Section 5.3 Business-to-Consumer Applications

Electronic retailing or "e-tailing", is the direct sale of products and services through electronic storefronts or electronic malls, usually designed around an electronic catalog format and/or auctions.

Electronic commerce has many advantages over actual in-store shopping:

consumers can shop 24/7/365

wider variety of products and services

lower prices on many items

very detailed product info

easy to compare products and prices with competitors'

Popular shopping mechanisms - electronic storefronts and electronic malls. Electronic storefronts can be an extension of physical stores, each with its own unique URL (Wal-Mart.com, Dell.com). Electronic malls are collections of individual shops under one Internet address (shopping.yahoo.com).

Selling products online may reduce vendors' selling costs by 20 to 40 percent.

Online Service Industries

Cyberbanking

Securities Trading

Job Market

Travel

Real Estate

Customer service with regards to electronic commerce is very important since the two parties do not meet face-to-face. There are 4 phases in the customer service life cycle:

1) Requirements

2) Acquisition

3) Ownership

4) Retirement

Customization and personalization is a major benefit that electronic commerce has taken advantage of, i.e. Dell.

Issues in Electronic Commerce

  Resolving channel conflict

Resolving conflicts within click-and-mortar organizations

Organizing order fulfillment and logistics

Determining viability and risk of online e-tailers

Identifying appropriate revenue models

One in five employers uses social networks in hiring process

In a survey of more than 31,000 employers, CareerBuilder.com found that more than one in five employers browse social networking sites to screen job applicants. Furthermore, of the employers who use these sites to screen candidates, one-third said they have found information on such sites to have cause to toss the applicant out of consideration.

Such areas of concern include: alcohol and drug abuse information, inappropriate photos, poor communication skills, bad-mouthing of former employers or employees, inaccurate qualifications, unprofessional screen names, notes showing links to criminal behavior, and confidential information about past employers. 

On the other hand, not all social networking searches are used to take an applicant out of consideration. Of the 31,000 employers surveyed, 24% actually found content that helped convince them to hire an applicant. Employers said that profiles that show a professional image and solid references actually help increase the applicant's chances of being hired.

However you look at it, social networking sites have changed the relationship between potential employees and employers. In the past, a resume and an interview was all that an employer had to go on. In today's information thirsty society, there are countless ways in which employers can find information about an applicant, and social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook, only help to fuel the fire. 

In conclusion, in order for an applicant to be safe when it comes to a potential job offer, one should be conscious of the information that is readily available to the public. Be smart about what you display on profiles and remember to keep it as professional as possible.

A link to this article can be found at the bottom of this page.

How TrueCredit Utilizes SOA

1) What were the major reasons the company had to use SOA?

TrueCredit uses SOA in order to develop applications to maintain its competitive advantage in the credit bureau industry. The subsidiary needed an application that could support 50,000 simultaneous users, another application to improve response time to less than a second, as well as a software application development procedure that would take 90 days or less.

2)In what ways did they gain competitive advantage by using SOA?

TrueCredit gained a competitive advantage by combining and reusing their services to create new applications to meet other business needs, keeping software development in-house while not having to start from scratch.

3)What specific "services" can you identify in a business like this?

TrueCredit is able to utilize SOA to help make resources available to their customers via their network. Customers should be able to check their current credit scores, check on interest rates, determine the status of their loans, etc. 

4) Why is it so important to serve 50,000 simultaneous users?

TrueCredit offers credit reporting, scoring, and other financially related services on both its own and its partners' Web sites. If TrueCredit was only concerned with its own customers, then 50,000 simultaneous users would be a superfluous amount of traffic. However, since TrueCredit is the engine behind other company's products, 50,000 simultaneous users is not only important but necessary.

5) Classify this application using the material in Section 2.2.

TrueCredit's SOA system can be classified under several types of information systems. First as an interorganizational system because of its connection to two or more organizations, and second as a transaction processing system because of its ability to support monitoring, collection, storage, processing and dissemination of the company's basic business transactions.

Mission Statements & Strategic Activities

Nintendo's Corporate Mission and Philosophy:

At Nintendo we are proud to be working for the leading company in our industry. We are strongly committed to producing and marketing the best products and support services available. We believe it is essential not only to provide products of the highest quality, but to treat every customer with attention, consideration and respect. By listening closely to our customers, we constantly improve our products and services.

We feel an equal commitment toward our employees. We want to maintain an atmosphere in which talented individuals can work together as a team. Commitment and enthusiasm are crucial to the high quality of our products and support services. We believe in treating our employees with the same consideration and respect that we, as a company, show our customers.

Best Buy's Vision and Values:

Making life fun and easy. For example, we want to help customers find the entertainment technology that best meets their needs and that will integrate with their existing entertainment system to maximize their enjoyment.

We have four values that guide our actions:

Have fun while being the best. 

Learn from challenge and change. 

Show respect, humility and integrity. 

Unleash the power of our people.

Both of these companies' mission statements reveal a sincere concern for their customers, an aspect that many businesses have trouble keeping track of in today's ever-changing business world. Customers' tastes and preferences are always evolving, just like the technology that both these businesses sale on an everyday basis. Because of this change, corporations are in need of information more than ever. Information systems are becoming an essential part of doing business and staying competitive in today's world markets.

Information systems can help deliver data faster and more efficient than ever. Using IT effectively can help any company gain a competitive advantage in their respective industries. Best Buy and Nintendo are just two leaders in the home entertainment industry that have used information systems to their advantage. By catering to their customer's needs and desires, these two companies have created niches that have proven to be successful through the implementation of information systems.

Operational

Operational activities relate to the day-to-day operations of an organization. In the cases of Nintendo and Best Buy, taking care of your customers on a daily basis is key to long term success. If a customer has a good experience with a company, then the more likely they are to be a repeat customer and even pass the word along to their friends and family. Through operational activities, such as keeping employees and customers happy, placing purchase orders that are logical and essential, and maintaining a healthy relationship with management, Nintendo and Best Buy should expect very bright futures.

Managerial

Managerial activities deal with middle-management activities such as short-term planning, organizing, and control. With Nintendo and Best Buy, middle management help companies gain competitive advantages in their respective fields. Keeping employees and customers happy is a major role that middle management helps to support. Using sales forecasts, connecting and collaborating with other managers in different departments, as well as doing comparative analysis, middle management plays an essential role in sustaining competitive advantage in any industry.

Strategic

Strategic activities are activities that deal with situations that may significantly change the manner in which business is done. In the cases of Nintendo and Best Buy, strategic activities are the primary reasons these businesses are where they are today. Nintendo has stepped outside of the box with the creation of the Wii and other games, while Best Buy has discovered a way to showcase and sell a vast majority of the most popular entertainment products available. Both companies have used strategic activities to create long-term plans that have proven to be successful.