How information gives competitive advantages - Assignment Example

Lecturer: How information gives competitive advantages The information systems that are created as a reaction to corporate business initiative are referred to as strategic systems and they are designed to provide competitive advantage to a company. They have a capacity of delivering products or services at costs that are relatively lower and differentiated while maintaining a focus on a specific market segment. Managing strategic information is a prominent aspect in the area of information technology and can assist businesses and companies in categorizing, storing, processing and transferring information they create and receive.

It further provides tools that assist companies to apply the metrics and analytical elements to their information sources and this enables them to recognize the chances for growth and identify ways they can enhance operational efficiency.The three main forms of information systems, which are developed and employed for general usage, include financial, operational and strategic systems where these classifications do not have mutual exclusivity as they constantly intertwine. Financial and operational systems, which are meticulously designed, may develop to become the strategic systems associated with specific organizations.

Financial systems can be considered as simple computerizations of processes that involve accounts, budgets and finance in a company (Hopper 27). They are alike and universal in all firms, as computers have demonstrated to be perfect for mechanizing and controlling or financial systems, like personnel operations since head-counting controls and workforce of an organization are significant to financial concerns. Financial systems are supposed to be employed among the bases for the rest of the systems as they provide a universal and controlled assessment of all the operations and projects and have the ability to supply dependable numbers that indicate departmental success.

Planning across the company must be linked to financial analysis and there are always greater opportunities in the development of strategic systems when financial systems exist as the needed figured can easily be retrieved.On the other hand, operational systems, which are also considered as service systems, assist in controlling the details associated with the company and these systems are different based on the nature of the enterprise. Typically, they are computer systems needed by operational managers to assist in running of the business based on routing.

They are ordinary systems that are valuable in keeping track of inventory among other functions as well as printing out reorder points and allocating costs. Further, they may have a strategic view inherent in them and this may deal with inventory in a manner that significantly affects the profitability of the company. This can be demonstrated in the best way using Delta Airline’s mid-tier operational system which is an approach that is used to leverage its operational infrastructure to enable it to operate in electronic commerce and allow for new applications.

This system allows it to capture transactions in real-time as they take place so that they can be consistently replayed during processing as well as dissemination of the information gathered. Most operational systems that are constituted by computer systems of various sizes essentially assist in the management and automation of business operations. Colleague Question: How can companies take advantage of their operational systems for their benefit?Student Reply: Companies and businesses are supposed to have long-term and short-term planning in regard to operational systems in order to make sure that the capabilities associated with computer effectiveness become beneficial at the appropriate time.

This form of planning is important in the analysis of projects and their related costs and planning of particular technologies like computer, database and communication. There is likelihood that the people in a company with entrepreneurial vision will develop strategic plans when this form of simple operational capabilities are available and are properly managed.Works citedHopper, Trevor. Handbook Of Accounting And Development. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2012. Print.