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Using Information Technology For Strategic Advantage
Using Information Technology For Strategic Advantage
Chapter 12 1
Learning Objectives
• Describe ways of interpreting the strategic impact of information systems.
• Describe IT-enabled strategies that companies can use to achieve competitive advantage
in their industry.
• Describe information technology skills and resources as they relate to the achievement of
sustained competitive advantage.
• Explain the four-stage model of information systems planning, and discuss the importance
of aligning information systems plans with business
• plans.
• Describe information requirement analysis, project payoff and portfolios, resource
allocation, and project planning.
• Discuss the meaning and importance of IT alignment.
• Identify the different types of IT architectures and outline the processes necessary to
establish an information architecture.
• Discuss the major issues addressed by information systems planning.
• Distinguish the major Web-related IT planning issues and understand application portfolio
selection.
Chapter 12 2
Strategic Information System
Any information system--EIS, OIS, TPS, KMS--that changes the
goals, processes, products, or environmental relationships to help
an organization gain a competitive advantage or reduce a
competitive disadvantage.
• Competitive Advantage
• An advantage over competitors in some measure such as cost,
quality, or speed
• A difference in the Value Chain Data
• Improving Core Competency
• Employee productivity
• Operational efficiency
Chapter 12 3
Strategic Information System
Continued
Chapter 12 4
Strategy Evaluation & Development
Mental Map
Needs
Analysis
A
Strengths Weaknesses
High
G1 G2 G3 G4 G5 G6
D Low
Preference
High C Opportunities Threats
Low
B
Demand
Management
Competitive $
E Product
Differentiation,
Advantage
Position,
Capabilities, Cost-
SCOPE
ARC,
Coordination,
Incentives,
• SWOT Analysis
Value Chain
• Product Life Cycle
Explorer-Exploiter
Creation/Capture,
PIE, Supplier,
Strategy
• Quality Preference
Buyer
Scope, Goals,
Competitive
Advantage,
Logic • …
Competitors
Competitive
Competition
Niche Life Cycle, Market
Oligopoly Structure, Behavior,
Dominant Barriers to Entry
Monopoly
F
Introductory Growth Maturity Decline
Stage Stage Stage Stage
Total
Market
Sales
January 2002
S M T W T F S
Time 1 2 3 4 5
Early Early Late
Innovators Laggards 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Adopters Majority Majority Implement 13
20
14
21
15
22
16
23
17
24
18
25
19
26
Time 27 28 29 30 31
&
G H
"The
Market growth rate
Chasm"
? Stars
Action
Technology Adoption Process
Exit Cash
Strategy Cows Strategy Statement Performance
Relative market share
Chapter 12 5
Information Technology –
Supports Strategic Management
Chapter 12 9
Porter’s Competitive Forces Model
Competitive Forces
Chapter 12 10
Porter’s Competitive Forces Model
Competitive Forces
Chapter 12 11
We develop a Competitor Analysis
Chapter 12 12
We Analyze the Entry Barriers
Chapter 12 13
We Analyze the Substitute Products
Chapter 12 14
We Analyze the Supply Chain
The Suppliers
The Buyers
Who controls the transaction?
The initial purpose of the value chain model was to analyze the internal
operations of a corporation, in order to increase its efficiency,
effectiveness, and competitiveness. We can extend that company
analysis, by systematically evaluating a company’s key processes and
core competencies to eliminate any activities that do not add value to
the product.
Chapter 12 20
The Value Chain (Continued)
Secondary Activities
Value
Primary Activities
Chapter 12 21
The Value Chain (Continued)
Secondary Activities
Value
Primary Activities
Chapter 12 22
The Value Chain (Continued)
Ph on e Fa x Tra ns a c tio na l
In t e rne t S y s te ms
Item Retrieval
Brand & Model EDI/ XML
UPC
Model No.
Internal
POS
Order Entry
MFG No. Service Cash
SKU EDI
Construction
Internet
Check
Charge(Bank, T&E, House, Finance)
Alternate Units Transm
issions Tr a n s a c t ion P os tin g C a s h P os tin g
Automatic
Accessories Invoice/Credit Memo
Cash Receipts
Generic Items Order Entry Screen
Item Key 1
Text 199.95
Windows POS Deposits
Instructions item2
189.99
2
Retrieval
Order Entry Deposits
Service Deposits
Trade-in's Construction Deposits
Internet Deposits
Catalog Items End of Month
Statements
Ticket
Pricing Exception
Packages Tables YES Customer Stmt
Ticket Customer Accepts NO
Pre-Built (actual) To Delivery
Customer Stmt
Customer Stmt
Pre-Built (phantom) Accounting
E-Billing
Hot Items Special Order
Best Sellers Alternate Locations
Notes Open Order
Drop Ship Customer History Backorder
Blanket Orders
E-Payments
Receiving Operation
(Whole sa le Divisio n)
Customers
Delivery Ticket Marked Pick
Exp e n s e In voic e
Ticket
Three-way
Match
Picking Ticket
Order Fulfillment
PickTicket
MIT^%T$$
Accounts Payable File
Scheduling
From POS
Disbursement File
Delivery Ticket sent to
Delivery Department
Delivery Process
Chapter 12 Accounts Payable
23
The Value System
A firm’s value chain is part of a larger stream of activities, which
Porter calls a value system. A value system includes the suppliers that
provide the inputs necessary to the firm and their value chains. This
also is the basis for the supply chain management concept. Many of
these alliances and business partnerships are based on Internet
connectivity
are called interorganizational information systems (IOSs)
Chapter 12 24
Sustaining a Strategic Information System (SIS)
Chapter 12 25
Strategic Resources And Capabilities
Chapter 12 26
Strategic Resources And Capabilities
Chapter 12 27
IT Planning – Critical
Chapter 12 28
IT Planning — A Critical Issue for
Organizations
IT planning is the organized planning of the IT infrastructure and
applications portfolios for all levels of the organization.
Corporate IT planning determines the IT infrastructure which in turn
determines what applications end users can deploy. Aligning the goals of the
organization and the ability of IT to contribute to those goals can deliver
great gains in productivity to the organization.
• IT PLANNING APPROACHES
• Business-led approach: The IT investment plan is defined on the basis of the
current business strategy.
• Method-driven approach: The IS needs are identified with the use of techniques
and tools.
• Technological approach: Analytical modeling and other tools are used to execute
the IT plans.
• Administrative approach: The IT plan is established by a steering committee.
• Organizational approach: The IT investment plan is derived from a business-
consensus view of all stakeholders in the organization
Chapter 12 29
IT Planning — A Critical Issue for
Organizations Continued
A four-stage model of IT planning that consists of four major activities.
Chapter 12 30
IT Planning — A Critical Issue
for Organizations Continued
An applications portfolio is the mix of computer applications that the
information system department has installed or is the process of developing
on behalf of the company.
Chapter 12 31
Strategic Information Technology
Planning - Stage 1
The first stage of the IT planning model identifies the applications portfolio
through which an organization will conduct its business. This stage can
also be expanded to include the process of searching for strategic
information systems (SIS) that enable a firm to develop a competitive
advantage. This involves assessing the current business environment and
the future objectives and strategies.
Chapter 12 32
Strategic Information Technology
Planning – Methodologies
Several methodologies exist to facilitate IT planning.
• The business systems planning (BSP) model, developed by IBM deals with
two main building blocks which become the basis of an information architecture.
• Business processes
• Data classes
• Stages Of It Growth Model, indicates that organizations go through six stages of IT
growth
• Initiation. When computers are initially introduced.
• Expansion (Contagion). Centralized growth takes place as users demand more applications.
• Control. In response to management concern about cost versus benefits, systems projects
are expected to show a return.
• Integration. Expenditures on integrating (via telecommunications and databases) existing
systems
• Data administration. Information requirements rather than processing drive the
applications portfolio.
• Maturity. The planning and development of IT are closely coordinated with business
development
Chapter 12 33
Strategic Information Technology
Planning – Methodologies Continued
Chapter 12 34
Strategic Information Technology
Planning – Methodologies Continued
• Critical success factors (CSFs) are those few things that must go right in
order to ensure the organization's survival and success. Critical success factors vary
by industry categories—manufacturing, service, or government—and by specific
industries within these categories. Sample questions asked in the CSF approach are:
• What objectives are central to your organization?
• What are the critical factors that are essential to meeting these objectives?
• What decisions or actions are key to these critical factors?
• What variables underlie these decisions, and how are they measured?
• What information systems can supply these measures?
Chapter 12 35
Strategic Information Technology
Planning – Methodologies Continued
Critical success factors (CSFs)
Chapter 12 36
Strategic Information Technology
Planning - Stage 2 Information Requirements Analysis
The second stage of the model is the information requirements analysis,
which is an analysis of the information needs of users and how that
information relates to their work. The goal of this second stage is to ensure
that the various information systems, databases, and networks can be
integrated to support the requirements identified in stage 1.
• Information requirements analysis in stage 2 is a more
comprehensive level of analysis. It encompasses infrastructures
such as the data needs (e.g., in a data warehouse or a data
center), requirements for the intranet, extranet, and corporate
partners are established.
• Identifies high payoffs IT projects which will produce the
highest organizational payoff.
• Provides an architecture that leads to a cohesive, integrated
systems that offers the most benefit
Chapter 12 37
Strategic Information Technology
Planning - Stage 3 Resource Allocation
Resource allocation, the third stage of the IT planning model, consists of
developing the hardware, software, data networks and communications,
facilities, personnel, and financial plans needed to execute the master
development plan as defined in the requirements analysis phase.
Chapter 12 40
IT Planning — Information Technology
Architectures Continued
Chapter 12 41
IT Planning — Information Technology
Architectures Continued
Each organization has its own particular needs and preferences for
information. Therefore, today’s IT architecture is designed around business
processes rather than traditional departmental hierarchy.
• Architectural choices are:
• Centralized computing: puts all processing and control authority within one
computer to which all other computing devices respond.
• Distributed computing: gives users direct control over their own computing by
providing a decentralized environment
• Blended computing: a blend of the two models
• End-user configurations (workstations):
• Centralized computing with the PC functioning as “dumb terminals” or “not smart”
thin PCs.
• A single-user PC that is not connected to any other device.
• A single-user PC that is connected to other PCs or systems, using a
telecommunications connections.
• Workgroup PCs connected to each other in a small P2P network.
• Distributed computing with many PCs fully connected by LANs via wireline or Wi-FI.
Chapter 12 42
IT Planning — Planning Challenges
Chapter 12 43
Global Competition
Chapter 12 45
IT Planning — Web-based Systems
Continued
Chapter 12 46
Managerial Issues
• Sustaining competitive advantage. As companies become larger and more
sophisticated, they develop sufficient resources to quickly duplicate the successful systems of
their competitors. For example, Alamo Rent-a-Car now offers a frequent-renter card similar to the
one offered by National car rental.
• Importance. Getting IT ready for the future—that is, planning—is one of the most challenging
and difficult tasks facing all of management, including IS management. Each of the four steps of
the IT strategic planning process— strategic planning, information requirements analysis,
resource allocation, and project planning—presents its own unique problems. Yet, without
planning, or with poor planning, the organization may be doomed.
• Organizing for planning. Many issues are involved in planning: What should be the role of
the ISD? How should IT be organized? Staffed? Funded? How should human resources issues,
such as training, benefits, and career paths for IS personnel, be handled? What about the
environment? The competition? The economy? Governmental regulations? Emerging
technologies? What is the strategic direction of the host organization? What are its key
objectives? Are they agreed upon and clearly stated? Finally, with these strategies and objectives
and the larger environment, what strategies and objectives should IS pursue? What policies
should it establish? What type of information architecture should the organization have:
centralized or not centralized? How should investments in IT be justified? The answer to each of
these questions must be tailored to the particular circumstances of the ISD and the larger
organization of which it is a part.
Chapter 12 47
Managerial Issues
Chapter 12 48
Managerial Issues
• Ethical and legal issues. Conducting interviews for finding managers’ needs and
requirements must be done with full cooperation. Measures to protect privacy must be taken.
In designing systems one should consider the people in the system. Reengineering IT means
that some employees will have to completely reengineer themselves. Some may feel too old to
do so. Conducting a supply chain or business process reorganization may result in the need to
lay off, retrain, or transfer employees. Should management notify the employees in advance
regarding such possibilities? Other ethical issues may involve sharing of computing resources
or of personal information, which may be part of the new organizational culture. Finally,
individuals may have to share computer programs that they designed for their departmental
use, and may resist doing so because they consider such programs their intellectual property.
Appropriate planning must take these and other issues into consideration.
• IT strategy. In planning IT it is necessary to examine three basic strategies: (1) Be a leader
in technology. The advantages of being a leader are the ability to attract customers, to provide
unique services and products, and to be a cost leader. However, there is a high development
cost of new technologies and high probability of failures. (2) Be a follower. This is a risky
strategy because you may be left behind. However, you do not risk failures, and so you usually
are able to implement new technologies at a fraction of the cost. (3) Be an experimenter, on a
small scale. This way you minimize your research and development investment and the cost of
failure. When new technologies prove to be successful you can move fairly quickly for full
implementation.
Chapter 12 49
Chapter 12
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Chapter 12 50