1. Management Information Systems
Islamia University of Bahawalpur
Delivered by:
Tasawar Javed

2. The Role of Information Technology
Overview of Chapter

3. The Role of Information Technology
The Strategic Context! The Business Strategy & Information strategy
IT can form an important part in the entire strategic planning process. For example
It can help provide new technological developments which open up growth opportunities
It can help a business cope with it’s competitive environment and market position
Strategic choice can be made easier through the use of IT
IT can help in strategy implementation
IT can help review performance and monitor controls

4. The Role of Information Technology
On a SWOT analysis IS/IT can appear in any of the four quadrants and appropriate responses have to be made
Strength: A business has a very advanced IS/IT system that allows it to respond flexibility to orders while maintaining a low cost base
Weakness: An organization’s system is in disarray and customers are becoming irritated by its inability to deliver the proper goods on time.

5. The Role of Information Technology
Opportunities: set up new internet site that allows customers to buy over the web
Threats: A competitor has spent heavily on IS/IT and can offer very high levels of services as a result
IT-The Strategic context
MP3 sound compression, the internet and fast broadband connections have forced companies like Sony and EMI to reassess their music retailing strategies. Technology is a threat to these companies

6. IS/IT and Porter’s Five Forces
To analyse the SWOT factors relating to IS/IT, it can be useful to consider how IS/IT can be used to counter Porter’s Five Forces so as to help an organization have a more comfortable existence than some of its components
Rivalry: use IT to reduce the effects of tough competition for example, by building strong relationship with customers and lowering costs. Cost leadership can be exploited by IT; IT used to support JIT system
Threat of New Entrant: sophisticated IT applications are expensive, slow to develop and technically challenging. All of these are barriers to entry.
Defensively and offensively
Defensively: by creating the barriers that new entrants to the market find difficult to overcome. IT can increase economies of scale by using computer controlled production methods, requiring a similar investment in the technology of new entrant. Another defensive move is to colonise the distribution channels by tying customer and suppliers into the supply chain or the distribution chain.
Offensively: by breaking down the barriers to entry. An example is the use of telephone banking, which reduces the need to establish a branch network. ATM created new distribution channels enabling bank branches to be set up in airports, out of town supermarkets and other areas where there are many potential customers.

7. IS/IT and Porter’s Five Forces
Supplier Pressure: Use IT to find new suppliers. Use IT to automatically rotate orders between suppliers. Compare prices on the internet.
The degree to which switching costs apply and substitutes are available
The pressure of one or two dominant suppliers controlling prices
The products offered having a uniqueness of brand, technical performance or design not available elsewhere.
Customer pressure: use IT to improve customer service, for example, by allowing on line ordering
Threat of Substitute: use computer aided design and manufacturing to develop new products first.
Supplier pressure: the ford motor company set up CAD links with its supplier with the intensions of reducing the costs of design specification and change. Both the time taken and the error rate were reduced because specifications did not have to be re keyed into the supplier’s manufacturing tools.

8. IT in Generic Strategies
IT/IS and Porter’s Generic Strategies
if it is known which strategy an organization is currently using to promote their products and or services, it should be possible to define a role for IS to enhance that strategy
Overall cost leadership
Driving down inventory levels, with the assistance of IT for supply chain planning and scheduling, can reduce costs
Differentiation
Where the differentiation is by customization, CAD can reduce costs effectively. Online info providing, online ordering process
Focus
IS/IT include providing access to customer information, trends and competitors so as to maximize competitive thrust and exclude competitors

9. IT in Generic Strategies
Consider how an estate agent could use IS/IT to improve its competitive position?

10. McFarlan’s Grid

11. McFarlan’s Strategic Grid
The strategic grid model is an IT specific model that can be used to assess the nature of the projects that the IT organization has in its portfolio with the aim of seeing how well that portfolio supports the operational and strategic interests of the firm.
The X-axis:
The X axis represents impact of the project on IT strategy. One way of expressing what we mean by this is: what options does this project offer the firm by way of affecting one of Porter’s five forces in our favour?
Does it change the nature of competition in our market.
Does it enable us to offer completely new products and services, or enable us to substitute one of ours for one of someone else’s in the eyes of their customers?

12. McFarlan’s Strategic Grid
The Y-axis:
The Y axis represents the impact of the project on IT operations.   One way of expressing this is to say that projects that are high on this axis improve the efficiency or quality of our existing systems and business processes, or lower their costs.
McFarlan divided the grid into 4 quadrants
Support
Factory
Turnaround
Strategic

13. McFarlan’s Strategic Grid
Support:
Low operational impact, low strategic impact. This quadrant is about local process improvements for individual users.
Factory:
High operational impact, low strategic impact. This quadrant is about operational improvements that affect large portions of the firm, and are aimed at improving performance or decreasing cost.
Turnaround:
Low operational impact, high strategic impact. This quadrant is about exploiting new technologies to provide strategic opportunities.
Strategic:
High operational impact, high strategic impact. IT organizations that have most projects in this quadrant understand that IT can both improve core operations of the firm while simultaneously generating strategic options.

14. E-Business: The meaning and use of E-Business
E-Commerce: is described as ‘all electronically mediated information exchanges between an organization and its external stakeholder’.
E-Business: has been defined as the transformation of key business processes through the use of internet technologies.
So E-commerce is a subset of e-business. The most generic description of e-commerce is trading on the internet, buying and selling products and services online.
How the IS/IT in general can affect the competitive environment and an organizations ability to compete???????????

15. E-Business: The meaning and use of E-Business
Three ways suggested by Porter:
New business might become possible. For example, auction sales and photo album sites
The industry structure can be changed. For example, in the music business it can be argued that the large CD publishers have less power because music can be self-published on the internet.
IS/IT can provide an organization with competitive advantage by providing new ways of operating. For example, airlines save money by encouraging internet booking.
Buy and sell side E-commerce
‘buy side’ e-commerce focuses on transactions between a purchasing organization and its suppliers
‘sell side’ e-commerce focuses on transactions between a purchasing organizations and its customers

16. E-Business: The meaning and use of E-Business
Categories of E-Business
B2B
Supermarket IS system automatically placing orders into supplier’s IS Systems
B2C
Selling over the internet – books, flights, music etc
C2B
Some internet sites display a selection of supplier’s offering from which the user can choose. A model that largely depends on the internet
C2C
Auction sites, such as ebay, putting consumers in touch with each other. Amazon does the same by offering second hand books. This model largely depends on the internet.

17. E-Business: The meaning and use of E-Business
The stages of e-business:
Web presence
Static or dynamic web-pages but no transactions are carried out. Would show information about the organization, products, contact details, FAQs, Faster updates are possible than paper based
E-commerce
Buying and selling transactions using e-commerce. Might cut out middleman, but there is probably no fundamental change in the nature or the business
Integrated e-commerce
Integrated e-commerce. For example, information can be gathered about each customer’s buying habits. This can allow the organizations to target customers very precisely and to begin to predict demand
E-business
E-business is now fundamental to the business strategy and may well determine the business strategy

18. E-Business: The meaning and use of E-Business
Benefits of E-business
Cost reduction eg lower overheads, cheaper procurement
Increased revenue
Better information control
Increased visibility
Enhanced customer services
Improved marketing
Market penetration
Enhance company’s CA
Free home delivery and goods are ordered online from the customer

19. E-Business: The meaning and use of E-Business
What should the super market do if it is out of stock of an ordered item, when it comes to be picked for packing?
Solution:
Have standard options for the customer at ordering time: substitute with a similar product or omit item
customer (likely to be inefficient)
Phone customer (perhaps not welcomed by the customer)

20. E-Business: The meaning and use of E-Business
Barriers to e-business
Technophobia
Security concerns
Set up costs
Running costs
Limited opportunities to exploit e-business
Limited IT resources in house
Customers not likely to be interested in e-business

21. Thank you!!!
Q&A