An information system

An information system Introduction: An information system is a set of interrelated components that collect or retrieve, process, store and distribute information to support organisational decision-making and control. One of the key issues with ‘information systems’ (IS) (these days) is that companies cannot measure if they are becoming more profitable or efficient by using the systems that they purchase. In a study done by KPMG on 200 UK firms, around seventeen billion GBP is lost each year due to the mismanagement and misalignment of information technology (IT). One way to evaluate a firms’ IS usefulness is to use the resource-based view â€Å"inside-out approach,† which means that a company should identify its core business values and in turn, align these goals with a suitable information system that will fulfil these needs. Often times, however, large multinational firms implement new technology, regardless of whether it benefits the company or not and there is no way to mea sure results. Therefore, it is beneficial to look at a firm who has implemented a successful IS, for which it receives its competitive advantage. Inditex is a major holding company based in La Coruà ±a, Spain, which maintains controls over popular clothing stores such as Zara, Massimo Dutti and Bershka amongst others. For the purpose of this report, we will look at Zara in more detail, a store known for its high fashion for reasonable prices, with many clothing stores in prime locations in metropolitan cities around the world. It competes with other clothing stores such as H&M and Gap but it sets itself apart from them using its savvy information system and rapid production schedule. For the purpose of this report, we will examine Zara’s Technological and Socio-Economic Environment along with Zara’s knowledge chain management to evaluate its alignment of information technology as a function of Zara’s business strategy. IT in alignment with Business Strategy: Zara’s business strategyis to provide fast fashion for low prices. Based on this principle, one of Zara’s developed core competencies is its effective and minimalistic approach to utilizing IT for the purpose of timely knowledge transfer, fast production turnaround and employee empowerment. Aspects beyond which are not directly connected to Zara’s core competencies, the company prefers to outsource, such as its logistics. In order to understand the effects of IT on Zara’s business model, we must take into consideration the technological and socio-economic factors affecting Zara, such as its management process, employee skills, technology, structure and strategy. The management process: The management processof Zara is supported by its holding company Inditex, who manages other popular European brands such as Massimo Dutti, Pull and Bear, etc. however, each clothing store is distinct because Inditex supports organisational learning, as opposed to maintain ing firm control on these stores. Not only is each entity separate, but management encourages employee empowerment at Zara by allowing its employees the flexibility to choose new clothing designs for its store on a bi-weekly basis. Therefore, in just one city alone, one Zara store may have significantly different inventory than another Zara store up the road. Despite these differences, Inditex is still able to create economies of scale and scope based on the learning curve between its inter-related brands.

McCardell Enterprises Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

McCardell Enterprises - Essay Example He knows Mccardell’s Enterprise intensions of wanting to acquire the Johnston International and depending on how I play my cards he might end up letting out the secrets which will have negative legal implications to the company. If Mr. Jones, in one way or another, manages to share this information with Johnston International of which McCardell Enterprise tends to acquire, it might be legally perceived to be corporate or industrial espionage which will compromise McCardell’s Enterprise legal position Industrial or economic espionage takes place in two major forms. The main purpose of espionage is to collect knowledge about an organization. It may sometime involve the acquisition of intellectual property, such as information on the manufacturing procedure, techniques, ideas processes, formulas and recipes. Or it could include operational information or sequestration of proprietary, such as that on customer datasets, marketing, pricing, sales, research and development, prospective bids,policies, marketing strategies or planning and the change in compositions and locations of production. In this regard, I think that Mr. Jones might be an espionage agent who is spying for McCardell’s Competitors like J.E. Smith & Sons (Nasheri, 2005). He could be another spying agent working for a different company who wants to find out the amount of details that my department knows about the companies that we intend to acquire. It will therefore be important for me to share this information with the CEO in order to determine his position on this issue (John, 2009). One of the most efficient method to collect information and data, which Mr. Jones might be employing, is by infiltrating the ranks of your enemy. The spying agent can bring back all manner and sorts of vital information that concerns the strength and size of the competitor (Walker, 2011).

How Social Responsibility of Corporations Relates to Business Ethics Assignment

How Social Responsibility of Corporations Relates to Business Ethics - Assignment Example The Government must play its role in harnessing the skills attached to the corporate sector in finding out the better means in which it can benefit the society. For that certain loans and grants can also be fixed for a certain company depending on its market level in the business world. Extensive research has found that corporate responsibility is becoming an essential part of any company’s day-to-day undertakings. Thus, the responsibility played by the Government as well as the citizens in this regard should be quite eloquent and expressive. Their voice is given due value by the company and it does just about everything to get more and more customers and consumers which in turn excites it to search for better means to get the very same people. This, in turn, attracts the company to sponsor big events and sports galas, competitions as well as come towards social welfare works, which really benefits the society in more than one ways. Mr Higgins, who completed a research on the local community, was not that enthusiastic about the role played by these companies in the social sector. People, according to him, were of the view that these companies filled in social responsibilities to a certain limit and not beyond that extent where other large organizations jumped in and took the lead. For the small business owner, CSR means a different thing altogether. He sees it in a different attitude encompassing his own business and its responsibilities fulfilled for the betterment of the society or let alone none at all. Corporate Social Responsibility helps as a survival agent for any business in the new atmosphere of an economy. By that, it means whenever the economic climate changes, it favours the CSR that has been initiated by a business with respect to its role in the fulfilment of the social responsibilities. This can be regarded as an advantage of CSR whereby the business gets a slight edge as opposed to the other ones in the corporate world who haven’t actually started with the idea of investing with consideration to the society in the forms of different sponsors, helping of non-Governmental organizations and the like.