...Does IT Matter? An essay presented to the Department of Information Systems University of Cape Town in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the course on Information Systems Honours (INF 414W) by ( March 200x Declaration 1. I know that plagiarism is wrong. Plagiarism is to use another’s work and pretend that it is one’s own. 2. I have used the APA Convention for citation and referencing. Each contribution to, and quotation in, this essay from the works of other people has been attributed, and has been cited and referenced. 3. This essay is my own work. 4. I have not allowed, and will not allow, anyone to copy my work with the intention of passing it off as his or her own work Signature …………………….. Date ….../….../…...… Full name of student: A Table of contents 1. Introduction………………………………………………………………………1 2. Resources: what makes them strategic?.....................................................1 1. Characteristics of Strategic Resources………………………..…………2 3. Strategic value of Information Technology………………………….………..2 4. The evolution of the IT function in business………………………………...4 5. Using IT to gain Sustainable Competitive advantage………...……………7 6. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………….8 7. Bibliography………….………………………………………………………….9 ...
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...Organizations always face the challenges of dynamic business environment. In 21st century, the environment has become more dynamic and unpredictable. The changing business environment requires strategic thinking in companies to develop good corporate strategies. Only when developing effective strategies, corporate can remain the competitive position. By creating strategy, organization can remain the competitive advantage which other companies are unable to implement. Corporate strategy is not only for large firms but also for small business. However, there is a quotation suggests that “Strategic management is nothing more than a set a o myths, parables and homilies that give senior management a feeling of comfort that they can control the destinies of their organizations. It has neither theoretical substance nor empirical content and is delusional in its intention. The future is not only unpredictable it is also unknowable”. This assignment shall argue the citation by considering different factors. First, the assignment will identify the meaning of strategy and it does matter. And then the essays will have brief discussion of industry matter for the performance of an organization. Finally, the assignment will draw conclusion through the relevance of strategy in management practices. 1. What is strategy and does it matter? There are many ways to define strategy by various researchers. Henry Minzberg (1971) defines “Strategies are both plans for the future and the patterns from...
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...technology in business practices Introduction Information Technology systems have expanded in all the companies. Information Technologies include hardware and software as well. Besides, IT may consider telecommunications networks, the management of data and many technologies based on the use of the Internet. There has been in this essay a try to show the strategic value and the utilization in production of Information Technology in business practices. Many believe that IT has a controversial value in strategic arrangement of organizations and productivity implementation, while others believe that IT affects enterprises in all the above mentioned sectors and after all that it is the backbone of every modern company. Nobody can deny that Information Technology plays important role in strategy and productivity of companies who use it. However there is a growing opinion that Information Technology has become a commodity and that has already lost its competitive advantage. The alternative opinion is that speed and flexibility may occur, via IT, into businesses. Moreover improvement of organizational structure is one more of the benefits companies can gain by the proper use of Information Technology. However in any occasion companies should innovate in continuous matter in order to conserve the strategic value of Information Technology. Main body Nicolas Carr's article “IT doesn't matter” (May 2003) expresses the opinion of senior managers concerning IT's business value...
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...Review “Why Business Models Matter” By Joan Magretta Student Name: Khairil bin Sarian Title: Why Business Models Matter Author: Joan Magretta Year of Article: 2002 Abstract This article discusses about the business model and strategy that popularly being used in the organization as a tool to stream a good profit to their business. The concept was introduced and being used during the beginning of internet utilization by all organization. It is not easy to have this kind of thinking to create a business model and strategy which is two different concept needed to be applied. By looking at this concept, business model required to identify your customer and need to plan how to make money from them by providing a value services while strategy explain how we can be different by others in term of providing services and so on. Inside the article, Magretta give us a well constructed thought on the concept that being used by certain example of company that was succeed. This will enable us to define whether the concept is useful only for certain type of business or it can apply to all. A set of tool need to be distinguished before a business model and strategy may applied by carried out a few test and from there assumption can be made. Both business model and strategy may be combining to produce a better business organization. Introduction Magretta, 2002 writes an article about Why Business Models Matter. This article presents us on how a good business is start by having...
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...Whittington for exam Question: What is strategy? There is not much agreement about strategy in other textbooks. Rather than taking ‘strategic management’ for granted, this book starts from the basic question ‘what is strategy anyway?’. Four basic conceptions of strategy are introduced which all have different implications for how to go about ‘doing strategy’. Each perspective has its own view of strategy and how it matters for managerial practice. The Classical approach gives the textbook answers. - Classicists broadly see strategy as a rational process of long-term planning, vital to securing the future. - Evolutionists usually regard the future as too volatile and unpredictable to plan for, and warn that the best strategy is to concentrate on maximizing changes of survival today. - Processualists too doubt the value of rational long-term planning, seeing strategy best as an emergent process of learning and adaptation. - Systemic theorists take a relativist position, arguing that the forms and goals of strategy-making depend particularly on social context, and that strategy should therefore be undertaken with sociological sensitivity. These are four starkly different perspectives (p. 119), but it is the Systemic sensibility that helps us finally to choose. For the Systemic strategist, effectiveness depends upon understanding context and playing by local rules. Classical, evolutionary, processual, they can all take place in some conditions. There is no one...
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...IT Doesn’t Matter “IT Doesn’t Matter” is an article written by Nicolas G. Carr and published in the May 2003 edition of the Harvard Business Review. In this article Carr discusses why IT is no longer a strategic resource for companies and in light of this, how companies should now manage their IT. Carr’s argument that IT is no longer a strategic resource stems for his claim that IT has become ubiquitous and is no longer scarce. He does not deny that in its early stages of development, when IT resources were scare or rare, it was a strategic resource that companies could use to gain a competitive advantage. Carr goes on to explain that IT has become more affordable and thus is available for all companies to use. He claims that this makes IT less of a strategic resource and more a commodity. He compares IT’s transition from resource to commodity to that of the development of railway systems and electrical power. He references the fact that these now common commodities were once strategic resources that were used by companies to gain competitive advantages in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. Carr goes on to explain that no companies base their business strategy on using electrical power and thus business now should transition away from basing strategy on IT. Carr continues with his argument that IT doesn’t matter by describing how the biggest risk with IT is overspending on unnecessary resources, creating a cost disadvantage. Carr outlines three key philosophies...
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... Yasaman Soltan-Zadeh y.soltan-zadeh@rhul.ac.uk Office: MX 120 Competing with IS • Does IT Matter? • IS and Competitive Advantage • The New Competitive Paradigm Does IT Matter? • Can IT provide a strategic advantage? • Is it sustainable? • Carr, Nicholas (2003), “IT doesn’t matter”, Harvard Business Review, May 2003, pp. 41-49. – “As information technology’s power and ubiquity have grown, its strategic importance has diminished. The way you approach IT investment and management will need to change dramatically” (Carr, 2003) IT Doesn’t Matter! • Information Technology: – Proprietary Technology vs. Infrastructural Technology • The Commoditization of IT – Transport mechanism – more valuable shared rather than isolated – Interconnectivity and interoperability – Standardisation of technology and homogenisation of its functionality – Highly replicable – Rapid price deflation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PO2dCaaSDk8 IT Doesn’t Matter! • From Offence to Defence – Spend less – Follow, don’t lead – Focus on vulnerabilities, not opportunities Does IT matter? • Inherently strategic because of indirect effects • Creates possibilities and options that did not exist before • May become ubiquitous! The insight to harness the potential is not distributed evenly. Does IT matter? Three broad lessons • Extracting value from IT requires innovations in business practices. • IT’s economic impacts comes from incremental innovations rather than “big bang” initiatives...
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...“IT Doesn’t Matter” Assignment Assunta P. Cuccia BUAD 867 February 19, 2010 In the national bestseller, Good to Great, Collins devotes a chapter to Technology Accelerators in which he posits provocatively “The real question is not, What is the role of technology? Rather, the real question is, How do good-to-great organizations think differently about technology?” The value of Information Technology (IT) is based on how it is aligned with a company’s business model, core competencies and strategies so that a competitive advantage can be sustained. Today’s commerce is heavily dependent on IT, and as stated in Chapter 1, page 47 of our textbook, “IT is a powerful tool for defining, organizing and building knowledge assets within a firm and a business network.” Although Nicholas Carr’s article has an inflammatory title, “IT Doesn’t Matter,” the main points suggest otherwise. IT does matter but it matters differently. This article was published in 2003, a few years following the dot-com bubble burst. During the Internet’s halcyon days from 1994 to 2000, the businesses created were the result of IT innovations, and this changed the way business interacted with the environment. This led to IT becoming more visible and pervasive in business and at the same time evolving towards commodity status. IT is an essential part and cost of doing business globally “but provide distinction to none.” There are several industries that managed IT in a manner conferring competitive...
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...Symptoms: Low market share, wherein, Arce Dairy Ice Cream belongs to the remaining 10% of the ice cream market. Cause: Poor promotional and distribution strategies IV. STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES: Must Objective: To increase in one month’s time the company’s market share by 5%. Want: To gain favorable market control in the succeeding years. V. AREAS OF CONSIDERATIONS A. Internal Environment Strengths: 1. Arce Dairy Ice Cream is made of fresh carabao’s milk (“all natural”); 2. The finished product is tastier and richer (more flavorful); 3. They have variety of ice cream flavors; 4. They use fresh ingredients like whole seasonal fruits and other natural products; 5. Arce Dairy Ice Cream has distinct taste and high quality (the firm rejects delivery of ingredients that do not pass high quality standards, no matter how inexpensive); 6. They have hundred heads of milking carabaos in the Arce dairy farm; and 7. Their ice cream product has been in the business for years (although Selecta, their former name is now being carried by a competitor, RFM Corporation). Weaknesses: 1. Poor marketing efforts which resulted to local market share (since they seems to be contented catering to their existing customers only); 2. Low promotional and distribution strategies; 3. Limited outlet/branch; and 4. They have sold their former name “Selecta” which have already gained brand equity. B. External Environment ...
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...Marketing Name College Date Introduction Marketing is everything, says McKenna. It is the business aspect of doing market research about your targeted clientele and their preferences and then providing the superior customer value. It is the communicating to the customers or the market about your product or services and why the client partner or society should choose your product. According to Silk, marketing is the process by which a firm creates value for its customers, and value is created by meeting customer needs, hence, a firm must define itself not by the products it sells but the benefits customers get from it. Marketing is evolving and due to this companies shave to keep up with changing trends lest they are left behind by competitors, that is why there are earlier and contemporary approaches to marketing. There earlier approaches to marketing included mass production of a product to exploit economies of scale, product quality ensuring high quality products, focus on selling an existing product, then it came to customer focus, and currently we are on the holistic market where marketing acknowledges that everything matters in marketing of a product/service. Marketing Theories The marketing mix theory focuses on the 7 P`s. Firstly look at Product functionality and customer expectation of its performance. Secondly the product should be available in Places easily accessible to your target market. Third P is for the Price...
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...trademark, copyright and trade secret matters and transactions involving our clients and their business models. We strive to create legal strategies that protect your market, your business and your intellectual property assets. Our attorneys are required to have backgrounds in the hard sciences such as Electrical Engineering, Computer Science and Applied Mathematics and to be experts in their fields. In support of our experienced professionals, we have a team of highly trained and experienced paralegals...
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...Financial Services, Inc. It is intended to serve as the centralized repository for the tasks that would be necessary to facilitate the Penson decision-making process and its timely response to any disruptive or extended interruption of the department’s normal business operations. This is especially important if the cause of the interruption is such that a prompt resumption of operations cannot be accomplished by employing normal daily operating procedures. Immediate Reaction: Evacuation of the Facility during Business Hours: Pack critical data at the sound of the alarm Gather all work in process and all unprocessed work and place it in the Evacuation Bag Penson Fire Marshals will assist in evacuation using the stairwells The department should have a list of those employees who are disabled, experience medical problems or who are pregnant. Gather at a Pre-Determined location Department head counts must be taken to ensure all employees have been accounted for If there is staff missing, notify the Penson Fire Marshals and they will notify emergency services Everyone must remain in this location until called upon for disaster relief or released to return home. The Business Unit Managers must insist that everyone released return directly to their home in the event their services will be needed later. Fundamentals of a Disaster Recovery Planning Process The fundamental basis of Disaster Recovery Planning is to develop a methodology...
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...Business Ethics and Corporate Strategy Ethical Issue Paper Travis G. Stoufer Business Ethics-BUS 323 Janet Evelyn-Dorsey January 29, 2010 Abstract A paper presented on the growing issues of business ethics and the decisions consumers and producers make when moral and ethical responsibilities are in question. Paper presents tools for consideration for tomorrow’s leaders and gives a general overview of strategies corporations take to limit legal responsibility in ethical matters that include; hiring of undocumented workers, strategies such as breach and pay, document retention, and rewriting policy on employees instead of treating them with dignity and respect. The paper discusses the viewpoint of ethical responsibilities with primary stakeholders in mind. The primary stakeholders for consideration in this paper would be employees, consumers, managers, and CEO’s. This paper argues corporate strategies such as breach and pay, document retention, and hiring of undocumented workers is unethical. Corporate strategies of this sort are unethical and consumers should align the purchases of goods and services with companies that participate in corporate social responsibility. BUSINESS ETHICS AND CORPORATE STRATEGY Table of Contents Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………ii Table of Contents…………………………………………………………………………iii Introduction…………………………………..…...……………………………………….1 Background……………….…………………...………………………………………...1-2 Analysis..……………………………..……..…………………………………………...
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...2/3/2013 2/3/2013 Melanie stoddard Week 4 Melanie stoddard Week 4 Market Products Melanie Stoddard Market Products Melanie Stoddard It’s not easy opening up a business but it takes a brave person to take the risk in their life. Sometimes in life in order to move forward you have to believe in yourself and take risks. Renea Fab Make up company will offer natural makeup for different skin types around the world. The business will be global. We will not only offer make up but also hair care products under the company as well. Having primary characteristics in a business is important. Now let’s start to discuss the 7 characteristics of my business. Mission and Values, almost every company has a mission statement that guides its actions. This mission statement must permeate your entire organization and be the basis of all that you do. Quality is the most important product in any business. What your company values is important and must be demonstrated every day. Customer look for business who take pride in their company values. If you value your employees, then your actions and policies should back this up. Shared values are strong motivators and can easily distinguish you from your competition. Language and Customs, a company's culture is often defined by its language and customs. Your company most likely has many sayings, expressions and acronyms that only your people understand. These sayings probably started when your company began and can range from the commonly heard...
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...Limousines is to provide chauffeured transportation services for corporate executives, group travel, weddings and special events. Maintaining customer satisfaction is a crucial aspect of any business, especially the limousine business. The employees of the company must provide a high level of performance based on reliability, safety, professionalism, and superb customer service. To ensure you select the best candidates for the job, a job analysis should be conducted. This will allow you to identify the skills needed and required to successfully operate your business. Before Landslide Limousines can begin to implement a performance management framework, Mr. Stonefield must define what the organizational business strategy is. The proposed business strategy, also known as the mission statement, is about providing the highest levels of safety, quality, reliability, professionalism, and customer satisfaction. The performance management framework should align itself with this strategy. Performance management is essential for any organization to measure, improve, and develop the employees of the business to include Mr. Stonefield ("Strategic Alignment & Performance Management ", 2012). The performance management framework is designed to align all activity to achieve success for the business, and individually, while helping identify the exceptional employees, as well as those that are not performing in line with expectations (Lupfer, 2011). The framework should identify and...
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