Globalization and IT Business - Essay Example

GLOBALIZATION AND BUSINESS IT Name: Lecturer: Course: Date: Introduction Globalization has greatly revolutionized business activities. The changes instigated by the process have extended widely and rapidly, therefore completely changing the manner in which people conduct business (Parker, 2005). One of the main factors that have influenced the pace of globalization is information technology (IT). Advancement in information technology essentially in the context of communication technology such as; the satellite, the World Wide Web , the internet , intra- net and many others have greatly spearheaded the free flow of services, good, people and capital across boundaries. The adoption of IT in the business context has brought about Business IT which entails the use of Information technology to conduct business. This paper seeks to provide a reflective paper on the issue of globalization and Business IT. Before commencing this course, my initial belief concerning globalization and Business IT was that globalizing a business through the use IT was not reliable enough. I originally believed that a good and reliable business was one carried out physically but not virtually through the use of information technology appliances. After undertaking this course however, I learnt that businesses conducted by the use of IT are actually reliable and can bring about good returns if well managed. I came to the realization that companies that use IT in their business strategies are actually benefiting from the process. A case in point is Wal- Mart that uses all forms of IT in order to manage its supply chain. The company connects its drivers by satellite and radio. The company also uses computers to track store inventory and sales. The use of such technologies ensures that goods get to individual stores. This creates reliability in the supply chain of the company. Such knowledge made me realize that IT is very reliable. As a result, the fact that IT increases reliability in business is actually interesting to me, thus in the event that I own a business, I will ensure that I integrate technology in my supply chain. Also before commencing this course, I was not aware of how much technology had evolved and how such technologies can be applied in supporting a selected business strategy. For instance the newly invested Open sesame which is a Smart Lock system that enables a person to send a virtual key to visitors through the use of a smart phone is actually one of the intriguing technologies that I learnt of in this course. I learnt that information technology is actually a very effective approach of driving the business strategies adopted by organizations, however unless companies comprehend the dynamics of IT, they can find themselves wasting money and time in contracting systems that are not productive , while their competitors are thriving . For instance, I have heard of companies that have invested a lot of money in building business systems that had the objective of attracting more customers and also improving the relationship between customers and the company. Such initiatives however failed to meet the set objectives. I learnt that before investing a particular IT system into a business, it is important to understand IT dynamics and how they can fit in the selected business strategy. Prior to the course, I was also not aware of the fact that global business greatly depended on a number of key factors. I believed that a company can just initiate international business through the use of IT without considering these key factors. For instance; the political consideration seemed to me as an overboard consideration based on the fact that I thought it only applied to business transactions such as conducting imports and exports. However, I came to the realization that politics is also a significant aspect when conducting global business through the use of IT. Also, I was not aware that global business depended on IT led standards such as Connection of teams, the 24 hour clock and the impacts of sharing information. The acquisition of such knowledge is therefore useful to me in the sense that I also intended that my career should involve consulting. As a consultant I will be able to effectively advice business people who want to initiate IT enabled businesses concerning the key factors to be considered. Also, before undertaking the course, I did not have a lot of information concerning how the global marketing can effectively be conducted through the use of technologies such as the cell phone, mobile music devices, tablets, instant messaging, videogames and virtual and three-dimensional worlds. I initially just believed that it’s a matter of just sending information of products with pictures and music without putting a lot of considerations. However, I learnt that in order for marketing to be effective, it is essential to have knowledge concerning what it takes to get the attention of the consumer which will influence them to purchase and even use the product. I therefore learnt that conducting marketing when using information technology requires adequate knowledge that can inspire the consumer to continue engaging with the marketer. I also believe that such information will be useful to me as consultant to marketers who want to advertise their products online. I had various learning goals for this course. Foremost I wanted to acquire knowledge concerning how information technology had transformed business activities essentially to international business. Initially I had the perception that IT in business mainly involved social media marketing and making online purchases. Nevertheless, after undertaking this course I attained adequate knowledge concerning how IT had transformed business strategies. I learnt that IT is evidently a vital enabler of enhancing business growth and transformation. Businesses that are IT enabled become very advanced in terms of customer expansion, product innovation and the quality of services offered to clients. For instance; one interesting fact that I acquired from the course was that of cloud computing which facilitates the sharing of resources across computers through the use of a network such as the internet without having personal devices or servers. I came to the realization that such a technology is able to greatly support international business activities. For instance, if a company is located in Australia and has subsidiaries in Europe, the company can transfer similar resources to serve its subsidiaries in Europe. Such an approach saves company resources while at the same time enhancing efficiency. Another interesting aspect that I learnt concerning how technology had transformed business activities was the going viral as a marketing strategy. I discovered that the strategy was actually easy to implement and also it can send messages quickly to many people. Such strategies when used in international business are therefore very useful based on the fact that not all customers use social media. I therefore attained the objective of realizing the changes in business activities due to the adoption of Information technology. Another learning goal that I had for this particular course was to acquire knowledge that can assist me to shape my career path. I have been very interested in careers that involve management and also consulting essentially in international business. In order to become a manager for an international company one has to be a person that has adequate knowledge essentially in the context of IT due to the fact that contemporary organizations greatly depend on technology. The knowledge that I acquired when undertaking this course is evidently very useful in shaping my career path. I therefore believe that I will be a competent future international business manager or even a consultant. This is because I now understand the nature of international business, the factors to consider when running an IT enabled business and how IT can be integrated in the business strategies adopted by the organization. When undertaking this course, I had various significant experiences. First, during the lecture sessions I experienced a few challenges when it comes to understanding how IT in business worked. For instance concepts such as cloud computing was quite difficult for me. Also at one point I did not understand and even believe how the future fan predictions will be useful to business for instance the Gesture-based computing where a mouse will no longer be required and people will be using their hands to operate computerized systems. I therefore took the initiative of reading more on the area. I also asked questions from my fellow group members who assisted. I therefore felt that I was actually learning effectively. My other experience during the course was that I was able to be part of a discussion group where we were able to discuss the various topics that we handled in class and also handle assignments together. The group discussions were very helpful in the sense that I was able to learn more from my group members while I also shared the ideas I had. Although, working in groups is a useful approach of coming up with different views in order to solve problems, however I faced various challenges while in the groups. For instance there were group members who were not cooperative enough and thus making the handling of tasks to be difficult. Also, time management for some group members was also difficult. In order to resolve the challenges facing the group I advocated for the allocation of roles for each group member. I believe that in order for a group to be successful in attaining its objectives, the roles of each member have to be clearly known and communicated. We then voted for a group leader, who was accorded the task of allocating roles to the rest of the members. I was given the role of the facilitator. As the facilitator, one of my responsibilities was to keep the group on track. I did this by ensuring that each group member did not deviate from our topic of discussion. Also I mobilized group members to attend the group discussions on time in order to avoid the risk of time wastage. The group discussions later on become more productive and we were able to complete out tasks on time and also discuss the course content effectively. I felt that group discussions were useful to me in the sense that I was able to learn from others and share my ideas. Also during the group discussions, conflict arose between the group members. I believe that conflict is an unavoidable aspect in group communication. This is basically because people usually hold different views. In our group, conflict did arise, for instance; before we agreed on the points that we were to present, a lot of conflicts did emerge. There was a section of members who did not accept certain points, however, at the end of the discussion we were able to agree and come up with comprehensive points that were good enough for the presentation. I therefore learnt from this experience that working in groups can sometimes be difficult however , when people develop a positive attitude of resolving the conflict , focus and cooperate it is possible to attain the desired objectives. This is also applicable in the context of conducting business essentially across the globe. Conflict is bound to arise due to a variety of factors for instance; many businesses that use social media for marketing purposes get clients who disapprove their products by writing negative comments. However, I learnt that such business owners can just develop a positive attitude and continue to market their brand. Conclusion This paper has presented a reflective report concerning the issue of globalization and Business IT. I have outlined what I believed prior to commencing the course and how the knowledge that I received transformed my thinking concerning the topic. I have also outlined the learning objectives that I had before undertaking the course. I can restate that all the objectives that I had were actually met. I was able to acquire knowledge that will definitely be useful to me as I plan to venture in the career of consulting and even management of an international business. During the course I also experienced challenges essentially in the group discussion, however all these experiences were actually useful because I was able to learn from them. References Parker, B 2005, Introduction to Globalization and Business: Relationships and Responsibilities, Business & Economics. Read More