E Business The Electronic Work Essay Research

E Business The Electronic Work Essay, Research Paper

Introduction

During the last ten years information technology has experienced unprecedented levels of change, this technology is not only influencing the way in which we conduct business, it is changing the way in which we conduct our lives. The invention of the personal computer has affected us all in some way, but it is the Internet, or the World Wide Web as we think of it now that is leading the way forward in communications. The creation of this information highway is being compared in status to that of the industrial revolution. The impact of it is embroiling governments and leading industrialists in a technology battle to keep up with the immense changes ahead. Barbara Roache MP, Under Secretary of State for Small Firms writes in a bulletin for The Department of Trade and Industry: -

We stand on a threshold of a revolution in the way we do business. We can not afford to underestimate the impact of electronic commerce on the global marketplace, or the important part it has to play in creating our vision of the UK of the future a modern knowledge based economy.

The Web

Developed from Arpanet, a system used by the American Department of Defence as a means of communication between academic and government mainframes, the Internet as we know and use today was created from a software application developed by an English man Tim Berners-Lee in nineteen eighty nine. With a mere one hundred thousand users at that stage, the web has grown to colossal proportions, ten years later by nineteen ninety nine that figure had grown to one hundred and fifty million, and it is now estimated that five hundred million users will be connected by two thousand and three. (Figures and information gathered from articles from Pricewaterhouseacoopers web sight.) To emphasise this unquestionable growth and to highlight the speed in which this medium is developing, a report from the United States of America Department of Commerce stated that: -

The Internets pace of adoption eclipses all other technologies that preceded it. Radio was in existence 38 years before 50 million people tuned in; TV took 13 years to reach that benchmark. Once it was opened to the general public, the Internet crossed that line in four years.

This is a staggering figure considering that this growth is still escalating further. Using data drawn from Pricewaterhousecoopers web site it is estimated that current and future figures for users world-wide are as follows: –

Location Current 2005

+ North America 151 million 231 million

+ Western Europe 87.7 million 213.7 million

+ Asia Pacific 72.1 million 189.7 million

+ South/central America 19.6 million 56.1 million

+ Eastern Europe 10.8 million 45.5 million

With this type of infrastructure it is no wonder businesses worldwide are embracing the technology and investing heavily for their futures. The latest trend following on from an American lead, is the way in which telecommunication companies such as NTL are willing to forego Internet call charges, instead they are relying on revenue gained from advertisers who use the web as a form of electronic billboard a bold decision, but one that proves their belief in the future of e-commerce.

E-Business

One of the major uses of the Internet for businesses is the ability to conduct work electronically, hence the term E-Business was born. To simplify this term the author of Pricewaterhousecoopers web page explains that: -

E-Business is the use of information technology to conduct business among buyers, sellers and other trading partners Think of it as any other business practice that improves performance, creates value and establishes customer relationships, only it is done electronically over the Internet.

The term e-business encompasses everything carried out electronically within the business environment e-commerce, e-tailing, and e-procurement, to businesses it is not just about financial transactions, it is about forming business partnerships. The ability for an organisation to be in constant touch with both its suppliers and customers is paramount to allow continued growth and success.

Most smaller organisations are now finding themselves being drawn into the e-business arena; like it or not, the large industrial giants whom the smaller company relies upon are forcing their hands into change. Many larger organisations are now insisting that all business be conducted solely in an electronic format, in an article written for The Economist magazine the author states that: -

When a really large company moves some or all of its operations to the web, important things start to happen. The first is a ripple effect. All the big companies trading partners come under intense pressure to turn into e- businesses too. The big firm, having invested a lot of money in e-business infrastructure, is determined to get a return on it. Customers and suppliers who want to trade the old-fashioned way will get frozen out, while those who get it will simply win more business.

Clearly the larger organisation needs good returns on its substantial investment in new technology, to fulfil this requirement the subordinate organisation must follow their lead, enabling the greater power to achieve ultimate benefit. However in doin

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