Digital Skills and Research Method | Assignment

Digital Skills and
Research Methods

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY ..................................................................................................................................1
Effectiveness of the use of modern technologies........................................................................1
Social media as a tool for marketing, information gathering and communication ....................3
Creating the own professional online presence...........................................................................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7
.........................................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Technology is simply a collection of different techniques, methods, procedures and many
more that has drastic impact upon individual's life (Beetham and Sharpe, 2013). Modern
technology is simply define as a advancement of old technology with the help of new and
innovative ideas (The Importance of Digital Skills in the Modern Workplace
Read more at, 2018). On the basis of these kind of activities, an organisation can easily make
changes in their working practices as well as business productivity. This report is based on
McDonald which is a fast food company founded in the year of 1940 by Richard and Maurice
McDonald. This report represents effectiveness of modern technologies, uses of social media as
a marketing tool and requirement of creating own professional online presence.
MAIN BODY
Effectiveness of the use of modern technologies
Technology is a most important aspect that assist in enhancing value of the organisation.
McDonald basically implement different modern technologies in their workplace that helps them
in enhancing business productivity and performance within target market. On the basis of these
advance technologies, McDonald can make possible changes in their working activities for
getting desired outcomes. The effectiveness of the used of modern technology in McDonald is
determine below as -
 Efficiency and Increased productivity – Modern technological tools have been
improved employee’s productivity with the helps of managing business activities and
working practices (Benckendorff, Sheldon and Fesenmaier, 2014). These kind of tools
allowing employees to places their attention towards other creative working practices in
order to maximise opportunities for business growth. They implement modern
equipment’s for producing new products, its delivery and in money transaction practices.
Through this, McDonald can build direct connection with customers for grabing desired
results and benefits. Modern technological tools assist in reducing additional time and
cost from the working activities for the betterment of efficiency level within the firm.
 Improved experience of customers – Customers of McDonald are require for unique
products and services that enhance their experience level. For this, firm implements new
ideas that assist in providing desired services to them easily. Organisation having a
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unique strategy as to enhance communication practices with the customers that assist
them in analysing customer's requirement and need for delivering quality services.
Therefore, they interact with customers through internet services that helps them to
analyse customer's feedback and reverts for implementing new changes in firm. Main
objective of all these procedure is to improve customer's experience towards the
organisation and its services.
 Heightened the level of security – Modern technology is a most impactful tool that
helps in enhancing security services within the firm (Bizirgianni and Dionysopoulou,
2013). McDonald operate their services through internet in which they implement online
transactions and so on. For this, they need to understand level of security that they can
provide to customers. In this procedure modern technological tools play a most important
role that helps to provide assurity to customers that their information will be secured on
the organisation's site so that they can use them for getting quality services. Through this,
McDonald can build long term relationship with their service users.
 Increased collaboration – McDonald is large scale fast food chain that provides their
quality services in different countries. For building collaboration in different countries,
organisation can implement different techniques and modern tools that assist them in
heightened level of flexibility in communication for operating their services effectively in
different countries. McDonald having their different outlets in several countries on which
the head quarter of the firm create proper control with the help of advance techniques. All
these approaches assist in making proper control on business operations as well as
enhance team work by engaging employees together.
 Provide a quality experience to employees - Employees are the key strength of an
organisation who provides quality services to customers after analysing their requirement
and need (Brynjolfsson and McAfee, 2012). For them, McDonald implements different
technologies at their workplace that assist them in enhancing employee’s productivity
and their working experience as well. Technology helps in shaping organisation's culture
in which employees can interact with each other’s easily. On the basis of these
approaches management of firm can enhance working experience and knowledge of
employees that assist them in delivering quality services to customers. All these practices
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aid McDonald to maximise opportunity for organisation to getting desired growth and
success in target market.
Social media as a tool for marketing, information gathering and communication
Social media is most popular platform that helps an organisation to promote their
products and services in target market (Brynjolfsson and McAfee, 2014). Now a day, most of the
customers uses digital technologies in order to get connected with their target organisation and
its services. In this procedure, social media play a most important role that helps in building
direct connection of organisation with its services users for providing them information related
new products and services. McDonald is also having a physical presence on social media that
assist them in promoting their products and services in different countries for building an
invisible presence. Social media is a tool of modern technology that helps in building direct
connection with new customers by promoting business services. These kind of platforms are
working in different areas as -
Tool for marketing – For an organisation, it is required to analyse customer's
requirement, new trend and market analysis that help them in manufacturing quality goods for
providing desired services to customers (Buhalis and Foerste, 2015). Social media is working as
a marketing tool for McDonald that assist them promoting their new offers, products and
services to customers. On the basis of these kind of activities organisation can build direct
connection with their existing as well as new customers. These techniques also having a
advantages that through this McDonald create their own strong media presence by interacting
with different services users. On the basis of these kind of activities, McDonald strengthen their
brand perception by communicating core values with a wider audience.
Information gathering practices through Social media platform – Now a day, most of
the organisations create their own page on social media platform because through this can easily
gathering maximum information in regard market demand and many more. For this, McDonald
can use different information gathering tools as -
 Search engine optimization – McDonald having a strategy to encounter customer's
searcher behaviour for specific services. For these kind of practices, McDonald create
their own presence on the top level of search engines. Through this, customers can easily
analyse their services for the first. All these modern technological tools assist in building
direct connection with customers for maximising business sales and profitability.
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 Websites – This is a most effective technique that assist an organisation to creating their
physical presence on different social media platform. McDonald create their own
websites as well as home page on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and so on. Through this
they provide suggestion to services users for the uses of their products and services.
These Websites also grab information related to customer's reviews and feedback on
which employees of the organisation provides them revert to resolving them easily.
Enhance direct communication with target users – For a business organisation, it is
required to create positive communication with their target customers (Cohen and et. al., 2014).
For this, they needs to analyse customer's opinions, viewpoints and feedback properly. All these
strategic practices assist in analysing customer's perspective towards business services through
they can make positive changes for maximising users experience easily. On the basis of these
kind of activities an organisation can sustain in the market for the long term period. These kind
of approaches assist in getting long term benefits and advantages.
Creating the own professional online presence
Online presence is very important in today's time. It is a new method of influencing the
customers and helps in building a brand image for the company. Hence, McDonald's can adapt
few methods which will help in building online presence for the company and help in grabbing
more customers. These methods are discussed below:
Influencer marketing
It is a new way of trending brand name of the company which is done with the helps of
promotions done by influencing individuals which have the capability to impact the decision
making of the customer (Del Chiappa and Baggio, 2015). Many big companies are adapting this
method to improve their online presence in the digital market. Thus, McDonald's can appoint
influencer which will help in creating a strong presence online. Addition to this, these individuals
can affect the sales of new products and educate the customers about new product launches
which will help in increasing the profit level of McDonald's more rapidly.
Fill up google search results
Another impacting method is updating the information online and promoting the
information using certain tools and techniques such as SEO. It is the most recommended method
of promoting online presence. This will help in providing accurate information of the company to
customers which will connecting more customers with McDonald's. Along with this, by filling
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google search results, company can promote online sales and billing facilities which will
ultimately result in achieving the goals and objectives of company that is to maximise the profit
level of company.
Creating a personal website and blog
This is a popular and effective technique for creating the online presence of company (Di
Pietro, Di Virgilio and Pantano, 2012). As now days every company have their websites which
contains various kins of information. This information allows users to know more about
company's products and latest offerings. As McDonald have also their website which can be
accessed from anywhere in world. This personal website is very helpful for McDonald's to create
their online presence. The food bloggers are also there which helps to grow presence worldwide.
Blog is a very trendy and useful platform to make presence of company online. It enables an
organisation to convert their potential customers to loyal customers.
Professional social media page
The social media tool is a trendy and very useful tool for creating online presence for any
company (Dickinson and et. al., 2014). As there are some people who do their business through
these social platforms only. There are some social media platform like Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram and YouTube. As there are ample of number of users, so it enables McDonald's by
advertising on these platforms and create their presence online. This is very helpful in creating
awareness of organisation at broader level.
Manage social networks
Managing social networks at ground level is an important tool for the organisations. As
this allows the business to expand their market share with the help of other business partners. It
can be considered as managing business to business network also. There are many other websites
for delivery of foods, so McDonald's can do tie up with those business in order to provide the
food at door step of customers. So it can be very helpful for the organisation to create its online
presence.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it has been summarised that modern technology is determined as
advancement of existing technologies with the help of new and innovative ideas. On the basis of
these tools, an organisation can easily build their direct connection with service users. In this
procedure, social media platform plays a most important role that create positive image of
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organisation in front of target audience. For an organisation it is required to create their own
professional online presence with the help of strategic techniques. All these business practices
assist in grabbing maximum opportunities and advantages through business planning procedures.
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REFERENCES
Books & Journals
Beetham, H. and Sharpe, R. eds., 2013. Rethinking pedagogy for a digital age: Designing for
21st century learning. Routledge.
Benckendorff, P. J., Sheldon, P. J. and Fesenmaier, D. R., 2014.Tourism information technology.
Cabi.
Bizirgianni, I. and Dionysopoulou, P., 2013. The influence of tourist trends of youth tourism
through social media (SM) & information and communication technologies (ICTs).
Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences. 73. pp.652-660.
Brynjolfsson, E. and McAfee, A., 2012. Race against the machine: How the digital revolution is
accelerating innovation, driving productivity, and irreversibly transforming
employment and the economy. Brynjolfsson and McAfee.
Brynjolfsson, E. and McAfee, A., 2014. The second machine age: Work, progress, and
prosperity in a time of brilliant technologies. WW Norton & Company.
Buhalis, D. and Foerste, M., 2015. SoCoMo marketing for travel and tourism: Empowering co-
creation of value. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management. 4(3). pp.151-161.
Cohen, S. A. and et. al., 2014. Understanding and governing sustainable tourism mobility:
Psychological and behavioural approaches (Vol. 43). Routledge.
Del Chiappa, G. and Baggio, R., 2015. Knowledge transfer in smart tourism destinations:
Analyzing the effects of a network structure. Journal of Destination Marketing &
Management. 4(3). pp.145-150.
Di Pietro, L., Di Virgilio, F. and Pantano, E., 2012. Social network for the choice of tourist
destination: Attitude and behavioural intention. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Technology. 3(1). pp.60-76.
Dickinson, J. E. and et. al., 2014. Tourism and the smartphone app: Capabilities, emerging
practice and scope in the travel domain. Current Issues in Tourism. 17(1). pp.84-101.
Online
The Importance of Digital Skills in the Modern Workplace
Read more at, 2018. [Online]. Available
through:<https://www.skillsyouneed.com/rhubarb/digital-skills-modern-
workplace.html>.
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