IT ESSAY

 

one- to two-page, double-spaced, analysis of the following questions

 

BizRate (

www.bizrate.com

) instantly provides information about hundreds of online stores.  Supported product lines include books, music, electronics, clothes, hardware, gifts, and more.  Customer reviews help shoppers select products and retailers with confidence.  BizRate also features a “Smart Choice” tag that balances retailer reviews, price, and other variables to recommend a “best buy.”

 

1.  Use www.bizrate.com to check out a product of interest to you.  What type of product did you select to investigate (books, music, clothes, etc.)?

 

2.   How thorough, valid, and valuable were the product and retailer reviews to you?  Explain.

 

3.  How could nonretail businesses use a similar Web-enabled review system?  Give an example.

 

4.  a.  Based on your reading in our textbook, define a decision support system (DSS).

 

     b.  How is BizRate’s Web site functionality similar to a DSS?