Competing with Information Technology Essay Example for Free

Competing with Information Technology Essay Chapter 2 introduces fundamental concepts of competitive advantage through information technology and illustrates major strategic applications of information systems. Information Technology (IT) professionals must understand how to use IT systems and technology to deliver a competitive advantage to the organization. Information systems and technology should provide more than a cost savings benefit to organizations. Today, IT solutions are expected to provide the means to surpass a competitor’s performance. As discussed in Chapter 1, the role of IT professionals is changing. Currently, there is an evolving term, business technology, which is used to describe the emerging role in IT. IT professionals are becoming more and more integrated with the business operations of an organizations. The Real World Case Study 4, IT Leaders: Reinventing IT as a Strategic Business Partner, describes how one organization is reorganizing to better utilize IT to increase business benefits and contribute to a competitive advantage. It is important for an IT organization to utilize IT to reduce the cost of running the business, grow the business, or develop new services to change the business. To position an organization to better provide its products and services, an understanding of the competitive forces is needed. Michael Porter identifies five threats that require business strategies ensure that an organization can out-perform other competitors. They are: 1. Rivalry of competitors within its industry 2. Threat of new entrants 3. Threat posed by substitute products that might capture its market share 4. The bargaining power of customers 5. The bargaining power of suppliers To counteract these threats, competitive strategies must be developed to address the potential risks an organization may encounter as it strives to maintain its position on the market place. The competitive strategies are: 1. Cost Leadership Strategy 2. Differentiation Strategy 3. Innovation Strategy 4. Growth Strategies 5. Alliance Strategies 6. Other Strategies These strategies can be used either individually or in a combination to position an organization to better compete for the future. An example of an organization that is utilizing IT to change how it does business and remain economically viable in the future is the online magazine Cross Talk. In the 1990’s, Cross Talk was printing and mailing the magazine to subscribers. With a decrease in funding, this organization had to develop ways to reduce costs, deliver its services to its subscribers, grow its subscriber base, demonstrate its value above other on-line content providers, and justify why it should not be eliminated. Cross Talk is now available at its new website in either an online digital flipbook format or PDF version—CrossTalk is now completely electronic. This change reduces their carbon footprint and allows them to bring the journal to their readers in their preferred and most convenient format. This is also CrossTalks first step towards reaching new reader devices and enhancing the suitability of the journal for our increasing electronic readership. Customer Value Customer value has become a driving force in the world economy. A key success factor for many organizations is developing customer value by increasing customer loyalty, anticipate their future needs, respond to customer concerns, and provide top-quality customer service. One example is Southwest Airlines. Not only have they automated ticket sales via the Internet, Southwest also sends special offers regarding discounts available at my destination, emails to remind customers that the trip is around the corner, text alerts if a flight is delayed, and offers incentives to fly with them. It seems that Southwest Airlines provides a personal assistant to help make the travel experience more enjoyable. Think about how some of your favorite businesses are creating customer value for you. Internet Technologies Many organizations use Internet technologies to create a strategy to offer fast, responsive, high-quality products and services tailored to a customer’s individual preferences. Internet technologies make customers the focal point of customer relationship management (CRM) and other e-business applications. New technologies such as wikis and blogs are also being incorporated as a means to provide enhanced customer experience. Such communications enable continual interaction with customers by creating a cross-functional collaboration with customers in product development, marketing, delivery, service, and technical support. Television is taking advantage of this capability. TV news shows are reading and answering emails and some reality TV shows allow views to vote for their favorite contestant, preferred ending, or favorite commercial. Using the Internet technologies, business units are better able to shape and offer products and services. Value Chain The value chain is another concept that helps to identify opportunities for strategic information systems. It views an organization as a series of basic activities that add value to its products and services. In this framework, activities are organized into primary and support processes. From the business understanding gained by analyzing an organization’s value chain, the IT organization can determine where to best apply IT systems and technology. The following value chain graphic provides an example of how and where information technologies can be applied to specific business processes to gain a competitive advantage in the market place. Value chain offered by information technologies. Business Reengineering Often times, to remain competitive, an organization must consider more than just where and what IT systems and technology solutions should applied. An organization must look at how it actually does business and then reengineer its business processes. Business reengineering requires an organization to re-design how it does business by eliminating stove-piped, silo organizations and functions, develop an improved understanding for opportunities for information sharing, and instituting enhanced stewardship regarding an organizations data and business processes. Agile Companies The rate of change is increasing and organizations must be able to quickly respond to changing market trends. Standardized, long-lived products and services are giving way to globalized, niche markets which offer products that are individualized and short-lived. To become an agile organization, an organization must consider the following strategies. 1. Provide a solution that customers perceive as a solution to an individual problem. This allows the product to be priced based on value rather than cost to produce. 2. Cooperate with customers suppliers, and other companies to quickly bring the product to market. 3. Thrive on change and uncertainty. 4. Leverage the individuals and knowledge of the processes. Become entrepreneurial in spirit. Knowledge as a Competitive Advantage To remain competitive, organization must become a learning organization. Organizations must be able to capture the knowledge of the organization, learn from this knowledge, and then use it to enhance its offerings. Knowledge Management Systems facilitates an organization’s ability to capture and then utilize its knowledge. Understanding and being able to utilize this unstructured date is key to developing and maintain a competitive advantage. Information capture includes processes, procedures, patents, reference works, best practices, etc. This integration of knowledge helps an organization become an innovative and agile provider of high-quality products and customer services, and potentially a more formidable competitor in the market place. Leaders in information technology are expected to be not only a technology professional but also a business professional. Many are tasked with finding emerging business opportunities, driving growth, encouraging innovation, and engaging customers. This provides a tremendous opportunity for you to step up and co-create and ultimately shape the future business vision. Collaborating with the business will not be enough—you dont just provide the technology but jointly own the success and failure of business initiatives. IT Portfolio Management and Governance An emerging trend is enhanced IT Portfolio Management and Governance as a means to effectively apply IT systems and technology to business needs. According to Richard Spires, DHS CIO, in his blog post entitled Getting Program Governance Right Helps Ensure Success on the federal CIO Council Web site: Complex IT systems encompass at least a half-dozen stakeholder organizations that must be synchronized, including the strategy organization, the business or mission owner of the system, IT, finance, procurement, security, and privacy. Ensuring all key stakeholders are involved in key decisions is an essential element to assuring genuine alignment. Program Governance Boards provide guidance, decision-making, and oversight of one or more programs. The function of the Program Governance Board is not to usurp the authorities of the Program Manager (PM), but rather to provide a forum by which the PM can bring key issues and trade-off decisions to an informed, empowered body that has a vested interest in that program’s success and views the PM as a trusted advisor and true subject matter specialist. IT organizations must determine where to invest time, people, and money in current and new IT systems and services in order to enhance the value of products and services. To do this, many organizations are categorizing offerings into individual portfolios and establishing a strong governance structure to guide the selection and investment into solutions. Enterprise Architecture Organizations are establishing an Enterprise Architecture (EA) to inform, guide and constrain the investment decisions made by governance boards regarding IT systems. The Federal CIO Council defines EA as: Enterprise Architecture is a strategic information asset base, which defines the mission, the information necessary to perform the mission and the technologies necessary to perform the mission, and the transitional processes for implementing new technologies in response to changing mission needs. An enterprise architecture includes a baseline architecture, target architecture (sometimes referred to an as-is and to-be), and a sequencing plan. An EA identifies which processes and IT systems to standardize and integrate. The benefits of an EA are reduction in IT Costs, improved IT responsiveness, guides the proper selection of IT solutions to ensure the accomplishment strategic business outcomes. The components of an enterprise architecture is described in the figure below: Various layers of an enterprise architecture. (Source: NIST) Conclusion How does your organization determine how to invest in IT? You might see if one of your organization’s senior executives is available for a 30 minute meeting to discuss how the organization determines what technologies to invest in as a corporation. Think about questions to ask. Some examples might be: how is an business need identified? How are IT investments justified? Who are your competitors? If you work for an IT consulting firm, you might as how the company decides what contracts it will bid on. It can be said that our use of IT systems and technology is equivalent to when we were using rotary telephones. As you complete your Masters Program at UMUC, remain watchful of emerging trends in the IT industry, how it will be utilized to gain a competitive advantage, and what impact it will have on the skills needed by an IT professional and the organization structure required to take advantage of the advancements in technology. Trends currently occurring that may be worth watching are: cloud computing, software as a service, virtualization, social networks, and mobile computing. It is through developing learning as a life-long habit, remaining aware of trends in the industry, and understanding the impact that technology has on a company’s ability to compete that you, as an individual, will be able to keep your skills current, agile, and competitive.

Creating Financial Security for College Students/Graduates Essay

Creating Financial Security for College Students/Graduates   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One of the biggest problems facing students today, is the fact that there is no real financial security after earning a degree. Many students find that the little amount of financial aid available, is not satisfactory to provide a stable source of payment for tuition. This is exaggerated by an exorbitant cost of the ever rising education costs. The facts are, it is expensive to get a higher education, and there is little alternative to receiving a degree. Students who manage to finance their college education through government, or private loans, enter a whole new set of problems upon graduation. Student loans are difficult to pay back. Loans generally have high interest rates, and long term effects. Many graduates end up paying for loans decades after their commencement. To these unfortunates, retirement may have to be prolonged, and is still not assured to be stable, as well as payments on cars, houses, and other goods purchased. A call for action i s required among students to invest for the future. Many need the money that could be rewarded with a wise investment in the mutual fund market. There are many jobs today which require a college degree for consideration of employment. Some jobs require the skills obtained in earning a degree while others are attempting to "weed" out a number of job seekers. This increase in the number of jobs demanding degrees is causing more people to continue their education to a higher level. The law of demand states "other things remaining the same, the higher the price of a good, the smaller is the quantity demanded"(Parkin, 69). The good in this case is the job, whereas the price is the education or what it is going to take... ...ture. Now we have happy secure students that have one less thing to worry about. Works Cited Carnes, W. Stansbury, and Stephen D. Slifer. The Atlas of Economic Indicators. New York: HarperCollins Publishing, 1991. Dalton, John M. How the Stock Market Works. New York: New York Institution of Finance, 1993. Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science. New York: Penguin Group, 1987. Lynch, Peter. One Up on Wall Street. New York: Penguin Group, 1989. Malkiel, Burton G. A Random Walk Down Wall Street. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1990. Parkin, Michael. Microeconomics. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1996. Schwager, Jack D. The New Market Wizards. New York: HarperCollins Publishing, 1992. Train, John. The Money Masters. New York: Harper & Row, 1980. Train, John. The New Money Masters. New York: HarperCollins Publishing, 1989.

Moral Struggle in Great Expectations

Moral Struggles of Great Expectations Pip is the main character of the novel desires to fulfil his expectations and the world he lives in does not gladly provide an easy way to his dream. Joe is his brother-in-law and his angry sister’s husband who treats Pip much better than her, just because he happens to have a bog heart. In the beginning of the novel, prior to Pip being exposed to the world he feels that he can satisfy his expectations, Joe and Pip are equals – the humbleness and loyalty that Joe displays are often similar to that of a child. Joe is comfortable with who he is and while he desires to learn from Pip once he becomes educated, he does not seek to be anything other than what he is. This, ideally, would have been a priceless lesson for Pip to learn, as it would have spared Pip from losing himself in a complex and corrupt world. Sadly, yet pivotally to the intrigue of the plot, it is only once Pip realises the error in his ways that he can see the true gentleman in Joe. Interestingly, it is something he identifies early on when he comments that â€Å"[I] was looking up to Joe in my heart† (49). This is not simply an affection of love, yet one of admiration and respect. It is once Joe repays Pip’s debts, and leaves to save Pip the ‘embarrassment’ of associating with him, that Pip realises the quality of Joe’s character. Joe embodies the true gentleman; while not of class, his character is class, and he continually displays qualities of loyalty and fidelity that Pip believes can be embodied by outward displays of wealth and education. Pip learns from Joe – albeit in hindsight and through his own personal crises – that wealth and class are not fundamental to being a gentleman. Mr Jaggers, the attorney of Pip’s mysterious benefactor and a ruthless and respected man in society, represents what Pip could become in the society he loses himself in. His standing as a gentleman is not based in the quality of his character (as he is a portrayed as a defence lawyer, interacting with dubious suspects on a daily basis with a fierce and powerful manner) but in the fearful respect he commands in society. So complex is Mr Jagger’s character that he is able to command respect from Pip, despite that he â€Å"hardly knew what to make of Mr Jagger’s manner. Wemmick suggests that Mr Jaggers would â€Å"take it as a compliment† to know that Pip felt that way. (196) It is clear, however, that Pip admires Mr Jaggers, as is evident in Chapter 20 of the novel. Pip is privy to Mr Jaggers' mannerisms when dealing with clients. Pip, despite being introduced to Mr Jaggers’ character in this manner, is clearly infatuated with his power and status an d accepts him as a gentleman. Ironically, Mr Jaggers’ was not born into wealth either, but rather worked his way up to his position of power. Pip ignores this fact, and it is only after he learns the truth about his journey to becoming a gentleman that he realises that Mr Jaggers does not represent a true gentleman either. He is yet another representation of how wealth and power are in fact far removed from being a gentleman. The irony is that Mr Jaggers’ true character is never hidden from Pip, and thus so great are his expectations, that he is blinded to the blatant truth about a true gentleman’s role in society. The character Abel Magwitch (initially referred to as the convict, and only revealed as Pip’s benefactor as the climax of the novel) is not only the catalyst to a growth into manhood and morality for Pip, but the character from whom Pip learns the most from during their interaction. As the convict, Magwitch is nothing but a source of latent fear for Pip. The intrigue surrounding the identity of the benefactor and the assumptions the reader makes compliments the idea that he is a source of fear, and nothing else. At the climax of the novel, when it is revealed to Pip that it is Abel Magwitch, a convict and fugitive, who has bestowed his new riches on the boy who tried to help him years previously, Pip’s expectations and belief in the gentleman he thinks he is, is shattered. As Pip believes his benefactor was Miss Havisham, and that she has been grooming him for Estella, and to become a true gentleman, he never questions the validity of his essence as a gentleman. Upon learning that the source of his education and wealth – and ultimately his status as a gentleman – is in fact a convict, his identity is crushed. It is to his horror that the source of his status as a gentleman is the absolute antithesis of a gentleman in his eyes. Pip thus has to come to terms with the idea that it is not the outward appearance of a man that determines his character. This is also echoed in Chapter 5 of the novel, when Magwitch/the convict confesses to stealing food from Mrs Joe to save Pip from being implicated. Pip has to accept that the class he was trying to distance himself from embodies something to aspire to. Towards the end of the novel, Pip displays his growth as he reflects that in Magwitch he â€Å"only saw a man who had meant to be my benefactor, and who had felt affectionately gratefully and generously towards me with great constancy through a series of years. I only saw in him a much better man than I had been to Joe. (440) Thus Pip identifies himself as less of a gentleman than that of Joe and Magwitch, illustrating that he has come full circle, to acknowledging his faults in his perception of his status as a gentleman due to his wealth and education. Herbert represents who Pip could become. Despite his lack of wealth initially, he is every inch a gentleman and upon receiving money at the request of Pip, he starts his own law firm and builds a successful career for himself, thus fulfilling the desires that Pip believed he strove for. Pip chooses to misuse the wealth that is bestowed upon him, and it is after Pip learns the valuable lessons from Joe, Jaggers and Magwitch, that he realises that Herbert is the gentleman he aspires to become. While the irony of the source of Herbert’s wealth being indirectly from Pip is not unclear and certainly not unimportant, is it Pip’s realisation that it is not the source of wealth and status that makes one a gentleman, but the manner in which one’s character is displayed in the consequences of one’s actions. Pip learns to assume responsibility from his destiny from the success of Herbert. It is evident that valuable lessons about the character displayed in actions are prevalent in Great Expectations. Joe, Jaggers, Magwitch and Herbert (albeit not as forcefully) offer insight into the quality of one’s character as an internal embodiment of class. Jaggers fails to impress, whereas Magwitch and Joe display varying yet quintessential attributes of gentlemen. Herbert is the opposite pole to Jaggers, representing what Pip can become by embodying gentlemanly characteristics, rather than trying to live like one. Pip learns various aspects of the same intrinsic lesson from all these characters: that is it not the quality of the life of the man, but the quality of the man, that speaks of his character. Pip loses this sense during the course of the novel, and it is the interaction with these characters that gradually return him to a path of fulfilling his greatest expectations and dreams.

The Complete Persepolis By Marjane Satrapi - 1552 Words

Throughout The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi the idea of inequality is introduced through several examples. Marjane Satrapi uses the title to comment on inequality in all aspects of Marjane’s life, including gender, religious, economic, and racial status. Although there are several forms of inequality that the title attempts to highlight within the story, it focuses primarily on the issues of gender inequality by comparing the issues that Marjane faces due to her gender and comparing it to issues faced by women during other periods of history. The title The Complete Persepolis is used to emphasize the radical differences in the rights of men and women in the modern world, more specifically modern Iran, by comparing the modern statues of women with the situation in the ancient Persian Empire. Religion is an important part of Marjane’s life; however it also highlights some of the most radical variations in the rights between women and men. The holy book of Islam, the Quran, says â€Å"Men are the protectors and maintainers of women† (an-Nisa’ 4:34). This provides a justification for a difference in gender equality within the region Marjane is â€Å"born with† (Satrapi, 6). Although the modern day Middle East is primarily Muslim, Islam has not always been the major religion in the Middle East. In fact the primary religion in the city of Persepolis was not Islam, but Zoroastrianism (Zoroastrianism, n.d. , para 2). Unlike the extremely sexist version of Islam that is displayedShow MoreRelatedThe Complete Persepolis By Marjane Satrapi Essay2019 Words   |  9 Pageslargely affected the views of Iranians by other nations. The graphic novel, The Complete Persepolis, written by Marjane Satrapi (Satrapi, 2003), conveys many of these events and changes through the eyes of a child growing up in the 1980s in Iran. Satrapi’s main purpose for this book is to describe how the Iranian government was corrupt, causing foreign nations to have a tainted view of all Iranian citizens. The Complete Persepolis does so by presenting major events and changes in a manner that is directedRead MoreThe Complete Persepolis By Marjane Satrapi2268 Words   |  10 Pages Review of Literature While I will pull from other sources, the main focus of this paper will be The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. Throughout this graphic novel, Satrapi tells her life story and what it was like growing up in Iran. In the opening illustrations, she describes her childhood and her transition from a secular school to one that was religious and separated by gender. At this time it had become law for a woman to wear the veil, or head scarf when in public. 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The women in Iran don’t want to wear a veil The new regime in Iran made it mandatory for women to wear a veil. They also segregated the schools between girls and boys Marjane says she wants to be a prophet The school thinks it’s weird that she wants to be a prophet, so they call her parents Even though she wants to be a prophetRead MoreThe Complete Persepolis Marjane Satrapi Analysis1072 Words   |  5 PagesIn her graphic novel â€Å"The Complete Persepolis,† Marjane Satrapi explores different identities and works through troubling hardships as she comes closer to who she truly is as an educated Iranian woman. Satrapi expresses the many trials and tribulations she endured while living in and out of Iran during parts of the Islamic Revolution, all whilst trying to find her identity as a child, teenager, and adult. Although she loses herself along the way, she always finds her true identity and self-worthRead MoreMarjane Satrapi s Story Of The Complete Persepolis Essay1022 Words   |  5 Pagesan unfriendly world. This is not a fictitious story. This is an actual event that happened to the author of The Complete Persepolis. Marjane Satrapi, the author of The Complete Persepolis, grew up during the 1979 Revolution. This event changed many people’s lives, e ither it was for the better or worse is hard to say. Nevertheless, it influenced Satrapi s whole life. In the book, Satrapi expresses her childhood memories through her eyes as a child. Her experiences and ancestry can be clearly shownRead MoreThe Complete Persepolis By Marjane Satrapi And I Am Nujood1495 Words   |  6 Pagesthe patriotism that the country gives. Having these ideals one can see that some Americans are even question their own culture, and are constantly changing it due to the surge of countercultures and trend setters. From the texts The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi and I Am Nujood by Nujood Ali one can observe how western culture has affected people who are not raised within Iranian and Yemini cultures, and it grants a glimpse into other cultures and their beliefs. Despite the culture shock in