Business Skills For Ecommerce

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

It is widely accepted that evolution of new technologies, tends to change communication among the different individuals around the world. Relationship of the enterprise with its stakeholders, internal and external functioning has notably changed.

An enterprise can be either commercial or a government agency. Usually, they are organized with a tight command control structure where different proposal are put under close supervision in terms of planning and execution. They have a clear division of responsibilities and are liable to execute additional functions and actions than their core business competency calls for.

Key words: core, business, functions, stakeholders, institute, operation

Table of Contents

Task 1

Core business functions are activities of an enterprise yielding income: the production of final goods or services intended for the market or for third parties. Categorize various core business functions. Select a core business functions for the educational institute and give reasons for your answer. (1.1)(M2)

In any organization there exists a common set of core business functions that must exist for the organization to set job appropriately. Even co-operatives, non-profits, franchise and educational institutions must recognize their customers, maintain the relationship, and deliver a good quality service in exchange for funds (Bizmanualz, n.d).

Some Business Functions:

Accounting

Finance

Administration

Sales

Marketing

Management Information System

Human Resources Management

Research and Development

Operation

Analyzing the Core Business Function

The main function of a business is its key or core activity and its motive for being. Activity can be either a single or a number of associated activities. According to Barnard (2008), Core business functions are the key functions of a business that support the reasons for the business to exist in the first place.

In an educational institute different business functions have different task to be accomplished. Some major functions are listed below:

Operation

Core Business Functions

Finance

Marketing

Management Information System

Fig: 2.2 Core Business Functions of Educational Institute

Operation

Operation involves setting the operational main concern for the department or section. Operational main concerns are the key issue that will have an important impact on the business in such a way that it would make diversity to the success of the department or section. These can be seen as vital targets. They have to have to be done or met to reach their goals. Operational main concerns are usually recognized by each business components in line with the demands set on them by the organization itself (Barnard, 2008).

Marketing

Every business must understand that goods and services will not sell themselves unless they are marketed, which means getting right goods in the right quantity to the right place at the right time. Marketing involves more than just selling the product or service. The fundamental elements of the marketing practice are product, price, promotion, and place, generally known as 4Ps. These elements form the marketing mix. It is essential for business to maintain high market awareness to maximize profitable sales, and to know when new competitors emerge (Fleming, 2001). 

Marketing is done to promote products and services through a range of contents such as new paper articles, online posts, stories, video promotion or other medium. Online marketing has proved to be beneficial for institute because of buyers’ psychology. Usually, parents browse through different web sites, internet forums and blogs before choosing institutions (Indalytics, 2012). At the same time, numerous students are found actively participating in different form of social networks which is too beneficial for educational institute to promote their institutions online. Therefore, publishing through such medium will raise the number of people enquiring (Demiray and Sever, 2011).

Management Information System

Management Information Systems (MIS) involves the managing of stakeholders and the entire systems related to information technology. MIS goal is to integrate both fields of expertise and apply the power of technology to solving business problems.

Generally this process is beneficially for students too. For example, implementing Information Technology in syllabus prepares students for numerous chances in the information technology field and business. They will be eligible for careers such as managers of computer service departments, or designing software’s for big companies. It aims to fulfill the gap between technical knowledge and business functions (Drexel University, 2012). 

Likewise, institute can improve its quality and efficiency by automation numerous repetitive task by performing faster with less amount of time and fewer staffs. It assists institute to be more cost efficient by helping it to cut out unnecessary costs. Also by implementing automation system, helps to save high cost of extra personnel.

Finance

In education sector, finance department is one of the most important departments; it provides the financing and accounting information essential to make different decisions in institutions. Planning, budgeting and forecasting (PB&F) is also known as one of the most demanding activities Finance carry out and it influences all sections of the organization. It delivers process efficiency savings and more precise forecasts which can lead to improved business plan and implementation (Farrell and Geere, 2012).

Core Business Function of an Educational Institute

Operation

Operational management helps to evaluate the operation of an educational institute and the responsibilities of its administrators and other staffs related within it from an open system structure. The dimensions of an institute can be bounded into three wide groups of inputs, transformation process, and outputs.

Input

Transformation Process

Output

Transform inputs into final outputs, either goods or services.

Fig: 2.2 Simple Organization Process

This structure assists in the analysis of institute operations and more distinctively, in the organization system of operational management. Moreover, it significantly contributes to the quick and precise identification of problems, and focuses the institute administrator’s towards the efforts on the major fields to introduce a new change in the system (Lunenburg and Ornstein, 2008).

Input

Local government enacts different laws to run the institute operations. On the other hand society also helps to run institutions by providing it with personnel and financial supports. For example, students want appropriate and beneficial course content to prepare them from the real world or to achieve higher education (Lunenburg and Ornstein, 2008). Teachers demand for better salaries and working environment with job security. Board members aspects high return on their investment and quality of education within certain resources. Other special interest population has their own goals. The job of the institute is to incorporate these various goals into a workable plan of action.

Transformation Process

Transformation processes are termed as central to operations management system. It ensures that inputs are transformed into valuable outputs. Therefore, the focus of the operations management is to deal with the different portion of design in the transformation procedure as well as planning and operational control (Pycraft, et al., 2000). Here, input supplied from outside environment is converted into some form of output by the organizations. Certain job is performed in the system to produce output. The system adds credibility to the working process. Transformation process comprises of the internal operation of the organization and operational management system.

Technical competence of institute administrator, as well as their communication skills, operation plan, decision making and their capability to handle the change are regarded as the different components of the system of operational management. Decision made by the administrator within the institute will directly affect the outputs.

Output

In educational institute, output include students success, teacher performance, development levels of students and employees, staff management relationship, institute-society relationship, student approach towards institute, and staff job satisfaction. Finally, the outside environment responds to these outputs and gives feedback to the system. Feedback is vital to the success of the institute operation (Lunenburg and Ornstein, 2008).

Similarly, output can be measure from different dimensions. For example, when academic staffs, buildings and ground (inputs) are mix together, they give rise to the number of students enrolled in the institute (Cooper, et al., (eds), 2011). In order to achieve better outcomes administrator need to secure and utilize inputs from the outside environment, change them through organizational behavior such as providing structure, motivating, leading, communicating, applying changes, developing syllabus, administrating employees, and investing the institution to generate outputs.

Conclusion

Overall the main concern is to reach an agreed perceptive of the operational functions of any part of the institute the problem is set in. It is not proposed that input-output plan give any respond as such. On the other hand they do provide a beneficial way in to the problem and solution.

Also when business becomes increasingly demanding and dynamic, institute continuously explore different venue to reduce costs by streamlining internal processes and their relationships with the trade partners (Yuansheng, et al. (eds), 2007).

Task 2

You are a marketing officer of the educational institute. Evaluate how your institute affects and is affected by the stakeholders to achieve the set aims and objectives of your institute.

Stakeholders are group of population or individual who can affect entire organization or is affected by the attainments of the organization's standards. A stakeholder may be actively concerned in institutional jobs, affected by the outcome, or in a position to affect the success (Piscopo, 2012).  They are influenced by organization, but they also have the ability to manipulate organization; thus, the relationship between companies and their stakeholders is a two-way street (Ferrell, et al., 2008).

Every institute has a vision based on mutual standards and values. To maintain such values and standards, marketing officer is the one responsible for keeping stakeholders informed of what is going on in the institution, taking their feedbacks and asking about their desires and expectations. In general, marketing officer can engage all related stakeholders in the course of developing and improving the mission statement and idea for the institute which provides focus and direction (DiPaola, and Thomas, 2003).

Several stakeholders can be identified in an educational institute, who support the institution and give important emphasis, play their role effectively in order to help reach student their fullest potential. In board term, stakeholders can be categorized into two divisions, internal and external. Internal refers to inside the organization who are already dedicated to serve it whereas external refers to outside the organization who are affected its work and decision made. It is important to get the perspectives of both groups.

Major Stakeholders

The stakeholders signify the values and standards of a society while still abiding by the decisions of nation. For better understanding the roles of distinctive stakeholders, some of them roles are explained who are closely involved in the overall operations of the institute.

Educational Institute

Internal Stakeholders

External Stakeholders

Administration

Board of Director

Financer

Manager

Teacher

Students

Customer (individual or organization)

Parents

Suppliers of material or other resources

Creditors

Government

Professional organizations

Fig: 3.1 Stakeholders of Education institute

Administration

To ensure the better education for students and supports for teacher, administration department should be familiar with accessible resources to sustain the various requirements of students, families and staffs and must recognize how to access extra support.

Also administration department can create special education concerns integral when planning for professional development, distribution of handbooks, equipments, books and other materials. They ensure that special education is not placed at the end of the line as an afterthought (Council for Exceptional Children, 2000). 

Financer

In order to achieve the objectives, all education institutes must handle and receive both finance and resources (Coleman and Anderson, (eds), 2000). 

The responsibility of the financer is to support the administrations in managing the institute financial resources to ensure that they are used in well-organized and efficient approach for educational purposes only. Development should be visible with staffs, teachers and other groups being encouraged to be the part of this decision making group.

Although the financer is responsible for analyzing and evaluating the budget there is usually little scope within the budget to implement major changes (DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, 2008).

Government

Government support private investment in educational sector by contributing monetarily or by providing funds to private institute. These supports can be provided at the outset in the form of free land, establishment grants, and education infrastructure. Similarly, government contribute by offering tax credits to parents to cover tuition and other fees as an alternative to provide funding or by giving tax payback to individuals and firms that provide donation to educations trust funds. (Patrinos, et al., 2009). 

Parents

Parents they play vital role in supporting the institute. Their main aim is to guarantee that their children receive quality education, later on which will enable them to lead industrious satisfying lives as adults in international society. For example, parent participation with their children's learning progression through attending institution programs, involving in the decision making, cheering students to manage their academic time, characterize a valuable resource for institution across the country (NSTA, 2013).

Parents are key stakeholders to the educational institution decision making process. Many parents' decisions on educational issues are significantly influenced by their values and beliefs rather than school law (Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler, 1997).

Teacher

Like student, teacher also plays an important role in the education sector because one cannot function without other. "The empowerment of teachers will facilitate the empowerment of students (Short and Greer, 2002)." The teacher as stakeholder is anticipated to show the professional understanding to lead their students in order.

In addition, to serve as instructional role, they can be mentor, counselor, coach, supervisor and leader. Teacher can be mentor of other teachers too. In every aspect of teacher’s daily responsibilities, supervising role is present and is essential. And as counselor role, teacher gives different advices to students and to school board.

The inspirational factor for them is associated to the impact their responsibility playing in producing individuals who are beneficial to the society they live in."The ends of education have to do with such things as providing the society with a culturally literate citizenry, a world-class workforce, people who can think and reason (Schlechty, 2001).

The teacher is dedicated to perform their role with an understanding of how significant teachers are to the society. Without them, our society would not be able to function as a worldwide competitor.

Conclusion

For the business to be successful it is important to recognize and identifying all stakeholders’ needs and creating value to all are key concern areas within the performance management in the knowledge management society. There is no single model still accepted for measuring and managing performance in higher educational institution. Most of the educational institute fails to address their entire stakeholder needs after recognizing the importance and contributions of all stakeholders. Hence, understanding the wants of stakeholders, satisfy and integrate those wants into the policy of institute after careful consideration of capability of the educational institutions is essential. Moreover the institution needs to recognize the stakeholder viewpoint in making their decisions. Everyone must engage with the actions in the institute and hard work and loyalty of all stakeholders is vital in the educational sector.

Task 3

You are required to make a presentation to understand the impact of introducing eCommerce systems in your institute for better running of the organization. (2.1)(M3)

Presentation Slides (1-4)

Presentation Slides (5-8)

Presentation Slides (9-10)