Ives and Jarvenpaa^31 report that application packages designed to run in one coun-
try may be incompatible with their counterparts designed to run in another country.
In some countries, local disregard of copyright restrictions have caused vendors to
retreat from the market. Due to unavailability of software, firms may have to buy
packages in one country and then distribute them to subsidiaries in another.
Evolving standards (see section 28.6(c)) are the key to worldwide application de-
velopment. It is essential to adopt a number of standards for hardware, software and
communications consistent with the regulatory constraints and supply of technology
in different geographic regions.
28.7 CONCLUSION. Information technology is one of the key factors in the man-
agement of international firms. IT permits the better coordination of worldwide op-
erations. IT forms the basis of new products and it has been used to transform indus-
tries. International firms that do not invest heavily in an IT infrastructure fail to do so
at their risk. IT is no longer a luxury; it is a necessity. In the future the importance of
IT to the international firm will only increase.
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
Application program. Application programs are computer programs that perform
business activities. For example, an accounting application might perform the Gen-
eral Ledger processing of a firm including the capturing of expense and income, the
posting of these to firm accounts and the production of monthly statements. Applica-
tion programs may be packaged software provided by a software developer and then
customized to the needs of a firm or they may be developed internally, or under con-
tract to the specific needs of the firm.
Computer-aided design (CAD). A set of programs for producing two-dimensional
drawings and converting these into three-dimensional projections. The programs pro-
vide automation of many design functions, especially in the translation of the design
representation from one form to another.
Database. A collection of data managed by a Database Management System
(DBMS). DBMS have facilities for the definition of a database, design of the system
including screens and reports, loading of the database, modification and change to the
database, and its operation.
Firewall. A computer placed between a firm’s Internet gateway and its internal net-
work that blocks unauthorized traffic.
Media. Media comes in many forms, each with its own format. What is transmit-
ted is one or more characters of data. A translator is required in order to interpret a
received character and produce the proper representation.
Text. Text, numeric, and special characters in either the ASCII 128 character or 256
format.
28 • 24 INTERNATIONAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS(^31) Id.