Internet and E-Business: Oxenford Business College - Assignment Example

?Internet and E-Business: A Case Study for Oxenford Business College This report investigates how Oxenford Business College could take advantage of e-commerce in expanding their business. The report is divided into two sections: the first was about e-commerce and online learning and was written for the management while the second was the technical part addressed to the concerns of the IT administrator. 1.1 E-Business Environment E-commerce is the current business trend today. Or, rather, it is considered a critical component in business strategies in order to survive a highly competitive and integrated global market wherein goods and services sold are facilitated by numerous globalizing factors. According to Bentrum and Whatley (2002, p.8), “it is safe to safe to say that in the not-too-distant future, most business will be e-business in one form or another.” They pointed out that after the dot.com bubble during the 1990s, the resurgence of e-commerce is driven by the entry of traditional businesses. In a report, for instance, by Jupiter Media Metrix, 8 out of 10 fastest growing retail sites on the Internet are traditional companies, a development seen largely because an increasing number of consumers and business operators rely on the Internet to improve their positions in the market (Bentrum and Whatley, p.8). 1.2. Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Learning for Oxenford Business College Online learning is an opportunity for the organization. Today, more and more people turn to the online education platform because it is extremely convenient and it offers consumers a high degree of flexibility in terms of accessing content as well as on-demand and real-time time instruction anytime and from anywhere. According to Aukrust (2011, p.148), some advantages include: The increase in the availability of learning experiences for learners who cannot or choose not to attend traditional face-to-face learning environment; The development and dissemination of instructional content are more cost-efficient; The capacity it provides instructors to handle more students, while maintaining a high quality learning outcome that is comparable to the traditional learning environment. The amount of challenges involved in online learning is quite small especially when compared to its advantages. And these are mainly dominated by the limited degree of socialization for students as well as technological challenges involved such as Internet bandwidth or the difficulty experienced by students adjusting in the highly technical learning environment. 1.3. Importance of Security and legislation There are two important issues that OBC must be aware of so that they could effectively be addressed: security and legislation. Security is important because the online learning is first and foremost an e-commerce website. OBC must ensure that the transactions are secure not just to ascertain that payment mechanisms are not circumvented but also to maintain the trust of consumers, which is vital in any e-commerce website’s success. Russell (2001, p.220) maintained that organizations engaged in e-commerce must develop a security policy that can be used as a tool to assist with the creation and implementation and configuration of technical tools such as firewalls and intrusion detection systems, among others. OBC must also be aware of relevant legislations both on the state and federal levels because these cover the governmental regulatory policies that cover areas such as funding, curriculum, teacher qualification and evaluation, accountability for student achievement, quality assurance, equity and access, among other enabling policies (Moore, 2007, p.164). 1.4. Potential Mode of Learning The following online learning models could be the basis of Oxenford Business College in its desire to build an online learning website: Learning models using asynchronous communication tools such as email, information resource access and threaded discussion boards, wherein users contribute and access information at their convenience; Models that use synchronous communication tools such as video and audio conferencing, chat rooms, webcasting and other audio and video technologies (Aukrust, p.148). Oxenford Business College can design its own application using one or a combination of these models and integrate it with the basic components of its e-commerce website. It can be in the form of a software package known as learning management system (LMS) or what others call as course management system (CMS), which allows schools to manage and control the distribution of materials, create content, establish communication systems and manage other aspects of instructions (Wan, 2011, p.206). 2.1. Internet Technology Simply put, the Internet or Internet technology is the network of millions of computers around the world, open for its users, which allows them to communicate and interact using various Internet tools 24 hours every day. A computer directly connected to the Internet is defined with a distinctive dual number known as the IP Address, which came to be modified in a more simple system of Internet address known as Domain. The Internet technology itself is composed of several other technologies, resources and services. The most important of which is the World Wide Web. Also more popularly known as the Web, it is consisted of hypertext documents interconnected in a system wherein content and information can be accessed through the web browser. Such access is made possible by the Hypertext Markup Language or HTML. A web browser cannot understand and, therefore, display, the information or content supplied unless it is written in this language. Using a system of codes, web designers employ tags to interpret a content of a specific webpage. 2.2. IT administrator HTML Capability It is important for an IT administrator to be familiar with HTML because it is crucial in managing and modifying a website. In the case of OBC’s plan for an online education platform, it is much more imperative for the IT administrator to know about the language so he is knowledgeable in maintaining the security, stability and trustworthiness of the system. It is important to remember that HTML defines how Web page elements are formatted and organized using predefined codes (Shelley, Napier and Rivers, 2008, p.25). Even when he has his web developers to develop these HTML codes, an understanding of the concept can help him better manage and control the platform. 2.3. Client servers, browsers and search engines Through the years, the Internet technology has increasingly become sophisticated. New web applications emerged that empowered web and IT administrators to better develop and maintain efficient and satisfactory web experience for their users. Client servers, browsers and search engines are excellent examples. Client servers pertain to all the application data stored in a back-end server that specializes in query processing and data management such as SQL Server or Oracle (Barker, 2001, p.742). An understanding of this technology can help IT administrators to ensure security and efficiency in management and use of data. Internet browsers are software applications used to access data in the World Wide Web (i.e. Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome). The OBC IT administrator must be familiar with these applications because not all of these browsers are the same and can support the elements and features of a particular website. Knowledge of each of their specifications can help the administrator to address problems arising from incompatibility issues both on the user end and in the administrative side. Search engines are popular Internet tools designed to find specific information in the web. They are distinguished from web directories by the fact that they use a mechanism or algorithm that allows the provision of real-time information every time a search is conducted. An understanding of how search engines work can help IT administrators better design and position their websites so that they are listed in its search results and, hence, become more accessible to potential users. 2.4. Intranet and Extranet Intranet and Extranet are two more Internet solutions that will prove to be beneficial to OBC if adopted. Intranet is an internal corporate network designed using the Internet so that a specific group of people could gain access to information (Stair and Reynolds, p.300). Meanwhile, an extranet is the network that links specific and selected resources or content of the intranet with the company’s customers, suppliers or other stakeholders given authority to access the network (Stair and Reynolds, 2009, p.300). Both of these networks are crucial components of the online education website for OBC. They provide the answer in terms of limiting user access to information and content. What this means is that all the participants in the online learning including administrators, employees, lecturers and students are given different levels of authority of access using these tools. All in all, it is clear that adopting e-commerce is the next logical step for OBC. It is imperative, hence, for the organization to take the necessary steps in integrating the technology in its overall business strategy. There are many opportunities waiting to be taken advantage of and there are also several challenges that must be addressed. References Aukrust, V., 2011. Learning and Cognition. Oxford: Elsevier. Barker, F., 2001. F. Scott Barker's Access 2002 Power Programming. Indianapolis: Sams Publishing. Bentrum, J. & Whatley, J., 2002. Building E-Commerce Sites in the .Net Framework. Indianapolis: Sams Publishing. Moore, M., 2007. Handbook of Distance Education. London: Routledge. Russell, R., 2001. Hack Proofing Your E-Commerce Site: The Only Way to Stop a Hacker Is to Think Like One. Oxford: Elsevier. Shelley, G., Napier, A., & Rivers, O.,2008. Web Design: Introductory Concepts and Techniques. New York: Cengage Learning. Stair, R. & Reynolds, G., 2009. Principles of Information Systems. New York: Cengage Learning. Wan, G., 2011. Bringing Schools Into the 21st Century. Berlin: Springer. Read More