Download Using Information Systems to Compete: A Success Factor Profile

Using Information Systems to Compete:
A Success Factor Profile
Chapter 12
Chapter Objectives
What you should get out of Chapter 12
• Familiarize and be able to recognize
‘factors’ that lead companies to be highly
successful
• You should then be able to apply the key
Success Factors to any company you
analyze
Figure 12-1
This chart lists key success
factors that make up 150
different organizations.
Organizational Improvement
Three Essential Elements
Tools
Which one is most
important?
Culture
Processes
Source: www.cse.ucsc.edu
Business Vision
• A documented picture into the future that
takes into consideration logical &
achievable goals that can be both
understood and accepted throughout the
organization.
Consider the Following...
• What will the business
look like in 10 years?
20 years? The Future?
• What has to be done to
ensure that the
company remains
highly viable into the
future?
Culture
• The environment of the company.
• A senior-management, value-driven factor.
• A certain feeling your company or
organization projects
Culture
• The ‘culture’ of the
company should
reflect the customer
service level as well as
the quality of products
and services.
Risk Management
• Where should the organization take risks?
• Is the organization willing to take a risk in
acquiring and marketing products?
• Risk assessment should include information
systems exposure and impact on the
business.
Plan Implementation
• Planning should be viewed as a process.
• The plan can and will change at any time.
The organization should be aware of this as
the dynamics of major business factors will
make it logical to do so.
Information Systems Integral to
the Business
• How integral is information systems to the
business?
• If information systems stopped functioning,
what would happen to the organization?
• What would be the answer to the above
question 5 or 10 years from now?
• What happens to the products and service if
information systems stops?
Information Systems Justification
Process
• Save or Make Money?
• What does a company
gain as they commit
increasing funding for
information systems?
• Financial Strategies of
the organization in
allotting capital to
information systems.
Executive and Information Systems
Management Partnership
• Senior Management & the Information
Systems Manager working together have to
gain an ongoing working relationship.
• Senior Management has to view information
systems as an integral and viable part of the
company’s success.
• It is also essential that information systems
management understand the business and its
philosophies.
Executive Information Systems
Experience
• Do Senior Executives
have experience in
dealing with
information systems?
• They often lack the
respect of information
systems and the
integral part it plays.
Executive Information Systems
Experience
• Executives must accept and understand the
role of information systems.
• All business departments should understand
each others department.
• For example: Accounting should understand
the role of Human Resource. Management
should understand the roll of information
systems. Finance should understand the roll of
sales, etc...
Operational Automation
• Opportunity! Operations is where emphasis
has traditionally been placed by most
companies.
• Is the current allotment of capital sufficient
to support and grow information systems?
• Do these expenditures relate to the
competitive advantages of the company?
Linkage to Suppliers and/ or
Other Business Partners
• Just-in-Time
• Take a broad look at the
value and use of more,
better or more timely
information in the entire
spectrum of the business
relationship with
suppliers or other
business partners.
Linkage to Customers
• Is it possible to redefine the value of products
and services to the customer through more,
better or more accessible information?
• Should the delivery process also be redefined?
• Will the delivery process be as important as the
products themselves because of enhanced
information content?
Linkage to Customer Service
Information Systems
System
Vendor System
Service Personnel
Customer Personnel
Product for online diagnostics
Pervasive Computing Literacy
• Is the computer literacy of the people in the
organization good enough to effectively
utilize more advanced systems that have a
competitive advantage objective?
• Knowledge Management ,making it
available
• Collecting and Maintaining it
Information Systems Architecture
• There is a need for both systems flexibility
and a quicker response to business needs.
• Systems architecture is crucial to the
infrastructure. Why?
Information Systems Architecture
• Architect:
Someone who can understand the vision of
the organization and put in place a logical,
long-range plan that has high odds of being
able to respond to future business
requirements.
Information Systems Marketing
• It is crucial that the organization accept
information systems within the organization. This
is the only way to gain a sustainable competitive
advantage though the use of these same systems.
• Provide a value-added resource
• Marketing effort should include all of the same
factors that any marketing organization would
address in dealing with and servicing a customer.
Information Systems and User
Relations
• Continue to build and maintain an ongoing
relationship between the information
systems organization and users.
Too Many Factors...
• ??? Why so many
factors?
• Is it clear as to why
companies using these
factors are successful?
• Differences in
companies utilize
different factors.
• Can you compare WalMart to McKesson?
• Can you compare
Target to Dillards?
• Can you compare
Boeing to GM?
Examples of Companies
Federal Express
• Known for time-sensitive overnight
delivery that you can truly count on!
• $8 billion in revenue in 1994
• Over 2 million packages on average
annually shipped thoughout all of the US
and 186 different countries.
Federal Express
• Started the norm that other companies such
as the US Postal service and UPS have had
to use as a benchmark.
• Old day scenario: “three days and hope”
based on the US Postal Service delivery
schedules.
• Revolutionized the time factor!
Federal Express
• Company Vision:
“absolutely, positively overnight service”
• Company Culture:
Culture is very customer focused.
• The acceptance of the company vision &
culture has resulted in the acceptance and use
of information systems as a better way to
achieve their customer service objectives.
Federal Express
Executive & Information Systems Management
Partnership:
• ongoing working relationship is an integral
component of the entire Fed Ex distribution
system.
• Fed Ex recognizes the fact that Information
Systems needs to play an active and key role in
the management structure to carry out the vision
and even the daily operations of the company.
Federal Express
• Fed Ex has a reputation of reliable service
because of its state-of-the-art information
technology. It was used to develop an
innovative distribution system.
• IT was utilized to automate the distribution
process.
• Utilizing IT in this manner improved
efficiency, effectiveness, and proved a
competitive advantage to competitors.
Federal Express
A Link to the Customer
• ability to pinpoint
where a package is at
any time in the
shipping process
• this value add in has
improved customer
service while at the
same time reducing
costs for the company
British Airways
Success Factor Profile
• largest international
carrier in the world
• has consistently
earned a profit for the
last 10 years
British Airways
Success Factor Profile
• Vision:
Customer service drives the vision of British
Airways.
• Vision was to build profitably the world’s premier
global alliance, with a presence in all major world
markets.
• Employees knew full well where the airline
wanted to be in the future.
British Airways
Culture
• Culture change!
• You have to be willing to change to survive
and grow.
• “Putting People First” was implemented
into the company to raise company morale.
• Business improved as service improved.
British Airways
Information Systems Integral to the Business
• Information content is a huge factor in the
airline business.
For example:
• passenger reservation system
• yield management system
• flight operations system
British Airways
Executive and Information Systems Management Partnership
• Many of the people employed at British
Airways had experience in areas of
information systems as well as business.
• Executives realized the need of IT and its
role in the organization.
British Airways
Information Systems Architecture
• To be a great company,
executives know that a
robust systems
architecture had to be
implemented.
• Anticipating future
trends in technology is
what keeps the company
ahead.
Source: key3media.com
Conclusion
• The Success Factor Profile can be used as a
planning vehicle to identify key factors that must
be addressed for an organization to use
information systems to gain a competitive
advantage.
• Can also be very effective in terms of
summarizing the reasons why a specific company
was able to gain a competitive advantage through
the use of information systems.
The End!