Writing Help on Internet Usage in the World is on the Rise

Question 1:

(10 marks)

The Internet usage in the world is on the rise. According to stats in March 2016, there were almost 3.3 billion people worldwide who had access to the Internet at home (i.e., Internet users). Since its inception, the number of users has seen tremendous growth, from only around 14 million users in 1993 to 1 billion users in 2005, 2 billion users in 2010, and 3 billion users in 2014. Having grown exponentially in the early years, the growth in user numbers has slowed to less than 10 percent per year, as worldwide Internet penetration has surpassed 35 percent. In 2016, almost 10 percent of the world’s Internet users were located in the United States, with an Internet penetration of 84 percent. However, other countries are catching up. In 2013, China, with an Internet penetration of 46 percent (and much room to grow), accounted for over 23 percent of worldwide Internet users; similarly, only 16 percent of India’s population had access to the Internet, accounting for 7 percent of worldwide Internet users.

Search the Web for the most up-to-date statistics, then answer the following questions:

• a) Compare and interpret these numbers with the above-mentioned numbers. (2 marks)

The numbers reveal that the United States is among the major global countries that have 10% of the worldwide internet users. China has 23% of the worldwide internet users while India has 7% of the internet. These estimates show that China is heading towards becoming the top company where the maximum percentage of internet users is present. On the other hand, India is rapidly moving towards surpassing the United States' percentage of internet users. Finally, the additional information reveals that there is still a huge room for growth of internet users in China as well as India.

• b) Discuss what the new numbers’ change means for globalization and possible arising opportunities, taking into account Porter’s 5 competitive forces and 3 competitive strategies. (8 marks)

The change in numbers reveals the changing trend of internet users shifting from Western countries to Asian countries like China and India. Porter’s five competitive force models reveal the following.

1. There is a huge industry rivalry in Asian countries under which different companies are trying to offer fast internet services at competitive prices.
2. The bargaining power of the suppliers has declined by manifolds in the past decades because of the homogenous products sold by many sellers creating perfect competition.
3. The bargaining power of the buyers has increased as they have a variety of options and opportunities to select from.
4. There is always a threat of new entrants who can enter and penetrate the market by selling faster internet service at considerably lower rates.
5. There is no threat of substitutes as internet connection can be replaced by any other means.

The three competitive strategies as per Porter’s generic model include cost leadership, differentiation, and focus. Internet service providers in different countries try to take over the market by applying cost leadership. Under this, the internet services are provided at considerably lower prices. To sustain in the market for the long term the companies also tend towards acquiring product differentiation. There is Wi-Fi, broadband, and certain other methods of providing internet services. The main idea behind this is to achieve certain product differentiation so that the customer can be offered high-speed internet service. Finally, the focus is kept either on the cost factor or the differentiation factor so that the expectations of the customers from the company in terms of providing low-cost and high-speed internet services can be attained (Mutuku & Nyaribo, 2015).

Question 2:

(10 marks-2.5 each)

Answer the following questions:

• a) A retail company, has noticed that one of its brands is not selling as well as anticipated. What information systems of the business will you use to determine the reason for the poor sales? Discuss what information you will retrieve from which system. Which of the information systems will be most important for your analysis? Which of the systems will be the least important?

The information systems of the business that will be used to determine the reason for the poor sales include the Management information system or MIS, Sales information system or SIS, and others. This system will help in gathering information about the sales proceeds, human resources deployed, targets achieved, and related. This information will help the business to find out the inefficiencies that have led to poor sales by generating and comparing sales figures and past trends. However, the system that will be least important will be the sales information system because it will give only the view of the sales system when the whole management is responsible for not achieving the company targets (Kitchenham et al., 2010).

• b) Your Brother asked you for your suggestions to make his business, a local sandwich shop, more efficient. Describe at least three types of business processes that a sandwich shop has. Can any be better coordinated through the use of information systems?

The three types of business processes that a sandwich shop has are manufacturing, finance, and health. The manufacturing will include the production of the sandwich by the business. The finance will take care of the money flow, in and out of the business. Finally, the health factor has to be given due consideration to maintain customer flow and abide by the local laws that support safe and healthy consumption. The use of Enterprise Resource Planning or ERP software can be made here to integrate the whole business management process. This way the business proceeds including sales, transport, safe handling, etc. will be taken care of through one software application.

• c) Describe at least two benefits of using enterprise systems.

Enterprise systems help in fighting competition by applying various technology solutions to track the changes and new applications made by competitors. These information inputs will ensure that the business is making advancements in the right direction and the most desired marketing and sales practices can be applied to fight back against competition. This way collaboration in different departments is achieved which ensures the application of aggregate business policy. The second benefit of enterprise system is security and compliance with the regulations to run the business without any halt by the government or health agencies

• d) Explain the relationship between the Firm, its IT Infrastructure, and its Business Capabilities

The firm, its IT infrastructure, and its business capabilities all strive towards the sustenance of the business in the long run. All these work together for the attainment of cost efficiency in the business process and accomplish a clear control over business activities such that the productivity of the different resources can be directed towards the accomplishment of target goals and objectives (Beecham et al., 2008).

Question 3:

(10 marks)

Several IT megatrends are shaping and transforming the way we do things, the way we do business and the way interact with each other. Explore the Web and discuss five of these mega-trends, with justification, in terms of their significance and importance for business effectiveness and efficiency.

The different IT megatrends that are shaping and transforming business activities and interaction with each other include E-mobility, Social trends, Virtual World, Emerging transportation corridors, and innovation to zero-emission technology. E-mobility has changed the face of business in the new age where the transport of goods and services is made through online mediums. For instance, Amazon sells videos through Amazon prime which transfers the data directly to the user account. Social trends are helping to shape the decision for particular brands or services. Positive social trends towards certain company products and services will ensure that the product will soon become popular among the masses. The virtual world has further made business paperless and much more informed. Now the managers don’t have to wait for the paper report to make decisions. They are already well equipped with the online reports available on the cloud computing process that can be retrieved and used anywhere. Emerging transportation corridors the infrastructure development in various countries has ensured smooth movement of the business physical distribution system. This way even the far-reached customers are connected with the business through the supply of goods and services through developed means of transport and communication. The zero-emissions technology has ensured that there is no pollution in the air. The use of electric cars, solar photovoltaic cells, and other inventions have made businesses apply new-era changes to achieve cost-effectiveness in generating power and leave zero emissions in the atmosphere (Azim & Hassan, 2013). For more, visit 'Assignment Help'.

Bibliography

Azim, R. & Hassan, A., 2013. Impact analysis of wireless and mobile technology on business management strategies. Information and Knowledge Management, 3(2), pp.141-50.

Beecham, S. et al., 2008. Motivation in Software Engineering: A systematic literature review. Information and Software Technology, 50, pp.860-78.

Kitchenham, B. et al., 2010. Systematic literature reviews in software engineering - A tertiary study. Information and Software Technology, 52, pp.793-804.

Mutuku, M.N. & Nyaribo, , 2015. Effect of Information Technology on Employee Productivity in Selected Banks in Kenya. American Research Institute for Policy Development, 4(1), pp.49-57.

West, D., 2012. Issues in technology innovation: How mobile devices are transforming healthcare. Insidepolitics.org, pp.1-14.

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