Assignment:
Hi folks, we kick off week one with the case study you'll be using for the balance of the class. Read the case carefully; one big difference to take note of in the new Reynolds environment; they have acquired one company, and entered into a joint venture with another. The acquisition requires integration. The joint venture imposes no obligation on either company to change environments, though some work will need to be done to share data effectively.
Be specific in your responses; this is a summary, but management will want to know how these recommendations apply specifically to Reynolds. - Chris
For this assignment, you are assuming the role of senior IT manager. Reynolds Tool & Die has decided on a set of competitive advantages it would like to pursue. The company has asked you to provide a 2-page executive summary outlining how you believe the company can leverage IT to achieve as many of these advantages as possible.
Carefully read the Course Scenario.
Read and complete the Assignment Instructions.
Save your executive summary as a Microsoft Word document.
Format any sources you include according to APA guidelines.
Submit your assignment.
Leveraging Technology to Drive Competitive Advantage
Read the course scenario for Reynolds Tool & Die. Based on the scenario, write a 2-page executive summary describing how you, as a senior IT manager, plan to leverage technology to achieve a competitive advantage for the company.
Title
Your paper should start with the title Executive Summary: Leveraging Technology to Achieve Competitive Advantages.
Introduction
An introductory paragraph should include the goal of the summary, which is how IT will leverage technology to achieve a competitive advantage.
Headings
Your headings should include:
I. Competitive Advantages
What are the competitive advantages the business would like to achieve? Don't choose a lot of topics. Focus on three or four competitive goals. These could include:
i. Lower cost of products or services
ii. Greater internal workflow efficiency
iii. Expansion into new markets
iv. Introduction of a new product or service
v. Company re-organization, which could include creating separate divisions, a merger, or consolidation
II. A Current Assessment of the Internal IT Resources
Topics to address should include:
i. Current hardware, software, and services (third party, outsourcing, etc.)
ii. Suggested changes, upgrades, and additions to the environment
III. The Plan to Leverage Technology to Achieve Competitive Advantage
Be specific when addressing your plan for leveraging technology. A good way to approach this topic will be to merge Headings I & II. For example:
i. Achieving lower costs of products or services might be achieved by upgrading aging data center equipment, virtualizing file servers, and, thus, reducing maintenance expense in the long term.
ii. Investment in workflow software may eliminate time consuming manual processes, thus setting the stage for workforce reduction, which will lead to cost savings.
iii. Updated or new Customer Relationship Software may help in developing new markets.
iv. Updated or new ERP software may help facilitate new and better production techniques.
v. Cloud services could create a more nimble, flexible IT organization, quickly enabling mergers, acquisitions, or consolidations.
IV. Conclusion
Your concluding paragraph should be a brief statement reinforcing your position regarding leveraging technology and briefly summing up the document.
Cover Page and References
Remember, all papers need a cover page. Use at least one other reference for this assignment in addition to the course textbook.
Attachment:- Scenario.rar