Adding Value Through Information

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Introduction

This topic is discussing about does IT matter in global business. We also will discuss about how IT can support the business goal of achieving competitive advantage. Firstly, I want to describe the meaning of IT (Information technology).

IT (information technology) is a term that encompasses all forms of technology used to create, store, exchange, and use information in its various forms (business data, voice conversations, still images, motion pictures, multimedia presentations, and other forms, including those not yet conceived). It's a convenient term for including both telephony and computer technology in the same word. It is the technology that is driving what has often been called "the information revolution."

Nowadays, information technology is something that very useful to all people in the world. This is because the world is changing dramatically with so many improvements in technology. Then we can said that Information technology is one of the competitive advantage for any organization to be a success in global business. This is because information technology is giving so many advantages to the organization to complete and to compete with their competitor.

Competitive advantage occurs when an organization acquires or develops an attribute or combination of attributes that allows it to outperform its competitors. These attributes can include access to natural resources, such as high grade ores or inexpensive power, or access to highly trained and skilled personnel human resources. New technologies such as robotics and information technology can provide competitive advantage, whether as a part of the product itself, as an advantage to the making of the product, or as a competitive aid in the business process.

Objective

This research that i done is about information technology as a competitive advantages in global business. There are a few objectives of my research. I also develop there is 4 main objective of this task. The objective is:

To describe whether IT is important in global business

To develops how IT effect the global business

To discuss the about information technology with the global business

To develop what is the competitive advantages in global business

There are a number of ways in which IT can support the global business’s goal of achieving competitive advantage. In particular, IT is about information an adding value to the customer through the use of information.

Supporting

Firstly and at a basic level can provide the technology and system to support the core business activities so that processes work more effectively, reliably, and in ways which are more accessible, enjoyable and more stimulating for the customer.

In some ways, I see IT as the function within your business that exists in order to search for simplicity. By simplicity I mean both internally and externally is making it easier and more low cost for the business to deliver so that it become more reliable, and a better place to work. Externally you have a role in making your customer live simpler so that they enjoy doing business with you.

To be able to support your business in this way, IT should be the function that continually asks a question " how we can do it better?". To do this, you need to be good at learning from success and failure and simply looking at problem in different way. Mastery of the internal process permits IT teams to creates new way of operating so that the business can archieve more with less.

Value adding IT function also support business growth by indentify or facilitating ways to restructure the business or by changing management process. Alternatively, high performing IT function enable the business to respond faster and more flexibly.

Linking

IT can link the various activities that the global business uses to deliver value to its customer. In other word, it can link different system, so that they appear to be one and are seamless to the outside world. This can be an internal role or undertaken across organizational borders.

For example, a bank will draw on a number of system to support savings, mortgage and loan products, relationship management activities and outsources call center to deliver to its customer. IT has to pull all these together in a cohesive and effective way.

Equally, I think linking also about collaboration. The ability of IT to facilitate organizational learning across boundaries or to provide the organization with the insight that enable it to find new ways of doing things or better solutions.

Alongside, IT can offer new ways to operate in partnership with partners, and established a way of operating that becomes an industry norm. this is because a barrier to the entrance of new competitors to your marketplace, or make it difficult for customer to switch to a competitor.

Clearly, IT also must be alert to the opportunities that presented and should be leading the discussion within the company about option , benefits and problem in global business. With the enchanched understanding of how your business completes you should be in strong position to show how outsourcing can provide opportunities to simplify, reduce cost, or allow the business to focus its resources on those activities which really provide a competitive edge.

Reducing competitive pressures

In related way, IT can help to reduce the pressure to the company feels as a result of the competitive environment in which it operates.

As noted above, IT can help to establish new industry standards so that it becomes harder for new competitor to enter. Similarly, by changing the way in which you use IT to manage the relationship with your suppliers you may be able to alter your relative bargaining position, and hence provide the opportunity for your purchasing department to get better prices or more flexible contracts.

You can also distance yourself from the competition by simply raising the levels of efficiency and effectiveness of your system, either through re-engineering or improved simplicity or reliability.

Adding value through information

Alternatively, IT can improve the value of a product or service by in increasing the amount of information, either within the product itself or in its supply. For example, a library contains high levels of information in its products (the books) and very little information in term of the process and supply. By contrast, there is very limited information in the product of an oil refinery (petrol and diesel), but there are substantial volume of information within the supply chain from the oilfield through the refinery, transportation and the distribution and supply.

However, better still are those products and services which evidence high levels of information and hence value in both the product and the supply chain. Banking and insurance are example of this. I say ‘better’. Because the greater the value and the use of information in the product and supply, the greater the probability of the business. Additionally, IT enjoys greater importance in those companies that compete in this way.

This discussion of information has so far been externally focused, yet IT would be more readily recognized in term of its role of managing information inside the organization. After all, It is the function that store, processes and distributes data. If management of the data is effective, it will also create new knowledge and understanding.

To fulfill your potential in this regard, you need to understand the uses to which information will be applied and therefore the ways in which you need to present it to the business.

Operational data is used for, day to day activities such as transactional processing and financial control. It tend to be structured and needs to be highly accurate, reliable and delivered at speed.

Tactical information is more concern about improving the performance of the business and allowing management to take day-to-day decisions. In that sense it will include performance reporting and again needs to be accurate and delivered in a timely fashion. However, it may also allow to make some predictions. Systems will need to contain filters, so the only important material is immediately accessible, and managers are provided with that they need, rather than what is available.

Finally, there is the information provided to facilitate strategic debate, exploration and decision making. This information will be more unstructured, derived from a much wider range of source and will not necessarily be as accurate of the as the former. It also needs to be provided in a way that can be readily manipulated and investigated by management.

Innovation and new technologies

Clearly, IT has a role in alert in alerting the board to new and involving technologies. Equally, IT must open the board’s mind to how existing and new technology are being used in other industries and how they can be applied in your own business.

Just because iPod’s started out supplying music to youth market hasn’t meant that this is the only application. Other business in other sectors is taking advantage of its capabilities in a wide variety of ways. Example is the the sale of audio books by way of download has multiple many time over.

When considering innovation it is therefore important that IT not only looks at or technology itself, but also at new ways of using it. You should seek to identify how it can be deployed to improve the performance of your company at various stages of the supply chain, including the interface between your company and your suppliers, your company and your customers.

Equally important to the company is the capability of IT to implement those technologies better than the competition.

Sometimes, it is about being first, and hence an IT function that can take a concept and turn it into operating reality on the ground faster than the competition provides real advantage for its company. Given that so many product and services innovations derive from technological advance, and many are rely on IT system to deliver them your importance cannot be overstated.

Conclusion

As we can see, IT is very important in global business because it give many benefit to a business organization whether it is nationally or internationally. There are so many importance of technology nowadays. It can be use in global business. Advance in technology shape the products and services of the future and offer opportunity for innovative organization to increase their value to the stream of economic activity.

Information technology is particularly important because it is pervasive in the process leading to advances in the most other activities. All activities create, transport, disseminate, or use information. Advances in IT have a compounding effect on technological advances everywhere. Accordingly, information technology is exerting a remarkable and profound effect on worldwide competition.

Advancing technology is important because it alters industry structure, shapes and molds competitive forces within and between companies and industries, and thereby changes forever the behavior patterns of billions of individuals. Technology for its own sake is not important. What is important is its dramatic impact on society as a whole.

As a conclusion, we can conclude that IT as a competitive advantage in global business because it help business to cooperate and to growth a business rapidly fast. Without the help of IT in global business, it is hard for any organization to operate very well. In order to maintain their company, they must fully utilize the available function of IT.