Chapter 15, Problem 1RQ

Explanation of Solution

Dimensions for developing international information system architecture

• The first main dimension for developing international information system infrastructure is the global environment and their business drivers and challenges.
• These are the forces within the environment which business must respond in order to drive the business positively.
• The second dimension includes corporate global strategy.
• These are the ones which are at a top level in order to accommodate local as well as regional issues...

Explanation of Solution

Cultural factors

• The general cultural factors include cultural particularism issues, development of a global culture within a firm, emergence of global social norms, political stability and global knowledge base.
• The cultural particularism factors include the language differences.
• By developing a global culture, the relationship between countries and divisions can be difficult to achieve.
• Emergence of global social norms includes work schedules, time to do business from a distance and so on.
• Political stability is difficult to achieve if a firm wants to expand in a country.
• Global knowledge base is an information system that requires time and effort to build that have positive effects for the firm.

Business factors

• The main business factors include global markets, global production and operations, global coordination and global workforce.
• Global market includes the patterns of consumption of goods which are becoming similar around the world.
• Global production and operations include production facilities which are coordinated at central headquarters thousands of miles away...

Explanation of Solution

Challenges for developing global systems

• The main challenges include cultural particularism, social expectations and political laws.
• Cultural particularism includes regionalism, nationalism, language differences, and different standards for electronic data interchange, email, and telecommunications...

Explanation of Solution

Reason for some firms not planning developing international systems

• The competition has not been powerful enough yet to drive them toward developing international systems for some companies.
• Some other companies lack the global strategy needed for such development, or they have inherited a patchwork of international systems built with outdated technologies and standards...