Chapter 9
E-Government, E-Learning, and
Other EC Applications

E-Learning at
Cisco Systems
The Problem
Cisco’s products are continuously being upgraded or replaced; so extensive training of employees and customers is needed
Employees, business partners, and independent students seeking professional certification all require training on a continuous basis
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E-Learning at
Cisco Systems (cont.)
Traditional classroom training was both expensive and ineffective because of:
The rapid growth in the number of students
The fast pace of technological change
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E-Learning at
Cisco Systems (cont.)
The Solution
Built two e-learning portals
For 40 partner companies that sell Cisco products
For 4,000 systems engineers who implement the products after the sale
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E-Learning at
Cisco Systems (cont.)
To encourage its own employees to use e-learning, Cisco:
Makes e-learning a mandatory part of employees’ jobs.
Offers easy access to e-learning tools via the
Web.
Makes e-learning nonthreatening
Help employees pass and remove the fear associated with failed tests
Offers additional incentives and rewards
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Adds e-learning as a strategic top-down metric for Cisco executives
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E-Learning at
Cisco Systems (cont.)
For its employees, partners, and customers, Cisco operates E-Learning
Centers for Excellence that offer training
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E-Learning at
Cisco Systems (cont.)
The Results
Reduced costs of developing and blending courses
Saved productivity, travel and lodging costs
Saved per capita trainee costs
Are able to offer more courses at lower costs
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E-Learning at
Cisco Systems (cont.)
What we can learn…
Application of e-learning as an efficient training tool
E-learning is also becoming popular in all levels and types of schools and universities
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E-Government
E-government: The use of IT and ecommerce to provide access to government information and delivery of public services to citizens and business partners
Offers an opportunity to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the functions of government and to make governments more transparent to citizens and businesses by providing access to more of the information generated by government
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E-Government (cont.)
E-government category that includes all the interactions between a government and its citizens
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E-Government (cont.)
Major features of government Web sites: phone and address information links to other sites publications databases
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E-Government (cont.)
Major areas of G2C activities: tourism and recreation research and education downloadable forms discovery of government services information about public policy advice about health and safety issues
Useful in solving constituents’ problems
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E-Government (cont.)
A citizen surfing the Internet
Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) nationwide EBT system to deliver government benefits electronically deliver benefits to recipients’ bank accounts smart card system for those without bank accounts
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E-Government (cont.)
Egovernment category that includes interactions between governments and businesses (government selling to businesses and providing them with services and businesses selling products and services to government)
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E-Government (cont.)
Group purchasing eFAST service conducts reverse auctions for aggregated orders
Forward e-auctions auction surplus or other goods
Tax collection and management electronic filing of taxes is now available in over 100 countries
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E-Government (cont.)
Egovernment category that includes activities within government units and those between governments
Egovernment category that includes activities and services between government units and their employees
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Implementing E-Government
Transformation process
Stage 1: Information publishing/dissemination
Stage 2: “Official” two-way transactions with one department at a time
Stage 3: Multipurpose portals
Stage 4: Portal personalization
Stage 5: Clustering of common services
Stage 6: Full integration and enterprise transformation
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Implementing E-Government (cont.)
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Implementing E-Government
(cont.)
Implementation issues
Transformation speed
G2B implementation
Security and privacy issues
Wireless applications
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Implementing E-Government (cont.)
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Online Publishing,
E-Books,and Blogging
The electronic delivery of newspapers, magazines, books, news, music, videos, and other digitizable information over the
Internet
Electronic magazines
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Online Publishing
Online publishing approaches and methods
Online-archive approach
New-medium approach
Publishing-intermediation approach
Dynamic approach
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Online Publishing (cont.)
Content providers and distributors
Those who provide and distribute content online
The issue of intellectual property payments is critical to the success of content distribution
In 2002, many online content providers were starting to charge for content, as advertising was insufficient to cover their expenses
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Online Publishing (cont.)
Publishing of music, videos, games, and entertainment
Webcasting: Live shows broadcast on the
Web
Webinars: Seminars on the Web (Webbased seminars)
Edutainment: The combination of education and entertainment, often through games
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E-Books
E-book: A book in digital form that can be read on a computer screen or on a special device
E-books can be delivered and read via:
Web download
Web access
Dedicated reader
General-purpose reader
Web server
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E-Books (cont.)
Types of e-books
Web server
Online bookshelf
The download
The Rubics-cube hyperlink book
The interactive, build-your-own
(BYO) decision book
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E-Books (cont.)
Advantages of e-books
Portability
Lower production and distribution costs
Lower updating and reproduction costs
Ability to reach many readers
Ease of combining several books
(customization)
Lower advertising costs
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E-Books (cont.)
Limitations of e-books
E-books require hardware and software that may be too expensive for some readers
Some people have difficulty reading large amounts of material on a screen
Batteries may run down
There are multiple, competing standards
Only a few books are available as e-books
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E-Books (cont.)
E-book issues
How to protect the publisher’s/author’s copyright
How to distribute and sell e-books
How much to charge and collect payment for an e-book
How to best support navigation in an e-book
Which standards to use
How to increase reading speed
How to deal with resistance to change
How to design an e-book
How publishers can justify e-books in terms of profit and market share
How to secure content
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E-Books (cont.)
Print on demand
Customized printing jobs, usually in small quantities, and possibly only one document or book
Process
1.
A publisher creates a digital master and sends it to a specialized print-on-demand company
2.
When an order is placed, a print-on-demand machine prints out the text of the document or book, then covers, binds, and trims it (300page book in 1 minute)
3.
The books are packaged and shipped to the publisher or the consumer
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Blogging
Technology for personal publishing on the Internet
A personal Web site that is open to the public
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E-Learning
The online delivery of information for purposes of education, training, or knowledge management
Web-enabled system that makes knowledge accessible to those who need it when they need it, anytime, anywhere
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E-Learning (cont.)
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E-Learning (cont.)
Benefits of e-learning
Time reduction
Large volume and diversity
Cost reduction
Higher content retention
Flexibility
Updated and consistent material
Fear-free environment
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E-Learning (cont.)
Drawbacks and challenges of e-learning
Need for instructor retraining
Equipment needs and support services
Lack of face-to-face interaction and campus life
Assessment
Maintenance and updating
Protection of intellectual property
Computer literacy
Student retention
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E-Learning Failures
E-learning failures due to:
Believing that e-learning is always a cheaper learning or training alternative
Overestimating what e-learning can accomplish
Overlooking the shortcomings of selfstudy
Failing to look beyond the course paradigms
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E-Learning (cont.)
Viewing content as a commodity, which causes lack of attention to quality and delivery to individuals
Ignoring technology tools for e-learning or, on the other hand, fixating too much on
Technology as a solution
Assuming that learned knowledge will be applied
Believing that because e-learning has been implemented, employees and students will use it
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E-Learning (cont.)
Virtual and online universities
Distance learning: Formal education that takes place off campus, usually, but not always, through online resources
Virtual university: An online university from which students take classes from home or other off-site locations usually via the Internet
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E-Learning (cont.)
Online corporate training via the intranet and corporate portals or the
Internet
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E-Learning (cont.)
Drivers of e-learning
Technological change
Competition and cost pressures
Globalization
Continual learning
Network connectivity
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E-Learning (cont.)
E-learning tools available from:
WebCT
Blackboard
Learning Space from Lotus
Corporation
Computerprep.com
Macromedia.com
Ecollege.com
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E-Learning (cont.)
Implementing e-learning centers
A learning center is a focal point for all corporate training and learning activities, including online ones
Facilities may be run by a third party rather than connected to any particular corporation, and they are referred to as electronic education malls
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Knowledge Management and E-Commerce
The process of capturing or creating knowledge, storing it, updating it constantly, interpreting it, and using it whenever necessary
The repository for an enterprise’s accumulated knowledge
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Knowledge Management (cont.)
KM types
1.
Human capital
2.
Structured capital (organizational capital)
3.
Customer capital
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Knowledge Management (cont.)
KM activities
1.
Creating knowledge repositories where knowledge can be stored and retrieved easily
2.
Enhancing a knowledge environment in order to conduct more effective knowledge creation, transfer and use
3.
Managing knowledge as an asset so as to increase the effective use of knowledge assets over time
4.
Improving knowledge access to facilitate its transfer between individuals
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Knowledge Management (cont.)
Knowledge sharing
Knowledge has a limited value if it is not shared
The ability to share knowledge decreases its cost and increases its effectiveness for greater competitive advantage
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Knowledge Management (cont.)
Song (2002) proposed a framework for organizing and sharing knowledge gleaned from the Internet list strategic goals and objectives and the critical information needed for their attainment build analysis and storage mechanism as part of a business intelligence system
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Knowledge Management and E-Commerce (cont.)
KM relationship to EC organizations need knowledge, which is provided by KM large amounts of data can be gathered easily, and through analysis organizations learn about their clients and generate useful knowledge for planning and decision making
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Knowledge Management and E-Commerce (cont.)
Core knowledge management activities should include:
Identification
Creation
Capture and codification
Classification
Distribution
Utilization
Evolution of the knowledge needed to develop products and partnerships
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Knowledge Management and E-Commerce (cont.)
A single point of access software system intended to provide timely access to information and to support communities of knowledge workers
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Knowledge Management and E-Commerce (cont.)
Online advice and consulting
Medical advice
Management consulting
Legal advice
Gurus
Financial advice
Other advisory services
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Customer-to-Customer
E-Commerce
Customer-to-customer (C2C): e-commerce in which both the buyer and the seller are individuals (not businesses); involves activities such as auctions and classified ads
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Customer-to-Customer
E-Commerce (cont.)
C2C auctions general sites (eBay.com, auctionanything.com) specialized sites (buyit.com, bid2bid.com)
Classified ads national, rather than a local, audience greatly increases the supply of goods and services available and the number of potential buyers
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Customer-to-Customer
E-Commerce (cont.)
Personal services lawyers handy helpers tax preparers investment clubs dating services
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Customer-to-Customer
E-Commerce (cont.)
C2C exchanges consumer-to-consumer bartering exchanges (targetbarter.com) consumer exchanges that help buyers and sellers find each other and negotiate deals (see business2.com)
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Peer-to-Peer Networks and Applications
A network architecture in which workstations (or
PCs) share data and processing with each other directly rather than through a central server
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Peer-to-Peer Networks and Applications (cont.)
Characteristics of P2P systems provide for real-time access to other users
(e.g., instant messaging) maximize the use of physical attributes such as processor cycles, storage space, bandwidth, and location on the network employ user interfaces that load outside of a
Web browser address the need to reach content resources located on the Internet periphery support “cross-networking” protocols promote popular interest by doing something new or exciting
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Peer-to-Peer Networks and Applications (cont.)
P2P networking connects people directly to other people
Provides an easy system for sharing, publishing, and interacting that does not require knowledge of system administration
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Peer-to-Peer Networks and Applications (cont.)
Models of P2P applications
Collaboration
Content distribution
Business process automation
Distributed search
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Peer-to-Peer Networks and Applications (cont.)
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Peer-to-Peer Networks and Applications (cont.)
C2C P2P applications
Napster—people could enter files that other people were willing to share
U.S. federal court found Napster to be in violation of copyright laws because it enabled people to obtain music files without paying the creators of the music for access to their material
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Peer-to-Peer Networks and Applications (cont.)
Gnutella (gnutella.com) a P2P program connects the peer computers
Kazaa
ICQ (the instant messenger-type chat room) where chatters share the same screen
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Peer-to-Peer Networks and Applications (cont.)
Intrabusiness P2P applications companies are using P2P to facilitate internal collaboration
B2B P2P applications enable companies to store documents in-house instead of on an unknown, and possibly unsecured, server
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Peer-to-Peer Networks and Applications (cont.)
B2C P2P applications
Marketing
Advertising
B2C payments
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Other EC Applications
Selling prescription drugs online drugstore.com
Postal services e-stamp.com
Services for adults adultshop.com
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Other EC Applications (cont.)
E-alliances
For a large EC project, a company may join with a technology provider, a logistics provider, and a bank
Wedding-related sites
Wedding channels
Gift registries
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