Chapter 1: The Modern Organisation in the Global, Web-Based Environment

Q1. What are the characteristics of the modern business environment?

The characteristics of the modern business environment consist of a combination which includes the social, legal, economic, physical and political factors.

Q2. What is meant by a web-based, global platform, what does it provide, and how has it affected business?

A web-based, global platform is the use of internet worldwide which is known as “World Wide Web”. It enables individuals to connect, compute, communicate, collaborate and compare everywhere and anywhere and at anytime. It also allows access to unlimited amounts of information, services and entertainment, to exchange knowledge and to produce and sell goods and services. Global we-based platform has created globalization and is spreading day by day.

Q3. What are the main pressures that characterize the modern global business environment?

The main pressures that characterize the modern global business environment include:
§ Market pressure which are generated by the global economy and strong competition, the changing nature of the workforce, and powerful customers.
§ Technology pressures which mainly include technological innovation and information overload.
§ Societal/political/legal pressures which are the social responsibility, government regulation/deregulation, spending for social programs, spending to protect against terrorism, and ethics.

Q4. What are/discuss some of the common, IT oriented organizational responses to these pressures?

§ Customer focus: organizational attempts to provide superb customer service can make the difference between attracting and keeping customers on the one hand and losing them to competitors on the other. For example, Amazon.
§ E-business and E-commerce: doing business, like trading, electronically and is now considered an essential strategy for companies competing in today’s business environment. For example, E-bay.

Q5. How are IT architecture and IT infrastructure interrelated?

IT architecture is a high level map or plan of the information assets in an organization. IT infrastructure consist of the physical facilities, IT components, IT services, and IT personnel that support the entire organization. They are interrelated because one can’t progress or function without the other.

Q6. Is the Internet an infrastructure, architecture, or an application program? or something else. Why?

The internet is an architecture which consists of a high level of information assets which is combined with an infrastructure of tools and a whole range of application forms to function as an internet service.