Information Systems and Information Technology has become essential for all the organizations and it has become necessary to include the same in the business processes and activities that are carried out. There are several organizations that have been set up with these components present and reflected in their business architecture. Rocky Mountain Orthodontics is one such organization that includes various components of ICT in its architecture and there are several areas that can still be improved.
The report covers the current state of ICT in Rocky Mountain Orthodontics and also recommends the measures that it may take to improve upon the same. An implementation plan has also been included in the report for the recommendations that are suggested.
Rocky Mountain Orthodontics (RMO) is one of the oldest orthodontics firms that is set up in the United States and is a Denver institution that has a strong and a lot of historical data associated with it. There has been much advancement that has been done in RMO that has made it enabled to stay upfront as a market leader and provide good quality services to the customers.
Energy and ideas are two of the major pillar that RMO is based upon and it makes use of these pillars to include and implement new innovations and concepts in its framework. Diagnostics, orthodontics treatment and fixed appliances have been the key application areas of RMO and it has done a lot of research and development work in all these key areas (Rmortho, 2017).
In order to achieve the business objectives, RMO makes use of technology and components of ICT on the basis of the classic themes of informatics that include naming and knowing, discovery and presentation, recording and remembering, language and communication along with systemization and construction.
In the field of orthodontics, gold was primary used for the creation of alloys and appliances. The classic theme of naming and knowing was applied in the field of orthodontics by its owner and founder, Dr. Archie Brusse by working on the replacement of gold with stainless steel. The trend brought a disruptive innovation in the field of orthodontics as stainless steel alloys began to gain interest and attraction from the pioneers in the field and there were new conventions and methodologies that were being adapted.
There was a great research and development work that was being carried out in the field of science and the concepts of bone biology and tooth movement were acquired and analyzed by RMO. The classic theme of language and communication was followed as RMO maintained a close contact with the researchers and developers working in the area of orthodontics and always made sure that they gained maximum out of the sources.
Discovery and presentation is one of the most significant classic themes of informatics which can be justified to be included by RMO with its discoveries such as Snap Channel bracket which was done 60 years back. Self-ligating may seem as a concept that is launched recently. However, RMO worked upon it and presented it to the world way back (Biros, 2000).
Recording and Remembering along with systemization and construction are the two most significant classical themes of informatics that are reflected by RMO in the data management and record maintenance activities that it carried out. Also, there are standard and organized processes that are followed at the organization so that none of the deviations can be observed.
There are several analysis techniques that have been used to understand the nature and state of ICT in RMO. These analysis techniques have been elaborated below.
As per the system theory, an organization or a company may be defined and termed as a social work system. It is a system in which all the human resources that are engaged with the organization carry out the business processes and activities with the use of raw materials, technologies, skills and information for the production of products and for providing the services to the customers. This is a process through which the systems and information collaborate with each other to create value which may be done directly or indirectly. Work Centered Analysis is an analysis technique and a model which is used to analyze all the different elements that may be required and involved in the process of serving the customers as per the principles and components of technology and information systems. It may also be used to understand the business processes that are involved and the gaps that may be present between the various entities. There are three elements that are mainly present in this model as customer, products and business processes. There are further sub-elements that are present as major activities and participants. Information and technology is also involved in the same (Alter, 2017).
In case of RMO, Work Centered analysis was carried out to understand the business processes in a better way. The customer that are associated with RMO include patients and people suffering from orthodontics related problem, medical staff and practitioners, medical centers and clinics, hospitals, suppliers of the equipment and organizations and firms that require assistance. There are three major products that are provided by RMO as Diagnostics, Orthodontics Treatment/Functional Education and Fixed Appliances. There are several steps and activities that the organization takes in terms of detailed analysis, computer aided diagnostics, Electronic file sharing and tracking, Wilson 3D appliances, Multi-Family TM Systems, Metal Injection Moulding and fixed appliances. The participants that are associated with the organization include patients and people suffering from orthodontics related problem, medical staff and practitioners, medical centers and clinics, hospitals, suppliers of the equipment and organizations and firms that require assistance. There is a lot of data that is shared and is involved with RMO such as medical data and records, supplier information, patient details, employee details and medical research data. Technology plays a significant role in case of RMO as it makes use of Computer aided diagnostics, Electronic file sharing and communication, 3D appliance design and development, Myo-functional appliances and automatic information storage and retrieval (Angell, 2012).
It can therefore be concluded from the analysis that the organization is working actively to combine and integrate ICT components in its structure and architecture. However, there are new and advanced technologies that are being created with each passing day which shall be included in the organization.
Another method that can be used for analyzing the industry structure and evaluate the competitive scenario that is involved in the industry is Porter’s five force analysis. There is a lot of competition in the industry such as orthodontics in the present times and it is therefore required for an organization to develop the strategies that may successfully achieve the requirements and meet the challenges that may be involved. There are several factors that are analyzed and assessed in this theory such as rivalry, competitiveness of the buyers and suppliers, threat of substitutes and new entries.
The analysis was carried out on RMO and it was found out that rivalry and competition for the organization in the industry is high. It is because of the reason that medical and healthcare industry is growing at a rapid rate and there are market giants in the field of orthodontics that constitute for more than 75% of the revenue (Dulcic, Gnjidic and Alfirevic, 2012). There are legal formalities that are to be done as per government rules; however, there are lesser barriers that have been put on the exit from the industry. The products are differentiated and varied on the basis of the alloys used, age group and several other factors. Bargaining power of the suppliers is low in this case as buyers have high contract volume which lowers down the same for the suppliers. Degree of standardization is low because of the bulk volumes that are involved. There can be high to moderate variations that may be observed in the cost structures. Bargaining power of the buyers is moderate in case of RMO as there are low variations that are observed in the cost structures; however, buyers have good information about the products and services because of technology. Buyers pay attentions and give importance to the brand that is associated and is present (Stonehouse and Snowdon, 2007). Threat of substitutes in case of RMO is high as there can be alternate alloys and materials that may be used leading to high switching of costs. The substitutes that are created are high in terms of cost because the modifications and changes that they bring along. Also, buyers pay attentions and give importance to the brand that is associated and is present. Threat of new entrants is also high as there are legal and government barriers that are present on the entry of the organization in the field of orthodontics and healthcare. There is a high initial investment that is required for setting up the organization along with high economies of scale as well (Jahan, 2012).
This is a model that can be used for the measurement of performance and for the improvement of strategic directions that are associated for the organization. It is the technique that makes it possible to achieve the business objectives n the basis of various multi-dimensional perspectives. The business rations that are used provide information regarding the past, present along with the future of the organization. In order to understand the effectiveness and efficiency of RMO balanced scorecard model was used (Sahiti and Ahmeti, 2016).
There are two parameters that are primarily involved from the financial perspective as rise in sales and profits and improvements in the cost structure. There are several organizations that are present in the same field and the policies that have been set up by the US government have transformed recently. Market analysis using the market analysis tools so that the sales and profits can be increased and the demands for the customers may also be understood by using the automated tools and techniques. The price of the raw material is increasing and there are also additional requirements that are present in terms of tools. The sales process shall therefore be redefined so that the better structure and allocation of costs shall be done along with the analysis and selection of the adequate vendors (Payne and Talbott, 2007). From the customer perspective, there are two parameters that are involved as providing excellent diagnostics and enhancement of the level of customer satisfaction. There are newer issues related with the customer health in terms of orthodontics that is making it difficult to match up to the demands and requests. Because of the increase in demands, there are scenarios wherein customer expectations cannot be met in certain cases. Enhanced research and development using the computer aided technologies such as artificial intelligence, computer aided engineering etc. to come up with new and improved solutions shall be used (Chen and Jermias, 2015). Also, customer relationship management and online portals shall be used so that the customer activities can be tracked and the strategies can be accordingly created. Competitive gains and organizational policies and culture make up for the internal business parameters. There are new organizations that are coming up in the market in the same field and there has been a shift in the industry practices leading to the decrease in engagement of the resources with the organization. Analysis of competition to recognize trends, customer preferences and plagiarism shall be done. The resources shall be managed and tracked using the automated tools and their concerns shall also be handled (Yongvanich and Guthrie, 2009). There shall be web based trainings that may be provided to maintain pace with the changes in industry trends. Innovation and learning RMO revolves around use of new forms of allows and diagnostic practices and enhanced time allotted to trainings and research. The practices that are being used in the industry and orthodontics sector have been applied and used by RMO long back. Also, there are ambiguities among the employees in association with the RMO vision and goals lead to the negative impact on productivity and efficiency. Enhanced research and development using the computer aided technologies such as artificial intelligence, computer aided engineering etc. to come up with new and improved solutions shall be used. Also, the resources shall be managed and tracked using the automated tools and their concerns shall also be handled. There shall be web based trainings that may be provided to maintain pace with the changes in industry trends (Chavan, 2009).
SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Threats and Opportunities) is an analysis technique that is carried out on the organizations to understand the various parameters and factors that are involved.
In case of RMO, there are several strengths and positive factors that are associated with RMO. It is in existence since 1930s and is known as the primary orthodontics institute in the United States. It is because of the reason that there is already a huge customer base that is associated with the organization (Helms and Nixon, 2010). Also, the resources that are engaged with RMO are experienced and have the skills and abilities to successfully meet the needs and demands of the people. There is a good use of technology that is already being done in the organization in terms of computer aided diagnostics and use of 3D appliances and measures. There are however various opportunities that RMO may explore for the betterment of its organizational structure in terms of advanced research through the use of ICT, industry growth, increased customer satisfaction and experience, management of risks and threats , market research and analysis along with better customer engagement and relationship management (Kumar, 2012).
There are certain weaknesses that are associated with RMO. Because of en established name in the market, the expectations and demands of the customers keep on increasing which lead to a lot of market pressure. It has also become extremely essential to maintain this brand reputation and develop new and innovative solutions. There are also certain threats that are associated with the organization in terms of changes in market trends and customer expectation, new entries in the market, change in government and legal policies and plagiarism of the products and services that are created (Singh, 2015).
There are certain issues that are associated with RMO that are mainly associated with the relationship and engagement of the customers and the emergence of new entries in the market.
The organization shall therefore make use of ICT tools and packages for meeting its requirements and shall make use of automated Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools. These tools will allow RMO to be in contact with its customers on a non-stop basis and will be able to serve their needs successfully. There may be scenarios that may be present wherein the customers may require the need to contact the orthodontics team for urgent care. This may be done through this tool. Also, the engagement of the customers will be ensured as there will be better use and application of technology that will be involved.
For the information and knowledge about the market trends and the new entrants in the market, use of Business Intelligence (BI) tools shall be done. There are various analytics and real-time BI tools that are available that shall be used. These tools will allow RMO to collect all of the essential data from different data sources and this data will be analyzed and integrated to come up with results on the market trends that are present.
The implementation of the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and BI tools shall be done in a phased manner.
The implementation process shall include various phases that have been described below.
Conclusion
Rocky Mountain Orthodontics (RMO) is a well-known and well-reputed orthodontics organization that is based out of the United States. There are several business activities and processes that are carried out in RMO and these activities shall go under the process of continuous improvement. ICT has been an integral component of RMO and there are several products and services that are offered that are provided due to the assistance of ICT. There are several analysis techniques and methods that were carried out on RMO such as work centered analysis, balanced scorecard, Porter’s five force analysis and SWOT analysis. There are certain improvements that can be done in terms of ICT application in the organization. RMO shall make use of ICT tools and packages for meeting its requirements and shall make use of automated Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools. These tools will allow RMO to be in contact with its customers on a non-stop basis and will be able to serve their needs successfully. Also, BI analytics and real-time BI tools shall also be used and applied. These tools and changes shall be implemented in RMO using the phased approach for implementation. These phases shall include planning and analysis, execution, control and closure.
References
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