IT, Web

The most suitable site to purchase the best computer system is a bestbuy.com. BestBuy.com is amongst the ten toping dealer websites in the United States and they have the leading customer reliability program of its type.
Gateway Desktop and Monitor
The cost of this system is $550
Product Features
3rd Gen Intel Core i3-3240 processorFeatures 3.4GHz processor speed and a 3MB memory.
Intel Core i3 processorFeatures smart 4-way processing executions for HD value computing. Intel® HD graphics are assemble into Intel’s smart new processors.
6GB DDR3 memoryDesigned with power for doing more than one task, flexible to 32GB.
1TB Serial ATA hard drive (5400 rpm)Has fast read/write times and gives large storage space.
2 USB 3.0 and 6 USB 2.0 portFor easy peripheral connection and quick digital data move.
Gateway 21.5″ LCD HD Monitor
Product Features
Ultrafast 5 ms response time – permits pixels to transform colors rapidly to keep away from blurring, streaking, and ghosting in video games and fast-moving scenes
21.5″ widescreen high-definition flat-panel LCD with antiglare treatment
100,000,000:1 (ACM) contrast ratio
200 cd/m² brightness
1920 x 1080 maximum resolution in 16:9 high-definition format
DVI with HDCP and standard VGA inputs
2 built-in 1W speakers
Printer
HP ENVY 4500 e-All-in-One Printer
This e-all-in-one permits reasonable printing from almost anywhere. It gives laser-sharp documents from your Smartphone and borderless lab-valued photos, Internet-connected PC and tablet. The cost of this kind of a printer is $99.99.
Qualities Undertake any assignment
Makes a reaction with each page—simply gives, laser-sharp documents, borderless
and lab-quality photos
Not necessary to wait— can print wirelessly right away with painless arrangement
Motivate life with each print
Can Print wirelessly from almost everywhere
Print from almost everywhere— can print wireless from your tablet, Internet-connected PC and smartphone,
Both sides of savings—preserve paper and time with automatic two-sided printing.
Of high value! Print more for fewer with minimum high-capability printing papers
Intended to preserve—conserve energy, by use of a printer that is ENERGY STAR qualified.
Little effort, big effect – Count on easy, free cartridge recycling through HP Planet Partners
Part II
Laptop
HP ENVY dv6t-7300 Quad Edition Notebook PC
Processor:3rd generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3630QM Processor (2.4GHz, 6MB L3 Cache)
Memory: 8GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
Hard Drive: 750GB 5400 rpm Hard Drive
Optical Drive: SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
Wireless: 802.11b/g/n WLAN
Power Supply: 120W AC power adapter
Battery: 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Battery life: Up to 6 hours
Ports: 3 SuperSpeed USB 3.0; 1 USB 2.0; 1 HDMI; 1 VGA; 1 headphone-out; 1 microphone-in
Display: 15.6-inch diagonal High Definition Bright View LED-backlit Display (1366 x 768)
The qualities that were most significant comprises of the memory, Battery life, and processor.

Part II
Latest iPhone Vs Galaxy S model
Samsung runs Google’s Android 4.2 Jelly Bean operating system for the Galaxy S4 whereas Apple’s employs its own iOS 6 software for the iPhone 5.
Samsung and Apple are matched on inner storage with the Galaxy S4 confirmed to come in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB types just like the iPhone 5.
Whereas some models of the Galaxy S4 will be outfitted with an octa-core processor, the UK bound appliance will come with a less impressive 1.9GHz quad-core processor. The iPhone 5 on contrary has a 1.3GHz two-core processor.
The iPhone 5 has a 1440mAh (5.45Wh) battery which is cannot be removed whereas the Galaxy S4 has a bigger, and removable, 2600mAh (9.6Wh) battery.
The iPhone 5 has a smart 8Mp camera while Galaxy S4 has a higher resolution 13Mp camera at the back. The Galaxy S4 does have some interesting qualities to consider which the iPhone 5 does not posses like HDR video, Eraser Shot and Dual Camera.
I will have preference of Galaxy S4 since it is less costly matched to iPhone. It also possesses more outstanding qualities that are not found in iPhone.
Accessories Initial price
Clip and Talk Bluetooth Car Kit V3+  $27.49Road Tune Universal Hands-free Car Kit with FM Transmitter $30.99
Omni Holder Universal Case Compatible Car Mount $15.49
Noreve Tradition Leather Case for Samsung Galaxy S – Black $52.99

IT, WEB 2

Running head: IT, WEB 1

Business Risk Aversion

Every business environment has associated risks that management tries to accommodate if not reducing. Risks are uncertainties in business operations as presented by profits realized or losses made. Every business operates in unforeseen circumstances in future. Such unforeseen future events may make a business fail or gain strength depending on the level of determination management has. Risks in business come in different forms that range from operational risks, market risks, strategic risks, environmental risk, transactional risk, financial risks to compliance risk. All the mentioned types of risks rely largely on the internal and external formation of a business (Gaudenzi & Borghesi, 2012, p. 123).

The internal formation considers work relation issues, the relationship between workers, management and employees, the amount of time spent on value creation and improving productivity within the organization. If these areas of operations within a business are not properly checked, the business is bound to fail. The other form of risk, external risk identifies the relationship between the business and its environment, investors and other stakeholders.

Business performance relies on the contribution the society make through purchase of various products produced by a business. The contribution of investors in finances is also highly recognized. Environment as a factor introduced business competitors and operation regulations. These factors play ideal roles and if not checked by the management, may work towards bringing the organization down. As introduced from various literatures, the only way a business can manage risk is through accepting and accommodating such risks, acting in a way that would help reduce the occurrences of such risks or avoiding such risks by not venturing into business operations.

Analysis of business environment is vital before making a business venture through financial investment or any other form of capital investment. Risk aversion is one thing that managers have failed to understand in their everyday operations. This part of the report introduces American Airlines (AA) and makes an analysis of its future prospects. The airline has faced constant drawbacks in its operations as majority of its customers shift to other established flight industries within USA (Szurovy, 2003, p. 97).

In one way, the corporation has realized a reduction in service delivery and consequently reduced output per employee. Based on its trends of operation, notable changes in employee relations come evident, increased competition from other Airlines is the order of the day and as observed, environmental issues tend to pose constraints in AA operations. Due to constant loses made by the corporation AA resorted to lay off some of its workers in bid to improve its aggregate production area. However, even after taking such steps, the corporation still faces bankruptcy and today it gives a record of law performance among the American airline industries (Szurovy, 2003, p. 105).

The possibility of AA Inc. Corporation coming back to its root is still a mystery and the belief is that the actions taken by investors to withdraw their financial support from the corporation has a direct link to the failures observed within AA. In reality, the corporation today faces financial risk more than any other form of risk as explained in previous paragraphs. Businesses stand on the platform of financial support from either investor, selling of its securities or direct donation from stakeholders.

A business can pick up in its operations in case of a drawback or complete failure through several ways. Entirely, involving various stakeholders in decision making and choosing to take a vertical move in business operation may help in risk management. In 2010, American airline decided to take the most critical move in bid to consolidate its finances. One of the most important moves was to involve the US government in providing security and allow the corporation to operate without hindrances. As such, the government has created an enabling environment through provision of legislations that look into management issues in relation to financial accountability. However, it is evident that creation of good business environment may not be the sole drive for any business performance.

As a result, the corporation had to come up with proper audit on various industrial activities. Performance evaluation seemed to be the best strategy for internal audit control (Gaudenzi & Borghesi, 2012, p. 130). In performance evaluation, each employee is measured by his or her contribution towards organization output. AA Inc. Corporation has its way in making every employee realize the importance of value creation within and outside the business operations. Another area of concern in making a vertical move towards risk aversion involves the use logistics in various decisions making processes. Management must come up with workable strategies and in one way must identify those strategies that would give the highest level of performance and help in reducing uncertainty in business operations (Nash, Shutte, Institute of Directors & AXA Firm, 2003, p. 203).

Logistics in business operation takes into consideration an analysis of external business environment in terms of suppliers and consumers. The main target for a rapidly growing business is a wide range of suppliers that enables constant supply of necessary capital goods. Recently, an observation by the world business community gave a report that compared to late 1990s AA inc. corporation is now picking up on its performance an attribute of properly applied techniques of risk management.
In conclusion, risk aversion involves identification of important business risks and taking the necessary steps to manage such risks. Any growing business industry is prone to different forms of risks. The environment upon which the business operate pose different challenges that may be natural or human instigated. However, the most important thing is how well a business can work its ways through proper management to get out of such occurrences.

References
Gaudenzi, B., & Borghesi, A. (2012). Risk management. Milan: Springer.
Nash, T., Shutte, L., Institute of Directors., & AXA (Firm). (2003). Risk management: Helping directors to identify and control business risks effectively. London: Published for the Intitute of Directors and AXA Insurance by Director Publications.
Szurovy, G. (2003). Classic American airlines. Osceola, Wis: MBI.

IT, WEB 2

Running head: IT, WEB 1

 

Information System Technology and Organization Competencies

Core Competencies Used By Two Competitors
Business environment has a characteristic of increased competition among the various organizations or businesses that tend to operate within the same industry. The aim of any production process is to capture the interest of consumers through product delivery in a way that satisfies customers’ needs (Saunders, 2010, p. 331).

In an event that different organizations supply a market with the same kind of products as observed under perfect competitive market, every firm would want to closely observe the action taken by its competitors with an aim of initiating processes that would help counteract the impact created in the market by the first movers. In analysis, firms compete in either quantity or prices in which the firm who decides to take the first step to release a product in the market influences consumers’ interests in making consumption choices hence under quantity; the first mover firm has a comparative advantage over the second firm (Saunders, 2010, p. 331). On the other hand, if firms compete in price setting then the second mover firm has an advantage over the first mover since the second mover will set lower prices in order to gain consumers trusts and interest in consumption of products. This paper explores competencies of Wall Mart and Fast Foods Corporations. In the final analysis, the report will give an overview on how the two corporations use their competencies in increasing sales and returns.

With globalization and technological advancements in areas of production, packaging, distribution and delivery processes Wall Mart Corporation and Fast Food corporation aims at improving their operation processes in a way that will allow each firm gain momentum and monopolize the entire world market. The two corporations are some of the most rapidly growing food industries within America and operate worldwide. With improved standards of operation, the two corporations provide incredible number of job opportunities that range from team building membership jobs to company franchising opportunities.

Some of the commonly shared competencies include:
Operation Culture
The stakeholders of both Wall Mart and Fast Foods understand their culture of operation. Employees within the corporations are hardworking, efficient, and process oriented. Managers tend to treat their employees as partners with an idea of team building towards efficient service delivery to customers. The idea that revolves around operational culture is to obtain inputs at the right time and use them in making the company perform better.

Low Operation Cost
Any business would want to reduce the cost of operation. As observed, both Wall Mart and fast food companies use those strategies that allow low operation costs yet still maintains high level of performance. With integration of technology in various areas of production, the corporations have managed to reduce the cost of employing workers. In essence, the use of technology in various stages of production has enabled the two corporations to improve their productivity. The target market for the two companies includes middle class members of the society, expanded companies as well as larger cities, which the companies capture through marketing and efficient delivery of products. Today Wal-Mart and Fast Food companies are in a position to make big sales volume and generate high revenues.

Distribution of Products
Wall Mart and Fast Food companies operate under increasing global competition network with highly competitive firms within the same industry. This call for proper delivery plans that would allow consumers obtains products in time and in good condition. The time span between manufacturing and distribution is bridged by fast and efficient delivery using trucks and airplanes. With modernization in industrial means of communication, the two companies use internet in making communications to customer.

Even though the two companies share strategies of ensuring effective competition, they seem to use different tactic in the execution of the proposed strategies, the quest to adopt new production and distribution techniques have grown exceeding among top management of Wal-Mart Corporation. Majority of the top leaders feels that the corporation stands a better chance of even improving its performance level if it would change its strategies in the future, which have been in existence for over decades. However, corporation has gained constant growth since the year 2002, a result of its improved competencies. As the case unfolds, a report released by Porters Five reveals that strategic planning within the corporation is the force that makes the corporation emerge the best among its competitors including Fast Food Corporation. Wal-Mart had to develop strategies that would help retain its leading position and in one way open other possibilities for expanding the business.

However, Wal-Mart still faces several production challenges as it struggles to expand its production base. These challenges make Wal-Mart to be at the verge of losing its market control, weakening cooperation storage capacity in different regions across the world. The above effects of have opened up routes for stiff competition within the food industry. A close observation reveals that Wal-Mart mix of financial strengths, highly developed management skills, and efficient operational structure have given the Corporation opportunities to invest in overseas markets. However, with increased global competition, the Company should be selective in making expansion decisions and building a market base. This strategic application of competencies has enabled wall mart to grow and expand its wings more that fast food company or any other industry for that matter.

Using the Competencies to Propose a Set of Actions That Will Lead To Improving Organizations’ Competencies
Operation culture, low costs of operation and distribution of various products seem to be the core competency areas of both Wal-Mart and Fast Food Companies. Strategic management would be more appropriate in ensuring that the two companies gain market strength and recognitions as described by mission and vision statements (Saunders, 2010, p. 334).

In line to operation culture, the companies have to work ways that will ensure worker’s motivation. Improved working conditions, increased payments and other rewards and constant health assessment will give workers the opportunity to operate and improve on their performances. Similarly, the companies would maintain low cost of operation by incorporating various production technologies that will help reduce the number of employees within the companies and respective costs of employment.

Analysis of the complexities of IST system and their application to organizational operations and performance
Information system technology (IST) involves the use of technology in information dissemination within various departments of an organization or using technologies in making communications to reliable customers in a way that the information flow is interconnected. The process allows fast and efficient information delivery with high levels of security. The complexities involved in IST installation depend on technological interest of the organization as well as the size of the organization. Where several departments are in play, the cost of installation would go high than expected (McKeen and Smith, 2009, p. 222). The system as well requires high training among its users, which again is costly and time consuming. The information flow may become incomplete especially where one line is cut or where the system is hacked. Such occurrences may completely disorient service delivery within and outside the organization

Evaluating the Alignment among Information Systems, Organizations, Strategies and Objectives
Within any organization, information flows in a given sequence such that the top management gets information from their juniors but in particular confinement as described by communication and information dissemination department. The departmental heads have to operate and make communications through their representatives such that lower departmental heads get orders from their heads. This communication channel has to go down to the grounds men in a way that facilitates various operations within the organization.

Tools, Processes and Metrics to Accomplish Organizational Objectives
Organizations work with a view of satisfying consumers’ requirement through making timely delivery of good in an efficient and convenient way. The processes that would allow the business to perform its functions more appropriately would involve taking into consideration the duties performed by each worker and the management at large. Performance evaluation would give the business a better chance of making greater improvements in various areas of operation. To such a business would be in a position to evade various risks that may make the business fail.

C Level Report
Executive Summary:
Growth of technology in various areas of production and constant changes in communication systems as a way of reaching customers call for management to understand the structure of markets of target with a view of fulfilling consumers’ desires. In any decision making process and implementation of policies, managers should try to explore the competencies of the organization through identifying areas of importance like the problem, alternative solution, recommended solution, risks and solution, consequences of the recommended solution, investment required and the project plan.

The Need or Problem
Over several years, the use of technology in production and distribution had not gained momentum as compared to current situations. The views of managers then were that use of technology in production was highly risky, as it would result into high operation costs. However, today thing seem to be different and every competitive firm has the urge to incorporate technology in various production processes. Thus, for firms aiming at achieving global competition, the right decision managers would take is to embrace technology and IST systems in industrial production processes.

Recommended Solution
Technological progress makes industrial production cheaper in the long run. With the idea of high competition and various risks involved in production and distribution of goods and services, industries would want to cut down the cost of production and at the same time maintain the consumers’ level of satisfaction (McKeen and Smith, 2009, p. 223).

The recommendations for the above-defined problem are to incorporate those means of production that are cheaper, efficient and up to date. The use of production technologies would be more appropriate in improving organization’s level of performance though it has some negative consequences on the user. In essence, using technology in production would reduce the number of workers within the organization, would require retraining of the retained workers so that the workers gain skills of operating production machines (McKeen and Smith, 2009, p. 226). Above all, a close observation reveals that even though the cost of installation would be high, in the end the company enjoys because of reduced cost of employing more workers.

Alternative Solutions
Better still; the organization could have included strategic plans such as producing goods that matches consumers’ tastes, hiring more workers across the world to aid in product promotion and marketing in various countries. However, compared to the use of IST system, more workers would mean high costs of operation hence the objected returns would go down. On the same note, information dissemination and delivery processes would be low in case the organization uses human means to deliver information.

Risks and Solutions
Every business operations have certain degree of risks, which to some extent are relevant in equipping the management in making decisions that would help reduce the risks. From the foregoing, the only risk the company would encounter is high initial costs of installation for both production technologies and the IST system (Lucas, 2005, p. 200). Other associated cost would revolve around maintenance and replacement. It therefore means that if the organization were not well prepared to execute technology installation plan, it would face financial risks, which the organization can overcome by proper budgeting and through identification of potential source of finance. These could be stakeholders or investors.

Consequences of the Recommended Solution
Operation of any business is at the interest of stakeholders who wants to maximize on the business performances in terms of profits and other forms of benefits. Stakeholders range from the public, workers, investors, managers to government. The use of technology in production processes is costly at the initial stage, a cost that the stakeholders have to bear. However, as the company progresses and its production stabilize, the stakeholders would benefit through reduced cost of operation and increased returns.

Investment Required
Proper budgeting is necessary for all business operations. The possibility that a business will continue with its future operations relies upon good auditing of finances in terms of revenues received and how the management has used such finances in making purchases and in other operations. Cost budgeting reveals to the organization the various combination of inputs that would be used for the same purposes but are relatively cheaper. The cost of production should be relatively lower to give the organization opportunity to make high returns on investment.

Project Plan
The management has to engage in various plan executions that would enable the organization achieve its main goals. Identification of the activities, their duration of execution and proper planning of such activities is highly recommended if the organization were to start its operations at the correct time (Lucas, 2005, p. 212). Before anything else, the organization has to consolidate its finances, purchase the necessary equipments, get highly skilled technicians for the installation process and create a schedule for the project execution. This calls for the need to have a project manager within the organization. The final stage would involved planning on the time required to complete each activity in a way that would determine the completion time of the project. On the same note, the management has to know the entire cost of operating the project to its completion.
In conclusion, any organization that is in place to implement the use of technology in production, delivery of products and in communication processes stand a chance of creating an environment that is highly competitive to its competitors.

References
Lucas Jr., H. (2005) Information Technology – Strategic Decision Making for Managers. John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ
McKeen, J. and Smith, H. (2009) IT Strategy in Action. Pearson Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ
Saunders, C. (2010) Managing and Using Information Systems, 4th edition. John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ

IT, WEB 5

Running head: IT, WEB 1

 

Supermarket Best Practice through Information Technology for Competitive Advantage

Introduction

Supermarkets industry has continually increased competition, this has led to differentiated product settings, and increased consumer benefits as the supermarkets establish various outlets in various locations. This has marked substantial changes in food expenditure and in overall consumer expenditure, low income consumers/households have benefited the most as food prices decline due to increased competition (Yannopoulus, 2011, p. 1). The challenge that accompanies the increased benefits has been increased wastes with perishables accounting for above 50% of supermarket’s sales (Pritchard, Gracy & Godwin, 2010, p. 439). The rates and causes of perishable products’ losses are substantially higher in both developed and developing nations (Parfitt, Barthel, & Macnaughton, 2010, p. 3067).

This has led to government rules and regulations, established to enforce supermarkets to adopt sustainable business practices for sustainable development (Mules, 2011, p. 2). Only those that will deploy technology are likely to survive the competitive industry. For instance, supermarkets in the deli operations are applying technology that reduces customer and employee interactions making them consider deli visit returns (Ball, et al, 2011, p. 3). This study will focus on evaluating the impact of technology and information on the management of supermarkets, with special focus on the management of supply chain, inventory, customer service and workers’ training. The study will seek to identify ways in which the innovations and IT have affected the management of perishable products’ wastes.

RFID: Technology tools like wireless checkouts, RFID, and biometrics have risen; numerous numbers of institutions have embraced the use of these technologies while others have seen the investment as wastage of monetary resources (Rethlefsen, 2011, p. 35;Abdoli, 2009, p. 447). RFID refers to the automatic data capture and automatic identification technology (Hancke, 2011, p. 259) that allows information sharing and supply chain visibility when applied in an organization (Alomair, Lazos & Poovendran, 2011, p. 229). RFID uses radio waves to communicate between the reader and a tag (Avoine et al, 2011, p. 290). The tag is read by the read and it may identify a specific object hence provides the retailer with visibility about a community (Razali, et al, 2010, p. 2065). Experts have argued that supermarkets and all grocers alike should pay attention to the use of technology to control their wastes and reduce their costs. The only way for supermarkets to increase their competitiveness is to focus on customer experience using technology. Use of technologies like RFID has positive impact on retail experience in a disruptive but positive way since it changes people’s thinking.

RFID equips the supermarket managers with knowledge about the consumer buying behavior. The retailer’s warehouse may receive and store some products, and sometimes that material’s useful life may pass out before getting to the store floor. RFID technology enables the retailer to know whether materials received actually made it to store floor. This helps to reduce perishable wastes. RFID technology is increasingly applied in management of supply chain and most supermarkets have now adopted the emerging technology, and are urging their suppliers to also adopt the technology (Jedermann, Ruiz-Garcia & Lang, 2009, p. 151).

According to Margam Madhusudhan (2010), RFID technology has various benefits, which include reduced labor costs and stock out, improved inventory management and efficiency in supply chain, these are driven by the enhancement of greater visibility in the stores supply chain. There is power disparity between suppliers and retailers in supermarkets, the retailers dominate suppliers, and this has given them power to drive RFID adoption, which is beneficial to both parties. Where there is logistics providers acting as intermediaries between suppliers and retailers, the logistics providers are also forced to adopt RFID technology to provide effective warehousing and distribution services (Attaran, 2011, p. 27). However, as mentioned by Soon and Guttierez (2009, p. 89), implementing RFID is costly in terms of infrastructure, tag, training and systems integration. Thus, many organizations find it hard to implement and small supermarkets hardly implement the system due to cost implications.

Self-scanning: Integration of IT automation in the supermarket business has brought about different systems in use in various economic fields (Zhai et al, 2009, p. 746). Supermarkets like Tesco that have largely invested in this technology, bringing a revolution in the supermarket experience and now apply self-scanning technology (Parasuraman & Manzey, 2010, p. 381). Self scanning system is a stand alone system solution that is used in multiple stores, the system comprise of full reporting and security systems that are integrated with the existing legacy systems (Maeda et al, 2010, p. 1). Self-scanning systems support complex user interface (Cho & Fiorito, 2010, p. 2) as well as mix and match promotion being 100% configurable and flexible. The system reduces delays and enormous irritation and time used by consumer in the supermarket.

Kiosks: Grocers have become more innovative in changing their store formats to increase flexibility. Some of the supermarkets have introduced kiosks as a way of providing people with information on products and services from recipes to health to wine selection. These have increased sales and with the increasing consumer confidence, kiosks can be used to provide accurate and reliable data where the customer can enter the product name and get directed to where the product is stored in the store (Matthews et al, 2009, p. 521). Other supermarkets have put up digital photo processing kiosks, health and nutrition kiosks, check-in kiosks, ticketing kiosks and order kiosks. These have improved customer experience in supermarkets (Wood, Lowe & Wrigley, 2009, p. 3). Installation of self-service kiosks in supermarkets has continued to increase (Bhardwaj, 2011, p. 83).

Product dating: different products have different manufacturing and expiry dates, information on the two dates is very important, it determines whether it is safe to use a product or not (Vercammen et al, 2011, p. 408). Open dating is a case in which the consumer requires a calendar; it helps the store to determine how long a product should be stored and how long it should take to have gone to the store floor (Rediers et al, 2009, p. 261). Open dating includes use of words like “use before” or by a certain date indicated in the product package. Such a date is stamped on the package and it is expected that the consumer will use the dating (Costa et al, 2010, p. 2). A closed dating applies packing numbers as used by the manufacturer. Application of information technologies like RFID in supermarkets has played a major role in enabling supermarkets follow the coded dates ensuring that a product is sold in good time and thereby reducing perishables (Jouquand et al, 2009, p. 862).

Innovations have improved the ways of determining products’ shelf life where data on the product’s quality and time stamp is assessed, this helps in determining products useable shelf life (Brody et al, 2009, p. 2). RFID technology is applied in determining products’ shelf life whereby perishable integrity sensor and RFID transponder is used in indicating a product’s perishable integrity (Chin-Sen et al, 2011, p. 15524). The sensor is used to monitor the perishable’s time and temperature, through communications interface, RFID reader is able to retrieve current data on a product’s freshness status (Saygin & Guleryuz, 2011, p. 5). With the product dating information available to the grocers, much perishable wastes are eliminated or diverted (Sen & Block, 2009).

Innovation

Inventory management

Inventory information is crucial in grocers and lack of relevant information on inventory may be detrimental to the running of the supermarkets leading to surmountable wastes. In most cases, organizations emphasize on optimal replenishment policies in managing their inventory in a stylized environment. This is in assumption that there would be no lead-time, lot-sizing and stationary demands, which are inevitable in business. Such instances require effective management of complex inventory systems especially managing perishable goods, with RFID; it has become economically feasible to manage such products since the relevant information is made available (Broekmeulen & Donselaar, 2009, p. 106). Most supermarkets are deploying technology in their supply chain management systems to manage their inventories effectively (Ocak, 2011, p. 38).

When dealing with perishables it is important to match supply with demand efficiently. Managing the supply of fresh products is not easy and it requires improved and effective forecasting in order to reduce wastes, the forecasting systems can be linked POS systems (a store management suite) to ensure immediate markdowns for items that are near their expiry period (Santos et al, 2011, p. 15-16). POS software is known for multi store operations, the system use advanced features like html coding to customize online internet connections and screens for live price updating and head office polling (Yeh, Chen & Chen, 2011, p. 3059).

It is important to align the inventory management systems with pricing and promotion systems, the inventory systems should piggyback on price optimization (Pires, Martinho & Chang, 2011, p. 1033). Price and promotion influences the inventory and that is why the systems need to work together. Use of RFID in the management of inventory has potential benefits not only in the supermarkets internal operations but also in the entire chain of supply. It improves materials and information flow and allows all members in the supply chain to monitor the flow in a more improved and accurate way (Belser, 2011, p. 33). To increase profitability and enhance competitiveness, supermarkets are challenged to increase their focus on inventory management. Innovations and technology in supermarkets inventory management have led to establishment of automated store orderings systems that have greatly improved efficiency and quality of inventory replenishment decisions in supermarket stores (Pires, Martinho & Chang, 2011, p. 1033).

Product display

Product display in supermarket influences consumer experience in the stores; most supermarkets apply display edge technology to determine the best product location and display in the supermarket. Displays must be usable and bright in their environment, the devices used must be durable and endure stores changing temperatures, and they must be compact as well as easy to carry (Fricke & Becker, 2011, p. 847). Innovations in supermarket product displays have focused on making the displays accommodate potential and the recent software applications. Most supermarkets have placed bakeries at the very back in effort to accommodate shoppers’ arrival; innovative technologies are applied to determine how customers are passing along the displays and how long they spend on a particular display (Melnik, Richardson & Tompkins, 2011, p. 426-428). The data is used to determine the location of the displays thereby maximizing sales. Innovations have also seen electronic shelf labeling systems introduced in the displays such that both the displays and shelves are not labeled manually (Ozok & Komlodi, 2009, p. 244). ELS systems are used to display stocking information including the number of units under one stockroom, such innovations allow for time flexibility in changing prices to enhance quick response to the changing competitive situations.

Storage and temperature control: relative humidity and temperature are important environmental factors that affect sensory quality of perishable products especially the fresh produce and foods, consumer acceptability of vegetables and fruits displayed in supermarkets produce sections/departments (Zhang et al., 2011, p. 752). Poor management of temperatures may occur in commercial handling reducing the maximum potential and quality of products’ shelf life of the vegetables and fruits. To manage the stock of perishable produce, there should be information sharing between retailers and suppliers and with all parties involved in the supply chain concerning the actual temperatures that should be enhanced in storing the produce (Nunes et al, 2009, p. 234). Poor management of temperature is identified as a major cause for increased produce wastes. Perishable products should be handled under strict environmental conditions to minimize wastes and maintain the products quality over its shelf life.

Innovative solutions and technological challenges have greatly changed the capacity of supermarkets to store perishable products reducing perishable wastes. Manufacturers of equipments have continued to drive innovation in supermarkets products storage and temperatures control for perishable products and thereby reducing wastes (Kale et al, 2011, p. 142). This has seen improvements in the air, energy and temperature control, which are crucial in reducing perishable wastes in supermarkets, for instance, there has been automation of flying equipments that have self-cleaning options, and fast recovery time (Gorton, Sauer, & Supatpongkul, 2011, p. 1625).

Leadership

Customer service

Customer services refers to the activities carried out to enhance the quality of service given to the customers and is geared towards enhancement of customers’ satisfaction. Customer satisfaction is vital for the growth and survival of supermarkets as it enhances repeated buyer behavior (DeNucci, 2011, p. 7). To create customer satisfaction, supermarkets focus on emphasizing store loyalty and customer retention programs (Kim, 2011, p. 619). Grocery stores open many hours than other enterprises, in addition to normal day and night shifts, supermarket employees are required to open early in the morning, operate late night, holidays, and weekends. All these measures ensure that customer service is effective and that perishable products are well dealt with to reduce wastes (Hokey, 2010, p. 287). An average workweek for subordinate worker comprises of about 30 working hours. To ensure that customer service is not compromised, store workers are given uniforms to enable customers identify them. Regulations on employees’ health and safety are strongly adhered to in ensuring that fresh items like meat, deli, and foods are well-handled (Consumer Reports, 2011, p. 16). In some states, such employees are required to have health certification (Breeding & Yelton, 2011, p. 12).

Management

More than 50% of the supermarkets workers are store clerks, order fillers and cashiers, from the cashiers and clerks, we go the sales people who mostly account for about 34% of supermarkets employees, followed by first line managers whose work is to supervise the employees in the various departs like meat, produce and deli (Smith Lawrence & Richard, 2009, p. 152). The line managers also play critical role in training the employees and overseeing the various supermarket functions.

Managerial occupation mostly comprise of general managers and the operational managers who are responsible in ensuring efficient and profitable operations in the various functions of the supermarket, they establish policies to be followed in the various function, hire and train staff, develop merchandise plans, maintain good public relations and monitor profitability (McLoughlin & Aaker, 2010, p. 126). Some supermarkets have employed category managers whose role is like that of purchasing managers only that they deal with specific categories of food like snack foods and vegetables, this is in effort to effectively manage the supply chain and eliminate wastes as well as poor management of demand. The general managers work hand in hand with category managers to understand consumer taste and preferences, evaluate marketing strategies and sales trends (United States Department of Labor, 2009).

Workforce training

Most supermarkets provide young people with first work experience, for the various occupations such as cashiers, order fillers, food preparation workers and store clerks are trained in short term programs while on the job (Thompson, 2010, p. 140). Most of the programs focus on equipping them with experience to operate the various systems in their work positions. Long-term training is mostly considered for the management positions and for those employees in specialty occupations (Hattersley & Dixon, 2010, p. 186). For most clerical and cashier positions, workers are recruited with diploma or higher diploma qualifications and they are matched with the available jobs, locations and hours. Cashiers and store clerks are training for a few days in a formal web-based or in a computer-based classroom to familiarize them with supermarkets equipments and guidelines. The rest including stores layout, inventory, and other systems are expected to be learnt while on job. Sometimes courtesy clerks and baggers are given short term training while on-the-job to learn the company procedures, changes in store layouts and product locations so that they can improve the customer service (Lyon, Dunn & Sinn, 2011, p. 231-233).

Workers in occupations like bakery are taught simple skills in proper food storage, serving procedures, and customer service. Most supermarkets focus on training those in management positions; most of these workers are recruited as graduate management trainees and are given long-term training through management training programs (Betty, Kellagher & Simpson, 2010, p. 33) that focus on improving supply chain management, logistics, inventory, marketing, food safety, strategic planning, and human capital management (Easton, 2011, p. 590).

Supply chain management

Information collaboration and inventory management: effective inventory management system is critical for efficient supply management; accelerated delivery systems should ensure that replenishments are dealt with within a day (Saxena, 2011, p. 26). Competitive supermarkets like Wal-Mart invest heavily in communications and IT systems to ensure that sales and inventories across various stores are effectively tracked. RFID technology has been applied in warehouse operations in competitive supermarkets and this has transformed their supply chain management by defining new configurations and approaches. RFID enables inventory turnover to move faster pending shorter time in the store, this requires cross docking that gives insightful implications in the warehouse design (Attaran, 2011, p. 26-28).

Retailer-supplier relationship is moved to a higher level through information collaboration with increased interactions between the two parties strengthening their relationship. Good communication systems are vital in inventory management (Walker & Sanders, 2011, p. 747). Networking suppliers through automated ordering and reordering systems is also important to ensure maintenance of the required level of inventories in the stores. Such systems ensure that relevant information is shared on time between suppliers and managers such that supply is matched with demand and prices adjusted appropriately to avoid shortage or wastes.

Logistics management: an important feature of a supermarket’s logistics infrastructure is a responsive and fast transportation system; this is demonstrated by sufficient distribution facilities like truck fleet, or a well-managed warehouse (Hark-Chin, 2009, p. 245). It is important to ensure that the warehouse is sufficiently supplied to provide immediate replenishments. In some supermarkets like Wal-Mart, cross-docking system is used in the distribution process; the system educes storage and handling of finished goods by virtually eliminating roles of distribution stores and centers (Savasaneril & Erkip, 2010, p. 458). For effective management of supply chain, decisions on pricing, merchandising and promotions need to be decentralized as has been the case at Tesco, this shifts focus from supply chain driven to demand driven enabling the forecasts to be accurate and thereby reducing wastes (Chen, et al, 2011, p. 334).

Procurement and distribution: the focus in distribution and purchasing is to minimize costs; this is mostly accomplished by procuring directly from manufactures and bypassing the intermediaries. This enhances transparency in ordering and purchasing as well as the cost structure. There should also be established long-term relationship to ensure that the supermarket enjoys trade discount (Saxena, 2011, p. 26). Use of IT systems like barcode and the hand-held computer systems help in managing distribution centers effectively. The systems also guide those in packaging concerning the amount or number of products to be packaged at any given time (Savasaneril & Erkip, 2010, p. 458).

Sustainability

Supermarkets are gatekeepers of the modern food systems and are therefore targeted by various campaigns that are aimed at improving environment and social performance of food systems. They are therefore advised to adopt business practices that improve animal welfare, human beings well-being, promote trade fairness, and public health (Parkes et al, 2010, p. 344). Supermarkets are incorporating technology by installing LED lights to reduce energy costs. Supermarkets have continued to follow the set rules and regulations in implementing environmental systems of management that focus on reducing wastes, as well as recycling what can be recycled (Santos et al, 2011, p. 15-16). Other supermarkets have increased their focus on green foods and seafoods to improve their environment performance and promote public health through introduction of environmental management systems like organic-waste recovery systems that focus on waste minimization. The companies have also embarked on training their staff (Betty, Kellagher & Simpson, 2010, p. 33) through environmental awareness programs and through production of biodegradable packaging and carrier bags. All these practices reduce the amount of waste that goes to landfill.

Managing perishable wastes

Most supermarkets have embraced the importance of sustainability in their provision policies and corporate strategies by exemplifying the importance of fair-trade, organic, and local foods in stores. This has mostly been organized with the involvement of the consumer. Sustainability practices have mainly been influenced by the consumer demand and concerns and the enforcement of government rules and regulation on environmental management (Parkes et al, 2010, p. 344). Supermarkets deal with a good percentage of perishable goods, this requires them to improve their systems to reduce perishable wastes, and one of the ways that supermarkets have used to reduce perishable wastes has been improvement of the ordering systems that are computer assisted (He, Franco & Zhang, 2011, p. 1898-1900). Use of computer assisted ordering systems helps in analyzing transaction data and consumer trend in order to make appropriate decisions in managing perishable goods to reduce wastes. However, waste cannot be eliminated completely at times and the supermarkets have to come up with ways of managing the perishable wastes for sustainable business practices (Parkes et al, 2010, p. 345).

Reduce: one of the ways of managing perishable wastes is reducing consumption of the products that yield high level of perishable wastes. For instance, those supermarkets that provide prepared food can opt to provide customers with non-disposable plates to reduce the amount of disposable arising from prepared foods. However, this is hard given that supermarkets deal with substantial amount of perishable products mainly foodstuffs, which is the key generator of revenue. To reduce the perishable wastes, supermarkets have resolved to applying advanced technologies that ensure that products are transported at the right time and they are available at the store floor at the right time (Popov et al, 2010, p. 360). This ensures that the product has reached the consumer at the right time or at least before the manufacturers’ product expiry date. Ineffective forecasting of demand and management of supply chain leads to increased perishable wastes (Bidgoli, 2010, p. 69). Supermarket focus on managing an effective inventory management and information sharing systems to ensure that the retailer and supplier are well informed of the products so that the perishable wastes can be reduced. It is also important to ensure that required temperatures are maintained to ensure that perishable products’ quality and shelf life is maintained, this reduces the amount of perishable wastes.

Re-use: as mentioned by Savasaneril and Erkip (2010, p. 458), some products can be used in more than one way and the managers must remain creative to ensure that the products are put into various use in order to cut down their wastes. For instance, many charity organizations and children homes would use the products like carrots that are deemed to exceed their expiry date if waited to reach the store floor. Instead of throwing way food scraps and other organic products that can be donated to such organizations, policies should be put into place to donate such products (Walker & Sanders, 2011, p. 747).

Recycling: recycling involves remaking the waste into usable products, this is the easiest way to reduce wastes, where the products cannot be recycled, there should be alternatives evaluated to reduce wastes (Cantu, 2011, p. 18).

Recommendation

Supermarkets have continually increased competition and this has challenged those who want to remain competitive to embrace advanced technology in the various functions including supply chain management, information sharing, product shelf life, customer service, and waste management. One of the things demonstrated in the report is that workforce training in supermarkets is not given enough focus and much training is valued for the management occupation while little training is given to employees in other levels particularly at the entry level (Vella, Gountas, & Rhett, 2009, p. 462). It should be noted that customer service quality is much influenced by employees’ skills and competencies that enable them to deliver quality customer service to customers. Where service is employee-centric, superior performance is easily achieved; employees are well trained on the various systems applied in the organization’s operations and are also driven by satisfaction to offer goods and services through sustainable business practices.

Supermarkets face major challenges in the management of perishable products due to uncertain demand, high customer service required, perishability, and costly implementation of technological systems. In most supermarkets, one is likely to find large stocks of fresh vegetables, fresh food, and other fresh produce and without the stock; the supermarkets would not be effective in meeting customer satisfaction. Consumer choice on where to spend is largely influenced by the shelf availability and assortment of fresh food. Supply chain management is of strategic importance in enhancing retail competitiveness. The need to maintain sufficient stocks of fresh produce is often challenging and sometimes it can result to significant losses of revenue. Where the supermarkets are faced with lower demand, these results into huge amount of perishable wastes, which in turn requires being effectively managed. It is advisable that supermarkets embrace technologies like self-scanning and RFID to enhance their customer service and effectively manage their supply chain (Burch & Lawrence, 2009, p. 272).

RFID technologies allows for information collaboration between the parties involved in the supply chain, enabling them to monitor the produce shelf life and reduce wastes. It is also important that other efforts are put in place to manage the wastes. For instance, the produce that can be recycled should be recycled and what can be re-used should be put into use. Greening of food has also been an option for some supermarkets in adopting sustainable business practices; it is advisable that most supermarkets consider greening of food in effort to enhance sustainability.

Conclusion

Following the increasing rate of perishable wastes, it is important to ensure that supermarkets have embraced relevant technologies and systems to reduce the wastes. Government should also play a critical role in ensuring that fresh produce is well managed and rules and regulations are followed to enhance sustainable business practices. As mentioned by a number of scholars, technologies like RFID are important for those who wish to remain competitive in the supermarkets industry; the technology allows the retailer to manage the produce shelf life, temperatures through information sharing, which is vital in the effectiveness of the supply chain management and reduction of perishable wastes.

Most supermarkets have embraced sustainable business practices; some of them have adopted the practices following government scrutiny while others have used it to build a competitive advantage. For instance, government environmental authorities in UK have remained critical of the supermarkets commitment in fair-trading. Leading supermarkets in UK and US have been on the frontline in the implementation of environmental management systems, policies, and performance targets. Supermarkets are increasingly embracing the need to improve, manage, and report publicly on environmental performance. Sustainable business practices help in reducing wastes and enhancing sustainable development.

There is a mountain of fresh produce on display in every supermarket; every supermarket strives to make efficient its supply chain and manage demand effectively. However, there is always a distasteful reality in every business. Food prices have been soaring in America and with the economic depression; consumers have tightened their belts subjecting supermarkets to great pressure and increased perishable wastes as the demand continues to decline. In the context of supermarkets business, there is always a huge amount of food and other perishable stuff that is dumped as a result of inefficiency in demand management or failure of systems. It is important for the supermarket to identify ways of managing such wastes. Some of the ways that should be applied where appropriate include recycling, re-use, and reduction of wastes. Other wastes that may not be managed using the methods mentioned should be taken to landfills to ensure that no litter is left destroying environment.

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Cultural Textual Analysis

Introduction

The textual analysis involves the assessment of any specific written artifact. The process can relate to an activity such as making observations relating to an organization’s trend, strengths, pattern, or challenges/weaknesses. In this report, however, the textual analysis will involve assessing Trader Joe’s website, mainly measuring the effectiveness of this website to serve the intended purpose. Business organizations establish websites with different intentions although the main aim is usually to make or improve sales by improving their communication consequently increasing the web traffic. Websites are primarily essential in informing the potential clients and interested site visitors thereby allowing them to know more about the specific company and its products. To facilitate this, however, the company must make its website attractive and relevant to ensure frequent visitation. This analysis will thus be evaluating how Trader Joe’s site satisfies this need in relation to how friendly the site is to its target clients/visitors, whether it offers easy usage, easy navigation, comprehensive content, informative and relevant. The task will involve a content analysis, assessing the contents relating to the company, advertisements the details of the merchandising material including ‘the Fearless Flyer Newsletter’ among others (Prakash, 2008, p.1).

Trader Joe’s Website Analysis

Web-Content

Any web that is to meet its objective must be satisfactory to the users, to retain their loyalty to the site while also increasing their site visitation frequency. Prakash (2008, p.1) observed that besides data, a site should similarly be informative to the users. Trader Joe’s website (i.e. TJW) plays this critical role because it provides comprehensive and detailed information regarding the company and its operations. The site provides a map that informs the site visitors of the various locations its retail shops are located. With such information, an interested client can know where to access more conveniently the company’s products of individual interest.TJW also does not only avail the available products that the company trades in but also includes their prices thereby enabling users to know which products meet their financial capacity. The site further has an option through which its users can send their queries while also getting the required feedback. The homepage has all essentials that direct the interested user to the site page of interest thus allowing them to access all the information they may require.

Through this site, users can further access top recipes for various courses including breakfast, dinner, lunch, desserts, and small plates. From the homepage, site visitors can get all information relating to the company including its history, performance, available products, updates from other customers, and available careers, among others. The availability of advertising merchandise material including the ‘Trader Joe’s Fearless Flyer’ is highly informative to the site users. The flyer enables the users to share the information with other interested persons using social sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Users can similarly share using emails or printing the flyer for additional offline usage. The site avails this flyer periodically explaining all the activities of the company, available products, and their descriptions, links to essential other sites including Facebook, Twitter, email, and printing. In addition, Trader Joe’s site provides adverts that give relevant information regarding its offerings including the TJ’s Radio Ads (www.traderjoes.com).

Attractiveness- Site Design/Layout

The physical display for TJ’s website is very attractive with an eye-catching layout. The website has well-designed information output that creates easy accessibility of the site content by the users. The layout is such that users are able to locate and read the required information easily. The content on the web has an appropriate font size that allows effective reading plus the proper application of contrasting colors to make the web texts readable. The artistic presentation of the site including the different company products presented in different colors creates an appealing impression. The first impression of the site and the subsequent pages are very attractive and very enticing to make a user desire to know more of what is available in the company through the site. A number of animations and graphics with considerable sizes are available, building on the site’s layout (www.traderjoes.com). One tactic that the company has applied in this site is to present diverse products images that show the products available at the company. The pictures are quite attractive with the ability to entice a potential client to seek a specific product from the company.

User-Friendliness

Besides providing adequate information on a website, web designers should similarly ensure their users could access that information more easily, quickly, and in an understandable manner. Chadwick (2005, p.1) states that all the information output presented must always provide logical answers to the users’ queries and needs. Trader Joe’s website presents a site service that is accessible to its users such that it lists its products and stores by category. The site for example shows that the company has stores in North & South California, Southwest, East Coast, Midwest, and Pacific Northwest, among others (www.traderjoes.com). In this manner, an interested buyer can locate easily the retail shop that is more convenient and closer to access the company’s products. The site does not apply jargon but uses simple English with clear writings that any individual can read and understand. Unattractive site design could more easily discourage its visitors and potential customers from visiting the site opting for sites that do not present difficulties when using.

Navigation

Navigation is the process through which site users are able to move within the website more efficiently and easily. A website should have visible, adjacent pages, well-identified links to the top, and key pages, among other essentials (Prakash, 2008, p.1). In absence of adequate navigation, the site users could flounder attempting to access other site pages. Site owners should never rely on users swiping the mouse over the site page seeking to identify the required links. Trader Job’s site, therefore, provides effective and sufficient navigation over the company’s site. Users are able to log into the company’s homepage through search engines including Google, MSN, and Yahoo. TJ website provides easy navigational directions such that besides the next and back icons, the site offers easy navigation through the information data and lists. TJW’s users are able to navigate within the homepage, allowing them to move to the top and to the bottom to access the key page elements. The home page for example has the following layout and the subsequent pages available. With just a click, the user manages to access the following page (www.traderjoes.com).

Trader Joe’s Homepage Layout

Home	Products &Guides	Recipes	Stores	Careers	The Soapbox	About Us
		What’s Cooking	Find a Trader Joe’s	Careers at Trader Joe’s	Trader Joe’s Soapbox	About Trader Joe’s
		Breakfast	Store Stories	Search Careers	The Fearless Flyer	Out Story
		Lunch	Neighborhood Involvement	Career FAQ’s		Timeline
		Dinner		Benefits		Customer Updates
		Desserts		Illustrated Career Paths		FAQ’s
		Small Plates

Interaction

According to Chadwick (2005, p.1), a website acts as an active platform offering a dimension for interaction. Effective sites offer channels through which users respond to comments, make corrections, or exchange ideas. TJ website provides avail guest books and feedback forms to its users thereby enabling them to have opportunities to air their comments. Such communication channels also enable users to receive feedback from the company through the site. Trader Joe’s website thus offers an identified mail-link with accessible contact information for the company. Such interaction is highly critical in enabling the company to establish a good relationship with its users or clients thus securing their confidence and trust for more and more visitation. In the Trader Joe’s Soapbox, for example, the website user can subscribe to be receiving the company’s E-Newsletter and Fearless Flyer into their inbox through their emails (www.traderjoes.com). The user could also subscribe to be receiving the fearless flyer via the direct mail address. In subscribing to such materials, the web user must key-in personal details inclusive of an email.

Conclusion

From the above analysis, it is clear that a website’s effectiveness must incorporate a number of essentials for it to work. From the analysis of Trader Joe’s website, it is evident that any company that wishes to improve its business performance through its website must consider certain critical factors. TJ’s site, therefore, ensures comprehensive web content that is highly informative keeping the site users aware of the company’s operations. User-friendliness is similarly evident in TJ’s site following the use of simple and clear English. The site users do not face difficulties when accessing a particular page because of the easy navigation to various TJ website pages. The website further allows the users, existing and potential customers to interact easily with the company through emails. Site visitors can similarly share information contained in a particular page using the social network sites such as Twitter and facebook (MATA, n.d, p.81).

References

Chadwick, I. (2005). Web Site Essentials. Retrieved on October 10, 2011 from: http://www.ianchadwick.com/ordovician/essentials.html

Company’s Official Website: www.traderjoes.com

Method Acting: Textual Analysis (MATA, n.d). Retrieved on October 11, 2011.

Prakash, V. (2008). What is the Purpose of Your Website? Retrieved on October 10, 2011 from: http://www.brandrich.com/blog/search-engine-optimization/what-is-the-purpose-of-your-website.html

WebCT Questionnaire

This questionnaire is aimed at investigating the overall satisfaction levels of students using a new blackboard version that boasts some new features. In the first section, it will ask personal information of the participants. In the second section, it will investigate the awareness levels of the student’s instructors. In the third section, it will ask the frequency with which the participants use the new blackboard version. In the last section, it will explore their overall satisfaction levels using the system.

SECTION I: PERSONAL INFORMATION

Name of Participant

Name of course you are pursuing

Year of Study

Gender

Age

Tick Yes or No on the blackboard features that you use

Blackboard features that you use	Yes	No
Discussion forums
Announcements from lectures
CMD
Announcements sent as emails to students
Chat rooms
Audiostreamed lectures
Blogs
Wikis
Learning resources & associated activities
Links to relevant websites
Videostreamed lectures
Quizzes
Group work area
Assessment Information
Email contact with fellow students
Examples of previous exams
Examples of previous assignments
Opportunity for feedback from students
Frequently asked questions

SECTION II: AWARENESS LEVELS OF INSTRUCTORS

In this section, the student will gauge their instructor’s level of competence based on the following criteria:

1 = Novice: This instructor has no previous blackboard experience and knows only general instructions.

2 = Advanced beginner: This instructor has little experience but his/her teaching performance is acceptable.

3 = Competent: This instructor can analyze situations and apply skills efficiently.

4 = Proficient: This instructor understands blackboard very well and can use it in several ways effectively.

5 = Expert: This instructor show’s a very high level of awareness and has an intuitive grasp of blackboard use. He/she is highly proficient.

What do you think are the instructor’s awareness levels in conducting the following blackboard features?
Discussion forums
Announcements from lectures
CMD
Announcements sent as emails to students
Chat rooms
Audio–streamed lectures
Blogs
Wikis
Learning resources & associated activities
Links to relevant websites
Video–streamed lectures
Quizzes
Group work area
Assessment Information
Email contact with fellow students
Examples of previous exams
Examples of previous assignments
Opportunity for feedback from students
Frequently asked questions

In overall, how would you rate the level of awareness of instructors when it comes to the use of blackboard as a teaching aid?

SECTION III: FREQUENCY OF USE

1 = Didn’t know it existed

2 = Don’t use

3 = Seldom

4 = Sometimes

5 = Regularly

How often do you use these features?
Announcements from lectures
Discussion forums
CMD
Announcements sent as emails to students
Chat rooms
Audio–streamed lectures
Blogs
Wikis
Learning resources & associated activities
Links to relevant websites
Video–streamed lectures
Quizzes
Group work area
Assessment Information
Email contact with fellow students
Examples of previous exams
Examples of previous assignments
Opportunity for feedback from students
Frequently asked questions

SECTION IV: MEASURING SATISFACTION LEVELS

SATISFACTION WITH THE BLACKBOARD SYSTEM

1 = Extremely Dissatisfied

2 = Moderately Dissatisfied

3 = Neutral (Neither satisfied or nor dissatisfied)

4 = Moderately Satisfied

5 = Extremely Satisfied

How Satisfied are you with
The quality of the blackboard system
The frequency with which use the blackboard system
Your access to the system
The level of support provided by the instructors
The guidance of instructors when using blackboard
The new knowledge that you are deriving from the system
The system’s capability to enhance your learning
The experience of using the blackboard
Your level of input during lessons
The amount of time instructors use the blackboard system
The level of student-blackboard interaction
The level of student-instructor interaction while using the system
The number of students that use the system at a go
The font size of words
The capability of the system to meet your educational needs
The ease with which you navigate the system
The workload demand of the system

Do you think that the new blackboard system is better than the old system? Explain your answer

SATISFACTION LEVELS REGARDING

OUTCOMES

1 = Extremely Dissatisfied

2 = Moderately Dissatisfied

3 = Neutral (Neither satisfied or nor dissatisfied)

4 = Moderately Satisfied

5 = Extremely Satisfied

How satisfied are you with the system’s
Capability to help you think critically
Capability to help you solve problems successfully
Capability to enhance your innovation and creativity
Capacity to update your knowledge and skill level
Capacity to enhance social virtues such as honesty
Capacity to help you become gender sensitive
Capacity to help you respect the cultures of other people
Capacity to enhance your skills of undertaking ongoing self directed learning
Capacity to develop your zeal for further learning
Capacity to improve your interpersonal skills
Capacity to improve your communication skills
Capacity to enhance your grasp of modern information and communication technology
Capacity to develop your teamwork ideals
Capacity to facilitate your handling of unexpected situations
Capacity to help you manage change effectively

SATISFACTION LEVELS

REGARDING INSTRUCTORS

1 = Extremely Dissatisfied

2 = Moderately Dissatisfied

3 = Neutral (Neither satisfied or nor dissatisfied)

4 = Moderately Satisfied

5 = Extremely Satisfied

How satisfied are you with your instructor’s
Ability to meet your academic expectations using blackboard
Subject content in his/her blackboard
Ability to connect theory with practice using technology
Ability to use relevant learning materials
Ability to employ interesting and suitable teaching methods using blackboard
Capacity to use up to date technological facilities
Class work and exams assessment methods
Feedback provision: they are constructive and timely
Contact class locations: they are free for all, easily accessible and encourage student participation
Class attendance schedules

Do you feel that the instructor is better off not using the system?

SATISFACTION LEVELS OF BLACKBOARD FEATURES

1 = Extremely Dissatisfied

2 = Moderately Dissatisfied

3 = Neutral (Neither satisfied or nor dissatisfied)

4 = Moderately Satisfied

5 = Extremely Satisfied

Important Note: Answer only those features that you have used before

How satisfied are you with these features
Announcements from lectures
Discussion forums
CMD
Announcements sent as emails to students
Chat rooms
Audio–streamed lectures
Blogs
Wikis
Learning resources & associated activities
Links to relevant websites
Video–streamed lectures
Quizzes
Group work area
Assessment Information
Email contact with fellow students
Examples of previous exams
Examples of previous assignments
Opportunity for feedback from students
Frequently asked questions

In your opinion about the new blackboard system, what is its best feature?

Please explain why you think this is the best feature of the new blackboard system.

In your own opinion about the new blackboard system, what is its worst feature?

Please explain why you think this is the worse feature of the blackboard system

Which features would you like to be added to the blackboard system?

Which features would you like to be removed?

Any comments

Thank you for taking part in this survey.

The Increase of Collaborative Research Agreements Around the World

Collaborations between researchers has increased over the recent years. Several factors have led to increased collaborative research agreements. First there is increased understanding of the advantages of knowledge sharing. Researchers get to know about new information and ideas when they take part in innovation networks whether formal or informal. The researchers benefits from the collaborative research works, through gaining greater knowledge which enables them to identify and combine opportunities. Out of the knowledge gained, the researchers could be able to predict which one of the combined opportunities would likely become a new product (Katz & Martin, 1995, p. 8).

The second factor that has led to increase in collaboration is the quick advancement of information technology. This has minimized the cost and in turn increased the pace of information transmission. Some of the elements of information technology that has lead to organizations collaborating more efficiently and effectively than in the past include: video coferencing, groupware programs and the Email. Information technology has led to reduction of cost incurred in locating a research collaboration partner. Also the cost incurred in monitoring a collaboration partner to ensure that one sticks to the initial agreement has been minimized(Katz & Martin, 1995, p. 8).

The third factor that has contributed to increased collaboration around the world is innovations in collaborative networks. Collaborative research is very important in high technology sectors where individual firms lack most of the resources essential to implement a significant innovation. Firms and organizations are able to obtain ideas and information for innovation more fast. Through collaborations firms are able to access one another’s resources and knowledge quickly. This enables the firms to jointly get innovations to the market easily as compared to any individual firm alone. All the above factors have greatly contributed to increase collaborative research agreements(Schilling, 2005, p. 28).

Reference

Katz, J.S., & Martin, B.R. (1995). What is Research Collaboration? UK: Science Policy and Research Evaluation Group.

Schilling, M. A. (2005). Strategic management of technological innovation. Boston: McGraw-Hill.

IT Consulting

Chain stores are arrays of departments offering either different or same services to clients but have common center of control and ownership. Holding companies in most cases operate various chain stores in various locations in order to expand their market control besides increasing the profit volume. Besides, to ensure the success of Holdings Company, the management must ensure proper performance of the chain stores. This paper will therefore attempt to explicate the connection that the operations of the chains have to the overall performance of the Holdings Company and the various implications that will emerge in the event of shutdown of the chain stores (Freedman, 2003, p. 113). Merging of the retail chains into one IT department will have great effects on the operations of the company. Firstly, the project shock will lead to a reduction in the market size owing to the increased geographical distance between the IT application platform and the potential customers. The customers served by the IT application platform will be lower than the number of customers initially served by the five chains. The reduction in the size of the potential customers on the hand also highly affects the segmentation process of the company, as it will limit the various types and the size of the segments. Secondly, dissatisfaction of the customers is apparent due to the project shock. Emerging of these retail chains will lead to elimination of some services that company could render; the results will be customers’ dissatisfaction. Dissatisfaction of the customers may be devastating as it may finally result into customers switching to other service providers in the market (Freedman, 2003, p. 113). In the end, this project shock may lead to continuous losses by the company if potential customers do not welcome the new line of operations.

Similarly, the project shock will greatly affect the career of the client team members. Owing to the changes implemented individuals who are resistant to changes will be automatically eliminated from the organization in their attempt to their attempt to resist the new advancements. In addition, the new developments will reduce the operations of the company hence less personnel requirement. Moreover, owing to the expertise incorporated into the new applications, the client team should have the necessary skills required. The use of such skills will contribute in eliminate those who are not in possession of the desired qualities for the new application. In the design of this new IT system, various measures are to be incorporated to counter the various implications that may arise because of the new developments. Initially, the system should ensure diversifications in the operations. Diversification in production processes ensures satisfaction of the potential customers besides ensuring customer retention. Diversification in services offered will prevent brand switching among the customers that may lead to lead to customers loss. Secondly, in the design of the system, work force –based operations should be promoted. This will ensure that the client team from various production chains is incorporated into the new application to limit elimination of personnel from the new operations.

In order to ensure the success of the project, the client team are to actions are incorporated in the operations of the company. Initial training of clients is necessary for effective delivery of services within the new application. Training will ensure high quality of the output desired by potential customers. Incorporating training programs in business operations will establish proper relations with various customers. Similarly, clients should create awareness on new developments undertaken to counter any wrong assumptions that the public may be having on the changes. Besides, through creating awareness and proper training potential customers besides improving the public image of the organization adopt the applications offered in ways that would help improve areas of performances. In ensuring that the change is fully implemented, the team should adopt a proper reward system. The reward system will ensure that persons within team that are in opposition of the continued advancement of the projects are immediately eliminated from the team (Thomas, 2005, p. 210). On the other hand, persons that are in support of the project and that their actions are outstanding are rewarded to motivate them in their operations. If properly undertaken, these actions will ensure that the project is brought into conclusion as designed. Proper segmentation is also important in ensuring success and conclusion of the project. This refers to the division of the potential customers into indivisible groups with common desires. Segmentation will help in the delivery of services that are tailored to meet certain specific desires of the potential customers. It will therefore fully ensure the satisfaction of the customers. Segmentation will further enhance proper diversification of the services offered to customers. The client team should therefore develop proper mechanisms to ensure market segmentation hence success will be achieved.

In the implementation of the project shock changes, various stockholders in the client’s organization should be involved. Initially, the customers should be informed and to be consulted in the implementation of these changes. This will ensure that the preference of the potential customers is given precedence in the changes. Adopting changes without the involvement of the customers can have an array of negative implications to the performance of the organization. Initially, it may lead to loss of customers to other competitors in the market that may be highly devastating. Similarly, the changes may illicit various reactions from the customers that can lead creating bad image of the organization (Thomas, 2005, p. 212). This therefore makes the customers to be vital participants in the change procedures in the organization. I n addition, the workforce personnel should also be incorporated in the chance process. Proper involvement of the personnel will make persons feel part of the organizations hence will limit cases of oppositions being witnessed. Involvement of the personnel will also act as motivation in the organization that will be vital in the conclusion of the project. Involvement of various persons is vital in success of the project and in ensuring the conclusion of the project. The description of areas of importance leads to the formulation of the RACI chart below.

In conclusion, it therefore becomes clear that retail chains are vital in the success of an organization since they assist in market expansion and increases the volume of trade. Besides, the chains assist in diversification of the services rendered by the company. It also pronounced that changes are vital in the operations of any enterprise and therefore positive changes should be encouraged. In adopting application changes, proper involvement of prominent persons involved in operations of the organization will give chance of eliminating cases of change opposition as they may arise from various stakeholders.

References

Freedman, R. (2003). Building the IT consulting practice. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer.

Thomas, S. J. (2005). Improving maintenance & reliability through cultural change. New York,N.Y: Industrial Press.

Information Security

Identify and explain two challenges in Era II and Era III

Electronic Research Administration has challenges that are described as follows: Bulkiness- Most Era systems seem to be immense hence not allowing entry of a streamlined data. Non-uniformity- This states that, providers of the system use different systems to enter similar information that is, one system to enter data, another for evaluation and reporting. Complexity- Many Era systems lack flexibility and their reporting systems are limited. Inconsistency- the systems have irregular data inputs and limited resources when entering the data .Compatibility-There is the challenge of compatibility, as the standard bodies have developed standard document formats, there is also the issue of limited trading partner, as some large firms will only work with those organizations who utilize Era (Notto 290).

Identify one senior management position within the field of IS and discuss what the job entitles

Application Systems Analyst- The employee under the systems application performs system administration analysis and duties in programming. The individual prepares detailed specifications on which application will be written, designs, and debugs new application programs, execute duties conforming to standards and policies and provides documentation for modified information systems. The analyst also monitors software systems to ensure proper performance, prepares and conducts system test planning, functions as project lead responsible for completing project phase and also organizes the duties of less established software developers and assists in developing complex applications (Chomicki and Saake 204).

Why is data collection important for many organizations?

Preventing financial fraud- Organizations are embracing analytics to sort through the firm’s data volumes and disclose hidden patterns that indicate criminal frauds, for the sake of the company’s financial stability. Calculating risks – Firms use data collection methods to establish unacceptable risks and inappropriate processing. This is achieved by the use of high performance analytics where models are established to assess the management of loan portfolios. Executing worthy marketing campaigns-Since financial services are becoming competitive, organizations collect data on the market and operate market campaigns thus maximizing the lifetime value of the customers and making effective sales. This is also achieved through database marketing, thus increasing their productivity. Data collection helps organizations identify issues of equal treatment, institutional barriers, it helps in trust development, credibility in communication of data, and it reduces human rights complaints and possible legal actions (Pawar 4).

What is the difference between data and information?

Data is distinctive pieces of information which is formatted and occurs in type of numbers, as bits in electronics and as facts in human mind. It may be quantitative, referring to number, or qualitative, in quality of something. Primary data is the one examined directly from an experience, while secondary data is collected in the past and is published by someone else. Information is the understanding that is derived from an experience or study. It is the knowledge of particular events received from news or communications, it is also the collection of data or facts and it is usually valuable as it can affect a decision or outcome. Primary information is the one that has not been filtered through interpretation, such as diaries, photographs. Secondary information is composed of descriptions written after the fact with the benefit of perception and includes books and journal articles (Bossé, Shahbazian, and Rogova 195).

Works Cited

Bossé, Éloi, E Shahbazian, and Galina Rogova. Prediction and Recognition of Piracy Efforts Using Collaborative Human-Centric Information Systems. Amsterdam: IOS Press, 2013. Internet resource.

Chomicki, Jan, and Gunter Saake. Logics for Databases and Information Systems. Boston, Mass: Kluwer, 1998. Print.

Notto, Ralph W. Challenge and Consequence: … Forcing Change to Ecommerce. Tucson, Ariz: Fenestra Books, 2005. Print.

Pawar, Manohar S. Data Collecting Methods and Experiences: A Guide for Social Researchers. Elgin, IL: New Dawn Press, 2004. Print.

How do Corporate Obtain Competitive Advantage Using E-commerce Technology?

Introduction and Justification

Over the years, the world has witnessed rapid technological developments that have greatly influenced the society. This is, especially, in relation to how people carry out their daily operations plus how they relate/interact with one another. One key area that has greatly benefited from technological advancement comprises the business world, which has practically integrated technology into all sectors. Technological applications are dominant in areas diverse areas of businesses including management, sales, production, accounting, financial management and other relevant operations of a business. E-commerce is among the most apparent technological innovations, which have hade immense implications on businesses. E-commerce or electronic commerce relates to the process of buying and selling products (services and goods) through electronic channels, particularly, the internet plus other computer-based systems or networks. E-commerce has led to the emergence of online retailing that is highly convenient in terms of global reach of clients, 24-hour availability and generally, effective customer service. This way of conducting businesses depends largely on technologies like internet marketing, electronic data interchange (EDI), electronic funds transfer, mobile commerce, management of supply chains, automated systems of data collection, inventory management systems and online transaction processing. Although e-commerce employs the ‘World-Wide Web’, it always incorporates diverse technologies including social media, telephones and e-mail. Electronic commerce, therefore, involves the sales aspect linked to the modern e-business. Most companies across the world apparently apply one e-commerce element of the other, an aspect that has led to the great popularity of technology in modern businesses. Huge technology investments advanced by companies today demonstrate the massive benefits they derive from its application. Technology has indeed enabled business organizations obtain a competitive advantage against their competitors, which is a critical factor to excel in today’s competitive business environment. E-commerce, therefore, is very crucial in today’s business research. To begin with, this is because of its huge application worldwide such that organizations are competing to employ the most recent forms of e-commerce. This way of operating businesses also brings about the aspect of the related benefits that organizations generate through technology application, particularly, in relation to how firms create and promote their competitive advantage. Technology shortcomings and risks is also an important area of interest considering the immense adoption of technologies by the leading business organizations worldwide. Moreover, research on this topic area has been limited, leaving a considerable gap that needs to be addressed. This subject matter, thus, is a vital area of study that demands in-depth research to assess diverse issues lined to e-commerce.

In this study, however, the research will focus on how companies have been employing e-commerce technology in their financial management or accounting processes to obtain a competitive advantage. Technology, moreover, has not only transformed organizations’ internal management systems, but also their accounting/financial systems, a factor that is giving many businesses a competitive edge (Andam 31).

Aim

This study aims to investigate how e-commerce technologies applications in financial management have been helping business organizations create competitive advantages. In determining this, the study will employ the case study approach of two companies.

Objectives

This study will aim to satisfy five main objectives linked to the study subject.

To perform an extensive review of literature concerning e-commerce

and its application in

the

financial

or accounting field,

plus the various ways through which it enables companies obtain competitive advantages.

To examine various types of e-commerce technologies plus their subsequent influences on modern corporations

To establish whether there is a positive relationship between applying e-commerce technologies and competitiveness of the chosen firms

To c

arry out

a study on a selected company in the UK, within the SME level and has

been using

e-commerce

technologies

in their operations, especially

,

in the

ir accounting/

finance departments.

To provide clear recommendations on how companies can improve their e-commerce application to gain greater competitiveness and higher performance in today’s competitive market environment

Research Approach

This study will employ a qualitative research method through a case study approach. A survey method will be employed in collecting the primary data, using interviews as the primary data collection instrument. The case study approach will be a unique way of conducting this study because of various reasons. Case studies are effective because they provide a comprehensive contextual assessment of the subject matter under study. This is primarily because a case study approach focuses on a limited number of events or conditions. In this case, it paves way for a thorough investigation of a phenomenon, thereby, providing a holistic understanding of the matter under study. A case study, moreover, enables the researcher capture the most vital and relevant information essential for the research. Case studies also help researchers obtain first hand information because they evaluate real life situations, providing a deeper understanding of the matter plus the subsequent implications on the key idea. Information gathered through a case study is essential because it supplements the information provided in the literature review (secondary data) through various primary data collection methods including interviews and questionnaires. The primary data improves the validity and credibility of the study results or findings. To prevent the possibilities for research bias while carrying out the case study, the researcher will use the semi-structured interviews on pertinent individuals within the chosen organizations. Such interviews are advantageous in that they will facilitate extensive data gathering regarding the study topic. The structuring design of this kind will be helpful in preventing some weaknesses linked to the case study technique. Such a design provides a rather sensitive and flexible approach on participants consequently improving the response rate. Semi-structure interviews also allow for clarification of details/information provided by respondents, which is essential in promoting data credibility.

Literature Review

This chapter provides the diverse literature linked to the study subject. Inclusive are the definition of various terms that may help in understanding the literature and the study concept in a better way. The literature also provides the platform under which the study will be conducted, to compare whether the claims of the literature match the real practices in firms. The literature entails a broad description and discussion of e-commerce plus how it contributes in creating competitive advantages for business organizations.

Definition of Terms

E

lectronic C

ommerce

(E-commerce)

:

The process through which the buying or purchasing and the selling of products occurs through electronic systems including

internet plus other computer networks. It draws on technologies like internet marketing, electronic data interchange (EDI), automated systems of data collection, electronic money transfer, and inventory management systems, among many others.

Competitive

Advantage

:

Superiority

an organization has beyond their competitors, which earns them greater returns or sales volumes, while also

increasing their customer retention beyond their

competitors. Such a firm develops a unique value for their clients plus exceptional profits because they can consistently perform better compared to competition

Electronic Data Interchange

:

Involves the

business information electronic interchange using a standard format. The process allows one firm to send data/information to another firm via electronic means instead of using papers. Business entities that perform businesses electronically are termed as trading partners.

Virtual Communities

:

Individuals’ social networks that allow interactions via certain social media, across political and geographical boundaries in pursuit of mutual goals or interests.

The most dominant forms of virtual communities run under social networking services comprising of diverse online communities. Community members interact via multiple means

including

chat rooms, virtual world, message boards and social networking sites

like

face book, twitter and MySpace, amidst others.

Overheads

:

Business operational expenses including taxes, utilities, interior decoration,

insurance, advertising costs, rent, accounting charges, legal fees, supplies, travel expenses and telephones bills, among others.

They are ongoing expenses for running businesses (operating expense).

However,

direct

labour and material costs are not inclusive.

Virtual Stores

:

Online stores that offer several types of merchandise and a form for ordering products. Such stores facilitate online shopping, whereby consumers directly purchase commodities or services from a provider in real-time in the absence of an intermediary service

through the internet

.

Computer Readable Information

:

Any information that can be retrieved

through any type of energy. It involves any data that employs a format understandable by a computer.

Employee Retention

:

The extent to which the present or existing employees remain with their company within a specified period. Most organizations implement policies or strategies aimed at meeting diverse employees’ needs to improve their job satisfaction while also minimizing the huge costs incurred in recruiting and training new employees.

Review of Literature

By the late 1990s, e-commerce was still evolving as a new approach for conducting business (Barkley et al 13). Some organizations, nevertheless, had already established strong footholds online. Over the years as people engage in business with one another, most of them have adopted technologies and tools that have become accessible. The internet, especially, has transformed the way people hire, buy, sell and organize their business activities in diverse ways. One key way through which e-commerce occurs is through ‘electronic data interchange’ (EDI). Businesses have been engaging in EDI for a long period (Zhuang 148). EDI takes place when one business conveys/transmits computer-readable information using a standardized format to a different business. Such a format for information transformation electronically allowed businesses to minimize errors, prevent mailing and printing costs while also eradicating the need for data re-entry. Businesses that use EDI while transacting with one another are known as ‘trading partners’.

The standardized format applied in EDI has the same information, which businesses have often incorporated in their standard paper purchase orders, invoices and shipping documents. Companies like Scars, Wal-Mart and General Electric were the pioneers in EDI application in order to enhance their supplier relationships and purchasing processes. However, the EDI pioneers suffered one disadvantage in its application. The companies incurred huge costs of installation and implementation of the technologies. EDI has been properly entrenched within huge firms, which have invested huge loads of money in the maintenance of their EDI systems. The majority of such organizations had built the largest parts of their accounting, purchasing and sales system around EDI. Today, smaller companies have also gained an opportunity to engage in EDI through internet, which offers a less costly medium of communication. The EDI traffic movement to the internet has drastically minimized the EDI participation costs and have enabled the smallest suppliers as well to conduct business with big clients that need to employ the technology. Most modern researchers have realized that e-commerce has brought a substantial change on how businesses are conducted. A larger portion of smaller businesses are now engaging in e-commerce by offering services that enable them applies the technology in their online businesses (Zhuang 151).

E-commerce, therefore, involves the new technologies application especially web and internet technologies. The application enables businesses, individuals and any other form or organization carry out business more efficiently. The trend of adopting e-commerce is occurring in today’s waves of change. The current wave has new approaches for integrating internet technologies to business processes. Businesses, therefore, have a limited focus on their overall business models while stressing more on enhancing particular business processes. Although not all activities improve themselves such technologies, most of them do. Through e-commerce, certain businesses have managed to build new services and products while others have enhanced their marketing, promotion and delivery activities (OECD 58). Companies have also multiple ways of using e-commerce to improve supply and purchasing activities, identifying new clients, operating or managing their finance, HR and administration activities more effectively. E-commerce can further help businesses minimize their costs of transaction or build network economic effects, which can lead to larger revenue opportunities.

The Benefits and Limitations of E-commerce

Most business organizations engage in e-commerce because enables them increase profits. The benefits of E-commerce in businesses, thus, can be summarised using a single statement, ‘e-commerce can increase sales and minimize costs’ (Schneider 17). Effective advertising done through the web can reach the company’s promotional message to potential clients in all regions worldwide. A company can employ e-commerce to reach small customer segments that are highly scattered geographically. The web is especially essential in developing virtual communities, which become perfect target segments for certain services or products. Businesses always compute the investment returns prior to committing towards any new technology. However, this been challenging in e-commerce investments since benefits and costs are difficult to quantify. Costs that are a function of a particular technology can drastically change even in short-term e-commerce implementation projects since the underlying technologies keep changing so fast.

Many companies have faced difficulties in the recruitment and retention of employees that have the design, technological and business process skills required to develop an efficient e-commerce presence. Another limitation facing businesses that wish to conduct business via the internet relates to the challenge of integrating current transaction-processing software and databases designed particularly for traditional commerce to the e-commerce software. Although several firms can provide consultation services and software design that help link existing systems to new online systems of business, such services can be very costly. Additionally, most businesses face legal and cultural limitations to conduct e-commerce. Some customers still fear using internet to send their ‘credit card numbers’ or trusting online merchants. Other individuals/customers simply resist change and are uncomfortable seeing merchandise over their computer screen. The legal environment within which e-commerce occurs is filled with conflicting and undefined laws. In most cases, government regulators are not updated with the modern technologies (Schneider 28).

E-commerce and Companies’ Competitive Advantages

Electronic commerce is fundamentally transforming economies plus the way business processes are conducted. E-commerce compels firms to seek new ways of expanding their markets where they compete, retain current and attract new customers through tailoring services and products to their needs. The technologies also restructure companies’ business processes to ensure more effective and efficient delivery of services and products. Nevertheless, in spite of the sustained and rapid e-commerce development, most companies conducting e-business are still within the brand-building and investment stage (Shin 164). They are yet to generate profits. Many internet companies or e-businesses are stressing on the user-friendliness and visual attractiveness of their webs as the key method to increase their clientele base. However, as electronic businesses shift their attention from the building of customer base to raising profitability and revenue growth, they need to re-evaluate their present business strategies if they have any while also developing strategies that offer a defined path towards profitability. The marketing mix and Porter’s five forces models can apply in identifying strategies for the internet companies, which respond to the five forces of competition consequently achieving a competitive advantage. Organizations develop their marketing strategies through identifying target markets for their products or services.

Internet Effects on the Competitive Forces and the Marketing Mix

Internet can drastically reduce entry barriers for new market rivals. New firms can join e-commerce easily considering that they do not require huge capital investments and sales forces like what happens to the offline markets. As internet accessibility increases, online business competition in most industries will similarly increase. For example, according to the report by the ‘Department of Commerce’s Digital Economy 2000’ , the number of people who had internet accessibility was estimated at 304million globally, which was almost 78% increase compared to 1999 statistics(Shin 165). The internet similarly attracts many more firms into competition with each other through expanding geographical markets. Internet has transformed the competition basis by drastically altering product and service provisions plus the companies’ cost structure. Internet also transforms the power balancing in relationships with suppliers and buyers by raising or reducing the costs of switching by such suppliers and buyers. Internet, moreover, minimizes the searching costs for consumers since it makes price comparison easier increasing the price competition subsequently. Price competition generating from the reduced searching costs raises competition rivalry among the existing competitors, minimizes the costs of switching for consumers and consequently moves the power of bargaining to customers. The internet further develops new threats of substitution by allowing new approaches to satisfy consumer needs and conducting business functions. World Wide Web technology (WWW) itself has generated new venues of promotion. The internet also allows electronic supply chain activities integration, achieving effective delivery and distribution, while also facilitating strategic alliances and partnerships through the networking allies or partners (Shin 165).

Electronic Business Strategies for Competitive Advantages

This part illustrates the Influence of Internet on the marketing mix and the competitive forces, suggesting the strategies for attaining a competitive advantage.

Product Strategy: Over the internet, consumers can gather information easily concerning certain services or products without physically going to the store premises to compare prices and inspect products. Researching product offerings in the offline market can be very costly and time consuming. Consequently, consumers tend to depend on product retailers and suppliers to help them in the search. Suppliers, therefore, take advantage of the situation by charging inflated prices. Nevertheless, this does not occur in e-commerce since the search can even occur with no cost at all. Moreover, consumers can easily compare prices while also finding closer substitutes. Business organizations cannot simply attain competitive advantage through exploiting customers’ searching costs (Shin 166).

Price Strategy: Internet enables customers to compare products, prices and services across many suppliers. For instance, logging into price comparison sites can help customers readily compare features and prices since there are more than 10000 products available via the web (Shin 166). This consequently results to price competition and reduces products/services prices. Internet, therefore, has considerable influences on competition and rigorous price competition could remove seller’s profits. Countering this challenge requires firms to use proper strategies of pricing when selling their services or products via the internet. Sellers can use a strategy for price discrimination that makes it hard for consumers to compare prices of substitute products.

Promotion Strategy: One of the dominant reasons why internet companies do not generate profits is because they spend huge loads of money for mass marketing in promoting their electronic brands to customers. To effectively manage e-brands, firms must apply promotional strategies unique from those employed by the traditional marketing (Shin 167). One recommendable tactic businesses can use is building a direct link to consumers and get into dialogues or interactions with their consumers concerning their products. This allows firms to offer adequate information to consumers concerning their products while also gathering essential information concerning their customers or even engage in information/data mining.

Place Strategy: For the majority of firms, place comprises of the supply chain (value chain), which closely linked to the delivery and distribution of services and products. The internet plus its related application software have considerably transformed the way organizational services or products are delivered through minimizing the distribution and transaction costs. One effective way through which firms can distinguish their offerings from competitors is having speedy and more effective delivery of products or services to their consumers (Shin 168).

E-commerce, therefore, has enabled many businesses today to conduct their businesses electronically. This mode of conducting business has become increasingly popular in the recent past following the widespread technology adoption by companies and individuals. Internet usage expansion globally has motivated many businesses and persons to have personal computers that have greatly contributed to the rapid growth of e-commerce as people increasingly gain access top electronic data or information. It is notable that business organizations have generated massive benefits from e-commerce application. In consequence, this has enabled such firms develop new competitive advantages and improving their current competitive edge. Companies that engage in e-commerce are bound to gain some considerable competitive advantages. Through e-commerce, such companies can minimize their overheads thereby building a healthy flow of cash. This an important factor because such firms can utilize the saved cash to facilitate investment in other vital areas, which can promote growth for the business while also causing a great influence to the related industry.

E-commerce cost cutting results due to a number of reasons. Companies, for example, are not required to establish retail stores since this process can use virtual stores online that have all the essential information relevant to a firm’s products or services. Consequently, this saves the company on costs on distribution, wages plus other related costs that are incurred when operating retail stores. Organizations also save the marketing costs because all that is required is to develop an interactive website via which they can market or advertise their products. Indeed, this is a great advantage to a business especially considering that the costs of marketing in today’s business environment has been increasing, thereby causing substantial increases on a company’s overheads (Shin 165).

Through e-commerce, companies are also able to minimize their costs of transactions because the technology allows for transactions automation increasing their efficiency subsequently. E-commerce further increases the availability or accessibility of a company’s products and services since it offers customers a 24-hours shopping experience (Shin 165). Consequently, companies increase their sales volumes since the technology allows them to operate business without limitation in terms of time or location, as opposed to retail shopping. Customer convenience also increases thereby increasing the possibilities for repeat shopping or repeat purchase by consumers. Through this technology, firms are also able increase brand awareness or promote their brand among the potential consumers. This is because customers are able to access all the information regarding the company and the information regarding their brand by visiting the relevant sites.

Consequently, this helps to create a positive image on a company and its brand, which helps to promote consumer loyalty. With this kind of loyalty, a firm can safeguard their market share from probable encroachment by competitors while also guaranteeing the company a stable customer base to facilitate further growth. Electronic commerce similarly enables companies to access unlimited market considering the global market access facilitated by this technology. The technology is actually the most preferred platform currently to venture into international markets. Organizations are able to examine potential markets for their products within new markets without incurring the heavy costs linked to such ventures (Shin 166). Companies can also obtain feedback from their clients concerning their products through e-commerce since the technology enables consumers to comment of various aspects of a firm’s products such as sales processes, production processes, services delivery, in addition to any other factor linked to the company. Organizations can utilize such information to improve their products and service delivery in order to satisfy the expectations of their customers for total satisfaction. E-commerce is similarly essential for firms intending to develop small niche markets within their industries.

However, it is essential to note that e-commerce also presents a number of risks to business organizations. The technology presents businesses with remarkably high fraud risks and unwillingness for consumers to participate in online buying. E-commerce similarly can inflate products’ prices due to the shipping costs, an aspect that can drive away price-sensitive consumers. The e-commerce process further can discourage or de-motivate customers from engaging in online businesses because the process does not give room for returning faulty products. Consumers, moreover, are unable to validate products prior to purchase since they largely depend on products descriptions and images. This sometimes can be tricky because the actual product could be different from pictures/images presented in a company’s website leading to high consumer dissatisfaction. Finnie and Sun (144) added that e-commerce also locks out some market segments because internet accessibility is not available to all people, making the company to loose some opportunities of making extra sales from such markets.

E-commerce in Company’s Accounting Processes

E-commerce has instituted great changes within the worldwide trade science and commercial operations mechanisms. This has raised the need for auditors and accountants to understand such changes plus their subsequent impacts on businesses they conduct. E-commerce and internet can contribute greatly to essential quantitative information characteristics or features. For example, e-commerce application can enhance the adequacy feature of information. This trait is highly valued in the accounting and auditing arena, particularly, by offering the supplementary feature of appropriate timing. However, researchers think that in the absence of information authentication, the ‘accounting information system’ (AIS) can be ineffective when employed in availing essential information to the stakeholders or facilitating decision making (Al-Refaee 1480). Considering that the internet ids e-commerce system is connected directly to the automated information system for accounting, the AIS may be unreliable in cases where something fails to work out or AIS hacking, thereby reducing the customers trust on the system. The authentication of the AIS data, therefore, must consider a number of factors. The company first must find a specific mechanism for protecting the AIS from hackers through the internet. Secondly, it is important to seek a definite mechanism that ensures the security of the method used in e-commerce plus the navigation websites of the facility via the internet. AIS must meet vital requirements for e-commerce to work adequately and effectively. Firstly, it is critical for the system to have integrated information. Similarly, the system should have the ability to attain the information and services exchange among the various systems of information and the assemblies and corporations engaged in the process.

Further, it is also critical to conduct the information exchange in a suitable time for every involved party. Similarly, high effectiveness will be attained through engaging the largest number of users with diverse origins across the globe until eventually the process attains the competence condition of a market. In e-commerce, the information availed to the AIS acts as the foundation pillars over which an organization’s administration builds their decisions concerning any situation or problem the company may face. Kogan et al (2) stated that it is undoubtedly true that having an appropriate and an excellent AIS is among the most fundamental factors, which could define the failure or success in attaining the business objectives with high efficiency and competence level. This explains why most firms have AISs that employ modernized computers since IT based on computers has apparently become the key channel of exchange, transport and data processing consequently leading to the discovery of the essentiality of data and information safety since such are the most critical factors in the systems of accounting. On the other hand, the development of e-commerce illustrates the necessity of promoting AISs (Al-Refaee 1483).

Methodology/Research Methods: Justification & Description

Chapter Overview

Methodology defines the systematic and theoretical assessment of methods used in carrying out a research study. The methodology does not set-out to offer solutions, but rather provides the theoretical support in understanding which set of techniques or best practices can apply in a particular case. The methodology section in this study, therefore, will offer a detailed basis under which the research was conducted or the approach used. The chapter will provide the strategy adopted in facilitating the research in order to achieve the previously set objectives and aims. The section will examine the primary and secondary data used in the entire process while also exploring the qualitative tool of data collection chosen to gather the primary data. The chapter will provide the clear details regarding the proposed method while also providing a deeper insight on how the study population and sample were identified. In addition, this part will also incorporate the limitations, challenges or difficulties that were faced while conducting the research.

Research Method/Approach

This study will use the qualitative technique towards accomplishing the research aim and objectives. A qualitative method can use diverse forms of approaches including symbolic interactionism, ethnomethodology, neo-Marxist ethnography (case study), femism, sociolingusitics and anthropology. The application of qualitative method in research helps in discovering the meanings which respondents/participants attach or link to their behaviours, their interpretations of various situations plus their perspectives in relation to specific issues. This study, thus, will use the case study approach on a company chosen from the UK market, particularly, within the ‘small and medium’ firms (SMEs). The company will be chosen from this category of business organizations because they are easy to reach (easily accessible). The selected company, however, must have adopted e-commerce and using its technologies in running various departments including finance. The chosen company must have been using the e-commerce technologies for the last three years. Interviews will be the main data collection tool for primary data. The interviews will have 10open ended questions that will allow respondents as opportunity to elaborate further or give explanations, or allow the research to ask additional but related questions to clarify further on the information being sought. The interviews will be conducted on five lower managers and three senior managers within the IT and finance department of the chosen company. The data gathered will help determine how the adoption of e-commerce technologies has benefited the company in terms of increasing their competitiveness against their competitors (gaining competitive advantages).

Research Instrument

The research will be conducted using interviews as the main instrument for gathering primary data. Interviews are increasingly adequate in gathering qualitative materials of information. This is because much of the information is gathered through talking with people/respondents using casual conversations or formal interviews. To use this kind of data collection tool will require the research to consider a number of factors to tap into the reality depths on the matter at hand. Such factors are essential in discovering the meanings of subjects and increasing understandings. The research, therefore, should develop empathy with the participants in order to win their confidence and to avoid being obstructive to prevent imposing personal influence over the respondents. To facilitate this, this study will use both the structured and unstructured interview designs to allow for predetermined questions while also providing an open way of asking questions and receiving responses. This study has chosen interviews as the primary data gathering tool because of various reasons. Interviews are effective in attaining highly personalized data, they provide opportunities for further clarification and they provide a good rate of return on questions asked. The structured interview will have 10questions that will have an open ended design.

Population

The targeted population for this study will be the SMEs that are employing or implementing e-commerce services in their daily operations. The SMEs are defined based on the UK’s Trade and Industry Department, which describes companies with utmost 250employees. The requirements include having implemented the e-commerce technologies for the last three years in diverse departments including finance and being within the SMEs category.

Sample Selection

One sample of SMEs was chosen in the study. The selection used a SMEs database that contained firms that had attended a program on executive education targeting SMEs within UK. The database had the names and addresses of the potential firms for this study, which had utmost 250 staffs. Such companies cover a broad range of industrial sectors and are distributed across UK. Although it is not easy to tell companies that use e-commerce technologies from the database, it was expected that the majority of firms had adopted the technologies because e-commerce has grown to be a popular area of interest in many businesses today.

Work Cited

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