The contemporary issue of technology Essay Example for Free

The contemporary issue of technology Essay Buddhism is an ever-growing religion with approximately 350 million adherents worldwide, prominently found in Thailand, Indo-China, Burma, and Sri Lanka[1]. The word â€Å"Buddhism† comes from â€Å"Budhi† which literally means ‘to awaken’. This essentially makes up the basis for the belief system as it originated when Siddhartha Gautama, an Indian prince commonly known as Buddha, was himself awakened during his lifetime. It is every adherent’s goal in life to reach this same state of enlightenment, or nirvana. Not only is Buddhism a religion, it is often a way of life for many Buddhists[2]. Buddhism is a traditionalistic religion containing aspects that remain constant over time but is also highly adaptable and advances with current global progressions and issues. Many aspects of the belief system represent notions of continuity and change including gender roles, sacred places and scripts and the contemporary issue of technology. Buddhism has been subject to both aspects of continuity and change almost from the time the religion originated. This was clearly highlighted in the role and acceptance of dissent in the belief system in 383BC. This was after Buddha’s death in a time known as the Second Council where a large change occurred and the significant split into two variants of the religion occurred. This was due to arising conflicting interpretations of Buddha’s teachings and the meaning behind them. The Buddhist movement divided into the Theravada (Teaching of the Elders), also known as Hinayana (small vessel), and the Mahayana (large vessel) movements. This division essentially arose from disagreements over matters of practice and doctrine. The most significant different between the two variants is the belief of the Theravadans that Buddha is a fully enlightened human teacher whilst the Mahayana’s developed a transcendental view of him. The Mahayana concept welcomes the idea of worship of a divine grace rather than the attainment of enlightenment through practice[3]. As well as this, there is also the slightly smaller Vajrayana variant, most prominent in Tibet. This variant is known as Tantric Buddhism, referring to the application of Buddha’s teachings in regards to unique explanations and meditation techniques used by Vajrayana Buddhists[4]. Gender roles in Buddhism have been subject to much change over time. At the time Buddha lived, women were placed in a domestic sphere, essentially denying them of authoritative positions. Women were expected to care for the family and men to provide for the family[5]. Siddhartha himself was not always accepting of women entering the monastery. His attitude solely changed when his closest disciple, Ananda, used the traditional Buddhist value of impermanence as a way to demonstrate how the position of women at the time should not necessarily remain this way. From this resulted the allowance of women into the sangha through acculturation. Despite the ordination of women into the sangha as well as the Buddhist belief that both males and females are equal is however not necessarily the case in practice[6]. For example, In Theravada, a conscious effort is made to follow the Buddhas lifestyle as closely as possible as outlined in Vinaya[7]. However, this can be viewed as merely a matter of culture. In many Buddhist communities it is often normal for a man to have more authority over a woman. This was the restraint women felt for a long time until recent westernisation and modernisation. Through globalisation and the emergence of Buddhism into western nations, the status of women is now changing in many countries, even traditionally Buddhist ones. There is an acceptance that western women are no longer subservient as well as the equal address of both genders in recent teachings and books[8]. Western women have even had the ability to influence powerful figures including the Dalai Lama to support women’s spiritual practice and leadership[9]. Gender roles in Buddhism are quite obviously changing over time, at a slow but steady pace. In a world where gender stereotypes are slowly but surely becoming a thing of the past, women Buddhists, from westernised countries or not, will become more aware of the patriarchal society they live in and inevitably push for equal gender status. Although, one aspect that may pose a setback to equal gender status is the fact that nuns must still serve the monks and cannot run services and have different roles in the monastery[10]. Although this slightly traditional notion continues, Buddhist communities are consciously making an effort to live out the Buddhist teaching that says both women and men are equal. In the Vajrayana variant there are many female Buddhas and bodhisattva including Green Tara, Kuan Yin and prajnaparamita who represents the mother of all Buddha’s as she is the anicca[11]. As well as this, the rapid increase of the religion, most notably in Australia, will undoubtedly create an incline in discussion of gender issues as it is a nation based on equality and multiculturalism. Buddhist sacred places and scripts are a highly traditional and continual aspect of the religion. Despite the split into separate variants of Buddhism, the message of Buddha remains the same for all. Initially the teachings of Buddha were passed down through oral tradition although as time progressed the four major councils formed the sangha and dharma consistent in practice and doctrine and had them form a written canon, the Tipitaka[12]. This text has not changed in any way since 250BCE and continues to be the foundation of all Buddhist communities. This is one of only a few things that have remained constant despite divergence and change within the religion. As time progressed, the Mahayana variant also created sacred texts, usually attributed to bodhisattva. These texts held a great amount of authority as they were held in likeness to the words of Buddha himself. These texts are an essential part of Buddhism as they are used in important activities and rituals that remain constant with tradition over time. The main story in the Buddhist tradition is the legend of the Buddha’s life and his search for enlightenment. This places high sacred significance on the location of Bodh Gaya and the Bodhi tree found there, where it is said Siddhartha found enlightenment and became Buddha. There are also many types of Buddhist shrines or temples visited by both monks/nuns and lay people for meditation and ritualistic purposes. Shrines often contain symbolic objects, helping one to keep in mind the ‘Four Noble Truths’ and the ‘Noble Eightfold Path’[13]. The continuous nature of the sacred texts and places visited can be expected to remain so in the near and distant future. In Australia; Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrana all assume the traditional practice and observation of the sacred texts and places. Being a western culture, this is highly significant as it is the one aspect of the religion that remains constant and traditional in a diverse culture. This is also the case with other western nations as well as the traditional Buddhist locations. Contemporary issues have arisen relatively recently within Buddhism with the continual advancement of technology in today’s society. Due to Buddhism’s highly adaptable nature, it is becoming more welcoming of the world’s technological advances. Global communications such as the internet are now allowing for readily available and easily accessible information including Buddhist sacred texts. This allows for people from around the globe being able to access and translate texts at their own ease and from the comfort of their own home. Buddhists view technology in a varied light[14]. On one hand, the consumption of technology causes problems geared to feeding greed, hatred, and delusion. On the other hand, ‘constructive’ technology is beginning to be adapted to, within the constraints of three principles; technology which is moderate, technology which is used for creating benefit and technology which serves to develop understanding and improve the human being[15]. Essentially, the basic traditional principles of Buddhism are maintained through the safe, beneficial and constructive implementation and use of modern equipment. Technology is inevitably an ever-growing facet of today’s society. Buddhism is learning to adapt to such changes. As Buddhists accept technology that does not harm sentient beings, it is having a significant influence in the western world. Buddhism is now the fastest growing religion in Australia. From 1991-2006 there was a 109.6% increase in adherents in Australia, making up 2.1% of the total population[16]. Much of this is reliant on the introduction of technology in Buddhism resulting in bringing people together through the communication devices such as the internet. Not only is this affecting Australians, it is evident throughout the world. As Buddhism is introducing more technology into their practices, information is readily accessible to millions of people worldwide. This allows for a greater knowledge and acceptance of Buddhism and so expansion of the religion will inevitably occur on a large scale. Buddhism is now ranked the fourth largest belief system in the world and will undoubtedly continue to rise. In summation, Buddhism is embarking on a continual journey of adaptation to changing cultures and climates. With this comes the continuation of traditional aspects as well as applying these in ways to suit the consensus of different cultures, most notably western. Many influencing factors attribute to the continuity and change of Buddhism including gender roles, sacred places and scripts and contemporary issues. Each of these play a fundamental role in underpinning the belief system in contemporary society and the religion will inevitability continue to change given its highly adaptable nature. ________________ [1] Buddhanet, 2012, Buddha Dharma Education Association Inc., global, http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/history/bud_statwrld.htm [2] Buddhanet, 2012, Buddha Dharma Education Association Inc., global, http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/5minbud.htm [3] Buddhism’s Impact and Appeal in the West, Culturescope Volume 79, April 2006 [4] Vajrayana Institute, 2012, Vajrayana Buddhism, Australia, http://www.vajrayana.com.au/index.php?option=com_contentview=categorylayout=blogid=56Itemid=81 [5] Buddhism’s Impact and Appeal in the West, Culturescope Volume 79, April 2006 [6] TSC Learning, 2012, TSC Learning Inc., Australia, http://www.tsclearning.catholic.edu.au/groups/societyculture/weblog/2953c/Belief_System__Buddhism__Gender_Roles.html [7] Buddhanet, 2012, Buddha Dharma Education Association Inc., global, http://www.buddhanet.net/ftp07.htm [8] Buddhism’s Impact and Appeal in the West, Culturescope Volume 79, April 2006 [9] Buddhanet, 2012, Buddha Dharma Education Association Inc., global, Buddhanet.com [10] Enabling Organisation, 2012, BSQ Tracts on Buddhism No.7, http://www.enabling.org/ia/vipassana/Archive/D/DeSilva/WomenInBuddhism/womenInBuddhismSwarnaDeSilva.html [11] Vajrayana Institute, 2012, Vajrayana Buddhism, Australia, http://www.vajrayana.com.au/index.php?option=com_contentview=categorylayout=blogid=56Itemid=81 [12] Buddhism’s Impact and Appeal in the West, Culturescope Volume 79, April 2006 [13] Buddhism’s Impact and Appeal in the West, Culturescope Volume 79, April 2006 [14] Buddhism’s Impact and Appeal in the West, Culturescope Volume 79, April 2006 [15] Buddhanet, 2012, Buddha Dharma Education Association Inc., global, Buddhanet.com [16] Buddhism Australia, 2012, Census date from ABS, Australia, http://www.buddhismaustralia.org/census2001.htm

Its Time for Education Reform :: Education Reform Essays

  In "Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction," Ralph Tyler stated that we should determine what our children need to learn through analysis of contemporary society (1949). I argue further that we must teach beyond today's situation to prepare our students for an uncertain future. All things considered, students' minimal exposure to technology in schools is mystifying. How can we prepare our students for tomorrow's world when we continue to teach with methods and materials from yesterday? My early experiences as a teacher and in my Master's degree program have inspired me to work to integrate technology into the inquiry and constructivist models of science education. I have proven the value of both my instruction methods and curriculum design abilities in my own Biology classroom, at conferences, and while working with other teachers; however, I find the change I initiate to be frustratingly localized. I want to assume a leadership role outside of the classroom so that my ef forts will influence more teachers and students and, perhaps, make a difference on policy and practice in science education.    Computers naturally engage students, so we must embrace and exploit this powerful bond as a means to serve our goals as educators. Yet throughout my experience in educational settings, the role of technology seems to have been reduced to a flashy, colorful way of reinforcing ineffective and outdated teaching strategies. I have focused my talents as a teacher and curriculum designer on the role of technology in the science classroom. I initiated this work during my Master's degree program, which was focused on technology in education, and began to adapt various computer programs and other devices to my Biology curriculum. During my first year of teaching I worked to bridge the gap between such technologies and my constructivist ideology, not only in Biology but also in Earth Science. I knew that if these amazing resources were to advance the mission of science education, they would have to work with the model, not against it.    Through research programs, curriculum development, and specialized training, I have excelled at the integration of multiple forms of technology with research-supported methods of science instruction. In the summer of 2001, I participated in the E-2020 program, affiliated with the University of Colorado at Denver, which matches teachers with scientists for summer research accompanied by workshops in inquiry instruction. My research took place in the Surface Optical Spectroscopy Laboratory at the Colorado School of Mines, where I learned to perform Raman Scattering.

Digital Business Environment

Introduction The scientists who developed the Internet probably did not realise their invention completely changed our world today. From how people communicating, connecting with social network, to how and where people work, Internet is now affecting our daily life in every dimension. Internet still and will continue change our life and behavior, according to data, nearly a third of world population are Internet user, and this number is still growing at an unprecedented speed (IWC, 2012).Internet affects almost every aspect of people daily activities, thanks to the Internet, people can virtually shopping without going out and get their items delivered to the doorstep in a matter of days. Information is now much more accessible over the Internet, people can share their life using blogging, and not to mention that business world has expanded to a whole new dimension. Company or individual can now target a much more wide consumers around the world. As much as the Internet has changed ou r personal lives, the business world has revolutionsied almost beyond recognition since the Internet era.Jeremy (2011) states the rise of Internet and other technologies is the start of Third Industrial Revolution. Although there is still ongoing debates about this theory, that the Internet has changed the face and pace of our modern business world. Hosted on the server, accessed using the Internet, the website or simply known as the site or web page, is one of the fundamental elements that forms the Internet we use today. It is also the most common way that a company or individual promote and conduct their business.This paper will thoroughly analyse and discuses a chosen website, the purpose is to take an insight to the digital business environment. Terms such as E-commerce, and CRM (Customer Relationship Management) will be mention and discuss. The technical details of how to build and maintain a website will not be discussed in this article. Overview The website chosen in this pa per is Oki-ni, before further analyse the company and the website, it is essential to understand some of the basic about website.Organised by function, a website may fall into one of these catalogue (Yuan, 2005) * A personal website, e. g. blogging * A commercial website, e. g. company website, such as Microsoft, Apple * A government website, e. g. NASA website, City Council website * A nonprofit organisation website, Greenpeace, or RedCross website According to this catalogue, Oki-ni is a commercial website. Another terms that need to understand is Electronic commerce, or commonly known as E-commerce. There are many different definition of E-commerce from different perspectives in different discipline.Mamta (2005) summarised that E-commerce is the process of buying and selling or exchanging of products, services and information via telecommunication and computer networks including Internet. Mamta (2005) further generalised that based on the types of parties (business, consumer, etc ) involved, E-commerce may be of the following types: * Business-to-Business (B2B) * Bsuiness-to-Consumer (B2C) * Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C) * Consumer-to-Business (C2B) * Intrabusiness Based on that definition, Oki-ni is a B2C type of E-commerce, different from other B2C website, the Britain based company focused on high-end menswear.The name originated from a Japanese dialect, means ‘Hello’, Oki-ni was created to work with established brands and progressive designers, to offer innovative products to knowledgeable fashion consumers. In another words, Oki-ni sells more than clothing, but a life-style. The company also collaborated with other fashion brands such as Paul Smith, Adidas, to produce unique pieces. This paper will focus itself on evaluating the use and implementation of digital information system on the chosen website, applications on the website will be paid extra attention and thoroughly analyse, such as inventory system, newsletter, multimedia applications .Furthermore, the OVP (Online Value Proposition), Online revenue models and other factors will be critically reviewed. Using researcher’s extensive knowledge, the concept and application of CRM on the website will be analyse. Lastly, researcher will proposed some recommendations to improve the website followed by the digital business strategy. Analyse of The Website For E-commerce site, the primary purpose is to sell. However, most online retailers fell to the wrong direction when even building their website.They spent heavily on how to attract more visitors to the site and simply forgot what is the point if the consumer visited the site but not buying anything. There may be many factors that contribute and affecting consumers’ buying behavior, but the inappropriate implementation of information system is more often seen in business operation. Customer cannot locate the item they want, or found themselves cannot checkout with the system, modern information technology b rings a great convenient, however, sometimes it can be chaos without properly used.For an enterprise, it is critically important to aware its organisational goals and objectives as well as the implementation of information system. (Mehdi, 2006) For the company of Oki-ni, the website serve the purpose of sales and providing customer service. Thus, the inventory information and customer information are vital to the company’s lifeline. Furthermore, to provide an enhanced online shopping experience, the supply chain management, online information security, and multimedia interactive applications are equally important. Inventory ManagementWhen running an E-commerce, it is very easy to get caught up in other aspects and neglect the importance of inventory management. Ritendra (2008) emphasis that its crucial to run inventory management effectively for the business to be profitably. For Oki-ni, there are thousands of items and new items in stock everyday, how to manage it efficientl y become vital to the company, what’s more, it has two layers of meaning. Firstly, for the staff, effective inventory system should allow them to locate specific item easily, and overview the whole inventory to see which items are running low on stock, and which are the best selling.Secondly, for customer, the inventory system should provide an easy accessible. Oki-ni website provide a simply and minimalism searching interface for the customer, customer can search the items they looking for by their preferable method, such as, using keywords, sort it by color, price range, sizing, or different part of garment, or using alphabet-order brand list. On the top page of Oki-ni site, customer can easily find new arrivals or discount information. Customer Information Comparing with tradition in-store shopping, online retailer has the advantage on tracking, storing and anaylsing customer data.Oki-ni gathering customer information by encouraging customer registered with their e-mail ad dress. By using these e-mail addresses with the concerns of customer, Oki-ni sends out newsletters to customer. Newsletters are an effective way to build goodwill and keep in touch with potential customer (Janice, 2004). Customer received promotion, new arrivals and other information from the website. When comes to place order, for security and privacy concern, the company only takes the minimum information that required for delivering, such as address, telephone number.Internet is an ever-changing, competitive-intensive environment, the recently raise of new social network drew a lot attention. As a company aiming itself not only sales, but to promote a lifestyle, Oki-ni has extended its content to other different social-network, such as Facebook, Google+, and Twitter, customer can find sales information, new product on these social network. Also, Oki-ni can gather customer information on other platforms, it’s a win-win situations. Multimedia InteractiveOne of the major adva ntages of E-commerce comparing traditional retailing is convenience; customer can search for product and compare it, finally checkout in a short amount of time by just clicking the mouse, however, E-commerce has deprived its users of the reality (Vincent & Franck, 2004). Material color, texture, tactile impression, those physical details cannot be display or feel by the two-dimensional images and texts on a computer screen. Most people have on-line shopping experiences have those situations that sometimes the products they received are different from their expectations.In order to provide better shopping experiences, Oki-ni provide an enhanced multimedia interface. In every product description page, the website provides high-resolution photos of the products, customer can click zoom-in to see the details of the texture, and a short video to demonstrate the product. For music product, such as CD, preview services are provided. Critical Review In this part, the website’s OVP (O nline Value Proposition), ORM (Online Revenue Model) and target audience will be critically reviewed. Online Value Proposition What’s the Online Value Proposition?It is a statement of the benefits of e-commerce services that ideally should not be available in competitor offerings of offline offerings (David, 2006). Michael & Susan (2012) further states that in an E-commerce context the differential advantage and positioning can be clarified and communicated by developing an online value proposition. Simply speaking, OVP is the USP of the brand or the website, a strong OVP is a crucial way to attract new visitors into the site and decided to stay or leave, the decisions often made in minutes or even in seconds.Developing an OVP, involves: * Developing messages that reinforce core brand proposition and credibility * Communicate what a visitor can get from an online brand that other competitors can not offer or they cannot get offline (Micheal & Susan, 2012) Translate these theo ries into simply language, a good OVP should answer the questions ‘Why am I here? ’ ‘Does this site offer me what I need? ’ In the digital business environment, the competition is much fierce and intensive then ever before. How to stand out from the crowd in a matters of seconds when visitor first open the site become vital to success.There a great numbers of online clothing retailer, from high-street brand, such as Topshop, ASOS, to luxury brand, e. g. Net-a-porter, Browns. Being good is not enough to win the competition, a good OVP is essential for Oki-ni to survive in the competition. More than ten years passed the establishment of Oki-ni, the website is still focusing on menswear, more specifically, they aiming to discover and break the most inspiring brands and products available, while hosting them in an rich, inspiring and innovative environment. The home page of Oki-ni featuring a simplicity style filled with inspiration contents.Existing customer c an easily find what they want in a few clicks; in the meanwhile the video and music can attract the attention of new customer. The website keep updating its FEATURES section with vibrant and forward-thinking videos and music. There is no differentiated of so call ‘high-street’ or ‘luxury’ on Oki-ni’s product, customer can find shorts cost 20 pounds to a coat valued a few hundreds. But there is one thing in common, all product were carefully selected. Featuring more than cloth, customer can also buy books, CDs on the website.In order to keep a fresh look, Oki-ni redesign the website every six month, from layout to the content. To sum up, Oki-ni’s strong OVP is that they not only sell cloth, but the promote an innovation life-style. Online Revenue Model In the article, Business Models on the Web by professor Micheal Rappa (2006). He suggests that ‘business models are perhaps the most discussed and least understood aspect of the web. â€⠄¢ In this regards, he summarised the business model into the following * Brokerage * Advertising * Informediary * Merchant * Manufacturer * Affiliate Community * Subscription * Utility The revenue model may be different in these business model, some website get paid by doing advertising, some website generated income by subscription. In the case of Oki-ni, the revenue model is easy to identify, the company produce service and sell it to customer. When the revenues from sales exceed the operational cost, then the company gets profit. Comparing to store retailer, the website is relatively easier to operate. No rent, less labor cost, means the website can provide a much more competitive price than physical store.However, on the other hand, the maintaining of website post a great challenge to the company. Target Audience The company target a niche market of luxury product segment. Focusing on menswear only, the website sells a wide range of product from selective clothing line from Jap an, Italy, to limited edition CDs. There is no particular age range on the Oki-ni’s customers, the company targeting a small group who required a innovated and forward-thinking life-style, and willing to the pay a premium price for that.Customer Relationship Management The term of CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is now much more frequently seen in the E-commerce article, what’s CRM? The followings are different CRM definitions by scholars CRM involves various different elements, which includes customer-prospecting, relationship with customers; interact between customer and business, understanding customer expectations, empowerment, partnerships, and personalisation, and son on. (Fjermestad & Romano, 2006).CRM is an enterprise approach to understanding and influencing behavior through meaningful communication in order to improve customer acquisition, customer retention, customer loyalty, and customer profitability. (Swift, 2006) So far, there is no universally ac cepted definition of CRM. It not a software or a service, it is an overall business strategy. Shanmugasundaram (n. d) identified that the three main components in CRM system, namely * Operational * Analytical * Collaborative Nowadays, not only global companies seeking helps from CRM, more and more SMEs (Small and Medium Size Enterprise) were implemented with CRMs.Oki-ni is no exceptional, the company used the first hand data not only to promote its product, but to provide a better service. From time to time, Newsletters were sent to customer, the content of those newsletters were not just about product information. Featuring styling tips, or invitations to special events, the company always try to encourage customer come to visitor site. Recommendation Running an E-commerce is far more complicated than just setting up a website, other than the business and the customer, it involves many their parties, such as vendor, supply chain, banking.Researcher found a rather interesting phenom enal when customer rated Oki-ni’s service, some customer give top rate on both delivery speed and money transaction. However, on the other hand, some customer extremely disappointed on their service quoted ‘the clothes arrived and were excellent although delivery is very slow’ (Ciao, 2007). The inconsistence performance may due to the delivery company and Oki-ni should try to avoid in the future. Moreover, there is more potential of the CRM waiting to be discovered. Oki-ni using CRM mainly on providing customer ervice and promoting products, CRM is much more than customer service, researcher suggest the company analyse the customer’s shopping behavior, such as what kind of brand they like the most, how frequently they shopped on the site, etc. to improve customer shopping experience. The company can also use the data to collaborative with other parties, such as bank, to improve online payment security, or delivery company, to improve performance. Lastly, t he competition of digital business environment is much more intensive than ever before.The OVP (Online Value Proposition) may be seems strong and unique at this moment, with successful of Oki-ni, more and more website will try to follow the same model. How to maintain the competitive edge is vital for the company’s future. Conclusion By discussing and critically reviewed the Oki-ni’s website, this paper take an insight into the digital business environment. In the Internet era, trading become much more easier, even individual can set up a website with the know-how and the equipment. However, the competition is much more intensive.E-commerce is a complex term that involved many aspects, the terms and concepts researcher discussed in this paper barely scratch the surface. with the fast advancing technology, new issues now raised, such as legal issue and Internet security. Concepts of CRM, Online business model may need further investigation in the future. Reference: Ciao . (2007). Review of Oki-ni. com. Available from: http://www. ciao. co. uk/Reviews/Oki_Ni_com__5315436 [Accessed 10 Nov, 2012]. Fjermestad, Jerry, and Nicholas C. Romano. (2006) Electronic Customer Relationship Management. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe,. Print. pp. 121-65 Internet World Stats, 2011. World Internet Usage Statistics News and World Population Stats. Available from: http://www. internetworldstats. com/stats. htm [Accessed 12 Nov. 2012]. Janice,Reynolds (2004). ’The Complete E-Commerce Book: Design, Build & Maintain a Successful Web-Based Business’. NewYork, Taylor & Francis. Print. pp. 268+. Jeremy, Rifkin. (2011). ‘The Third Industrial Revolution: How Lateral Power Is Transforming Energy, the Economy, and the World’. London, Palgrave Macmillan. Mamta, Bushry. (2005). ‘E-commerce. New Delhi, Firewall Media. Print. pp. 69 Mehdi, Khosrow-Pour. (2006) ‘Cases on Electronic Commerce Technologies and Applications. Hershey’, PA: Idea Grou p. Michael, Rappa (2006). ‘Business Models On the Web’. Available from: http://digitalenterprise. org/models/models. html [Accessed 9 Nov, 2012]. Ritendra, Goel. (2008) ‘Electronic Commerce Technology and Prosecpts. ’ E-commerce. New Delhi: New Age International Pvt. Swift, Ronald S. (2000) ‘Accelerating Customer Relationships: Using CRM and Relationship Technologies. ’ Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall PTR. Print. pp. 25+Shanmugasundaram, S. (N. d) ‘Customer Relationship Management: Modern Trends And Perspectives’ New Delhi. PHI learning, Ltd. Vincent, Roca & Franck Rousseau. (2004). ‘Interactive Multimedia and Next Generation Networks: Second International Workshop on Multimedia Interactive Protocols and Systems’. Springer. Available from: http://www. springer. com/computer/information+systems+and+applications/book/978-3-540-23928-4? cm_mmc=Google-_-Book%20Search-_-Springer-_-0 [Accessed 8 Nov 2012]. Yuan, Gao (2 005). ‘Web Systems Design And Online Consumer Behavior’. London, Idea Group Inc. Digital Business Environment Introduction The scientists who developed the Internet probably did not realise their invention completely changed our world today. From how people communicating, connecting with social network, to how and where people work, Internet is now affecting our daily life in every dimension. Internet still and will continue change our life and behavior, according to data, nearly a third of world population are Internet user, and this number is still growing at an unprecedented speed (IWC, 2012).Internet affects almost every aspect of people daily activities, thanks to the Internet, people can virtually shopping without going out and get their items delivered to the doorstep in a matter of days. Information is now much more accessible over the Internet, people can share their life using blogging, and not to mention that business world has expanded to a whole new dimension. Company or individual can now target a much more wide consumers around the world. As much as the Internet has changed ou r personal lives, the business world has revolutionsied almost beyond recognition since the Internet era.Jeremy (2011) states the rise of Internet and other technologies is the start of Third Industrial Revolution. Although there is still ongoing debates about this theory, that the Internet has changed the face and pace of our modern business world. Hosted on the server, accessed using the Internet, the website or simply known as the site or web page, is one of the fundamental elements that forms the Internet we use today. It is also the most common way that a company or individual promote and conduct their business.This paper will thoroughly analyse and discuses a chosen website, the purpose is to take an insight to the digital business environment. Terms such as E-commerce, and CRM (Customer Relationship Management) will be mention and discuss. The technical details of how to build and maintain a website will not be discussed in this article. Overview The website chosen in this pa per is Oki-ni, before further analyse the company and the website, it is essential to understand some of the basic about website.Organised by function, a website may fall into one of these catalogue (Yuan, 2005) * A personal website, e. g. blogging * A commercial website, e. g. company website, such as Microsoft, Apple * A government website, e. g. NASA website, City Council website * A nonprofit organisation website, Greenpeace, or RedCross website According to this catalogue, Oki-ni is a commercial website. Another terms that need to understand is Electronic commerce, or commonly known as E-commerce. There are many different definition of E-commerce from different perspectives in different discipline.Mamta (2005) summarised that E-commerce is the process of buying and selling or exchanging of products, services and information via telecommunication and computer networks including Internet. Mamta (2005) further generalised that based on the types of parties (business, consumer, etc ) involved, E-commerce may be of the following types: * Business-to-Business (B2B) * Bsuiness-to-Consumer (B2C) * Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C) * Consumer-to-Business (C2B) * Intrabusiness Based on that definition, Oki-ni is a B2C type of E-commerce, different from other B2C website, the Britain based company focused on high-end menswear.The name originated from a Japanese dialect, means ‘Hello’, Oki-ni was created to work with established brands and progressive designers, to offer innovative products to knowledgeable fashion consumers. In another words, Oki-ni sells more than clothing, but a life-style. The company also collaborated with other fashion brands such as Paul Smith, Adidas, to produce unique pieces. This paper will focus itself on evaluating the use and implementation of digital information system on the chosen website, applications on the website will be paid extra attention and thoroughly analyse, such as inventory system, newsletter, multimedia applications .Furthermore, the OVP (Online Value Proposition), Online revenue models and other factors will be critically reviewed. Using researcher’s extensive knowledge, the concept and application of CRM on the website will be analyse. Lastly, researcher will proposed some recommendations to improve the website followed by the digital business strategy. Analyse of The Website For E-commerce site, the primary purpose is to sell. However, most online retailers fell to the wrong direction when even building their website.They spent heavily on how to attract more visitors to the site and simply forgot what is the point if the consumer visited the site but not buying anything. There may be many factors that contribute and affecting consumers’ buying behavior, but the inappropriate implementation of information system is more often seen in business operation. Customer cannot locate the item they want, or found themselves cannot checkout with the system, modern information technology b rings a great convenient, however, sometimes it can be chaos without properly used.For an enterprise, it is critically important to aware its organisational goals and objectives as well as the implementation of information system. (Mehdi, 2006) For the company of Oki-ni, the website serve the purpose of sales and providing customer service. Thus, the inventory information and customer information are vital to the company’s lifeline. Furthermore, to provide an enhanced online shopping experience, the supply chain management, online information security, and multimedia interactive applications are equally important. Inventory ManagementWhen running an E-commerce, it is very easy to get caught up in other aspects and neglect the importance of inventory management. Ritendra (2008) emphasis that its crucial to run inventory management effectively for the business to be profitably. For Oki-ni, there are thousands of items and new items in stock everyday, how to manage it efficientl y become vital to the company, what’s more, it has two layers of meaning. Firstly, for the staff, effective inventory system should allow them to locate specific item easily, and overview the whole inventory to see which items are running low on stock, and which are the best selling.Secondly, for customer, the inventory system should provide an easy accessible. Oki-ni website provide a simply and minimalism searching interface for the customer, customer can search the items they looking for by their preferable method, such as, using keywords, sort it by color, price range, sizing, or different part of garment, or using alphabet-order brand list. On the top page of Oki-ni site, customer can easily find new arrivals or discount information. Customer Information Comparing with tradition in-store shopping, online retailer has the advantage on tracking, storing and anaylsing customer data.Oki-ni gathering customer information by encouraging customer registered with their e-mail ad dress. By using these e-mail addresses with the concerns of customer, Oki-ni sends out newsletters to customer. Newsletters are an effective way to build goodwill and keep in touch with potential customer (Janice, 2004). Customer received promotion, new arrivals and other information from the website. When comes to place order, for security and privacy concern, the company only takes the minimum information that required for delivering, such as address, telephone number.Internet is an ever-changing, competitive-intensive environment, the recently raise of new social network drew a lot attention. As a company aiming itself not only sales, but to promote a lifestyle, Oki-ni has extended its content to other different social-network, such as Facebook, Google+, and Twitter, customer can find sales information, new product on these social network. Also, Oki-ni can gather customer information on other platforms, it’s a win-win situations. Multimedia InteractiveOne of the major adva ntages of E-commerce comparing traditional retailing is convenience; customer can search for product and compare it, finally checkout in a short amount of time by just clicking the mouse, however, E-commerce has deprived its users of the reality (Vincent & Franck, 2004). Material color, texture, tactile impression, those physical details cannot be display or feel by the two-dimensional images and texts on a computer screen. Most people have on-line shopping experiences have those situations that sometimes the products they received are different from their expectations.In order to provide better shopping experiences, Oki-ni provide an enhanced multimedia interface. In every product description page, the website provides high-resolution photos of the products, customer can click zoom-in to see the details of the texture, and a short video to demonstrate the product. For music product, such as CD, preview services are provided. Critical Review In this part, the website’s OVP (O nline Value Proposition), ORM (Online Revenue Model) and target audience will be critically reviewed. Online Value Proposition What’s the Online Value Proposition?It is a statement of the benefits of e-commerce services that ideally should not be available in competitor offerings of offline offerings (David, 2006). Michael & Susan (2012) further states that in an E-commerce context the differential advantage and positioning can be clarified and communicated by developing an online value proposition. Simply speaking, OVP is the USP of the brand or the website, a strong OVP is a crucial way to attract new visitors into the site and decided to stay or leave, the decisions often made in minutes or even in seconds.Developing an OVP, involves: * Developing messages that reinforce core brand proposition and credibility * Communicate what a visitor can get from an online brand that other competitors can not offer or they cannot get offline (Micheal & Susan, 2012) Translate these theo ries into simply language, a good OVP should answer the questions ‘Why am I here? ’ ‘Does this site offer me what I need? ’ In the digital business environment, the competition is much fierce and intensive then ever before. How to stand out from the crowd in a matters of seconds when visitor first open the site become vital to success.There a great numbers of online clothing retailer, from high-street brand, such as Topshop, ASOS, to luxury brand, e. g. Net-a-porter, Browns. Being good is not enough to win the competition, a good OVP is essential for Oki-ni to survive in the competition. More than ten years passed the establishment of Oki-ni, the website is still focusing on menswear, more specifically, they aiming to discover and break the most inspiring brands and products available, while hosting them in an rich, inspiring and innovative environment. The home page of Oki-ni featuring a simplicity style filled with inspiration contents.Existing customer c an easily find what they want in a few clicks; in the meanwhile the video and music can attract the attention of new customer. The website keep updating its FEATURES section with vibrant and forward-thinking videos and music. There is no differentiated of so call ‘high-street’ or ‘luxury’ on Oki-ni’s product, customer can find shorts cost 20 pounds to a coat valued a few hundreds. But there is one thing in common, all product were carefully selected. Featuring more than cloth, customer can also buy books, CDs on the website.In order to keep a fresh look, Oki-ni redesign the website every six month, from layout to the content. To sum up, Oki-ni’s strong OVP is that they not only sell cloth, but the promote an innovation life-style. Online Revenue Model In the article, Business Models on the Web by professor Micheal Rappa (2006). He suggests that ‘business models are perhaps the most discussed and least understood aspect of the web. â€⠄¢ In this regards, he summarised the business model into the following * Brokerage * Advertising * Informediary * Merchant * Manufacturer * Affiliate Community * Subscription * Utility The revenue model may be different in these business model, some website get paid by doing advertising, some website generated income by subscription. In the case of Oki-ni, the revenue model is easy to identify, the company produce service and sell it to customer. When the revenues from sales exceed the operational cost, then the company gets profit. Comparing to store retailer, the website is relatively easier to operate. No rent, less labor cost, means the website can provide a much more competitive price than physical store.However, on the other hand, the maintaining of website post a great challenge to the company. Target Audience The company target a niche market of luxury product segment. Focusing on menswear only, the website sells a wide range of product from selective clothing line from Jap an, Italy, to limited edition CDs. There is no particular age range on the Oki-ni’s customers, the company targeting a small group who required a innovated and forward-thinking life-style, and willing to the pay a premium price for that.Customer Relationship Management The term of CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is now much more frequently seen in the E-commerce article, what’s CRM? The followings are different CRM definitions by scholars CRM involves various different elements, which includes customer-prospecting, relationship with customers; interact between customer and business, understanding customer expectations, empowerment, partnerships, and personalisation, and son on. (Fjermestad & Romano, 2006).CRM is an enterprise approach to understanding and influencing behavior through meaningful communication in order to improve customer acquisition, customer retention, customer loyalty, and customer profitability. (Swift, 2006) So far, there is no universally ac cepted definition of CRM. It not a software or a service, it is an overall business strategy. Shanmugasundaram (n. d) identified that the three main components in CRM system, namely * Operational * Analytical * Collaborative Nowadays, not only global companies seeking helps from CRM, more and more SMEs (Small and Medium Size Enterprise) were implemented with CRMs.Oki-ni is no exceptional, the company used the first hand data not only to promote its product, but to provide a better service. From time to time, Newsletters were sent to customer, the content of those newsletters were not just about product information. Featuring styling tips, or invitations to special events, the company always try to encourage customer come to visitor site. Recommendation Running an E-commerce is far more complicated than just setting up a website, other than the business and the customer, it involves many their parties, such as vendor, supply chain, banking.Researcher found a rather interesting phenom enal when customer rated Oki-ni’s service, some customer give top rate on both delivery speed and money transaction. However, on the other hand, some customer extremely disappointed on their service quoted ‘the clothes arrived and were excellent although delivery is very slow’ (Ciao, 2007). The inconsistence performance may due to the delivery company and Oki-ni should try to avoid in the future. Moreover, there is more potential of the CRM waiting to be discovered. Oki-ni using CRM mainly on providing customer ervice and promoting products, CRM is much more than customer service, researcher suggest the company analyse the customer’s shopping behavior, such as what kind of brand they like the most, how frequently they shopped on the site, etc. to improve customer shopping experience. The company can also use the data to collaborative with other parties, such as bank, to improve online payment security, or delivery company, to improve performance. Lastly, t he competition of digital business environment is much more intensive than ever before.The OVP (Online Value Proposition) may be seems strong and unique at this moment, with successful of Oki-ni, more and more website will try to follow the same model. How to maintain the competitive edge is vital for the company’s future. Conclusion By discussing and critically reviewed the Oki-ni’s website, this paper take an insight into the digital business environment. In the Internet era, trading become much more easier, even individual can set up a website with the know-how and the equipment. However, the competition is much more intensive.E-commerce is a complex term that involved many aspects, the terms and concepts researcher discussed in this paper barely scratch the surface. with the fast advancing technology, new issues now raised, such as legal issue and Internet security. Concepts of CRM, Online business model may need further investigation in the future. Reference: Ciao . (2007). Review of Oki-ni. com. Available from: http://www. ciao. co. uk/Reviews/Oki_Ni_com__5315436 [Accessed 10 Nov, 2012]. Fjermestad, Jerry, and Nicholas C. Romano. (2006) Electronic Customer Relationship Management. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe,. Print. pp. 121-65 Internet World Stats, 2011. World Internet Usage Statistics News and World Population Stats. Available from: http://www. internetworldstats. com/stats. htm [Accessed 12 Nov. 2012]. Janice,Reynolds (2004). ’The Complete E-Commerce Book: Design, Build & Maintain a Successful Web-Based Business’. NewYork, Taylor & Francis. Print. pp. 268+. Jeremy, Rifkin. (2011). ‘The Third Industrial Revolution: How Lateral Power Is Transforming Energy, the Economy, and the World’. London, Palgrave Macmillan. Mamta, Bushry. (2005). ‘E-commerce. New Delhi, Firewall Media. Print. pp. 69 Mehdi, Khosrow-Pour. (2006) ‘Cases on Electronic Commerce Technologies and Applications. Hershey’, PA: Idea Grou p. Michael, Rappa (2006). ‘Business Models On the Web’. Available from: http://digitalenterprise. org/models/models. html [Accessed 9 Nov, 2012]. Ritendra, Goel. (2008) ‘Electronic Commerce Technology and Prosecpts. ’ E-commerce. New Delhi: New Age International Pvt. Swift, Ronald S. (2000) ‘Accelerating Customer Relationships: Using CRM and Relationship Technologies. ’ Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall PTR. Print. pp. 25+Shanmugasundaram, S. (N. d) ‘Customer Relationship Management: Modern Trends And Perspectives’ New Delhi. PHI learning, Ltd. Vincent, Roca & Franck Rousseau. (2004). ‘Interactive Multimedia and Next Generation Networks: Second International Workshop on Multimedia Interactive Protocols and Systems’. Springer. Available from: http://www. springer. com/computer/information+systems+and+applications/book/978-3-540-23928-4? cm_mmc=Google-_-Book%20Search-_-Springer-_-0 [Accessed 8 Nov 2012]. Yuan, Gao (2 005). ‘Web Systems Design And Online Consumer Behavior’. London, Idea Group Inc.

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