This business report was purposefully written to show how a company can use IT as a platform of expanding itself and the limitations that are probable. It is clearly known that with the diversity realized in the internet today many businesses are taking their marketing online and this can impact the organization both positively and negatively with regards to how it is applied. The report objectives also were to critique the process of management and the involvement of management in the planning for an information system and IT in the organization. Another one was to identify and show relation on emerging technology issues related to the management. The management decision of an organization directly relates to its profits and is also keen to the survival of the organization. Information technology together with information systems also relates to the profits and day to day operations of an organization.
Keywords: Information technology (IT), Information Systems (IS) and Management.
From the report about the chain of hotels called stay together I was able to come up with various assumptions. First and foremost is that the chain of management of the chain of hotels is immense. This is because from the information gave the chain was made up by merging of ten hotel chains. My assumption was that each and every of the ten hotel chains had its management which would want to safeguard their interests. From this situation, each of the hotel chains had to be represented in the management of the bigger chain to be big. Another assumption is that the management of the stay together chain is decentralized. This is because since different hotel chains merged to form the bigger chain most probably the management decisions are not reached by a single party but rather a decisive conclusion through consultation of different parties who are part of management
Most probably the organization might be using either democratic or persuasive styles of management. Persuasive in the sense that the leaders or the management of an organization maintain the final control of the decisions made. However, they have to make their choice of decisions with regards to the persuasions made by the subordinates. On the other hand, the organization can also be using a democratic style of management in the sense that all the ten hotel chains that merged to form it have to give a view on the decision-making process in the organization are agreed upon by the majority of the ten hotel chains forming it up. This, therefore, means that the decision making in the organization is probably very slow as the democracy in an organization usually slow down the decision making process. (GraceOnline, 2017)
The organization bases more of the advertisements online from the report it is shown that the company combats the sales of its rooms through the use of popular website thus it is significant to conclude that advertisements which presumptuously I would say are the causes for the reduced profits for the company especially giving to it that use multiple websites to advertise its products and services internet marketing can be simply be said to be the guideline for information marketing rather than inducement of impression . However, organizations or the business it is not is to create a big brand name and image online, and the only way possible is by engaging with expertise who are familiar with transmission and the expression of information, and they should also possess implacable presentation skills to woo more customers. Similarly, online marketing does not provide a congregated platform where the service providers can directly engage with their potential and already customers so as to achieve impression goals. Through the use of scrupulous methods of online marketing which is my assumption the company was able to filter its online advertising visitors rather than build on them and that gives credit to the reduced profits and the watering down of their corporate image.
The management made a decision of using a website for its marketing which can be seen as a very productive measure .this can be substantiated by the fact that their potential customers can easily get information about the chain of hotels by simply navigating through the internet.Besides that, they can check the information at any time and any day thus making its clients familiarize with the services offered .since online marketing does not require a lot of capital it could also be another positive factor from the decision. However if the organization creates an application that is too complex or a large website, it will create difficulties for the users, and thus eventually they will get bored then end up cutting down on its profits. On the other hand, internet marketing does not allow the users to have a physical experience with the product or service before purchase and should not be relied upon because it may cause consumer filtration. (KnowOnlineAdvertising, 2015)
The management seemingly has made a decision to have a customer loyalty scheme which will reward customers with cash port transfers free nights and free car parking on any of its sites. However much legit this scheme might be it is not guaranteed to get maximum consumers reception. Since the promotion looks like its virtual some of the customers may align themselves with the idea that the promotion is some fraud. This consumer aspect is a key determinant to the end profits of an organization. These aspects will obviously deteriorate the image of the company and also dismantle and disintegrate the reputation of the quality of the company, and with this, the company might suffer greater losses than positives. The inclusion of breakfast and dinner to the hotel price if kitchen and restaurant are on site will impact the organization in a negative way.
This may make the users on the site to feel that the price is too high. Hotel chains that classify prices differently for different products or services are more likely to gain more customers since the customers might view it as cheaper compared to chains that have an all-inclusive price for some of its products and services. In one way or another decision might drive away many potential customers instead of wooing them.
Technology has impacted nearly all aspects of the human life in the recent past, and thus there was a surge in new concepts and terms in the field. The emergence of different related terminologies in the field is a potential cause of confusion among people and businesses. One of the common confusing terms is Information technology and information systems. Though the words might look like similar, they bear totally different meanings and should never be used interchangeably. Therefore it is very critical for the management of a business to understand the two terminologies to understand both the components and concept of the information product. One of the best ways to approach this is by understanding that IT is a component of IS. For instance, consider how the larger unit of a personal computer has a central processing unit as one of its components. (AIU, 2015)
Information systems are made up by all the people, processes and the equipment’s used to disseminate information within an organization. The main difference between the two is that Information Systems focuses mainly on the information in an organization while information technology centers itself more within the computer software and hardware to ensures that users can professionally network, disseminate, process and store data. Information systems have existed since the pre-mechanical period in different forms such as books and drawings while the origin of information technology is mainly attributed to the invention of computers. Information systems have undergone converse changes and development, and that can be directly attributed to the constant and rapid change in information technology whereby there has been an emergence of faster processors and shrinking in the size of storage devices. Information technology has undergone a lot of change in the past years, and that has seen through the creation of more sophisticated Information systems. (Olivia, 2012)
Most of the business organizations in the corporate business environment usually want to provide consumer satisfaction which gives them a margin between them and their competitors. The flow of information in an organization should be under the great control of good IS or else it may turn against the organization. Once information in a company or an organization is not controlled it may get to the consumers without getting confirmation from the management and that might impact consumer choices either positively or even negatively. Once negative information about the organization or products of the organization is passed to the consumers, it will obviously create a poor image thus causing filtration of customers. On the other hand, effective control of information systems can make a great positive turn on the consumer choices in an organization. Control over information systems help effect efficiency in a firm and also helps the firm build on its organizational culture. This creates a positive image of the firm to the customers hence increasing their choice of the organization’s products or services over similar products and services from competitors. Good information systems also help in reducing cost of goods and services and enhancement of their quality in the organization. The organization’s costs reduce because the inbound logistics and the purchasing activities of the organization are performed more efficiently. (Supattra, 2013)
Most consumers are of the thought that IT helps to reduce of cost of goods by creating awareness and providing of online purchasing which allows them to discount on products. IT is also very effective in enhancing of consumer confidence by facilitating the customers in their decision-making process, encouraging them to buy goods and services and giving them information on new products and services available. With IT consumers can engage directly with the company which creates direct touch with no intermediaries between the consumer and the organization. This reduces the cost of consumers going to the market physically and might as well reduce the cost of the organization and thus enhances positive consumer choices. (Sachdeva, 2013)
Many customers tend to remain loyal to the brands that meet their needs without putting much into mind the effects of the new information technologies on the knowledge they have about the services or products of a given organization. However, with the increase, I new information technologies the information given to consumers has become more confusing since it is voluminous. With this aspect, the consumer loyalties to the brand are easily impacted negatively by the consumer confusion. On the other hand, the confusion can also have a positive impact on the brand loyalty by the consumer since the confusion might cause the consumer to stick to his or her usual brand of use. (Heskett, 2014)
In the business world, the customers do not worry so much about following the guidelines of an organization that is interested in giving offers. It is more likely that if the customers are expected to do something for them to be rewarded, they end up doing it without asking a lot of questions. A good example can be taken from where organizations give offers of buy three and get one free (Ottenbacher, 2007). When customers come across such adverts, they tend to change their minds so that they can qualify to be awarded. The case is not different from the strategy that the group of hotels has put in place. It is for this reason that I the strategy is likely to work effectively and to the advantage of the hotels. Most customers will give in, and that will have an effect on the profit margin of the hotels.
The decision by the management has two different sides, a good side, and a rather not bad side but also not so good side. The reason for stating so is because the decision looks like an ultimatum; do this if you want us to do this. It is important to note that not all customers are the same and react to organizations in the same way (Legrand, W, Philip, S, & Joseph, S, 2016). There are customers who are sensitive and believe that if they are to be rewarded, they should be rewarded for just purchasing the goods, not through an ultimatum. It is for this reason that the idea of the management was not one hundred percent good and not guaranteed to be one hundred percent effective. On the other hand, the strategy is also one of the best and most effective to a big number of customers (Kandampully, J, Tingting, Z, & Anil, B, 2015). When customers believe in an organization or a product, they tend to follow what the company says. The reason behind it is because of the level of trust between the organization and the customers. In this case, it is more likely that most of the customers would not have a problem in following the directives of the organization. Such would play to the advantage of the group of hotels.
In the modern day, any given organization must be updated when it comes to the information system. Some of the possible information system issues with respect to the given case are information security, system’s stability, and trustworthy (Nyheim, P, & DanieL, C, 2011). The three issues might affect the whole initiative in different ways. When there is no security for the information of the hotels, there lacks privacy which customers in the hospitality industry value a lot. The company might have all the plans in place just to lose the information to the competitors. If the competitors get hold of the information, it is more likely that the organization might be affected negatively because the competitors may decide to use the information to their advantage. If customers get to know that the same strategies and offers provided by the group of hotels are offered by the competitors, some might choose to seek the services from the competitors thus affecting brand loyalty. At the same time, the customers will have a variety of choices to choose from since the offers are similar. Such is dangerous for business (Supattra, 2013). For an organization to retain and attract more customers, it ought to offer what is rare for the customer to find the competitors.
Information technology is used by many organizations in the modern day (Legrand, W, Philip, S, & Joseph, S, 2016). It is astonishing to see how customers get to know about an organization and its products just through an information technology device. The issue that is likely to affect the decision of the management as far as the information technology is concerned is the availability of many other hotels on the internet (Jones, 2016). Customers are not limited to venues where they should gather their information about what they need or want. With that in mind, it is more likely that they can come across other hotels offering similar or almost similar services on the internet. Such has an effect on the group of hotels because it gives the customers a variety of choices to choose from which has an effect on customer choice and brand loyalty.
Different strategies can be used to attract customers from the competitors. However, not every strategy is effective; it all depends on the current issue. In this case, there are different issues. Tackling the issue is enough to attract more customers. The first issue is making sure that information is safe and is not accessed by any person who is not authorized to do so. The hospitality industry is sensitive. Some people take their vacation without the aim of being known where they are. With that in mind, their privacy might be given priority. If not, the customers might be lost to the competitor who is not good for business. Second, the group of hotels needs to be on the frontline in making sure that its information is updated on the internet, social media, or the website (Nyheim, P, & DanieL, C, 2011). Such is important because the customers are guaranteed that they can acquire information concerning the goods and services of the company at any given time. There is a danger in not updating the internet platforms. Customers need information that is updated, therefore, when the information of an organization is not updated, it is more likely for the customers to seek the services of the website. The third issue is related to intelligence. Knowing about the competitor’s moves and what they introduce in the market is a very important thing. An organization can implement a strategy that is more effective that the competitors’ by just knowing more about what the competitors are offering to the customers. The organization may also have a chance to explore in marketing services of the products it uses in its operations and gets paid by the responsible companies. For example, if a hotel buys towels from a specific company, it might use its technological platform to advertise the towels since that might not have any effect on its operations and earn from it.
One of the strategies that win the hearts of the customers is making sure that their views are respected, and they are given a decision to make when it comes to spending what they have offered to the organization. By giving the customers the power to decide where their donations should be channeled will be making the customers parts and parcel of the organization which will have an effect on customer choice and brand loyalty (Kandampully, J, Tingting, Z, & Anil, B, 2015).
Customers are different. It is most likely that customers do not have the same taste and preferences. With that in mind, the decision by the management might give birth to conflicts and disagreements in the organization (Fraj, E, Jorge, M, & Iguacel, M, 2015). The reason behind it is because some customer may choose different places where they want their donations to be made from others.
Putting into consideration that a certain percentage must be donated, it is important to make sure that the information systems are accurate. Failure to that might lead to distrust among the customers. One information issue that might affect the whole process is losing data that is important in the whole process. Customers are sensitive with their money; it is for this reason that accuracy and accountability is a requirement rather than a choice when it comes to handling the issue of finances that belong to the customers (Ottenbacher, 2007). Availability of other organizations in the hospitality industry using the same mechanism but giving more to the society might affect the organization. This is because the customers will feel that by seeking the services of the other organization will be giving more back to the society.
As far as the issue is concerned, the group of hotels should come up with a list of charity organizations. It should then give customers a choice to donate to the organization of their choice. Such is likely to eliminate any misunderstanding or conflict that might emerge in future (Parker, 2014).
Recommendations and Conclusion:
Stealing of customers from competitors is one difficult job most organizations do not know how to beat squarely. One of the strategies is to stay closed-lipped so as not to give information to your competitors of what you are doing. They might decide to do it before you and use it to beat you down. Follow them on their social media and be kind with those constant shares and commenter on their accounts. Follow the ones identified and give them a business deal that they won’t turn down easily. Another one is that you should always display your differences. Show out clearly the differences that are there between you and your competitors. This can help steal some customers from competitors. (Parker, 2014). With the business the chain of hotels does there be possibilities of other emergent business opportunities. For instance, the hotel chain can decide to start an airline that will be lifting its customers from airports to sites and vice versa. It may also decide to start a tour guide service whereby the tourists who are using the hotels don’t have to hire tour guides from elsewhere but rather within. Another business opportunity is starting of a cyber café in all of its sites to allow customers access the internet and pay for the services. It is, however, evident that information systems and information technology in an organization can affect the operations of the organizations
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