Technological Advancement and Marketing - Essay Example

? The Impact of Technological Advancement in the Marketing and Sales Strategies of Senior Citizen Home Safety Association (NGO) Contents Introduction2 IT Solution in Literature: 3 The Technology and Functionality 4 Meeting Strategic Objective 5 Review 5 Conclusion 6 Self-Evaluation 6 References: 7 Appendix 8 Introduction The influence of the technological advancements seems to be part of the modern organization. The adoption of various organizations in technological features can be the advantage of the organization in order to perform the appropriate services and products for their target market. Senior Citizen Home Safety Association (SCHSA) is a non-profit NGO (non-governmental organization) in Hong Kong (http://www.schsa.org.hk/index_eng.html). SCHSA began operating to provide services for the elderly. The tremendous growth of technological advancement has become the driving force of the market nowadays. Due to the idea of completing the services for the elders, the organization also promote the kind of service marketing that can boost their competency and credibility in the market. The paper will discuss about the innovation is an important aspect of business and will affect the marketing and sales strategies of SCHSA. It will go through assessing the recent product/device that SCHSA promoted which is the MobileLink service. Furthermore, the discussion will be also focus on the functionality of the technology and if it’s capable in meeting the organization’s objectives. IT Solution in Literature: In today’s modern world, both information technology and society are co-evolving (Hearst and Grudin, 1999). From the last decade, there has been increasing trend towards adopting technology for social interaction in the society (Hearst and Grudin, 1999). It has been suggested that with the increased rate of IT adoption, it is imperative to understand how technology can be made sophisticated for our social interaction (Hearst and Grudin, 1999). It has been argued by Barry Wellman argues, any particular IT adopted by an organization has the capability to change the way people live and interact with one another (Hearst and Grudin, 1999). It is further highlighted that there is a shift in the way society is moving form a society which was more hierarchical into the one that bears no boundaries (Hearst and Grudin, 1999). The influence of the technological advancements seems to be part of the modern organization. The adoption of appropriate IT solutions impacts ability of an organization to achieve goals. the available literature argues that the development of information systems communication technologies (ICT) will impact the health care (Pegesy et al. 2002) In the modern-day organization, the core competencies do not only lie on the mission or vision and even the application of the organizational strategies. The technological advancement or for such the information technology solution has being part of the organization’s core competencies. Therefore, the IT solution that can be consider as part of the organization’s strategic management consists of the set of skills, experiences, and abilities that may represent the organization’s vision and mission. It has been argued by porter that the capabilities of the technologies might be part of the collective learning which are unique so this at it difficult for competitors to adopt. Senior Citizen Home Safety Association (SCHSA) is a non-profit NGO (non-governmental organization) in Hong Kong (http://www.schsa.org.hk/index_eng.html). SCHSA began operating to provide services for the elderly. The tremendous growth of technological advancement has become the driving force of the market nowadays. The NGO service delivery is provision of care (emotional care, mantle health care) to elderly. As a part of Citizen Home Safety Association’s strategy, the objectives that the NGO strives to achieve include care for aged above 60. The care they prove is broad in the sense that the NGO is continuously working for providing support on emotions, mental wellbeing and other general health care. The initial step taken by them is the personal emergency (PE) service provided to people in need. It is a 24 hour telephone service provided. The vision followed by the NGO is meeting daily needs of needy and developing and promoting welfare service of different types. It is considered imperative by the Citizen Home Safety Association to mobilize community by establishing volunteer networking and filling in the gap in society by best use of existing recourses (Association, 1994). Considering the case of senior citizen home safety association, they designed and implemented Mobile Link as one their services to achieve their objectives. The move made by SCHSA was in alignment with their vision of providing extra care to old, by coming up with innovative solutions. They came up with a hand held device called Mobile Link Service, which of one of its kind in Hong Kong. With the help of one buzzer, the needy get connected to the social care services. Hence, the development and implementation of such a technology in their organization, provides bases for evidence that the NGO adopted IT solution to the proving extra care (Association, 1995). The Technology and Functionality The current implementation of MobileLink in SCHSA might experience several problems and threats which includes the inefficiency of the services (MobileLink, 2009). As according to the case management flow of the organization, there are stages that the organization needs to accomplish to provide the positive outcome. The implementation of new IT platform will help the organization integrate its current services in the society. Thus, the new system will help to focus on scalability, flexibility and easy-to-use system which will help to handle different processes and flow of information and data inside the organization. The application of the technology aims to bridge the gap in the society. Through the R&D, the Personal Emergency Link Service (see figure 2 in appendix) and MobileLink Service (see figure 3 in appendix) to Safety Phone (see figure 4 in appendix) caters the needs of the elderly. This type of innovation means that the organization acknowledgement of the elders’ contribution in the society. From the in-depth understanding of the needs and lifestyles, the MobileLink is promoted as a device that is easy-to-understand, simple to use, and provides 24-hour support. In this way, there will be a continuous promotion of social inclusion with the technologies and services for the community (Lam, 2010). In collaboration with CSL Limited, SCHSA provide a sophisticated support for the elderly by the well developed network infrastructure. CSL provide total solution and support in technical aspects. See figure 1 “Network Diagram of SCHAS” as below. Figure 1: Network Diagram of SCHSA Source: CSL Limited Meeting Strategic Objective The IT improvement in the organization can quickly allow the new opportunities as well as coordinating and integrating the multiple production and technology processes to develop new products cheaper and quicker than competitors (Prahalad & Hamel, 2000). The SCHSA had an objective to make the senior citizens life to be more convenient therefore they used of MobileLink and its services is in a socially enhanced manner. Technology companies have the utmost significant progress in using core competencies to benefit society and this is proven by the MobileLink. Addressing the problems among the elderly particularly in their health is an inspiration in the entire SCHSA organization and accessing with the MobileLink made it possible for them to obtain the supply chain support and management services.. Review According to the successful stories taken from MobileLink website (http://www.mobilelink.hk/index.php?lang=en) the clients trust the device (MobileLink) because of the benefits that it can give to them. For some, they use the MobileLink as a guide for their transportation. Because of the flexibility and comes in handy features, the elderly in the society can have the feeling that they are really being taken care of. Conclusion The application of the technological advancement such as the MobileLink services in SCHSA shows competency and the ability of the organization to fulfill their objective in the society. The use of sophisticated software program is an in-demand approach in both public and private organization and as a non-government organization, SCHSA should have an identified supply chain and network in the electronic market such as call centers in order to serve more number of elders and emphasize more on the technological aspect and how it can bring advantage for both the users and the producers. The response from the technological advancements of MobileLink and the efforts of SCHSA are the important factors to make the application of the system be successful. Self-Evaluation To enhance the health of the elders, the device is important to be flexible. At this point, the product has its best attribute because the client can carry it anywhere with an assurance that the emergency can be called once it happened outside the home. The welfare services of the device are the result of the changing demands of the elders and have an increase in the lifestyle of the users. The launch of the MobileLink service is made to broaden the SCHSA services with an assurance that the assistance can be provided. The technological support of the MobileLink is strong because of its ability to connect the users to the control center. Since it is the first in the health care sectors of Hong Kong, the efficiency should be embodied as well as providing the maintenance services. The “easy use” feature of the device is a kind of technical support that might be appealing in the users. References: Hearst, M, and Grudin, J. (1999) "The Changing Relationship Between Information Technology and Society," IEEE Intelligent Systems, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 8-17, Jan./Feb. 1999, doi:10.1109/MIS.1999.10003 Lam, K., (2010) Mobile Link Service First Chinese Representative to Win Grand Prize from WSA-Mobile [Online] Available at: http://cwhkt-1010.com/en/pdf/2010/WSA_Mobile_Eng.pdf [Accessed 27 January 2011] Mobile Link, (2009) Mobile Link Service Wins Four Titles in Hong Kong ICT Awards [Online] Available at: http://www.hkcsl.com/en/pdf/2009/Mobile_Link_Service_Wins_Four_Titles_in_Hong_Kong_ICT_Awards%28ENG%29-with%20photos.pdf [Accessed 27 January 2011]. New Product - Mobile Link [Online] Available at: http://www.mobilelink.hk/index.php?lang=en [Accessed 27 January 2011]. Pagesy R, Soula G, Fieschi M, (2002) Enhancing a medical e-learning environment: the adaptive DI2@DEM approach.Stud Health Technol Inform. 2002;90:745-51. LERTIM, Faculte de Medecine, Universite de la Mediterranee, Marseille, France. Porter, M. E., (1990) The Competitive Advantage of Nations, Harvard Business Review, March-April Prahalad, C. K. & Hamel, G., (2000) The Core Competence of the Corporation, Transitional Management: Texts, Cases, and Readings in Cross-Border Management, McGraw-Hill Higher Education Press, 358-372. Senior Citizen Home Safety Association [Online] Available at: http://www.schsa.org.hk/index_eng.html [Accessed 27 January 2011]. Appendix The Main Unit The Remote Trigger Figure 2: The Personal Emergency Link Service Source: < http://www.schsa.org.hk/eng/service/pel.html> Figure 3: The MobileLink Service Source: Figure 4: Safety Phone Source: Read More