Topic:

In a world of information technology (IT) abundance, competitive advantage (CA) has little to do with access to technology. Indeed, because enterprise systems (ES) are the most adopted technology by businesses, it would be difficult for a firm to achieve a competitive advantage purely on the basis of having an ES.

However, companies do use their ES systems to achieve competitive advantage within their industry sector. Hence, discuss one (1) of the following strategic approaches a company can use to achieve competitive advantage using their ES:

• Cost leadership across industry or Cost leadership within an industry sector
• Differentiation across industry or Differentiation within an industry sector
• Innovation

Use three (3) different case studies for the strategic approach selected to support any discussion. The paper should NOT be about introducing or implementing an ES in a firm but using an established system to achieve competitive advantage.

Your essay must include:

Introduction: Introduction to the topic, brief definition, a statement of the purpose of the paper and a brief description of the paper’s structure.

Main discussion: Discuss, compare and/or contrast different perspectives, present

arguments supporting the purpose of the paper. Use subsections with appropriate headings to structure your discussion. Pay attention to the marking guide.

Conclusion: A summary of the points you have made in the body of the paper. These should match your stated purpose.

References: You are expected to use journal and conference publications.

Website publications with no author/title will result in lower mark.

Your paper must use the Harvard Referencing Style.

The footer must include your name, student ID, and page number.