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Running head: Strategizing for Corporate Advantage
Strategizing for Corporate Advantage
Latoya Luc
ISM 645: Information Technology Strategic Planning
Instructor: Dr. Shaun Gray
May 31, 2021
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Running head: Strategizing for Corporate Advantage
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Introduction
Every company wants to know that they have a leading advantage over their contenders. Most
companies believe that if they possess more production and have a more well-rounded executive
leadership members, they will attract more consumers and retain their business, it takes more than just
having the requirements to gain advantage of their contenders. In this modern time, information
technology assets drive the business systems to improve strategic and personnel planning thus
promoting success. Information technology whether old or innovative, by itself cannot produced any
type of sustained performance or advantages, however, IT can create an advantage if it is used in
conjunction with leveraging complementary human and business resources that the company has
(Powell & Dent-Micallef, 1997). This paper will analyze the key business initiatives that support the
Acme corporate strategy and explain why they are key to Acme’s corporate strategy, explain the
possible IT strategic actions that might be relevant to each identified initiative, and assess why this could
be a competitive advantage for the company.
Key Acme Company Business Initiatives
Financial
Based on the Acme Company Executive Summary – Strategic Plan, the company has key
financial initiatives of generating sales of $1.5 million by the end of the year and increasing the
company’s average billable hour factor.
Customer
Acme Company’s customer-based key initiatives are maintaining a minimum of 85% of
organization current employees, in the meantime trying to attain two more consulting clients costing
Running head: Strategizing for Corporate Advantage
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$10,000 monthly. In addition, the organization will aim to attain a midpoint if five new contracts for the
maintenance department that would require 1,500 licenses in total by the end of the fiscal year.
Internal/Operational
The company Acme has incorporated initiatives in constructing and setting up computers so that
they are assessable remotely, resulting in the internal and operational growth of the company.
People and Learning
Acme Company key initiatives regarding its human resources are holding strategy meetings,
training company sales personnel in industry (sales) best practice and developing better communication
ad presentation skills which would increase staff’s ability to assist and work with clients. Also, these
initiatives include establishing an incentive-based compensation plan for employee achievement.
Analysis of Key Business Initiatives
The Acme Company’s key business initiatives appear to be on par with those of many company’s
seeking to become the premier company at what is it that they may do or provide. Although these
initiatives are listed financial first and the company people/learning last, but the importance lies more in
the how well-prepared employees are to perform the duties of their job at a high level while utilizing IT
supports. This will move the company more towards being able to undertake the customer and financial
initiatives. Additionally, the internal/operational initiative are imperative and should be established
before all else as these initiatives set company standards via operation and development that are enact
with the intent of upholding prominent growth for the company. The established goals in the consumers
drive are attainable given that they are backed by resources and IT commitment that will ensure a
subjective emphasis on the importance of IT operations and the success that comes along.
Running head: Strategizing for Corporate Advantage
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Authors Ferrante, Djavanshir & Costello (2009) state that “to successfully manage IT operations, a
culture must be created that works for employees and management to ensure that they have the means
by which they can become innovators and high achievers”. Financial initiatives are ultimately the
culmination of the company successfully achieving the many, if not all, of the other key initiatives within
the strategic plan.
Key Business Initiatives in Relation to Corporate Strategy
The goal of every organization’s corporate strategy is to increase the organization’s bottom line,
so to some degree all of Acme Company’s business initiatives are key to that end. Additionally, some of
Acme Company’s key initiatives may assist the organization in fulfilling more than one of Acme
Company’s corporate strategies.
Lay the foundation for the organization
Training the organization’s sales force in industry best practices sets the expectation of a high
level of effort and salesmanship as a base; as does developing communication ad presentation skills
ensures that sales personnel will be able to present to and work with a wider pool of potential
clients/customers. Furthermore, the base of the internal system would be setting the computers for the
employees to have remote access from any location. In addition, by situating the supposition for
representing the duties of sales personnel and suppling the company’s best implementations and tools
will increase the industry sales department to attain more clients, licenses and additional contracts.
Execute a market penetration strategy to increase top line.
The stated business is set in place to produce sales of $1.5 million by the end of the year. New
sales would increase Acme Company’s revenues by the same amount. Furthermore, increasing Acme
Running head: Strategizing for Corporate Advantage
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Company’s average billable hour factor will assist with the advancement of the company’s highest rank
line as the average billable hour factor increases the amount of the billable hour charge.
Standardization of all processes.
When an organization defines, and puts is policies, procedures and processes in writing this sets
the same expectation for all employees and promotes consistency in the way the organization operates.
Additionally, developing better communication ad presentation skills along with training sales personnel
in industry best practices sets a workplace behavioral standard for that department. Furthermore,
thought leadership that is developed, published and preserved also contributes to a set of baseline
expectations from leadership.
Develop the infrastructure to prepare for growth
Organizations must develop a scalable infrastructure that is flexible enough to take advantage of
new growth opportunities (Pearlson, Saunders & Galletta, 2015). Setting up computers so that they can
be accessed from anywhere is key to infrastructure for growth as it eliminated the necessity for only
tending to company business in the office.
Role of Information Technology
In the present work world of technology in a business aspect personate a huge function in many
areas in companies. Email system in the past was known to be the big contributor in the tech world.
Nevertheless, IT is an important elemental support operation that permits the company to display its
strategic plans. The IT strategic plan must endorse the company business plan that concentrates on the
needs of the company. According to author Edward K. Hong (2009), “An IT strategic plan must ensure
that business needs are the driving force for technology solutions. The plan must keep in mind business
productivity and effectiveness, cost reductions, revenue generation, and customer satisfaction.
Running head: Strategizing for Corporate Advantage
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Moreover, Information Technology does not play a compelling function in an organization’s success or
failure in implementing and ultimately achieving the organization’s strategic planning. Instead,
Information Technology can/does provide the necessary underlying support for the details of the
organization’s strategies that allow the company to reach its planning goals. In the case of Acme
Company, the IT department would work closely with the customer care/customer service department,
the marketing department, and sales department to develop and support IT systems that make those
departments.
Relevance of IT Strategic Planned Actions
Competitive Advantages
Author Thomas C. Powell (1992) asserts that overall, strategic planning alone does not satisfy
the criteria for a competitive advantage, but when strategic planning is supported by IT planning and
resources. Because how IT resources and tools are deployed, and how efficiently they were developed
to perform and how effectively those IT tools are utilized determines if they can be leveraged to provide
the company with a competitive advantage, IT strategy should be combined with the organization’s allinclusive strategic planning as a probable primacy-producing reciprocity (Powell & Dent-Micallef).
Possible Strategic IT Planning
Majority of acme Companies key capabilities are directed at the flourishing of the organizations
from a monetary and market perforation viewpoint.
Customers
Customer support is required so that focus can be on the productivity along with the capabilities
and system reliabilities. By engaging in customer satisfaction the IT department can increase data
mining in order to increase propensity with the intent to purchase new and upgraded products which
Running head: Strategizing for Corporate Advantage
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will then aid the initiative to increase revenue by first maintaining the company’s customer base while
imultaneously acquiring new clients (from all targeted sectors)/licensees.
Financial
The standard here is that IT is utilized to perform financial transactions electronically, but new
applications can be quickly developed by the IT department that will support financial initiatives. These
will improve systems performance of the internal infrastructure and of the products developed by Acme
Company that would also lower the costs of doing business electronically. Additionally, there would be
an increased involvement from the IT security team as there would be needs for increased data and
network security.
People and Learning
The initiatives in this area are more focused on the strategy of laying the organizational
foundation of employee knowledge as well as online training. Also, the IT team would create data
resources for those customer-facing departments.
Conclusion
Most companies utilize strategic planning so that they can graph the outline for the growth and
the expansion of the company. The accomplishment of the IT department must be completely making
use of in the endeavor of the company initiatives as the department has the ability and expertise to
maintain and develop projects, which is needed to manage efficiently and concentrate on the exertion
on extreme performance initiatives (Alonso, Verdun, & Caro, 2008). IT resources and strategic planning
is a valuable tool but requires human resources and business planning in order to be effect and
successful.
Running head: Strategizing for Corporate Advantage
References
Alonso, I. A., Verdún, J. C., & Caro, E. T. (2008). The Importance of IT Strategic Demand
Management in Achieving the Objectives of the Strategic Business Planning. 2008
International Conference on Computer Science and Software Engineering. doi:
10.1109/csse.2008.1307
Ferrante, F. E., Djavanshir, G. R., & Costello, T. (2009). Guest Editors’ Introduction: Strategic
Planning in Today’s IT Environment. IT Professional. doi: 10.1109/MITP.2009.121
Hong, E. K. (2009). Information Technology Strategic Planning. IT Professional, 11(6), 8–15.
doi: 10.1109/mitp.2009.126
Pearlson, K. E., Saunders, C. S., & Galletta, D. F. (2015). Managing and using information
systems: a strategic approach (6th ed.).
Powell, T. C. (1992). Research notes and communications strategic planning as a competitive
advantage. Strategic Management Journal, 13(7), 551-558. doi:10.1002/smj.4250130707
Powell, T. C., & Dent-Micallef, A. (1997). Information technology as competitive advantage:
The role of human, business, and technology resources. Strategic Management Journal,
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