Impact of Emerging Technology: Drones in the Retail Sector

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Running head: EMERGING THEMES

EMERGING THEMES
Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................3
Task 2...........................................................................................................................................7
Task 3...........................................................................................................................................9
References......................................................................................................................................10
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EMERGING THEMES
Introduction
There are various themes which are emerging in the current competitive business environment
therefore organizations must focus on utilizing the emerging themes in order to gain a
competitive advantage in the market over their competitors and also to increase the scope of
operations of the business organization. According to Anghel et al. (2015) there are four pillars
of emerging themes namely emerging technology which highlights growth and development of
new and innovative technological advancements, emerging societies which highlights the growth
and popularity of new forms of society, emerging industry and market which highlights the
growth and popularity of various new sectors and markets in an economy and emerging work
environment which highlights the growing popularity of new kinds of working environment in
context of business organizations. All the above stated pillars act as basis for emerging themes
for business organizations.
The article provided in the case study focuses on emerging technology in the form of drone
technology. Drone technology has become one of the most popular emerging technologies which
every sector is focusing to utilize in order to gain a competitive edge in the sector in which they
operate as it is widely evident that use of drone help in increasing the efficiency of the
organizations by reducing costs and increasing productivity. The article highlights on the point
that use of drone technology in various sector could contribute to the increase of Gross Domestic
Product by £42 billion. The article also estimates that by 2030, there would be £ 16 billion in net
cost savings in the UK economy due to the widespread popularity of drone technology. The
article also estimates that there will be approximately 76,000 drones which will be operating in
the skies of UK due to widespread application of drones in multiple sectors and the article
projects that there will be approximately 628,000 jobs which will be generated in UK alone due
to the drone economy.
The current report focuses on the identification of impact of emerging technology on the retail
sector and on the organizations belonging to the retail sector. The report also focuses on the
identification of advantages and disadvantages of the emerging drone technology. Further the
report focuses on the potential futuristic effect of drone technology on the organizations
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EMERGING THEMES
belonging to the retail sector and accordingly provides recommendations for managers of retail
organizations to mitigate against or maximize the identified impacts on the retail sector.
Task 1
1. The emerging theme which has been highlighted in the article is emerging technology in
the form of drone technology. As stated by Lee (2015) drones or unmanned aerial vehicle
has become a disruptor in every sector in which it is being implemented and application
of drone technology specifically has helped business organizations belonging to retail
sector to increase their efficiency and profitability by enabling cost savings and reducing
defects and in-efficiencies. The application of drones in retail sector eliminates the
chances of human error and also promotes workplace and worker safety. Further
application of drones enables human workforce of retail sector to focus on increasing the
values of their products and services which drives the sales of their product and service.
According to Elliott, Hall and Meng (2013) drones are expected to play a vital part in the growth
and expansion of the global retail sector in the coming years. The existent competitive pressure
which is observed in the global retail sector have driven them to invest and develop new and
innovative ways in order to make their supply chain more efficient in nature and therefore the
retail sector has turned their attention to utilize the opportunities offered by drone technology to
cope up with the competitive pressure. The largest global retailers and e-commerce giants are
turning to drones in order to improve the efficiency of their supply chain.
2. According to Dow Jones Institutional News (2017) in the global retail sector, there are
huge economic impacts due to the application of drone technology or drones as it results
in lower costs and improved productivity in the retail sector. The retail sector uses drones
in order to automate routine day to day tasks which helps in improving safety and
performance, reduce risks associated with the day to day tasks, helps in improving the
quality of products and services offered by the retail sector and also helps in freeing up
the human resources in order to make them focus on more interesting and value adding
tasks which help in driving customer values. There are various impacts of using drones
which has been identified in the retail sector which are as follows:
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