E-COMMERCE AND THE FUTURE OF MODERN BUSINESS

With the rapid increase and development of technology, information systems are no longer a novelty. They have become an ordinary component of our everyday life, varying from private every day use (such as emailing friends, chatting on MSN, etc) to corporate use, by facilitating business processes and transactions. In the modern days, an office is practically inexistent without the use of some kind of information systems. The old office, where people used only pens, paper, calculators and envelopes is quickly ceasing to exist in that particular form. Today we are moving into an era of “intangible” business processes, where business communication and transactions can be conducted anywhere, anytime, and with a simple mouse click .

E-Commerce is currently changing the way business is conducted with very few organizations debating whether or not to participate in it. This essay will focus on the rise and importance of e-commerce, in order to illustrate that electronic commerce is the ‘behind’ any successful modern business.

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Costs can also be cut in other areas such as in training staff and paying for labour, as less training and labour are required (INF400F notes)

Businesses cut down on costs (e. those who have a physical office and use e-commerce a means of business expansion), as opposed to Net firms which are centred on e-commerce, such as Amazon and Yahoo (Walden & Subramani 1999: 195). The benefits of reduced transaction costs are enjoyed both by the customers and the business.

The old office is part of the old economy, which mainly depended on manufacturing companies that produced standardised products. Based on this assumption, it has been argued that on the long run, the old office (non-net firms) will be better off than the modern office (net firms), because it already has retail experience, brand recognition and a good reputation and credibility, advantages that net firms don’t necessarily have (Walden & Subramani 1999: 195), unless they have started as a non-net firm and moved to a net firm. In the old days, if a person lived in Africa and wanted a product that was only available in Europe or in the United States, he/she would have to travel to the destination where the product is available or ask a friend who would go there to buy it. Other variants such as customer to business and business to customer also apply, with the Internet as the main medium of communication. This definition implies business to business transactions, as well as customer to customer transactions. Yet with the growth of e-commerce, it can be predicted that the future of modern businesses is e-commerce due to reduction in costs, time management and convenience.

Furthermore, non-net firms tend to ensure more trust as opposed to net firms (Barnard & Wesson: 2003). A product can be purchased anytime, anywhere in the world. There is even a website called PriceWatch, which will find a list of prices and stores of the product you are willing to buy, thus saving your time and expenses.

The main assumption in this model is that the old office or the non-net firms will sooner or later expand their market to the web.

Common topics in this essay:
Kotler Armstrong, Pearlson Saunders, Rahman Mahesh, Bernard Wesson, Walden Subramani, Firms Non-net, Greenstein Vasarhelyi, Europe United, South Africa, Marusich Blackthorn, schneider 2004, net firms, non-net firms, modern office, kotler armstrong, kotler armstrong 2004, armstrong 2004, walden subramani 1999, 2004 16, wesson 2003, walden subramani, subramani 1999, schneider 2004 16, expanded business web, office net firms,

Approximate Word count = 1792
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

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