Whirlpool Case Study

Study Centre: Darlinghurst, Sydney

ITC501 Strategic Information Management
(Faculty of Business)
Spring Session 2009

Subject Lecturer:
Sanjay Jha

Assessment Item 2
(Due 2nd November 2009)

By Samer Krim
csu11367408

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive summary 3
Inputs into information systems 3
How IT can affect industry attractiveness? 4
  The threats of new entrants 4
  The bargaining power of customers 5
  The bargaining power of supplier 5
  The threat of substitute products 5
  Competitive rivalry between companies of the same manufacturing industry 6
Value Chain Analysis 6
Product life cycle 8
Boston Box Portfolio Analysis 8
  The Star 8
  The Wild Cat 9
  The Cash Cow 10
  The Dog 10
McFarlan’s matrix 10
  Strategic 11
  Turnaround 11
  Factory 12
  Support 12
Suggested generic management strategies as per Parsons 12
  Centrally planned 13
  Leading edge 13
  Free market 13
  Monopoly 14
  Scarce resources 14
  Necessary evil 14
Alignment with assignment 1 14
Conclusion 15
Recommendations 15
Abbreviations 16
References 17

Executive summary

Previously we have discussed different aspect of Whirlpool Corporation in regards to its background and history and went into depth with its SWOT analysis, competitive advantage and so forth… The previous aspects discussed the mission statement and the managerial approaches taken by the organization without much regards into the role of Information Systems in the whole scenario. In this paper we will be discussing the involvement of IS in Whirlpool and the way it has affected its current and future processes.   We will discuss how the IS department of Whirlpool with its in-sourced and outsourced activities and its partnership with SAP, enables the implementation of its global vision. Porters five questions of industry attractiveness will also be introduced with their relevance to IS and management and how IS plays a role in each of them. The value chain of Whirlpool will be... [continues]

Read full essay