Second Life: Succeeding in Virtual Times - Case Study Example

This would have a proper allocation of resources resulting in higher return on invested capital. Ans. 2 Decision support systems are basically computer-based information system that aids the organizations in the decision making process. At Second life companies such as Nike, Reebok or any other consumer product company could make use of DSS and can project the sales figure for the years to come. Companies can compare the sales figure of one period with another period to find out the reasons behind the drop or boom in sales and act likewise. By the help of Decision support system on second life, companies can have better allocation of their resources. Business units or product lines that are not performing well should be divested and those that are generating high sales should be harvested with more capital. This may allow them to develop competitive advantage in their respective fields by focusing on their core competency. Ans. 3 Apparel companies have a faster turnaround especially in today’s rapidly changing environment because of the fashion-hungry consumers. Digital dashboard consolidates the information that is spread all over the organization and often the external organization relevant information onto one platform. With the help of digital dashboard, organizations have a snapshot of the whole organization in such a way that it helps managers to make decisions efficiently and effectively in line with the current demands and changing trend in the market. Apparel Companies such as American Apparel or Calvin Klein for example can use the digital dashboard resource kit (DDSK) to build an interactive information management and analysis system. This will aid in the examination of the various units of the organization as well as aid in identifying the negative trends. Reports could be generated that forecast the new trend and on the basis of these reports, the apparel companies can align their strategies and goals. Ans. 4 Second life being the depiction of the real world can be used by the organizations when they are faced with real world customer service issues by providing strategies for dealing with such issues. Companies for example could build a community of customers to gauge the success of their products. It should be proactive to the customer issues rather than being reactive as most of the organizations today are being reactive to the problems faced by consumers while developing and marketing their products such as a small product demo exhibition where the product could be tested before final launch. Organizations could make use of touch points that link the customers with the product development team predicting the latent needs of the customers. CRM software could be used to identify and reward organization’s loyal customers; this would in turn boost the long term sales because it is the 20% of customers who generate 80% of the sales for a company. Winning new customers costs more and generates fewer profits than retaining your previous customers. Ans. 5 Order entry process starts from the receipt of an order for a particular product item to the delivery of particular order. Rather than having a manual entry system for an order entry; fulfillment process companies at Second life for instance could Read More