The E-Initiatives in an Organization

The E-Initiatives

According to a survey conducted with the participation of different industries like the manufacturing, financial services, transportation, retail, energy, and communications industries and virtually all conduct business in international markets. The survey found that only 28 percent are able to process transactions online. Sixty percent do not yet have extranets linking operations with key suppliers and financial partners. Only 17 percent of companies said they regard themselves as "innovative" in e-business. Less than half have any quantitative or qualitative methods in place to assess e-business performance. And a quarter of the group has yet to move beyond basic Web brochure ware in implementing e-business.

One of the biggest disparities was between stated e-business needs and corresponding investment. Most still feel encumbered by major barriers to development, including costs of implementation, lack of proven benefits and accepted industry standards, and more pressing corporate priorities, plus not being up to speed on key privacy, security, legal and emerging intellectual property issues. Still, a majority said they were investing far more on e-business now than a year ago, and devoting much greater senior management oversight into e-efforts. Nearly half of the participants have full-time e-business development units, another marked increase over last year's survey.

Whirlpool Corporation

The Whirlpool Corporation is a Fortune 500 company and a global manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances. After acquiring the Maytag Corporation on March 31, 2006, Whirlpool Corporation became "the largest home appliance maker in the world". Whirlpool Corporation is a principal supporter of Habitat for Humanity, a non-profit organization dedicated to building low-cost, affordable housing. The company's commitment to Habitat for Humanity has exceeded $34 million and it has donated more than 73,000 appliances for Habitat homes. The company plans to support every Habitat home built globally by 2011, either through product donations, cash, or home sponsorship.

Lesson Learned

Launch and learn: Swift, innovative implementation, with the understanding that the solution must constantly evolve, will ultimately provide a better outcome than working to develop precise answers to issues. It is important to set the expectation that these decisions will change, both incrementally and significantly, and that changes will occur more frequently than in the past.

Define roles and responsibilities: The organizational structure for an e-business management system is often complex, so it is vital that roles and responsibilities are clearly defined to avoid problems of role overlap or role gap. This is especially true with activities where multiple groups or individuals participate.

Commit to invest: Although it is important to steer e-business efforts toward a clear path of return on the company’s investment, a premature focus on the financial aspects may thwart the development of innovative initiatives. Often, the best initial focus is speed or learning through the quick and broad dissemination of information companywide.

Explore policies: Make sure policy issues are explored and that policy-related decisions are communicated companywide. Web site audits have uncovered embarrassing and illegal materials. Unfortunately, this is not uncommon and most companies are unaware of the full extent of their exposures. Access to technology and content is pervasive, and this has led to difficult situations for many companies.

Design for Web use: Strategically reducing Web site content often increases site use and revenue. Rather than read content word for word, users scan site information. Making the most relevant content quickly and easily accessible is the secret to a valuable and profitable Web site. The content model helps focus a company on these important aspects.

Re-examine funding: Funding may be found by re-examining a company’s entire list of initiatives and projects. The most successful companies have been willing to decommission some initiatives that were underway to free up needed funding, resources, executive leadership capacity and organizational capacity for change.

Focus on business goals: Remember the “business” in e-business. Transformation to e-business is not a technology issue. If you treat it like a technology effort by failing to establish effective reporting relationships and business-executive involvement, it is less likely that your organization will make the fundamental shifts necessary for e-business success.

Make resource commitments: Consultants are limited in the amount of aid they can provide their clients regarding important managerial issues. The organization must provide adequate resources for its effort from the very beginning. Without the proper resources, both in terms of organization and numbers of people, only slow progress will be made in the e-business space.

References:

E-Initiatives [Online] Available at: www.kaizenlog.com [Accessed 04 Aug 2009].

Cox, B., (2000) Survey: Global Business Lagging on E-Commerce [Online] Available at: http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/print.php/325241 [Accessed 04 Aug 2009].

The Importance of an E-business Management System to E-business Success. Managing the business of e-business (2000). IBM Global Services. [Online] Available at: http://www.mccombs.utexas.edu/faculty/Sirkka.Jarvenpaa/spring2002/change/miller/ebusMan.pdf [Accessed 04 Aug 2009].