Why Young Managers should know about Inventory Operations
When a management student passes out from college and is absorbed into any business organization, if he is lucky he will get to spend a few months in getting orientation in all departments before being assigned to a particular department or function at the end of the induction program. Those who get to be assigned […]
Global Race between American and Chinese Firms for Profitability and Survival
The Global Race between American and Chinese Firms There is an intense and uber competitive race going on between American and Chinese firms for profitability and indeed, sheer survival. Ever since the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 hit the world economy, transnational firms have seen their profits dip, and indeed, some of them had to […]
Components of a Process
Events: Events are the conditions which must exist for the process to be performed. It is something that happens as opposed to something that is done on purpose. It can think of as the effect which occurs after sufficient cause is provided. Each process starts and ends with an event. Tasks: A task is the […]
Supply Chain Management – Definition and importance of its strategies
Definition of Supply Chain Management If you go to a Supermarket and pick up a few items off the shelf from electronics and white goods or even clothes and look at the labels, the chances are that you will find them having been manufactured in China or Mexico. The coffee pods you buy to use […]
The Pros and Cons of Defense Spending
There are some nations in the world who manufacture their own defense equipment. However, a majority of the countries outsource their production activity to private companies abroad. Companies like Lockheed Martin are known to extensively take contracts from foreign governments. Regardless of whether the money is spent locally or given to foreign contractors, the amount […]
In the digital age, information technology plays an important role in the success of an organization. Technology provides edge in this globalized world. Companies are facing competition not only from local companies but from international companies as well.
In such a scenario, it is important that company invest in technology which is aligned with overall strategy of the company. This calls for Mb>technology strategy formulation.
Technology strategy formulation talks about alignment between technology strategy and the overall strategy of the organization. Here the role of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) comes into prominence.
The CIO should have short term as well as long term vision of technology advancement. CIO should bridge implication of technology advancement and organization strategy. A clear communication of technology impact on organization needs to reach executive leadership.
This alignment between CIO and CEO revolves around issues like:
CIO faces challenge to provide technology value adds for organization in achieving its objective.
Corporate planning plays an important role in alignment of technology with organization strategy. In a perfect scenario CIO and CEO will have a same planning horizon. However, it is observed that the CEO and CIO do not share same vision, from planning to execution.
This introduces the concept of planning lead time. In some organization, strategy execution does not match to technology planning horizon and execution. By the time technology strategy is executed, more advancement is observed in that system, thus competitive edge is lost.
In the above scenario, companies become reactive rather than pro-active. Companies need to adjust with challenges posed by market leaders and trend setters. A strong CIO-CEO relationship ensure organization develop understanding of technological challenges and its impact on overall organization.
Organization needs to ensure that their structure is agile and flexible as to accommodate changes in the technology. They should be efficient and effective enough to deal demands of the market change.
Organization needs to develop and maintain technology systems, which are flexible and adaptive. There are three types of technology infrastructure available with companies’ ERP, data warehousing and knowledge management.
All three dimensions ERP, Data Warehousing and Knowledge Management provide cutting edge to the organization.
Organization invests in technology looking at its present needs; future requirements and its capability to provide a competitive edge. Systems can be classified into three categories depending upon technology timeline, new systems, matured systems and declining systems.
New systems have latest technology and provide a competitive edge. As time progresses system and technology are adopted by more companies, thus losing competitive edge. Finally, systems and technology reach the obsolete stage where its usage has declined and is to be phased out.
Executive leadership of organizations is responsible to manage new systems range as to enjoy competitive edge. However, this requires substantial investment and clear vision of future technology state. Therefore, organization has to walk a tight rope in investment in new technology and phasing out the obsolete.
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Communication Systems and Groupware – Information System Concepts that Apply in All Functional Areas of Business
February 12, 2025
