Pressures and key functions of I.T within a business
Businesses encounter many pressures and therefore must place organisational responses and I.T support in place, in order to equip the business properly and effectively.
There is a competitive advantage when business increase their cost, quality, or speed which gains them profits that are larger than average and they also gain control within the market. Although there are some benefits to change aspects of the business, some changes in the business environment can create different types of pressures on organizations. These include market pressures (such as competition and changing nature of the workforce), technology pressures (overload of new technology and information) and political and legal pressures (ethics and government regulations).
A huge market pressure that is relevant today is the changing nature of the workforce. I think it is amazing that the workforce has become more diverse with more women, single parents, and disabled people working. I.T really helps involve and encourages individuals to come together. But its not only the workers we have to consider. The costumers are actually quite powerful and they are filled with so much more knowledge about I.T and the workplace. A really great thing that some business do is create a relationship with their customers, which allows organization to study customers to predict their needs and wants, however this does become difficult when there are so many people to accommodate and the rapid change in culture forces a pressure to keep up with consumer demands. I.T has allowed for make-to-order: which involves producing customised products and services. It has also allowed for mass customization, which is producing customised products and services in large quantity. Also organizations need tools that allow them to handle the ever growing and changing demands that come in. Complying with government regulations can place strains on organization within a business, however it is for the businesses overall wellbeing as it keeps up with all security systems to avoid terrorist or cyber attacks.
Businesses can create specific activities where workers can use competitive strategies for best impact. Primary activities include marketing, sales, and services. Support activities include having a human recourses team and a research and development team.
Business-IT Alignment is when the I.T functions with a specific goal, strategy or mission for the organization. Characteristics of a good business I.T alignment is when the organisation provide clear goals to IT and other business functions, they view their customers and customer service functions as important, IT employees understand how the company operates and have an inclusive company culture.
Gray, H., Issa, T., Pye, G., Troshani, I., Rainer, R. K., Prince, B., & Hugh, J. W. (2015). Management
information systems. Wiley.
Hey Abi, I like how you've overviewed this week's lesson in the first paragraph and went more deeper into the content throughout the paragraphs to follow. For example, you briefly talked about "market pressures (such as competition and changing nature of the workforce)" in the introductory paragraph then gave a relevant example of what that looks like in paragraph 2. Overall, I like all the content and detail you have put into this post, good job.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great, detailed summary of the chapter 2 information. You worked through the content, explaining it in detail and providing your take on the way it has affected humanity. 5 stars!!!
ReplyDeleteWell written summary as it is detailed and covered the learning objectives of the chapter. I agree with the statement "Businesses can create specific activities where workers can use competitive strategies for best impact", because the activities the business initiates, creates not only a high competitive advantage but also a chance for employees and employers to work together to be a better company. Great Work!
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