Management Information Systems Essay -- essays research papers

1.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  General Motors has several internal and external influences that are challenging them to reduce their operating costs and become more efficient. In doing an analysis of the General Motors using Porter’s Competitive Model these influences become clear and opportunities for the company to reduce costs and increase efficiency using information systems becomes obvious. Porter’s Competitive Model is a model used to describe the interaction of external influences; specifically threats and opportunities that affect an organizations strategy and ability to compete [Laudon & Laudon, 2005, p. 103].   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Starting at the center of the model is the current industry, which includes General Motors and their typical competitors, such as, Ford, DaimlerChrystler, and the Japanese [Laudon & Laudon, 2005]. All of these traditional competitors are able to produce cars at a much cheaper cost than General Motors. Looking at the supplier portion of the competitive forces model, part of the reason General Motors was unable to produce cars inexpensively in comparison to their competitors was that they were producing a lot of their own parts. Their competitors were able to purchase parts from outside vendors at lower prices. General Motors viewed this as an opportunity and has since shed a lot of workers and factories and are currently searching everywhere for the lowest prices on parts. Also General Motors was very slow at producing cars because of old information systems and outdated processes. A lot of General Motor’s systems could not communicate with each other, which was causing a major lag in the production of automobiles. By integrating these systems they were able to become faster and leaner and were able to increase their customer focus [Laudon & Laudon, 2005]. In the competitive forces model, General Motors also has influence from new products and services to reduce costs and increase efficiency. General Motors wants to experiment with new ways to serve their customers, one of which was online shopping, allowing customer to shop for car models and colors online and giving them dealerships in the area that were currently in possession of the car they preferred. By utilizing the Internet, GM was able to provide additional services to their customers and allow them to also purchase vehicles online. Gen... ...rketing tool, businesses also use the Internet to provide customer service. Instead of having a call center where a customer needs to talk to a physical person they can use the Internet and browse frequently asked questions to get information or answers. They also can send emails to the business and expect a response in little time. Using the Internet for customer service allows the customer to be in control and tailors to the customer’s time schedule.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many benefits in using technology to gain customer information. The most popular is as a marketing function to provide customers with the products that are most popular. Also, it allows them to provide salesman type services without a physical salesperson or customer service representative. This is saving businesses money by reducing the cost of employing this person and is tailoring to the flexibility needs of the ever-demanding consumer. References Laudon, K.C. & Laudon, J. P. 2005. Essentials of Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm. Upper Saddle, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Management Information Systems Essay -- essays research papers 1.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  General Motors has several internal and external influences that are challenging them to reduce their operating costs and become more efficient. In doing an analysis of the General Motors using Porter’s Competitive Model these influences become clear and opportunities for the company to reduce costs and increase efficiency using information systems becomes obvious. Porter’s Competitive Model is a model used to describe the interaction of external influences; specifically threats and opportunities that affect an organizations strategy and ability to compete [Laudon & Laudon, 2005, p. 103].   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Starting at the center of the model is the current industry, which includes General Motors and their typical competitors, such as, Ford, DaimlerChrystler, and the Japanese [Laudon & Laudon, 2005]. All of these traditional competitors are able to produce cars at a much cheaper cost than General Motors. Looking at the supplier portion of the competitive forces model, part of the reason General Motors was unable to produce cars inexpensively in comparison to their competitors was that they were producing a lot of their own parts. Their competitors were able to purchase parts from outside vendors at lower prices. General Motors viewed this as an opportunity and has since shed a lot of workers and factories and are currently searching everywhere for the lowest prices on parts. Also General Motors was very slow at producing cars because of old information systems and outdated processes. A lot of General Motor’s systems could not communicate with each other, which was causing a major lag in the production of automobiles. By integrating these systems they were able to become faster and leaner and were able to increase their customer focus [Laudon & Laudon, 2005]. In the competitive forces model, General Motors also has influence from new products and services to reduce costs and increase efficiency. General Motors wants to experiment with new ways to serve their customers, one of which was online shopping, allowing customer to shop for car models and colors online and giving them dealerships in the area that were currently in possession of the car they preferred. By utilizing the Internet, GM was able to provide additional services to their customers and allow them to also purchase vehicles online. Gen... ...rketing tool, businesses also use the Internet to provide customer service. Instead of having a call center where a customer needs to talk to a physical person they can use the Internet and browse frequently asked questions to get information or answers. They also can send emails to the business and expect a response in little time. Using the Internet for customer service allows the customer to be in control and tailors to the customer’s time schedule.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many benefits in using technology to gain customer information. The most popular is as a marketing function to provide customers with the products that are most popular. Also, it allows them to provide salesman type services without a physical salesperson or customer service representative. This is saving businesses money by reducing the cost of employing this person and is tailoring to the flexibility needs of the ever-demanding consumer. References Laudon, K.C. & Laudon, J. P. 2005. Essentials of Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm. Upper Saddle, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Management Information Systems Essay -- essays research papers 1.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  General Motors has several internal and external influences that are challenging them to reduce their operating costs and become more efficient. In doing an analysis of the General Motors using Porter’s Competitive Model these influences become clear and opportunities for the company to reduce costs and increase efficiency using information systems becomes obvious. Porter’s Competitive Model is a model used to describe the interaction of external influences; specifically threats and opportunities that affect an organizations strategy and ability to compete [Laudon & Laudon, 2005, p. 103].   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Starting at the center of the model is the current industry, which includes General Motors and their typical competitors, such as, Ford, DaimlerChrystler, and the Japanese [Laudon & Laudon, 2005]. All of these traditional competitors are able to produce cars at a much cheaper cost than General Motors. Looking at the supplier portion of the competitive forces model, part of the reason General Motors was unable to produce cars inexpensively in comparison to their competitors was that they were producing a lot of their own parts. Their competitors were able to purchase parts from outside vendors at lower prices. General Motors viewed this as an opportunity and has since shed a lot of workers and factories and are currently searching everywhere for the lowest prices on parts. Also General Motors was very slow at producing cars because of old information systems and outdated processes. A lot of General Motor’s systems could not communicate with each other, which was causing a major lag in the production of automobiles. By integrating these systems they were able to become faster and leaner and were able to increase their customer focus [Laudon & Laudon, 2005]. In the competitive forces model, General Motors also has influence from new products and services to reduce costs and increase efficiency. General Motors wants to experiment with new ways to serve their customers, one of which was online shopping, allowing customer to shop for car models and colors online and giving them dealerships in the area that were currently in possession of the car they preferred. By utilizing the Internet, GM was able to provide additional services to their customers and allow them to also purchase vehicles online. Gen... ...rketing tool, businesses also use the Internet to provide customer service. Instead of having a call center where a customer needs to talk to a physical person they can use the Internet and browse frequently asked questions to get information or answers. They also can send emails to the business and expect a response in little time. Using the Internet for customer service allows the customer to be in control and tailors to the customer’s time schedule.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many benefits in using technology to gain customer information. The most popular is as a marketing function to provide customers with the products that are most popular. Also, it allows them to provide salesman type services without a physical salesperson or customer service representative. This is saving businesses money by reducing the cost of employing this person and is tailoring to the flexibility needs of the ever-demanding consumer. References Laudon, K.C. & Laudon, J. P. 2005. Essentials of Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm. Upper Saddle, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚