Essay About Tesla Inc.

Tesla, Inc., formerly known as Tesla Motors, Inc., was founded on July 1, 2003. The company develops, manufactures, and sells fully electric motor vehicles and other energy storage devices, as well as installing, running, and maintaining other solar-powered storage devices. Currently, the firm operates in two main market segments: energy storage and generation, and automotive works. The motor vehicle section is concerned with the design, manufacture, development, and selling of electric motor vehicles. However, the energy generation and storage division deals with the production, design, installation, and sale or renting of equipment energy storage products, and solar-powered systems to residential and other commercial consumers.
As at the end of 2016, Tesla Inc. had manufactured and released fully furnished electric vehicles, the Model X sports utility vehicle (SUV) and Model S sedan. Currently, it has also focused on producing the Model 3, a sedan built for mass marketing. Tesla Inc. sells most of its vehicles through its various sales and service networks. Additionally, the company ventures in the production of energy storage systems and products used in homes, utility sites as well as commercial facilities. Some of the applications for these battery systems encompass providing backup power system, demand response, grid independence, and peak demand conversion among other services such as wholesale electric market services to the clients. Any person can contact the company through their website link www.tesla.com to order for products and other services.

The company has received tremendous growth as observed in the financial statement for the last three years (Fig. 1). The company competes with other automotive companies such as BMW, Audi, Honda, Mercedes, Toyota, Lexus, Nissan, General Motors, Mitsubishi, Fiat, Samsung, Ford, Daimler, and Sunrun Inc., among other companies. The customer base of the company includes countries like the UK, Germany, Canada, and the United States.

Income Statement

(In $) 2016

(In $) 2015

(In $) 2014

Revenue

7000.132

4,046.025

3,198.365

Gross profit

1,599.257

923.503

881.671

Operating Cost

-667.34

-716.629

-186.689

Net Income

-674.914

-888.663

-294.04

Diluted EPS

-4.68

-6.93

-0.62

Fig.1

Company’s Organization and Management of Information Systems

The information system of any business organization should be adequate, suitable for its purpose, affordable and safe for the company otherwise it has no use employed in the organization (Barki & Hartwick, 2001). One advantageous feature that an information system should uphold in an organization is the security of data stored within the system. Tesla Inc. uses a wide variety of information systems to help them attain a competitive advantage over other firms. Some of the major information systems that are applicable to Tesla Inc. include;

Transaction Processing System

The TPS are from small business transactions that come from the everyday business operations and undertakings such as purchase orders, generation of paychecks, utilizing a transaction processing system also known as the TPS. Unlike the batch system, the transactional processing system demands the user to regularly interact with the system in real time in a bid to direct it to receive, keep, and retrieve as well as modifying data. One characteristic feature of this scheme of information is that it will require users to enter transaction data accumulated with the help of terminal, then the system stores the information input in the database. The TPS will then use the input data stored in the system database to produce the needed output for decision making. TPS is mostly employed by the workers within an organization at the bottom of the four level pyramid model hierarchy in an organization.

Management Information System

Managers and entrepreneurs commonly use an industry-specific management information system commonly abbreviated as MIS to acquire current as well as operational data regarding a particular transaction such as inventories and sales. On some occasions, managers have used MIS to generate prescheduled reports, which they can use in tactical, strategic, operations as well as operational performance for the company (Laundon & Laundon, 2014). Entrepreneurs depend on the system to undertake a “what if” scenario analysis. The method is commonly applicable to the middle managers in an organization.

Decision Support System

DSS permits managers and entrepreneurs to employ a predefined, or an ad hoc summary to help them support their problem-resolution as well as operations planning conclusions. Decision support system allows the managers to get answers to some questions as a way of evaluating the likely effect or result of taking a given decision over another before moving to the implementation phase of the decision considered. Senior managers are the frequent users of this type of information system in Tesla Inc.

Executive Support System

The ESS allows administrators to detect and isolate long-term drifts in support of a particular strategic planning and non-routine decision-making process. The ESS form of an information system applies to mostly executive managers of the organization.

The inception of information system in most organizations globally has witnessed an immense transformation of their business processes in the 21st century. The increased technological changes accompanied by sophisticated business concepts and models have drastically changed the social life of business people and practices regarding the market. Even though the development is associated with massive spending from the organization on a daily basis it has positive consequences for the management of the business. Three major factors have promoted widespread use information system in business practices in the 21st century. These include; (1) extensive embracing of mobile computing platform, (2) the widespread of “big data” in most business organizations and (3) the development of “cloud computing” as a new system of information collection and storage in multinationals.

Besides, information system has enhanced the collaboration of managers through social networks and improved a strong bonding among managers as well as sharing of knowledge in the industry. Tesla has strived to utilize the full benefits of its employed information and new technology system to acquire a competitive advantage over other automotive companies such as Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, and Honda among other companies in the industry. The company is using new technology that supports the use of the environmental friendly source of energy. Tesla produces cars that are rechargeable and that are capable of harnessing solar energy to drive the cars and airplanes. The technology is a new invention that puts most of the automotive companies in worry as the world is moving towards achieving sustainability for multinational corporations, particularly the automotive industry. Consequently, other automotive companies with products that use a non-renewable source of energy are likely to go out of business or experience huge cost associated with operations and loss in revenues.

Additionally, the cost of fuel has hiked over the last few years because of few oil deposits available on earth accompanied by overexploitation of these scarce resources. Therefore, with this new advanced technology in automotive industry, Tesla will maintain a competitive edge over their competitors. Ethical issues are some of the biggest problems that multinational corporations, as well as small business enterprises, experience in the current business world where consumers are sensitive on ethics concerning business practices. Some of the ethical issue Tesla has become the victim of include, the company has not been giving accurate financial reports regarding its financial undertaking. Besides, the company has been using the sophisticated information system to conceal some information regarding their shareholders as well as income earned by each shareholder from the dividend.

Company’s Information Technology Environment

One of the biggest hurdles faced by multinational corporations that have made most of their business operations IT dependent is the fear associated with obsoleteness. Technology is fast-changing; therefore, organizations need to continually upgrade their information system and technology to maintain their competitive advantage in the automotive industry. Information technology infrastructure refers to a shared resource used by an organization to offer the team a platform for a particular information system application (Benaben et al., 2013). Upgrading an information system within an organizational setting is a process that is on-going and does not have an end.

Besides, the upgrade of information technology is one of the most complex undertakings that require more attention from the management to ensure no errors occur with the new system. One of the ways to ensure a successful upgrade of an information technology infrastructure is to maintain the connection between the organization, IT infrastructure, and the business capabilities. The first step towards achieving an information system upgrade will entail assessing the total cost associated with the ownership of technological assets. Tesla Inc. should ensure before the update commences the cost is affordable to ensure the firm reap the best outcome out of the new technology infrastructure.

The corporation should guarantee their business strategy is in line with the new information technology strategy to allow them to work best. All these aspects of the new information system should be in line with established IT services and infrastructure of the company to help it offer enterprise, supplier, and customer services.

Tesla Inc. has the best and current technology that can allow it to compete with other automotive companies in the industry correctly. The different levels of information system established by the enterprise can adequately provide perfect security for their customer and shareholders information (Dhillon & Backhouse, 2000). The objective of any information system created in a business organization is to provide security as well as the privacy of both the clients and shareholders.

Obtaining competitive edge in the present market requires the organization to establish the most appropriate information technology that will permit faster retrieval, storing of data as well as other relevant information regarding the company. The ability to provide the customers with the protection against access by the third party will always enable the company to keep their esteem clients in the industry (Tudor & Hart, 2013). Customer’s information protection against intruders has been the center of information system and technology which is the core principle of Tesla Inc., technology infrastructure. I believe Tesla Inc., is one of the companies in the automotive industry that has securely adopted the best information system and infrastructure to provide their customers with proper security and privacy of the information.

Application of Information Systems to Managing the Company’s Business

A supply chain refers to a company’s network as well as the firm developments for acquiring raw materials, changing them to finished products as well as distributing to the final consumer. Tesla Inc. uses one of the most sophisticated supply chain methods to acquire the raw materials they use to modify the elements in the respective depots as well as manufacturing stores (Rob & Etnyre, 2015). The company then distributes the product to the distributors who are established in various parts of the America, Canada, and the United Kingdom among other countries in the Asian Continent.

Most of the products made by these company flow through to the distribution centers and warehouses to guarantee the products reach their final consumption point in the most effective and efficient way. Some of the products from the company are taken down the chain to few retailers located in some parts of the world. The retailer is the lowest level of this supply chain where their customers can get products quickly and conveniently.

E-commerce is one of the greatest developments in business that has improved the customer perception, demand as well as buying power. Even though most purchases today are still taking the old conventional way, e-commerce is rapidly expanding and transforming the way successful as well as non-profitable organizations to carry out most of their business practices. Tesla Inc. has developed the way it does its business by inventing a mobile supported platform that allows customers throughout the world to visit their websites and place orders on the products they want.

Tesla Inc. is still a developing company and therefore, has no enough distribution centers or warehouses in most parts of the world that can meet the demand of their growing consumers. Therefore, the use of this application has suitably allowed customers to look for new products from the company and order without traveling to the warehouses which may be several distances away from most consumers. Tesla Inc. has promoted on-line shopping among its consumers as they no longer have to move all the way to the few warehouses mostly located in the US and the UK to place orders and acquire the goods. The objective of this e-commerce technology is to allow the company to reach its global goal by permitting on-line business transactions with their customers from different cultural background. Consequently, the inception of e-commerce in Tesla will significantly influence the sales of the company which translates to high revenues accompanied with more profits.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, Tesla Inc. information technology will significantly influence its business operations and practices in the automotive industry. The company will continually attain a competitive advantage in the market with the current information system. The company is using new technology that supports the use of the environmental friendly source of energy such as solar. Tesla produces cars that are rechargeable and that are capable of harnessing solar energy to drive the cars and airplanes. Additionally, Tesla Inc. has developed the techniques employed in its business by inventing a mobile supported platform that allows customers throughout the world to visit their websites and place orders on the products they want.

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References

Barki, H., & Hartwick, J. (2001). Interpersonal Conflict and Its Management in Information System Development. MIS Quarterly, 25(2), 195-228.

Benaben, F., Boissel-Dallier, N., Pingaud, H., & Lorre, J. (2013). Semantic issues in model-driven management of information system interoperability. International Journal of Computer Integrated Manufacturing, 26(11), 1042-1053.

Dhillon, G., & Backhouse, J. (2000). Information System Security Management in the New Millennium. Communications of the ACM, 43(7), 125-128.

Laundon C. K., & Laundon P. J. (2014). Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm.

Rob, M. A., & Etnyre, V. (2015). Student Perceptions in Teaching Principles of Management Information Systems. Journal of Education for Business, 90(7), 379-384.

Tudor, M., & Hart, M. (2013). Implementation of a Corporate Performance Management System in a Large City. Proceedings of the European Conference on Information Management & Evaluation, 272-280.