 million. Even Amazon was under investigation for striking deals
with publishers that forbade them from offering the same level of discounts provided by other e-reader
manufacturers. The bottom line is that the DOJ action is bad news for publishers, who need B&N now
more than ever. Because the Nook was booming and brick and-mortar stores had been stagnating, B&N
has been considering spinning off its digital business from its fading bookstore business. On April 30,
2012, Microsoft announced that it would invest $300 million for a 17.6 percent stake in a new company
consisting of B&N?s Nook tablet and e-reader business and its College division. As part of the deal, a Nook
application would be included in Microsoft?s Windows 8 operating system. This arrangement will provide
B&N with additional points of distribution from hundreds of millions of Windows users around the world,
and both companies will share revenues from sales of e-books and other content. B&N might eventually
spin off this new company. The deal also furthers Microsoft?s strategy of investing in new businesses to
move beyond its Windows and Office software franchises. A Nook e-reading app could also enhance
Microsoft efforts to establish a digital storefront to market e-books, apps, and other content for Windows 8,
which is critical to plans for entering the tablet market. B&N has also experimented with ways to drive
traffic to their physical stores using apps on the Nook. Although this is a seemingly impossible task, they
are at least coming up with some inventive ideas. For example, if you connect to a Wi-Fi network in a B&N
store with your Nook, you can get free extras in many apps and games like Angry Birds, where you can
unlock a bonus character that normally costs a dollar. Other companies are using similar techniques to
promote board games, toys, movies, and of course, physical books. B&N has also expanded its store
space for toys and games and added new display space for its Nook devices. There 148 Part One
Organizations, Management, and the Networked Enterprise MIS_13_Ch_03_Global.indd 148 1/17/2013
2:26:26 PM are also plans to experiment with slightly smaller stores. These promotional campaigns
probably won?t be enough to stop B&N?s dwindling in-store sales. What will the future hold? Will B&N be
able to succeed as a digital company, and is there a future for its brick and-mortar stores? Is there a way
for e-books to help sell print books, just as print books have stimulated demand for their digital versions?
Although B&N has made a spirited effort to revamp its business and go toe-to-toe with several tech titans,
it?s possible that it might be too tall an order for the storied bookseller.
Questions:
(a) Use the value chain and competitive forces models to evaluate the impact of the Internet on book
publishers and book retail stores such as B&N.
(b) How are B&N and the book publishers changing their business models to deal with the Internet and
e-book technology?
(c) Will B&N?s new strategy be successful? Explain your answer.
(d) Is there anything else B&N and the book publishers should be doing to stimulate
*****
Page 3 of 3
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This post was last modified on 04 January 2020