1. Competing with IT and the Internet
Professor Ramiro Montealegre
FINAL PROJECT OUTLINE
OBJECTIVE:
- Apply concepts learned in class.
- An opportunity for student to increase her/his expertise in the application of the problem-solving skills
& methods presented in the classroom by engaging in a "dialogue" with instructor and other students.
TOPIC:
1) Identification and analysis of an opportunity for innovative use of IT in an organization.
2) Prototyping the implementation of a system to take advantage of it.
FORMAT:
- Case study, and an implementation plan.
- Developed by student work groups.
PROCESS:
- A one page executive summary that succinctly discusses your project is due on February 22.
- In order to receive feedback from other class members, at the end of the semester, each project team
will give a 20 minutes presentation of its progress in class.
- The paper can be submitted to the instructor for evaluation and grading as often as desired.
- Final version is due on May 3. (5:00 p.m.)
EVALUATION:
- The paper will be graded on creativity, originality, integration of managerial and technological issues,
and clarity of vision as well as the standard measures of written work (length, readability, quality of
arguments, stated assumptions). This paper length is limited to 20 double-spaced, typed pages.
- An important component of the grade will be provided by the Team Evaluation. This will give you the
opportunity to assess how well you have done with respect to your own commitment to the team, and
to assess the commitment of every other person in the group.

2. Common Arguments in the Edmund’s Assignment
- I would evaluate the potential of the book vrs. the web site
- Way of the future... Tell employees it is a complementary channel
- Charge subscription fee and increase partners
- Edmund should grow its brand recognition
- Edmund should grow the e-business.
- Future strategy and positioning of both channels is critical
- Expand: cell phone access, info for hobbyists, entertainment

3. - STRATEGIC IMPACT OF IT
WHERE ARE WE?
- STRATEGIC IMPACT OF IT
- MANAGING IN THE MARKETSPACE
- IDENTIFYING OPPORTUNITIES/
CREATING VALUE
- EMERGING INTERNET MODELS
- BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION
- INTERNATIONAL ISSUES OF E-COMMERCE

4. What Is Strategy
Operational Effectiveness: Necessary but Not sufficient.
Companies should establish a difference that it can preserve.
Essence of strategy = choosing different activities than rivals.
Strategic positions base on needs, access,or product/services variety.
Trade-offs are essential to strategy.
Fit locks out imitators: need to copy the complete system.
Strategic position should have a horizon of a decade or more.
General manger role: defining company’s position, making
trade-offs, and forging fit among activities.

5. Five Forces Determine Industry Profitability
New Entrants
Threat of
New Entrants
Industry
Competitors
Rivalry Among
Existing Firms
Bargaining Power
of Suppliers
Suppliers
Buyers
Bargaining Power
of Buyers
Threat of
Substitute Products
or Services
Substitutes

6. Opening Questions 1. What business are we really in?
2. Who are our biggest competitors? What new competitors
will this technology make possible in the future?
Who else does, or can, provide the same product/service?
3. Can we Integrate our clients operations with our own?
4. Can we lock competitors out through use of technology?
5. Has our operating environment been changed by deregulation
of our industry?
6 Has our environment change due to deregulation of a
related industry?
7. Can we get there first? Should we attempt to make this move?

7. Risks of IT Success
1. Change basis of competition to a company’s disadvantage
2. Lower entry barriers
3. Bring on litigation or regulation
4. Increase customers’ or suppliers’ power to the detriment
of innovator
5. Bad timing
6. Indefensible and fail to produce lasting advantages
7. Threat to large, established competitor
8. Inadequate understanding of industry dynamics
9. Cultural lag and perceived transfer of power

8. Low Low Strategic impact of existing systems
Factory Strategic
Support Turnaround
High
Strategic impact
of existing systems
Low
Low
High
Strategic impact of applications
development portfolio