Chapter 8: ELECTRONIC BUSINESS OPTIONS

eBusiness as referring to the use of electronic network within an organization (Van Hoose 2003). It also contextualized eBusiness as involving any internal decision-making or implementation process that organizations such as commercial firms, nonprofir organizations, or government agencies using computermediated electronic network. Author W. J. Buffam (2000) cited that eBusiness simply means using the web to do business. HE further wrote that real business could be well-appreciated depending on other characteristics such as the following: a.) the use of the ambiquitous connectivity, business-to-business and business-to-consumer, provided by the Internet b.) the critical mass of consumers now having access to the Internet c.) the universally appreciable user interface provided by the web browser paradigm d.) the availability of robust security technology From the original concept of IBM about the word eBusiness and the refinement of its meaning by Gartner Group, Straus and Frost (2003) expanded the definition of eBusiness to include five major components as follows: a.) eBusiness b.) Business Intelligence (BI) c.) Customer relationship management (CRM) d.) Supply chain management (SCM) e.) Enterprise resource planning (ERP) Back End and Front End Operations Back end operations refer to processes or activities of the business that deal with parties or operations unseen by its clients or customers of the business organization by itself. Front end operations refer to business tasks and processes that are considered beyond back end operations or that one is seen or known to the clients as typified by the diagram shown in Figure 91. Advantages of eBusiness On the part of the eBusiness organizations or the sellers, the following are the advantages: a.) Increased sales opportunities b.) Decreased transaction costs c.) Operates 24 hours per day, 7 days a week from one virtual marketspace d.) Reach narrow market segments that may be widely distributed geographically e.) Access to global markets f.) Increased speed and accuracy of information g.) Bring multiple buyers and sellers On the part of the buyers or online customers ,the following are the advantages of eBusiness: a.) Wider product availability b.) Customized and personalized information and buyer option