Maryland Technology Consultants, Inc. (MTC) is an information technology (IT) firm that provides consultative services in the business process, IT, and IT outsourcing. The firm was founded in May 2008 with its headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland. The firm utilizes proven IT and management methodologies to ensure its customers, which includes small to mid-tier businesses, non-profit organizations, and governmental agencies, achieve measurable results. The company provides employment to approximately 450 people and has a total annual gross revenue of $95,000,000. The company expects to win two contracts in the future, and the HR Director has concluded that this will require the hiring of an additional 75 consultants. The company wants to improve its hiring process because the current hiring process, which is largely manual, is unable to accommodate the hiring of the new consultants. As the business analyst of MTC, the company has asked me to provide a business analysis and system recommendation (BA&SR) report. This paper will provide part of the BA&SR report, strategic use of Technology. More specifically, the report will take a glance at the organization and explain how MTC could use an IT system to support its strategies and objectives and support its decision-making process.
Organization Strategy
Organizational strategy refers to the direction and scope an organization takes in order to achieve its long-term goals (Ajagbe, Bih, Olujobi, Udo, 2016). The business strategy of Maryland Technology Consultants, Inc. is to provide highly skilled consultants within the IT business services. However, the company is growing steadily and therefore. It has to adjust accordingly to ensure the company remains competitive in the industry. Since the firm is growing, its staff must grow too. The company expects to win contracts in the future, and the HR director has concluded that a staff of 75 consultants must be hired.
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Currently, MTC’s hiring process is largely manual, which is not very effective as the company will not be able to accommodate the hiring of the new consultants within the given timeframe. Thus, the company is risking losing contracts unless it implements a speedy, effective, and efficient hiring system. If the company implements an automated technological hiring system, it would be able to meet its goal of expanding its business operations. This would, in turn, enable the company to become competitive in the business, win future contracts, and expand internationally.
Competitive Advantage
A competitive advantage exists when an organization has the ability to provide goods or services as competitors but at a lower cost (cost advantage) or have the ability to deliver services that exceed those of competing services (differentiation advantage) (Wen-Cheng, Chien-Hung, & Ying-Chien, 2011). MTC recognizes that it needs to plan its future strategy. It needs to evaluate how best to position itself as well as identify its core competencies to enable it to deliver high-quality services to its customers in the future. One area that is critical to MTC is the ability of the firm to recruit employees who have the necessary knowledge and skills to enable it to meet future demands or to win and fulfill current and futures contracts.
With the implementation of a speedy, effective, and efficient hiring system, MTC will sway new recruits into the team (Oracle Corporation, 2014). This will enable the company to maintain a competitive advantage within the global marketing expansion. This is because the new system will enable MTC to meet the demand of new incoming contracts as well as allow MTC to expand its consumer base to different parts of the world. The new system will also streamline MTC’s business, and by lowering the costs of its services, the company will see an avenue of increased sales and profits. Overall, the implementation of the new automated technological hiring system will provide the competitive environment that is needed to propel MTC a head lead over other firms (Buckely, Minnette, Joy, & Micheals, 2004).
Strategic Objectives
Organizations usually derive strategic objectives in business operations to achieve its vision and mission or to achieve its short-term and long-term goals (Singh, 2017). Firms in the same industry with MTC are working towards providing the best IT consultation services possible. In addition to this, MTC provides recommendations to its customers. The firm wants to achieve this by employing highly skilled consultants. Additionally, MYTC intends to develop its own new business concepts and best practices. MTC needs to set out strategic goals in its strategic business plan to ensure it remains competitive.
While the company’s overall strategic plan covers many areas, an excerpt of MTC’s strategic goals is provided in Table 1. Achieving the goals outlined in Table 1 will require MTC a firm spot within the growing competitive market.
|
Strategic Goal |
Objective |
Explanation |
| Increase MTC Business Development by winning new contracts in the areas of IT Consulting |
Hire new 75 IT consultants to help fulfill new contracts. Win two new contracts in IT consulting in the future. |
MTC expects to win contracts in the future. Therefore, the firm needs to hire new consultants to help meet future demand. This will enable the company to increase its status and maintain a head lead within the IT consulting business world. Expansion into the international market will bring in more opportunities for MTC, as the firm will be able to bid on more contracts. Lowering prices against its competitors will give MTC a competitive advantage. |
| Build a cadre of consultants internationally to provide remote research and analysis support to MTC’s onsite teams in the U. S. | Increase international recruiting efforts and employ 5 research analysts in the next 12 months. | The new hiring system would allow applicants from around the world to apply online, increasing the number of international applicants. It would enable the recruiters to monitor the applications for these positions carefully, identify the necessary research and analysis skills needed, and screen resumes for these key skills. Recruiters could quickly view the number of applicants and identify when additional recruiting efforts are needed to meet the objective. |
| Continue to increase MTC's ability to quickly provide high-quality consultants to awarded contracts to best serve the clients' needs | To ensure the organization’s project, managers are trained well with the new Software as a Service (SaaS) service. | MTC should utilize the new SaaS service to ensure the project managers of the firm are 100% trained. This will help smoothen the process of selecting IT consultants in providing quality services to their clients. By reviewing or assessing consultants’ previous records, the company will be able to minimize time constraints in the future. This is because it will enable the company to assign future contracts to its experienced and skillful managers with ease. |
| Increase MTC's competitive advantage in the IT consulting marketplace by increasing its reputation for having IT consultants who are highly skilled in leading-edge technologies and innovative solutions for its clients |
Incorporate electronic scheduling for interviews. Incorporate electronic dashboard. Incorporate a new system within a timeframe of two months. |
MTC would be able to make an improvement in screening applications and scheduling interviews as well as increase its competitive advantage in the market place if it incorporates electronic scheduling for interviews and electronic dashboard. The firm would also be able to increase its reputation as it will have IT consultants that are experienced and highly skilled. This will enable the company to implement leading technologies and provide innovative solutions to its clients. |
Table 1: An excerpt of MTC’s Strategic Goals as Outlined in MTC’s Strategic Business Plan.
Decision Making
In organizations, decisions are made at different levels, which may include strategic level, managerial level, and operational level. The strategic level is the most senior decision-making level, and the highest-ranking staffs make decisions at this level in an organization (Marchisotti, Domingos, & Almeida, 2018). At MTC, such decision can be made by the firm’s chief executive officer (CEO) or the firm’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO). The managerial level is the second most senior decision-making level, and middle managers make decisions at this level. At MTC, the Director of HR makes decisions at this level. At the operation level, operational managers make decisions. At MTC, the line managers make decisions.
Table 2 shows the different levels of decision making regarding the implementation of the new hiring system. More specifically, Table 2 shows the labelled requirements in the various levels in the firm. The table also provides an example of a possible decision supported by hiring system.
|
Role |
Level as defined in IS Course Reading |
Example of Possible Decision Supported by Hiring System |
Example of Information, the Hiring System, Could Provide to Support Your Example Decision |
|
Senior/Executive Managers (Decisions made by the CEO(Samuel Johnson) and the CFO (Evelyn Liu) at MTC supported by the hiring system.) |
Strategic Level |
The hiring of new consultants to meet the demand for future contracts. | The CEO or CFO of MTC would provide information on the number of IT consultants, and the organization needs to hire in servicing their clients and in fulfilling future contracts. |
|
Middle Managers (Decisions made by the Director of HR (Joseph Cummings) and the Manager of Recruiting (Sofia Perez) supported by the hiring system.) |
Managerial Level |
Selecting IT consultants based on contract information. | HR Director and recruiting managers could provide information regarding the experience and skills of the consultants to help ease the process of recruiting consultants. |
|
Operational Managers (Decisions made by the line managers (Peter O’Neil along with Mike Thomas and Jennifer Blackwell) in the organization who are hiring for their projects supported by the hiring system.) |
Operational Level |
Checking knowledge, skills, and certification of candidates for new positions. | With the help of the hiring system, the line managers can provide information relating to the knowledge, skills, and certification required for new positions. |
Table 2: MTC's Decision-Making, Supported by the Hiring System.
Conclusion
Maryland Technology Consultants, Inc. needs to adjust as it grows to ensure it remains competitive in the industry. MTC’s business strategy is to provide highly skilled consultants within the IT business services. However, due to its growth, the company need to adjust accordingly to ensure it meets its business strategy. The implementation of a new automated technological hiring system will provide a competitive environment that is required to propel the company ahead lead against its competitors. The new hiring system, which is speedy, effective, and efficient, will enable MTC to meet its strategic goals as outlined in its Strategic Business Plan.
References
Ajagbe, M., Bih, J., Olujobi, J., & Udo, E. (2016). Which precedes the other? Organizational strategy or organizational structure. Indian Journal of Economics and Business Management, Vol. 2 (6); 50-56.
Buckley, P., Minette, K., Joy, D., & Michaels, J. (2004). The use of automated employment recruiting and system screening for temporary professional employees: A case study. Human Resource Management, Vol. 43 (2-3); 233-241.
Marchisotti, G., Domingos, M., & Almeida, R. (2018). Decision-making at the first management level: The Interference of the organizational culture. [Online]. Retrieved from: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S1678-69712018000300305&script=sci_arttext . Accessed 5 th September 2019.
Oracle Corporation. (2014). Improving hiring quality, efficiency, the speed with talent acquisition in the cloud. [Online]. Retrieved from: http://www.oracle.com/us/products/applications/talent-management-acquisition-2390898.pdf . Accessed 6 th September 2019.
Singh, S. (2017). Project management and strategic objective of the organization. Universal Journal of Industrial and Business Management, Vol. 5 (1); 10-12.
Wen-Cheng, W., Chien-Hung, L., Ying-Chien, C. (2011). Types of competitive advantage and analysis. International Journal of Business and Management, Vol. 6 (5); 100-104.
