The effectiveness of the system in gaining a competitive advantage
The companies should assess the information on the effectiveness of the system in gaining a competitive advantage. They should assess whether other companies have adopted the system and if any, how many have and the method of implementation they are adopting. This information will help the company to determine whether the opportunity is worth exploiting. This information could be obtained by conducting a research.
How the system is going to improve the performance in the company
It is also important to consider the nature of improvement the system is going to have on the company. The information of how the system is bound to improve performance is important to the company; this will help the company to choose a system that will effectively improve their performance.
Economic justification
The cost of purchasing the system and the cost of implementation and maintenance of the system should be considered relative to the returns expected from the implementation of the system. There are fewer changes to be made to the existing system and operations in the companies, thus the cost of implementation may be low, but it is important to obtain adequate information about the maintenance of the system once it has been implemented.
System monitoring and maintenance information
Once the system is installed, it will require periodic monitoring. Monitoring helps in increasing productivity, reliability and system performance and reduces system failures. The company should thus acquire information on the maintenance of the system; the system should provide tools that will be used to identify the problems and hiccups before they become serious.
This information is acquired from different sources and in different ways. First the information can be acquired from the vendors of the system this will include information such as price, maintenance and after sale services that the company will provide.
Information that involves performance of the system can be acquired from the companies that have already implemented the system in their organization.
With respect to competition and the number of organizations that have already implemented the system the information can be obtained from the vendors of the system. This will help in determining the chances of having a competitive advantage by using the system.
Licensing the system would mean an additional expense to the company. Since the company is currently providing gardening services only, then it means the company will need to hire new plumbers and purchase new plumping equipments. This will create additional expense.
Other expenses that may be incurred include advertising and marketing
The company will also restructure its operations including billing, tendering, and other operations to incorporate the new service.
It will also require services from the guild plumbers to maintain the systems and to carry out repairs from time to time which will mean additional expense.
However the licensing allows the company to be the sole owner of the system and thus they can operate independently.
On the other hand integration would be a cheaper option as the plumbing services would sustain it. The payment from plumbing would go to guild plumbers while at the same time expanding the services for the company.
It is also technically viable; the company won’t need to purchase new plumbing equipment as it will be provided by the guild plumbers. No additional personnel will be required.
Maintenance services and system monitoring will also be provided by the company at a cheaper cost since they are stakeholders in the business.
However there maybe risks of unreliability to the company to offer this service exclusively. They may also pull out at any time thus hampering the company’s’ continuous operation.
References
Chris, R., & Scott, G. (1997). Ethical Decision Making: The Effects of Escalating Commitment. Journal Of Business Ethics , 67 - 70.
Effy, O. (2009). Management Information systems. Cengage Learning Inc.
Lubrizol Inc. (2012). Building and construction:CONSIDERATIONS WHEN CHOOSING A PLUMBING SYSTEM. Retrieved June 8, 2012, from Lubrizol: http://www.lubrizol.com/BuildingSolutions/LiteratureMedia/FeatureArticles/PlumbingConsiderations.html
