North American Expansion for Threads Apparel

Unit I: Question 7 Case Study: North American Expansion for Threads Apparel Managing Information Technology (Brown, DeHayes, Hoffer, Martin, and Perkins, (2012) In this electronic age, the recent trends in Information Technology (IT) have influenced competition and have changed the way we work. Let’s examine how this has happened. In regards to competition, we can walk into any electronic store like Best Buy and see numerous brands of computer and computer software.

HP and IBM were primarily hard ware vendors but have taken a significant slice of the pie in this competitive market. Currently they rank #1 and #2 in the world as IT companies. Some other IT companies that are major players in this industry are Dell, Acer (Taiwan), Lenovo (China), and Apple. Additionally, from Japan, you have Toshiba, Fujitsu, and Sony. In regards to software alone, Microsoft dominates the market. Apple has its own operating system, but with all the other companies listed, you will see a Microsoft operating system.

With all the companies that were listed, it is easy to see how competition has helped tremendously in keeping prices down. The first computer I bought cost me $2500. It was a Pionex, 512 mb of RAM, Pentium processor, 120GB Hard Drive and a 15inch monitor than could be used for a boat anchor. The computer I have now cost me 1/3 the price. It has an Intel Core I5 processor, 1TB hard Drive, 6 GB of RAM, DVD RW drive, and a 24 inch monitor that weighs about 5 pounds.

Now that we have seen that computers are made bigger, better, and cheaper, let’s discuss how they have changed the way some companies do business. One way is, thanks to the internet, almost anything you want to buy can be delivered to your doorstep in just a few days. You can trade stocks, file your taxes or even unemployment online. IT has helped more people to conduct business from home instead of the, sometimes, long commute into work. In the business world, information travels faster and faster.

It allows virtual meetings and also the ability to send files via email in a matter of seconds. IT has moved from huge computers to laptops or even smaller with smartphones. With my own smartphone, I have sent email, browsed the internet, accessed sport channels, watched movies, taken pictures, taken videos, viewed Microsoft Word and Excel files, downloaded music, and, oh yes, made phone calls. I even had a BlackBerry work phone that my Computer Support Assistant (CSA) from the AF base linked up to my government secure email.

In conclusion, we have discussed how the IT industry is very competitive and how this competition has helped keep prices down while they continuously make improvements. We also discussed how IT has influenced some of the ways we work. With the speed IT is changing, if there is something you don’t like, wait a few minutes, the industry has just changed again. Brown, Dehayes, Hoffer, Martin, and Perkins, (2012), Managing Information Technology: (7th Ed). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson/Prentice Hall 2 Retrieved from http://money. howstuffworks. com/technology-changed-business. htm