Posted: January 28th, 2022

IFSM 300 STAGE 1 essay

1/6/22, 4:46 PM Business Strategy
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Business Strategy
This section presents a high-level overview of the strategic planning process for business.
All companies want to formulate technology solutions that effectively support the
business and its objectives. To do so, the company must first understand its business
model, the fundamentals of its business type (manufacturing, finance, service, etc.), and its
strategy. Only once the company has understood these, should it begin to focus on its
systems. Information systems are only tools that are used to support a business;
therefore, if the tools are not aligned with business requirements, then its resources (time,
money, and people) may be wasted, triggering an undesirable outcome.
Many businesses establish an overall mission or vision statement—Why are we in
business? Following is a list of companies with their mission statements:
Amazon—”to be earth’s most customer-centric company, to build a place where people
can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online.” (Amazon Jobs,
2018)
Marriott—”to be the world’s favorite travel company” (Marriott Investor Relations).
Google—“to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and
useful” (Google.com, 2018).
As you can see, these mission and vision statements are very broad and overarching;
however, to achieve these, organizations need more specifics with actionable areas to
accomplish to help support the mission/vision. In order to define the goals and objectives,
first organizations scan the environment looking at several factors, such as competition,
business environment, customers, employees, and location. This analysis helps identify
threats and opportunities. A frequent tool used in business is SWOT Analysis: identifying
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. The section Does IT Matter? also
looks at further methods to analyze the competitive environment.
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This analysis can result in organizations defining business goals and objectives and the
specific actions needed to be successful. When these objectives are defined,
opportunities can be identified to use information technology to help reach those
objectives.
It’s important that technology support the business objectives rather than drive the
objectives. For example, looking back at Amazon’s mission statement, specific goals and
objectives would need to be defined (e.g., How can customer-centric be increased?). One
approach is customizing the user experience so customers feel valued and that Amazon
really “knows” them. A strategic goal might be to maximize the customer’s experience
through personalization of the online shopping experience. With technology, information
regarding customers’ browsing and shopping habits can be stored and retrieved when a
customer returns to the Amazon site, prompting with messages such as “Hello John—
Recommended Links for You” or “John—Buy it Again,” followed by a list of recent
purchases John has made. The benefits of the information technology can be increased
sales and increased customer loyalty, which give Amazon a competitive advantage in the
online retail arena.
This information would then be documented for everyone in the company to understand
and be able to do their part to support the business strategy. For example, Amazon might
document as follows:
Mission/Vision: Our vision is to be earth’s most customer-centric company, to build a
place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy
online.
Business Strategy (derived from the Mission/Vision): to be earth’s most customer-centric
company, to build a place where people can come to find and discover anything they
might want to buy online.
Technology Support: A robust online shopping system would accommodate millions
of customers and products and focus on the individual customer’s searches and
buying habits.
Competitive Advantage: Availability of millions of products would increase sales, and
a focus on the customer would increase customer loyalty.
Strategic Goal 1: Increase customer-centricity by maximizing the customer’s experience
through personalization of the online shopping experience.
Objective: Provide customer with at least five other items they might be interested in
based on previous purchases by the end of the first quarter.
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Technology Support: The system would store each customer’s purchases and retrieve that
information when the customer returns to the Amazon site, and present a message such
as “Hello, John – Recommended for you” with icons of several items related to his recent
purchases.
Strategic Goal 2: Increase the number of items available.
Objective: Add 10% more items to the inventory.
Technology Support: The system would provide the ability to store and retrieve items for
display to customers.
To achieve success, an organization should translate its high-level mission into specific
objectives so it can align its technology support to those objectives. The alignment can
provide clear direction and enable all levels of the organization to work towards
maximizing their investments in information technology.
References
Amazon Jobs (2018). Retrieved from https://www.amazon.jobs/en/working/workingamazon
Google.com/About. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.google.com/about/
Marriott. (2018). Marriott investor relations: Frequently asked questions. Retrieved from
https://marriott.gcs-web.com/investor-faqs
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All links to external sites were verified at the time of publication. UMGC is not responsible for the validity or integrity
of information located at external sites.

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Business Planning

This section gives a high-level summary of the corporate strategic planning process.

All businesses aspire to develop technology solutions that successfully support their operations.

The company and its goals To do so, the firm must first comprehend its own operations.

model, the basics of its company kind (manufacturing, finance, service, and so on), and its financial performance

strategy. Only once the organization has grasped these should it begin to concentrate on its goals.

systems. Information systems are merely instruments that aid in the operation of a firm.

As a result, if the tools are not aligned with business requirements, the company’s resources (time, money) would be wasted.

Money and people) could be squandered, resulting in an unfavorable effect.

Many businesses create a goal or vision statement that explains why they exist.

business

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