Strategic Uses of Information Systems

Strategy and Strategic Moves

 

Strategy

A plan designed to help an organization outperform its competitors

Strategic Information Systems

• Information systems that help seize opportunities
• Can be developed from scratch, or they can evolve from existing ISs 
• Strategic advantage:Using a strategy to maximize strength
• Competitive advantage:The result of the use of a strategic advantage

Increase profits through increased market share 
Innovation results in advantage  
Strategies that no one has tried before 
Example: Dell using the Web to take customer order 
 
HypertechEngineering.com

Initiative #1: Reduce Costs

• Lower costs results in lower price
• Bigger Market Share
• Implement automation to become more productive
• The Web has made this possible for many 

Initiative #2: Raise Barriers to Market Entrants

• Patenting 
• High expense of entering industry  
• State Street, Inc. (Pension fund management business)

HypertechEngineering.com 

 

Initiative #3: Establish High Switching Costs

• Explicit Switching Costs
• Fixed and nonrecurring
• Implicit Switching Costs
• Indirect costs in time and money of adjusting to a new product 

 

Initiative #4: Create New Products or Services 

• Lasts only until competition offers an identical or similar product or service for a comparable or lower price  
• First Mover: Creates assets
• Brand Name 
• Better Technology
• Delivery Methods
• Critical Mass: body of clients that attracts other client 

Initiative #5: Differentiate Products or Services 

• Product differentiation 
• Brand recognition 
• Examples of brand name success  
• Levi’s jeans 
• Chanel perfumes  Gap clothes 

Initiative #6: Enhance Products or Services

• Examples 
• Auto manufacturers enticing customers with a longer warranty 
• Real estate agents providing useful financing information to potential buyers Charles Schwab moving stock trading services on-line before Merrill Lynch

Initiative #7: Establish Alliances

• Combined service may attract customers 
• Lower cost
• Convenience
• Examples:  
• Travel industryHP and FedEx 

Initiative #8: Lock in Suppliers or Buyers  

• Bargaining Power  
• Purchase volume  
• Strengthen perception as a leader  
• Create a standard

HypertechEngineering.com

Strategic Information Systems (SIS) 

•An IS that helps achieve long-term competitive advantage  

•SIS embodies two types of ideas: 

–Potentially-winning business move –How to harness IT to implement that move 

•Two conditions for SIS:  

–Serve an organizational goal 

–Work with the managers of the other functional units

Creating an SIS 

Top management involvement 

From initial consideration through development and implementation 

Must be a part of the overall organizational strategic plan 

 Steps for Considering a new SIS

 

 

Steps to Take in an SIS Idea-Generated Meeting

•  Re-engineering and Organizational Change  
• To implement an SIS and achieve a competitive advantage, organization must rethink entire operation 
• Goal of re-engineering 
• Achieve efficiency leaps of 100% or higher
• Competitive Advantage as Moving Target

 

 

SISs developed as strategic advantages quickly become standard busines

 –Banking industry (ATMs and banking by phone)
Continuous search for new ways of utilizing information technology to their advantage
–SABRE, American Airlines’ reservation system  

HypertechEngineering.com

SUMMARY

• Business strategy and strategic moves can give an organization an advantage
• Basic initiatives for gaining a competitive advantage 
• Strategic information systems require fundamental elements Circumstances and initiatives that make one SIS succeed and another fail

-Dharmendra K. Vyas
Hypertechengineering

 

Critical Success Factor for Organization - Operation Scenerio

CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTOR

Organizations have Visions for their growth in particular directions. They formulate mission statements by which they define their role in industry. A long term strategy is carved out by keeping these vision & mission statements in mind and it is implemented throughout organization structure.

        As organizations have decided their vision, they can derive goals & objectives for projects. This can quantify the targets which are to be achieved within predefined time, quality & cost dimensions.

        Objectives of an organization can be achieved by critical success factors, which are driving forces or means to achieve the endpoints. These CSFs are hierarchical in nature throughout organization & are determined by several factors, means they are percolated from management levels to departments and departments to individuals.

        CSF is useful for compete the companies in global environment and company can focus on future business opportunities in effective way. In any organization certain factors will be critical to the success of that organization, in the sense that, if objectives associated with the factors are not achieved, the organization will fail.

CASE STUDY: UNIVERSITY OPERATION DIVISION

MISSION STATEMENT

The Operations Division provides superior interior and exterior environmental experiences to students, faculty, staff, and visitors, which are healthy, safe, pleasing, and conducive to achieving
the highest standards of excellence in teaching, research, and public service activities.

VISION STATEMENT

The Operations Division will be recognized locally, nationally and internationally as an efficient and effective division that delivers world-class customer service; continuously enhances the campus physical and learning environment; embraces the diversity of our work force, and sets an example of excellence our graduates will carry with them forever.

Role of Operations Division:
The Operations Division will

·        be recognized as one of the best stewards of public resources in the nation;

·        prepare the university for any local or national tragedy that may affect the daily operations and well being of students, faculty and staff;

·        partner with the city of Lubbock in areas of mutual benefit to enhance the local spirit of cooperation; and

·        Be engaged in helping each campus organization achieve respective goals and objectives and to excel in their endeavors.

The Operations Division is committed to the values of

• customer service;
• integrity;
• mutual trust and respect;
• professionalism; and
• Stewardship of resources.

GOALS & CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS:
 
Goal 1. Facility Improvement: Support the Capital Construction Plan development to accommodate campus facility needs as consistent with the Campus Master Plan.

Critical Success Factors

• Audit all educational and general buildings every five years.
• Minimize life-cycle costs of new and major renovated buildings.
• Become the service provider of choice for campus clients.
• Maximize facility systems reliability.
• Begin construction for work orders no more than 60 days after funding.

Goal 2. Infrastructure. Maintain and upgrade campus infrastructure to meet university mission requirements.

Critical Success Factors

• Automated and up-to-date programs that will show the impact of temperature differences in chill and hot water on the campus distribution system
• Budget funds annually for infrastructure projects.
• A capital improvement program for buildings and utility systems.
• An effective preventive maintenance and/or recurring maintenance program for 90% of infrastructure, equipment, structures, fountains, and grounds

 Goal 3. Beautification: Initiate an active and progressive campus beautification plan consistent with the Campus Master Plan

Critical Success Factors

• Park Maintenance Standards (Grounds Maintenance) Modes I & II for 80 percent of the interior campus and Mode III or higher for the rest of the campus.
• Revenue stream that will fund at least one major landscaping project a year.
• State-of-the-art irrigation systems for 70% of the campus interior acreage.
• Irrigation wells that will irrigate 70% of the campus interior with well water.
• Fully developed nursery that provides 200 trees annually for the campus.

Goal 4. Safety and Environment: Implement and enforce legislated and mandated requirements regarding safety and environment.

Critical Success Factors

• Updated Emergency Operations Plan.
• Periodic training exercises.
• Environmentally and physically safe campus. by identifying legislated and mandated requirements and development of implementation plans (indoor air quality, lead based paints, PCBs, Safe Drinking Water Act, radon, storm water runoff).
• Asbestos surveys.
• Workers' Compensation Insurance
• Implementation plans for legislated and mandated requirements.
• Sprinkler systems in 100% of the high-rise buildings

 Goal 5. Technology: Focus on the advancement, application and integration of technology.

Critical Success Factors

• Full-service websites for each department outlining services and how to get things done.
• Employees effectively trained on computer and software use.
• Websites as the primary service directive for information and requesting work or the status of projects.
• E-commerce is the goal of all employees to improve service and reduce workload

Goal 6. Financial Management: Create an organizational structure to sustain effective and efficient management of financial resources and university operations during periods of unprecedented growth and change.

Critical Success Factors

• Successful integration of new university requirements into the Operations Division.
• Single-point accountability in one office for facility reporting.
• Space management program in the Operations Division.
• Classroom utilization is 27.5% and classroom lab utilization is 14.3%.

 -Dharmendra Vyas (Hypertech Engineering)
www.hypertechengineering.com

Hypertech Engineering - Buiding Construction & Project Management

WE HAVE STARTED OUR SERVICE IN BUILDING CONSTRUCTION & PROJECT MANAGEMENT UNDER NAME OF "Hypertech Engineering"

“HYPERTECH ENGINEERING” ESTABLISHED BY MR. DHARMENDRA VYAS (B.E-CIVIL, M.TECH-PROJECT MANAGEMENT)

 MR. DHARMENDRA VYAS POSSES TOTAL 6 YEARS ONSITE EXPERIENCE IN CIVIL
ENGINEERING & PROJECT MANAGEMENT WITH COMPANIES LIKE WAPCOS, L&T, KRAHEJA, ESSAR.

WHAT WE DO:
CONTRACTOR SUPPORT:
▶ CIVIL & STRUCTURAL WORK
▶INTERIOR WORK
▶INDUSTRIAL FLOORING - EPOXY & TREMIX
▶PARTITION PANEL –GYPSUM,AEROCON & PUF
CONSULTANCY SERVICE:
 ▶ ENGINEERING & DESIGN
 ▶ PROJECT MANAGEMENT
 ▶ PROJECT SYSTEM ANALYSIS & DESIGN