Complex Project Management: Historical Background, Problems and Approaches Essay

Managing a project that has cross-cultural team members is a very involving task, which calls for application of appropriate leadership styles and approaches (Arbaugh, 2007, p. 569). The applicability of theories, models and approaches of management in the Belbin Consultancy Project can be deeply elaborated with clarity, to demonstrate the understanding of the topic. Since managing and leading cross-cultural teams in such projects does not just happen, as the monitor and shaper, I comprehensively applied the necessary aspects of leadership and management as I deemed appropriate. Below is a presentation of the report of Belbin Consultancy Project that my team and I, as the monitor and shaper, undertook. Project management             Project management is a comprehensive undertaking by project managers which involves several steps from inception to completion, and which guarantees the success of the project (Klimenko, 2014, p. 13). As I experienced during the Belbin Project execution, these activities have to be carefully organized and precisely planned for execution. Project Processes             During the management of the project, I applied 5 fundamental processes as shown in the appendix 1. The first process was initiation, which involved determining the nature and range of the project (Daft & Lane, 2005, p. 337). All the requirements ranging from analysis, goal setting, current operations review and feasibility were considered at this stage. The second process that we carried out was planning which involved the setting of appropriate time for each activity, considering the costs involved and the resources required. We also did a risk planning activity that was geared towards tackling uncertainties. The third process was executing, which involved following all the activities of the project as outlined during the planning stage. This was geared towards meeting all the set deadlines of the set milestones. The fourth process involved monitoring the progress and controlling the execution, noting of any deviations from the plan and taking the appropriate managerial actions (Stewart and Powell, 2004, p. 37). At this stage, I verified and validated the activities and their execution as per the allocated resources and timelines. It is at this stage that the quality of the activities that different team members were involved in was considered. The last process of the project involved the closing out of the project after its completion (Xie and Zhang, 2013, p. 725). The final product that the team developed was accepted having delivered to the best of our ability. Management Approaches             For effective execution of the processes mentioned above, I applied several management approaches. These approaches assisted in carrying out the processes in a planned manner, towards realizing the requirements. The first approach I utilized was the traditional method, which involved the execution of all the processes in a sequence. In this approach, some processes were recursively extended to support the cycle of development of the project (Collyer & Warren, 2009 p. 359). The second approach was event chain approach, which involved the identification and management of proceedings and the chains of proceedings attached to the project schedule. This approach helped me in managing the negative effects, and allowed for modeling of uncertainties that were foreseeable as was outlined in the project schedule (Symonds, 2014, p. 2). The third approach was scrum methodology, whose goal was to improve the productivity of the team by removing every possible hurdle. The fourth methodology was crystal approach in which I directed the team away from focusing on the processes. It was thus crucial to focus more on the skills of the team members, interactions, communication and people. This way, every member was able to deliver in their allocated part. Organizing and Structuring Teamwork             At this stage, the central focus is given on the capabilities of team members. As defined by Scarnati (2001. P. 5), teamwork is a cooperative procedure that assists normal people to accomplish surprising results. It, therefore, called for effective allocation of tasks on individual members. We generated a commitment oath of the team and developed shared goals. The team focused on providing quality results as opposed to achieving individual personal satisfaction that might have interfered with the achievement of objectives. Similarly, I facilitated and nurtured positive relationships that were cooperative as a way of motivating the team members towards achieving the final goal. The issues of interdependence among the team members were put into consideration (Schneider & Barsoux, 2003, p. 137). The creation of a positive attitude in the members through inspiring examples was thus vital. When experiencing difficulties, team members were enthusiastic to help out their peers, regardless of their backgrounds (Symonds, 2014, p. 2). Whenever deviations resulted from the unwillingness of some members to ask for assistance, a quick meeting was convened to remind them of their interdependence responsibilities. During the allocation of tasks, interpersonal skills were put in consideration a step that allowed for proper allocation of tasks. I encouraged open communication as well as positive feedbacks as a way of improving relationships among team members. This way, the team had an understanding that discussing problems was healthy for their interdependence. Similarly, as an overall manager, I worked hard to ensure that the teams had the appropriate composition, by carefully considering the skills of each member and the kind of personality that each possessed. After careful consideration, the team members were allocated tasks that matched their profile. On the same note, commitment to the processes of the team and accountability were highly emphasized. Respect for every member was exceedingly regarded and especially on the response towards several individuals who took leadership roles (Wateridge, 2001, p. 191). To ensure effective and efficient implementation of the project activities, elect ronic tools were highly utilized and whenever the tools were not enough for use on a particular task, the available tools were shared. This highly facilitated the process of implementation of the project activities. Project Execution             During the project execution, my vital role was to control the process. At this point, practicing MBWA (management by walking around) was necessary. There were some instances where the project activities carried out by the team members veered from the plan. These deviations resulted from the inability of some members to fully comprehend what is expected of them during certain activities. This was so because of the diversified back grounds of the team members, which prevented them from consulting or asking for assistance. It was thus necessary for me to carry out the proper monitoring role, to match the activities with the plan and to assure quality. To do this, I convened several emergence meetings to remind the team members on their roles as team players. During the completion stage when the project was nearing the close out phase, one of the team members got seek and had to fly back home. Because of the limitation of time, the tasks were allocated to some members of the team. It was unfortunate because the delivery time of the added tasks was late for the reason of failure to understand the tasks. This made it necessary for convening an abrupt meeting to brief the affected members on what is expected of them. For this reason, the delivery of the tasks allocated to the ailing member did not go in accordance with the plan. Team Working and Leadership Cross-cultural Teams             During the initiation stage, the team rules as shown in appendix 2, as well as the roles of every member were developed. To facilitate this, discussions on the cultural dissimilarities that were easily perceivable and their effects on behavior of the members and performance were established. This was geared towards creating an open discussion that inspired mutual trust and obligation (Chung et al., 2013 p. 194). After the discussion, the cultural differences that emanated from understanding the background of every team member helped in developing appropriate ways of addressing the issues accordingly. This was done after knowing where these differences emanated from through assessing the situation from individual member’s perspective. This helped in changing the stereo-typed perceptions and improvement on value-based assumptions. To solve some of the cross-cultural issues that arose during implementation of the setout activities, I as the leader worked hard for reconciliation as opposed to compromising. I thus created new ways of perceiving and settling the differences. This encouraged the combining of strengths among the team members as opposed to picking disagreements. Intensive communications, feedbacks and procedures were highly regarded to minimize the risks involved. Changing Roles             The aspect of changing roles was not utilized so as to facilitate the aspect of specialization in tasks. This worked to our disadvantage when one of the team members go sick and had to fly back home. The tasks were allocated to several team members who had almost similar tasks. Because of inadequacy of specialization on the added tasks, the members delivered the tasks late. This prompted me to convene an impromptu meeting to brief the members on their new added tasks. Because of this reason, the delivery of the tasks was out of time plan. Motivation             To motivate the team members, the contributions made by each were highly regarded every time a scheduled meeting was convened as shown in appendix 3. Similarly, the diverse views of different individuals were encouraged and incorporated in the decisions made after a comprehensive discussion (Wateridge, 2001, p. 161). To motivate the team members, I kept reminding them of their capabilities and how appreciated their contributions were. Also, different needs of individual members were identified for easy fulfillment. When members felt that their needs are catered for and their views are incorporated in making decisions pertaining to the execution of the project activities, they delivered to their capability (Wright, 2002, p. 121). To encourage harmony within the team, I encouraged communication among the members (Malinowski, 2011, p. 234). This served as a way of understanding the problems that different members are experiencing at particular instances. After the communication of the problems, the issues were addressed accordingly to the satisfaction of all members. This guaranteed harmony among the members through free and unrestricted interactions, characterized by free flow of thoughts (Seteroff, 2003, p. 43). This free flow of thoughts and effective communication facilitated generation of new ideas pertaining to the implementation of activities of the project (Marc & Picard, 2000, p. 38). To get most out of the team members, the same technique of free flow of information and welcoming the contribution of every team member was utilized. Leadership Roles and Styles             During the implementation of the project, several individuals took up the role of leadership. The members who became leaders were chosen by the majority of the team members. The act of leading further boosted the confidence of the chosen members towards obtaining the set goals (Pearce & Sims, 2000, p. 131). I had been previously chosen as the overall manager of the project from the start to the end, to oversee the implementation of activities. This was a good experience that educated me on how cross-cultural teams operate .In the process, different leadership styles as discussed below were utilized. Transactional Leadership             The first type of leadership that different members who took leadership roles utilized was transactional leadership (Lowe & Gardner, 2011, p. 460). This style operated on the basic ground that because the team members agreed on the leadership of a particular member, they must obey the directions he or she gives. This type of leadership led to clarification of the roles played by every member of the team. Similarly, the members were expected to follow the agreed upon rules failure to which one would be ejected out of the team. Transformational Leadership             In this leadership, the leader inspired and motivated team members to transform the issue at hand from worst to best (Sashhin, 2004, p. 171). The means of motivation are as discussed above with encouraging individual members on their capabilities, free flow of information and effective communication at the top of the list (Ashkanasy & Tse, 2000, p. 223). The inspiration and motivation given by the team leaders were genuine, a situation that facilitated the implementation of the planned activities. Participative Leadership             This kind of leadership entails the involvement of team members in decision-making process (Langton & Robbins, 2007, p. 389). Through this kind of leadership, the understanding of the underlying issues of implementation by individual members was enhanced. They thus became more committed to the activities of implementation (Pearce, 2007, p. 357). Under this leadership, people became more collaborative as opposed to competitive and worked on joint team goals. Situational Leadership             In this type of leadership, the leader applies the best action depending on the array of factors of the situation at hand (Northouse, 2004, p. 78). This type of leadership is as a result of several forces namely; the circumstances, the followers and the leader. This style focused more on the behaviors adopted by the leader under different situations (Parry & Bryman, 2006, p. 456). The leader with the most excellent ability of making better decisions had an upper hand in applying the style. Conclusion             In conclusion, managing the activities of a project is a long process more so when dealing with cross-cultural teams. It calls for the manager to understand the different backgrounds of these members. This is done through the application of several techniques as such as the understanding of the cultural differences, their cause, how to change the perception to a common goal of the team and how to motivate individual members bearing in mind the aspect of different backgrounds. This way, he or she is able to inspire the followers to make the best team under a common goal of implementing the activities of the project successfully. On the leadership issue, it is vital that the leader understands the best type of leadership to apply on the team members (Osborn et al., 2002, p. 811). Recommendations             After carrying out all the activities of the project, it became necessary to develop some recommendations based on the lessons learnt. The following are the recommendations that I would implement if I was to undertake the project again as the monitor. To reduce the risk involved when engaging members from different cultural backgrounds in a team, it is essential to apply a flexible approach of management that allows for effective communication, reporting and actions on the raised issues. To change project processes so as to accommodate cultural differences, establishing good relationships with key members of the team is a must. This is geared towards winning their trust which in turn helps the project execution process smooth. To effectively implement the activities of the project, the manager is obliged to know what motivates the team members into doing good job, their specific skills and know-how and their respective communication styles. The combination of participative leadership and transformational leadership is the best option in a project implementation. This is so because participative leadership involves the members in decision-making process and hence motivating them. On the other hand, transformational leadership involves the leader inspiring and motivating his followers. References Arbaugh, J. (2007). Introduction: Project Management Education: Emerging Tools, Techniques, and Topics. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 6(4), pp.568-569.Ashkanasy, N. M., & Tse, B. (2000). Transformational leadership as management of emotion: A conceptual review. In N. M. Ashkanasy, C. E. J. Hà ¤rtel & W. J. Zerbe (Eds.). Emotions in the workplace: Research, theory, and practice (pp. 221-235) Chung, J., Wai, Y., Lau, D. and Songip, A. (2013). Teamwork – A Success Factor of Knowledge Management for Faculty Development: A Case Study. International Journal of Information and Education Technology, pp.192-195.Collyer, S. and Warren, C. (2009). Project management approaches for dynamic environments. International Journal of Project Management, 27(4), pp.355-364.Daft, R. and Lane, P. (2005). The leadership experience. Mason, Ohio: Thomson/South-Western. Industrial/organizational psychology (pp.235-278). Klimenko, O. (2014). Complex Project Management: Historical Background, Problems and Approaches, 3(3), pp.4-13. Langton, N., & Robbins, S. (2007). Leadership. In N. Langton & S. Robbins. Organizational behavior: Concepts, controversies, applications Toronto: Prentice Hall, (pp.386-426). Lowe, K. B. &, Gardner, W. L. (2001). The years of the leadership quarterly: Contributions and challenges for the futures. Leadership Quarterly, 11(4), 459–514. Malinowski, M. (2011). Essential project management skills. Project Management Journal, p.n/a-n/a. Marc, E. & Picard, D. (2000). Relations communications inter-personnel [Relationships and interpersonal communications]. Paris: Dunod. Northouse, P. (2004). Leadership. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage. Osborn, R. N., Hunt, J. G., & Jauch, L. R. (2002). Toward a contextual theory of leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 13(6), 797-837. Parry, K. W., & Bryman, A. (2006). Leadership in organization. In S. T. Clegg, C. Harry, T. B. Lawrence & W. R. Nord. The Sage handbook of organization studies (pp. 447-468). Pearce, C. L. (2007). The future of leadership development: The importance of identity, multilevel approaches, self-leadership, physical fitness, shared leadership, networking, creativity, emotions, spirituality and on-boarding processes. Human Resource Management Review, 17(4), 355-359.Pearce, C. L., & Sims, H. P. (2000). Shared leadership: Toward a multi-level theory of leadership, Advances in Interdisciplinary Studies of Work Teams, 7, 115-139. Sashhin, M. (2004). Transformational leadership approaches: A review and synthesis. In J. Antonakis, A. T. Cianciolo & R. J. Sternberg (Eds.). p. 171 Scarnati, J. (2001). On becoming a team player. Team Performance Management: An International Journal, 7(1/2), pp.5-10. Schneider, S. and Barsoux, J. (2003). Managing across cultures. Harlow, England: Financial Times Prentice Hall. Seteroff, S. S. (2003). Beyond leadership to followership. Victoria: Trafford. Stewart, B. and Powell, S. (2004). Team building and team working. Team Performance Management: An International Journal, 10(1/2), pp.35-38. Symonds, M. (2014). Managing Cross-cultural Project Teams. Leadershipwatch. [online] Available at: http://blog.parallelprojecttraining.com/project-management-articles/managing-cross-cultural-project-teams/ [Accessed 29 Nov. 2014]. Wateridge, J. (2001). Successful Project Management. International Journal of Project Management, 19(3), p.191. Wojciech Macek, W. (2011). Methodologies of Project Management. Contemporary Economics, 4(4), p.121. Wright, J. (2002). Effective Project Management. International Journal of Project Management, 20(8), p.633. Xie, H. and Zhang, A. (2013). Approaches and Processes of the Project Management. AMR, 790, pp.724-727. Source document

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Central Bank of GCC Gulf Cooperation Council - Assignment Example that the framing of effective monetary as well as fiscal policies will be one of the prime aspects to be taken into concern while designing the structure of GCC Central Bank. From the conduct of various studies, it can be found that the objectives and the functions that hold by GCC Central Bank will significantly lead the economies of the respective Gulf nations to attain immense growth. The Central Banks belonging to varied nations have been playing a decisive part in the developmental process of economies for numerous years. These sorts of financial intermediaries aid in progressing the economies of respective nations in terms of recognizing adequate monetary flow. It is worth mentioning that Central Banks not only look upon stabilizing the monetary policies, but also focuses on maintaining internal monitory stability by controlling the inflationary pressure. This inflationary pressure is mainly created owing to the persistence of inelasticity in adequate monetary transactions (Bank for International Settlement, 2009). The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is principally viewed to be a political and economic association, which mainly regulates the financial policies of six Gulf countries of Middle East. From a historical perspective, it will be vital to mention that GCC was mainly established in the year 1981in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia. It operates in six Gulf countries namely Saudia Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Erminates, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman. Specially mentioning, the monetary policies and the economic growth of these Gulf countries are not regulated by the Central Bank (Sturm et al., 2008). With this concern, the assignment intends to conduct a comprehensive analysis of GCC Central Bank with considering varied significant aspects. These aspects comprise recommending the structure of GCC Central Bank, identifying similarities or differences with that of the European Central Bank and assessing the imperative functions as well as objectives of the same. While

Economics System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Economics System - Essay Example They ensure that the limited resources are prioritised and allocated accordingly. In a traditional economic system, society takes precedence over individual interests. Resources are shared equally and individuals work together. Australia is a region that uses this type of system, among the aboriginal communities. In the mixed economic system, most decisions are made by individuals in the market. The United States is an example of a nation that uses this system. In market economies, decisions on the economic standing of a region are made by individuals. The interaction of people and organizations determines how resources are allocated, for example, Brazil. In the command economic system, the government is in charge of the economic status of the region. The distribution and allocation of resources is determined by the state (Myers 2012, p. 83). Socialism is the perfect type of such a system, an example being Cuba. Free market economy A free market system is an economic system in which the state’s government does not interfere with businesses. The exchange of goods and services between individuals is voluntary. ... All factors of production are owned privately. Mixed economic systems on the other hand have regulations that need to be followed. There are price guidelines stipulated by major parties that control the movement of goods and services in the economy (Ertuna 2012, p. 76). The basic principle that surrounds this system is that the means of production are carried out by private owners as well as government agencies. Self-interests run the objectives of free markets, but they do respond to the needs of the consumers in the market. Mixed markets have the opposite objective as they aim to give everyone; consumers, the government, and even workers, what they work for in the region. No price mechanism runs the mixed economic system as with the free market system. Things change from time to time, but it is often done for the overall good of all individuals (Cowie & Ison 2010, p. 37). The free market system advocates for prices that only benefit privately run resources in the economy, which som etimes weighs on the poorer individuals in the region. How free market economy is more effective than mixed economy The free market system is believed to be more effective than the mixed economic system because more players are involved in the economy. This is because all that is offered through a free market system comes from all around the world. The free market pricing system makes the availability of goods and services from all around the world a welcome phenomenon. Entrepreneurs and business minds are given the largest scope and opportunity to risk their capital in a bid to offer resources that satisfy the needs of consumers (Cowie & Ison 2010, p. 48).

Mission statements Essay Example for Free

Mission statements Essay A mission statement is basically a sentence saying what the company has to do. An aim is what every business need because they create a focus for the business to work towards, improvements and achievements. Objectives are important because they are more specific and help the business to achieve its aims. SMART targets are very important too because they mean: Specific, Measurable, Agreed, Realistic, and Timed. All businesses should have SMART targets because then they would know what exactly they are going for. Aims Objectives I am focusing on two types of companies; they are Sainsburys and Mirfield Free Grammar. The mission statement for Sainsburys is to be the consumers first choice for food, delivering products of outstanding quality and great service at a competitive cost through working faster, simpler and together. The main aims and objectives of Sainsburys are that they need to survive, this is the most important one because if they cant survive they wouldnt be getting any profit. The objective of this would be to get about 500 customers a day. Another aim for Sainsburys is to make profit, because then you can improve the business and youll have money to spend. The objective of this is to get about i 10,000 a month. Another aim for Sainsbury is that they should maximize sales because then they would get more profit. The objective would be to sell more products. The most important aim of all is to provide quality food for the customers because if they dont, theyll wouldnt get much profit because the customers would go somewhere else. Another very important aim would be building more stores somewhere else because if they only have one store, some customers from further places might want to shop there but if its too far they might not come and might even go somewhere else. The mission statement of The Mirfield Free Grammar is the road to success is excellence. The main aims and objectives of the Mirfield Free Grammar are that they should provide a good service, the objective of this is to buy 100 more computers for the school. Another aim for Mirfield Free Grammar is that they should hire more staff, the objective of this is to hire staff with 6 GCSEs. The final aim is to beat the competition, Mirfield Free Grammar HAVE to beat Castle Hall. The similarity of Sainsbury and Mirfield Free Grammar are that public people can go both to these companies because they are both public. The differences between Sainsbury and Mirfield Free Grammar are that Sainsbury have customers and they make lots of profit but Mirfield Free Grammar has students and they dont make a profit. Another difference is that Sainsbury provides food etc but MFG provides a service. Sainsbury is a public limited company whilst MFG is a public sector company. And another difference is that Sainsbury need to survive by getting customers but MFG doesnt. think an effective supermarket should be able to provide a fast and easy service for the public and they should make sure that all their products are to the best, this could make the business meet its aims and objectives easier and better. Another good aim for Sainsbury is that they could improve their charitable donations in order to make more customers go there. I think an effective school should provide top service for all the students, qualified teachers, good facilities and the best effort of the school as possible. I think if MFG made the school bigger, it would also meet its aims and objectives more efficiently because more room means more students and teachers which also means that there would me more customers which is good for a school. In the outside world there are loads of different types of businesses e. g sole traders, partnership, limited companies and co-operatives etc Sainsbury is a public limited company, which means the public can buy shares via the stock market (the share price currently is 298. 50p). Sainsbury is a large business and lots of people work there. The shareholders own Sainsbury and it has a limited liability so the shareholders are not liable for all the debts but they only pay the amount they have invested. Sainsbury is better off being a public limited company because it can easily raise money by selling shares. It is also better off being a public limited company because it is bigger than private limited companies and they dont sell shares to the public where as public limited companies do. Public limited companies has a couple of advantages like; it is not owned by the government but by the shareholders, it gets lots of profit, lots of people work in that business so the work load is less and the business has a very good chance to survive because the shareholders pay some of the debts. It also has disadvantages like; low wages because there are lots of staff working there, long hours etc Mirfield Free Grammar is a public sector organization, which means it is controlled by the government. It does not sell shares and it doesnt have as much public sector business as private sector business. This type of ownership suits Mirfield Free Grammar because it is public and owned by the government. Mirfield Free Grammar has advantages like people dont have to pay to get in and it has a very good chance to survive because it is owned by the government. It also has disadvantages like getting no profit and not a lot of people would go there. The differences between Sainsburys ownership and MFGs ownership is that Sainsbury is a public limited company which means it can raise money by selling shares to the public whereas in the other hand MFG raise money by attracting students to come to their school. Another difference between these two is that Sainsbury is controlled by a board of directors who are elected whereas a board of governors control MFG. These governors are also elected by parents and teachers who do it on a voluntary basis. I think Mirfield Free Grammar would be better if it was a partnership because then there would be more people controlling the school which means it would run more efficient meeting its aims even better. I think if Sainsbury was a franchise, it would be a very good business because if people use Sainsburys brand name and run a business in a less populated area, the local would go their for their food instead of going into the main towns and cities. There are lots of aims for Sainsbury like to provide a charitable service and to expand the service to the community. The core business activity for Sainsbury is to sell food and groceries because these make the most profit for Sainsbury. The range of activities that Sainsbury carries out are to sell baby food, books, flowers, cds, toys, mobile phones, medicine, food, drinks, fruits, vegetables, cakes, chocolate, wine, gifts, electronics and a lot more. They also have their own bank as well. The main customers of Sainsburys are basically the public and their main competitors are Tesco, Asda, Morrisons etc The business activity of Sainsbury have changed a lot nowadays for example, they sell more products like CDs, gel, games, more electronic things etc they never used to sell these in the past. Now customers can even order their shopping over the Internet so it is a lot easier and they dont have to go there themselves.

Incorporation of E-commerce into Business

Incorporation of E-commerce into Business INTRODUCTION OF THE TOPIC In the emerging global economy, e-business have increasingly become a necessary component of business strategy and a strong catalyst for economic development. The integration of information and communications technology (ICT) in business has revolutionized relationships within organizations and those between and among organizations and individuals. Specifically, the use of ICT in business has enhanced productivity, encouraged greater customer participation, and enabled mass customization, besides reducing costs. With developments in the Internet and Web-based technologies, distinctions be- tween traditional markets and the global electronic marketplace such as business capital size, among others-are gradually being narrowed down. The name of the game is strategic positioning, the ability of a company to determine emerging op- portunities and utilize the necessary human capital skills (such as intellectual re- sources) to make the most of these opportunities through an e-business strategy that is simple, workable and practicable within the context of global information and new economic environment. With its effect of leveling the playing field, e-commerce coupled with the appropriate strategy and policy approach enables Small and medium scale enterprises to compete with large and capital-rich businesses. On another plane, developing countries are given increased access to the global Marketplace, where they compete with and complement the more developed economies. Most, if not all, developing countries are already participating in e-commerce, either as sellers or buyers. However, to facilitate e-commerce growth in these countries, the relatively underdeveloped information infrastructure must be improved. HISTORY OF INTERNET In the 50s and early 60s, prior to the widespread inter-networking that led to the Internet, most communication networks were limited by their nature to only allow communications between the stations on the network. Some networks had gateways or bridges between them, but these bridges were often limited or built specifically for a single use. One prevalent computer networking method was based on the central mainframe method, simply allowing its terminals to be connected via long leased lines. This method was used in the 1950s by Project RAND to support researchers such as Herbert Simon, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, when collaborating across the continent with researchers in Santa Monica, California, on automated theorem proving and artificial intelligence. The Internet system was developed and ready in the Late 1980s, but The Cold War held up the progress. When it ended in 1992, the internet slowly became main stream. By the end of the decade, millions were using it for business, edu cation and pleasure. The Internet was designed in part to provide a communications network that would work even if some of the sites were destroyed by nuclear attack. If the most direct route was not available, routers would direct traffic around the network via alternate routes. The early Internet was used by computer experts, engineers, scientists, and librarians. There was nothing friendly about it. There were no home or office personal computers in those days, and anyone who used it, whether a computer professional or an engineer or scientist or librarian, had to learn to use a very complex system. WHAT MAKES THE INTERNET SO POWERFUL? The Internet is the lowest cost system ever developed to communicate with a potential audience of hundreds of millions of people all over the world. Even locally, the cost of a simple Web site is usually less than the cost of a modest ad in a business telephone directory. A Web site can also give more information than a telephone directory ad, including color photos, detailed descriptions of products and services, and price information that can be changed at any moment, for any reason, instead of waiting for a printed directorys next publication cycle. As a news medium, the Internet is faster and more flexible than a newspaper or magazine. A story can be added to a Web site instantly at any time of the day or night. There are no deadlines (except self-imposed ones) for Internet news. The printing press is always on, you might say. Even television news, aside from a few 24-hour news channels, must usually wait for scheduled news broadcast times instead of breaking into entertainment programming whenever a new story comes along. Television is also constrained by its necessarily linear information delivery format. It must tell a story, then another story, then take a break for advertising, then tell another story, and so on, in sequence. A viewer cannot choose to view only a few stories that he or she finds interesting, which may occupy only five minutes out of a 30-minute newscast. On the Internet, a reader is free not only to choose to view just those stories in which he or she is most interested, but also gets to choose the order i n which he or she sees them. If sports scores are the highest item on todays agenda, click and theres the sports section, as easy as turning a newspaper page. Another click and theres the score from the game that just ended, possibly with video highlights only one more click away. Corrections, changes, and updates to a story published on the Internet can be made as fast as they come in without waiting for a printing press to roll. Breaking news alerts can be sent instantly by email to subscribers who request this service, and a reader can instantly communicate with an online publications editors via email or, if the publication has this facility, post his or her comments on a message board for other readers to see right away, without waiting for a fax or mail to get through and an editor to look the message over and perhaps include it in the letters to the editor section several days after the original story ran. An online publication can also offer an advertiser something that is not available in any other medium: ads that link directly, with one click, to a Web page full of compelling reasons to buy the advertised product or service. Even if only a fraction of one percent of all people who see a Web ad click on it, that is still an infinitely higher percentage than can click on a magazine ad or TV spot for additional information—or even to buy a product directly from the advertiser right now. Even if few readers click on an individual online ad and buy right now, a Web ad still has the same branding and general get the name out effect as advertising in other media. If the cost of an online ad is similar to the cost of one in another medium, it represents a better value because of the ability it gives an advertiser to give an interested person an entire Web site full of information right away, only one click removed from the online publication in which that ad is running. But the most direct way to make money online, no matter how a merchant gets traffic to his or her Web site, is to sell over the Internet. E-commerce has had its ups and downs, but the overall trend is upward, and it is likely to stay that way for many years to come. Putting up a catalog Web site is far less expensive than printing and mailing paper catalogs, and the Web site can have instant ordering and credit card acceptance built right into it, whereas a paper catalog can generate only phone orders that require a horde of (expensive) live operators to process or mail-in order forms that a customer must fill outAn WHAT IS E-BUSINESS? E-business (electronic business), derived from such terms as e-mail and e-commerce, is the conduct of business on the Internet, not only buying and selling but also servicing customers and collaborating with business partners. One of the first to use the term was IBM, when, in October, 1997, it launched a thematic campaign built around the term. Today, major corporations are rethinking their businesses in terms of the Internet and its new culture and capabilities. Companies are using the Web to buy parts and supplies from other companies, to collaborate on sales promotions, and to do joint research. Exploiting the convenience, availability, and world-wide reach of the Internet, many companies, such as Amazon.com, the book sellers, have already discovered how to use the Internet successfully. E-business is more than just having a web presence to facilitate buying and selling. Frank Jones, VP of IBM Corporation, provides this definition: E-business is exploiting the combined power of the internet and information technology to fundamentally transform key business strategies and processes. The most common implementation of E-business is as an additional, or in some cases primary, storefront. By selling products and services online, an e-business is able to reach a much wider consumer base than any traditional brick-and-mortar store could ever hope for. This function of E-business is referred to as ecommerce, and the terms are occasionally used interchangeably. An E-Business may also use the Internet to acquire wholesale products or supplies for in-house production. This facet of E-Business is sometimes referred to as eprocurement, and may offer businesses the opportunity to cut their costs dramatically. Even many E-Businesses which operate without an electronic storefront now use eprocurement as a way to better track and manage their purchasing. revenue from 5% in 2000 to 10% in 2007 . Asia-Pacific e-commerce revenues are projected to increase from $76.8 billion atIn addition to buying and selling products, e-business may also handle other traditional business aspects. The use of electronic chat as a form of technical and customer support is an excellent example of this. An e-business which uses chat to supplement its traditional phone support finds a system which saves incredible amounts of time while providing opportunities unavailable through traditional support. By using virtual computer systems, for example, technical support operator s can remotely access a customers computer and assist them in correcting a problem. And with the download of a small program, all pertinent information about the hardware and software specifications for a users computer may be relayed to the support operator directly, without having to walk a customer through personally collecting the data. In the past few years, virtually all businesses have become, to some degree or another, an e-business. The pervasiveness of Internet technology, readily available solutions, and the repeatedly demonstrated benefits of electronic technology have made e-business the obvious path. This trend continues with new technologies, such as Internet-enabled cell phones and PDAs, and the trend of e-business saturation will most likely continue for some time. International Data Corp (IDC) estimates the value of global e-commerce in 2000 at US$350.38 billion. This is projected to climb to as high as US$3.14 trillion by 2007. IDC also predicts an increase in Asias percentage share in worldwide e-commerce year-end of 2001 to $338.5 billion by the end of 2004. Asia-Pacific e-commerce revenues are projected to increase from $76.8 billion at year-end of 2001 to $338.5 billion by the end of 2004. SOME OF THE WAYS I CAN INCORPORATE E-BUSINESS INTO A COMPANY The goal is to digitize transactions, which are simply defined as exchanges of information. The number of opportunities is limited only by your creativity, cost, and good business sense. The best advice is to determine the best opportunities for payback and address them first. Make sure the benefit will pay back or exceed the cost. The following is a summarized list of functions and activities where e-business applications are becoming embedded into the typical business model. Visualize, if you can, a business where each of these business activities is completely integrated with the others, to form a completely integrated e-business. After sales service; ie. billing, demand planning, engineering, inventory planning, purchasing, receivables Business analytics; ie. financial performance, marketing, workforce, production, enterprise management Consultant management Customer relationship management; ie. account management, customer self-service, contact management communications, promotions, surveys, quality, help desk, field service E-procurement E-store/e-exchange/product catalog; ie. delivering b2b and b2c e-commerce, Finance; ie. asset management, accounting, budgets, invoicing, payables receivables, investments, government tax returns payments, payroll administration Grant donation management Human Resources Management; ie. resource planning, benefits administration, reward programs, recruiting hiring, workforce management, pension administration Investor relations Marketing and sales activities; ie. products, technical information, sales support, product life cycle management, corporate resume, portfolio, customer lists, customer service Materials management Order management customer fulfillment Project management Public Relations Strategic partner collaboration HAVING TRADITIONAL BUSINESS : WHAT DO ONLINE CUSTOMERS SEEK Consumer attitudes of those who shop and purchase online are significantly different from the habits and preferences of consumers who visit stores. Their purchase decisions are driven and based on a different set of factors tied to the characteristics of the e-space environment. For an e-commerce business to survive, it is absolutely necessary to establish and maintain an intimate understanding of the customers, their behavior, and the factors that drive purchase decisions. In the current e-commerce environment, online consumers are highly sensitive to the following characteristics: Quick page download time, 8-10 seconds Fast navigation, 2-3 page views to get to the consumers objective Logical and understandable first page view; purpose of site, companys mission, organization of site Quality user-friendly web site, easy to read and view with interesting graphics Immediate customer service, a human to contact to ask questions while browsing Complete product descriptions, price and other charges, and pictures Contact information, company address, store locations, telephone numbers, email address Confidentiality regarding use or sharing of consumer information Opt-out, or permission-given privacy policies for consumer data entered on the site Security arrangements for online transactions Convenient return policies and options Order acknowledgement ability to check shipping status Site stability, similar look and feel for each successive visit 10 SUREFIRE IDEAS TO START YOUR OWN ONLINE INTERNET BUSINESS Become a freelancer Do you have any specific skill? Sell it. Go to elance.com to find the job opportunities posted there. Start information website Do you have a passion to research any niche topic? Gather it, process it, rewrite it and start a new informational website on the researched topic. Participate in affiliate marketing (sell others product) Why dont you sell manufacturers or marketers product? To be precise, sell others product. Sell an ad space If you have a website or blog sell an ad space from it. If you dont have, try having one exclusively made for selling ad space. Sell your own old stuffs through EBay Start selling your product or your neighbors or friends product through EBay. Create a Niche blog Do you Blog for Fun? No dont blog it. Blog to generate income out of it, get hired by companies to write blog for them. or create your own niche blog (this might over lap with any one of the above strategy). Sell your services If you have a talent in any particular domain, and then sell it as a service. Be an Online service provider. Example: Online Brokers (this might also overlap) Create e-books on any subject of your interest and sell it across various channels like EBay, Amazon, etc IS E-COMMERCE THE SAME AS E-BUSINESS? While some use e-commerce and e-business interchangeably, they are distinct con- cepts. In e-commerce, information and communications technology (ICT) is used in inter-business or inter-organizational transactions (transactions between and among firms/organizations) and in business-to-consumer transactions (transactions between firms/organizations and individuals). In e-business, on the other hand, ICT is used to enhance ones business. It includes any process that a business organization (either a for-profit, governmental or non-profit entity) conducts over a computer-mediated network. A more comprehensive definition of e-business is: The transformation of an organizations processes to deliver additional customer value through the application of technologies, philosophies and computing paradigm of the new economy. Three primary processes are enhanced in e-business : Production processes, which include procurement, ordering and replenish-ment of stocks; processing of payments; electronic links with suppliers; and production control processes, among others; Customer-focused processes, which include promotional and marketing ef-forts, selling over the Internet, processing of customers purchase orders and Internal management processes, which include employee services, train-ing, internal information-sharing, video-conferencing, and recruiting. Electronic applications enhance information flow between production and sales forces to improve sales force productivity. Workgroup communications and elec- tronic publishing of internal business information are likewise made more efficient. payments, and customer support, among others; and WHY ESTABLISH A BUSINESS ON THE INTERNET? Fact versus Opinion On techniques we have practised. We will be sharing with you the methods we have used to establish our own internet business rather than harping on about theories. You will be reading a real success story written by real people. Everything you will find here can be verified and put into practice by you. There is no denying that the internet has brought about a revolution. Never before have people been able to interact in such a cost effective and comfortable way. The Internet with its multiple communication channels also changes the world of business. Now it is possible for you to establish your own company with a very small financial investment or in some cases even without any start-up capital at all. The majority of people in any country in the world do not really like their regular jobs. Nevertheless they get up early every morning to go to work and when they return home tired and frustrated they switch on the TV to forget all about their problems. They often dream about a life t hat gives them the freedom to do what they really like with people who are friendly, intelligent, understanding and supportive. When it comes to business, most people confuse their personal opinions with facts. They believe in fact that they know something when in reality they dont have all the data to support their beliefs.In this document section you will find factual information that is based on our experiences and our experiences Now with the Internet available in almost every household in any developed country, it is possible to achieve the type of lifestyle you have always dreamed about. The following facts will show why you really should consider establishing your own internet company : Downsizing: Lets face it — a computer is more productive than a human in business. areas such as accounting, administration, data management, calculating, statistics and many more activities. Whatever industry you name — new technologies increase productivity which, in turn, often leads to fewer jobs. To be sure new technologies also create new jobs but these require a much higher level of qualification and knowledge. A person who has been working in the same sort of job for several years is often not capable of acquiring all the skills and qualifications needed for a job in a new workplace. Globalization: The world is becoming more and more interconnected. Even, or maybe especially after September 11, international travel activities have been increasing and this pattern will continue into the future. The number of companies that operate on a multinational scale is constantly rising because they need new market places. In Europe nations have agreed on a uniform single currency — the EURO, enabling the European Community to develop into a strong economic entity. The same sort of thing is taking place in Asia with China, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan forming a powerful economic alliance. Information: More than 500 million people worldwide are using the internet on a regular basis, with email and search engines as the most popular services. Information is power. People are able to influence, direct, convince, educate and manipulate others through one single tool: The distribution of information. Email and discussion forums allow people to share their thoughts, ideas and experiences with other people from all corners of the world. Cost Effectiveness : The internet is by far the most cost effective communication tool. If you want to send a letter via conventional or so-called snail mail it will cost at least around $1 (assuming you restrict yourself to two single sheets of paper). Sending the same amount of information via email will be up to 100 times cheaper with immediate delivery. THE ADVANTAGES OF THE INTERNET So, lets recap. Never have the chances for setting up and running your own successful business been easier than they are today: While traditional industries like manufacturing are shrinking, new industries are growing especially the  «information industries You can use the internet to find your customers and business partners worldwide Your customers and partners can find you on the internet. You can use the internet to build a strong relationship with your customers especially via email. You can use the internet to market your products and services. You can use the internet to acquire all the information, training and qualifications you need for your business. You can set up a business with a very small marketing budget, something almost impossible in the real world. You can certainly list even more reasons why it is possible for anybody with a computer and access to the Internet to establish their own business. At the same time the reality is that only a very small percentage of people who do have a computer and access to the Internet, establish and run their own business. Why is this? The answer is very simple. Most people anywhere in the world, spend too much time thinking about things they do not want, instead of thinking about things they do want. As a result there are only a few people who have their own company and they usually earn more money than somebody with a regular job. Owners of comapines usually have more personal and financial freedom than people with regular jobs. But what exactly do you need in order to own a company? Money? A University degree? The right friends? Well, maybe some of these things can help you with your business but then they are not essential and are no guarantee of success. We have analyzed a number of successful online business people and here is a list of important characteristics all of them possessed. We know that the following qualities are essential for success as a businessperson so you should take the time to go through them and check whether or not you have them. All the information about how to set up a website, how to run an email newsletter, how to get a high ranking at Google, how to generate huge traffic to your website etc. will be worth nothing if you dont have most of the following s kills and qualities. 121 WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN E-BUSINESS? Self-Motivation Most people wait until someone else tells them what to do. Thats the way our society is organized. You go to school and the teacher tells you what to do. You study at university and the professors tell you what to do. Your parents tell you what is right and wrong. You get a job and there you will have a boss and colleagues who tell you what to do. Now, we all have to learn from others clearly but we do have a choice about where we get advice. If you want to know how to establish your own business, would you ask your colleague who has been working in a regular 9 -5 job for 15 years or so? Think about your teachers at school or your University professors. Do you think they know how to set up a business and become an entrepreneur? If we examine truly successful people we will find that they have a high level of self-motivation. This applies to any calling in life. Consistency, the ability to follow through Many people who do have self-motivation, quickly get enthused and inspired by a new idea. Getting excited or even thrilled by an idea might be great for the moment. A business, however, requires constant activity. If you want to establish and develop a company you need a high level of consistency also known as stickability. Once you have made the decision to set up your business, you must follow through this decision with consistency. Think about your life can you come up with an example where you have proved your consistency, your stickability? Did you ever want to learn to play an instrument or a sport or a learn a foreign language? How long did you stick to your plan? How much time did you spend on your project and what have you accomplished? Chances are that you started a lot of projects and half way through the course you quit because things got tough and you lacked stickability. If this is the case fear not. You are not alone. The truth is that most people quit as soon as things get more difficult. Making a long-term commitment is not easy for most people. This applies to personal relationships too Self-Discipline Are you the sort of person who tends to raise your voice when something doesnt go your way? Or do you even have A tendency to shout at your spouse, children or colleagues when you are under pressure? Whenever you start shouting, swearing or using negative language you are wasting your energy energy better put to use on your business venture. Swearing and grumbling kills your creativity and blocks your mind. You must be strong enough to withstand any tendency to get angry or upset or else you will never succeed in your business. Courage It takes great courage to make decisions and set goals because this means you have to prove to yourself that you can follow your own words through to a conclusion. Look at your friends, family and colleagues. How often do you hear somebody make a promise like  «Ill call you next week. » or  «Ill look this information up for you. » or  «Sure Ill help you when you move house, just let me know when you need me. » Those are statements, offers, promises all based on words. Yet, how often are they followed by deeds? Do you make New Years Resolutions such as  «Next year Ill quit smoking »,  «Next year Ill start this business course at night school », and  «Next year Ill go on a trip to Paris or Egypt with you »? How many of those resolutions and promises have you kept? How many of them did you simply forget two weeks into the New Year? It takes courage to make a real decision, as you will have to make a sacrifice to follow it through. Also, when you start up a busine ss you will be alone, at least to begin with. There will be no-one to tell you what to do, nobody at first to motivate and support you. You will have to take responsibility for yourself and to a certain degree, for any possible partners and you can only lead others if you have your own fears under control and are willing to take risks. Many people do not set themselves goals because they are afraid of failing of admitting defeat and they think the best way to avoid defeat is to simply not set goals. Willingness to learn and the ability to change habits When you decide to start your own Internet business you are also deciding to go back to school again. Not in a real physical sense but mentally. You will have to trawl for every single bit of information that will get you closer to your goal. To learn means youll need to change your habits and habits are established patterns of behaviour and thinking that everyone acquires throughout their lives. However, most people are not aware of the fact that they have to learn something new every day and that in order to learn, in order to obtain new knowledge and new skills they have to change some of these habits. If you want to learn a foreign language you have to change your daily routine. For example the habit of listening to your favourite music on the radio. Instead you could be listening to audio recordings in the language you want to learn. We all have a tendency to get used to things that are not only comfortable but also do not require much activity on our part. We get used to watching TV in the evening and eating convenience food at the same time because this is comfortable and doesnt require any mental activity. IF you want to establish your business, you wont have much time to watch TV for entertainment. You have to change your habit of absorbing information passively into one of actively searching for information in order to analyze, filter and reorganize it. Creativity Establishing a business means creating a product, service or system that solves a specific problem or enhances a persons life in one way or another. You can achieve this purpose when you create something new This doesnt mean that you have to re-invent the wheel though. Examine any new product development that enters the market and you will see that this  «new » creation is not entirely new but has been made up by combining existing elements in a novel way. This action of rethinking existing elements is the formula of creativity. So, in order to create something new you have first to analyze an existing product to find out how it can be improved, developed or enhanced in any way so it will do a better job. Take Google — its founders examined and analyzed existing search portals, in particular Yahoo and MSN. Based on their exhaustive studies they came up with an indexing and searching system that provides a higher search term relevancy. Study peoples behaviour — ident ify their latent needs and desires and you will tap into a never-ending supply of product ideas. Vision Vision is the ability to see things not as they are right now, but what they will be like in the future. Most people are so stuck in the moment, so preoccupied with their personal daily problems that they dont have the time or energy to think about how a particular market can develop in the future. Look at any successful business venture and you will find that its founder was able to project into the future, to estimate how peoples behaviour will change. Your success in business is directly related to your vision capacity » and your vision capacity is determined by two factors: How far ahead are you able to see into the future and how precise are your predictions? When Larry Page and Sergey Brin founded Google in 1998, they could see well beyond the year 2003, in which they yielded A revenue of almost $ 1 billion. By 1998 Yahoo and MSN were operating worldwide known search services and no one would have thought that two students could take the lead in the industry within 5 years. Y et, Brin and Page had become excellent analysts of the web search market and they collected and Incorporation of E-commerce into Business Incorporation of E-commerce into Business INTRODUCTION OF THE TOPIC In the emerging global economy, e-business have increasingly become a necessary component of business strategy and a strong catalyst for economic development. The integration of information and communications technology (ICT) in business has revolutionized relationships within organizations and those between and among organizations and individuals. Specifically, the use of ICT in business has enhanced productivity, encouraged greater customer participation, and enabled mass customization, besides reducing costs. With developments in the Internet and Web-based technologies, distinctions be- tween traditional markets and the global electronic marketplace such as business capital size, among others-are gradually being narrowed down. The name of the game is strategic positioning, the ability of a company to determine emerging op- portunities and utilize the necessary human capital skills (such as intellectual re- sources) to make the most of these opportunities through an e-business strategy that is simple, workable and practicable within the context of global information and new economic environment. With its effect of leveling the playing field, e-commerce coupled with the appropriate strategy and policy approach enables Small and medium scale enterprises to compete with large and capital-rich businesses. On another plane, developing countries are given increased access to the global Marketplace, where they compete with and complement the more developed economies. Most, if not all, developing countries are already participating in e-commerce, either as sellers or buyers. However, to facilitate e-commerce growth in these countries, the relatively underdeveloped information infrastructure must be improved. HISTORY OF INTERNET In the 50s and early 60s, prior to the widespread inter-networking that led to the Internet, most communication networks were limited by their nature to only allow communications between the stations on the network. Some networks had gateways or bridges between them, but these bridges were often limited or built specifically for a single use. One prevalent computer networking method was based on the central mainframe method, simply allowing its terminals to be connected via long leased lines. This method was used in the 1950s by Project RAND to support researchers such as Herbert Simon, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, when collaborating across the continent with researchers in Santa Monica, California, on automated theorem proving and artificial intelligence. The Internet system was developed and ready in the Late 1980s, but The Cold War held up the progress. When it ended in 1992, the internet slowly became main stream. By the end of the decade, millions were using it for business, edu cation and pleasure. The Internet was designed in part to provide a communications network that would work even if some of the sites were destroyed by nuclear attack. If the most direct route was not available, routers would direct traffic around the network via alternate routes. The early Internet was used by computer experts, engineers, scientists, and librarians. There was nothing friendly about it. There were no home or office personal computers in those days, and anyone who used it, whether a computer professional or an engineer or scientist or librarian, had to learn to use a very complex system. WHAT MAKES THE INTERNET SO POWERFUL? The Internet is the lowest cost system ever developed to communicate with a potential audience of hundreds of millions of people all over the world. Even locally, the cost of a simple Web site is usually less than the cost of a modest ad in a business telephone directory. A Web site can also give more information than a telephone directory ad, including color photos, detailed descriptions of products and services, and price information that can be changed at any moment, for any reason, instead of waiting for a printed directorys next publication cycle. As a news medium, the Internet is faster and more flexible than a newspaper or magazine. A story can be added to a Web site instantly at any time of the day or night. There are no deadlines (except self-imposed ones) for Internet news. The printing press is always on, you might say. Even television news, aside from a few 24-hour news channels, must usually wait for scheduled news broadcast times instead of breaking into entertainment programming whenever a new story comes along. Television is also constrained by its necessarily linear information delivery format. It must tell a story, then another story, then take a break for advertising, then tell another story, and so on, in sequence. A viewer cannot choose to view only a few stories that he or she finds interesting, which may occupy only five minutes out of a 30-minute newscast. On the Internet, a reader is free not only to choose to view just those stories in which he or she is most interested, but also gets to choose the order i n which he or she sees them. If sports scores are the highest item on todays agenda, click and theres the sports section, as easy as turning a newspaper page. Another click and theres the score from the game that just ended, possibly with video highlights only one more click away. Corrections, changes, and updates to a story published on the Internet can be made as fast as they come in without waiting for a printing press to roll. Breaking news alerts can be sent instantly by email to subscribers who request this service, and a reader can instantly communicate with an online publications editors via email or, if the publication has this facility, post his or her comments on a message board for other readers to see right away, without waiting for a fax or mail to get through and an editor to look the message over and perhaps include it in the letters to the editor section several days after the original story ran. An online publication can also offer an advertiser something that is not available in any other medium: ads that link directly, with one click, to a Web page full of compelling reasons to buy the advertised product or service. Even if only a fraction of one percent of all people who see a Web ad click on it, that is still an infinitely higher percentage than can click on a magazine ad or TV spot for additional information—or even to buy a product directly from the advertiser right now. Even if few readers click on an individual online ad and buy right now, a Web ad still has the same branding and general get the name out effect as advertising in other media. If the cost of an online ad is similar to the cost of one in another medium, it represents a better value because of the ability it gives an advertiser to give an interested person an entire Web site full of information right away, only one click removed from the online publication in which that ad is running. But the most direct way to make money online, no matter how a merchant gets traffic to his or her Web site, is to sell over the Internet. E-commerce has had its ups and downs, but the overall trend is upward, and it is likely to stay that way for many years to come. Putting up a catalog Web site is far less expensive than printing and mailing paper catalogs, and the Web site can have instant ordering and credit card acceptance built right into it, whereas a paper catalog can generate only phone orders that require a horde of (expensive) live operators to process or mail-in order forms that a customer must fill outAn WHAT IS E-BUSINESS? E-business (electronic business), derived from such terms as e-mail and e-commerce, is the conduct of business on the Internet, not only buying and selling but also servicing customers and collaborating with business partners. One of the first to use the term was IBM, when, in October, 1997, it launched a thematic campaign built around the term. Today, major corporations are rethinking their businesses in terms of the Internet and its new culture and capabilities. Companies are using the Web to buy parts and supplies from other companies, to collaborate on sales promotions, and to do joint research. Exploiting the convenience, availability, and world-wide reach of the Internet, many companies, such as Amazon.com, the book sellers, have already discovered how to use the Internet successfully. E-business is more than just having a web presence to facilitate buying and selling. Frank Jones, VP of IBM Corporation, provides this definition: E-business is exploiting the combined power of the internet and information technology to fundamentally transform key business strategies and processes. The most common implementation of E-business is as an additional, or in some cases primary, storefront. By selling products and services online, an e-business is able to reach a much wider consumer base than any traditional brick-and-mortar store could ever hope for. This function of E-business is referred to as ecommerce, and the terms are occasionally used interchangeably. An E-Business may also use the Internet to acquire wholesale products or supplies for in-house production. This facet of E-Business is sometimes referred to as eprocurement, and may offer businesses the opportunity to cut their costs dramatically. Even many E-Businesses which operate without an electronic storefront now use eprocurement as a way to better track and manage their purchasing. revenue from 5% in 2000 to 10% in 2007 . Asia-Pacific e-commerce revenues are projected to increase from $76.8 billion atIn addition to buying and selling products, e-business may also handle other traditional business aspects. The use of electronic chat as a form of technical and customer support is an excellent example of this. An e-business which uses chat to supplement its traditional phone support finds a system which saves incredible amounts of time while providing opportunities unavailable through traditional support. By using virtual computer systems, for example, technical support operator s can remotely access a customers computer and assist them in correcting a problem. And with the download of a small program, all pertinent information about the hardware and software specifications for a users computer may be relayed to the support operator directly, without having to walk a customer through personally collecting the data. In the past few years, virtually all businesses have become, to some degree or another, an e-business. The pervasiveness of Internet technology, readily available solutions, and the repeatedly demonstrated benefits of electronic technology have made e-business the obvious path. This trend continues with new technologies, such as Internet-enabled cell phones and PDAs, and the trend of e-business saturation will most likely continue for some time. International Data Corp (IDC) estimates the value of global e-commerce in 2000 at US$350.38 billion. This is projected to climb to as high as US$3.14 trillion by 2007. IDC also predicts an increase in Asias percentage share in worldwide e-commerce year-end of 2001 to $338.5 billion by the end of 2004. Asia-Pacific e-commerce revenues are projected to increase from $76.8 billion at year-end of 2001 to $338.5 billion by the end of 2004. SOME OF THE WAYS I CAN INCORPORATE E-BUSINESS INTO A COMPANY The goal is to digitize transactions, which are simply defined as exchanges of information. The number of opportunities is limited only by your creativity, cost, and good business sense. The best advice is to determine the best opportunities for payback and address them first. Make sure the benefit will pay back or exceed the cost. The following is a summarized list of functions and activities where e-business applications are becoming embedded into the typical business model. Visualize, if you can, a business where each of these business activities is completely integrated with the others, to form a completely integrated e-business. After sales service; ie. billing, demand planning, engineering, inventory planning, purchasing, receivables Business analytics; ie. financial performance, marketing, workforce, production, enterprise management Consultant management Customer relationship management; ie. account management, customer self-service, contact management communications, promotions, surveys, quality, help desk, field service E-procurement E-store/e-exchange/product catalog; ie. delivering b2b and b2c e-commerce, Finance; ie. asset management, accounting, budgets, invoicing, payables receivables, investments, government tax returns payments, payroll administration Grant donation management Human Resources Management; ie. resource planning, benefits administration, reward programs, recruiting hiring, workforce management, pension administration Investor relations Marketing and sales activities; ie. products, technical information, sales support, product life cycle management, corporate resume, portfolio, customer lists, customer service Materials management Order management customer fulfillment Project management Public Relations Strategic partner collaboration HAVING TRADITIONAL BUSINESS : WHAT DO ONLINE CUSTOMERS SEEK Consumer attitudes of those who shop and purchase online are significantly different from the habits and preferences of consumers who visit stores. Their purchase decisions are driven and based on a different set of factors tied to the characteristics of the e-space environment. For an e-commerce business to survive, it is absolutely necessary to establish and maintain an intimate understanding of the customers, their behavior, and the factors that drive purchase decisions. In the current e-commerce environment, online consumers are highly sensitive to the following characteristics: Quick page download time, 8-10 seconds Fast navigation, 2-3 page views to get to the consumers objective Logical and understandable first page view; purpose of site, companys mission, organization of site Quality user-friendly web site, easy to read and view with interesting graphics Immediate customer service, a human to contact to ask questions while browsing Complete product descriptions, price and other charges, and pictures Contact information, company address, store locations, telephone numbers, email address Confidentiality regarding use or sharing of consumer information Opt-out, or permission-given privacy policies for consumer data entered on the site Security arrangements for online transactions Convenient return policies and options Order acknowledgement ability to check shipping status Site stability, similar look and feel for each successive visit 10 SUREFIRE IDEAS TO START YOUR OWN ONLINE INTERNET BUSINESS Become a freelancer Do you have any specific skill? Sell it. Go to elance.com to find the job opportunities posted there. Start information website Do you have a passion to research any niche topic? Gather it, process it, rewrite it and start a new informational website on the researched topic. Participate in affiliate marketing (sell others product) Why dont you sell manufacturers or marketers product? To be precise, sell others product. Sell an ad space If you have a website or blog sell an ad space from it. If you dont have, try having one exclusively made for selling ad space. Sell your own old stuffs through EBay Start selling your product or your neighbors or friends product through EBay. Create a Niche blog Do you Blog for Fun? No dont blog it. Blog to generate income out of it, get hired by companies to write blog for them. or create your own niche blog (this might over lap with any one of the above strategy). Sell your services If you have a talent in any particular domain, and then sell it as a service. Be an Online service provider. Example: Online Brokers (this might also overlap) Create e-books on any subject of your interest and sell it across various channels like EBay, Amazon, etc IS E-COMMERCE THE SAME AS E-BUSINESS? While some use e-commerce and e-business interchangeably, they are distinct con- cepts. In e-commerce, information and communications technology (ICT) is used in inter-business or inter-organizational transactions (transactions between and among firms/organizations) and in business-to-consumer transactions (transactions between firms/organizations and individuals). In e-business, on the other hand, ICT is used to enhance ones business. It includes any process that a business organization (either a for-profit, governmental or non-profit entity) conducts over a computer-mediated network. A more comprehensive definition of e-business is: The transformation of an organizations processes to deliver additional customer value through the application of technologies, philosophies and computing paradigm of the new economy. Three primary processes are enhanced in e-business : Production processes, which include procurement, ordering and replenish-ment of stocks; processing of payments; electronic links with suppliers; and production control processes, among others; Customer-focused processes, which include promotional and marketing ef-forts, selling over the Internet, processing of customers purchase orders and Internal management processes, which include employee services, train-ing, internal information-sharing, video-conferencing, and recruiting. Electronic applications enhance information flow between production and sales forces to improve sales force productivity. Workgroup communications and elec- tronic publishing of internal business information are likewise made more efficient. payments, and customer support, among others; and WHY ESTABLISH A BUSINESS ON THE INTERNET? Fact versus Opinion On techniques we have practised. We will be sharing with you the methods we have used to establish our own internet business rather than harping on about theories. You will be reading a real success story written by real people. Everything you will find here can be verified and put into practice by you. There is no denying that the internet has brought about a revolution. Never before have people been able to interact in such a cost effective and comfortable way. The Internet with its multiple communication channels also changes the world of business. Now it is possible for you to establish your own company with a very small financial investment or in some cases even without any start-up capital at all. The majority of people in any country in the world do not really like their regular jobs. Nevertheless they get up early every morning to go to work and when they return home tired and frustrated they switch on the TV to forget all about their problems. They often dream about a life t hat gives them the freedom to do what they really like with people who are friendly, intelligent, understanding and supportive. When it comes to business, most people confuse their personal opinions with facts. They believe in fact that they know something when in reality they dont have all the data to support their beliefs.In this document section you will find factual information that is based on our experiences and our experiences Now with the Internet available in almost every household in any developed country, it is possible to achieve the type of lifestyle you have always dreamed about. The following facts will show why you really should consider establishing your own internet company : Downsizing: Lets face it — a computer is more productive than a human in business. areas such as accounting, administration, data management, calculating, statistics and many more activities. Whatever industry you name — new technologies increase productivity which, in turn, often leads to fewer jobs. To be sure new technologies also create new jobs but these require a much higher level of qualification and knowledge. A person who has been working in the same sort of job for several years is often not capable of acquiring all the skills and qualifications needed for a job in a new workplace. Globalization: The world is becoming more and more interconnected. Even, or maybe especially after September 11, international travel activities have been increasing and this pattern will continue into the future. The number of companies that operate on a multinational scale is constantly rising because they need new market places. In Europe nations have agreed on a uniform single currency — the EURO, enabling the European Community to develop into a strong economic entity. The same sort of thing is taking place in Asia with China, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan forming a powerful economic alliance. Information: More than 500 million people worldwide are using the internet on a regular basis, with email and search engines as the most popular services. Information is power. People are able to influence, direct, convince, educate and manipulate others through one single tool: The distribution of information. Email and discussion forums allow people to share their thoughts, ideas and experiences with other people from all corners of the world. Cost Effectiveness : The internet is by far the most cost effective communication tool. If you want to send a letter via conventional or so-called snail mail it will cost at least around $1 (assuming you restrict yourself to two single sheets of paper). Sending the same amount of information via email will be up to 100 times cheaper with immediate delivery. THE ADVANTAGES OF THE INTERNET So, lets recap. Never have the chances for setting up and running your own successful business been easier than they are today: While traditional industries like manufacturing are shrinking, new industries are growing especially the  «information industries You can use the internet to find your customers and business partners worldwide Your customers and partners can find you on the internet. You can use the internet to build a strong relationship with your customers especially via email. You can use the internet to market your products and services. You can use the internet to acquire all the information, training and qualifications you need for your business. You can set up a business with a very small marketing budget, something almost impossible in the real world. You can certainly list even more reasons why it is possible for anybody with a computer and access to the Internet to establish their own business. At the same time the reality is that only a very small percentage of people who do have a computer and access to the Internet, establish and run their own business. Why is this? The answer is very simple. Most people anywhere in the world, spend too much time thinking about things they do not want, instead of thinking about things they do want. As a result there are only a few people who have their own company and they usually earn more money than somebody with a regular job. Owners of comapines usually have more personal and financial freedom than people with regular jobs. But what exactly do you need in order to own a company? Money? A University degree? The right friends? Well, maybe some of these things can help you with your business but then they are not essential and are no guarantee of success. We have analyzed a number of successful online business people and here is a list of important characteristics all of them possessed. We know that the following qualities are essential for success as a businessperson so you should take the time to go through them and check whether or not you have them. All the information about how to set up a website, how to run an email newsletter, how to get a high ranking at Google, how to generate huge traffic to your website etc. will be worth nothing if you dont have most of the following s kills and qualities. 121 WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN E-BUSINESS? Self-Motivation Most people wait until someone else tells them what to do. Thats the way our society is organized. You go to school and the teacher tells you what to do. You study at university and the professors tell you what to do. Your parents tell you what is right and wrong. You get a job and there you will have a boss and colleagues who tell you what to do. Now, we all have to learn from others clearly but we do have a choice about where we get advice. If you want to know how to establish your own business, would you ask your colleague who has been working in a regular 9 -5 job for 15 years or so? Think about your teachers at school or your University professors. Do you think they know how to set up a business and become an entrepreneur? If we examine truly successful people we will find that they have a high level of self-motivation. This applies to any calling in life. Consistency, the ability to follow through Many people who do have self-motivation, quickly get enthused and inspired by a new idea. Getting excited or even thrilled by an idea might be great for the moment. A business, however, requires constant activity. If you want to establish and develop a company you need a high level of consistency also known as stickability. Once you have made the decision to set up your business, you must follow through this decision with consistency. Think about your life can you come up with an example where you have proved your consistency, your stickability? Did you ever want to learn to play an instrument or a sport or a learn a foreign language? How long did you stick to your plan? How much time did you spend on your project and what have you accomplished? Chances are that you started a lot of projects and half way through the course you quit because things got tough and you lacked stickability. If this is the case fear not. You are not alone. The truth is that most people quit as soon as things get more difficult. Making a long-term commitment is not easy for most people. This applies to personal relationships too Self-Discipline Are you the sort of person who tends to raise your voice when something doesnt go your way? Or do you even have A tendency to shout at your spouse, children or colleagues when you are under pressure? Whenever you start shouting, swearing or using negative language you are wasting your energy energy better put to use on your business venture. Swearing and grumbling kills your creativity and blocks your mind. You must be strong enough to withstand any tendency to get angry or upset or else you will never succeed in your business. Courage It takes great courage to make decisions and set goals because this means you have to prove to yourself that you can follow your own words through to a conclusion. Look at your friends, family and colleagues. How often do you hear somebody make a promise like  «Ill call you next week. » or  «Ill look this information up for you. » or  «Sure Ill help you when you move house, just let me know when you need me. » Those are statements, offers, promises all based on words. Yet, how often are they followed by deeds? Do you make New Years Resolutions such as  «Next year Ill quit smoking »,  «Next year Ill start this business course at night school », and  «Next year Ill go on a trip to Paris or Egypt with you »? How many of those resolutions and promises have you kept? How many of them did you simply forget two weeks into the New Year? It takes courage to make a real decision, as you will have to make a sacrifice to follow it through. Also, when you start up a busine ss you will be alone, at least to begin with. There will be no-one to tell you what to do, nobody at first to motivate and support you. You will have to take responsibility for yourself and to a certain degree, for any possible partners and you can only lead others if you have your own fears under control and are willing to take risks. Many people do not set themselves goals because they are afraid of failing of admitting defeat and they think the best way to avoid defeat is to simply not set goals. Willingness to learn and the ability to change habits When you decide to start your own Internet business you are also deciding to go back to school again. Not in a real physical sense but mentally. You will have to trawl for every single bit of information that will get you closer to your goal. To learn means youll need to change your habits and habits are established patterns of behaviour and thinking that everyone acquires throughout their lives. However, most people are not aware of the fact that they have to learn something new every day and that in order to learn, in order to obtain new knowledge and new skills they have to change some of these habits. If you want to learn a foreign language you have to change your daily routine. For example the habit of listening to your favourite music on the radio. Instead you could be listening to audio recordings in the language you want to learn. We all have a tendency to get used to things that are not only comfortable but also do not require much activity on our part. We get used to watching TV in the evening and eating convenience food at the same time because this is comfortable and doesnt require any mental activity. IF you want to establish your business, you wont have much time to watch TV for entertainment. You have to change your habit of absorbing information passively into one of actively searching for information in order to analyze, filter and reorganize it. Creativity Establishing a business means creating a product, service or system that solves a specific problem or enhances a persons life in one way or another. You can achieve this purpose when you create something new This doesnt mean that you have to re-invent the wheel though. Examine any new product development that enters the market and you will see that this  «new » creation is not entirely new but has been made up by combining existing elements in a novel way. This action of rethinking existing elements is the formula of creativity. So, in order to create something new you have first to analyze an existing product to find out how it can be improved, developed or enhanced in any way so it will do a better job. Take Google — its founders examined and analyzed existing search portals, in particular Yahoo and MSN. Based on their exhaustive studies they came up with an indexing and searching system that provides a higher search term relevancy. Study peoples behaviour — ident ify their latent needs and desires and you will tap into a never-ending supply of product ideas. Vision Vision is the ability to see things not as they are right now, but what they will be like in the future. Most people are so stuck in the moment, so preoccupied with their personal daily problems that they dont have the time or energy to think about how a particular market can develop in the future. Look at any successful business venture and you will find that its founder was able to project into the future, to estimate how peoples behaviour will change. Your success in business is directly related to your vision capacity » and your vision capacity is determined by two factors: How far ahead are you able to see into the future and how precise are your predictions? When Larry Page and Sergey Brin founded Google in 1998, they could see well beyond the year 2003, in which they yielded A revenue of almost $ 1 billion. By 1998 Yahoo and MSN were operating worldwide known search services and no one would have thought that two students could take the lead in the industry within 5 years. Y et, Brin and Page had become excellent analysts of the web search market and they collected and