A PAPERLESS ECONOMY? INSTRUCTING STUDENTS ON THE ASPECTS OF SUCCESSFUL ELECTRONIC COMMERCE Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 25, 1998 A PAPERLESS ECONOMY’ INSTRUCTING STUDENTS ON THE ASPECTS OF SUCCESSFUL ELECTRONIC COMMERCE Richard G. Plan, University of West Florida Walter J. Wheatley, University of West Florida INTRODUCTION It is difficult to say how large the Internet has grown, but by the end of 1996 there were at least 10 million users in the USA (Miers & Hutton, 1997). The Internet has changed the way companies do business. The new market place on the Internet allows organizations to interact with customers on a scale that was never before thought possible. Preparing for growth is difficult. Organizations that wish to maintain their competitive advantage must also adapt to new technology as it is developed. Summarized below are the findings of this study that examined a multitude of organizations which have attempted electronic commerce. The results of the study were very convincing that there are certain things the organizations who are successful in utilizing electronic commerce do as contrasted to the organizations, who were not successful, did not do. ASPECTS OF SUCCESSFUL ELECTRONIC COMMERCE Leveraging the Internet Planning and developing a strategy are always important to an organization when adapting to the challenges of any new technology. Whatever the strategy, it should be funded with the expectations of long-term market-building rather than short- term payoff. Too many organizations have had their strategies fail because they could not meet the expected tangible payoff in a short time frame (Borsook, 1996). The impact of the Internet on electronic commerce is no exception. Today’s electronic commerce is evolving rapidly. Adapting to the challenges of electronic commerce requires new strategies. Every business should immediately consider the implications of the new era for themselves and their markets. Those companies that are the first to offer an effective combination of electronic commerce and the Internet will likely be the most profitable players and will have an undue influence on the development of this market. Planning for Growth Planning for future growth, as well as understanding current needs are essential to maintaining an organization’s competitive advantage gained through electronic commerce. As Paramount Pictures discovered, the unexpected popularity of their Web site caused disappointment to many potential customers who were unable to access the site because of the tremendous volume. Paramount Pictures’ solution to their problem was to outsource the site to CerfNet’s farm of Web servers. A Web farm is a collection of servers and management technologies that allows an organization to distribute information needed for a Web site. The Web farm lets an organization and individuals access the site as if it were on a single server under the control of the local owner (Eskow, 1997). Business Process Redesign (or Re-engineering) From an organizational perspective, the benefits associated with electronic commerce include reduced paperwork, more accurate and speedy business transactions, quicker and easier access to information, and reduced need to re-key information into computers (Alper, 1997). The potential for realizing the benefits of electronic commerce do not come automatically. 215 Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 25, 1998 The Internet has been instrumental in shaping today’s global market. Time, location, and even whom one conducts business with are not limitations. Electronic commerce is the key to conduct business in the global community. This will require businesses to rethink their strategies and philosophies and to focus on well-defined market niche’s understood by the organization’s founders (Borsook, 1996). Simply replacing existing paper based systems will reap few real benefits. It may reduce administrative costs and improve the level of accuracy in exchanging data, but it does not address the questions of whether business is being done efficiently in the first place. Electronic commerce applications can help reshape the ways in which business is conducted and has often acted as a catalyst for companies to use Business Process Redesign (BPR). Business Process Redesign (or Re-engineering) is about reassessing the ways in which an organization conducts business. It is about looking at the flows of information and/or objects through production processes. It is about optimizing the use of resources and communicating more efficiently with trading partners. BPR requires lateral thinking to reappraise how to conduct business both internally and with trading partners. Value-added Products and Services On the Web, the customer will almost certainly know more about the supplier than the supplier knows about the customer. Thus, the Web site should be highly customizable for customers and extensively cross-linked from other sites throughout the Internet (Borsook, 1997). Electronic customers are not passive targets. If the trust relationship is right, they quickly become active partners and advocates introducing new customers without further encouragement from the supplier. Such relationships are built with partners, not targets. It is not enough just to have a Web based billboard acting as a token gesture to Web surfers. It is not enough to have information systems which support static interpretations of yesterdays problems. Once the novelty wears off, customers must have an incentive to keep coming back to a Web site. The services provided to the customer must be superior to alternatives. Customer must have a personalized experience by allowing them access to information tailored to meet their specific needs. The best way to attract customers into an Internet shopping environment is to offer value-added services that they cannot get in the traditional marketplace (Chase, 1996). Integration Integration is the link that exists between suppliers, retailers, and customers or between business processes within an organization itself This link has become an important strategic issue for companies wanting to establish trading partners in the rapidly changing environment of electronic commerce. The merger of the Internet and electronic commerce has dramatically increased the capacity to obtain and apply information within processes. Access to this information has become a key strategic issue. The integration of electronic commerce creates a competitive advantage when everything is linked together and supports the core business process. CONCLUSION The authors of this paper have spent an extensive amount of time in researching the multitude of successes and failures in the area of electronic commerce. We trust that the findings of our study will be utilized by other educators to enrich their students’ knowledge on electronic commerce. 216 Table of Contents Volume 25, 1998 Marketing Goes to the Movies Bringing Experiential Learning to a Principles of Marketing Course Investment Analysis Application Using In-house Spreadsheet Models SugarCoated Statistics: An Exercise for the First Day of Class Improving Undergraduate Student Involvement in Management Science and Business Writing Courses Using the Seven Principles in Action Establishment and Funding for Interuniversity / Multidisciplinary Student experiences The Prospects of Creative Teaching: A Discussion with Patricia Sanders The Simulation and Classroom Assessment Techniques Developments of Management Skill Assessment Games as Instruments of Assessment: A Framework for Evaluation The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Business Curricula Threshold Solo Competitor: A Management Simulation (V1.0) a Windows-Based. Play Alone, Total Enterprise Simulation and Assessment Instrument Toward An Understanding of One's self-concept Total Enterprise Simulations and the Internet: Improving Student Perceptions and Simplifying Administrative Workloads The Expatriate an Assignment Orientation Game An Expatriate's Nightmare: An Experiential Exercise in Coping with Overseas Assignments Analyzing Experiential Exercise: Using the Scientific Method for Problem Solving The Second Component to Experiential Learning: A Look Back at How ABSEL has handled the Conceptual and Operational Definitions of Learning Predictive Models of Learning: Participant Satisfaction of Experiential Exercises in Business Education Accelerating Moral Development through Use of Experiential Ethical Dilemmas Ethical Dilemmas to use with Business Simulations to Teach Ethics The Class Approach in Behavioral Simulation in a Business Policy/Strategic Management course: A Progression toward Greater Realism An Exploration of the Emergence of Process Prototypes in a Management Course Utilizing a Total Enterprise Simulation How Organizations Are Improving Their Performance Utilizing Electronic Commerce: Examples From The Internet The Market Access Planning System (Maps): A Computer-Based Decision Support System For Facilitating Experiential Learning In International Business An Excel Workbook For Student Planning And Interface With A Simulation Game Design Of Multi-Media Based Pedagogy For Leadership Training Panel Discussion On Using The Internet For Courses Valuing And Enhancing Teaching: Sharing Tips Via The Web The Buddy Project: A Semester Long Project Aimed At Developing An Appreciation For Diversity Enhancing The Excitement And Learning Retention In The Classroom: The Power Of Magic The Supervised Management Internship: A Job Or Learning Experience Team Ware™ An Online Moderated Class Discussion Facility And Beyond A Neophyte Distance Educator's Experience Learning Management By Practicing Management: A Report Of Significant Student Service In 1997 Integration Of Academic And Service Learning: Students' Perceptions About Its Effects And Outcomes The Value Of Incorporating A Service Learning Component Into Course Content: A Presentation And Roundtable Discussion Business Games Teach: Thoughts on the Sources of Conflicting Conclusions on their Effectiveness Antecedents Of Learning In The Simulation: A Replication Using Student Journals To Enhance Learning From Simulations Technological Change And Intertemporal Movements In Consumer Preferences In The Design Of Computerized Business Simulations With Market Segmentation Integrating The Marketing Curriculum Using Collaborative Learning Teaching Time Management In A Sales Program: The Application Of A Computer Simulation Game Adapting Interactive Computer Simulations For Content Based Esl Instruction Multimedia And Student Expectations Synthesizing Data For Media Simulations Composing A Team Health Promoting Behaviors-A Decision Making Exercise Does it really Work? An Application of the Group Interaction Framework Administering the MIT Beer Game: Lessons Learned A Paperless Economy? Instructing Students on the Aspects of Successful Electronic Commerce Maximizing Learning Gains in Simulations: Lessons from the Training Literature Observing General Ability in a Total Enterprise Gaming Simulation FReach Teach: A Computer-Based System for Teaching Advertising Media Planning An Integrated Business Instruction System An Experiential Exercise you can Tinker With Experiential Exercises or Computer Simulations? Cash Flow Statements: Are They Important in Business Simulations? Holistic Cognitive Strategy in a Computer-Based Marketing Simulation Game: An Investigation of Attitudes Towards the Decision-Making Process Barnga: A Game on Cultural Clashes The Many Faces of Culture: Understanding Country and Corporate Culture Students' View of the Use of Business Gaming in Hong Kong Assessing General Management Interest What is the Future of Business Gaming? Starting a Small Music Trivia Business Exercise and Other Innovative Icebreakers An Integrated Approach to Behavioral Skill Development Career Focus: A Student and Business Learning Experience The Use of Concept Mapping in Teaching Strategic Management An Experiential Approach to Developing Mission Statements Business Games in Brazil-Learning or Satisfaction A Simulation within a Simulation: Job Layoff's and Emotional Reactions