Final Project Example: Information Communication Technology in Business Operations

In a free market or any form of industry, information systems management plays a critical role since it creates a seamless interaction among all the stakeholders and processes. For instance, market research for a new product feeds into the production strategy thus limiting excessive production. In essence, for the successful operation of any firm, information systems must be not only accurate but also timely, flexible, precise, and concise. In my job, I have experienced a flaw in the information management leading to a gross mismatch between the products manufactured and the customers tastes and preferences. In an ideal situation, a business has to first carry out comprehensive market research about existing products in the market, the potential competitors, consumer tastes and preferences, the nature of market base including the target customers disposable income. These sets of information are critical in identifying a viable market gap which an entrepreneur then decides to bridge and attain profitability. However, their importance dissipates if they are subjected to an inappropriate analysis leading to a mismatch between a product and its intended market.

The inappropriate analysis of data obtained from market research led us to erroneously produce in large scale expensive gold watches for a population that had embraced customized wooden wrist watches. It was one of the big mistakes for the company which resulted in massive loss of investment. Despite the fact that the information from the market research was accurate, its analysis by the strategy team without the involvement of an ICT platform resulted in the manufacture of the gold watches which was too expensive for the target market as well as not within their tastes and preferences. It was followed by less aggressive marketing frameworks which gave competitors a leading role in controlling the already small market. It is conceivable that before the launch of the gold watches, the firm failed to consider the importance of computer software in analytics of business activities. Furthermore, they did not actively use methods such as SWOT analysis to look into both exogenous and internal factors that would have indicated the possible performance of the product in the market. A SWOT analysis would have provided a clear direction on which venture would be both profitable and sustainable for the firm.

As a solution to a flaw in information system flaw leading to a mismatch between product and target market, two recommendations are feasible. First, the prospecting firm requires embracing the use of computer software in establishing market gaps and possible marketing models (Adomi & IGI Global, 2011). However, the ICT professionals have the responsibility of developing a variety of such software that accurately analyze information fed into them from market studies to provide useful and reliable output (Adomi & IGI Global, 2011). From the results, the company is then able to employ a clear strategy that creates a link between market research, product, marketing and market. The information communication technology system that identifies an ideal market gap as well as develops a business model based on the statistics about the designated market, product and possible marketing strategies would be suitable in avoiding an improper match between a product and the market (Gasco & Torres-Coronas, 2009).

From the market research, an entrepreneur will get the first-hand information about the changing trends among customers which cannot be obtained through any other ways which are then fed into the ICT system to formulate a working model of operations. For a commodity to stand out as competitive in the market, it must not only be unique but also respond to the immediate needs of the buyers (Adomi & IGI Global, 2011). The pricing must also be reasonable compared to the income of the potential buyers. If a product to be produced has substitutes, then the producer has to concentrate on product differentiation so that such commodities lack a perfect alternative. In business practice, the willingness and ability of a customer to buy a particular product is an essential indicator of how that product will perform relative to alternatives in the market. The continuum of market-product-marketing should be communicated before the actual production of any commodity (Eid, 2013). The recommendation to use market analytics software in achieving a match between the product and customer needs is the fact that computer technology continues to evolve and critically influence business operations. The computer technology solves various human errors in the analysis of data thus giving reliable information.

Second, any business interested in sustaining its operations should commit to providing adequate training to its employees on the activities of various computer technologies in marketing, logistics and decision making (Gasco & Torres-Coronas, 2009). This recommendation derives from the fact that technology without adequately trained human capital to operate or monitor their operations may be disastrous (Eid, 2013). The output from ICT analytics must be again decoded and implemented by a team of well trained personnel. In addition, the raw data to be analyzed must first be mined and sourced by experts who have the critical insight on the primary information for analysis.

From the recommendations, it is clear that information communication technology is key in business operations including conducting feasibility studies for a new product to be launched in the market, analyzing market trends, marketing products as well as developing better business models and strategies that keep firms at a competitive advantage (Eid, 2013). Therefore, it is necessary to create a continuous interaction between ICT developers and entrepreneurs to attain solutions to various business challenges as well as respond to emerging trends in the business environment including e-commerce, globalization, and digitalization of logistics.

References

Adomi, E. E., & IGI Global. (2011). Handbook of research on information communication technology policy: Trends, issues and advancements. Hershey, Pa: IGI Global (701 E. Chocolate Avenue, Hershey, Pennsylvania, 17033, USA.

Eid, R. (2013). Managing customer trust, satisfaction, and loyalty through information communication technologies. Hershey, Pennsylvania: Information Science Reference.

Gasco, H. M., & Torres-Coronas, T. (2009). Information communication technologies and city marketing: Digital opportunities for cities around the world. Hershey, Pa: IGI Global.