Fiat was among the first companies to adopt a Post-Fordist system in production after its recovery from the 1970 oil crisis. The large-scale deployment of robotics in the production process of Fiat Company was the most significant move to cope with increased competition and demand. In 1972, the company initiated the adoption of FMS so that it could shift to flexible production methods from the Fordistic inflexible mass production systems. The move was considered as the first step towards discontinuity in management and organization involving the shift in planned goals and replacements of procedures supporting operations supervision. The Robogate technology was developed in-house by Fiat Company and used to create flexibility with enhanced product-mix flexibility. Product-mix flexibility is the conferred ability of an organization to produce different products sequentially using the same lines of production. As indicated, the shift from Fordist mass production systems enables a company to reduce tool specificity Continue reading
Business and Technology
Digital Transformation – Definition, Types, Challenges, and Examples
Business performance improvement is a core goal of organizations. They develop core capabilities that drive a sustained transformation to achieve the set strategic objectives. Further, high-performance firms adopt policies for change management and adaptation to remain competitive in an unpredictable business environment. One capability that impact organizational performance is information technology (IT). Significant competitive gains are linked to superior IT resources that support digital business. Strategic integration of IT into organizational processes is seen as a way to promote greater digitization and transform a firm. IT-driven transformation encompasses the competitive capabilities drawn from information technology. The transformational potential of IT is seen in business processes, relations, consumer experience, clients, and disruption. Thus, a fundamental characteristic of digital transformation is the ability to change traditional models or confer new capabilities. The technologies should alter firm operations, support expansion to different markets or customers, and yield competitive gains. Conceptually, digital transformation encompasses Continue reading
Online Reputation Management (ORM) – Meaning, Definition and Strategies
The growth of the internet over the past two decades has come as a welcome development for businesses, both big and small. The internet has provided a whole new, vast and efficient advertising space. However, bad publicity surrounding the brand can also spread faster than ever, tarnishing the image of the brand. The reputation that a brand projects towards its customers, business partners and stockholders can have dramatic effects, not only on the company’s revenue but on its very existence. Many brand owners and managers are still ignorant of the concept of Online Reputation Management (ORM) for businesses. Online reputation refers to a company’s image online. The online environment poses a great risk to businesses and their brands. The online image of a company can be the creation of third parties. Both the company and third parties influence online reputation. It is the responsibility of the company to control its Continue reading
Case Study: Amazon’s Innovative Business Model Using Information Technology
Nowadays, Amazon is the largest and most popular online retailer. It is known for being the second-largest e-commerce company in the world being outperformed only by Google. During two decades on the market, the firm managed to reach the position of the retailer with the Earth’s Biggest Selection, thus growing extremely popular among customers and enjoying customer loyalty. Amazon is an international corporation employing more than 150,000 people around the globe. Launched as an online bookstore in 1994, the company diversified its assortment so that now it offers a wide variety of products, including video games, software, furniture, electronics, apparel, jewelry, toys, and food. More than that, cloud services and infrastructure, as well as video gaming and music streaming, are provided to its customers.The specificity of the company is the fact that it has several different websites launched and operating in different countries around the globe – the United States, Continue reading
Case Study: Analysis of Information Systems Application at Walmart
Walmart is one of the world’s largest retailers that make up high amounts of profits. The business organization has grown top great extends from a single store to a large retail store with branches in many parts of the world. The main purpose of the business organization has been to provide value to its customers as well as empowering its employees to perform effectively in the business activities. The business organization is committed to meeting the needs of its customers effectively as well as providing quality products and services. The business operations and management at the Walmart promotes a culture that is based on obtaining effective information that is most current. The information is usually based on the customers needs and wants in the market, obtaining the best business ideas from the employees on how to run the business operations effectively and ways of maximizing profits. The way in which Continue reading
Global Impact of Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
In recent years, the evolution of the concept of training has been dazzled by the emergence and consolidation of information and communications technologies (ICT), the Internet and its implementation on the World Wide Web has facilitated access to all types of necessary information, causing a considerable increase in interactivity between people from different continents and countries of the world, providing the possibility of developing their skills and abilities for teleworking, multicultural interaction, access to information, knowledge and education with the objective of reducing the digital divide, this being the subject addressed in this article. Globalization consists of the increasing communication between the different countries of the world unifying their societies, societies and cultures markets, through a series of transformations at a global level. Communications and computing are the engine of globalization, since that advances in computing and electronic elements used for communications have been admirable in the field of global Continue reading