A Request to Rebuild the Company Website - Admission/Application Essay Example

 1. Introduction In order for modern firms to compete effectively in the international market they need to update their strategic plans; the update of the firms’ existing IT systems is also required – under the pressure of the competitors. When such a task is under development there are specific criteria that need to be applied; leaders have a crucial role in the success of the relevant projects but it is necessary that the plan used is carefully designed and closely monitored taking into consideration the similar practices of competitors. In the case of Excess Tours Ltd – the firm under examination – the development of corporate activities is closely related with the change of existing website. Because the firm’s activities are heavily based on the corporate website the change of the existing system need to be developed gradually – avoiding the risk of a unexpected break of the firm’s communication with its clients. Specific measures are also required for ensuring the security of the new website. The effectiveness of the new website – as proved through the evaluation of the various phases of its implementation and monitoring – is expected to be high; any potential failure will be avoided by taking specific measures – as suggested in the theory and the empirical research and have been considered as appropriate for the particular firm – taking into consideration the similar projects of firms that operate in the tourism industry. 2. Restructuring of website in Excess Tours Ltd The restructuring of website in the specific firm needs to be developed in specific phases: at a first level a plan of action will be designed – in accordance with the firm’s current activities, the resources available and the similar practices of competitors. At a next level, the following issues will be analytically addressed: the new website’s structure and content, its security and its expected effectiveness – in accordance with its technical characteristics but also of the relevant experiences of firms that operate in the same industry. Finally, the promotion of the new website needs to be explained in order to prove that the resources employed for the development of the new website were used as appropriately as possible and that the investment on the specific project is going to be paid back within a short period of time. 2.1. Plan of action Different priorities can be set when developing a website that will be used in the commercial sector. An indicative example is given through the study of Shelstad (2005) where it is noted that the following actions need to take place before beginning designing a commercial website: ‘determining the goals of the site, its main features, audiences, vendor and software selection, relationship to the parent institution's design guidelines, and user testing results’ (Shelstad, 2005, 209). In any case, the improvement of the firm’s communication with its customers has been set as the most important criterion for the new website – in the context of the studies of Sharp (2001, 41) and Turnbow et al. (2005, 226); in the second of the above studies the following criteria are set for the improvement of a firm’s communication with its customers: ‘ the clear site organization and navigation, the easy access from the firm’s homepage to relevant information, and the existence of a content management system’ (Turnbow et al., 2005, 226). In the case of the firm under examination the plan of action regarding the development of the new website should be decided using the following criteria: a) the firm’s activities, b) the resources available for the realization of all the project’s phases – including the implementation and the monitoring phases as well as the customer service sector, i.e. the provision of support to customers regarding the use of the new website and c) the expected benefits from the new website. Aiming to address the above issues, the plan for the development of new website could be divided into two parts. In the first part the following three issues will be addressed: a) the business needs, b) the user needs and c) the goals. In the second part the hierarchy of actions related with the full implementation of the new website will be described. First part of the plan: a) Business Needs Increase the sales of the firm Increase the firm’s existing customer database Improve the firm’s presence in the WWW b) User needs Have access to the firm’s services – availability of services, information on prices Contact the firm – referring especially to the customer support department Get informed for new destinations – current offers c) Goals Update of the website periodically – every week if possible – so that the customers are informed on the firm’s current offers Emphasis is given on the creation of an innovative website layout – in terms of the graphics and colours used Surfing across the site’s pages will be extremely rapid The content of the website will be clear – no misunderstandings will be developed regarding its material – information will be retrieved easily Photos will be used as possible to highlight important offers Useful links will be included that are also updated periodically The option for real-time communication with the firm’s employees will be also included in the new website’s features. Second part of the plan – Hierarchy of Actions: The development and the implementation of the firm’s new website would be completed in the following steps: a) identification of existing business and customer needs and goals – as explained above, b) design of the new system, c) estimation of the funds and time required for the completion of the project, d) identification of resources – physical and monetary – available for the realization of the project, e) allocation of additional resources – if required; the acquisition of advanced technology system should be developed at this phase, f) distribution of tasks among employees/ participants, g) development of the new website, h) testing of the system – the new website should operate simultaneously with the existing system at least for one month in order to identify any potential failures and avoid any gap in the communication of the firm with its customers. At this point it should be necessary to define the team of employees that will be checking the system periodically and report any failures to the technicians. Any additional actions – apart from the above – that would be required during the design and the implementation of the new system will be decided in accordance of their cost – the excess of the initial budget is not allowed further than a percentage of 10%. 2.2 Suggestions on new website’s content and structure The structure of the new website will be simple as possible in order to ensure that the customers will have access to all the firm’s services – speed in surfing across the website’s pages is an important issue. The links to 5 pages will be included in the website’s home page. The pages will refer to the following issues: a) corporation information – history, mission and goals, employment, b) services – the firm’s services will be analyzed, c) online booking – option to buy the firm’s services through the website – appropriate payment schemes will be offered to the public, d) contact – the customer will have the chance to choose among the options of chat – online communication, e-mail, phone and fax - in this section the link to the firm’s blog would be also included and e) useful links – links related with the specific industry will be included in this page. The above 5 pages will be further divided into 2-3 pages each. Graphics that cause delays in the surfing across the website will be avoided – instead photos will be used to improve the website’s overall image. A series of additional options will be given in the firm’s homepage. The implementation of a Content Management System in order to increase the website’s effectiveness is an issue that should be considered at a next level – if such a system is implemented in the new website’s first version it is possible that problems will appear – an indicative example is the website project named as ‘Darwin Country’; in the context of this project a Content Management System was implemented but specific technology was required for its support: the use of open-source software was unavoidable in this case (Boyd, 2002, 14). The restructuring of the firm’s website is considered to be quite necessary – taking into consideration the decline in the firm’s performance the last year. The specific view is supported also by the relevant literature. In accordance with Benzing (2006, 8) ‘ the change of a website to a dynamic, application driven web site results in a more flexible, efficient, and consistent web presence’. In the study of Rajagopalapillai et al. (2005, 179) the success of website is depended on the programming language – code – used – reference is made to XML as an example of an effective programming language for websites that are going to be used in the development of various commercial activities. From another point of view, the effectiveness of a commercial website can be measured through the increase in the customer loyalty – after the implementation of the specific website (Lin et al., 2009, 458). 2.3 Security issues One of the most important issues that need to be examined during the development of the new website is the security that the specific website can offer to its visitors (Tripathy et al, 2006, 68, Rosado et al., 2006, 519); Attaran et al., (1999, 241) state that the risk of losing important data cannot is related with online activities – especially in the case of online payments (Smith et al., 1999, 155, Hopwood et al., 2000, 42); reducing this risk is quite difficult but not impossible – especially if all measures are taken in the context of existing security technology – however, the necessary plans would be applied so that the accessibility in a website is not made difficult (Udo, 2001, 165); a first measure that need to be taken is to include in the website a warning regarding any attempted unauthorized entrance to corporate data or customers’ personal data (Zugelder et al., 2000, 253) – this warning would be included in a ‘terms and conditions’ option / button included in the website’s homepage. Of course, the development of security features and technologies in the context of the specific website should not lead to the decline of the website’s quality (Francis et al., 209, 450); however, failure to implement the necessary security technology would result to the firm’s justice – referring to the case of potential suits for damages; the suits of this type are quite common in the commercial practice; the specific issue is highlighted in the study of Park et al. (2008) where it is noted that ‘justice dimensions were found in the industrial sector, complaint settings, and desired compensation types’ (Park et al., 2008, 520) – the justice to which the above study refers to the claim for compensation for the damages caused through a commercial website. The technology used for the security of websites is differentiated in accordance with the website’s structure, the firm’s needs in terms of security, the type of transactions and the level of accessibility provided (Wen et al., 1998, 178, Urien et al., 2003, 105). In accordance with Hawkins et al. (2000, 131), ‘current technologies provide a number of ways to secure data transmission and storage, including encryption, firewalls, and private networks’. The system’s developer will decide on the security features that need to be included in a specific website. 3. Online presence of companies that operate in the tourism industry The design of the new website has been based on a series of criteria – as already explained above. The findings of studies on the effectiveness of the websites of firms that operate in the same industry has been taken into consideration in order to decide the new website’s structure and content. The findings related with the websites of competitors have been quite interesting. In the research of Loda et al. (2009) the persuasiveness of the websites of firms that operate in the tourism industry has been examined. It has been revealed that ‘information on fundamental elements such as accommodations and attractions has the most effect on message credibility, and on respondents' change in propensity to visit a destination’ (Loda et al., 2009, 70). In a similar study it was proved that ‘online travel companies are underperforming in terms of providing web service quality attributes that enhance customer satisfaction’ (Nusair et al., 2008, 4). Dutta et al. (2009) have examined the effectiveness of websites used by firms operating in the tourism industry (2009); their study has been based on the websites of hotels in India; it is revealed that ‘the web sites are assessed as to whether they are likely to attract and provide enough information to potential tourists’ (Dutta et al., 2009, 40). In another study the results of a survey conducted among international travelers in Hong Kong International Airport (Law et al., 2008, 388) have led to the following assumptions: ‘travel website users viewed quality factors important, and they were generally satisfied with travel websites; travel website quality factors were positively correlated to customer satisfaction, which in turn, was significantly correlated to purchase intention’ (Law et al., 2008, 388). In accordance with the above study, the development of effective website is a prerequisite for success in firms that operate in the travel and tourism industries; in fact, it has been proved that the appearance and the performance of a firm’s website is likely to affect the customers’ perception on the quality of services provided by the particular firm – thus, the investment made on the development of websites on firms that operate in the travel and tourism industries must be high as possible since it is expected to be paid back in a short period after the completion of the relevant project. 4. Promotional plan for the new website The establishment of the new website will be combined with the update of the firm’s corporate mission; customer service will be an issue of significant importance for all firm’s activities in the context of the study of Ingenhoff et al. (2009); this fact – as highlighted through the new website – is expected to influence positively the visitors of the website. At a next level, the promotion of the firm’s website will be developed primarily through the website – through the blog included in the website, as explained above; the blog is expected to help towards the increase of the firm’s customers – making clearer the firm’s mission and variety of services (Cho et al., 2009). One of the main priorities when promoting the firm’s new website would be to persuade customers on the quality of the firm’s services (Cabezudo et al., 2008, 393). The media and the press could be used in this context to promote the firm’s website; however, the Internet would be the major tool for informing the public on the new website – a relevant notion would be also included in the firm’s existing website. 5. Conclusion The development of a firm’s online presence has been proved to be the most effective measure for the increase of the firm’s customer base – i.e. the increase of its profitability. In this case, the website would be part of the firm’s marketing strategy (Lagrosen, 2005, 63) but it would be necessary for specific plans to be developed for the promotion of the website itself – in the context explained above. Following the common strategies and features would help avoiding the risk regarding the investment made on the development of a commercial website; however, if the website is not differentiated – including also unique elements – it cannot be expected to support the improvement of a firm’s performance (Flavian et al., 209, 168). In the case under examination, the development of a new website for Excess Tours Ltd would help towards the improvement of its communication with the customers, the increase of the volume of its sales and the improvement of its position in the market. Keeping the expenses – referring to the funds required for the completion of this project – within a specific limit and the time at the level set in the beginning of the project would be quite important in the specific initiative; the most important issue would be to address the business and the customer needs – as described in the project’s plan – and achieve a satisfactory level of performance; the success of the system will be evaluated not only in comparison with existing system but also with reference to the websites of the competitors; a high sales turnover by the end of the website’s first year of operation would be the most significant proof of its success. References Attaran, M., VanLaar, I. 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