Assessment Description
How can information itself provide a competitive advantage to an organization? Give two or three examples. For each example, describe its associated risks
Topic 2 Discussion 1: Competitive Advantage
The revolution of data and information is very high in the economy. No organization does not revolve around data and information. The reductions in the cost of obtaining, transmitting, and processing information are changing how business owners and individuals do business. Managers in the organization know that the revolution of information will keep boosting and is highly important for them to maintain privacy and security with their competitors. Therefore, managers are now mostly spending their time and capital investment in absorbing the effects of information technology. Most organizational executives have knowledge and awareness that information technology is no longer the exclusive territory of IS and EDP departments (Porter & Millar, 2022). Because now competitors had started gaining a competitive advantage with the data they grab about their competitors, therefore it negatively impacts the organization’s success and growth. Moreover, the information revolution is developing a competitive advantage for the organization by offering new ways for companies for outperforming their rivals.
Through information, an organization can be able to build the barrier of entry, opens a new market through insights of market intelligence, develops switch costs, generate a time-based advantage, and reduce operational cost. Many companies including small and big are using the information as their power tool to rule over the market. It includes Google, Amazon, Walmart, Facebook, Zara, and many more. Now, I am demonstrating the example of Facebook. Everyone knows that data is the most crucial aspect of Facebook’s success as it helps businesses and individuals to develop marketing campaigns and gain customer insights. It also publishes posts, ads, sponsors, links, and pages that can gain the customer’s interest based on their preferences and browsing history. Information is very crucial for Facebook as it knows the value and trust that individuals had in it.
Afterward, the information is associated with several risks too such as if the organizational information may get into the wrong hands, there is a higher chance that the organization may suffer huge losses. This risk is nothing new, it had happened with various companies in the past such as Google and Facebook. Therefore using information technology is good and beneficial for business, however, safeguarding the information is also a priority that organizational managers cannot neglect. Many other risks associated with information are poor implementation of IS systems, failure in understanding and deliver what customers need, and violation of the copyright act.
Reference
Porter, M.E & Millar, V.E. (2022). How Does Information Give You a Competitive Advantage? Retrieved on 24th August 2022, from: https://hbr.org/1985/07/how-information-gives-you-competitive-advantage
