E-commerce

1. What does it mean to live in the “digital age”? B. Living, working, learning, and playing in a digital world 2. Why do we consider technology invasive? B. Technology is so pervasive that we believe we cannot live without it 3. How long did it take for iPod to penetrate a market audience of 50 million people? B. 3 years 4. What percentage of today’s Fortune 500 companies are technology companies? B. 10% 5. What is the difference between how you would purchase technology compared to the way businesses purchase technology? A. Your purchase is based upon money availability; businesses’ are based upon competitive advantage . If you wanted to ensure that your business maintains a desirable return on your investment with technology, what should be one of your main concerns? A. Your technology helps streamline costs without sacrificing quality 7. If you wanted to ensure that your business maintains a competitive edge, what should be one of your main concerns when purchasing technology? D. The new technology enables you to be innovative and move into new markets 8. Which question does not support a business’ efforts to support and maintain a competitive edge? C. Can this technology make the company look better? 9.

Should a business’ decisions about its technology drive its business strategy? D. No, business strategy should drive decisions about its technology 10. When a business is analyzing its technology needs, it should follow a series of steps. Which of the following is not one of these steps? C. Determine the type of technology that employees are comfortable working with 11. What should you understand first when analyzing the technology needs of your business? A. The industry in which your business operates 12. After you understand your competition and its affect on your industry, what should you do next? C.

Align your strategies, processes, and technology with your understanding of your industry 13. Which of the following deals with the planning for, development, management, and use of information technology? B. Management information systems 14. Management information systems (MIS) focuses on which of the following? B. Tasks related to information processing and management 15. Which of the following is not a key resource of MIS? D. Methods 16. Which of the following is the least important resource within MIS? B. Technology 17. Which of the following statements successfully differentiates the term MIS from IT?

C. IT is a component of MIS 18. Which of the following deals with the planning for, development, management, and use of information technology? B. Management information systems 19. What coordinates and uses three organizational resources; information, people, and IT? A. MIS 1. What is the name of the non-paid, non-employee business model of collaboration used by Goldcorp a Toronto-based gold mining company in Canada? D. Crowdsourcing 2. What is a distribution chain? C. The path a product or service follows from its originator to the consumer 3.

In contemporary business, success depends on minimizing the _____ in an attempt to reduce the costs of producing and selling products or services. C. Distribution chain?????? 4. Which of the following activities tracks inventory and information among business processes and across companies? A. Supply chain management (SCM) 5. Which of the following is a method for producing or delivering a product or service just at the time the customer wants it? B. Just-in-time manufacturing 6. Which term describes an approach that produces or delivers a product or service just at the time the customer wants it? A. Just-in-time . If you were to purchase a car before it was manufactured and the assembly of that car was dictated by your requirements, you would be utilizing which type of manufacturing process? A. Customer-driven manufacturing B. Just-in-time manufacturing C. Customized construction D. Transaction-based production 8. Which type of transportation uses multiple channels to transport products from the manufacturing location to the customer destination? C. Inter-modal 9. The complexity of SCM is supported by technology. Which intricate SCM activity needs strong monitoring by SCM systems? A. Multi-channel service delivery

B. Customer tracking C. Inter-modal transportation D. Sales force tracking 10. What is the primary focus of supply chain management (SCM)? D. Overall cost leadership and below the line initiative 11. Which of the following results from a well-designed supply chain management system? D. Well-designed SCM systems can enhance any of these stated activities 12. In relation to SCM, what is an information partnership? B. Two or more companies cooperating by integrating their IT systems 13. Optimizing what ensures that the right quantity of parts arrive at the right time for production or sale?

D. Fulfillment 14. Optimizing what keeps the cost of transporting materials as low as possible? A. Logistics 15. For a moment, imagine yourself visiting your local florist to order flowers for a party you were preparing for. The florist, however, did not have the type of flower arrangement you hoped for but the florist was able to immediately find, order and deliver this arrangement directly to your home from their supplier. What kind of relationship does this represent? A. An information partnership 16. Which of the following systems primarily concentrates on the customer? A. CRM 17.

Which of the following systems uses information about customers to gain insights into their needs, wants, and behaviors in order to serve them better? D. Customer relationship management (CRM) 18. Which of the following systems can be used to gain insights into the needs, wants, and behaviors of customers? B. Customer relationship management systems (CRM) 19. Which term describes a business’ approach to offering multiple ways in which customers can interact with it? C. Multi-channel service delivery 20. What is a fundamental goal of CRM systems? C. To manage and track customer interactions 1.

To succeed in business and to enable your organization to extract meaningful information from its information repositories, you need which type of application? B. Business intelligence 2. What application enables your organization to analyze competitor, customer, environmental, and internal data? C. Business intelligence 3. Which system allows your organization to gather, process, and update transactional information? A. Online analytical processing (OLAP) 4. What is another name for a database that supports OLTP? D. Operational database 5. Which application supports the manipulation of information to support decision making? D.

Online analytical processing (OLAP) 6. A senior manager who analyzes internal and external information to analyze marketing campaigns and their affect on customer buying habits is using which type of application? A. Online analytical processing (OLAP) 7. Which application is considered the “heart and soul” of any organization? D. Databases 8. What is the most popular model for creating databases? D. Relational database 9. Which of the following terms represent an organized and structured collection of information? B. Database 10. Which type of database stores data in a series of logically related two-dimensional tables or files?

D. Relational 11. Your student ID is an example of a(n) _____. A. Relation 12. Which term refers to a specific piece of data that is stored in a database file? D. Attribute 13. Which type of database model organizes and accesses information according to its logical structure rather than its physical structure? C. Relational 14. Which part of a relational database contains the logical structure for the information? A. Data dictionary 15. If you needed to store facts about information that you were collecting, you would store these facts in the _____. D. Data dictionary 6. Which type of application requires that you know the physical location of information before you are able to access it? C. Spreadsheets 17. Which type of database is used when you want to create ties in the information that show how the files relate to each other? D. Relational 18. What is the type of field, or group of fields, that can uniquely identify each record in a database? C. Primary key 19. If your phone number was used in a clothing store to uniquely identify you as a customer, the phone number would be considered a(n) _____. C. Primary key 20.

Every primary key can also be a(n) _____ key. A. Foreign 1. In what decision making phase do you recognize a problem, need, or opportunity? D. Intelligence 2. If you were to identify and investigate a problem in your organization, what decision making phase would you be in? C. Intelligence 3. In what decision making phase do you consider possible ways of solving problems, filling needs, or capitalizing on opportunities? A. Design 4. In what decision making phase do you examine and weigh the merits of solutions, estimate the consequence of each, and choose the best solution? B. Choice 5.

In what decision making phase do you implement solutions and monitor and adjust the environment based on the consequences of these solutions? C. Implementation 6. If you were “tweaking” your technology solution so that it worked more efficiently than its original form, what decision making phase would you be in? A. Implementation 7. When you make a choice that may not necessarily be the best choice but it meets your needs, you’re making a(n) _____ choice. A. Satisficing 8. There are four main types of decisions. Which one represents decisions that always have a right answer? D. Structured 9.

Which of the four types of decisions occur sporadically, perhaps only once? B. Nonrecurring or ad hoc 10. If you were making a decision involving “fuzzy logic” what type of decision would you be making? A. Nonstructured 11. In business and in life, where do most decisions fit into? C. Between structured and unstructured 12. There are four main types of decisions. Which one occurs on a regular basis? B. Recurring 13. There are four main types of decisions. Which one occurs on an ad hoc? B. Nonrecurring 14. What type of information system is built to support decisions based on problems that are not structured? C. Decision support systems 15.

What must you have before you can effectively use a DSS? B. Considerable knowledge or expertise 16. What is the purpose of a decision support system? B. To assist you with making decisions 17. A decision support system (DSS) typically has three components. Which of the following is not one of these components? B. Query management 18. Which DSS component consists of both the DSS models and the DSS model management system? D. Model management 19. If you were to take facts about your business, mix them with historical information, and then create a computer simulation to help you understand future events, you would be creating ____. C. A model 0. Which type of information is not found in a DSS? B. Confidence levels 1. What day occurs after Black Friday; when consumers go back to work and shop online on the Internet for products they found on Black Friday on retail shelves? B. Cyber Monday 2. What type of commerce is possible because of the Internet and is accelerated and enhanced by it and the technology that supports it? A. E-commerce 3. What formal business plan maps out your customer base and your strategy for reaching them? D. Path-to-profitability (P2P) 4. If you wanted to avoid the failure of the dot-com businesses from the late 1990s, what does the author recommend you do?

C. Develop a path-to-profitability (P2P) plan 5. Which type of e-commerce occurs when a business sells products or services to customers who are primarily other businesses? D. B2B 6. Which e-commerce model has proven to be the most lucrative model in the world? C. B2B 7. If your company sold widgets to the automobile industry and these sales were conducted through the Internet, what type of e-commerce model would you be using? C. B2B 8. What term depicts a virtual marketplace in which all businesses buy from and sell products and services to each other, and share information?

B. E-Markets (EM) 9. Which type of e-commerce occurs when a business sells products and services to customers who are primarily individuals? B. B2C 10. In the 1990s, which of the following fueled the early growth of e-commerce? A. B2C 11. When you purchase your books for this course from an online source such as Amazon. com, you are conducting which type of e-commerce? D. B2C 12. Which e-commerce business model depicts demand driven by the consumer with supply driven by the business? B. C2B 13. What is the major difference between B2B and B2C e-commerce? C.

Interaction between consumers and businesses are direct in the B2B market; they are indirect in the B2C market 14. Which type e-commerce occurs when an individual sells products and services to a business? A. C2B 15. In what type of e-commerce do the consumer drive supply and the business drive demand? A. C2B 16. Fotolia is an excellent example of which type of e-commerce? D. C2B 17. If you created links on your personal Web site that connected your visitors to businesses with the goal that you would earn a fee for purchases made by your visitors, what type e-commerce model are you creating?

D. C2C 18. Affiliate programs are good examples of which type of e-commerce? D. C2B 19. Which type of e-commerce occurs when an individual sells products and services to another individual? A. C2C 20. Which type of e-commerce model typically requires the use of an intermediary organization to complete transactions? B. G2C 1. There are methods to designing and developing business applications. Which of the following is not one of these methods? C. Networking 2. Which of the following systems development techniques requires IT specialists that are in-house to develop business applications?

B. Insourcing 3. Which of the following systems development techniques allows end users to develop business applications? D. Selfsourcing 4. If you were developing marketing strategies and, in your job, decided to create a database that tracked the progress of your marketing efforts, what kind of development would you be engaging in? C. Selfsourcing 5. Which of the following systems development techniques delegate development tasks to a third party for a specified cost, period of time, and level of service? B. Outsourcing 6. What is the difference between insourcing and selfsourcing? C.

Selfsourcing allows for end user development; insourcing requires internal IT staff 7. What is the systems development life cycle (SDLC)? B. A structured approach for developing information systems 8. What is the waterfall methodology? A. A sequential, activity based SDLC 9. The SDLC contains seven phases. Which phase is devoted to creating a solid plan for developing your information system? B. Planning 10. The SDLC contains seven phases. Which phase involves end users and IT specialist working together to gather, understand, and document the business requirements for the proposed system?

D. Analysis 11. The SDLC contains seven phases. Which phase builds a technical blueprint of how the proposed system will work? A. Design 12. The SDLC contains seven phases. Which phase transforms the design into an actual system? C. Development 13. The SDLC contains seven phases. Which phase verifies that the system works and meets all the business requirements developed in an earlier phase? D. Testing 14. The SDLC contains seven phases. Which phase distributes the system to all the users so that they can use it to perform their jobs? A. Implementation 15. The SDLC contains seven phases.

Which phase monitors and supports the new system to ensure it continues to meet your business goals? C. Maintenance 16. Which of the following is a characteristic of a proposed system that is essential to the success of your organization? C. Critical success factor 17. What is a project scope document? B. A one-paragraph statement about the scope of the proposed project 18. Which of the following occurs when the scope of the project increases beyond its original intentions? A. Scope creep 19. Which of the following occurs when developers and end users add extra features that were not part of the initial requirements?

B. Feature creep 20. What document defines the what, when, and who questions of systems development including all activities to be performed, the individuals, or resources, who will perform the activities, and the time required to complete each activity? B. Project plan 1. Which of the following focuses on the development, use, and reuse of small self-contained blocks of code to meet all the application software needs of an organization? D. Service-oriented architecture (SOA) 2. An SOA mentality has many advantages. Which of the following is not one of these? B.

Is reactive in nature and waits until technology and changes in the environment are stable 3. What does an IT-enabled SOA philosophy provide for the customers of an organization? D. Multi-channel services, and customizable products and services 4. What type of technology would allow a customer in a SOA environment to connect to any communications channel (e. g. , fax or Web) in an organization? C. Plug-and-play 5. Which of the following statement is true regarding an SOA philosophy about the end user of IT? A. The end user should be thought of in the same way as a customer 6.

Which category of business application satisfies the SOA philosophy for the end user? D. ERP 7. According to the SOA philosophy, should end users be able to access an organization’s computing and information resources from any place they’re currently working? A. Yes 8. According to the SOA philosophy, what is the most important organizational resource? D. People 9. With regards to information, what does an SOA approach require? A. Information must be in a standard format no matter where it is 10. With regards to hardware, what does an SOA approach require? C. Integrated and seamless technology platforms 1. What is the term that depicts “the structure beneath a structure”? D. Infrastructure 12. What does the “IT structure beneath a structure” include? A. Hardware, software, and information 13. According to the authors, what vendor now offers ERP solutions – Great Plaine – to small and medium-sized companies? B. Microsoft 14. Which of the following is not considered a dominate player in ERP systems? C. Cognos 15. SAP is one of the dominate ERP software suppliers. What module area of ERP software do they specialize in? B. Logistics 16. At what percent has the ERP market been growing per year? C. 30% 17.

The ERP market has been growing at a rate of at least 30 percent per year. Why? D. Globalization 18. Which of the following is not a reason for the rapid increase in ERP systems? D. Increase investments in data warehousing and mining 19. The growth of the ERP market has been boasted by both business and technical factors. With respect to business, what is the most cited reason for this growth? C. Globalization 20. The growth of the ERP market has been boasted by both business and technical factors. With respect to the technical aspect, what is the most cited reason for this growth? C. EU currency 1.

What are the principles and standards that guide our behavior toward other people? B. Ethics 2. There are two fundamental factors that determine your ethical reaction to dilemmas. What is one of them? A. Your basic ethical structure 3. There are two fundamental factors that determine your ethical reaction to dilemmas. What is one of them? C. The circumstances surrounding the dilemma 4. There are different levels of uncertainty when faced with ethical decisions; each creates a sort of ring around the dilemma. What is true of the outside level or ring? D. The behavior or actions aren’t considered awful and are more accepted by society . There are different levels of uncertainty when faced with ethical decisions; each creates a sort of ring around the dilemma. What is true of the inside level or ring? C. Illegal and/or unethical behavior become less tolerated by society 6. Your decisions about an ethical dilemma are influenced by practical circumstances. Which of the following is not considered an influencing circumstance? D. Time from action 7. Your decisions regarding ethics are influenced by a number of factors. Which is not one of these factors? C. Your age, gender, education, and socio-economic status 8.

If you were concerned about how a person would feel because of something you did, you would be experiencing what type of influencing circumstance? D. Reach of result 9. Are ethical dilemmas easy to understand? D. No, they usually arise from a clash between competing goals, responsibilities, and loyalties 10. Which of the following protects the intangible creative work that is embodied in physical form? B. Intellectual property 11. If you were to create a computer game for a homework assignment in programming, what type of law provides you with some protection against people selling your game without your consent? B. Copyright 2. If you were to create a self portrait and you place this portrait on your Web site, what type of law protects your work from anyone downloading and using it? A. Copyright 13. Which of the following protects expressions of ideas, literary and dramatic works, musical and theatrical compositions, and works of art? D. Copyright 14. What is the legal protection afforded an expression of an idea, such as a song, video game, and some types of proprietary documents? C. Copyright 15. Which type of law allows people to use copyrighted material in teaching environments without obtaining the consent of the owner of this material?

C. Fair Use Doctrine 16. What says that you may use copyrighted material in certain situations — for example, in the creation of new work or, within certain limits, for teaching purposes? D. Fair Use Doctrine 17. Is copyright infringement illegal? B. Yes, outside of a fair use situation 18. Can you make a copy of software that you buy? D. Only if the software vendor grants you the right to copy it 19. When you purchase copyrighted software, what are you actually paying for? D. The right to use it 20. Which of the following is the unauthorized use, duplication, distribution, or sale of copyrighted software?

A. Pirated software 1. What is the technology called that will allow you to take your TV programming with you? C. Sling 2. Which of the following would not be considered a new Internet-based trend or technology? C. Web 1. 0 3. What is software-as-a-service (SaaS)? C. Software that you pay for its use; the more often you use it the more often you pay 4. Which of the following is a delivery model that would enable you to rent software? C. SaaS 5. What type of Internet company provides pay-per-use software? D. Application service provider (ASP) . If you were traveling abroad and needed to use some software that you did not currently have, and did not want to purchase, what type of software could you rent during this trip? D. Application Service Provider (ASP) 7. When you are using a Web-based server to run applications, what issues should you be concerned with? A. Security of your data and personal information from the company; some of these companies will sell this information to a third party 8. What is push technology? C. Information that finds its way automatically to you 9.

Which of the following technologies will affect push technology the most? D. Database and data warehouses 10. Which of the following is an e-commerce model in which a consumer communicates through an Internet company with a manufacturer to create customized products? A. F2b2C 11. What is the term used when intermediate business partners in traditional distribution channels are bypassed? C. Disintermediation 12. Which of the following technologies allows you to send voice communications over the Internet and avoid the toll charges traditionally incurred by consumers? C. VoIP 13.

What new Web environment features online collaboration, dynamic and customized feeds, and greater control of Web content by users? B. Web 2. 0 14. What type of Web site allows you, as a visitor, to create, edit, change, and delete content? B. Wiki 15. If you were reading an article located on a Web site and were able to update the article based on information that you discovered from your work, what type of Web site would you be working on? A. Wiki 16. What is it called when a business provides enabling technologies to their customers so that they are able to create, modify, and oversee the development of a product or service?

C. Crowdsourcing 17. What technology is in the form of a journal in which you post entries in chronological order and often includes the capabilities for other viewers to add comments to your journal entries? C. Blogs 18. What is the difference between a social networking site and a blog? A. Social networking sites create a community of people; blogs keep people informed 19. What technology provides frequently published and updated digital content on the Web? C. RSS feed 20. What term refers to your ability to download audio and video files into a handheld, portable device? D. Podcasting

DUST aims to give “So Much More” to their clients and they do this with the creation of an effective racketing strategy. They target people who demand a high level of entertainment with a variety of program offerings such as Movies, Music, News, Comedy, Documentaries etc, for the entertainment of their clients thus creating and delivering value to the customer. The customer may choose what they want to watch whenever they want to watch It, whether at home or on the move with various Innovations such as the decoder at home and the Walk which may be used on the move.

With all the innovations they have come up with and made money off, DUST still aims to better he environment they work in whether it is improving the lives of people through charity organizations or CSS. DUST has created employment for people of Africa and opportunities for Africans such as the Face of Africa competition, New Directions Initiative and the creation of Channel O which focuses on the musical talents of some of Africans best musicians.

DUST has also created multiple initiatives focused on improving the lives of people living in South Africa such as giving access to water to people without and making green houses for the people of South Africa. DUST rated and Installed the playful system In multiple schools throughout South Africa. This system combines the energy of children who would play on a Roundabout Playful which would produce water as they play, this water Is then used by the children for drinking purposes and it is used to water the food gardens areas to create a green environment.

DUST has already provided over 5000 trees for low income households and community areas in the country. (Anon B) Market Analysis Customers User’s Demographic core LSI: 8 – 10 Gender: 50% Male 50% Female Age: 6 – 18 Years Selector’s Demographics ore LSI: 8- 10 Age: 20 – 35 years Payer’s Demographics Age: 25-arrears Organizations Capabilities Strengths DUST offers over 90 Channels and 78 Audio Channels Innovative – They have introduced Mobile TV I. E.

Drifts, Drifts USB, Walk, Drifts (Lisle’s Notes) DUST is Technologically Advanced – “South Africans Leading Satellite Pay Television Brand” (Lisle’s Notes) Weaknesses DUST offers too many options in its Premium Bouquet DUST Premium is expensive and the cheaper DUST compact offers little entertainment Dusts is difficult to navigate and troubleshooting problems such as loss of signal uh to mechanical failure are difficult to fix Opportunities A growing Mobile Entertainment market The online media streaming trends Technological advancement e. . HAD Television, Smartened APS that allow you to stream media, AD TV. Threats People going back to traditional entertainment e. G. Children choosing to play outside instead of watching TV Piracy e. G. Illegal movies being sold at traffic lights being substituted for DUST Box Office Competitors e. G. Estimates which has over 7 million Current Competitors Cinema e. G. Steer-Senior, Memento etc. TOP Walking on Water On Digital Media

E-sat Talked Media Future Competitors Nettling Provider of on demand online streaming media Numb Television They aim to offer 150 Channels HAD Channels Catch-up/On Demand Service Youth Stream videos online TV’s being able to connect to internet meaning consumers can stream videos online The Environment Economic Forces Petrol price increase means some items will become more expensive which may force some to cut back on luxuries e. G.

Changing from DUST Premium to Compact in order to save money Technological Forces Introduction of Smartest which may connect to the internet Smartness becoming trend in South Africa, DUST Mobile customers may increase. Legal Forces Laws that allow/disallow the broadcasting of certain events e. G. Oscar Posteriors Trial may increase DUST viewers Environmental Forces Weather patterns changing, more rain means DUST signal will be affected, which affects the performance of the network. Segmentation DUST operates in the Satellite TV Market. They have chosen to focus on mainly the entertainment and education segments of that market (Anon C).

This market is one that provides consumers with amusement in the form of Game Shows, Sport, Music, Movies etc, as well as insight and knowledge in the form of Documentaries, News and Learning Programs. The best way to segment the DUST market would be to place a group of individuals who share a similar set of needs and want together and provide them with programming that would best satisfy those needs. (Moray Roberts L. ) This segment would be targeted at children below the age of 10 years. These children are part of the core LSI (LSI 6 – 8).

There’s no cultural, racial limitation to the group and the programs featured in this Segment would include channels such s Cartoon Network, Disney and Nickelodeon for Entertainment purposes as well as channels such as the Learning Channel for Educational purposes. I choose to segment in this manner because this would allow DUST to effectively target children more and provide higher quality services to the parents and the children watching the shows which would best fit Dusts slogan “So Much More. ” DUST premium This segment is targeted at adult Males and Females between the ages of 40 – 50 years.

This individual is at the prime of their life and needs a high level of service and value for money. This individual is part of LSI 8- 10 and has a high ranking position in their workplace. This individual gets to enjoy all of Dusts offerings exclusively at any time of day. These individuals may watch DUST on their own or with their family/friends. DUST compact This segment is targeted at young adult males and females between the ages of 20 – 25 years. These young individuals are students and cannot afford to pay Premium prices but would like to enjoy some of Dusts offerings.

This segment focuses purely on entertainment e. G. Reality shows, game shows, music and series. They get to watch their favorite shows in their apartments/flats or on their smartness. These individuals are part of LSI 7 – 9 and are generally into speaking about celebrities and the latest gossip. DUST Cinema This segment is targeted at adult Males and Females between the ages of 30 – 40 years. These individuals love watching the latest movies and with the price of cinema tickets increasing they would benefit greatly from an affordable movie ticket in the comfort of their own home or while on the move.

These individual are social and can e found in restaurants with their family or friends but would prefer to watch movies at home where there are less people and more comfort. Conclusion DUST has been able to grow its market over the years by creating effective marketing strategies that satisfy the consumer’s needs. This has increased the amount of loyal customers they have and through thorough understanding of their customer’s behavior they may continue to make the right decisions when it comes to what their customers want and need as well as what they offer. References Bridal Paramus S. Roberts-Lombard M, 2012, Consumer Behavior, 2nd Edition, Marketing, 12th edition, Pearson Education Inc, 10 February 2014 Anon A, http:// unbranded . Co. AZ/news/broadcasting/81013-dust- more-subscribers- more- money. HTML, 15 February 2014 Anon B, http://www. Melancholic. Co. AZ/Melancholic/ view/Melancholic/en/page 24238, 17 February 201 5 Anon C, http:// www. Superabundant. Com/AZ/index. PH? 17 February 2014 Anon D, HTTPS:// www. BC. Dude/?Joneses/overhead. HTML, 23 February 2014 Gill Model, 2013, http:// grubstake. Co. AZ/2013/05/09/did-top-TV-ever-stand-a-chaw once-Ana lays is-of-dusts- strengths-weaknesses’, 24 February 2014

The company has also established a strong customer base by effectively utilizing the information held within their systems by leveraging the concept of Customer Relationship Marketing. Alongside, the company has effectively performed the process of data mining through directly analysing the information from the EPOS (Electronic Point of Sale) Systems installed in their shop floors so as to identify the potential customers and enter new target markets and business segments.

The implementation of the file maker systems in line with their point of sale systems to produce store specific adverts and promotion banners has apparently leveraged the company an edge over its competitors in the supermarket chain. The online shopping system TESCO WEBSITE In the light of the above argument, an insight into the TESCO website reveals the following results.

The company has a highly structured website that has classified its products efficiently based on the departments and then provided a two stage categorisation for identifying the actual product itself. The two stages of categorisation are achieved by the providing a short list of hyperlinks under a selected category so as to enable the customer to view the products.

The website also provides an interactive help system that efficiently guides a new user to quickly get accustomed to the online shopping process in order to encourage the customers to shop online. Apart from the easy to navigate system and the help provided online, the company has also established a dedicated call centre service especially to attend to the queries of the online shoppers including support on completing an order as well as serving the customer queries on existing orders and deliveries.

Alongside, the feature of reserving a delivery schedule before starting the shopping process itself makes it further easier for the customer to decide on the products to prioritise on the order placed. This provides an additional benefit of gaining customer satisfaction as well as a second to none service in the online shopping system to the customers.

The aforementioned statements further justify that the TESCO Plc has apparently gained competitive advantage in the electronic commerce mode of retailing in the supermarket chain segment of the retail sector in the UK. Alongside, the company has not only established the online transaction system for the sale of its retail products but for cross selling of its other services including DVD rental, finance and other services. This complete existence of the company over the Internet has apparently proved successful in gaining competitive advantage in the market.

The above analysis has proved that TESCO Plc has leveraged competitive advantage through strategically deploying the electronic commerce system in its website and conducting transactions quickly in order to provide timely delivery of the products and services. The research conducted so far is based on the secondary information resources and hence to derive on a concrete solution, a primary research in the form of questionnaire is carried out. The next chapter provides a critical overview of the research methodology and the scope

CASE 2 ENTELLIUM, DIGG, PEERFLIX, ZAPPOS, AND JIGSAW: SUCCESS FOR SECOND MOVERS IN E-COMMERCE Case Study Questions: 1) Is the second-mover advantage always a good business strategy? Defend your answer with examples of the companies in this case. Front-runner businesses can: Increase services given during and after a sale, intended to guarantee a satisfied customer. Although the product you sell through e-commerce may completely satisfy the customer, the extra services given by company will often determine whether it get repeat and referral business.

Poor or nonexistent customer service can result in negative word-of-mouth advertising that will turn people away from company business. Using secure protocols in electronic payment service and support the mutual trust and secure access between the parties in an e-commerce transaction by authenticating users, authorizing access and enforcing security features. Front-runner businesses can build a good reputation for high quality, guaranteed satisfaction, and top customer support while shopping and after the sale service.

This would challenge the second-movers and make it a little more difficult to compete against the front-runners. Front-runner businesses can watch and examine the second-movers and improve on their plans and strategies. Front-runners can offer new, smart, attractive, and innovative products and services at competitive prices. Increase their ownership and control through acquisition. This is where one organization purchases another so that the buyer assumes control.

Increase the amount of investment needed to enter into the market, thereby deterring attempts made by the second-movers to reach in ‘first place’ or discouraging them from competing at all. Form contracts with main suppliers and manufacturers in the market. Keep all of their business plans and strategies confidential. This could be done by having all employees sign confidentiality and non-competition agreements. Own the ideas of its employees, once it is done on the company’s time using the company’s resources, by asking them to sign agreements passing rights over to the employer.

Netflix could also start trading DVD’s online for a low flat rate. Regular Netflix consumers know the brand and may be loyal to them online as well. This could take away from Peerflix’s market share. Hoover’s could provide contact lists in addition to its extensive research on companies, so users would get two sources of information for the price of one. Pertaining to the examples in this case, second movers have been competing successfully. Number 1: Be better, faster, cheaper, easier Entellium offers something different from Salesforce. om by being better, faster, cheaper (40% less) and easier (user-friendly and offering 24/7 customer service). Trip up incumbents with tactics from other fields Inspired by MySpace, Digg offers a better, more marketable tech news site than Slashdot. The Digg website actually allows users to blog about anything they want, not just technology. Readers can even vote on any story, image, etc. they like the most, which can make it to the front page for everyone to see/read. Number 3: Swipe their business models and start your own race Peerflix learnt from Netflix’s business plan- easy renting by mail and eBay-trading items online.

People can exchange DVD’s without bidding, for a 99-cent transaction fee. They can keep the DVD’s or sell them to others unlike Netflix where one has to return their rentals. Follow the biggest leader you can find Looking at the case concerning Zappos- they were not growing at first because they focused on the wrong competitors, the target market was minute and they did not carry inventory. The online shoe seller was not thriving. They had to realize who they were really competing against. Zappos’ main competitors were not other online shoe .

Sellers that carried a limited amount of brands and catered to small niches; but were brick-and-mortar shoe stores. So, they built relationships with suppliers to improve customer service; and deliver exactly what the customer wants and on-time. Aim for the leader’s Achilles’ heel Jigsaw developed a new kind of contact subscription service where all the names and addresses in their database came from their users. The users themselves ensure that the listings are accurate and current. Real World Activities: 1) Use the Internet to research the current business status of all of the any companies in this case. Are the second movers still successfully using their strategies, or have the first movers foiled their attempts? Have new strong players entered the markets of the first and second movers, or have business, economic, or societal developments occurred to change the nature of competition in these markets? New features to grow and engage community Building on advertising infrastructure Building on successful partnership with Microsoft Ongoing sponsorship opportunities Ongoing publisher and trade partnerships

Zappos followed the biggest leader and now they are in front and winning the race. What makes Zappos so successful is its company’s culture and its superior customer service. Thus, there is a lot of customer retention and word-of-mouth advertising for the company. Jigsaw seems to be doing well. The case states that its database surged from 200,000 to 2 million contacts since 2004. Now, Jigsaw provides an online business directory of over 11 million business contacts. Dun & Bradstreet subsidiary Hoover’s offered extensive research on companies but little on contacts.

Their website now explores a database of 28 million public and private companies, more than 36 million people and more than 600 industries. 2) Assume you will start an Internet-based business similar to one of those mentioned in this case or another one of your choice. Would you be a first, second, or later mover in the market you select? How would you differentiate yourself from other competitors or prospective new entrants? Break into small groups to share your ideas and attempt to agree on the best Web-based business opportunity of the group.

Economic factors There has been an increase in perfumes and cosmetics products sold in the I-J. When the rate of inflation fell, money had greater purchasing power and people had a greater desire to purchase expensive goods,which ultimately benefits the perfumes and clothing companies. Social factors Social factors consist of demographic population, culture religious norms and the practices and trend of the society. Geographical segmentation divides the market into the various geographical areas which helps wealthy countries like the I-J by maintaining better positioning and enhances the status symbol of the perfumes company.

LIVE has target the people having higher income and the company has created the images that are in accordance social identity theory and consumer reckon that consumption of LIVE products increases the social identity ,builds the social image and most of the buyers are graduate professional with sense of self world and high social reputation(Devil, Sings et al. ). British women mostly use fragrance on special occasion and tend to use less perfumes as comparing to other American and Europeans women.

It is shown that older woman above 35 seen more conservative and less fashionable and experimental than the younger teenager. Gifting is consider as one of the crucial feature of perfumes market. It also provides opportunity to perfumes manufacturers as there is growth in over ass who live younger than the lifestyles. Technology factors Various companies advertise on line has tremendously increase due to growing popularity of the social networking site. LIVE also gathers various information, opinions and attitude of friends, families reviews from the internet etc through arioso forums, blobs, chat groups and websites.

There is also growing trend of online shopping facilities and growing E-tailing trend facilities in the UK market. New technologies also have allergic perfumes for those who have allergic problems. Modern technology boosts new sampling innovations. It will increase competition among the market with anti-ageing skincare formulations have advanced. Environment sectors For the environment trend, greening business has been increasing popular, according to Rebecca Smithies (2010) :”Consumer costs on “green” goods grew by almost a fifth over two years by the various companies despite the economic recession. It perfumes and cosmetics companies seek a green way to mandatory its products they need technological support but customer would more likely to purchase their products hence it also increase the sales and builds good image on the society and it is also shown that during the summer time British women and men purchase more perfume and fragrance, it certainly increased sales of LIVE and positively affects the I-J market. To ensure a high level of environmental reference, the Group believes it is vital for each company to set precise environmental targets and implement a management system dedicated to this process((Devil, Sings et al. . Around the world LIVE gives best level of environment protection around the world with managing the environmental impacts. Legal factors The growing call for testing has regulated EX. such as reach may thwart creativity and novelty. Discrimination, terror acts is affecting the perfume market negatively in the I-J. In July 2007 there was huge boost usage of perfumes and fragrances when smoking was banned in all enclosed public places.

According to luxury daily newspaper it was posted that LIVE fined approximately 12 to 10 billion dollars for its way of acquiring a share in family-owned French leather goods maker Hermes and this battle still continued. “LIVE is surprised by the great weakness of this decision, both in legal terms and in terms of the totally erroneous analysis of the facts on which it is based,” the company said in a statement. (E, She ,2013). According to keynote, 2008 as a whole that macro environment of the products are not so optimistic with the increase of the vat and the government expenditure

Running head: On-Time Technology Products Complaint On-Time Technology Products Complaint Kaplan University AB221 Customer Service Tina Engle March 30, 2011 On-Time Technology Products Complaint On-Time Technology Products (OTTP) sells products related to time, and Mark MacGibson is the new President of OTTP. OTTP has seldom had any customer complaints because the companies top priority is customer service. Mary Graff, the supervisor for the Customer Service Representatives plans was to take OTTP to an innovative level of excellent customer service.

Unfortunately, one day the President received a complaint in written from a disabled person, that has prompt his immediate attention. The complaint was in reference to the treatment given by a sales representative (Joanne) during the persons visit to the store. The complaint read, “Today I was at your store and wanted to purchase a new laptop computer. I never write companies when small incidents occur (relative to my disability of being in a wheelchair), but I feel that today’s behavior by your sales staff was over the top and warrants this letter.

I chose to inform you, the President, so that others in my circumstance at your place of business will not be so offended. I felt very patronized when, after asking a question of your service/sales representative Joanne, she responded in an almost childlike voice – not once, but three times! Then she proceeded to lean on my wheelchair as she was demonstrating the laptop to me. I felt it would have been more appropriate for here to use a chair, but when I suggested she do so, she said, “Oh this will only take a minute or so” and then continued to lean over me for another five minutes!

I am incensed enough to write this letter! By the way, after leaving your store I will purchase my laptop from another store within the hour. ” After reading this person written complaint I have come to the conclusion that this complaint is legitimate because Joanne did not serve the disabled customer properly. Joanne’s communication with the customer was inappropriate because she spoke in a child like voice, and leaned on the customers’ wheel chair.

Where in actuality, Joanne should have spoke to the customer in a normal tone voice (instead of a childlike voice), sat in a chair at eye level to the customer in the wheel chair (instead of leaning on the persons wheel chair), and continuing to lean on the customers wheel chair after the customer told her what they would prefer for her to do. In my opinion, the President Mr. MacGibson should call (if their telephone number is available), or communicate with this customer personally, and offer his sincere apology as well as compensation for what took place in their store.

What I think Mr. MacGibson responds should is; “Hello Sir. /Mama, I am Mr. MacGibson the President of On-Time Technology Products and I would like to give you my sincere apology for what took place at our store during you visit. I would like to inform you that the mannerism Joanne showed during your visit is unacceptable, and was not the protocol of OTTP. To assure that this does not happen again I will personally make sure that all of our employees are well trained, and aware of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

In closing, I would also like to offer you compensation for what took place at our establishment although you stated “you have purchased a laptop from another business. I would recommend that Mr. MacGibson put into play extensive training at OTTP with understanding disabled customers, customer behavior, and exceptional service, and that should assure to keep up OTTP’s reputation of seldom complaints. I say this because as a customer coming into an establishment they need to be understood, welcome, important, and comfortable with the sales representative. References The World of Customer Service, 2nd edition Pattie Gibson-Odgers (2008).

Indeed, E-Grocery counts among its competitors large firms – including `adventure’ mega complexes and seasoned retail players capitalizing on brand strength and backed by decades of retailing experience and enormous resources to market their products and ensure information technology support to establish a solid and customer-friendly online presence. Examples of these big, successful companies are eBay and Amazon.

com, which have added food among its product categories, and continually enhanced their online ordering tools, inventory management and marketing thrusts to dominate diverse product categories that include books, consume electronic products, and so on. There are also Wal-Mart and Kmart, which can easily lure customers, well backed-up by their names and technical infrastructure. To measure up, E-Grocery needs to adopt certain e-business strategies to bolster consumer acceptance and help grow its business.

An updated website that offers ease of use is one of those fundamental e-business strategies. Because a recognizable brand name is essential to driving the desired traffic to the website, E-Grocery just may benefit also from changing its generic-sounding corporate name. In the meantime, e-Grocery needs to catch up with large retailers like Amazon and grocery operating web services like FreshDirect, as far as fresh approaches geared towards enticing customers to shop at their sites are concerned. EGrocery will also do well to learn from the pitfalls that other online retailers have experienced.

Obtaining industry-specific knowledge and finetuning the e-business process, and eventually expanding into new quality product categories while implementing well-conceived marketing initiatives like nutrition updates, detailed snack lists, special discounts and offers, or even inventive referral programs, coupled with efficient delivery service, all serve to bolster an e-grocer’s business. Part and parcel of overall marketing thrusts is the development of an engaging e-commerce site that will be able to bring in quality traffic.

“Search engines will play an increasing role in the way online retailers are branded… Amazon is particularly adept at this” (Johnston, 2007, p. F9) so again e-Grocery must make huge strides to maintain competitive, come close to the success enjoyed by popular online retailers, and learn to attract new customers. An e-business consultant who is well-versed with the web may be able to offer strong inputs and create websites that work. Other e-marketing tools which e-Grocery can employ are e-newsletters, blogs, and pay-per-click marketing.

It is important to choose e-business strategies that suit the company’s overall goals. The total e-store solution offers not just secure checkouts and automated ease but also a steady revenue-generating retail outlet that enhances brand visibility. E-Grocery’s marketing department must realize that if it is to increase customer response rates, hold its own against other online retailers, and help ensure long-term growth, it may have to work on developing “an integrated campaign in which each action boosts audience involvement, creating a unified program and message” (De Azevedo and Pomeranz, 2008, p. 205).

References

De Avezedo, A. , & Pomeranz, R. (2008). Customer obsession. New York: McGraw-Hill. Ernst, S. , & Hooker, N. (2003). E-grocery: emerging trend or just another case study? Retrieved February 14, 2009, from http://aede. osu. edu/programs/e-agbiz/pagepapersandpres/papers_presentations/2003outlookegrocery. pdf Johnston, P. (2007). The online retailers that shoppers like most. Retrieved February 14, 2009, from http://www. stores. org/pdf/SpecialReports/Favorite50. pdf