How is E-Insurance in Developing Countries - Essay Example

28th March, E-Commerce Portfolio Assessment E-Banking E-Banking, also known as Online Banking and Internet Banking is a way to utilize the benefits of internet so as to conduct banking activities. Through online banking, one can manage his bank account through different ways which include; inquiry about balance, bill payment, viewing bank statement, applying for loans and credit cards etc. Due to lower amount of expense, online banks charge minimum service charges as compared to the physical banks. Numerous banks deliver the services in both forms; online as well as in tangible form for instance Great Western and Wells Fargo possess online as well as physical sites. Nowadays, there are many banks which deliver only online services and do not have physical existence. They include Virginia and Bank net in United Kingdom, Telebank in Arlington etc. online Banking has made financial life easy to manage. Some of the prominent functions of online banking include: i. Viewing Transactions ii. Payment of bills iii. Transferring funds to other accounts (Caldwell)  Increased services offered by online banks have triggered the market growth. According to International Data Corporation (IDC), in 1998 only 1,150 were offering online services but in 2003 approximately 15,845 banks have started to provide online banking services to their customers. It has made customers life easier than ever before. (Pastore) Despite of numerous advantages, online banking systems needs to be handled very carefully. A person after having done his transactions in public computer must erase the cookies for every session of transaction. Moreover, a person must also ensure that the password must not be so short that it can be hacked easily. Also, online banking information must not be revealed to anyone who is not an accredited signer of your account. Assessment 2 Role of e-commerce managers Source: (Scope of Ecommerce) The above diagram illustrates the role of managers in the field of e-commerce. First of all, managers have to set vision that needs to be achieved by the entire e-commerce organization. That vision needs to be communicated to the entire organization because if the vision is not communicated then there is no use of setting a vision. After setting up the vision, managers need to determine appropriate goals that will be required to attain so as to meet the demands of that vision. Without establishing appropriate goals, attainment of vision is not possible. After the goal has been set, managers need to formulate appropriate strategies for accomplishing that vision. Strategies need to be coherent with the vision and values of the organizations and must be made for long term. After crafting the strategies, there must be a careful and proper implementation of those strategies. Efforts of crafting strategies go in vain if they are not implemented as per the requirements. Therefore, it must be taken into account that while implementing strategies there is no loophole left. In e-commerce, there is huge risk of time, money, trust and reputation. Therefore, managers need to be very careful in implementing strategies. After the successful implementation of strategies, a proper check in balance needs to be done. For this reason, managers need to review the performance and results and must feel themselves accountable for any discrepancies. If any deviations arise, they need to take appropriate measure so as to resolve them ethically, logically and legally. Assessment 3 Barriers to e-Business adoption Despite of being the most cost effective and easy to use system, ecommerce brings certain barriers with itself which makes it a bit difficult to adopt and for this reason, for most of the entrepreneurs and customers, it is not the ideal way of doing business. According to the opponents of Ecommerce, there are some barriers which need to be eradicated for the successful implementation of ecommerce. These barriers include: IT Skills Literacy/ Training Trust/ Confidence Change in Business Processes Cultural Change (Mena) The above mentioned hurdles are faced by almost every other person who interacts with ecommerce in some way or other. These problems are further explained in subsequent paragraphs. I.T Skills Literacy / Training The most renowned service firm named as PricewaterhouseCooper (2001) found that lack of required training and skills related to the field of I.T is one of the biggest barriers for the placement of ecommerce in the consulting forms of United Kingdom. Confidence/ Trust Many privacy concerns arise from the fear of unknown. Most of the customers do not feel easy in revealing their personal information to the online companies. The basic reason for this are the several fraud and deceiving cases that have been taken place up till now. Change in Business Processes Ecommerce can bring changes in business processes. For that reason, companies would require to hire I.T specialist, internal trainer that will lead to increased costs. Cultural Change Before, implementing ecommerce facilities, certain changes in the behavior and attitudes of staff need to bring. Without the commitment, cooperation, skills and training of staff members, successful implementation of ecommerce software cannot be possible. Assessment 4 E-Airlines The emergence and revolution of internet in 1990s forced the airline sector to incorporate the technological innovations and the development of extranet and intranet so as to keep pace with the increased level of competitiveness. Airlines consider internet as the major tool to handle and grasp the opportunities about reengineering and distribution cost. In a recent survey, CEO of British Airways, Rod Eddington admitted that the airlines incur ?1.1 billion in distribution which is one of the major costs after labor and fuel. For this reason, airline industry considered it essential to establish a portal of distribution through internet. Airlines IT trend survey revealed that airlines perform fast with Internet Protocol based systems. Getting better control on cutting costs and getting closer to customers is one of the key benefits of internet on airline sector. In this way, every airline can enjoy the cost benefits and better business position. (Buhalis) Assessment 5 E-Insurance E-insurance can broadly be defined as the application and utilization of internet facilities and information technology for providing the services related to insurance. In this case, insurance policies are offered, solicited, contracted and negotiated online. While payment procedure, claim processes and policy delivery can be done online but technical and regulatory constraints does not allow the application of ecommerce in certain countries.(Romanov) E-Insurance is beneficial for customers because when the transaction is done directly online and it takes place between the insurance company and the customer then the additional cost of intermediary’s commission is reduced.For this reason, the additional income which is gained through the commission of intermediaries must be spent on marketing and online customer acquisition.This will help the existing customers in buying more insurance products and services and will enhance the product portfolio of the insurance company.(Banan) For companies operating online insurance must develop their website interface in such a way that customers find it appealing and reliable. For this regard, insurance companies should include the following components as an integral part of their web site: Insurance Education FAQ Financial and Corporate Information Insurance Products and Services Prices and Policies of Insurance Products and Services E-mail Help Desk Contact Information Agent Locators (Banan) The above mentioned options can help the customers in finding it easier to buy insurance from an online company. Apart from all these factors, the company must also possess strong market reputation so that customers can find and consider it as more reliable than others. Works Cited Banan, Mohammad Reza. "How is E-Insurance in Developing Countries?" Georgian Electronic Scientific Journal: Computer Science and Telecommunications, 5(22) (2009): 116-137. Print. Buhalis, Dimitrios. "eAirline: Strategic and Tactical use of ICT in Airline Industry." Information & Management, 41 (2004): 805-825. Print. Caldwell, Miriam. Three Advantages of Online Banking. n.d. Online. 27th March 2012. Mena, Guillermo Aranda. Barriers to E-Business Adoption. n.d. Web. 27th March 2012. Pastore, Michael. Future of Online Banking Bright. 1 June 1999. Online. 27th March 2012. Romanov, Clara. What is E-Insurance? n.d. Web. 27th March 2012. Scope of Ecommerce. n.d. Online. 27th March 2012. Read More