DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
NMMU
ASSIGNMENT INFORMATION
2006
Library Short Loan File
Documents
1 Assignment lecture (separate power point presentation)
2 Report writing information
3 Examples of previous assignments
Gray, B.A. 200134598
Louw, M.J. 200345879
Rootman, C. 202086751
Van Eeden, S.M. 200206979
Note: Title page
Group names in alphabetical order
Name of lecturer/lecturers
AIDS AND THE SMALL BUSINESS
THE PERSPECTIVE OF PRO-DIVE
DATE: 9 April 2004
LECTURER: Ms J Krüger
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
1 INTRODUCTION 1
2 LITERATURE OVERVIEW 2
2.1 Aids in South Africa
2.2 Impact of Aids on business
2.3 Steps and measures being undertaken by
business to combat Aids 3
3 EMPIRICAL RESEARCH 4
3.1 Background of small business interviewed
3.2 Report on findings 5
4 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 6
LIST OF SOURCES
ANNEXURE A: COMPLETED QUESTIONNAIRE
Note: Contents page (centred heading)
Treat headings in contents page the same as in text e.g. bold / not bold
No full stops after numbering
No heading numbers for List of sources / Annexures
(No page number)
1 INTRODUCTION
Problem statement “It is estimated that one in eight persons in South Africa has Aids…
Reason for the research….. It is unknown what the perception of the small business is towards Aids and what is currently being done to manage and combat this disease.
The Objective is to investigate the following among small businesses, namely their attitude towards Aids, the impact of Aids on their business and the what steps (if any) are being undertaken to manage and combat Aids
Method of research A theoretical investigation into Aids was undertaken and existing secondary sources (journals, internet and books) were consulted. An empirical research was conducted by means of an interview and a structured questionnaire.
Difficulties encountered – Working in the group, lack of sources, existing sources were old etc
Contents to follow – What follows is firstly an overview of Aids in South Africa, its impact on business and an overview of steps and measures being undertaken by business to combat Aids. This is followed by the results of the interview conducted.
Note: No page number shown on the first page of report
No full stops after numbering of headings
Headings are not shown in introduction – merely a guide
ASSIGNMENT
Note: Important information to note
No headings shown in introduction
Title page
· According to instructions (NO FRILLS)
· Names: Surnames first in alphabetical order
· Double title page: for receipt purposes
Table of contents
· Numbering
· No full stop after the numbers
· List of sources (at the end) – no number
· Page numbers must be indicated, Page heading
· Layout of table of contents must be the same as in the body of the report i.e. if a heading is in capitals and underlined in the body it should appear the same in the table of contents
Body/text of the assignment
· Never not refer to “I” or “we”
· Headings must be numbered
· Page numbers are shown (except first page)
· When taking information from a book, no matter how short the extract, reference or source MUST be acknowledged and indicated (otherwise plagiarism)
· If use of reference in the body it must appear in the list of sources
Referencing
· The first time a source is used (three or more authors) it must be in full, thereafter make use of et al.
List of sources
· In alphabetical order and listed
· According to “How to complete a scientific assignment”
· No numbers / bullets
NB NB NB….
Consult: “How to complete a scientific assignment”
Note: Documents may not resemble and copy exactly from the original work
Meiring, A.H. / 204001706
Roux, G.J. / 204006090
Sparius, O. / 204003202
THE USE OF “E-COMMERCE”:
A SMALL BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE
Module: EB101
Lecturer: Ms B Gray
Date: 2 April 2004
table of contents
Page1 / Introduction / 1
2 / Literature overview
2.1 / The nature and importance of e -commerce / 1
2.2 / The uses of e-commerce by A small business / 2
2.3 / The factors influencing the use of e-commerce / 3
2.4 / The Current and future trends in e-commerce
/ 3
3 / Empirical research
3.1 / General information / 4
3.2 / The use of e-commerce / 5
3.3 / Factors influencing the use of e-commerce / 5
4 / Conclusion and recommendations / 7
List of sources / 8
ANNEXURE a: completed questionnaire
1 INTRODUCTION
Problem statement “E-commerce is changing the way we communicate shop, invest, learn and stay informed about the world around us.”
Reason for research In today’s information driven society the use of e-commerce is becoming increasingly more important. This report is focused on determining the role e-commerce plays in the small business enterprise.
Objective The aim of this report is to investigate and focus on the nature and importance of e-commerce, its uses in the small business environment and the factors influencing this usage.
Method of research A theoretical research on e-commerce was undertaken and existing secondary sources were consulted. An empirical research was conducted by means of an interview with a small business owner and structured questionnaire.
Difficulties with research A vast amount of information is available, causing difficulties to find only that relevant to the report. Some information was outdated and could not be used.
Contents to follow Firstly a literature overview is given about what e-commerce is, its uses in small businesses and future trends in e-commerce. To follow is the report back on the findings of the questionnaire used to interview a small business owner to determine the role of e-commerce in the particular small business.
2 LITERATURE OVERVIEW
2.1 THE NATURE AND IMPORTANCE OF E-COMMERCE
According to www.gcal.ac.uk e-commerce is a business approach in which some or all of the sales and customer support processes are managed electronically, usually via the Internet. According to the website www.intechnology.co.uk an e-business combines the resources of traditional information systems with the vast reach of an electronic medium such as the Internet (including the World Wide Web, intranets, and extranets). E-commerce plays an important part in today’s information driven society. It enables enterprises simplifies many day-to-day tasks. An example is that business transactions can be done from anywhere around the world independent of office hours. The most important part e-commerce plays in the small business environment is that it creates the opportunity for small enterprises to compete with larger ones for customers. (www.iib.qld.gov.au) According to Davis & Benamati (2003:7) “the real potential of e-commerce is improved efficiency, not revenue generation.”
2.2 The uses of E-commerce by a small business
According to the web site www.sccd.sk.ca a business can utilize e-commerce in many ways to work faster, more efficiently, or to facilitate relationships with customers, suppliers or partners.
On the Internet a business can create a website that provides information for existing and potential stakeholders (such as customers, investors, shareholders, etc.) about products, services or developments. A business can be accessible through their website. In this way a business improves its customer service by having a faster response time for ordering and after –purchase service. (www.sccd.sk.ca)
Newsgroups, chat rooms, web-based newsletters and banner ads can all be used to promote a business beyond its current client base. A business can also use its web site to solicit market research from clients or guests to their sites about what products or services they want and need, and what they think of current products or services offered. The electronic sharing of information also reduces the need for meetings which are time consuming and involve large amounts of paper. (www.sccd.sk.ca)
Customers can shop or do other transactions 24 hours a day, all year round. This facilitates international trade, especially from countries in different time zones. (Tassabehji 2003:12-13)
2.3 The factors influencing the use of e-commerce
According to Williams (1999) in a study done by Goeler (1998) the factors identified to implementing e-commerce includes the following:
The costs involved. The main concerns are the lack of funds for implementation costs, the lack of monthly cash to maintain sites and the probability that their will be no real return on their investment. The security concerns are customer fraud and the potential for hackers to gain access to vulnerable information.
The businesses in the study by Goeler (1998) had the necessary technical skills, but they were impeded by the difficulties of implementing and integrating commerce sites. The majority of the Businesses in the study by Goeler (1998) were worried “that the loss of customer contact would decrease the quality of service.”
Visa (1998) is of the meaning that gender and age have an influence on how small businesses utilise technology.
2.4 THE Current and future trends in e-commerce
E–commerce has grown in the United States from zero in 1995 to a $95 billion retail business and reached a $1.2 trillion turn over rate in 2003. In the next five years electronic business is expected to grow at double digit rates, making it the fastest growing commerce in the world. (Davis et al. 2003:i-iv)
According to Tassabehji (2003:299-301) e–commerce trends can be divided into 5 phases:
Phase 1 (1995+) The very earliest stages of internet advertising, businesses and organisations were using the internet to establish a presence in the cyber world
Phase 2 (1998+) Faculties for basic electronic transactions developed. Very few user interaction and transactions were done mainly off line. Companies use internet as an alternative channel to increase revenue and sales. At this time a lack of internet users and sufficient skill and technology resulted in a slow moving process.
Phase 3 (2000+) This stage has already begun or is at the begin stages for many companies and for those at the peak of e –commerce technology it is still developing. Companies are now concentrating on achieving system compatibility to support business changes and they are moving closer and closer to customers, suppliers and manufacturers. Information, products and services are becoming more personalised and customised to individual consumers. The goal now is profit – commercial benefits and survival.
Phase 4 (2003+) Involves re-engineering of sites to promote e-commerce. Organisation and transactions time delay decrease to reach an aim claimed by Bill Gates (business at the speed of thought). Goal – Continued growth and development.
Phase 5 (2006) Here the business model would have developed to a whole new dynamic and increasingly comfortable system and no longer be seen as new. E-commerce becomes an everyday activity, where after we can expect a new wave of business activities.
3 EMPIRICAL RESEARCH
3.1 GENERAL INFORMATION
A small business enterprise in Uitenhage, called Do IT Computers was interviewed. The form of the enterprise is a partnership and the owners are Mr. G.J. Roux and Mr. J. van Niekerk. The owners do not have management qualifications, because they are both still in school. Do IT Computers has been in existence for 2 years and has employed only the two owners for the entire period. Taking into consideration that the business is run part-time the annual turnover of R500 000 or less is quite impressive. The business has experienced strong growth over the past two years and with the addition of Mr. Roux a few months after the start of the business, their business has also experienced growth in employees. Both of the owners regard the business profitable and agree that the business is very successful.
3.2 THE USE OF E-COMMERCE
E-commerce tools get used quite extensively in Do IT Computers. The internet is the main form of communication for Do IT. They use it to communicate with their customers and with all of their suppliers. Financial and management accounting and the set-up and upkeep of a database are solely done on computer and are the responsibility of Mr. Roux. Mr. Van Niekerk is responsible for managing the payroll and benefits as well as the e-filling and the banking. All of the banking activities get done via the internet. The internet and e-mail correspondence are used regularly to search for, locate and correspond with new suppliers.
Orders from the suppliers and payment of these orders are done via the internet, but unfortunately no order can be made electronically. The business relies heavy on the electronic payment of accounts by customers, as the only other way to pay is with physical cash. Customers can enquire about their order via e-mail, but tracking facilities are not available. Products get promoted the old fashion way, but the business also makes use of more modern means of advertising, like sms and e-mail. This is largely restricted by the financial implications. The internet is used to gather information regarding the product that the business is selling as well as any thing else that is of interest to the business.
3.3 FACTORS INFLUENCING THE USE OF E-COMMERCE
Infrastructure The business has a modern and extensive infrastructure. Computer technologies are at the fore front of technology and access to the internet provides no problem. The business also has access to a reliable, uninterruptible ISDN internet connection which provides sound internet security, and computer software like Microsoft Windows XP and Office System 2003 gets used for all the management activities. The only thing that the business lacks is its own web-site, but this is largely because of the financial pressure it will put on the enterprise.
Skills/Training Both of the owners of the enterprise are extremely competent when it comes to computers. They both know how to use the internet, all of the software that they use and, although they don’t have a web-site, they know how to create and maintain a web-site. Most of the knowledge is self taught and when uncertainty arises they consult books and the internet. Both of the owners have attended workshops, but not on a regular basis.
Knowledge of benefits The owners strongly agree that an enterprise cannot operate efficiently if it doesn’t make use of E-commerce tools and that these tools will reduce the overall cost to the business. They agreed further more that sales volume would increase with the use of these tools and that new costumers can be reached more easily when using E-commerce tools. Mr. Van Niekerk added that E-commerce tools improve customer satisfaction and that it also helps businesses to deliver better customer services.