Managing information systems: Read the following paper and answer the questions below - Essay Example

Instruction: Task: Managing Information Systems. Google’s use of technology to build sustainable and dynamic competitive advantages is based on a variety of ideals. The company has an inherent organizational structure that enables for an open approach towards developing its products and services. Openness enables dynamism which is one of Google’s core attributes. In addition, Google is run by the philosophy that technology is as powerful in supporting a business as it is in creating opportunities.

Therefore, Google’s management views technology as a source of opportunities and tries to exploit as many of these opportunities as possible. The seamless integration between players of the Google platform underscores the dynamism and competitive advantage that Google enjoys. Strategic patience is the gradual but intense development of an ecosystem that spans almost the entire market that a company is aiming to occupy as per the mission statement. As such, Google’s mission is so broad that it requires a very elaborate organizational and managerial structure to achieve.

Information transcends across various platforms, and it is through this realization that Google aims to be present in all of these platforms. At the core of Google’s strategy is the need to study user behaviour and intentions. Consequently, Google is always on the lookout for any information related entity, and aims to join all these entities into one super unit that manages all information as per user needs and intentions. One of the main features of Google’s infrastructure is scalability whereby they can be easily adjusted over time as needed.

Both hardware and software aspects of the infrastructure are structured such that any form of scaling is easy to implement. Another feature is the hastened product development lifecycle. The entire infrastructure is efficient enough to facilitate a speedy development process. Google’s infrastructure is also flexible enough to support third-party input, thereby increasing innovation. Google’s innovation ecosystem is made up of consumers, content providers, advertisers, and innovators. These parties relate with each other over the Google platform.

As such, Google facilitates the interactions that exist between them in such a manner that it appears as a single system. The interactions between these components makes up the ecosystem, and the interdependence between them enables Google to learn and adjust in a manner that benefits all the parties involved. Consequently, the innovation hub facilitates specialization as each party is only focused on whatever it provides, the other features being met by the Google platform and the other elements of the ecosystem.

Google has used various means to build innovation into organizational design. The first is the inclusion of innovation into job descriptions such that some form of innovation is required from all employees. Google also facilitates the polishing of any idea to do away with the unnecessary and only have the finest aspects. The organizational design also lets the market have a say in what it wants, and any new offering is structured along those lines. Moreover, Google has developed a culture that leaves room for some failure, as this highlights some progress being made in addition to offering a platform for learning from the mistakes.

Data also plays a critical role as it defines the business viability of any idea. Google fosters a technocratic culture through its realization of the fact that employees are its major asset. Therefore, Google has put in place measures that ensure that the employees are natured in such a manner that the best is achieved from them. There is plenty of intellectual stimulation where the employees are constantly given talks by the best technologists. In addition, the recruitment process is structured in such a manner that it facilitates information from the analysis of current employees.

In return, Google gets the best it can find in any field, and the corresponding hard work comes as no surprise. Consequently, this highlights the manner that Google fosters a technocratic culture in its operations. Works Cited.Davenport, Thomas & Iyer, Bala. “Reverse Engineering Google’s Innovation Machine.” Harvard Business Review Apr. 2008: 59 – 68. Print.