CHAPTER 3 : STRATEGIC INITIATIVES FOR IMPLEMENTING COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES

Organizations can undertake high-profile strategic initiatives including :

• Supply chain management (SCM)
• Customer relationship management (CRM)
• Business process reengineering (BPR)
• Enterprise resource planning (ERP)

• involves the management of information flows between and among stages in a supply chain to maximize total supply chain effectiveness and profitability. 
• parties involve- supplier, manufacture and retailer.
• involves the management and transfer of information
• four basic components of supply chain management include :
• Supply chain strategy - strategy for managing all resources to meet customer demand.When it is able to order, records and find supplier
• Supply chain partner - partners throughout the supply chain that deliver finished products, raw materials and services. When selected suppliers, deal with suppliers, they will manage all of the raw materials.
• Supply chain operation - schedule for production activities. Transform the raw materials become products.
• Supply chain logistics - product delivery process.

• Wal-Mart and Procter & Gamble (P&G) SCM 

• Effective and efficient SCM systems can enable an organization to :
• decrease the power of its buyers.
• increase its own supplier power.
• increase switching costs to reduce the threat of substitute products or services.
• create entry barriers thereby reducing the threat of new entrants.
• increase efficiencies while seeking a competitive advantage through cost leadership. For example Wall-Mart ( cheap and biggest of market.

• Effective and efficient SCM systems effect on Porter's Five Forces

• involves managing all aspects of a customer's relationship with an organization to increase customer loyalty and retention and an organization's profitability.
• many organizations, such as Charles Schwab and Kaiser Permanente, have obtained great success through the implementation of CRM systems. for example, Kaiser Permanente focus on diabetes and do CRM system through the data.
• CRM is not just technology, but a strategy, process, and business goal that an organization must embrace on an enterprise wide level.
• CRM can enable an organization to :
• identify types of customer. (sale of goods, the target age)
• design individual customer marketing campaigns
• treat each customer as an individual
• understand customer buying behaviors.
• CRM overview

• Business process - a standardized set of activities that accomplish a specific task, such as processing a customer's order. (when someone phones, only certain people can answer. if no one, no one will answer)
• Business process reengineering (BPR) - the analysis and redesign of workflow within and between enterprises.

• A company can improve the way it travels the road by moving from foot to horse and then horse to car.
• BPR looks at taking a different path, such as an airplane which ignore the road completely.

• Progressive Insurance Mobile Claims Process.

• Types of change an organization can achieve, along with the magnitudes of change and the potential business benefit.

• automate : answer the call, the first use of the service. now use the computer.
• streamline : first, the electricity must pay to Bank Islam. now only through the online.
• BPR : first ride, walk, car. now, plane.
• strategic reengineering : before this, any accidents, difficult to claim. now simple.

• integrates all departments and functions throughout an organization into a single IT system so that employees can make decisions by viewing enterprise wide information on all business operations.
• keyword in ERP is "enterprise"
• ERP systems collect data from across an organization and correlates the data generating an enterprise wide view

PAST YEAR QUESTION PAPER FOR CHAPTER 1 AND CHAPTER 2

MAR 2012

PART A

1) The four common information sharing cultures include information-functional cultures, information-sharing culture, information-inquiring culture, and information-discovery culture.

Answer: True (Chapter 1)

2) An entry barrier is typically used to influence the rivalry among existing competitors.

Answer: False (Chapter 2)

PART B

1) What is a field concerned with the use of technology in managing and processing information?

Answer: Information technology (Chapter 1)

2)Which of the following represent the order of priority for the three primary organizational key resources?

Answer: People, information, and information technology (Chapter 1)

3)  What refers to application and technologies that are used to gather, provide access to, and analyze data and information to support decision-making efforts?

Answer: Business intelligence (Chapter 1)

 OCTOBER 2012

PART A

1) Information technology (IT) is a field concerned with the use of technology in managing and processing information.

Answer: True (Chapter 1)

2)Support value activities refer to acquire raw materials and manufacture, deliver, market, sell, and provide after sales services.

Answer: False (Chapter 2)

PART B1) Management Information System (MIS) can be defined as:

Answer: A general name for the business function and academic discipline covering the application of people, technologies, and procedures to solve business problems. (Chapter 1)

PART C

1) Explain four (4) organization information cultures. (Chapter 1)

     Organizational information cultures include:
        i) Information-functional culture
       ii) Information-sharing culture
       iii) Information-inquiring culture
       iv) Information-discovery culture
      First is Information-functional culture is employees use information as a means of exercising influence or power over others. For examples, a manager in sales refuses to share information with marketing. This causes marketing to need the sales manager's input each time a new sales strategy is develop. Second is Information-sharing culture is employees across departments trust each other to use information (especially about problem and failure) to improve performance. Third is Information-inquiring culture is employees across departments search for information to better understand the future and align themselves with current trends and new directions. Lastly is Information-discovery culture is employees across departments are open to new insights about crisis and radical changes and seek ways to create competitive advantages.

2) Describe three (3) Porter Generic Strategies. Support your answer with examples. (Chapter 2)

      There have three cost strategy which is cost leadership, differentiation, and focused strategy. Cost leadership focus on selling the cheap product. Differentiation focused on selling the unique product and the price of the product is quick expensive while focused strategy have two type of product which is low cost and high cost. For examples for broad market at low cost is Walmart such as Tesco, Mydin, Giant, and others. For narrow market is Pay less  shoes such as bata. This is because the price is low. For examples broad market at high cost is Neiman Marcus such as Ikea. For narrow market is Tiffany and Co such as rafflesia. The price is quick high because the product are unique compare to others shop.

 MARCH 2013

PART A

1) Switching costs are costs that encourage customers to switch to another product or services.

Answer: False (Chapter 2)

2)Data is information converted into a meaningful and useful context.

Answer: False (Chapter 1)

3) Business-to-business (B2B) is both the sellers and buyers are business organization. B2B represent the vast majority of e-commerce

Answer: False (Chapter 2)

PART B

1) What can IT enable an organization to accomplish?

Answer: Reduce cost, improve productivity, and generate growth (Chapter 1)

2) Organizational information cultures include:

Answer: Information-functional, sharing, inquiring, and discovery culture (Chapter 1)

3) Which of the following statements is true?

Answer: IT enables business success and innovation (Chapter 1)

4) All of the following are principle Business Intelligence enablers, EXCEPT:

Answer: People (Chapter 2)

PART C

1) Describe five (5) primary value activities. (Chapter 2)

      First is receive and store raw materials. As company we should order raw materials from supplier to make the products. So the first thing is receive and store raw materials to make the product. Second is make the product or services. After we make an order and we receive the raw materials, we proceed to make the product as follow as what customer want and need. Third is deliver the product or service. After make the product, we should deliver the product or services to customers, then is market and sell the product or service. After complete make he product, we proceed to selling the product at the market. Lastly is service after the sales. We must always ask customers either they still need or want our product or not, and to make our customers like the product is always make a new one to replace the old product so that the customer will like with our product and our product would famous at everywhere.

CHAPTER 2 : IDENTIFYING COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES

To survive and thrive an organization must create a competitive advantage
- competitive advantage
   a product or service that an organization's customer place a greater value on that similar offerings from a
   competitor. For example, company A produces the same product with the company B but company A
   produces slightly different with the B.
- first-mover advantage
  Is the first company to produce a product. For example, the Air-Asia in the first company to produce a
  package to Indonesia, Bandung, and Sarawak with low prices.

Environmental scanning - the acquisition and analysis of events in the environment external to an
                                      organization. we can not just look at the individual company but we need to see in
                                      the environment external to an organization

Porter's Five Forces Model

Buyer Power
Buyer power - customer power.  For example, a customer, a lot of sellers. so the customer can choose
                       whether to buy at the store which one and for situations where a vendor, customers, clients
                       have to also buy the seller because he was the only vendor there.
One way to reduce buyer power is through loyalty programs.
Loyalty program - though expensive, but worth it.

Supplier Power
Supplier power - when not a lot of options. for example, when floods in the states of Kuantan, the dealer will
                           raise prices because many stores have closed. So, customers have also bought in the store
                           expensive.
Supply chain - parties involved in the selling of raw materials. for example manufactured.

Threat Of Substitute Products Or Services (replacement products)

example : glasses replaced with contact lens, milk replaced with cream
switching cost - if change any other service, will not be able to service the same like haircut.

Rivalry among existing competitors - there is no competition. For example TNB, Telekom, food industry, car
                                                        industry.

THE THREE GENERIC STRATEGIES - CREATING A BUSINESS FOCUS

                  

               Low cost                      High cost

WALMART Ex : Tesco, Mydin -    cheap prices, everyone can go there, all items have	NEIMAN MARCUS Ex : Lorenzo, E-kia -     to customers who want a unique, extensive market
PAYLESS SHOES Ex : Bata      -     focus on selling only shoes	TIFFANY & CORBRAY Ex : Reflesia       -     have a own differentiation,focus on jewelry only

 Broad

 Market

 Narrow

 Market

CHAPTER 1 : BUSINESS DRIVEN TECHNOLOGY

   

      Information technology is importance and everywhere in business. From information technology, there are many benefit in business such as customer service. Through customer service, customers can communicate with a company over the phone only. Customers do not have to bother to go to make an appointment. Second is finance. Through a financial problem, we should not use the calculator as a lot of calculations. We only need to enter data into the system only. System that will matter to us. Next is sales and marketing. Before the existing of information technology, we are only able to sell a product through face to face but it is no longer because with the existing of technology, we can sit at home to create a business that is through on line business. The fourth is IT operations.  Through IT operations, it will facilitate the transfer of a business, such as machinery. This machine is designed to transfer the raw materials to the outputs (product). The fifth is human resources. When to open up job opportunities, we do not need to advertise the offer in the newspapers. We just have on line only. Lastly is security. Before this, we just use security guards or the animals (dogs) to guard us but right now we just need to install CCTV or alarm system only. This will further facilitate our business.

     In information technology (IT), we use something likes i-phone and laptop. This technology use for get informations while management information system (MIS) is one business functions.

     Data - Raw facts that describe the characteristic of an event. For example, a lecture just only keep in a mark from final exam into the system. The system will calculate the total mark with the carry mark so the lecture can get easily the total mark.

     Information - Data converted into a meaningful and useful context. For example, Amir get A because his mark had been added. 

     Business intelligence - Applications and technology that are used to support decision - making efforts. For example, lecture can know how many student get A, B and C.

     In information technology (IT), people, information technology and information are very importance because if people don't have, who can separate the information? .

     Information- functional culture - Concealing information about certain things and only managers know. If we want to know, we must meet with the manager itself. (stingy)

     Information-sharing culture - All the information placed in the system. If we want to know, we just have to open the entire system. (sharing is caring)

     Information-inquiring culture - Through knowledge sharing. If we want to know such information, we shall ask the person skilled in the field.

     Information-discovery culture - An employee looking for information that is not know it. When that information already, he will keep that information into the system so that other workers can also see when needed. Preparing for the future.