Information management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Information management - Essay Example This paper will equally explain why information and knowledge have become more important in contemporary societies, differentiating industrial from knowledge economies. The paper will relevantly apply the framework Knowledge Management Value Chain to explain how Knowledge Management Systems can improve knowledge management in organisations, and the limitations of such systems. Explaining the three conceptual frameworks by Michel Porter The three generic strategies for building a competitive advantage include cost leadership, differentiation, and focus. The focus strategy has two variables that include cost focus and differentiation focus. In cost leadership, a company seeks to become a low cost producer in its area of specialization where it must find and exploit available sources of cost advantage. This is possible only where the company is able to command prices in the neighborhood of the average price. In this case, cost advantage is dependent on the structure of the industry and its sources are not exclusive and may include proprietary technology, the pursuit of economies of scale, and preferential access to raw materials. A firm that manifests cost leadership guarantees competitive advantage. Dell Computer Company falls in this strategy. ... In cost focus strategy, the company seeks a lower-cost advantage in the minor market segments. It focuses on a basic product that is dominant and high priced but acceptable to sufficient consumers. A small retailer featuring its own-label is a good example in this strategy. In the differentiation focus strategy, a company seeks differentiation between needs and wants that an existing competitor is not providing within just one or a small number of target market segments. A perfume shop is a good example (Porter, 1998, p. 11-15). The five forces model addresses the operating environment of a company and includes the threat of entry, the power of buyers, the power of suppliers, the threat of substitutes, and competitive rivalry. The force of threat of entry notes that the ease of easier of new companies to enter the industry generates stiff competition. As such, the numerous conditions that limit the threat of new entrants to the market are the barriers to entry. On the other hand, the force of threat of substitutes is the probability of a consumer to change to a competitive product or service. This arises from the similarity of substitutes. The lower the changing cost the greater the threat. The force of power of suppliers relates to the amount of pressure that suppliers can place on a business. The larger the suppliers pressure power, the greater the competitive advantage. The force of pressure customers relate to the pressure that a customer can place on a business. The greater the customers pressure power, the less the competitive advantage of the company. The force of competition rivalry describes the intensity of competition between existing firms in an industry. Competitive advantage falls with an increase in competition. The