Strategic_Implications_of_Technology

THE STRATEGIC IMPLICATION OF TECHNOLOGY The strategic implications of information technology Name of Client Name of Tutor Institution Course Date ABSTRACT. This report sets out to identify the current business issues of Target Company and to propose solutions to the mentioned business needs and the strategic recommendations to the Executive committee and the impact that the proposed changes will have to the company in the next three years. A brief history of Target Company is initially outlined. Table of Contents ABSTRACT. 2 1.0 BACKGROUND INFORMATION. 3 2.0 Current Business Issues. 4 3.0 Proposed Solution. 6 4.0 Recommendations to the Executive Committee 8 5.0 Conclusion 9 References. 10   1.0 BACKGROUND INFORMATION. Through its operating subsidiaries Target Company, Target Company opened its doors in the year 1962 it goal is to provide mare style, fun and more value on their products than any other company in their line of specialization. Targets main aim is to provide more to their customers at a lower or cheaper cost. Some factors can also be attributed to our success as a company rather than only providing more we also have great man power working with our organization. Our company is a division of Dayton Hudson Corporation and rated as the third of the “Big 3” discount retailing stores in U.S. It has been noted with a lot of concern that target opened in the same year with the other leading stores such as Wal-mart and Kmart. Target Company has shown a considerable growth since it opening. It has over about 850 stores in 41 states and also has other branches elsewhere. The company has achieved tremendous growth due to its ability to combine bargaining prices with fashion trends, excellent customer care centers and branded merchandise. The company sells almost everything from fashion to furniture to food and electronics. It has a supply chain which include of several distribution centers, core careers and vendors. The Target Company has an approximate of about 166,000 employees. Since 1962, Target has committed 5% of its earnings to sustain local communities. Throughout that unrelenting pledge, Target plans to give $500 million by the end of 2015 to maintain education and help kids learn to read. 2.0 Current Business Issues. The relationship that exist between IT and business functions can be viewed in two different ways. One, a change in the business will eventually lead to a change in the IT requirements of the organization and two, changes in IT which may be caused by delays in upgrades, reduction in cost of activities and technological improvements will create changes to the business function. However these changes are put in place so as to align and harmonize the business needs with IT delivery capability (Feenberg, 1999). It seems hard for an organization to be able to align the IT capability to the business needs because of some issues such as globalization, weaknesses in IT strategy, inefficient use of outsourced suppliers and difficulty in aligning skills and resources to strategic activities. In supporting an organization effectively the IT function should be flexible to adapt to changes in the organization and its environment, it should also support fast and accurate management decisions making processes. The IT function should also have the capability to withstand governance and comply with the set initiatives. Lastly it should be visible to the business processes and external partner relationship. These requirements should be adhered to in normal or stable economic conditions (Feenberg, 1999). Target Company currently uses different systems to carry out their daily routines. In that each section has its own records. Taking to account the many departments in Target Company this makes the work to be complex. The databases are not be compatible to each other since they are developed with different types of soft ware’s and the systems are disintegrated in that they cannot work together (Hamilton, 2002). A company is at times subjected to growth. Target Company does not currently have a system to accommodate future growth without the need of additional staffs. Target Company also uses the manual registration system to register customers and based on the increasing number of customers. It may take a lot of time to register new customers which may lead to time wastage and may in someway limit the number of customers visiting the premises due to the poor services provided. The company currently does not have an e-commerce site. This at times limits the number of customers who are able to purchase your products. With the investment in e-commerce the number of sales may increase and thus increasing the profits margins of the company (Treese & Stewart, 2002). For employees to access the trading facility they are supposed to show their employee identity cards. These wastes a lot of time since they have to queue this can also be termed as a waste of resources and customer time. And since in a business the customer is the most valued assets they should always aim at giving the best services to them. In context to the Quality assurance customers are asked to fills forms manually to evaluate the services provided to them this leads to waste of time and resources and it also shows that the company is not concerned with the environment. Another business issue face by the company is security. The company experiences insecurity and measures should be put in place to curb the insecurity this can be done by the use of CCTV. The last business issue faced by Target Company is that some goods are stolen from the stalls since the employees are not able to monitor the move of every customer. (Matchett, 2003). 3.0 Proposed Solution. The technology function that is effective for today and the next three years to come should have some specific characteristics which include: it should recognize that technology has a major role to play in innovation and growth of a business focusing more on the competitive advantage and a profitable customer base, manages its own organization as a true business unit by aiming relentlessly for maximum efficiency and effectiveness ,organizes its process to mirror the business ,identifies the best possible delivery method for the lifecycle and its application and lastly develops and adopt a structure methodology to help manage the increasing complexity of interdependent projects (Henderson & Venkatraman, 1999). Most Technology functions prefer buying modular technology and seek to accommodate new skills alongside longer standing transaction processing services. Most companies are not actually interested with expertise in systems development but they are rather interested in integration skills. In solving the business issues experienced by Target Company we will focus mostly on the mentioned business needs. In context o the registering of customers the company may develop an online system to register the may also generate a printout of the customer details including the date registered and time this is a technological need which can be implemented to the company. This advancement in technology has some advantages which include: quick and easy registration for the participant, automatic confirmation emails, online data transmission is secure, real time reports, less paper is used which is good for the environment and systems usually use an integrated database that are up to date allowing for better forecasting and management decisions are made using accurate information and many systems allow planner/staff authorizations and site access levels, depending on skill level or responsibility to help ensure the accuracy and security. A system should be set up in the company to deal with the growing nature of the business without really having to add the number of employees in the organization Technology have revolutionized the business and in that aspect not leaving out the marketing sector. In respect to e-commerce the company should set up an e-commerce site so as to attract customers and increase the daily sales which in turn will lead to greater incomes/earnings. E-commerce have been attributed with some advantages which include: increase sales which is the main concern of the marketer ,decreasing costs this is usually brought about when the customer does not have to physically come to the premises to purchase the product, one can also provide price quotes, increased profits, the size of the markets tend to increase since you are targeting a greater population i.e. regional, national and international, the products reach a greater narrow market and there is also a contract in market.(Mayer, 2007). The Company can also implement an ERP which sets out to integrate the internal and external management information across all the departments in the organizations and it facilitate the flow of information between business functions inside the boundaries of the organization and manage the connections to outside stakeholders. An ERP system provides the following to the organization: provides an integrated system which integrates all the departments without rely depending on periodic updates, a common database and a consistent look and feel throughout the each module. An ERP can be integrated into Target Company to help in the delivery of its services to their clients i.e. the customers and also it reduces unnecessary paper work, documentation through integration of all business functions into a single business function (Hamilton, 2002). The company can also introduce the use of smart cards by the employees. It will make sure that only authorized personnel access the company facilities hence enhancing the security and reduce time wastage. Smartcards can have many advantages which include: Using smart cards ensures absolute and complete identification, smart cards use a non-reversible encryption algorithm that transmits user requests and delivers the user with access in the same security ensured manner, smart card technology isn’t prone to bias, smart cards allow for secure certificate mobility. The Company can also implement the use of CCTV in their premises for security purposes and to counter loss of merchandise in their premises (Matchett, 2003). The company can also develop its own website. The creation of a website has been put in line with some benefits which include: the number of customer’s visiting the premises may tend to increase locally or globally, the company is able to compete with other substitute companies. And can also be used to network with other companies. The company can also develop a site for customers to evaluate the services offered to them by online means .Lastly the company can set up a site for customers to be ordering the company’s products. 4.0 Recommendations to the Executive Committee Based on the above mentioned business needs I recommend the following changes to be implemented so as to solve the business needs of Target Company' The company should set up a website, it should also implement the use of smart cards, introduce the use of CCTV in their premises, condone E-learning, develop systems to enable customers’ register online and lastly the quality assurance team should set up a site to enable the personnel evaluate the services offered to them by using online means. 5.0 Conclusion. This report has identified the current business issues faced by Target Company. Some of the business needs are a company website, an ERP and the use of CCTV. The report has also proposed some changes that can be made to the company in terms of technological advancements and the impact it can have to the organization. With the advancement in technological the organization will gain a competitive advantage over the other companies.   References. Crockford, D. (2008). JavaScript: The Good Parts. Cambridge: O'Reilly Media. Feenberg, A. (1999). Questioning Technology. London: Routledge. Hamilton, S. (2002). Maximizing Your ERP System: A Practical Guide for Managers New York: McGraw-Hill. Henderson, J. & Venkatraman, N. (1999). Strategic alignment: leveraging information technology for transforming organizations. New Jersey: IBM Corp. Matchett, A. (2003). CCTV for Security Professionals. Jordan Hill: Butterworth-Heinemann. Mayer, R. (2007). E-Learning and the Science of Instruction: Proven Guidelines for Consumers and Designers of Multimedia Learning. Phoenix: Pfeiffer. Treese, G & Stewart, L. (2002).Designing Systems for Internet Commerce. Boston: Addison-Wesley Longman Publishing Co., Inc.