Case Study for Internet and E-Business - Assignment Example

? New Project_Case Study2 for Internet and E-Business_EN_#708186 Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 3 Different E-Business Models3 3.2 Model analysis with respect to revenue generation 4 3.3 E Business in the Upcoming Years 5 4.1 Elements of a good website design 5 4.2 Impact of a Well Designed Website 6 4.3 Advice on website usability 7 Conclusion 7 References 8 Introduction The current century is the era of globalization, where technology has advanced at a rapid pace as compared to that of the previous decade. Human interaction has been highly revolutionized due to this advancement of technology and through the evolution of various social networking platforms all around the world. Today’s consumers, more importantly, the younger generation are increasingly tech savvy and prefer to remain connected on a 24/7 basis to their online networking profiles through their smartphones and Ipads. This has led to the evolution of a new kind of business model where various services are delivered through the virtual platform. As a matter of fact, this has sponsored the establishment of virtual classroom where educational services can be offered to students located at various corners of the world and connected to the university through the internet. 3.1 Different E-Business Models The present e-Business environment has been catalyzed by the growth of the ecommerce concept since the early part of this century. The term “E-Business” essentially means the process of executing business operations as well as key business processes for any organization using the electronic medium or more effectively the internet media (Dave, 2002, p.14) Various organizations around the globe have essentially spent a considerable portion of their finances for the purpose of integration of technology in their key businesses processes through the usage of various advanced level business software suites. The favorable e-commerce environment has significantly contributed to the growth of various e-businesses like Amazon, eBay, Flipkart etc. in the last 10 years and thereby has contributed to the growth of various models of e-Business ranging from B2B, B2C, C2B and even C2C (Jackson, Harris and Eckersley, 2003, p 18). The B2C (Business to Consumer) model is the business model where organizations are the sellers or providers of services and the individual consumers are the buyers. The alignment of this business model with the internet has helped the companies to cater to consumers all around the globe. Since Oxenford Business College is increasingly trying to compete with other business colleges in terms of providing distance as well as online courses, hence, this model can help the college to generate large revenue by connecting to a global community of students. The B2B (Business to Business) model of business increasingly represents the process of conducting businesses between various large organizations, which are increasingly playing the roles of both the buyer and the seller as well. Oxenford Business College can simply take the benefits provided by this business model by the process of rendering online classes to a group of employees of an organization. 3.2 Model analysis with respect to revenue generation Talking in lines of revenue generation, it can be said that many large business organizations around the world implement the online version of the B2B and B2C business model through the application of intranets as well as extranets. This integration of technology in their business processes helps them to communicate and execute key business processes with their subsidiaries and consumers on a real time scenario. For the case of Oxenford Business College, it can be said that the online B2C model provides a huge prospect in terms of revenue generation. Through the rendering of online classes and course content, the college can provide educational services to global students. The college can provide the online services through a secured server and students all over the globe can simply access it by paying for the services through a secured gateway. This widens increases the revenue generation for the college as students all around the globe, irrespective of their geographical boundaries can simply access educational resources online by paying a certain fee. The B2B model can also be a very fruitful one in terms of revenue generation, yet a little limited as compared to the B2C model. By the B2B model, the college will be serving to only a niche market, as the students will mostly comprise of employees of an organization. Since this will be a case of bulk purchase from the organization’s point of view, the payments can be made by using the highly reliable online payment gateways. For better and higher revenue generation, a combination of both the B2B as well as B2C models needs to be implemented. 3.3 E Business in the Upcoming Years The main objective for businesses to integrate technology in their business processes is to provide customer convenience while maintaining simplicity and reliability of the services provided (Obaidat, Tsihrintzis and Filipe, 2010, p.10). The current trend in the e-businesses is towards the integration of social media as well mobile application in the daily business processes. The convenience of the consumers is greatly enhanced because of the mobile applications and related facilities that are provide by the ecommerce companies. As a result, it can be inferred that the wave of development for ebusiness in the upcoming five years is towards the development and delivery of online content and services through mobile applications. 4.1 Elements of a good website design A good website is the key to a success of the online courses in the global forum as it will be acting as the only window from the side of the Oxenford Business College to the outside world. A well designed website is the critical to the process of orientation of the college with the students on the online medium. (Gray and Zappala, 2006, p.203) The key to a good website includes simplicity in navigation as well as an enhanced and high quality visual appeal through the proper use of high quality pictures and aesthetic colors (Psaila, 2008, p.34). Proper organization of the website content is highly crucial as it will lead to ease of browsing for the students. The website needs to have direct links of its online library for the easy access of the students. Apart from that, it is also essential to have a separate login account and registration account directly integrated in the website so that students with authorized access can avail the online classes and resources while new students can register for the courses. The website also needs to have a secured gateway which will provide maximum protection to the students making the online payments. Also, it is highly crucial to have a live chat box embedded with the website of the college for the purpose of resolving of student issues online. . 4.2 Impact of a Well Designed Website A well designed website can be highly instrumental in creating a good image in the minds of the student as compared to a poorly designed one (Hall, Jones and Raffo, 2007, p.240). Poor website designing includes improper usage of colors and low quality pictures which will compromise on the visual appeal of the website. Also, in a lack of effort, the website designer can put half hearted efforts in terms of providing online security. Since Oxenford Business College is looking to render online services, it is of immense importance to have a high level of security in the website in order to prevent unwanted access by unauthorized persons. 4.3 Advice on website usability In order to maintain compatibility with various versions of the web browsers that will be accessing the website, the website has to be created while maintaining platform independence. Also, the online videos and resources have to be kept available in both high and low quality formats so that students with slow internet connections can avail the facilities at the same time. Conclusion On a concluding note, it can be said that the college can open a process for greater revenue generation through rendering online and distance learning services, while inculcating some significant changes in the website, which will act as the primary point of opportunity as service delivery. References Dave, C., 2002. E-Business and E-Commerce Management. 3rd Edition. India: Dorling Kindersley (India) Pvt. Ltd. Gray, C, & Zappala, S., 2006. Impact of E-commerce on Consumers And Small Firms. England: Ashgate Publishing Limited. Hall, D., Jones, R. & Raffo, C., 2007. Business Studies. 3rd Edition. India: Dorling Kindersley (India) Pvt. Ltd. Jackson, P., Harris, L., & Eckersley, P.M., 2003. E-Business Fundamentals. USA: Routledge. Obaidat, M.S., Tsihrintzis, G.A., & Filipe, J., 2010. E-Business and Telecommunications. New York: Springer- Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. Psaila, G., 2008. E-commerce and Web Technologies. New York: Springer- Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. Read More