1) In which ways do smartphones help these companies be more profitable? To what extent are improvements in performance coming from revenue increases or cost reductions? Provide several examples from the case. Mobile applications of information technology (IT) has become a revolutionary change in the way businesses stay connected. In fact, Business Insider considers smartphone technology to be one of the “10 tech essentials every small business should have,” (Entrepreneur, 2010). CPS Energy, from the case study, used smartphones to improve, and maybe reengineer, business processes and bring workers closer together. CPS employees started using their smartphones for camera capabilities at work sites, which added a significant amount …show more content…
Now that all order approvers and suppliers are interconnected in a virtual organization, CPS decreased purchasing and procurement deal’s time by over 65 percent, as well as reduced inventory levels by $8 million in excess inventory. Most importantly, however, employee and customer satisfaction is up. With the use of inter-enterprise information systems, CPS Energy is able to reduce the time it takes to complete service calls, locking in customers. It is apparent that mobile usage of information technology, or smartphones, has significantly given CPS Energy a competitive …show more content…
Through the use of a relatively low-costing mobile-productivity application called eTrace, Lloyd’s was able to improve business processes for a huge savings. First, eTrace brought to light to managers how their employees were spending too much time parked outside lunch spots on non-prescribed routes. Management was able to quickly fix the issue by banning unauthorized break locations and following up using the GPS technology in eTrace. Data entry and job logging is about 1 ½ times faster with eTrace as well, compared to the old “paper and radio” method. This IT usage has resulted in better accounting and communication, which has eliminated 34 hours a week of accountant fees, or roughly $1,000 a week. eTrace has also allowed for more efficient routing of trucks, as well as eliminating unauthorized stops, reducing previous business process fuel costs by 30 percent. For only $50,000 a year, the cost of issuing 41 smartphones with eTrace to employees, the company improved all around business processes and performance by 10 to 12 percent, or about $1 million, in the year 2007. eTrace has given Lloyd’s Construction the technology to integrate business processes, resulting in an improved business and operationally agile company.
2) The companies described in the case encountered a fair amount of resistance from employees when introducing smartphone
As technology improves, businesses expand and recruitment pools decrease, organizations contemplate ways to, not only reduce the overhead costs of doing business but, to attract new talent in a competitive employment marketplace (Darleen, 2012). To do so, many organizations have redefined what it means to ‘go to work’, in terms of not only the act of getting there, but how work is accomplished and where (Lojeski & Yuva, 2008). A study conducted three years ago by the Society For Human Resource Management (SHRM) reported that almost half of the organizations surveyed utilized virtual teams (Minton-Eversole, 2012). Anyone who conducts business using mobile technology devices is considered
Technological developments and improvements have allowed for businesses to communicate information faster and better by the use of email, live chats, and video teleconferencing. These enhancements allow for a faster flow of information in which a business can easily distribute and receive responses in real-time from its customers. It helps employees to function more efficiently by using software programs such as word processing, spreadsheet tools, statistical analysis software and computer aided design programs. With the growth of the internet and social media, businesses expose its products to a larger customer base. Others advances such as inventory management software are able to track and fill orders, and replace stock when the volume fails a pre-determined quantity at much faster rates. Digital storage of documents and information on servers and multi-media storage
Mobile is the first order priority device for access because people are connecting with others, finding entertainment, and doing business—all with smart phones. The prices of mobile phones are never over $1,000 in today’s world. They are affordable and accessible. As the result of the changes the worldwide and national business environment has undergone, people own 1-2 cell phones on average. However, the mobile markets in US seems to have been saturated.
A Capital One Financial Corporation has established such workplace by providing mobility and flexibility to their employees in business units. They implemented a concept “virtual workplace” which is based on reconfiguring office space and use of up to date mobile technology. It gives employees opportunity to be more productive since they are able to work from any place they would choose. According to the Benefits Survey Report from the Society for Human Resource Management published i...
The biggest boom in the millennium had to be the internet. Since the start, there has been countless number of companies and products have been developed with the use of the internet in every way imaginable. The Blackberry was the pioneer of Smart phones that allowed users to access the internet wherever they were located. They could access applications that were useful in maintaining everyday activities such as E-Mail and Face book.
Technology has become a huge part of everyday life, and people seem to have one great debate and are fighting over which is the best phone, iPhone or Android. The Apple iPhone is a cellular smartphone that was created and is maintained by Apple Inc. Android is another type of smartphone that is accessible to consumers, but the operating system is powered by Google and many different companies produce Android devices. The different operating systems and interfaces have created a long and carried out debate to which was superior. iPhone is the better phone and there are many reasons as to why it is superior to its rival, Android. The iPhone’s sleek and beautiful design has users’ hands fondling the device and never putting it down. The operating system is very distinct, but is straightforward with its functionality. People who purchase the iPhone believe that they have received their money’s worth and more when owning and iPhone. The iPhone is better than Android when compared because of the beautiful design and attractive display, the operating system and its functionality, and the device’s personal worth is definitely worth the money spent to own one.
No company that falls behind the competition is guilty of standing completely still. But sometimes our efforts fail because of the level of commitment to change.
Supporting material/specific details: different factors come together when it comes to selling a phone, author Gerry Purdy states that one of the primary four influxes of selling a phone is: “Technology innovation –the degree of innovative technology that has been incorporated into the handset and the degree it’s made useful to the user. Technology alone without any way to make use of it gets a lower score.”(Purdy p.1).
Telecommunications gained mainstream attention in the early 90’s; however the initial key market was business men and women, who used their phones whilst being on the move and so allowing them to communicate with their companies with ease. Though in the modern era, telecommunication went through segmentation in the market trends, and now in this day and age it would be difficult to find someone who does not own some form of mobile technology. Many phone providers battle to provide the best service for their customers (Figure 1).
"While practically everybody today is a potential mobile phone customer, everybody is simultaneously different in terms of usage, needs, lifestyles, and individual preferences," explains Nokia's Media Relations Manager, Keith Nowak. Understanding those differences requires that Nokia conduct ongoing research among different consumer groups throughout the world. The approach is reflected in the company's business strategy:
Since 2008, the smartphone, a device that combines a normal cell phone with a computer, typically offering Internet access, data storage, e-mail capability, etc. all in your hand was deemed as ground-breaking technology and created one of the largest and most competitive markets in terms of technology to date. Their increased popularity continued to grow and today, it is very hard to encounter someone without a smartphone. These devices allow people to disconnect from reality and grant them access to the world as a whole. People use these devices to manage their daily routine, dictating what they should do and when they should do it.
In today’s world the vast majority of the population owns a cell phone. Cell phones are a huge part of people’s everyday lives. Since the 1940’s when mobile phones became available for automobiles, phone companies have made huge strides in making mobile phones more efficient, much smaller, and more available for anyone to use. There was a time where only people of wealth had these types of mobile phones. Now people from all social classes own a cell phone. They are extremely convenient and have the ability to do just about anything you can think of. There is an “app” for everything. You can make phone calls, text message, surf the web, pay your bills, read books, catch up on social media, and even listen to you music all from one small handheld device. Cell phones play a huge role in today’s economy. Businesses such as AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint have become huge public corporations with large stakes in the stock market. Between these companies among several other phone companies they have created millions of jobs and opportunities. Cell phone companies have now created what are known as “smart phones”. These phones are typically slim and sleek and have countless versatile abilities. However, cell phones have not always been so “smart” or small for that matter.
But in the use of the term “technology” today, there is far more associated meaning than automobiles or washing machines. It has ushered in an entirely new way of working, and in increasing numbers of organizations, increased options of just where work associated with a particular job will be done. More employees than ever have the option of working at home yet still being employed either full...
Advances in technology have changed businesses dramatically, in particular the communication and information technology that are conducted in firms, which changed the appearance and pace of businesses over the past few decades. ICT in particular, has evolved a lot over the past 30 years; important information can be stored in computers rather than being in drawers enabling information to be transferred at a greater volume and speed (Guy, 2009). ICT has also expanded various forms of telecommunications and workload conducted in businesses, internet examples of this include: e-mails can be used to communicate with others...
Thinking about 40 years ago we think about ancient time periods, but around that time is usually when we started to generate an easier way to communicate.The first block phone, as we can say was a huge step in the development of communication, but it doesn 't compare to the useful resources of the smartphone.In April 3, 1973, Martin Cooper, a senior engineer at Motorola, called a rival communications company and informed them that he was speaking via mobile phone. This one of the first mobile phones in which you were only able to talk for about thirty minutes (knowyourmobile.com). Motorola created the use for the device that way people were able to talk to someone at any given time of day. Of course, that kind of technology doesn’t exist anymore due to the major technological advancements, which happened along side the growth of the company. A company is which started out as a battery eliminator plans and manufacturing equipment, has now turned into a multi-million dollar in which Google has purchased. In the 1920s when the company has first started their first payroll of the week was only about 63 dollars (www.motorola.com). Come to think of how things are the only real impact on the company is how the people manage to captivate the sense of technology that Motorola was able to offer. We no longer use block phones which only let us talk for a limited amount of time. The development