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Use w ith Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Management Information SystemsBy Effy Oz & Andy Jones
www.cengage.co.uk/oz
Chapter 2: Strategic Uses of
Information Systems
Use w ith Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Objectives
• Explain what business strategy and strategic
moves are
• Illustrate how information systems can give
businesses a competitive advantage
• Identify basic initiatives for gaining a
competitive advantage
• Explain what makes an information system a
strategic information system
Use w ith Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Objectives (continued)
• Identify fundamental requirements for
developing strategic information systems
• Explain circumstances and initiatives that
make one IT strategy succeed and another fail
Use w ith Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Strategy and Strategic Moves
• Strategy: plan to gain advantage over enemy
• Business strategy is plan to outperform competitors
– Done by creating new opportunities, not
beating rivals
• Strategic Information System: Information system
that create and seize opportunities
• Strategic Advantage: Using strategy to maximize
company strengths
Use w ith Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Porter’s Five Forces Model
Use w ith Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Achieving a Competitive Advantage
• Many initiatives used to gain competitive
advantage
• Strategies aim to maximize competitive
advantage
• Strategic moves often consist of combination
of two or more initiatives
• Essence of strategy is innovation
Use w ith Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Achieving a Competitive Advantage
(continued)
Use w ith Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Achieving a Competitive Advantage
(continued)
Use w ith Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Initiative 1: Reduce Costs
• Customers want to pay little for service
• Reduce costs to lower price
• Automation greatly reduces costs
• Web can automate customer service
Use w ith Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Initiative 2: Raise Barriers to Market
Entrants
• Less competition is better for company
• Raise barriers to entrants to lower competition
• Techniques include obtaining copyrights and
patents on inventions, techniques, and services
• Building unmatchable information systems
blocks entrants
Use w ith Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Initiative 3: Establish High Switching
Costs
• Switching costs: incurred when customer
stops buying from company and starts buying
from another company
– Explicit: charge customer for switching
– Implicit: indirect costs over period of time
• High switching costs locks in customers
Use w ith Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Initiative 4: Create New Products or
Services
• Having unique product or service gives
competitive advantage
• First mover: organisation that is first to offer a
new product or service
– Superior brand name, better technology, more
experience
• Critical mass: body of clients that is large
enough to attract other clients
Use w ith Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Initiative 5: Differentiate Products or
Services
• Product differentiation: persuading
customers that product is better than
competitors’
– Achieved through advertising
– Exemplified by brand name success
– Promotes brand name
Use w ith Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Initiative 6: Enhance Products or
Services
• Enhance existing products or services to
increase value to consumer
• Many products and services have been
enhanced by the Web
Use w ith Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Initiative 7: Establish Alliances
• Alliance: two companies combining services
– Makes product more attractive
– Reduces costs
– Provides one-stop shopping
• Affiliate program: linking to other companies
and rewarding the linker for click-throughs
Use w ith Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Initiative 7: Establish Alliances
(continued)
Use w ith Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Initiative 8: Lock in Suppliers or
Buyers
• Accomplished by achieving bargaining power
• Bargaining power: leverage to influence buyers
and suppliers
– Achieved by being major competitor or
eliminating competitors
– Uses purchase volume as leverage
• Lock in clients by creating high standards
Use w ith Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Creating and Maintaining Strategic
Information Systems
• Many opportunities to accomplish competitive edge
with information technology
• Innovative software establishes competitive advantage
• Strategic information systems created from scratch or
modified from previous system
– Must serve organisation goal
– Must collaborate with other functional units of
company
Use w ith Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Creating an SIS
• Strategic information system must be part of
the overall organisational strategic plan
• Precisely measuring financial output of SIS is
difficult
Use w ith Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Creating an SIS (continued)
Use w ith Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Reengineering and organisational
Change
• To implement SIS, organisations must rethink
way of operation
• Reengineering: Eliminating and rebuilding
operations from the ground up
– Involves new machinery and elimination of
management layers
– Achieves huge efficiency improvements
• New SIS requires businesses to revamp processes
Use w ith Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Competitive Advantage as a Moving
Target
• Competitive advantage is often short-lived
• organisations imitating leader diminishes
advantage
• SIS has become expected business practice
• Company must modify and enhance technology to
sustain competitive advantage
Use w ith Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
JetBlue: A Success Story
• JetBlue: US airline company that entered a
formerly hurting market with great success
– Ticketless travel
– Automation with IT
– Reduced costs
– Improved service
Use w ith Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Massive Automation
• JetBlue used Open Skies software to automate
ticket handling
– Greatly reduced travel agent fees
• Maintenance information system logs airplane
parts and time cycles
• Flight planning automated with application
• Training management system eliminates need
for paper records
Use w ith Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Away from Tradition
• JetBlue used innovative technique for routing
airplanes
– Take most profitable route between cities
• Keeping flight manuals on laptop computers
allows for paperless cockpits
– Saves time associated with calculating weight
of plane
Use w ith Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Enhanced Service
• JetBlue offers better service
– Leather seats
– Real-time television
– Fewest mishandled bags
– Better security
Use w ith Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Impressive Performance
• Most important metric in airline industry is
cost per available seat-mile
– Measures how much it costs to fly a passenger
one mile
• JetBlue has lowest or second lowest CASM
– (Cost per Airline Mile Seat)
– Less than 7 cents
Use w ith Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Late Mover Advantage
• Late mover: enters the market later than other
competitors
– Can be viewed as advantage
– Implements latest available technologies
– Not burdened with legacy systems
• JetBlue used 40% beta software
Use w ith Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Ford on the Web: A Failure Story
• Some strategic moves end up being colossal
failures
• May fail because of lack of attention to details
• Unable to predict customer or business partner
response
• Jacque Nasser, CEO of Ford: ideas failed
Use w ith Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
The Ideas
• Nasser eager to push company to Web
• Install devices in vehicles to enable drivers and
passengers to access Web
• Establish Web site to market parts with
auctions
• Push vehicle sales to Web
Use w ith Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Hitting the Wall
• Customers not interested in Web access in
vehicles
• Other car companies learned to use online part
auctioning
• Franchising laws do not allow car companies
to bypass dealers
• Online sales initiative failed
Use w ith Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
The Retreat
• Ford abandoned plan to sell directly online
• Web site was used instead to select proper
model only
• Site sold cars but not enough to save Nasser’s
job
Use w ith Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
The Bleeding Edge
• Ford case shows being first mover is risky
• Pioneers can be burned even with careful
planning
• Bleeding edge: failure occurring because of
company trying to be on leading edge
– Implementation costs are greater than
anticipated
– Technology ends up losing money for company
Use w ith Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
The Bleeding Edge (continued)
• Due to bleeding edge, companies wait before
implementing newer technologies
• Microsoft’s approach is to seize existing idea,
improve, and promote with marketing power
– Also known as competing by emulating and
improving
Use w ith Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Summary
• Some information systems have become strategic
tools as a result of strategic planning
• Strategic information systems help companies
gain strategic advantage
• Company achieves strategic advantage by using
strategy to maximize its strength
Use w ith Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Summary (continued)
• Various initiatives to establishing advantage
– Cost reduction, raising barriers to competitors,
establishing high switching costs, new
products, differentiating products, enhancing
products, alliances, and locking suppliers
• Creating standards establishes strategic
advantage in software industry
Use w ith Management Information Systems 1e
By Effy Oz & Andy Jones ISBN 9781844807581
© 2008 Cengage Learning
Summary (continued)
• Reengineering is process of designing a
business process from scratch to accommodate
new information systems
• Strategic advances from information systems
are short lived and new opportunities must
always be searched for
• Bleeding edge is the undesirable result of a
failed innovation effort