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Basic strategies that an organisation can employ to obtain competitive advantage and the role
of information technology in each case.
Strategies refer to long term objectives and goals and the ways by which these will be
achieved. These include:
1. Information strategy
The proliferation of computers in commercial applications has put commercial
organisations on a competitive advantage.
A strategy for information systems can be justified based on the following reasons:
i) Information technology is critical to the success of many organisations as it involves
the collection of timely and accurate information for decision-making.
ii) Information technology can be used as a commercial strategy in the battle for
competitive advantage. It can be used to improve productivity and performance
through such facilities as the computer aided design (CAD) and computer integrated
manufacturing.
iii) Information technology for information strategies is required in the economic
context and can produce dramatic changes in individual businesses and whole
industries especially where there are other major forces for change.
iv) It involves many stakeholders namely consumers and not just management within
the organisation‘s consumers test IT based products through tele-shopping thus a
strategically placed business will obviously provide a competitive advantage.
Information strategies can cover 3 areas:
i) Information system strategy – This refers to the long term directional plan which is
business led, demand oriented and concerned to exploit information technology to
support business strategies or create new strategic options.
ii) Information technology strategy – this is a product of information systems strategy
that deal with technologies. It provides a framework for the analysis and design of
technological infrastructure of an organisation.
iii) Information management strategy: - this refers to the basic approach an organisation
has to the management of information systems such as planning, organising
controlling of system development methodologies.
2. Product strategies.
This refers to strategies employed by businesses to ensure that their products remain the
market leaders in terms of quality and productivity. Product strategies are used to ensure
that the producer of a particular product provides the best required satisfaction in his
products so that consumers are convinced that the products they are consuming are
superior than others produced by other producers.
Information technology can be used by the producer who is pursuing a product strategy,
to improve productivity, performance and quality. This can be achieved through such
techniques as: -
? Computer Aided design (CAD) which is used to design better products and make them
appear more superior.
? Computer integrated manufacturing which can be used to automate the manufacturing
system
3. Market strategy
These are strategies used by business organisations to ensure that they remain or attain
the status of market leaders within their markets. Marketing is the management process
that identifies, anticipates, and supplies customer requirements efficiently and profitably.
The key to achieving organisational goals consists of being more effective than
competitors in integrating marketing activities towards determining and satisfying the
needs and wants of target markets.
Information technology can be used as a market strategic weapon to develop new
businesses. For example, the creation of an electronic market place where subscribers can
trade via terminals. Information technology has provided such facilities as the internet
where buyers can access seller‘s web and place orders via the internet. Also, other
technologies such as Electronic Data interchange (EDI) and Electronic commerce (e-
commerce) are all market strategies.
gregorymasila answered the question on November 30, 2017 at 12:09
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