Knowledge Management and Information Systems

This study material provides an overview of knowledge management and information systems. It focuses on Aston Martin, a leading automobile manufacturer, and discusses its corporate objectives, structure, and business model. The material also explores three models used by managers to evaluate strengths, weaknesses, challenges, and opportunities. Additionally, it provides recommendations for appropriate management information systems.

Knowledge
management and
Information systems

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
1. Organisational overview along with corporate objectives, structure and business model. 1
2. Three models......................................................................................................................2
3. Recommendations for appropriate management information systems..............................5
4. Three key management implementation challenges in implementing recommendation. . .8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
In modern world, knowledge management additions to information systems are crucial as
they assists in creating, capturing, accessing and utilising information assets and various
techniques. Knowledge management is said to business approach which stores information along
with retrieve the data as and when required. Likewise, information system is described to
integrated component set that collects, stores addition to process data, information and digital
commodities. To understand about knowledge management addition to information system,
Aston Martin is considered which was established by toe personalities that are Lionel Martin
together with Robert Bamford in London, UK. The company is leading automobile independent
manufacturer that serves its facilities at global level. The organisational managers are looking
forward to upgrade their IT infrastructure and working towards implementing new knowledge
management information systems in its luxury sports cars along with other vehicles. The report
highlights corporate objectives, structure and outlines business model of the entity. Further, it
evaluates strengths, challenges, opportunities and weakness of organisation by considering
environmental factors addition to competitors through three models. Along with this, it also
includes various recommendations related to effective knowledge management information
system are given together with management implementation challenges.
MAIN BODY
1. Organisational overview along with corporate objectives, structure and business model
Aston Martin is well popular automobile firm that is specialise in manufacturing grand
tourers as well as luxury cars through utilising innovative technologies. The company has approx
150 car dealerships in more than 50 nations in around six continents that make it global
automobile brand (Aston Martin, 2020). The entity has made various innovations through
information technology system and gained success in manufacturing electric cars, predictive
vehicle technology, self driving technology and many more in the competitive industry. Its key
elements are as defined below:
Corporate objective: An organisation has clearly stated addition to realistic objective
which influences its internal decision making in context to strategies and plans . The objective of
Aston martin is to be best in all business areas. Moreover, the entity works for providing
exceptional experience to customers and expanding business in untapped market. With the
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corporate objective, entire team of the company makes efforts towards attaining desired
performance to attain effective business results.
Business overview: In case with Aston Martin, it was set in the year 1913 by Robert
Bamford along with Lionel Martin at London, UK. The management team of the entity is
majorly responsible for effectively running daily operations together with governance of Group.
The entity is working hard for enhancing its presence in different locations across the globe and
it gained success in establishing employment up to 5000 people in its distinct worldwide
locations.
Corporate structure: In context to Aston martin, its corporate structure is strong enough
to manage day to day business activities to gain success. At the premises of the company,
division structure is implemented in which it has set different departments such as marketing,
information technology, production, finance and hence forth. Its different departments as well as
employees are connected with each other effectively. Moreover, the systems used by the
company also integrate workings with other departments.
Organisational business model: It is mentioned to the high level plan set by particular
business to operate operations in specific marketplace (Beynon-Davies, 2016). Business model
of Aston martin is set in the manner that links all the financial together with non financial
measures in sequential and logical chain for the purpose of delineate the manner activities creates
values.
2. Three models
A successful business applies various models to evaluate their core strengths, weaknesses,
challenges along with opportunities in the industry they operate to gain success. Moreover,
organisational managers also emphasises towards environmental factors that influences
operations and creates challenges for the company (Büttcher, Clarke and Cormack, 2016). For
the purpose of evaluating opportunities, strengths, challenges, weaknesses, environmental factors
along with competitors, managers of Aston Martin uses following models:
SWOT Analysis
The model with the help of which organisational managers evaluates strengths, weakness,
threats addition to opportunities of company is said to SWOT Analysis. In association to Aston
Martin, SWOT Analysis is underneath:
Strengths Weaknesses
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 Aston martin has productive and
competent workforce that performs heavy
duty manufacturing addition to implement
technologies that build quality and
valuable cars that are craved by wide
customers.
 The company has expanded its operations
in approx 50 nations at multinational level
and also offers other vehicles which assist
in being available in all areas.
 The market share of Aston Market
is limited then other entities in the
automobile field.
 The entity has very few modes
available in the market which
restricts choices for consumers.
 The organisation is dependent on
limited number of suppliers and
dealers only that restricts its
entrance in wider market (Cervone,
2016) (Dalkir, 2017).
Opportunities Threats
 Aston Martin has opportunity to expand
market size through entering into untapped
market through offering transition based
hardware to software driven techniques.
 The business can leverage acquisition of
new customers with its historical addition
to heritage values.
 Fierce competition from giant
automobile players in the industry
is biggest threat for Aston Martin.
 Increasing fuel prices, changing
taxation along with strict
governmental policies are threats
for sales demand for the entity.
PESTLE analysis
The model that assists in evaluating external factors that influences operations of the
business is said to PESTLE analysis (Hislop, Bosua and Helms, 2018). It involves various
factors that are uncontrollable by organisational managers. The impacts of diverse external
factors that affect operations of Aston Martin are as follows:
Political: UK has fair political system that makes relations with other nations in order to
provide opportunities to companies that work in the nation. However, considering the pertaining
situations such as Covid- 19, the political system has made certain changes in taxation, fuel
prices and many more that acts as challenge for Aston Martin to execute operations effectively.
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Economic: Consumer disposable income, foreign exchange rates and business cycle are
major determinants that illustrates about economy’s performance (Liebowitz, 2016). UK’s
economic performance is based on market conditions that results in dynamics with business
cycle. This increases inflation rates and reduces expenditures by consumers that results in
challenges for Aston Martin to sell its cars or creating sales demand.
Social: UK’s population changes their preferences or switches to other companies that
provide vehicles at least prices. This creates challenges for managers of Aston Martin to make
frequent changes in the car mode and present them in competitive market.
Technological: Companies that operate in UK makes time to time changes in their
technologies that improve their efficiency along with utilisation of knowledge management
information system. When managers of Aston martin makes sudden changes in the technologies
then this adds additional costs to the company and leads to reducing its profit margins resulting
in challenges to manage position.
Legal: In country, specific legislations are imposed by the political authorities that are
compulsory to be adhered by all companies that plans to operate in it. UK’s political system
makes relevant changes in amendments of various legislations such as equality act, minimum
wages act and many more. This creates challenges for Aston Martin to focus on each amendment
of the legislations and then making changes in its strategies. However, the company focuses on
implementing all legislations for the purpose of fulfilling responsibilities towards society and ist
employees that impacts positively on achieving growth.
Ecological: In UK, companies and society members are focusing towards protecting
environment of the nation (Lister, Eager and Eager, 2016). In this context, Aston Martin has
introduced electronic sports car that will protect the environment from pollution and this creates
opportunity for it to enhance its business in untapped locations. In contrary, gaining success for
electronic car is a challenge for the company as it requires huge marketing and promotions that
limits its resources.
Porters force model
The model that helps organisations to evaluate competition and industrial attractiveness is
defined as Porter’s five force model. By using the model, managers of Aston Martin evaluate
competition within automotive sector. The description of five forces of this model in relevance
with Aston Martin is as follows:
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Threat of entrant: In automobile industry, huge investment in terms of resources,
manpower, technology and other elements are required by a new business to set its business
(Inkinen, 2016). As Aston martin in among top players in the industry which creates low threat
of new entrant and also adds values in its cars and other luxury vehicles to build brand image at
international market.
Threat of substitute: Within automobile industry one of substitute available for luxury
cars and other personal vehicle is public transport that creates high threat of substitute for Aston
Martin. This is because customers gets easily attracted with the services or produ ts that offers
them similar benefits at less prices. Public transport is much cheaper than personal vehicles and
this results in high substitute threat for the automotive entity.
Bargaining power of buyers: Aston Martin operates in order to meet demand of buyers. It
is seen that influences of buyers impacts an automotive company. For example, when buyers do
not get their demanded products then they stop purchasing organisational commodities. This
gives buyers more powers to bargain as when the entity fails in providing suitable models of car
then faces huge decrease in sales volume.
Bargaining power of suppliers: Suppliers are the one that delivers materials to the
company for further production. Aston Martin depends on limited number of suppliers and
makes contractual agreements with them. This provides low bargaining powers to suppliers as
they have to deliver the suppliers at set prices in the contracts.
Competitive rivalry: Automotive Industry is considered as tough sector and influences
performances of various companies (North and Kumta, 2018). In this, giant companies are
involved to make innovation vehicles as per preferences of customers. The giant entities that are
tough competitors of Aston Martin are Porsche, Maserati, BMW, Mercedes Benz and Bentley
that creates high competitive rivalry for it.
3. Recommendations for appropriate management information systems
Information systems are the component set which work together for the purpose of
managing entire data processing addition to storage. The main role of information system in an
entity is to support all aspects for running operation smoothly. An organisation uses knowledge
management information system while framing decisions as well as coordination and visualizing
information of the entity. These systems help in increasing values along with profits of business.
Moreover, it is considered as computerised database for organising along with programming all
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information effectively in order to generate reports for organisational level. At different levels,
managers of Aston Martin have located management sources to properly store information about
employees and operations of it. Furthermore, the company is working towards improving its IT
infrastructure for attaining competitive benefits in the automotive industry (Razmerita, Philips-
Wren and Jain, 2016). To gain success in this, following management information systems are
recommended to managers of Aston Martin:
Management reporting system: It is one of effective management information system
that is used at company for producing reports about finances along with operations at different
management level is said to management reporting system. The management team of Aston
Martin are recommended to use the system for evaluating current performances and workings of
entire work so that remedial actions are taken on time to make improvements in future durations.
Along with this, the system will also assist managers in comparing organisational performances
with last year performance as well as expected workings so that vehicles are produces with full
efficiency that will result in gaining competitive edge within the sector.
Decision support system: It is another management information system that is used for
making decisions when some uncertain circumstance arises (Romiszowski, 2016). The
administrators of Aston Martin are recommended to install the system so to make best decision
through generating statistical projections and graphs from analysed data so that current as well as
future uncertainties are forecasted and decisions are made to mitigate them. The system
significantly improves decision making quality among top management by offering them
forecasts which benefits in determing best action course. Moreover, this system will compile
information from diverse number of sources that aids in decision framing to deal with critical
situations that will assist in attaining competitive benefits in dynamic business environment. For
example, managers of the company can source data from interest rates, legislations, population
trends and others through decision support system to take decision for setting annual quota of
sales so that the entire workforce start working on them and gaining corporate objectives.
Process control system: The information system that monitors physical addition to
industrial procedures of company and control hurdles within them is termed to process control
system (Żytniewski, 2017). The entire management team of Aston Martin are recommended to
install the information system so that they can control deviations within business procedures and
carry out operations as per specified duration. It will collect data on continuous manner as well
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as make report related to performance on whole system. With the report, the managers will be
able to evaluate performances of each procedure and also analyse occurrence of uncertain event
over course of duration. This will improve organisational current performances along with assist
in controlling future performances to attain objectives effectively. Furthermore, this information
system will help the team to evaluate production system efficiency and keeping safety of
employees together with checking machines on regular durations that will lead to generating
high productivity of luxury cars together with achieving competitive edges from giant players.
Information systems can be used in various ways in an organisation (Shannak, Maqableh
and Tarhini, 2017). Business concerns implements different information systems have different
purposes. In context to management reporting system, it is used for facilitating capturing
addition to sharing knowledge. Data which is captured from day to day operations is bought
together with the information collected from outside sources will enable healthy addition to
functional relationships of Aston Martin with distributors and other members in supply chain.
The next is decision support system that is used for making decisions for customer relations
management together with supply chain management. With this management information
system, Aston Martin managers will be able to frame determinations through making statistical
projections from data that is gathered from sources. It is used for facilitating creating of
knowledge together with integrate information in the company so that effective relations are
managed with customers and supply chain intermediaries. In the market, there are different types
of customers having distinct preferences for vehicles. By using decision support system,
marketers of Aston Martin will be able to determine the customers that have preferences for its
luxury cars and other offerings. With this, the managers will be able to establish effectual
relations with wide customer base and supply chain intermediaries. At the time when problems
are encountered in the entity then by using the information system will be effective in
communicating with people and extracting explicit knowledge to search suitable tactical
knowledge for appropriate situation. With all these management information system, Aston
Martin is going to achieve success in establishing healthy contacts with suppliers and customers.
Addition to this, process control system is used in monitoring entire procedures related to
manufacturing sports car and various other vehicles. This assist evaluation of production system
efficiency along with keeping safety of all its manpower that motivates them to work for longer
durations.
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Performance objectives are said to the objectives or outcomes of performances that are set
by the entity to gain success in competition. All business concerns whether small or large set
some performance objectives that guide them in entire stages of achieving heights.
Organisational performance objectives are considered as pictures about the ways overall goals
are achieved with available resources (Business performance objectives, 2020). Key performance
objective are related to effectiveness and productivity. For the purpose of gaining overall
success, the key factors are dependability, cost, quality and so on. In context to Aston Martin,
performance objectives are as set out:
 To maintain quality in workings: The performance objective of Aston Martin is
to maintain quality in its operations along with products. The objective acts as
consistent indicator that clients along with staff base expect from it.
 To improve speed of delivery: Aston Martin has performance objective of
improving its speed delivery for the order cars. The company generally works on
taking orders for luxury sports car first and then manufacturing them and later
delivers to customers that take huge time (Wymore, 2018). As a business, it is
objective of the entity to provide products faster than rival firms.
 To enhance flexibility in operations: Another performance objective set by
managers of Aston martin is to enhance level of flexibility in operations to match
requirements of customers in effective manner. This generally involves changing
operational mechanisms to meet demands on time.
4. Three key management implementation challenges in implementing recommendation
At the time of implementing the recommended management information system, there are
chances in which organisational managers can face huge challenges (Smith and Wong, 2016). In
case with Aston martin, following are described challenges that might be faced by the
management team while implementing recommended management information system in real
life:
Employee resistance: This is one of challenge that organisation faces while implementing
any change in exiting systems. In context to Aston Martin, managers might face this issue as
when management information systems are implemented then various things and operations are
changes that employees so not want to learn and follow. It is because employees prefer to work
in comfortable zone through traditional methods. It ushers new ways of organisational working
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and also changes power structure, skill requirements and entire culture of company. Moreover,
the change may also result in migration of systems from controlled environment of development
to real business environment (Turel, 2016). Various times, these systems are easy to adopt by
employees but there are situations that causes huge involvement of employees and their
resistance might cause cumbersome challenges in attaining success for coming duration. In order
to overcome the issue, the managers can provide training to employees and ensure them that they
will be benefitted with the implementation of these systems. Moreover, the managers can also
provide training to all employees for using the system that might mitigate the challenge.
Initial decrease in productivity: Implementation of new information system in an
organisation might result in challenge related to decree in productivity level. In context to Aston
Martin, implementing new information system might cause issue of initial decreasing
productivity as it may become difficult for the people to understand and follow systems in proper
manner. Addition to this, organisational people might become frustrated with new systems and
this can impact on productivity reduction in initial stages. In order to overcome from the
challenge, managers can hire professional experts that have knowledge of using the systems that
will result in improving production level despite of its decrease.
Incompetence: This is another challenge that managers of company might face while
implementing management information system is incompetence (Xiaojun, 2017). Competence is
very essential in implementing and using management information system in order to gain
effective results for the set up. However, incompetence or required skill are major issues that
management team of Aston Martin might face at the time of setting defined information system.
The main skills required in this aspect includes defining objectives of implementing systems,
performance competences and many more that are limited in the company. For overcoming the
challenge, management team of Aston martin can develop competences among its entire people
for properly using the information systems. This might convert incompetence into useful aspects
for implementing information systems and may result in possible outcomes that will be
favourable to company.
CONCLUSION
The above report concludes that it is essential for an entity to effective use these approaches
for maintaining innovation as well as agile working environment. Business overview provides
summary of all related aspects of an organisation and includes history, locations, legal structure,
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management team and so on of the business. SWOT analysis is suitable model for evaluating
strengths, threats, weaknesses and opportunities of an organisation. PESTLE Analysis is another
model that helps in determing factors that affect company and its operations. Porter’s five force
model is effective to analyse industrial competitiveness. The information system that can be used
by the company includes Management reporting system, Decision support system and Process
control system. The major challenges that might occur in implementing information system are
employee resistance, initial reduction in productivity and incompetence.
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REFERENCES
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Beynon-Davies, P., 2016. Information Systems Development: an introduction to information
systems engineering. Macmillan International Higher Education.
Büttcher, S., Clarke, C. L. and Cormack, G. V., 2016. Information retrieval: Implementing and
evaluating search engines. Mit Press.
Cervone, F., 2016, September. What might the curriculum in knowledge management programs
tell us about the future of the field?. In European Conference on Knowledge
Management (p. 166). Academic Conferences International Limited.
Dalkir, K., 2017. Knowledge management in theory and practice. MIT press.
Hislop, D., Bosua, R. and Helms, R., 2018. Knowledge management in organizations: A critical
introduction. Oxford University Press.
Liebowitz, J., 2016. Successes and failures of knowledge management. Morgan Kaufmann.
Lister, A., Eager, B. and Eager, R. D., 2016. Fundamentals of operating systems. Macmillan
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Inkinen, H., 2016. Review of empirical research on knowledge management practices and firm
performance. Journal of knowledge management.
North, K. and Kumta, G., 2018. Knowledge management: Value creation through organizational
learning. Springer.
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Romiszowski, A. J., 2016. Designing instructional systems: Decision making in course planning
and curriculum design. Routledge.
Shannak, R., Maqableh, M. and Tarhini, A., 2017. The impact of knowledge management on job
performance in higher education. Journal of Enterprise Information Management.
Smith, L. C. and Wong, M. A. eds., 2016. Reference and Information Services: An Introduction:
An Introduction. ABC-CLIO.
Turel, O., 2016. Untangling the complex role of guilt in rational decisions to discontinue the use
of a hedonic Information System. European Journal of Information Systems, 25(5),
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Xiaojun, Z., 2017. Knowledge Management System Use and Job Performance: A Multilevel
Contingency Model. MIS quarterly. 41(3).
Wymore, A. W., 2018. Model-based systems engineering (Vol. 3). CRC press.
Żytniewski, M., 2017. Business process oriented autopoietic knowledge management support
system design.
Online:
Aston Martin. 2020. [Online]. Available through: < https://www.astonmartin.com/en-gb>
Business performance objectives. 2020. [Online]. Available through: <
https://www.peoplegoal.com/blog/what-are-the-five-performance-objectives>
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