INFORMATION SYSTEMS OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES

For this chapter we already learnt about to identify the basic competitive strategies and how technology overcome it. Regarding to the Stair (2010), competitive advantages is a significant (ideally) long-term benefit to a company over its competition, and can result in higher-quality products. Technology is no longer useful in business strategy, but the most important thing in the whole organization. IT can change the way businesses compete. It has made almost of the company wanted to become the most competitive among the competitor. IT plays major roles in business that can substantially increase process efficiencies, improves communication and facilitates collaboration. IT also can help an organization with gaining a competitive advantage, reduce a competitive disadvantage and meet other strategic enterprise objective.

To succeed, a business must develop strategies to counter these forces that are rivalry of competitors within its industry, bargaining power of customer, and bargaining power of suppliers. A strategic Information system (IS) helps an organization gain a competitive advantage through its contribution to the strategic goals of an organization and or its ability to significantly increase performance and productivity.

In that class also we already learnt that there are five competitive strategies that will be implementing:

1. Lower Cost – Deliver a product or a service in lower cost. This does not necessarily mean the lowest cost, but simply a cost related to the quality of the product or service that will be both attractive in the marketplace and will yield sufficient return on investment.
2. Differentiation strategy – Differentiation strategy means the addition of unique features to a product or service that are competitive attractive in the market.
3. Innovation Strategy - Develop products or services through the use of computers that are new and appreciably from other available offerings.
4. Growth Strategy – Diversity into new products or services in to global market.
5. Alliance Strategy - Establish linkages and alliances with customers, suppliers, competitors, consultants and other companies and includes mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, virtual companies.

If the organization using these competitive strategies, there are not will be costing to the company because these strategies are not mutually exclusive. 

Reference:

Stair, R. et. al. (2010). Introduction of Information Systems. Course Technology Cengage Learning, United States of America.