Transportation Transformation, Essay Example

Transportation is a currently evolving business opportunity which is moving from the privilege of movement into a commodity based service. The automobile industry has grown through the individual lease and purchase of vehicles and with that drive of personal ownership the threshold for ownership is now starting to trend toward a need for the purpose of transportation as opposed to the need for a personal automobile. The purpose of the vehicle is to provide on-demand access to movement over short or great distances and the freedom to travel at any given time. With the inclusion of consistently connected individuals to tools such as smartphones and wireless connectivity, the ability to provide real-time or near real-time access to transportation has created a new service based transportation market.  The increase in demand for service oriented transportation has increased the dependence on management information systems as well as placed a dependency on access, integrity, efficiency and effectiveness of connectivity and information.

When managing a product, whether it is a good or service, through the product lifecycle there comes a time when certain decisions must be made as whether or not certain aspects of the plan will need to be completed or not. There are other times when a solution to the problems the product launch is facing does not exactly fit into what the expectations held by the key stakeholders.  In these cases there must be an analysis completed to fully understand what trade-offs are worth compromising over and what other actions could be taken to mitigate the risks and still deliver the requirements to the end user.  With any plan there comes a time to make revisions and continually improve the plan to remain agile in the implementation.  Through the product launch of a shared transportation operation there were specific scenarios in which the initial plan had to be modified in order to fully realize the opportunities available to the organization.  The opportunities for the operations within shared transportation include shared personal vehicles, individually operated and personally owned local transportation, taxi services, group transportation for special events as well as customized opportunities for individuals to dictate their transportation needs through web-based applications to tailor their needs to any given set of variables.

Information systems are transforming business by transforming data into useful information for more accurate, reliable and expeditious business decisions. The core of any business is dependent on how the decision makers take inputs from the business environment, calculate the data together and ultimately compute a business decision based on those inputs(Mootee 1). As businesses go from the antiquated legacy processes of manipulating data to collaborative and instant information utilizing information systems, businesses can adapt and overcome their environments to help facilitate a competitive advantage. These information systems help provide a closer relationship between the key business decisions and the data needed to take the right actions. The closer and quicker decision makers can interpret and act upon the data, the better chance they have in creating a gap between themselves and their competition. There are three areas in which information systems have transformed business practices.  Information systems have reduced the necessary manpower to complete certain job functions, enhanced the performance and impact of those job functions or have provided a differentiating element to a new function in the business that can provide a competitive advantage(Rainer &Cegielski221).

All three of these results from the advent of business information systems have greatly benefited the way we are conducting business.  With each stride forward the business world is conducting more activity with less human intervention as well as making the world a bit smaller by providing enhanced communication tools and multiple methods for transferring information in a globalized environment.  In business there are always problems facing the decision makers.  When faced with a problem there is a four step process to work through the issue.  The steps are definition of the issue, brainstorming, evaluation and implementation.  This four step process can help facilitate the any problem facing information systems by constructing a logical process in which to derive a solution.  This process provides a framework for problem solving.

In certain functions the implementation of information systems allowed specific transactions that require numerous people to conduct into automated methods which eliminated the need for menial job tasks.  By eliminating these tasks the initial work force could be reduced and the limited resources the company has to employee their workers could be reallocated to other parts of the business in order to enhance their overall business model.

There are three areas in which information systems have transformed business practices.  Information systems have reduced the necessary manpower to complete certain job functions, enhanced the performance and impact of those job functions or have provided a differentiating element to a new function in the business that can provide a competitive advantage(Rainer &Cegielski110).  All three of these results from the advent of business information systems have greatly benefited the way we are conducting business.  With each stride forward the business world is conducting more activity with less human intervention as well as making the world a bit smaller by providing enhanced communication tools and multiple methods for transferring information in a globalized environment.  In business there are always problems facing the decision makers. When faced with a problem there is a four step process to work through the issue. The steps are definition of the issue, brainstorming, evaluation and implementation (Stair, Reynolds, & Reynolds, 46). This four step process can help facilitate the any problem facing information systems by constructing a logical process in which to derive a solution. This process provides a framework for problem solving.

In certain functions the implementation of information systems allowed specific transactions that require numerous people to conduct into automated methods which eliminated the need for menial job tasks.  By eliminating these tasks the initial work force could be reduced and the limited resources the company has to employee their workers could be reallocated to other parts of the business in order to enhance their overall business model.  Information systems transform the business environment by providing the tools necessary to bring the right people, data and issues together at the right time in an accurate and reliable fashion.  Information systems are leveraged in business to break down unnecessary boundaries and walls that previously prevented transactions from occurring.  Through eliminating manual efforts, creating enhanced opportunities or creating a competitive advantage by leveraging information systems, the business is conducting themselves in new and different ways every day and in expanded capacities (Cate, A., Harri, Shugars, and Westling 13).

The competitive advantage of using the internet to facilitate the web based applications, enhance marketing communication flow and provide information to not only the consumer but also the key decision makers within the chain of command provide a level of enhanced capability that is a differentiator in the retail, distribution and sourcing environments. The internet will continue to provide the ability to facilitate change through technological advancements. It is the conduit for communication and the faster and more reliable key decision makers can make decisions the faster the business can change and adapt to the variable transportation business environment.

Works Cited

Cate, A., Harris, J., Shugars, J., and Westling, H. Technology procurement as a market transformation tool. US Department of Energy. 1998. Print.

Rainer, R. K., &Cegielski, C. G. Introduction to information systems, enabling and transforming business. (3rd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2010. Print.

Stair, R. M., Reynolds, G., & Reynolds, G. W. Principles of information systems. (8th ed ed.). Course Technology Ptr. 2009. Print

Mootee, I., (2011). Apple – a rare case of sustainable competitive advantage.Web.http://www.innovationexcellence.com/blog/2011/08/24/apple-a-rare-case-of-sustainable-competitive-advantage/