General Electric Company Case Study Paper Example

Question#1 The 'New CIO Leader (Broadbent and Kitzis)

General Electric Company (GE) has integrated its business and IT strategies through its operational technology that is used to run industrial machinery. The technology adopted by the company is meant to control and monitor machines, hence improving efficiency in production. The strategy of using operational technology by GE is meant to predict the breakdown of industrial machines and assess their performance. The strategy adopted by GE on the industrial internet brings together industrial devices, internet, and data. The company is not known for its software, but rather the production of industrial machinery.

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GE strategy of integrating technology strategies into industrial production has been extended to the oil and gas sector. The company is using operational technology to reduce the downtime in the production process for oil and gas. Operational technology from GE is meant to detect unplanned downtime due to malfunction. The company projected that its strategy would lead to generation of revenues in excess of $ 15 billion by the year 2020 through its software products. GE previously collected transactional data from the machines it built but through technology development, time series data could be collected. Such data is integral to understanding the performance of industrial devices and reducing downtime. GE introduced the Predix platform for the purpose of data analysis on industrial machines.

Question#2 Strategic Management

Amsterdam city strategically chose to partner with outside companies in collecting data and using it to transform it into a smart city. The smart city initiative by Amsterdam is meant to improve various aspects of the city including traffic management and service delivery. Establishment of Smart cities is meant to develop the integration of IT within the city services. The Amsterdam smart city initiative was brought about by the city's need to reduce the usage of fossil fuels while improving its livability. The smart city initiative comprises of different projects and partnerships that use collected data to analyze the problem and improve on the same. Moreover, the smart city initiative was achieved through partnership with private sector players. The project interventions for the smart city initiative included smart living, smart economy, smart society, smart mobility, infrastructure, and big data.

The Amsterdam smart city initiative may have been a prudent intervention but at the same time challenging. The lead official Baron noted that the biggest challenge of such a strategy is collecting data and structuring it in a manner that is beneficial to the program. The lack of structured, centralized data meant the process had to begin with a data inventory process. Such a process involves collecting data from 32 different departments and having 12000 datasets to review. Moreover, the Amsterdam smart initiative was initiated during a period of uncertainty. The initiative underwent skepticism on whether it would achieve its desired objective. It also came into play during a city council election period where some of its advocates were replaced. On the other hand, its success required the collaboration with other organizations in the private and public sector. Some of the organizations the initiative partnered with include AEB Amsterdam in the waste management sector. Finally, the strategy by Amsterdam city required a considerable change in how different departments functioned. A smart city would require all city departments communicating with each other.

Question#3 Stakeholders

The Ryanair case study best illustrates the layers of the business environment. The case explores the airline industry with a focus on Ryanair and its operations. The first layer is the organization- Ryanair. Ryanair was established by Tony Ryan family in 1985. The first five years of the airline were challenging with losses reaching IRPS20 million. This led to the transformation of the airline from conventional airline to the first low fare airline in Europe. The market and competition for the airline include other budget airlines and traditional airlines in Europe and other cities the airline operates. Some of the competitors include British Airways and Air France-KLM.

The airline industry is a complex one that is affected by various aspects including fuel cost, government taxes, and passenger compensation. Jet fuel required in the industry is susceptible to fluctuations emanating from the demand and supply forces in the market. Airports impose charges on the airlines using their facilities including Ryanair. The industry is also subject to regulations concerning passenger compensation for cancellations and delays. The macro environment that Ryanair operates under is affected by the global economy. Recession leads to reduced spending by Ryanair customers leading to lower revenues. Such an environment limits the airline's capability to raise fares as it would affect the passenger volume negatively.

Question#4 Forecasting Trends

The introduction of customer relationship management platforms is one key form of IT opportunity that is growing. The trend uses big data collected from a customer lifecycle to introduce better customer experience in the future. Moreover, such a platform enables increased customer retention and growth in sales. The trend of big data analytics enables the development of such customer relationship management platforms. Social trends are also manifesting whereby businesses have to appreciate the significance of developing a relationship with stakeholders. Companies are becoming social, and this is through access to social media platforms. Social enterprises are quick to respond to change and the demands of the customers.

Businesses are increasingly seeking to manage the mobile devices accessing their systems. Such mobile devices are brought in by employees. Subsequently, there is a need for management of such devices for securing the organization IT platform. Moreover, cloud-based storage is becoming more prevalent in the industry. Amazon is one company that has enabled growth in cloud computing using its Amazon Web Services. Such service by Amazon enables customers to distribute their content globally at competitive rates and higher performance. Cloud computing ITOs enable different users to share data cost-effectively.

Question# 5 Internet of Things

Business will have a competitive advantage by increasing the productivity level even by a percentage within an organization. According to the executives at GE, analytics, data, and software ought to be at the center of the organization's capacity to distinguish itself in the gas and oil business (Winig, 2016). In this regard, operators view data as a source of competitive advantage, which both Siemens and GE operational technology to address various issues within the organization. Additionally, like Siemens, GE identifies that its competitors are silently examining the IOT approach, albeit not by developing it individually but by patnering with different software provides.

Siemens is partnering SAP to try and equalize GEs value proposition in the market. Both GE and Siemens have identified technology as an essential tool for their success since different things, which currently differentiate them ought to change depending on how the Industrial Internet shapes the business. GE understands that Predix could help the gas and oil business address its most significant challenges including improving the productivity of assets, creating an actual image of the operation's entire status; stemming the costly loss of tacit knowledge from an aging workforce, and building an Industrial Internet platform that meets customer needs (Winig, 2016). GE's strategy is to deploy these solutions and then expand to include non-GE plant equipment as part of the solution.

Question# 6 IT Opportunities (ITOs)

Information Technology is essential for an organization's success. According to Broadbent and Kitzis (2005), IT maxims develop informed requirements for the IT role within the business. Seldom, business maxims require reverse engineering from artifacts. In this regard, it suffices to note that H&M uses Information Technology to decrease costs by eliminating inefficient methods, which in return gives the business a competitive advantage in the industry. IT providers services that focus on meeting the end-user demands (Broadbent and Kitzis, 2005). People will always buy rather than build, and people will execute with least customization.

IT strategies are created on the light of an enterprise, vision, collaboration with business maxims as well as good IT management. The traditional method that H&M uses IT is as a service provider, acknowledging requests. H&M uses IT to project advocates increase expected advantages, reduce cost estimates, disregard risks as well as force recognition with political influence. According to Broadbent and Kitzis (2005), the current approach is a collection of IT initiatives, which key business managers understand and support due to their participation in the process.

ITOs have high risk because of their leading edge nature. Nonetheless, marketing new services or products also has similar risk and rewards. ITOs create resistance since they challenge the status quo. H&M continually evaluates emerging technologies to pursue ITOs, which addresses the business' persistent needs by shaping an environment favorable for creative thinking.

Question#7 History and Culture

Ole Kirk Christiansen founded LEGO in 1932 while living in Billund, Denmark, at the time. LEGO was run by remained a family business for a significant part if its history. The firm created different items including ironing boards, stepladders, wooden toys, as well as stools (Johnson, Whittington, and Scholes, 2011). However, of all its products, the wooden toys were the best retail item. The organization adopted the name LEGO in 1934, which is a combination of 'LEg GOdt' Danish words that stand for 'play well.' In 1949, the business started creating new versions of the current LEGO plastic blocks. Nonetheless, as a new material then, the consumers accepted plastic hesitantly as most individuals preferred the more traditional wooden dolls. In 1958, the modern interlocking system, which includes tubes and studs was developed and patented.

The LEGO bricks attracted popularity where the business supplemented the basic bricks with technical features and figures, including little electronic engines that increased the playing possibilities. In 1985 the firm hired 5000 individuals with 3000 in Billund. The business later laid off 1000 of its employees (Johnson, Whittington, and Scholes, 2011). However, the business suffered a significant blow in 2000 when the sales decreased, which led to the business loosing close to 1 billion DKK. 1999 ended with the company launching of LEGO Star Wars merchandises creating on the remarkable success of the organization. During the same year, the organization opened LEGOLAND in California. The firm yielded profit, but it was short-lived.

Having a good leader was an essential business strategy, which helped propel the firm into success. Leadership was significant seeing that the group set some new, solid direction for the company after numerous layoffs, changing priorities including senior management changes. By strengthening his CEO accountability, Kjeld identified that the family was behind the business. Massive write-offs on LEGOLAND parks as well as different assets was an effort to mark a new beginning.

Question#8 Generic Strategies

Porter describes competitive procedures as taking defensive or offensive actions to build a position that one can defend in a business, to successfully cope with the competitive forces as well as yield a better return on the firm'...