Digital Transformation and IT Strategies

This assignment covers various aspects of digital transformation, including its definition, drivers, and strategies. It also delves into the importance of technology in business transformation and provides a framework for measuring project complexity using the Analytic Hierarchy Process. The assignment includes references to several research articles and books that provide insights into digital crime, terrorism, and innovation.

6 - Managing a Successful Business Project
Impact of digital technology on how we conduct business
Executive summary
The aim of this report was to critically analyse the impact of digital technology on how we
conduct business. To realise this, it was structured into three stages of: research project
management plan; project implementation and logbook and the research analysis and
performance review.
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In light of this, this report has established that digital technology and its application in
business can have both positive and negative outcomes. The positive outcomes that are
supported by both theory and practice include enhanced how employees can stay in touch
with one another; resulted in the reduction in the cost of doing business in favour of greater
value; resulted in the appeal to the millennial customers; resulted in improved understanding
of the expectations of the customer.
On the other hand, the negative outcomes supported by both theory and practice include:
increased the cost at which Xiaomi manufactured its Smartphone products in the short term;
resulted in the loss of personal touch between Xiaomi and its customers; resulted in increased
disconnectedness amongst employees of Xiaomi.
Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction .................................................................................................................4
2.0 Research project management plan..............................................................................4
2.1 Clear aims and objectives......................................................................................................4
2.2 Project management plan.....................................................................................................5
2.3 Work breakdown structure...................................................................................................6
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3.0 Project implementation and log book...........................................................................7
3.1 Research methods................................................................................................................7
3.2 Accuracy and reliability of different research methods..........................................................9
3.2 Project log book and reflections on the business...................................................................9
4.0 Research analysis and performance review.................................................................10
4.1 Analysis of the research and data........................................................................................10
4.2 Communication of appropriate recommendations..............................................................13
4.3 Reflections on value of undertaking the research ...............................................................13
5.0 Conclusion .................................................................................................................14
References.......................................................................................................................15
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1.0 Introduction
The exponential rate at which technology is changing has changes the approach at which
technology changes, develops and adapts. Theoretical evidence by Mithas, Tafti, and
Mitchell (2013) indicate that digital technology has changed the approach taken by
businesses in ways such as the introduction of mobile solutions to businesses; the
introduction of cloud computing into businesses; high levels of customer segmentation and
increased connectivity amongst businesses and their customer groups. Similarly, Beetham
and Sharpe (2013) opine the introduction of digital technology into business has reduced the
cost of doing business because it has not only simplified the approach to business but also
made it possible for businesses to leverage on the benefits of mobile technologies to increase
efficiency in the production of new products and services. Whilst, Bharadwaj et al. (2013)
and Westerman, Bonnet and McAfee (2014) agree that the impact of digital technology has
had a positive influence on how we conduct business, other scholars feel that the impact of
digital technology on how we conduct business has not always been positive. The customer-
business interactions that are critical for the creation and sustenance of customer relationship
management are undermined. Other scholars provide support for the negative impact of
digital technology on business. For instance, Chen, Chiang, and Storey (2012) explicate an
overreliance on digital technology to determine the relationship between the brand and the
customer can have a negative impact due to the limited contact between the customer and the
brand that is because of relying online methods to interact with customers.
In light of this, the aim of this research is to critically analyse the impact of digital technology
on how business is conducted. The structure assumed by this research is as follows: The task
1 focuses on the research project management plan; the task 2 focuses on the project
implementation and logbook; the task 3 focuses on the research analysis and performance
review and the conclusion.
2.0 Research project management plan
2.1 Clear aims and objectives
The aim of this project is to critically analyse the impact of digital technology on how
business is conducted. In order to realise this aim, this report will pursue the following
objectives:
1. To analyse the benefits of digital technology on how business is conducted
2. To analyse the shortcomings of digital technology on how business is conducted
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3. To provide recommendations on how businesses can leverage on digital technology to
improve how business is conducted.
2.2 Project management plan
The table 1 below outlines the costs, scope and time factors that will be used to formulate the
project plan.
Table 1: Project management plan
Project deliverable Cost Scope Time
Preparation of
survey questions
$30 Focusing on questions seeking
to identify both positive and
negative impacts as well as
what can be done to improve
outcomes
1 week
Distribution and
collection of survey
questions
$40 Distribution of questionnaires
through online survey monkey
2 weeks
Analysis of survey
questions
$20 Use of frequency and
descriptive statistics to analyse
findings
1 week
Collection of
secondary data
o Identification of 3 secondary
articles focusing o the impact
of digital technology on
business outcomes
1 week
Writing of the report 0 Focusing on writing the 4000
word report
1 week
Proofreading of the
report
$10 Reading and cross checking to
correct errors in tenses and
grammar.
1 week
Final submission 0 Final submission after passing
through Turnitin system
Maintenance
expenses
$15 This is an expenses of
maintaining research work
2 weeks
Stationary $14 Expenses related to material of
stationary used in research.
1 week
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Source: Summarised by this report
As manifested in the above project management plan, the project on the impact of digital
technology on how we conduct business will involve 7 main deliverables.
In the first deliverable, preparation of the survey questions will be done. Its purpose will be to
prepare the study to collect primary data that will be useful in analysing the research
objectives. This exercise is expected to take 1 week and will cost approximately $30.
In the second deliverable, the online questionnaire will be distributed and collected back from
the respondents after a period of 2 weeks. The assigned cost for this activity is $40 because of
the logistics involved in the distribution and collection of online questionnaires from the
respondents.
In the third deliverable, the analysis of the collected finding is done. The exercise is expected
to take up to 1 week and will involve the use of frequency and descriptive statistics to
leverage on the measures of central tendencies to determine the views of the respondents with
regards to the research objectives laid out. Based on a logistical standpoint, the whole process
is expected to cost $20.
In the fourth deliverable, the identification of three secondary research articles focusing on
the impact of digital technology on business outcomes is done. The exercise of collection will
take up 1 week and will focus on the identification of peer reviewed journal articles. The cost
of the identification and collection of secondary research articles will be zero and it can be
done concurrently with the identification of three secondary research articles.
In the fifth deliverable, the writing of the report is done. This involves the writing of the
report based on the three objectives and sections of: analysis of research project management
plan; project implementation and logbook; research analysis and performance. This
deliverable will cost zero because it does not require any cost to write the report based on the
approach to doing, findings, and their implications. The time implication for writing down the
report will be a one-week period.
In the sixth deliverable, the proofreading of the report is done. This will involve identifying
an independent colleague and asking them to read the report directly and identify any
grammatical errors, tenses errors and other inconsistencies that could undermine the quality
of the findings. This exercise will also take a week but will also be done in concurrence with
the writing of the report.
In the seventh and final deliverable, the final project is delivered. This will involve zero costs
because delivery via Turnitin does not require any additional costs. The process will be dome
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in the course of 1 week and will be done in concurrence with other activities. The final
submission of the report will signal the completion of the project.
2.3 Work breakdown structure
The figure 1 below outlines the work breakdown structure that is utilised by this report
project.
Figure 1: Work breakdown structure
Source: Summarised by this report
As shown in the above figure, the researcher is in charge of the project but will get assistance
from two research assistants. The first research assistant will be involved in the preparation of
survey questions and the online submission of the survey. The second research assistant will
be involved in the collection of the online survey responses and the analysis of the online
survey.
Vidal, Marle, and Bocquet (2011) opine that a work breakdown structure is useful to project
managers seeking to plan their work more efficiently. The reason for this is that with projects
characterised by time-limited activities tend to be assigned fixed time frames and costs. Yet,
Oladimeji et al. (2011) explicate that in the backdrop of projects being limited by time, they
are also expected to fulfil the needs o the stakeholders in order to fulfil the course for which
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they are addressed. Leveraging on this view, it appears that the decision by the researcher to
leverage on the assistance of two research assistants enables the researcher to not only
complete the research project on time but to also conduct it effectively and efficiently by
leveraging on the knowledge of the research assistants.
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3.0 Project implementation and log book
3.1 Research methods
In the choice of research methods, this report utilised both the qualitative and the quantitative
research methods. The choice of the quantitative research methods was informed by the need
to overcome the shortcomings of either choice of research methods. For instance, whilst
scholars such as Bernard and Bernard (2012) and Bowling (2014) agree the qualitative
research method has a weakness of replicability whereby it is not easy to replicate the
findings due to the nature of research participants and methods of inquiry, other scholars are
of the view that by using quantitative research methods, it is possible to replicate research
findings because they are dependent on scientific methodologies (Gill and Johnson, 2010).
Similarly, whilst Tracey (2012) and Punch and Oancea (2014) criticise the quantitative
research method as lacking in conducting an in-depth study, other scholars feel that the
approach used by the qualitative research to query and openly engage the research
participants or phenomenon under study makes it ideal to conduct an in-depth study
(Hennink, Hutter and Bailey, 2010). Therefore, in the context of these views, this report
resolved to carry out a small-scale research that applied a mixed research method because it
would also be positively oriented towards meeting the projects aims and objectives because
of the high level of objectivity it would accord to this research.
In the collection of data, this project report utilised both qualitative and quantitative research
methods because of the need to retain uniformity in the choice of research design. In the
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collection of qualitative data, this research opted to rely on secondary data methods. This
would involve the reliance on books, articles, and journals focusing on the impact of digital
technology on how businesses are conducted. The secondary research methods were
perceived as ideal because there were pre-existing studies conducted on the impact of digital
technology on how businesses are conducted. Therefore, this eliminated the need to conduct a
new primary qualitative research that focused on the identification of new insights into the
research objectives. As such, this report focused on the identification of peer-reviewed
articles and journals for the secondary data sources. On the other hand, in the collection of the
quantitative data, a questionnaire was used. A questionnaire formed based on the nature of
the research objectives was formulated and used to collect data from respondents drawn from
Xiaomi. The researcher firstly sought to first inform them of the nature and objective of the
study prior to their involvement. Thereafter, the researcher uploaded the online questionnaire
using the online survey monitor. A 2-week period in which the research data was to be
collected was set aside because it was believed it was the ideal time required in order for the
respondents to holistically finish filling in the research questions posed. After the two-week
period, the researcher went about collecting the questionnaires in order to prepare for the
analysis. Having initially expected to receive about 136 questionnaires, the respondent
managed to collect 100 fully completed questionnaires that could not be used for the process
of collecting data. Therefore, this research relied on 100 fully filled questionnaires for the
analysis of the findings and implications for this research.
3.2 Accuracy and reliability of different research methods
There are two type of research methods used in data collection that gives required
information needs for decision making and draw future planes these are as-
Primary data collection: When data are collected directly by the researchers for the
first time the it is termed as primary data collection method. Primary data is collected through
questionnaire, focus group interviews, projective techniques and through delphi method.
This type of method of data collection is used when information required is important and
specific information is needed.
Secondary data collection: It is referred to the data that is collected by someone who
is other then the user. Common source of data of collection this information is social media,
google or pre statistical information that is collected for some other purpose.
According to Marshall et al. (2010), accuracy in research refers to the closeness that a
particular measured value has to a standard or known value. On the other hand, theoretical
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evidence by Markon, Chmielesski, and Miller (2011) describe reliability as the degree to
which a particular assessment is likely to produce stable and consistent results.
In the choice of the secondary data collection methods, accuracy and reliability was
determined by the screening of research methods to ensure they were not only academic but
were peer reviewed. In the context of journal articles, utilised, it was screened to ensure that
used sources were not only verified but also sourced from highly reliable websites.
Furthermore, in order to independently verify the accuracy of the secondary data collection
methods, the researcher relied on the research assistants to also check and scrutinise the
research articles and websites used in order to determine if they could be independently
verified. Therefore, by leveraging on these approaches, the researcher ensured that secondary
data methods were objective, accurate, and reliable.
In the choice of the questionnaire data collection method, the researcher ensured that
scientific research methods were utilised. The choice of scientific research methods was
viewed as an embrace of proven approaches that could ensure reliability of the research
findings was guaranteed. Bryman and Bell (2015) argue scientific research methods are free
from the influence and bias of the researcher that is likely to afflict the quality of research.
Therefore, in the choice of the quantitative research methods, this research ensured it utilised
scientific methods of inquiry that are based on a particular proven formula. As such, this
ensured reliability and accuracy of the research findings was guaranteed.
3.2 Project log book and reflections on the business
The direction taken by this project saw me seek out primary data from the employees of
Xiaomi. Having read a lot about Xiaomi, I felt that they posed the ideal organisation for me
to seek out important information regarding my research. I knew that Xiaomi posed the best
possible organisation for me to collect data because as a technology company, they had
heavily relied on digital technology to improve how it conducted its business.
However, the research was not without its challenges. Firstly, there was the challenge of
suspicion. At first, Xiaomi expressed a lot suspicion with regards to the purpose of my
research. They expressed reservations with regards to taking part on the study because they
felt the information could be used to undermine the competitive advantage of Xiaomi by
giving it to its competitors. Yet, after assuring them and showing them my ethical guidelines
that indicated the research was purely academic and its contents would be destroyed once the
findings were analysed, they agreed to take part in the study. Yet, firstly, they requested for
the questions in order to check if there was any question that would prove detrimental to their
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efforts to safeguard their intellectual property data. After, this exercise, they green lighted to
the commencement of the project.
Project Logbook
Name:
Project title: Impact of digital technology on how we conduct business
Date:
Update on weekly research/tasks achieved
Points to consider:
What have you completed?
Project on Impact of digital technology on businesses.
Did you fulfil task requirements?
Yes, all the task are attempted by fulfilling all the requirements that are attached in the
brief.
Are you on track and within deadlines set?
Yes, project is submitted on time as provided to complete it.
Did you need to make any changes to your project management plan?
No, there is no requirement to make changes in project management plan.
Any risks and/or issues identified?
Risk in success of business is identified as high level of skills are required to make
complementary success with digital technology.
Points to consider:
Did you identify risks/issues with a lack of skills required for undertaking research/tasks?
Yes, there is a risk with lack of skill requirement as all the employees working in the
organisation are not highly competent to adopt new technologies.
Did you identify any additional risks/issues that have an impact on the project management
plan?
No, there is no additional risk in the business that have impact on the project management
plan.
Problems encountered
Points to consider:
What barriers
did you face?
Lack of skills
and high
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funds
investment are
most
important
barrier to
adopt digital
technology.
How did you
overcome
them?
Providing
more training
to employees
and generating
more sources
of funding in
business will
help to
overcome
these barriers.
New ideas and change of project direction
To adopt this technology in business expert advise will be taken so a plan that is analysed
in various circumstances is implemented to bring best outcomes.
What have I learnt about myself this week?
That I am quite curious about business and how various factors in the business environment
affects goals and objects of business.
Points to consider:
How did I feel when I had to deal with tasks/problems? Did I find it useful to complete the
tasks?
Yes, it was useful to complete the task by dealing with various difficulties as it proves me
with lots of knowledge and skills.
How well have I performed? What did I contribute? What can I improve on next week?
How might this learning apply in the future?
Performance was quite good in this week but there is always hope for improvement that I
will be continuous to do in next week.
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Tasks planned for next week
Points to consider:
Which tasks are priority?
Task of identifying opinions of various market experts on impact of digital technology on
business.
Have you set aside sufficient time for completion?
Their is need to manage time to performance by reducing time consumption in less
productive activities.
Project plan status to date (on, ahead, behind)
Ahead
Supervisor comments to address
4.0 Research analysis and performance review
4.1 Analysis of the research and data
In this first section, the focus was on the positive outcomes of the digital technology adoption
into the workplace setting.
With regards to the assertion that enhanced how employees can stay in touch with one
another, the mean score value was 4.30. This implied that the respondents were in strong
agreement with the view that digital technology made it possible for employees to remain in
touch with one another. These findings are consistent with secondary data source of
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Bharadwaj et al. (2013) in that digital technology in business has the effect of improving
connectivity in businesses by making it easier for employees to connect and interact with one
another. For instance, co-workers can interact and chat via video, text at a moment notice
thereby increasing the efficiency in which they can communicate with customers. Similarly,
the findings are consistent with the theory of Cheng, Chiang, and Storey (2012) in that a rise
in mobile technology has managed to enhance seamless communication based on real time
information transfer between the brand and the customers.
As pertains to the assertion that digital technology has resulted in the reduction in the cost of
doing business in favour of greater value, the mean score value was 4.15. This finding
indicated that majority respondents were of the view digital technology resulted in an
improved ratio of value per cost incurred by Xioami. This primary finding is consistent with
theoretical viewpoint by Andriole (2010) in that the use of digital technology in business has
resulted in the decreasing of cost and improvement in functionality. For instance, by
introducing digital technology into business, new software solutions are created that are not
only easy to use but encourage exploitation of value and creation of greater value per cost of
doing business. Beetham and Sharpe (2013) corroborates the primary finding in that digital
technology save costs of doing business by negating the use of traditional approaches to
doing business that were characterised by high levels of inefficiency and ineffectiveness.
With regards to the assertion that digital technology resulted in the appeal to the millennial
customers, the mean score value was 4.33. This finding indicated that majority respondents
were of the view that using digital technology appealed Xiaomi to the millennial customer.
This primary finding is consistent with the theory of Mithas, Tafti, and Mitchell (2013) in
that the use of digital technology has enabled business to easy change and adapts to the new
consumer base. For instance, brands that have heavily invested in digital technology has
increased their ability to connect with millennial who have become the primary driving force
for the global economy based on their spending patterns. Other authors further describe
support for the primary findings. For instance, Westerman, Bonnet and McAfee (2014)
explicates modern brands that have used digital technology to connect with customers have
appeled to the millennial that are characterised by large numbers and huge affinity for
consumption on products that provide near instant gratification.
As pertains to the assertion that digital technology has resulted in improved understanding of
the expectations of the customer, the mean score value was 4.38. This implied that the
respondents were in strong agreement that digital technology made it possible for them to
understand the customer expectations. This finding is consistent with theoretical viewpoint by
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Yoo, Henfridsson and Lyytinen (2010) in that digital technology application in business has
improved the flow of data making it easier for businesses to not only understand but also
determine what customers expect and want from businesses. Through analytics, businesses
have improved their predictions of customer expectations and improved segmentation in
order to target customers specifically thereby getting more value for their investment.
Similarly, the theoretical viewpoint of Liang, You and Liu (2010) compliments the primary
findings by pointing out that by investing in analytics, businesses can manage to track and
determine the origin of customers, how they came about the website, what they do whilst on
the website, how long they stay and at which point they decide to leave. Therefore, it appears
that by leveraging on digital technology businesses can determine and understand the
expectations of their customers.
Yet, primary evidence collected from Xiaomi further suggested that digital technology
implication did not have all positive effects. There were associated shortcomings as well.
With regards to the assertion that digital technology has increased the cost at which Xiaomi
manufactured its Smartphone products in the short term, the mean score value was 4.50. This
implied that majority of the respondents came to an agreement that digital technology
increased the costs of Xiaomi doing business in the short term. This finding was consistent
with theoretical viewpoint by Hanelt et al. (2015) in that the acquisition of new technology
was not only costly but sometimes required the retraining of employees in order to make
them better suited to use the new technologies. For instance, a new software program that
automates services can be costly and can also require a costly retraining of employees on how
to use it. Similarly, the views of Cheffey (2015) corroborates those of the primary findings in
that firms do not just buy new technology once and avoid it, they have to constantly update
technology in order to keep up with new standards and improvements in technology. Taking
up this approach can prove costly for firms because they have re-invest in new and updated
technologies from time to time.
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As pertains to the assertion that digital technology has resulted in the loss of personal touch
between Xiaomi and its customers, the mean score value was 4.87. This implied that majority
of the respondents were of the view digital technology resulted in a loss of personal touch and
close contact between Xiaomi and target customers. This finding was consistent with
theoretical viewpoint by Kane et al. (2015) in that whilst the the introduction of new
technology into business processes is useful in streamlining business processes, it often
displaces the personal touch of business whereby a business interacts with a customer one on
one thereby improving the customer relationship management. Similarly, theoretical
viewpoint by Matt, Hess, and Benlian (2015) appear to support primary findings in that
businesses that create a personal atmosphere in the process of interacting and communicating
with employees are likely to be more successful than those that use different approaches. Yet,
the introduction of new technologies can render this approach ineffective because the
personal touch between the business and the customer is no longer available.
With regards to the assertion that digital technology has resulted in increased
disconnectedness amongst employees of Xiaomi, the mean score value was 4.69. This
implied that majority of the respondents were of the view that Xiaomi’s increased reliance on
technology had created greater disconnect amongst employees. This primary finding was
consistent with theoretical viewpoint by Taylor, Fritsch and Liederbach (2014) in that with
technology playing an increasing role in the workplace, there has been a larger disconnect of
employees from the final products. This is because there has been delineation of job roles,
less employee involvement in the final product creation and increased job dissatisfaction.
Similarly, Fitzgerald et al. (2014) opine that greater technological integration in everyday
communication has not only made it effective in communication but also resulted in greater
misunderstandings whereby reading of emails, texts, and instant messages cannot be used to
accurately determine the tone or utilise body language as a point of reference. Therefore, this
creates greater disconnect in communication as a result of technological integration into
business.
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Impact of digital technology on how we conduct business
Questionnaire
Name:
Age:
Email ID:
Q1. Are you aware of the concept of digital technology?
A. Yes
B. No
Q2. Which type of impacts are left by digital technology on businesses?
A. Positive
B. Negative
Q3. Does use of digital technology is beneficial for businesses?
A. Yes
B. No
Q4. What are the benefits of digital technology to a business?
A. Customer engagement and satisfaction
B. Larger market share
C. Enhanced productivity
D. All of the above
Q1. Are you aware of the concept of digital technology?
A. Yes 80
B. No 20
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Interpretation: From the graph it is analysed that 80 percent of the general public are
aware of digital technology.
Q2. Which type of impacts are left by digital technology on businesses?
A. Positive 75
B. Negative 25
2
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
80
20
A. Yes
B. No

Interpretation: From the above pie chart it can be interpreted that by collecting
information from general public 75 persons out of hundred thinks that digital technology
have negative impact on business.
Q3. Does use of digital technology is beneficial for businesses?
A. Yes 70
B. No 30
3
75
25
A. Positive
B. Negative

Interpretation: From the above graph it is interpreted that 70 individuals from group of
100 thinks that digital technology will be beneficial for the business organisation.
Q4. What are the benefits of digital technology to a business?
A. Customer engagement and satisfaction 12
B. Larger market share 10
C. Enhanced productivity 13
D. All of the above 65
4
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
A. Yes
B. No
70
30 A. Yes
B. No

5
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
12 10 13
65
A. Customer engagement and
satisfaction
B. Larger market share
C. Enhanced productivity
D. All of the above

Interpretation: From the above chart is concluded that 65 people out of 100 thinks that
digital technology have various benefits in the organisation. On the other hand 12
individual in the organisation thinks that it only gives consumer satisfaction and 10
individuals thinks that it helps in grabbing large market share. Together with this
13 individuals think that it enhances productivity of the organisation.
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Performance Review Template
Performance Review
4.What was the project supposed to accomplish?
Project was supposed to accomplished understanding of impact of digital technology on
business.
5. Did the project succeed in its aims? How do you know? Specifically, please outline any
evaluation and assessment undertaken.
Yes, the project was succeed in its aim as understanding for digital technology and its
advantages and disadvantages on business organisation is quite analysed. For this data is
collected through primary research and charts and graphs are prepared.
6.What things do you think worked well and why? Evaluate all aspects of the project (e.g. initial
inception, project activities and project outcomes) from a range of perspectives.
In this project despite of few things all goes well. This is because all the tasks are performed
with full understanding and analysis is done to have true and fair results.
7. What problems emerged during the project and how were they tackled? Was there timely
identification of issues and resolution during the project process?
Problems like real impact of technology and some statistical data in this regards turned out
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as problems that is tackled with more research and investing all facts and figures.
8. What did you learn from undertaking the project?
Impact of digital technology on business and its advantages and disadvantage on conducting
multi-pal businesses.
9.How would you rate your performance as project manager?
Performance is rated as goods.
10. What strengths and weaknesses of your performance did you identify?
Strengths were hard work to grab each and every source to be identified and analysing all the
factors to bring best results.
Weakness turned out to be no specialised knowledge in this regard.
11. How will this inform and support your continuous professional development?
This will help in continuous professional development by analysing each factor efficiently and
using correct information this will also helps in designing future plans and methods to achieve
them efficiently.
4.2 Communication of appropriate recommendations
In light of the challenges of greater disconnect and lack of a personal touch, Xiaomi should
consider increasing the intuitiveness of its digital technologies in order to create a seamless
experience for its customers. Having established that digital technology has become more useful
to businesses, Xiaomi can seek to identify new ways it can improve on customer experiences
during interactions. One of the ways is to provide real time customer support whereby customers
that have worries or concerns regarding the quality of service can easily reach he customer care
and interact on how it can be solved in a prompt manner. Similarly, Xiaomi can and should
invest in greater in 3D modelling designs that can enable its customers to interact with products
as if they were having a physical retail experience. The 3D models can provide real to life
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customer experiences when interacting with products that ultimately contribute to greater
interaction, efficiency, and customer appeal. Eventually these interactions can create greater
customer satisfaction that is necessary to create well-satisfied customers.
4.3 Reflections on value of undertaking the research
This research has proved to be of great value in the analysis of the research objectives. It has not
only provided a holistic experience towards understanding the impact of digital technologies on
how business is conducted but has also went about making suggestions on how negative
outcomes can be mitigated. I feel that the use of both primary and secondary findings was
significant in bringing out study elements as shown. This has resulted in greater theoretical and
practical support for the views of study. Anchorage in theory and practice has proved useful in
revealing important notions of research that present value towards personal earning and own
performance.
Using the experience and findings of Xiaomi, this report has enriched its ability of reflection and
blending of theory into practice in order to indicate how value can be realised. This further
accentuates the useful of research methodologies, methods of data collection and analysis that
have proved effective in outlining the approach taken by this research. Based on the clear choices
ad justification of findings, this research has managed to clearly demonstrate and remain
confident in the findings and conclusions made. I feel that the skills learnt whilst undertaking this
research will be useful in the present and future as I go about understanding the full value of thus
research.
5.0 Conclusion
This report has established that digital technology and its application in business can have both
positive and negative outcomes. The positive outcomes that are supported by both theory and
practice include enhanced how employees can stay in touch with one another; resulted in the
reduction in the cost of doing business in favour of greater value; resulted in the appeal to the
millennial customers; resulted in improved understanding of the expectations of the customer.
On the other hand, the negative outcomes supported by both theory and practice include:
increased the cost at which Xiaomi manufactured its Smartphone products in the short term;
resulted in the loss of personal touch between Xiaomi and its customers; resulted in increased
disconnectedness amongst employees of Xiaomi. Yet on the basis and weight of evidence, there
9

are more positive impacts on how business is conducted as opposed to shortcomings. Overall,
however, this report has established that by adopting 3D modelling and increasing the user
intuitiveness, it is possible to overcome the shortcomings associated with digital technology
usage in the workplace.
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