ShinnAdolph Melissa #0482558 417.621.5108 [e-mail] Thomas Edison State College August 2011 Creating and Implementing the Electronic Enterpr ise MAR306OL
Written Assignment #3 1. Chapter 10 Question: How has the Internet impacted the content that newspapers can offer? The internet distributes free news content from places like Yahoo, Google, and MSN. This has made newspaper revenues fall dramatically, to say the least. Paid newspaper subscriptions are down 13 million since 1990, newspapers have downsized 61%, and over 60% of newspapers have reduced news staff in the last three years. (E-commerce: Business, Technology, Society. Laudon, Kenneth C. and Carol Guercio Traver. 2010, 6th edition. pgs. 670-675) 2. Chapter 11 Questions. Read the Case Study on pages 757-758 in your text. Then answer these questions: a. Is iVillage a general purpose portal for all women or a vertical portal? Visit the iVillage site and make a list of both its general and vertical features to support your argument. The iVillage website as essentially a portal site that presents content on a wide range of women's issues, activities and areas of interest for women of various ages. Some Vertical Features: a) iVillage Entertainment b) iVillage Food c) iAstrology.com by iVillage Some General Features: a) Email b) Personal Homepage c) Instant Messaging (<http://www.ivillage.com> 15 October 2011) How do you think visitors to the site will appreciate more general features? More focused features? Visitors to iVillage will appreciate more general features as well as more focused features. The general features of a website have become commonplace and expected. The vertical features have somewhat become commonplace, but not all websites have the same vertical features. iVillage has features that appeal to women. b. What recommendations do you have for iVillage management for new kinds of services and content that would generate revenue? If you are/were a woman, what would attract you to visit the site more often? Ideas for additional services/content for revenue a) Auction site b) Garage sale site c) Couponing site c. What important concepts in e-commerce are demonstrated in the iVillage case? Paid advertising is the biggest revenue in e-commerce for the iVillage site. 3. Chapter 12 Questions: Define a. the term supply chain and explain what SCM systems attempt to do. What does supply chain simplification entail? Supply Chain "Firms that purchase goods, their suppliers, and their suppliers' suppliers. Includes not only the firms themselves, but also the relationships among them, and the processes that connect them."
(E-commerce: Business, Technology, Society. Laudon, Kenneth C. and Carol Guercio Traver. 2010, 6th edition. pg.777) "Supply chain management systems coordinate and link the activities of suppliers, shippers, and order entry systems to automate the order entry process from start to finish, including the purchase, production, and moving of a product from a supplier to a purchasing firm." (E-commerce: Business, Technology, Society. Laudon, Kenneth C. and Carol Guercio Traver. 2010, 6th edition. pg.781) b. Explain the difference between a horizontal market and a vertical market. "A vertical market is on that provides expertise and products for a specific industry, such as automobiles. In contrast, horizontal markets serve many different industries." (E-commerce: Business, Technology, Society. Laudon, Kenneth C. and Carol Guercio Traver. 2010, 6th edition. pg.774) 4. Module 3 Question: Describe the ways in which e-commerce is able to augment the traditional role of the firm. What key effects will e-commerce have on a firm's ability to establish and achieve its goals? In your answer, comment on (a) the firm of the future (circa 2027) and (b) the key environments within which the firm will operate. E-commerce has taken the traditional role of the firm and moved it into a whole other world. It has given the traditional firm the chance to reach customers on the other side of the country and the world. By doing so, it has enhanced its revenue like no other outlet ever could have. E-commerce will allow a firm to do more than it ever thought possible. Again, it will allow the firm to reach people all around the world. Firms can set goals it would never have before the internet came along and grow exponentially. The firm of the future might be 3D photographs, video modeling of the product, or something not even thought of yet. The firms may operate solely online. They could even have delivery services for their brick and mortar sites.