QHO321 Solent University: Age UK Digital Transformation Project

This report analyzes Age UK's community business project focused on the digital transformation of its services in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. It identifies the challenges faced by Age UK in delivering health and wellbeing services to older individuals due to isolation and barriers to accessing traditional local services. The report explores the potential of digital mediums like social media and YouTube to reach a larger audience and enhance engagement. It discusses the importance of critical thinking skills in developing effective solutions and recommends the use of digital services to promote motivation, health, and wellbeing among older individuals. The report also suggests virtual meetings and online support practices to safeguard against pandemic-related challenges, ultimately aiming to improve the accessibility and effectiveness of Age UK's services.

Community Business
Project

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Results.........................................................................................................................................1
Discussion...................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................3
RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Community business is defined to a not for profit company that carries up a mission of
leading, inspiring as well as supporting businesses to have a positive impact on individual as well
as communities (Asang, 2021). It is generally similar to social enterprise that are positively
committed in benefiting society with trading in a sustainable manner. As all profits which is
generated from community business is reinvested in the local area. There are many types of
community business. There has been rise in the technological advancement in today’s era so
when the companies make use of the digital platforms in order to reach their target audience, it
becomes easy for them to build the communication with them. This report is based on
community business project which is related to impact of covid-19 on health and wellbeing by
undertaking of Age UK which is an independent charity that supports health and wellbeing of
older people living in city. It was founded in the year 2009 and is headquartered in UK
(Vandergoot and Martin, 2021). They basically offer localised services within their localised
branch. This report shall cover the challenges which are faced by Age UK due to covid-19 and
reasons for their devastating impact on their health and well-being. Further it will include most
effective digital mediums to reach the target audience.
MAIN BODY
Results
It has been identified that due to rise in Covid-19 it has created a vast number of
challenges that are faced by individuals by being isolated. With rise of pandemic disease, it has
affected health and wellbeing of individuals. In terms of age UK charity that provides health and
wellbeing services to individuals. With that it has evaluated that age UK is facing certain
challenges that are acting as a barrier towards carrying of their practices (Wang, 2021). As there
is an opportunity of using digital medium that could help in reaching towards target audience.
Along with younger old age individuals are technological savvy and they know how to access
digital media. For that there are various digital medium which could be used by age UK for
reaching larger audience. In order to deal with there are certain digital medium like email,
Facebook, you tube that could help in reaching with large people. In age UK they could use
digital medium of you tube in terms of reaching large old age people. They could showcase their
videos which could inspire and motivate individuals towards their health and wellbeing.
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In order to provide health and wellbeing facilities to individuals age UK could use
various local services which could provide effective facilities to individual. Some of local
services that suitable for having transformation to digital delivery and solutions are as follows:
 Information and advice is used by age UK where they are providing information as well
as advice about different topics that could help old age individual to divert their mind and
develop their skills (Kalyani, 2021). This service could be carried by face to face, over a
phone or email.
 Visiting service is implemented that states in visiting weekly by volunteers to customer's
home in order to combat them with loneliness as well as isolation which could motivate
them from being feeling alone during pandemic disease. This practice is performed by
face to face or wellbeing telephone calls for supporting old age individual.
 Another service which is being provided is wellbeing service that could states in fulfilling
holistic requirements to old people and signposting and providing healthy surroundings
for living well. This practice is carried by having face to face analysis and through
telephone that could help in providing effective surroundings for having healthy
wellbeing.
Along with are also some of digital services which are recently not used by age UK but
will be beneficial for them to use digital services. Some of digital services could be implemented
by age UK are as follows:
 Taking use social media could prove to be effective digital medium mode which could be
implemented by age UK so that they could able to reach larger number of individuals at a
same time (Dawley,2021).
 Youtube digital medium could be implemented by age UK so that they could post their
motivating and knowledgeable videos which could help them in inspiring large number
of people and provide them health and wellbeing services.
By using these digital service, it could provide help to age UK in performing their health
and wellbeing practices well with in limited point of time. These services provide an access to
individuals to develop their skills.
It is essential to promote wellbeing as well as encouraging engagement with digital
services. As with point of view of old age individuals they basically suffer some of barriers of
skills, access as well as motivation (Sujadi, 2021). By implementing digital services age UK
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could be able to promote their charitable health and wellbeing services towards old individuals
by creating engagement. As by implementing digital services it could provide individual
engagement at crucial situation of covid-19 as well as it could help in developing skills, access
and motivation to individuals. These practices could resolve various barrier of skills, access and
motivation along with providing effective solutions for dealing with difficult situations. Digital
services could various benefits to age UK as it helps in providing effective solutions to problems,
reaching with large number of individuals at a time with increased engagement so that they could
carry their practice effectively.
Figure 1United Nations, 2020
From the above graph, it can be analysed that there has been severe impact on the health of the
old people who are aged above 60 years. the major impact is seen on Asian people and then
European population have experienced the impact.
Discussion
From above understanding of project it has identified that there is a need of developing
critical thinking skills as it could help in developing effective solutions that are faced. As there
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are various challenges that are faced by age UK which has created a barrier in carrying providing
effective health and wellbeing services to old age individuals (Bouncken and Barwinski, 2021).
As due to rise of covid-19 it has kept people isolated that lead to rise in distress and demotivation
among with them which could harm their mental health and wellbeing. It has been evaluated that
age UK is facing various challenges of using tradition local services to individual that could
create a barrier in front of them in carrying their practices well.
In order to carry out research well it becomes essential to develop critical thinking skills
as it could benefit in developing critical thinking skills son effective solutions could be provided
by using digital medium and access which could create a sense of motivation among old age
people. In context to age UK charitable trust is carrying a major focus on supporting old age
individuals in terms of providing motivation to them (Zhu, Thornhill and Hsu, 2021). Critical
thinking skills helps in developing solution to problems like taking use of digital service in terms
of social media and carrying virtual meet which could help in interacting with larger audience
with same point of time and help in providing access of digital medium which could help in
safeguarding from pandemic situation as well. From the results analysed it has determined that
there are various solutions that could be provided to age UK in terms of dealing with individuals
that could help them in providing health and wellbeing services. Along with it could provide
access to digital medium which helps in building strengths and enhancing motivation level of
community business.
Age UK must make use of the social media platform such as Instagram, Facebook and
twitter so that it can keep touch with friends and family and follow the public organizations and
figures and also meet the people who have same hobbies and interest. It must make use of these
platforms so that they can stay in touch with everyone and boost their confidence. This will also
help them to avail the banking services, shopping, etc. so that they can feel confident as well as
stay safe on the online platform.
CONCLUSION
It has been concluded from above report that community business is basically associated
with providing health and wellbeing services to individuals. As with rise of covid-19 pandemic
it has isolated individuals which could cause health and wellbeing issues to individuals. This
community business project identifies about certain challenges which are faced by age UK in
terms of providing health and wellbeing services to individuals. It explains about barriers which
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are faced by individuals in accessing digital services in various different areas that relates critical
thinking skills, access as well as motivation to individuals. Also it explains about discussion
which is being carried for developing critical thinking skills that are required in order to identify
effective solution to challenges with proper recommendations.
RECOMMENDATIONS
In order take forward in limited number of services for having transformation to delivery
there are certain recommendations which could be provided to age UK which could help in
gaining a particular level of skills through motivation. Some of recommendations are explained
as follows:
 There should be use of digital services that could in providing a sense of motivation,
health and wellbeing of individuals.
 Age UK could use digital medium like zoom, Instagram and facebook where they could
carry virtual meet for individuals that could help in providing safeguarding from
pandemic disease.
 They should provide digital services in order to carry their support practices to
individuals.
 Proper analysis of wellbeing services could be carried by holistic requirements needs to
individuals so that they do not feel isolated.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Asang, S., 2021. Public Trust in Productive Economic Business Capital Assistance Program in
Manggalung Village. Enrichment: Journal of Management .11 (2). pp.426-432.
Bouncken, R. and Barwinski, R., 2021. Shared digital identity and rich knowledge ties in global
3D printing—A drizzle in the clouds?. Global Strategy Journal .11 (1). pp.81-108.
Dawley, A., 2021. Class and Community. Harvard University Press.
Kalyani, V., 2021. Business and Human Rights in India. Available at SSRN 3866778.
Sujadi, J.V., 2021. Business Potential of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)
Engaged in the Food Sector" Bandeng Presto" Semarang.
Vandergoot, D. and Martin, E.W., 2021. Enhancing Employment Opportunities by Involving
Business and Industry in Rehabilitation Programmes. In Management and
Administration of Rehabilitation Programmes (pp. 205-229). Routledge.
Wang, S., 2021. Business Models of Sustainable Open Educational Resources (OER).
In Research Anthology on Business and Technical Education in the Information
Era (pp. 579-594). IGI Global.
Zhu, F., Thornhill, S. and Hsu, D.K., 2021. When owner, family, and community roles
intertwine: Examining entrepreneurs’ persistence decisions and the gender
effect. Journal of Small Business Management, pp.1-32.
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