Business Information Management

1) SWOT Analysis
A SWOT Analysis is a strategic planning tool used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or in a business environment or in any other situation requiring a decision.
The required first step in SWOT analysis is the definition of the desired end state or objective. Once the objective has been identified, SWOTs are discovered and listed. SWOTs are defined precisely as follows:

• Strengths: attributes of the organization that are helpful to the achievement of the objective.
  what advantages does your company have?
  What do you do better than anyone else?
  What unique or lowest-cost resources do you have access to?
  What do people in your market see as your strengths?
  


• Weaknesses are attributes of the organization that are harmful to the achievement of the objective.
  What could you improve?
  What should you avoid?
  What are people in your market likely to see as weaknesses?
  


• Opportunities are external conditions that are helpful to the achievement of the objective.
  Where are the good opportunities facing you?
  What are the interesting trends you are aware of?
  


• Threats are external conditions that are harmful to the achievement of the objective.
  What obstacles do you face?
  What is your competition doing?
  Are the required specifications for your job, products or services changing?
  Is changing technology threatening your position?
  Do you have bad debt or cash-flow problems?
  Could any of your weaknesses seriously threaten your business?

- SWOT groups some of the key pieces of information into two main categories (internal factors and external factors) and then by their dual positive and negative aspects.Internal factors - The 'strengths' and 'weaknesses' internal to the organization, its strategies and its position in relation to its competitors.External factors - The 'opportunities' and 'threats' presented by the external environment and the competition.

• -SWOT analysis Framework
  In SWOT, strengths and weaknesses are internal factors. For example:
  


• a) A strength could be:
  Patents.
  Strong brand names
  Good reputation among customers
  quality processes and procedures
  Exclusive to high grade natural resources.
  
  b) A weakness could be:
  lack of marketing expertise
  A weak brand name
  Lack of patent proctection
  poor quality goods or services
  damaged reputation
  


• c) In SWOT, opportunities and threats are external factors. For example: An opportunity could be:
  arrival of new technologies.
  mergers, joint ventures or strategic alliances
  moving into new market segments that offer improved profits
  a new international market
  a market vacated by an ineffective competitor.
  

d) A threat could be:
a new competitor in your home market
price wars with competitors
a competitor has a new, innovative product or service
competitors have superior access to channels of distribution
taxation is introduced on your product or service.

• - The SWOT matrix.
  All the best management models have four quadrants, and the SWOT matrix is no exception. You use each of the four quadrants in turn to analyze where you are now, where you want to be, and then make an action plan to get there.
  

2) BCG MATRIX

The Boston matrix model is a tool for assessing existing and development products in terms of their market potential, and thereby implying strategic action for products and services in each category.° Stars: a business unit that has a large market share in a fast growing industry.
Stars may generate cash, but because the market is growing rapidly they
investment to maintain their lead.If successful, a star will become a Cash Cow
when its industry matures.

° Cash Cows: a business unit that has a large market share in a mature, slow
growing industry. Cash cows require little investment and generate cash that
can be used to invest in other business units.

° Dog: a business unit that has a small market share in a mature industry. A dog
may not require substantial cash, but it ties up capital that could better be
deployed elsewhere. Unless a dog has some other strategic purpose, it should
be liquidated if there is little prospect for it to gain market share.

° Question Marks(or problem child): a business unit that has a small market
share in a high growth market. These business unit require resources to grow
market share, but whether they will succeed and become stars is unknown.

Criticism of BCG matrix:
- The link between market share and profitability is questionable since increasing market share can be very expensive.
- There can be practical difficulties in determining what exactly ‘high’ and
‘low’ (growth and share) can mean in a particular situation. .
-The focus upon high market growth can lead to the profit potential of
declining markets being ignored. -The matrix assumes that each SBU is independent. This is not always the case, as organisations often take advantage of potential synergies.

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3) Parson’s six generic strategies

• IT strategies provided by Parson(1983),describes Six strategies in terms of general framework which guide the opportunities for IT which are identified, and the IT resources which are developed. Parson’s approach provides greater detail and coverage.
  
• 1) Centrally planned – In a centrally planned IT strategy firms has attempts to integrate its corporate strategy and its information system strategy. The firm will focused on integrated systems so that maximum utilization is made of computer processing power. A central planned will used a top down planning approach.
• 2) Leading edge – This IT strategy implies that the firm continuously updates its hardware and software with the latest developments available in the market. In such a strategy, state of the technology is continually acquired. Experimentation is encouraged in the hope that discoveries will be lead to superior performance and sustainable competitive advantage.
• 3) Free market – A free market IT strategy assumes that the user is best qualified to determine his/her own needs. In such circumstances, the user is entitled to acquired hardware,software and service either from IT department or from any outside vendor.
• 4) Monopoly – Monopoly IT strategy rests on the premise that there should be one single source of computer service in the organization. To ensure the succession of monopoly strategy is the satisfaction of the user.
• 5) Scarce resource – Scarce resource IT strategies relies on the intensive control of money being spent on the IT department.Very strict budget are set up,and often not permitted to exceed the amounts laid down. This strategy is based on the concept that the administration is an unproductive costs, Hence management must minimize all expenditure in this direction.
• 6) Necessary evil – Necessarily evil IT Strategy is based on the belief that the use of computer should be curtained as much as possible. Only application that cannot be performed without the use of a computer and which are very well cost justified are entertained. A minimum amount is spent on hardware, software and people.

4) GAP ANALYSIS.
- Gap analysis technique is a set of techniques used to examine and describe the gap between current performance and desired future goals, and investigates the ways in which the gap might be closed. Such analysis can be performed at the strategic or operational level of an organization. The gaps can include:

• a) The difference between the organisation’s current operation of an activity and the activity vision, sometimes referred to as "C delta V" (current gap vision);
  b) Considering strategies to close gap, so that a strategic plan can be devised for achieving the organisation’s target.
  - A variety of gaps can be analyzed which includes, a profit gap, a performance-risk gap, and in the case of information systems, an information system gap.
  They are various stages involved when conducting a gap analysis.
  
• ° The Initial stage normally requires information needs assessment ; where users identify their requirements.
  
• ° The second stage requires Information analysis, identifying where and if these user needs can be currently met.
  
• ° The final stage is the gap analysis where the information provision is compared to information needs and any gaps identified.
  
  - Gap analysis can be adopted at a system level or at an organization level. i.e used in the analysis of an organization requirement of IS
  - Gap analysis is used as a tool to identify situations in which the organization IS appear not to meet either current or predicted requirements from a view of business strategy.
  After identified a gap between a business strategy, the next stage is to close the gap. An alternative approach is to use the W’s framework. It can be shown as a 3 stage process ;
  · Where We Are » First stage
  · Where We Want To Be » Second stage
  · Going To Get There » Third stage
• Gap analysis provides a foundation for measuring investment of time, money and human resources required to achieve a particular outcome (e.g. to turn the salary payment process from paper based to paperless with the use of a system).
• Action may be taken to close the IS gap
  º a program of updating and enhancing the current system
  º Outsource or purchase package software
  º Implementation of a data warehouse and data mining
  º Decision to decentralized the IS function
  Any of these option may provide the opportunity to take advantage of emerging technologies.

5) THE SCORING MODEL
◙ Uses a system of ratings for selected objectives to choose between alternative applications or systems. Scoring models rely heavily on quantitative assessment or fit of the system with the overall evaluative criteria.
◙ Used mainly to confirms, rationalize and support decisions rather than as the final arbiters of the system selection. ◙ Relevant consideration (determining the best fit) with existing system has to be taken.It will need to integrate directly or indirectly with other systems used in the firm. It should also fit with organization strategy, culture and current systems.

6) NOLAN STAGE HYPOTHESIS
◙ Nolan’s model attempts to explain how the role and importance of IS/IT
within an organization and the level of expenditure of IS/IT, may increase
over time. The model lists six stages:

□ Initiation involves the automation of clerical operations and
the initial use of technology by technically employees. The
first introduction of computers for cost savings

□ Contagion involves rapid growth in the use of IS/IT as user
become more familiar with new technology and the benefit
of using technology are seen by more staff. At this stage
many island of automation will develop.

□ Control stage involves the introduction of planning and
methodologies to justify control over IS/IT use; others
may be applications concentrate on saving money rather
making money.

□ Integration of functions within an organization allowing
the development and use of systems spread across an
organization. It also sees the increased involvement of
users in the development process.

□ Data administration organization realizes that the
information it has is a key resources. Corporate
databases, intranet and extranets are created.

□ Maturity stage is reached, IS/IT strategy is seen as part of the
overall business planning and development process. IS/IT is seen
as inherent to operations, not separate; used in the battle of
competitive advantage.

-It can argued that Nolan’s model was more relevant in the early days of
computing, which in some organization , the role of IS/IT developed as described by Nolan’s stages.
-Nolan’s model focuses on an individual organization and how the IS/IT
may increase in importance over time.
-Value of the stage hypothesis is that managers might be able to make sense of IS/IT current position in the organization and where it might be headed, also it suggests remedies which IS/IT managers can prescribe to correct any problems.

7) David Kolb's learning styles model and experiential learning theory (ELT).

David Kolb published his learning styles model in 1984. The model gave rise to related terms such as Kolb's experiential learning theory (ELT), and Kolb's learning styles inventory (LSI). Kolb's learning theory sets out four distinct learning styles (or preferences), which are based on a four-stage learning cycle.

Kolb's model therefore works on two levels - a four-stage cycle:

• Concrete Experience - (CE)
  
• Reflective Observation - (RO)
  
• Abstract Conceptualization - (AC)
  
• Active Experimentation - (AE)

Kolb explains that different people naturally prefer a certain single different learning style. Various factors influence a person's preferred style: notably in his experiential learning theory model (ELT) Kolb defined three stages of a person's development, and suggests that our propensity to reconcile and successfully integrate the four different learning styles improves as we mature through our development stages.A typical presentation of Kolb's two continuums is that the east-west axis is called the Processing Continuum (how we approach a task), and the north-south axis is called the Perception Continuum (our emotional response, or how we think or feel about it).
These learning styles are the combination of two lines of axis (continuums) each formed between what Kolb calls 'dialectally related modes' of 'grasping experience' (doing or watching), and 'transforming experience' (feeling or thinking)

Here are brief descriptions of the four Kolb learning styles:

• Diverging (feeling and watching - CE/RO) - These people are able to look at things from different perspectives. They are sensitive. They prefer to watch rather than do, tending to gather information and use imagination to solve problems. They are best at viewing concrete situations several different viewpoints. Kolb called this style 'Diverging' because these people perform better in situations that require ideas-generation, for example, brainstorming.
• Assimilating (watching and thinking - AC/RO) - The Assimilating learning preference is for a concise, logical approach. Ideas and concepts are more important than people. These people require good clear explanation rather than practical opportunity. They excel at understanding wide-ranging information and organising it a clear logical format. People with an Assimilating learning style are less focused on people and more interested in ideas and abstract concepts.
• Converging (doing and thinking - AC/AE) - People with a Converging learning style can solve problems and will use their learning to find solutions to practical issues. They prefer technical tasks, and are less concerned with people and interpersonal aspects. People with a Converging learning style are best at finding practical uses for ideas and theories. They can solve problems and make decisions by finding solutions to questions and problems.
• Accommodating (doing and feeling - CE/AE) - The Accommodating learning style is 'hands-on', and relies on intuition rather than logic. These people use other people's analysis, and prefer to take a practical, experiential approach. They are attracted to new challenges and experiences, and to carrying out plans. They commonly act on 'gut' instinct rather than logical analysis.

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