Enhancing Business Performance in E-Learning - Term Paper Example

Running Head: Management & Economics Of E-Business Enhancing business performance in e-learning (Management & Economics of E-Business) of the writer] [Name of the institution] Enhancing business performance in e-learning (Management & Economics of E-Business) A VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS ΟF E-BUSINESS Having looked at the potential impact οf e-business on an organisations choices as to which services and products it will offer and to whom, now we can look at the broader implications for organisations. The model we shall use for this has been devised by Porter (1985) and depicts an organisations key activities as being connected as a chain οf value which is added by each link. This chain involves the activities which comprise the production or development οf whatever the organisation provides for its customers - firstly, there is what the organisation needs to bring in (raw materials, information, and so on), then the key operations (such as manufacturing the product), then taking the product to the customers or point οf sale, then the marketing and sales activity, and finally the service provided to the customer post-sales. In addition to this primary chain οf value, there is a secondary cluster οf support activities, such as HR, IT/systems, or purchasing. These enable the primary value chain to operate most effectively, though in themselves they are less directly connected to the details οf the technical work. Primary activities Inbound and outbound logistics Probably, the physical movement οf materials and products is less dramatically affected by e-business than some other parts οf the value chain. However, there are some effects - specialist distribution companies are able to use the internet not only to plot the fastest and most efficient routes (using data such as satellite navigation data) but also can combine same day collection and deliveries οf even small quantities οf goods (for example, using mobile telephony or radio devices for direct data entry - hand-held devices are now standard for many carriers such as UPS or Business Express). Additionally, a large amount οf the input οf many organisations is information based in one way or another (market reports, stock prices, customer data, government regulations are just three examples) all οf which can be (and often are) digitised and sent via the internet. Operations Here the main immediate beneficiaries οf the internet revolution are service industries, which rely less on physical activities and more on the transfer and processing οf information. So, for example, the travel industry has hardly been affected physically - trains and boats and planes still move about in exactly the same way - but, in striking contrast, ticket sales have been transformed, so that a growing proportion οf travellers are booking through the internet, and those who go to high street travel agents are benefiting from the electronic databases that these agents access direct to identify or book seats. (Beer 2000) One area where there is a direct impact is the computing industry itself; much software now can be easily obtained via the internet - with the added benefit that some οf what physical stores sell is available over the internet for free. Marketing and sales Perhaps the biggest immediate usage οf the internet has been for marketing purposes. Just about every major organisation has its own website these days. On these you may find any οf the following (i) their annual report to the shareholders; (ii) brochure information about products and services; (iii) recruitment opportunities posted on a company site; and (iv) opportunities to purchase products or services over the web. In some cases there are additional promotional elements - a virtual walk around the business, for example. Sales in some areas have been transformed - easyjet, for example, has blazed the trail οf low price airlines, partially supported by a heavy use οf the internet (an interesting example οf early diversification, as the airline has already developed a range οf other services that can be purchased via their internet cafe style easy everything high street outlets). In addition to company marketing information, one οf the largest applications οf the web is the development οf online broking or agency sales - companies that will find the best deals for you; for example, a Britney Spears gig, or a Euro-star return ticket. This is a service that has existed in one form or another for many years, but the greatly widened range οf sources οf tickets has enhanced the quality οf this service significantly. (Horton 2001) Customer service Surprisingly, few οf the really big companies exploit this aspect to any great extent. Although it is common that a company will include their email contact details on a website, there is only rarely a direct contact to give feedback on products or make complaints (cynically, one might think that this would make complaints too easy, whereas the telephone still provides a significant barrier to some against making a complaint). (Sinclair 2002) On the other hand, this aspect οf customer (or in this case, citizen) communication is being exploited by local councils, who deliver a wide range οf services, and often are having to juggle the areas where high quality is compromised by poor resources. Many local councils use their website as a major route for communication between citizens and their elected representatives, not necessarily as complaint but also as a natural part οf the process οf government. Support activities Firm infrastructure Intranets - internet style systems, usually οf a www type using HTML pages, but operating in a closed environment for employees οf just one organisation - have become an essential component οf larger or more dispersed organisations. Additionally, some global firms use products such as Lotus Notes to combine email and internet functions, so that information can be shared across continents - decisions can therefore be made involving key players even though they may be in offices thousands οf miles apart. Human resource management Not very long ago, the most elaborate use that human resource (HR) departments made οf computers was a staff database, but more recently a range οf HR activities have sprung up, and it is clear that many more will follow. As mentioned above, for example, recruitment via the web is now a common phenomenon, whether on the companys own site or by means οf a specialist recruitment website such as PeopleBank. In addition however, many HR departments use intranets to publish documents such as health and safety policies. Perhaps most exciting οf all, however, is the development οf e-learning facilities such as on-line discussion forums, bulletin boards, programmed learning οf technical knowledge or skills coaching, many οf which are offered as distinct services by HR consultancies or are developed in-house. The university sector has also taken up the opportunities οf online learning enthusiastically. The head οf the UK eUniversities Worldwide organisation claimed that By 2005, it is forecast that online learning will be the most widely used web application (Beaumont, 2003). Whilst this is an overstated piece οf hyperbole, it is certainly the case that given the focus in general management theory currently on knowledge and learning, it is highly likely that this application οf the internet will be a major growth area in the years to come. (Lee 2000) Another relatively unexplored potential benefit is the use οf distributed human resources - so that work can be allocated less on the basis οf who is physically present at a certain place at a certain time, but more rationally on the basis οf who has the skills and is accessible via the network. Because many elements οf the value chain are data based or data driven, it is possible to make free use οf individuals skills on an international basis. In theory, a company that translates documents can receive the documents by email, send them out to a translator in just about whatever country is appropriate, get the translations returned electronically, and forward them on to the client without anything even being printed off in hard copy! Similarly, a computer company based in the USA may have analysts in Germany develop a system, then have it written up in computer code by Indian programmers, and put it all together in a package in the UK for a French client! Imagine that without email. A third illustration οf this is the use οf telephone switching technologies, so that a company such as Yellow Pages can have operators serving the UK, but based in India! Such individuals may be trained in UK local culture, including learning the names οf current UK celebrities, being aware οf current UK events, even the weather in London that morning! But the point is - although they are talking to UK residents, they are not there, they are somewhere completely different. Technology development As the last examples above indicated, even something as (relatively) straightforward as email can and has transformed the way in which an organisation does its business, where anything that can be digitised can, in theory, be done in any place in the world where the best resources can be obtained at the best price. In practice, it is never quite that simple - there are still very many parts οf the world where telephony is simply not good enough yet to carry large amounts οf data quickly and reliably, and there are often barriers to international trading based on tariffs or so-called non-tariff barriers, such as requirements for professional qualifications. Nevertheless, rethinking an organisations operations from an information perspective can often create surprising opportunities for doing much οf the work at a distance, linked solely by electronic data communication. (Horton 2000) Procurement (company purchasing) By far the largest expansion οf internet based services has been in the B2B market. Many οf these are information related (such as the construction or onward sale οf customer databases). Additionally a number οf internet sites are themselves shopfronts - sites where a whole range οf services and products may be offered. There are several different models οf this. One is the portal - where the customer can trawl sites but always within the environment οf the original web site - so you never forget who has brought this service to you. www.AskJeeves.com is the most cited example οf a portal. An alternative is where a site promises to trawl the rest οf the internet and find the appropriate product at the best available price - one implication οf this is that within distribution constraints, all producers οf a certain product or service will be forced down to the lowest available price (in theory good for the customer, but in reality only so where a number οf competitors can stay in the market. Once a couple οf really major players manage to squeeze the rest out οf that market altogether, then prices drift upwards again). (Bonk 1998; Driscoll 1998) What this analysis οf the value chain has indicated, then, is again the range οf opportunities at each step in the chain. It is probably true to say that the customer end οf the chain has received most overt attention, but it is worth bearing in mind that the B2B market is several times larger than the B2C one - so in terms οf profitability there is probably as much, if not more, advantage to be gained at earlier stages οf the value chain as at the sharp end. References Beer, V. (2000). The Web Learning Fieldbook: Using the World Wide Web to Build Workplace Learning Environments. Jossey-Bass. Bonk, C. J., & King, K. S. (Eds.), (1998). Electronic collaborators: Learner-centered technologies for literacy, apprenticeship, and discourse. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Donald Hanna & Associates (2000). Higher Education in the Era οf Digital Competition. Madison, WI: Atwood Publishing. Draves, W. A. (2000). Teaching online. River Falls, WI: LERN Books, Learning Resource Network. Driscoll, M., & Alexander, L. (1998) Web-Based Training : Using Technology to Design Adult Learning Experiences. Jossey-Bass Publishers. Ellis, A. , et al. (1999). Managing Web-Based Training. ASTD Horton, S. (2000). Web teaching guide: A practical approach to creating course Web sites. New Haven: Yale University Press. Horton, W. K. (2000). Designing Web-Based Training: How to Teach Anyone Anything Anywhere Anytime. Wiley. Horton, William (2001). Evaluating E-Learning: Here is how you can predict success, measure value, and prove worth. Alexandria, VA: ASTD. Jones, Steven G. (Ed.). (1998). Cybersociety: Revisiting Computer-Mediated Communication and Community. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Lee, W. W., & Owens, D. (2000). Multimedia-Based Instructional Design: Computer-Based Training, Web-Based Training, and Distance Learning. Jossey-Bass. Porter, Michael E. (1985) Value Chain. http://www.provenmodels.com/26/value-chain-analysis/porter Rosenberg, M. (2000) E-Learning: Strategies for Delivering Knowledge in the Digital Age. McGraw-Hill. Sinclair, J. T., Sinclair, L. W., & Lansing, J. G. (2002). Creating Web-based training: A step-by-step guide to designing effective e-learning. NY: AMACOM (American Management Association) Read More