Now Everyone's eBusy

The leaders in B2C, C2C and B2C are largely MNCs like Amazon, E-Bay and Dell, respectively, yet now we have a new leader in the marketplace - You. Businesses are now easily set up with minimal costs, due to free software downloadable online to help run the day-to-day business. Many software companies also offer 30-90 day trials of their product. You can now start a business from scratch, with no budget, and have instant access to a global market.





Although entrepreneurs might be eBusy and have a good business idea, many factors determine success. govWorks.com was an online company, started by two entrepreneurs. Within two years of setting up, their employees grew from eight to over two-hundred, with an overhead cost of $1m per month. In 2001, after wasting over $70m invested, govWorks.com filed for bankruptcy. There were ego-issues among co-founders and lacking a clear strategy in alignment with competitors, resulting in the failure of the company.


From a technical point of view for companies, when the world began to 'flatten', communication became an integral part of any business. The development of the mobile phone allowed business people to communicate via phone-calls. Now, with the invention of smartphones, we can do all the work we could only do from our desk on a small, handheld device.
 


Original Mobile Phone

Modern-Day Smartphone


This gives rise to the opportunity for more productivity. However, many people now struggle to detach themselves from their work, because work is no longer confined to 'the office'. The fact that a device in our pocket connects us to a market that never sleeps means we're always accessible, through calls, texts, e-mails and social-networking. So when are we 'at work'? I don't believe that 9-5 hours exist anymore. Indeed, the shareholders aren't complaining, but how about the parents, spouses, children and friends?

 

 

 

REFERENCES

http://www.cnet.com/1990-11136_1-6278387-1.html

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmYstnHfmiI

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GovWorks

 

http://www.ehow.com/list_7468796_disadvantages-smartphones.html



 

Multi-National eBusy-nesses

A well-known mining corporation called Goldcorp made over $3bn in gold, when they launched a mass-collaboration (or wikinomics) competition to the public, sharing their geological data. This saved vast amounts of time and money. This helped Goldcorp's market value to $90bn and the geological information cost them just $500,000. On the other hand, what if this unveiling of secrets turned up very few findings and proved unsuccessful? In an industry where  intellectual property is one of the company's most valuable assets, key decisions like this can also have a detrimental effect.

MNCs like Nike, have been able to jump on the band-wagon of a 'flatter world', due to advanced technology, and outsourced its manufacturing to contractors in third-world countries - “The majority of their output today is produced in factories in China, Indonesia, and Vietnam”. Monopolising the shoe industry with a 50% market share by avoiding US labour law and utilising it's “Just Do It” slogan, ignoring 'child labour' claims in order to make greater profits. Nike's outsourcing techniques are sure to catch up with them and they may not be able to avail of the low minimum wage-rates in these third-world countries.

McDonalds launched a pilot project that “saves 30 seconds per drive-thru order” by having the person taking your order working in a separate building (call centre) elsewhere. Although this may save labour costs, McDonalds still have 5% of their customer complaints because of incorrect drive-thru orders. Evidently, not all eBusiness innovations are valuable in the eyes of the customer.

Or maybe it is working...

 

REFERENCES

http://www.unc.edu/~andrewsr/ints092/vandu.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcK3b9qlBfk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjGLsp9a6bg
 

http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-201_162-679730.html

Individuals Getting eBusy

 “The golbal playing field is being 'leveled' by technology” - Friedman (2005). This has made first world countries and developing nations practically neighbours. It's not just companies that go global anymore, with individuals like the US programmer who outsourced his job to China, while paying only one-fifth his salary to the third party contractor/developer.

With nothing to do, his working-day consisted as follows:

 

 However, the effects of outsourcing on developed nations are not all good. Once his boss found out, he was fired and I'm sure the company began researching into outsourcing all their programmer's work for a fraction of the cost, particularly because his "performance reviews noted him as the best developer", even though it wasn't him at all. This results in a loss of skilled workers in developed countries, being replaced by cheaper labour from developing nations.

It's not just customers who are busy and want to avoid wasting time, now staff can use eBusiness developments to create more time in their hectic lives. The most successful airline company in the US, Jet Blue airlines have a 'home reservation system', by which, while you order your flight over the phone, your call is rerouted to a staff member who makes your reservation from their own home (maybe even their own bed - see image). This may be cost-effective for Jet Blue, but it would undoubtedly prove tough for them to keep track of staff performance. Any reduction in customer care service may put their status in jeopardy

REFERENCES

Friedman, Thomas - 'The World is Flat' (2005)

http://securityblog.verizonbusiness.com/2013/01/14/case-study-pro-active-log-review-might-be-a-good-idea/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcK3b9qlBfk

eBusy Organisations

Since the invention of the Internet, the World Wide Web and Netscape's 'browser', followed by a trillion dollar investment in fiber-optic cable, resulting in broadband and wireless, businesses have transformed the way they function. Going 'global' is no longer such a challenge for corporations. Oversees communication is now just a formality for Multi-National Corporations (MNCs).

Companies use software applications such as Skype to conduct interviews and video conference calls. Businessmen on different sides of the planet can edit live documents online, using new 'cloud-computing' applications like GoogleDocs. However, as Damien McCoy (Cisco Systems) says "If you're not paying for the product, you are the product". These sites can analyse our online activity, so they can sell our preferences/demographics to marketers. I would be wary of the dangers of fraud and intellectual property theft when openly storing data online.

Wang 2200

In 1978, Owen McDonough & Associates were the first practice in Galway to purchase a computer (Wang 2200). It cost £13,500 (€60,000 - 2012). Dell PCs are now used, which cost a fraction of the price. In 1981, at the largest computing trade show in the US (Comdex), Dell produced a computer that was twice as fast as computing giant IBM. Reporters asked Michael Dell why there was need for a computer that fast. However, now we use similar amounts of power for many children's toys! Advances in technology and reduction in cost, globally, have allowed us to become more eBusy, but eveidently if you want to get ahead in the eBusiness world, it comes at a cost, and often one that might not pay off.

REFERENCES

Friedman, Thomas - 'The World is Flat' (2005)