Management Information Systems - Samsung Electronics Company - Essay Example

Management Information Systems Management Information Systems The mobile and electronics industry is one of the current industries in the modern economy. The mobile and electronics industry deals with the production of phones, smartphones, television sets, broadcasting rights, radios, and other electronic gadgets. Indeed, the technological advancements have improved the growth of this industry. More so, this industry relies on management information systems to derive competitive advantage in the global market. Some of the companies that participate in this industry include Sony, Samsung Incorporated among others. Notably, Samsung is one of the main title sponsors of the NBA where it is the official handset, tablet, and TV provider for the NBA, WNBA, and NBA D-League (Lefton, 2013). The sponsorship covers the United States, Canada, and Mexico where the company is a major commitment for advertising with the NBA’s TV rights holders (Lefton, 2013). Most assuredly, Samsung is a publicly held corporation that depends on management information systems in the competitive mobile phone and electronics industry. People, information, and information technology help Samsung Incorporated to remain competitive in industry. Based in South Korea, Samsung Electronics Company is an electronics giant electronics company with branches across the globe. People have helped the company to remain competitive in the industry. Indeed, the company uses international celebrities like Didier Drogba to market its products. This helps the football fraternity to associate with the company’s products. Moreover, individual executive members foster the competitive advantage of the company by making timely and effective decisions like the decision to detach Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) operations from Samsung Incorporated for purposes of separating successful business chains in the market with the company’s main operations. The company also hires top class engineers to design its products. The individual efforts led to an increase of 5.1% in market shares (Sang-Hun, 2012). On the other hand, the company uses advanced technologies in its operations to enhance its competitive advantage. Indeed, the consistent use of modern technology in the company fostered the development and design of high quality and appealing products like smartphones. Moreover, the new technology enabled the management of the capacity of resources required in the production process. With these technological aspects, Samsung recorded in its share price (Sang-Hun, 2012). The company has been using technologies that enhance clarity, advanced visual effects, compatibility with other electronics, and internet connections. Indeed, Samsung stands out as the ninth most valuable brand in the world (Strategic Management Insight, 2013). Furthermore, the company adopted a technology platform that fostered online supply of the company’s products. The company uses technology in advertising where it markets its brand in various locations across the globe. Samsung Incorporated abhors modern technology and design in its operations where the company derives significant competitive advantage by producing high quality, classy, and wide range of products. Indeed, the company adopts management information systems where it produces devices that integrate with most software and operating system (Strategic Management Insight, 2013). The ability of Samsung Incorporated to use new technologies enables the company to gain a competitive advantage over its worthy competitors. The company produces devices that integrate with most software and OS (Strategic Management Insight, 2013). This generates a competitive advantage for the company over its competitors. In fact, the company manufactures best quality application processors, which is an added advantage in the mobile phone and electronics industry Strategic Management Insight, 2013). The best quality application processors also present new market opportunities for the company. The Porter’s Five Forces Model can significantly analyze Samsung’s market position in the competitive mobile phone and electronics industry. The Porter’s Five Forces include the threat of potential new entrants, the threat of substitutes, the bargaining power of buyers, the bargaining power of suppliers, and the intensity of competitive rivalry (Xu, 2009). Samsung Incorporated manifest the Porter’s Five Forces in its operations. Threat of Potential Entry New companies entering the mobile phone and electronics industry will require huge capital thus limiting entry to the market. Samsung is an established company in the market. Companies must differentiate their products and need to have their own patents or buy patents from existing companies, which shields Samsung from new entrants (Xu, 2009). The patent issues between Apple and Samsung ascertains this view (Guglielmo, 2012). New companies in this industry face the challenge of attaining low cost advantages and acquiring excess capacity to compete with the existing companies like Samsung. Moreover, government policies in different nations ban or discourage entry of new companies into the mobile market. As an established company, Samsung enjoys protection from competition emanating from potential entrants. Threat of Substitutes Samsung products face immense competition from substitute products that include Blackberry and Apple iPhones. These substitutes offer the same services as Samsung products. Nevertheless, the threat posed by these substitutes is minimal since tablets are too bulky to qualify as straight substitutes. Additionally, Samsung products have additional capacities as they provide traditional mobile phone capabilities unlike the substitute products. More so, PDAs and laptops that act as substitutes offer minimal threat since they do not possess the relevant features and capabilities as Samsung products. Rivalry among Competitors Various companies like Apple and Sony that compete with Samsung offer great market rivalry in the mobile phone and electronics industry. Indeed, these competitors equal Samsung in terms of financial muscle, market shares, and market demand for their products. Subject to the low growth rate in the smartphone industry, Samsung and its competitors strive to benefit most from the available customers. The high market rivalry also emanate from the fact that the competitors are using the same technologies to design new products and market the produced products in this industry (Xu, 2009). Bargaining Power of Suppliers Samsung Incorporated is its own supplier for most of its raw materials and components thus demeaning the bargaining power of suppliers with respect to this company. Nevertheless, the suppliers have a high bargaining power with respect to the entire industry since only few firms dominate the supply chain that offers fundamental products in the industry (Xu, 2009). Furthermore, the suppliers bargaining power rises because the suppliers provide unique and differentiated products that have no substitutes in the industry. Bargaining Power of Buyers The increased number of mobile phone and electronic companies and the similarity of their products enable buyers in this industry to have a high bargaining power since they can easily switch costs to buy products with better features and low buying prices (Xu, 2009). Indeed, most companies in this industry manufacture products with almost the same camera quality, OS, technology, and market prices. The economic hardships encountered by the manufacturing companies enhance the bargaining power of the buyers. Samsung Incorporated has the best supply chain management in Asia Pacific (Donati, 2013). The company trains its supply chain staff to establish an advanced and highly integrated supply chain. The company’s supply chain management has five effective layers. The Samsung Group subsidiaries results to about 11 percent of the value of components purchased by Samsung Electronics (Han et al, 2013). The Trans national electronics component suppliers have independent technical capability to supply the required materials and products (Han et al, 2013). Moreover, the suppliers to which Samsung Electronics outsources parts production that it could produce itself results to reduced production costs (Han et al, 2013). Domestic subcontractors that supply parts that Samsung Electronics could not produce itself helps in the production of mobile phone cases and the assembly of Samsung mobile phones (Han et al, 2013). Ultimately, the small and medium-size parts suppliers located in industrial parks enables Samsung to exploit suppliers by exacerbating price competition and switching costs (Han et al, 2013). Samsung uses technology to enhance customer relationship management and enterprise resource planning systems. Indeed, Samsung uses internet and networking technologies to ensure immediate supply to online orders. The customer relationship management ensures that Samsung finds, attracts, acquires, nurtures, and retains the company’s customers. The company uses new technologies, innovations, and breakthrough products that satisfy the customers’ needs. The company can also use Facebook and other online sites to inform the customers about the company’s products and new products under the company’s umbrella. Moreover, Samsung uses SAP’s CRM solution to provide a solid foundation for assimilating and segmenting key customer and market information to best support Samsung’s current and future marketing, sales, and promotion initiatives (SAP, 2003). SAP will help Samsung to understand the customers’ needs in a better way creating brand awareness and customer satisfaction (SAP, 2003). Samsung can use five agent-based technologies to simulate the actions and interactions of autonomous agents for purposes of analyzing the effects of such agents in the industry. The company can use this model to access the decision-making processes, interactions, adaptive processes, and non-agent environments that rely on the contributions of numerous agents within the industry. The essence of e-commerce business models is to adopt and leverage the eminent capacities and qualities of the internet to establish a significant market advantage. Samsung uses e-commerce business models to create value within the organization by ensuring that company’s product or service fulfills the customers’ needs. The company uses online subscriptions, e retailing, and market place e-commerce business models to create value within the organization. These models can work together to foster online supply of the company’s products, advertise new products, allow online purchasing, get customers’ feedback and opinion, and create an online market. Samsung Incorporated can derive numerous benefits from using the systems development life cycle (SDLC). Indeed, SDLC will help the company to ensure maximum management control and create considerable system documentation of its operations. The company can also track the system requirements to stated business requirements and offer many intermediate products that can derive whether the company’s products satisfies the customers’ needs and comply with the set regulations. The project of using the new technology to device new Samsung products can benefit from using the SDLC. Business Continuity Planning (BCP) relates to existing emergency systems and recovery mechanisms in an organization. Samsung Incorporated adopts BCPs to prevent accidents and minimize potential damage during emergencies by immediately recovering and restarting systems (SAMSUNG, 2014). The phases of BCP that relate to Samsung include providing intimation and information of the situation, minimizing damage, and performing recovery actions (SAMSUNG, 2014). The company has the best mechanisms to provide intimation and information of the situation, minimize damage, and perform recovery actions thus depicting effective business continuity planning. Samsung uses emerging trends such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, cell phones, and RFID to remain competitive in the future. The company produces tablets that support Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 that enhances internet access and sharing of files respectively. The company collaborates with Intellitix to rollout of RFID technology at UK events (Intellitix Holdings Limited, 2014). The partnership will secure the users’ access and social media integration at the forthcoming Red Hot Chili Peppers show where the RFID wristbands will secure quick entry to the events (Intellitix Holdings Limited, 2014). Moreover, Samsung adopts OLED, RFID technology to increase identity protection where the combination of this technology creates an updated photo card for the user. To ensure information protection from security vulnerabilities, Samsung should ensure that its products are compatible with security programs like Kaspersky. Notably, the company ensures that its products have security settings like passwords and mobile tracker application. References Donati, M. (2013). Samsung named Asias best supply chain. Retrieved from: http://www.supplymanagement.com/news/2013/samsung-named-asias-best-supply-chain Guglielmo, C. (2012). The Apple vs. Samsung Patent Dispute: 20 Talking Points. Retrieved from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/connieguglielmo/2012/08/21/the-apple-vs-samsung-patent-dispute-20-talking-points/ Han, J et al. (2013). In the Belly of the Beast: Samsung Electronics’ Supply Chain and Workforce in South Korea. Retrieved from: http://www.amrc.org.hk/system/files/3%20Samsung%20Electronics%E2%80%99%20Supply%20Chain%20and%20Workforce%20in%20South%20Korea.pdf Intellitix Holdings Limited. (2014). Samsung powers first UK RFID events. Retrieved from: http://www.intellitix.com/resources/newsarticle/19 Lefton, T. (2013). Samsung near deal with NBA. Retrieved from: http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2013/10/28/Marketing-and-Sponsorship/Samsung-NBA.aspx SAMSUNG. (2014). BCP (Business Continuity Plan). Retrieved from: http://www.samsung.com/global/business/semiconductor/aboutus/global-citizenship/green-operation/health Sang-Hun, C. (2012). The Samsung strategy: Better, faster, cheaper. Retrieved from: http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/the-samsung-strategy-better-faster-cheaper-112090400001_1.html SAP. (2003). Samsung Boosts Customer Service And Global Marketing With Integrated CRM Solution From SAP. Retrieved from: http://global.sap.com/press.epx?pressID=2053 Strategic Management Insight. (2013). SWOT analysis of Samsung. Retrieved from: http://www.strategicmanagementinsight.com/swot-analyses/samsung-swot-analysis.html Xu, R. (2009). Analysis of Samsung Notebook Strategy. Retrieved from: http://brage.bibsys.no/nhh/bitstream/URN:NBN:no-bibsys_brage_23737/1/Xu%202009.pdf Read More