Organizations in the contemporary world are faced with the challenge of managing their information systems in order gain a competitive advantage in the market. The process by which both private and public institutions apply information technology in implementing various functions and activities is referred to as Information Systems Management. Many organizations have recognized the importance of managing their information resources related to capital, labor and supply management (O’Leary, 2002). The various components of Information Systems Management include collection, analysis, storage, distribution, and utilization of information resources by an organization. Walmart is an example of organization which has benefited greatly from Information Systems Management (Wolpert, 2001).
Walmart is a multinational corporation in America founded in 1962 and officially incorporated in 1969. The company has several stores in different countries of the world. Currently, Walmart has an international experience in the sale of clothing and varieties of products across the United States continent. Even though Walmart operates international stores, they all operate towards a common goal, enabling customers to live a better life and save a lot of money. Walmart has emerged one of the largest corporations in the world due to effective knowledge management. O’Leary (2002), defines knowledge management as a combination of practices and strategies that a company utilizes to create and distribute its knowledge and information for adoption of specific experiences.
Walmart has taken the right steps in securing its information and knowledge through the use of a detailed Privacy Policy. Walmart secures its information and knowledge because it relies on them to provide goods and services that are needed by customers. Walmart’s Privacy Policy details how the company collets, uses, and protects, and shares its information and knowledge. As detailed in the Policy, Walmart uses its information and knowledge to support business functions, legal functions, marketing, and to prevent fraud. The company shares its information and knowledge only in limited circumstances and places restriction on how to access it. This helps to prevent transfer and distribution of private information to unauthorized persons.
Walmart has been able to gain and sustain an advantage over its competitors through proper Information Systems Management. According to Wolpert (2001), many people understand that the main source of Walmart’s competitive advantage is scale, yet they fail to understand that a company cannot turn into a ‘giant’ overnight. Walmart has grown to be the large company that it is today partly because it has leveraged its information systems to a better level than any other company in the industry. Through the use of technology, Walmart has been able to create a successful coordination in its value chain and to deliver data throughout its international stores in a very unique manner in the entire United States retail market (Wolpert, 2001).
Effective Information Systems Management by Walmart is demonstrated by how the organization manages the components of its Information Technology infrastructure. Walmart stands out as a company with the largest information technology infrastructure in the world (Lu, 2014). The company largely uses its information technology infrastructure in supply chain management. For example, Walmart has implemented the Universal Product Code system which it uses to collect and analyze company’s retail data immediately they are generated. The company has also devised a database known as Retail Link for displaying real time retail data from all its distribution centers (Lu, 2014).
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