Management Information System (mis) Research Paper

Management Information System (MIS) Research Paper

What is manufacturing? The production of tangible things planned to be sold or leased for final use or consumption or the production of tangible things pursuant to a contract with the Federal Government. This can be done by mechanical, physical or chemical means.

Plants, factories and mills that use power-driven machinery and equipment are typical in the manufacturing industry. However, it also includes home-based businesses that make hand-crafted goods, as well as bakeries, candy stores and custom tailors that produce and sell their goods onsite. The manufacturing industry is a great tool that drives the nation's economy; it can eliminate the unemployment rate of the country and increase the GDP at the same time. In the past decade it has been an instrument for economic growth for some countries. They own a large share in the market. They are the ones who utilize the use of technology that is available. Scientific and technological breakthroughs are stirred by linking creative minds. This things will boost up foreign investment in the country.

In few years time, the Employment in manufacturing is likely to grow at about the same rate as in the rest of the economy during the next few years. In terms of GDP, the industry is anticipate to slightly outpace mainly economic growth. Industries within manufacturing that are forecast to show stronger-than-average growth include food, beverage and computers, electronic products and other forms of manufacturing.

I. Threat of new Entry

New entry barriers are very low since manufacturing industry is very big. It is expensive to enter the industry since the technology being used is advance. Many threats to long run survival come from companies that do not yet exist or have a presence in a given industry or market. The threat of new entrants forces top management to monitor the trends, especially in technology, that might give rise to new competitors.

II. Competitive Rivalry

The large number of firms makes the Competitive Rivalry Intensive. The low switching cost of customers increase the rivalry since they easily switch from one brand to another. In mature industries, existing competitors are not much of the threat: typically each firm has found its "niche". However, changes in management, ownership, or "the rules of the game" can give rise to serious threats to long term survival from existing firms.

III. Supplier Power

The supplier power is weak since there are many players in this industry. There is a small factor of backward integration in which the suppliers go directly to purchasers. Suppliers with access to key or limited resources, or who dominate their industries, may exert undue influence on the firm. Many firms seek to reduce their dependence on a single firm to limit the suppliers' bargaining power.

IV. Buyer Power

The buyers possess a credible backward integration threat. Customers can grow large and powerful as a result of their market share. For example, Wal-Mart is the largest customer for consumer package goods and often dictates terms to the makers of those goods -- even a giant like Proctor & Gamble.

V. Threat of Substitutes

It exists due to the fact that product's demand is affected by the price change of a substitute product. To the extent that customers can use different products to fulfill the same need, the threat of substitutes exists.

A.S. Watson Group was established in 1828 and through the years has evolved into an retail and manufacturing business, operating in 36 markets worldwide. As of today, A.S Watson group is operating over 7,900 retail stores running from health & beauty, luxury perfumeries & cosmetics to food, electronics, fine wine and airport retail arms. They are also an established player in beverage industry. They can provide a full range of beverages from bottled water, fruit juices, soft drinks and tea products to the world's finest wine labels via its international wine wholesaler and distributor.

A.S. Watson has 87,000 employees worldwide, and in 2004 it was reported that their turnover reached approximately USD9.5 billion. ASW is a member of the world prominent Hong Kong-based conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa Limited, which has main interests in ports & related services, telecommunications, property & hotels, retail and energy, infrastructure, investments and others with businesses in 56 countries.

They had built a blue-chip portfolio of retail chains throughout Asia and Europe. Their brands are internationally recognised and respected for bringing top-quality products to our customers and adding value to their lives.

The Group's global network of retail outlets excels at combining local knowledge with international expertise to deliver products and services that customers really want and need at prices they can afford.

Each of their stores provides the high product quality and service standards that are their trademarks. Yet they are highly attuned to distinctive regional characteristics, tailoring their merchandise to suit local tastes. As such, they are able to operate globally while being sensitive to the unique requirements of local customs and cultures.

Manufacturing is moving forward in a very explosive era. Although the majority of the vital recent developments in design and manufacturing come from industry, manufacturing firms and their information technology system vendors need the knowledge base of the academic researchers, and those researchers need new and fundable challenges from the manufacturing environment. The leaves of technology transfer problem for manufacturing lie in the culture of universities. Research priorities and career imperatives for academic researchers must change to consent design and other manufacturing-related disciplines and activities to sway respect and attract researchers.

Information Technology includes the hardware that both computes and communicates; the software that provides data, knowledge, and information while at the same time controlling the hardware; and the interfaces between computers and the tools and machines on the manufacturing shop floor. Information technology can be used to meet up a range of needs of manufacturing