The Use Of Ict

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

INTRODUCTION

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have become an essential part of our lives. In the past decade, the use of ICT throughout societies started with the introduction of the internet. The internet started mainly as network for researchers that gave the opportunity to share information and ideas. An important step in the commercialization of the internet was the announcement of the World Wide Web (WWW) in 1991 by Tim Berners-Lee of European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) (Kalakota and Whinston, 1996).

Today, the internet can facilitate the quick and efficient movement of information among trading partners at a greatly reduced cost to businesses via the internet and therefore electronic business has become one of the principal means of doing business (Ministry of Commerce, Barbados, 2005).

The world Trade Organization (WTO) defines E-business as the production, distribution, marketing, sale or delivery of goods and services by electronic means. Broadly defined, electronic business encompasses all kinds of commercial transactions that are concluded over an electronic medium or network, essentially, the internet. Electronic business is a new way of doing business. E-business is transacting or enabling the marketing, buying and selling of goods and or information through an electronic media especially the internet (Payne, 2003).

E-business involves the fundamental reengineering of the business model into an internet based networked enterprise. This has to do with the degree to which an organization transforms its business operations and practices throughout the use of the internet (Hackbarth and Kettinger, 2000 ; Mehrtens et al 2001; Poon 2000; Poon and Swatman, 1997).

In this respect, Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary General opined that the ability of developing countries to adopt e-business can be another opportunity for accelerated economic growth and development.

However, according to research conducted, companies and the private sector in Africa are not been active imitators of e-business. For example, a survey in Ghana (part of a Ghana SCAN-ICT study) revealed that about 65% of ICT companies do not have a presence on the internet and 84% reported that they were not involved in e-Business.

The service industry especially the hospitality industry are extending their national and regional coverage to be able to provide the needed hospitality service. In this development, it is expected that the use of the internet would facilitate the adoption of e-business in Ghana hospitality industry as a means of offering reliable, flexible and cost-effective ways of doing business as well as enhance their competitiveness. This especially as volume of trade increases in Ghana and other developed countries require fast transfers of monies, payment across continents and many other services that promote growth of business.

As with most developing countries that have pursued economic and structural reforms, for example India has been undergoing a process of financial sector restructuring and transformation as an integral part of a comprehensive strategy for some time. This is important because electronic transactions will continue to grow and only countries that make a move towards embracing e-business will participate in this revenue generation.

Hospitality in India is one of the industries being radically transformed by ICT. For example, most hotels within the main cities in Ghana now employ cutting edge technologies to roll out their services to their clients. Hotels today are becoming increasingly aware of both the threat and the opportunity that the Web represents. ICT-mediated services such as electronic fund transfer, electronic booking, cell phone hospitality among others are transforming the traditional way of hospitality and providing competitive edge for hotels that provide those services. But, to be competitive in the internet economy, companies need to harness the power of the internet successfully hence it is important to understand the benefits, barriers and challenges related to companies‟ adoption of e-business.

E-business has dramatically changed how companies‟ business processes are implemented and has also enhanced industry structure and shifted the balance of power between corporations and their suppliers and customers . Companies in every industry have had to evaluate the opportunities and treats presented by e-business. By thinking strategically about e-business, managers can select technological solutions that support the company‟s business strategies and create value for the company and its customers.

The Internet is driving the new economy by creating unprecedented opportunities for countries, companies and individuals around the world. Today business managers worldwide recognize the strategic role that the internet plays in their company‟s ability to survive and compete in the future . Indeed, currently businesses everywhere need to understand that if, when and how to use electronic business. In some industries, businesses are learning now that this is no longer an option to consider but a requirement for survival (Payne, 2003). The reach of the underlying information and communication technologies (ICT) making electronic business possible is also causing unprecedented globalization of business. Businesses in developing countries will soon be affected as significantly as that elsewhere . In this respect, the former UN Secretary General opined that the ability of developing countries to adopt e-business can be another opportunity for accelerated economic growth and development.

As the economy of India is growing, the service industry, especially the hospitality industry is extending their national and regional coverage to be able to provide the needed hospitality service. It is expected that the adoption of e-business in India hospitality industry would ensure the offering of reliable, flexible and cost-effective ways of doing business as well as enhance their competitiveness as volume of trade increases between India and other developed countries require fast transfers of monies, payment across continents and many other services that promote grown of business .

As with most developing countries that have pursued economic and structural reforms, India has been undergoing a process of financial sector restructuring and transformation as an integral part of a comprehensive strategy for some time. This is important because electronic transactions will continue to grow and only countries that make a move towards embracing e-business will participate in this revenue generation .

Hotels today are becoming increasingly aware of both the threat and the opportunity that the Web represents. ICT-mediated services such as electronic fund transfer, electronic booking, and cell phone hospitality among others are transforming the traditional way of hospitality and providing competitive edge for hotels that provide those services. But, to be competitive in the networked economy, companies need to harness the power of internet successfully.

E-BUSINESS IN HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

Web sites are marketing tools designed to entice potential customers and prompt a positive buying decision. Once that decision has been made, your Web site can become an effective vehicle for reservations, other business transactions, ongoing communications, travel planning, cross-marketing, client services, and other revenue-generating or service-enhancing features. Your budget will determine the features you can add, but here are some to think about:

Booking reservations Booking activities Weather information

Local attractions Gift shop sales Restaurant

reservations

Maps and driving Product and Pictures and videos

directions service info

Personalized GM Personalized Extranet for

greeting travel pages group billing

Interesting links Referral links— Personalized offers cars, etc.

Event reservations Live action camera Customized group

Digital branding and why is it important in e-business initiatives in hospitality industry

Digital branding is the translation of your unique brand values and personality into a "user experience" you create on a Web site, kiosk, or wireless application. A digital brand can consist of a collection of colors, images, fonts, and sounds that your customers identify with your property. As more consumers and suppliers interact with your company through e-business, it is critical to convey your digital brand through each of these channels to build customer awareness and loyalty.

E-business offers hospitality companies the opportunity to take control of the customer relationship in a deeper one-to-one manner. An increasing number of people expect to communicate directly with their chosen service providers (including hotels) in this manner. A strongly branded Web site that provides useful information and functionality will over time produce a significant return on investment and contribute to your success.

Web-based reservations in hotel

Offering Web-based reservations is crucial to your Web site’s success. Many hotels’ Web sites now offer this ability, and many consumers prefer the convenience and anonymity of online bookings. If you force them to make a phone call or access another site to reserve a room, you may lose their business.

Many of the Internet-based reservation services can provide privately branded booking screens that can be incorporated into your property’s Web site. Add this capability to the list of criteria you will use to evaluate potential service providers. You may also be able to secure a similar service through any existing chain or representation affiliations. A less functional and less desirable approach would be to insert a hyperlink to your property’s page on the service provider’s site so that bookings can be made directly on that site. There are several drawbacks to this option. Once you hand off your customers to another Web site, there is no way to tell if they booked a reservation with you or if they shopped around and chose a competitor. You may also lose the opportunity to get closer to your customer by gathering more information, selling them other services, or having them communicate directly with you via your Web site.

Finally, in addition to reservation capabilities that you may design into your own Web site, remember that if you are affiliated with a major chain, representation firm, or franchise company, they will ensure that your hotel is bookable via the Web.

E-BUSINESS ADOPTION

In order to acquire a holistic view to the electronic business adoption phenomenon, academic and research community has focused a lot of attention on the analysis of the electronic business adoption process as well as on the investigation of the significant factors that affect the specific process. This has resulted in the propagation of various theories and model to explain E-business adoption among which are the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Diffusion of Innovation theory (DOI) and the Staged Adoption Theory (European Commission, 2007).

THE STAGES ADOPTION THEORY

The staged theory has been widely use as a way of examining the adoption and progression of various aspects of electronic business in organizations. The main assumption of the stages theory is that organizations progress towards electronic business through a number of clearly defined and successive stages and phases. Each adoption state or phase is characterized by the existence of distinctive applications, benefits and problems while it reflects a particular level of maturity in terms of the use and management of information system s and information technologies .

It is also assumed that the electronic business adoption is linear, while the outcome and the developments of the progressive are cumulative (European Commission, 2007).

Electronic business can be approached in many different ways, depending on the specific business process that might be carried out through the internet. Thus, several internet usage profiles or approaches are possible. A company must determine which profiles or combination of profiles best suits its particular business context and strategy.

The staged adoption theory clearly delineates five stages:

i. Information gathering stage: Within the staged adoption model, early stages of electronic business adoption are typically characterised by gaining access to the internet,

ii. Simple application stage: followed by the use of relatively simple application, such as electronic mail, in order to dispense and gather information

iii. Information publication stage: Later, the business starts to publish a wider range of information in order to market its products or services and perhaps provide after sales support

iv. E-commerce stage: The deployment of electronic commerce practice comes next, following the use of corporate sites to order and or pay for goods and services. v. E-business stage: In most matured stages, the corporate websites is fully integrated with the various back office systems such as enterprise resource planning(ERP), customer relationship management(CRM) and integrated supply chain management(SCM) applications(Mendo and Fitzgerald, 2005) .

The Table 1 below depicts the main stages of E-business adoption and the key characteristics of each stage.

Table 1: Stage and characteristics of adoption

Stage

Characteristics

5.E-business

Fully integrated network. Enterprise Resource Planning(ERP) applications, Customer Relationship Management(CRM) applications and Integrated Supply Chain Management(SCM) application

4. E-commerce

Active corporate sites, Online ordering of goods and services, online payments

3. Information publication

Publish a wider range of information, marketing products or services online provision of after sales support

2. Simple application

Electronic mail, Domain creation, and information storage media

1.Information gathering

Acquisition of computers and accessories, and internet facilities,

.

THE TECHNOLOGY ACCEPTANCE MODEL (TAM)

Understanding why people accept or reject new information or communication technology has been one of the most challenging issues in the study of new technologies (Davis, 1989). Among the various efforts to understand the process of user acceptance of information systems, the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) introduced by Davis (1989) is one of the most cited theoretical frameworks. The model aims not only to explain key factors of user acceptance of information systems, but also to predict the relative importance of the factors in the diffusion of technological systems (Davis, et al, 1989). This model attempts to derive the determinants of computer acceptance that is general, capable of explaining user behaviour across a broad range of end-user computing technologies and user populations, while at the same time trying to be parsimonious and theoretically justified (Davis et al, 1989).

The TAM is rooted in the theory of reasoned action , which has been applied to predicting and explaining user behaviours across a wide variety of domains. According to the theory of reasoned action (TRA), a person's performance of a specified behaviour is determined by his or her behavioural intention to perform the behaviour, and behavioural intention is jointly determined by the person's attitude and subjective norms concerning the behaviour in question . Following the logic of the TRA, the TAM explores the factors that affect behavioural intention to use information or computer systems and suggests a causal linkage between two key variables—perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use—and users' attitude, behavioural intention, and actual system adoption and use.

Perceived usefulness is defined as "the prospective user's subjective probability that using a specific application system will increase his or her job performance within an organizational context," while perceived ease of use refers to "the degree to which the prospective user expects the target system to be free of effort" . As Figure 1 illustrates, the TAM is a path model that identifies the impact of external factors such as system design characteristics, user characteristics, task characteristics, nature of the development or implementation process, political influences, organizational structure, and so on. The TAM suggests that information system usage is determined by behavioural intention, which is viewed as being jointly determined by the user's attitude toward using the system and the perceived usefulness of the system.

BENEFITS OF E-BUSINESS ADOPTION

Companies gain two fundamental types of benefits from e-business. These are generally described as: Value Creation or Value Enhancement for one or more company‟s stakeholder group; and lower cost of providing goods and services to the market place.

Among the value creation include are improvement in internal and external communications through effective e-marketing, increment of sales through an e-commerce website integrated with a back-office system and improvement on supplier relations and productivity through collaborative workspaces.

Whiles lower cost benefits include: reduction in communication and travel costs using online meeting tools; shared workspaces and benefits from license free open source alternatives to proprietary software .

Businesses also enjoy tremendous opportunities such as cost saving, revenue generation, increased market share, marketing and market access and improving customer service through direct link that facilitate speedy enquiry and feedback. Similarly, consumers can inter alia, access the world market through the virtual economy on the internet, choose from a wider variety of products, and shop in the comfort of their homes .

Globalization and specifically liberation of communication networks have all facilitated this breakthrough that further present massive boost for international trade .

It has been argued that firms should go the e-business way and outlines the integrated benefits derived by firms who have already integrated e-business in their proce. Research has shown that the cost of a full-service trading transaction is about $150. It will cost $69 doing the same using a discount broker and $10 using an online broker. That is about $140 saving on doing business on the web .

The commercial benefits of e-business lie in five areas:

i. Firstly, firms are able to expand their geographical reach

ii. Secondly, important cost benefits lie in improved efficiency in procurement, production and logistics processes

iii. Thirdly, there is enormous scope for gaining through improved communication and management

iv. Fourthly, the internet reduces barriers to entry for new markets entrants and provides an opportunity for small firms to reorient their supply chain relationships to forge new strategic partnerships.

v. Finally, e-business technology facilitates the development of new types of products and new business models for generating revenues in different ways.

CHALLENGES TO E-BUSINESS ADOPTION

There are many factors affecting the successful adoption of new technologies, such as e-business is generic in nature and that the successful adoption of internet technologies in part depends on how they are used in conjunction with the technologies and management practices that form a „technology cluster.

Common barriers include;

i. Unsuitability for the type of business: The challenge of unsuitability of e-business model for the type of business has to do with the reasons for adoption which vary widely among sectors and countries and mostly commonly related to lack of applicability to the business in question and preferences for established business models (OECD, 2004)

ii. Also factors the enable the adoption of e-business are not readily available .Enabling factors such as the availability of ICT skills, qualified personnel, network infrastructure. The most critical barrier can be ascribed to the very limited information and communication infrastructure available in most countries in Africa .

iii. The cost factor of implementing e-business is high in terms of the acquisition of ICT equipments and networks, software and re-organization

iv. Security and trust factors militate against the adoption of e-business as there is lack of reliability of e-commerce systems, uncertainty of payment methods, poor or no legal frameworks and intellectual property right enforcement. Lack of reliable trust and redress systems and cross-country legal and regulatory differences also impede e-business adoption.

v. Besides all the above challenges in areas of management, skills, technological capabilities, productivity and competitiveness also impede e-business application The tourism sector has received some considerable attention in the economic development strategy of Ghana Since the late 1980s. The number of tourist arrivals and amount of tourists' expenditure has steadily increased, while both public and private investment activity in various tourism sub-sectors have

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expanded. Ghana moved up from the seventeenth position in 1985 to eighth in 1998 among the top twenty (20) leading tourism revenue-earners in Africa (WTO, 1999).

The international tourist arrivals in India has increased steadily from nearly 114,000 in 1988 to about348,000 in 1998, at an annual average growth rate of about 20 percent. With respect to tourist's expenditure, international tourism receipts grew at an average annual rate of 41.3percent from about $55.3 million in 1988 to about $285 million in 1998. This makes tourism the third largest earner of foreign exchange currently ranking behind mineral and cocoa exports .

The hospitality industry consists of broad category of fields within the service industry that includes lodging, restaurants, event planning, theme parks, transportation, cruise line, and additional fields within the tourism industry. The lodging sector in the hospitality industry forms the most crucial part since most of the other service are in one way or the other provided by most standard hotels. Lodging is a type of residential accommodation where people who travel and stay away from home for more than a day lodge for a fee.

The growth in tourism can also be seen in the expansion of activities in the hotel sector.

The current plan for international tourist arrivals per annum is projected to increase from 286,000 in 1995 to1, 062,000in 2010 and consequently requiring 11, 350 accommodation beds (WTO/UNDP, 1996).

It has been emphasized that the immense contribution of ICT towards the development of the hospitality industry and the country as a whole is enormous and that organizations from all over the world now depend almost on the use of ICT to manage and market their services. Therefore those who have not as yet adopted ICT in their operations to take a critical look at it .

The contribution of the hospitality industry to the overall growth of the economy of India cannot be overemphasized. For the hospitality industry to succeed, the need for efficient and responsive hotel subsector which incorporates modern trend of business and customer service cannot be ignored. The efficiency and smart services provided attributable to e-business present a bigger opportunity to firms, industry and the country as a whole necessitating the availability of knowledge through research.

How e-business challenges are overcomed by hotel industry

The biggest challenges of a successful e-procurement implementation are change management and supplier adoption. Change management deals with the people side of e-procurement and changing buying behavior. The new solution will not be successful if people within the organization avoid using the system. Linked with change management is supplier adoption. Focusing on which suppliers to bring online for the quickest return on investment, supplier adoption ensures success by reinforcing the benefits and capabilities of online purchasing. If the change management issues and supplier adoption challenges are addressed together, the implementation of e-procurement practices becomes much easier.

An easily avoidable challenge is inadequate technology and access to the Internet. Given the right tools in the form of updated PC technology and high speed Internet access, e-procurement should, in most cases, significantly improve the otherwise mundane and time consuming task of creating requisitions, and generating, approving, and tracking purchase orders.