Michael Porter's Competitive Focus Model Of Management Information System

- Focus: If the company cannot compete with both of the two above strategies, then it should think about focusing on occupying only one or a few market segments (niche market), with typical groups of customer. The customers of niche market are usually interested in either low price or differentiation, but other typical features instead. As these features are not popular, the product range of the companies following cost and differentiation cannot reach, and the company following focus strategy can avoid the fierce competition with the other two groups. Roll Royce is a typical example for this

Also, they have very efficient logistics and a low cost base such as labor, materials and facilities (Ibid, 1985). Essentially, if a firm can achieve and maintain cost leadership, it can obtain above average performance whilst the prices are still affordable in that industry. Hence, the cost leader does not try to be the industry innovator, it seeks to position its products to appeal to the average customer taste. The aimed goal is to increase efficiency and lower its costs in relation to competitors. Some of the

Michael Porter has proposed three generic strategies that provide a good starting point for strategic thinking: overall cost leadership, differentiation, and focus (Keller and Kotler, pg. 51). These strategies are guides to start researching how to market a particular product or service. Overall Cost consist of developing strategies to give advantage over competitors. Differentiation is creating uniqueness for a brand giving the brand its own identity. Focus will Identifying a niche market that a firm can dominate by better meeting market needs than its competitors.

Porter's focus strategy is a mix of both the differentiation and the cost leadership strategies i.e. difference or cost leadership within a small target market segment. For instance: a company should be able to differentiate its products based on a particular target market segment because if the differences in products does not appeal to consumers in that target market as opposed to consumers in broad market, there would be no basis for differentiation and competitive advantage will not have been achieved.

Even if you have the most exciting idea ever, it is often difficult to enter a new market or industry and compete directly with established incumbents. You have certainly noticed how I have repeated Michael Porter’s three basic competitive strategies in every chapter. Implementing, cost leadership, differentiation, and strategic focus alone, or a blend of these three things can help any business increase its competitive advantage. For this reason I will dedicate the next few paragraphs to these three concepts.

The purpose of this report is to explain what “Management Information Systems” (MIS) is. This report will discuss how management information system helps different departments in an organization. The functions and advantages of using MIS will also be examined in this report.

I will first talk about a Management Information System or MIS, this is an information system that will normally be used by higher figures within the organization such as a manager, to ensure that the business is operating and running efficiently, for both the short-term and long-term.

A Management Information System is a computerised system that is used to organise, evaluate and efficiently manage departments within an organisation using data that is generated from departments. A Management Information Systems consist of hardware, software, data, procedures and people. Information systems are important as they help to ensure regulatory compliance and they give support to make better decisions for the business. They help to identify any issues within the business.

Managing information is necessary in order to maintain consistency. Information management system is a tool used to ensure that all reports and data are captured. Information systems allow for consolidation and distribution of information to stakeholders. Information systems also have the capability of issuing reports in various formats (PMBOK, 2013).

1. Cost leadership – be the lowest cost producer in the industry, therefore you can have the lowest price products in the industry

Porter suggested four "generic" business strategies that could be adopted in order to gain competitive advantage. The strategies relate to the extent to which the scope of a business' activities are narrow versus broad and the extent to which a business seeks to differentiate its products. The differentiation and cost

Information technology has had as much impact on our society as the industrial revolution. In the information age, companies are finding that success or failure is increasingly dependent on their management and use of information. Therefore, companies need a good information system that enabled an efficient and effective use of information to give them more competitive advantage (Moscove, Simkin, & Bagranoff, 1999).

Many organizations as a result of its day to day activities generate large amount of data. This data is just mere facts and has no order by itself. This is where information systems come in. An information system could be defined as a computer system “that helps organize and analyze data. So, the purpose of an information system is to turn raw data into useful information that can be used for decision making in an organization” (Jacobson). A typical information

An information system is an integrated set of components that collects stores, and process data as well as delivering information, knowledge, and digital products. Business firms and other businesses rely on information systems to carry out and manage their operations as they interact with the customers and suppliers with competing in the marketplace (www.britannica.com). With looking more carefully at the types of information systems, I found quite a few that caught my eyes. Some examples of system are Operational support and enterprise systems, Professional support systems, collaboration systems, knowledge management systems, and management reporting systems.

A management information system (MIS) is a system of financial information that uses a computerized database. After the information is organized and programmed, it should be able to produce a regular report on operations for every level of management in a company. Obtaining special reports from the system easily should also be possible with its main aim being to give managers feedback about the performance of the institution. It focuses on the management of information systems to provide decision making strategies that are efficient and effective.