Information technology is one of the key methods that can allow an organization to gain competitive advantage in their industry. According to Rainer and Turban (2008), “competitive advantage is when an organization seeks to outperform its competitors in some measure such as cost, quality, or speed.” Organizations are clearly going to use competitive advantage as a selling point in their marketing as well as business strategy. In order to illustrate how competitive advantage can be gained through the application of information technology Club IT will be used as a case study.
Club IT was started after Ruben Keys and Lisa Tejada worked their way through college by working as musicians. Once they both completed their degrees in Business Administration in 2000, they believed that Club IT was going to allow them to apply the knowledge that they gained while working their way through school. The mission statement for Club IT is as follows:
“We, Ruben and Lisa, offer you live music, DJ’s, dance space and refreshments that suit your lifestyle. You are our friends, and we seek to build a community that meets regularly at Club IT.” (Rainer & Turban, 2008). Club IT’s primary clientele is young, musically inclined students. Information technology is especially important when dealing with youthful customers as they are more inclined to use the internet and social networking to pick and choose where they take their business.
The information resources are somewhat limited at Club IT as the owners have worked really hard to renovate their space to provide a fun, exciting atmosphere. Currently, there are basic computing equipment, inventory reports, inventory spreadsheets, and a website with an intranet portal for employees. The IT manager will also be an information resource as that individual would have the most technical knowledge in the organization. What options are available for Club IT to allow them to take...