How IT Improves Business Transactions Today - Term Paper Example

How IT improves business transactions today Name Institution Contents Contents 2 Introduction 3 e-commerce 4 Online payment platforms 5 Social media impact on business 5 Technological marketing platforms 7 Customer anticipation 8 Online surveys 8 IT in production 9 Advantages of use if ICT in business 9 Conclusion 10 References 11 Introduction The rapid technological advancements in the world today have led to major changes in the way people conduct various affairs in their lives. Among the notable changes is the way that businesses conduct their transactions today. With the advent of the internet technology, most people in the world have found it easier to do business and commercial transactions over the internet platform. Today, many people operate through virtual offices, making and executing business transactions from the comfort of their homes. This has not only enabled many business transactions to move on fast but also acquire more clientele. Birchall & Giambona (2008) states that modern businesses have embraced the use of ICT as a way to survive the increasingly competitive business industry. Internet technology has enabled many people to start and run successful businesses across the globe. This paper seeks to conduct an investigation into how the use of ICT has contributed to the success and growth of many businesses across the globe. A conclusion that ties the various facets that will be discussed in this paper will be made at the end of the paper. e-commerce After the advent of internet technology, it has become practically possible for any person to have a business. There are thousands of businesses that operate virtually from online offices. With just a website, many people have managed to create a business for themselves and offer services to clients across the world (Gilaninia, 2012). E-commerce is the process of selling products through the use of internet technology. People conduct their transactions online through an online platform. Through this platform, they get the chance to meet through use of devices such as computers and other forms of information and communication technology (ICT) such as smartphones and other internet-enabled phones. Through online commerce, people get the chance to shop for various products from any country in the world. Technically, before the advent of internet technology, people only shopped what they could afford from the geographical locations where they were located. People did not have exposure to markets outside their countries. For this reason, they only shopped for products that they found in their home places. Now there is no limit to what one can shop and from where. With internet technology and e-commerce platforms, people can order products from thousands of miles away and the execution of the transaction is immediate. A good example of e-commerce is e-banking. E-banking is where the banks have offered their clients the facility to shop, transact and check their account balances online or through the use of smartphones. After they access their accounts, they are then able to wire the money to other accounts or even conduct shopping directly from these accounts. Other examples include the online shopping platforms e-bay and Amazon. These sites offers their users the capacity to meet and shop. When a seller posts a product, say furniture from China, a buyer in the USA is able to see this posting instantly and may bid or decide to buy the furniture outright. A conversation is engaged between the buyer and the seller and when the seller is satisfied of the price he has been offered, he asks the buyer to place his payment through an agreed mode of payment. This is done in an instant and the transaction is confirmed. The seller then ships out the product to the buyer in the USA. None of the two parties have to physically go to the physical location for the transaction. Everything happens through the use of e-commerce. Online payment platforms Online payment platforms are other avenues through which cash transactions may be conducted on online platforms. These online payment platforms offer their clients the ease and the speed of making and receiving payments for services rendered or products sold. For instance paypal enables the users to make and receive payments through online. The online payment service gives them the capacity to shop online. A small commission is charged by the paypal account for the services rendered. This is a very quick and efficient manner through which transactions are conducted online. There are other forms of payment options that are available online too. Social media impact on business Perhaps the platform that has had the major impact on business in the world today is the social media. With billions of people getting registered in these social media sites, this avenue has become a power hub business-wise. The power of the social media on business cannot be underestimated. Various businesses have harnessed the power of the social media to promote their businesses. For instance, they place advertisements on these platforms. Many people are able to access the information about the business and in the process become converted into clients. The wide exposure to a huge number of people makes the social media become a very key tool for advertisement for many businesses in the world today. There are a number of advantages that are associated with advertisements in the social media. One of the advantages is the capacity of the social media to have absolute and instant feedback about the company’s products and services. When a company places a product or a service as an advertisement, the response is immediate. The various users of the social media have the chance to discuss about the services of a particular company or the product of a company. This information can be tapped by the management of the company so that it may make strategic decisions pertaining to how people (Wymer & Regan, 2005). They are in a position to make decisions pertaining to customer satisfaction based on the responses they get from these users. Another advantage offered to them by the social media is that these platforms are vital avenues for launch of products. These avenues could be used to launch new products in the market or announce when a change is occurring. The social media can also be used as a basis for gathering information and ideas that could be turned into business. For instance, people discuss about what they want and the problems that they are faced with in their everyday lives. Companies and businessmen may then come out and try to solve these problems and in the process they finds that they have created a business opportunity. Technological marketing platforms The internet is prominent for its capacity to market products and services. There are numerous sites and numerous ways through which digital marketing can occur. The first way has been explored above in form of social media. Other ways include through the use of websites. When a company wishes to reach out to its clients, it creates a website for itself. This website is used to promote the services or the products that the company is engaged in. when a company has a website, it is easier for people to be able to access the services and products of this company as opposed to a company that does not have one (Sakellaridis & Stiakakis, 2012). This is what is termed as the digital marketing platform. There are other technological forms and devices that have been used by businesses to promote their products or services. These are the use of television and radios. Radios and TVs have been used for long time as tools for advertisements. The advantage associated with the usage of radios and TVs is the widespread geographical reach that these technological devices offer. When an advert is placed in a radio or a TV, the number of people who access this advert are many compared to the number of the people who use the internet. This is especially more useful in developing countries where the usage of radios and TVs is more prominent compared to the internet coverage. However, a disadvantage associated with these forms of advertisements is the lack of capacity of the two forms of advertisement to be able to establish the number of people who are the audience for these adverts. Using digital marketing, it is easier to track the number of people who make visits to various marketing sites. Customer anticipation Today, the increased competition has forced many companies to come up with ways and means of anticipating the demands of the clients. Once the demands of a client has been established, it becomes possible for these companies to come up with ideas to meet the demands of these clients. Online sources and digital marketing platforms are the best possible avenues for the collection of such form of information (Jones, 1960). When people discuss through the social media and other online platforms about how a certain product has either assisted them or otherwise, the company providing the product or the service is able to anticipate what these people need and adjust accordingly. Customer anticipation is a very critical concept in business today. Companies need to take up data pertaining to customers and anticipate the needs of these customers. This information makes it possible for the company to deliver products that are suited to the satisfaction of the client according to their description. Online surveys Another way through which technology has been used today to enhance business growth and development is through the collection of information pertaining to various issues in customer satisfaction and quality development. When a company needs to know the impact that the products and services have on the people who use them, they place online surveys. People visit their sites and take time to fill those surveys and through the feedback provided here, they are in a position to know exactly what the clients need and how they perceive the products that the company produces in comparison to the competition. IT in production Before the industrial revolution after world war II, many businesses in the world were operating largely on crude forms. Manual labor was the norm and the industries employed very many laborers. With the industrialization age and rapid technological advancements, there was a shift from the manual operations of the businesses to embracement of the technology in production. This has revolutionalised how production occurs in various industries. The increment in production capacities and the GDP in many countries has been attributes to the usage of technology in production. Advantages of use if ICT in business In a nutshell, various ICT devices have been found to have various advantages in their usage in business world today. There are notable advantages which can be associated with the usage of various technological devices. These advantages have been discussed in this segment. One of the advantage of using IT in business is that IT saves on time. When technology is applied in production, the costs involved in this are lowered. Machines shorten the time period taken to produce goods and increase the capacity of production (Mokaya, 2012). This has led to many companies employing lesser number of workers to assist them in production as before. The labor costs have decreased in proportion to usage of technology in production. When technology is applied in production, the standards of the finished products are quite high in comparison to when manual labor is used. This is because technology and machines are more consistent and efficient when compared to human beings. Human beings may have variations in quality of their products or even services. A machine is however programmed in such a manner that it offers consistency and efficiency at a lower cost. Machines are more effective because unlike human beings, they do not require breaks such as tea or lunch breaks unlike human beings. Some technological devices and platforms such as the usage of the internet are very cheap to use. The cost of advertising through the use of the internet technology is very minimal in comparison to the use of print media. Internet technology is used as tool of communication too. This has provided a very cheap and very widely used forms of communication tools. A good example here would be the use of video conferencing which is a platform that brings together different people from different locations in the world in one place for the conduct of business transactions. Conclusion The above discussion has shown how the use of technology has contributed to the growth and development of many businesses in the world today. Various forms of technology in business have been explored. These include usage of TVs and radios. Internet technology and the social media has also been identified as being among the most widely used forms of technology in business communication and marketing today. Technology has led to increased production capacities and reduction in the costs involved in the production. It has also been observed that technological advancements have led to enhancement of communication between various parties involved. Technological advancements have enhanced efficiency and the companies which engage in usage of these technological devices. References Birchall, DW & Giambona, G. (2008) ‘The impact of ICT on the work patterns of managers and their organisations’, EuroMed Journal of Business. 3(3):.244 – 262. Gilaninia et al (2012). ‘The Role of ICT in Performance of Small and Medium Enterprises.’ Interdisciplinary journal of contemporary research in business. 3(9): 833-838. Jones, GM. (1960). ‘Educators, Electrons and Business Models: A Problem in Synthesis’. Accounting Review, 35 (4):619-626. Mokaya, SB (2012). ‘The Adoption of Information and Communication Technology by Small Enterprises in Thika Municipality, Kenya’. International Journal of Business and Social Science. 3(13): 172-177. Sakellaridis, K & Stiakakis, E.(2012). ‘Business Model Change Due to ICT Integration: An Application to the Entertainment Industry’. International Journal of Computer Information Systems and Industrial Management Applications. 3: pp. 1-12. Wymer, S. A. & Regan, E. A. (2005). ‘Factors influencing e-commerce adoption and use by Small and medium businesses’. Electronic Markets, 15(4): 438-453. Read More

Other examples include the online shopping platforms e-bay and Amazon. These sites offers their users the capacity to meet and shop. When a seller posts a product, say furniture from China, a buyer in the USA is able to see this posting instantly and may bid or decide to buy the furniture outright. A conversation is engaged between the buyer and the seller and when the seller is satisfied of the price he has been offered, he asks the buyer to place his payment through an agreed mode of payment.

This is done in an instant and the transaction is confirmed. The seller then ships out the product to the buyer in the USA. None of the two parties have to physically go to the physical location for the transaction. Everything happens through the use of e-commerce. Online payment platforms Online payment platforms are other avenues through which cash transactions may be conducted on online platforms. These online payment platforms offer their clients the ease and the speed of making and receiving payments for services rendered or products sold.

For instance paypal enables the users to make and receive payments through online. The online payment service gives them the capacity to shop online. A small commission is charged by the paypal account for the services rendered. This is a very quick and efficient manner through which transactions are conducted online. There are other forms of payment options that are available online too. Social media impact on business Perhaps the platform that has had the major impact on business in the world today is the social media.

With billions of people getting registered in these social media sites, this avenue has become a power hub business-wise. The power of the social media on business cannot be underestimated. Various businesses have harnessed the power of the social media to promote their businesses. For instance, they place advertisements on these platforms. Many people are able to access the information about the business and in the process become converted into clients. The wide exposure to a huge number of people makes the social media become a very key tool for advertisement for many businesses in the world today.

There are a number of advantages that are associated with advertisements in the social media. One of the advantages is the capacity of the social media to have absolute and instant feedback about the company’s products and services. When a company places a product or a service as an advertisement, the response is immediate. The various users of the social media have the chance to discuss about the services of a particular company or the product of a company. This information can be tapped by the management of the company so that it may make strategic decisions pertaining to how people (Wymer & Regan, 2005).

They are in a position to make decisions pertaining to customer satisfaction based on the responses they get from these users. Another advantage offered to them by the social media is that these platforms are vital avenues for launch of products. These avenues could be used to launch new products in the market or announce when a change is occurring. The social media can also be used as a basis for gathering information and ideas that could be turned into business. For instance, people discuss about what they want and the problems that they are faced with in their everyday lives.

Companies and businessmen may then come out and try to solve these problems and in the process they finds that they have created a business opportunity. Technological marketing platforms The internet is prominent for its capacity to market products and services. There are numerous sites and numerous ways through which digital marketing can occur. The first way has been explored above in form of social media. Other ways include through the use of websites. When a company wishes to reach out to its clients, it creates a website for itself.

This website is used to promote the services or the products that the company is engaged in.

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