Tools to analyze player performance these systems

tools to analyze player performance. These systems were essential in improv-
ing the rugby teams’ overall business performance. The diagram also illustrates
Using a handheld com-
puter called a Delivery
Information Acquisition
Device (DIAD), UPS drivers
automatically capture cus-
tomers’ signatures along
with pickup, delivery, and
time card information. UPS
information systems use
these data to track pack-
ages while they are being
transported.
© Bill Aron/PhotoEdit.Inc
Chapter 1
Information Systems in Global Business Today
53

how people, technology, and organizational elements work together to create
the systems.
Complementary Assets: Organizational Capital and
the Right Business Model
Awareness of the organizational and managerial dimensions of information sys-
tems can help us understand why some firms achieve better results from their
information systems than others. Studies of returns from information technol-
ogy investments show that there is considerable variation in the returns firms
receive (see Figure 1.8). Some firms invest a great deal and receive a great deal
(quadrant 2); others invest an equal amount and receive few returns (quadrant
4). Still other firms invest little and receive much (quadrant 1), whereas others
invest little and receive little (quadrant 3). This suggests that investing in infor-
mation technology does not by itself guarantee good returns. What accounts for
this variation among firms?
Business Processes
Information Processing Activities
Business Value
Management Activities
Supply
Chain
Management
Enterprise
Management
Customer
Management
Knowledge
Management
Coordinating
Firm
Profitability
and
Strategic
Position
Transfor-
mation
into Business
Systems
Data
Collection
and
Storage
Dissemination
Planning Controlling Modeling and
Decision
Making
FIGURE 1.7 THE BUSINESS INFORMATION VALUE CHAIN
From a business perspective, information systems are part of a series of value-adding activities for acquiring, trans-
forming, and distributing information that managers can use to improve decision making, enhance organizational
performance, and, ultimately, increase firm profitability.
54 Part One
Organizations, Management, and the Networked Enterprise

stations, repair facilities, and a legal regulatory structure to set standards and
control drivers.