Globalization and Business IT Exam Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Globalization and Business IT Exam - Assignment Example Business to Consumer (B2C) Business to Employees (B2E) and Consumer to Consumer (C2C), the archaic methodology of conducting business has been redefined. The most striking advancement brought upon by the advancement in information technology is the drastic modification in the communication norms. Businesses are now able to communicate with its internal, external and connected stakeholders more conveniently, thus saving precious time and cost. Internet has played the most prominent part in abridging the distance. By using e-commerce, companies of all types are able to explore new business ventures in the form of new and similar market segments and lucrative business opportunities. Distance in no more a hurdle. Since the internet never sleeps, customers have the privilege of doing transactions 24-hours of the day, 365-days of the year. Bad weather or labor problems will not prevent the customers from visiting the store and placing their orders. From global perspective, the introduction of electronic data interchange (EDI) has standardized the language of business all across the globe. According the Advantages of EDI, using these industry standards, for transmitting data related to commercial transactions, the manufacturer and the supplier are easily and quickly able to complete a business transaction. In order to objectively evaluate the role of information technology for all businesses, its role can be divided into three major aspects which can prove to be vital for any business enterprise Support of its business processes and operations Support of decision making by its employees and managers Supports of its strategies for competitive advantage (O’Brien and Marakas 2008) An organization operating in global environment strives to implement the above mentioned traits in its corporate strategy and thus reaping maximum benefits. Multinational organization uses IT in order to integrate its various strategic business processes and operations such as keeping re cord of purchases and sales, automating the inventory record system or maintaining transaction history of the customers in order to forecast their demand in future. IT also provides the managers and those charged with governance several tools which assist them in making apt decisions. These decisions might include the addition or deletion of products from the current product line, what are the projects which are likely to yield positive cash flows in the future and identification of the lucrative investments. In today’s world, to obtain a clear strategic advantage over the competitors, a company needs to align its corporate strategy keeping in consideration the information technology requirements. The use of strategic information system has tremendously uplifted the quality of product and services offered by different companies and have immensely assisted in obtaining competitive advantage. A company can only survive if it develops strategies which are sufficient to counter t he prevailing competitive threats in the market. Competitive forces can be analyzed through Porter’s five forces model which are illustrated in the figure below In today’s dynamic market, not only the companies are expending sufficient resources in countering the prevailing rivals in the market, but efforts have also been diverted towards establishing barriers which will stop the new entrants into the market. The internet has created several ways through which new entrants can enter into the market more easily and quickly and with considerably less