Blog 1: Information and Competitive Advantages

What is the role of information technology? Actually, what I learn in the previous HRIS in the topic of “Using Information System for Gaining Competitive Advantage” class are the information technology can substantially increase process efficiencies, can improves communication and also can facilitates collaboration. Technology as a driver and the cause that can makes the business being competitive and changes the way that business can compete to one and another.

            I learn also about “what is strategic information system?” A strategic information system is any information that uses Information Technology (IT) to help an organization gain a competitive advantage, reduce a competitive disadvantage or meet other strategic enterprise objectives.

            When the organization uses the technology to enhance their efficiency of business to make them compete effectively with their competitor (Yrle et al., 2004), it’s actually thinks about the competitive forces. The forces are the rivalry of competitors in the same industry, the new comers or entrance, the substitute products that can capture the market share, customers and suppliers bargaining power. All of that are the forces that can make a business wake up and find the strategies to counter back the forces.

Every business wants a success more than their competitors. So, to success the business must develop strategies to counter the forces. In the chapter, I learn about five competitive strategies that business can be used as key important to compete with their competitors. The fist one is take a look in cost leadership. In look in cost effective is actually become low-cost producers, help to reduce costs for suppliers or customers and increase cost to competitors. For example, Proton reduces their cost by merger with Frizer-Nash Researcher (FNR) in development of green technology. Second, differentiation strategy – make your business different with your competitors. Be unique and differentiate a company’s products from our competitor product and also focus on a particular segment of market. For example, Proton make them unique compared to their competitors in Malaysia when become a global automotive company. Third is an innovation strategy. Its include to become unique products, services, or markets and radical changes to business  processes such as in 2014, Proton want to build the car than have hybrid technology for save the environment. In growth strategy, it diversity into new products or services, it expands the capacity to produce and also into the global markets. The last one is alliance strategy. These establish linkages and alliances with customers, suppliers, competitors, consultants, and other companies. Also includes mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and virtual companies. For example, Proton always has linkage to their customer and build turbo engine after get the feedback from their customer with the program with Lotus for engine development.