Digital Technology's Impact on Small Business: Regent College

This report examines the role of digital technology in fostering growth and innovation within small businesses, particularly focusing on Talon Outdoor, a UK-based retail company. It outlines the aims and objectives of the project, including demonstrating the core concepts of digital technology in business, evaluating its effectiveness, measuring workforce management, and analyzing the impact on organizational processes. The report details the project management plan, including goal setting, cost estimation, resource accumulation, project scheduling, human resource planning, and risk management. It employs both qualitative and quantitative methods of project analysis, such as surveys, interviews, and questionnaires, to assess the impact of digital technology on business growth. The report further includes recommendations and outcomes, highlighting the value of the project in meeting stated objectives and personal learning. It concludes that implementing digital technology can lead to overall development and enhancement of the organization, providing opportunities for broader growth.

ROLE OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY IN SMALL BUSINESS
ORGANISATION
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Executive Summary
This current scenario of business environment has shown a significant transformation in relation
to the technology and the strategies used in the previous stages. With the growing trend of
internet era and digitalized business transformation have evidenced to influence the business in a
positive and effective manner. Different digital technologies are being used by the business in
order to enhance the organizational growth and performance. On the other hand, growing trend
of transformation of business with implementation of digital technology has helped the small
businesses in a broader manner.
Small scaled organisations with digital technology within the organisation can help them to
strategies their marketing strategies and develop an innovative ideas based on the analysis and
research. On the other hand, using the digital technologies, such as mobiles, laptops, social
media and other such electronic mediums help the organisations to gain information and thus as
a tool of communication. In addition to that, approaching marketing strategies based on the
analysis used by the digital technology can help to gain the organisational growth and
effectiveness and thus ultimately to gain strong brand image through advertising on digital
media, such as social media sites. Thus, implementations of digital technology help to gain
overall development and enhancement of the organisation and provide opportunities for growth
in a broader manner.
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
P1 Aim and objectives.................................................................................................................4
P2 Project management plan........................................................................................................4
P3 Time frame to complete the work...........................................................................................6
P4 Qualitative and Quantitative methods of project analysis......................................................7
P5 Using proper techniques to complete the project..................................................................10
P6 Recommendations and outcome of the project.....................................................................17
P7 Value of the project in meeting stated objectives and in own learning................................18
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................19
Reference List................................................................................................................................20
Appendices....................................................................................................................................22
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Introduction
Technology plays a crucial role in an organisation. The usage of technology speeds up the
production proceeds in an organisation. It speeds up the marketing job, helps to keep a proper
track of the accounts of the company; it also helps to maintain the data base of the employees. In
order to enhance the communication process between the employees and the clients of small
organisation should use technology. Usage of efficient technology helps to increase the
productivity of the organisation in the market. In this assignment the usage of the technology in
enhancing the development of the small industry will be pointed. Talon outdoor is a small scale
UK based retail employing 33 employees. In this assignment the usage of technology to enhance
the communication process by Talon outdoor will be discussed in order to enhance their
marketing methods in the economy so that overall output of the company gets enhanced.
P1 Aim and objectives
In order to support and accomplish the project on use of digital technology in the small business,
different objectives and aim have been derived.
Aim
The concerned aim of this project is to measure the effectiveness of using digital technology in
the small business in relation to the growth of business.
Objectives
The concerned objectives of this project are:
● To demonstrate the core concept of digital technology in business
● To evaluate the effectiveness of implementation of digital technology in business
● To measure the workforce management of organisation using digital technology
● To analyse the impact of organisational processes through using digital technology
P2 Project management plan
Before starting any project an estimate should be made for future referral. The estimation should
include the overall cost of the project, method used, technology used and number of employees
to be included in the project. The planning of the project helps in successfully completing the
project. Planning of the given project is explained below.
Project Goals: According to Sikdar and Payyazh (2014 p.30), before starting a project, a
definite goal must be set in order to carry out the entire project successfully. Initially a project
stakeholder must be chosen very carefully so, that the project is carried out successfully till the
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end. The stakeholder of the project includes the project sponsors, the output of the project,
project team, customers and a project leader. Choosing a without a proper project goal the
project cannot be completed successfully. The goal of the given project is to promote the growth
of an organisation by using new technology (Tajeddini and Trueman, 2012, p.66).
Cost of the project: As stated by Matos and Silvestre (2013, p.700), the project estimation
plays a very important role in continuing a project. After setting the project goal budget of the
project must be estimated according to the availability of the capital in the organisation. A small
scale industry can take loans from the financial institutes to support their project. To complete
the project based on technology development an organisation needs to spend minimum of ten
pounds.
Accumulation of resources: Before starting the project the needed raw materials must be
accumulated so, that the project is not hampered mid way and it can be completed on time.
While purchasing the raw materials of the project no quality should be compromised because it
can affect the result of the project. The resources needed to complete this project successfully are
HR software, database software, etc. A trainer must be appointed to provide training to the
employees regarding the usage of the software (Sommer, 2012, p.300).
Project schedule: Project schedule also plays a very crucial role in completing the project on
time. A timetable should be prepared before starting g the actual project so that the steps of te
project can be done according to the priorities following the timetable will to complete the
project on time. Talon outlooks should fix a time period of six months to judge the effectiveness
of technology in their business.
Human resource plan: The human resource department of an organisation plays a crucial role
in completing the project on time. The human resource management of the company should
provide training related to the project. Such as handling of the project software.tt The human
resource department of the organisation should recruit a trainer to provide software related
training to the employees to successfully complete the project. The hr of the company should be
the budget of the project well in advance and must also divide the team members according to
the efficiency of the employees. In the present project the HR of Talon outdoor must plan the
outline of the project to complete it successfully in order to deliver it on time (Drucker, 2017
p.10)
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Risk management plan: the organisation can prepare a simple risk log to keep an account of the
risk associated with the project. So, the stakeholders can remain aware of it. Some common risk
associates with the given project are:
● Time management: While conducting the project there is always a risk of time
management i.e whether the project will be completed on time.
● Budget issues: While completing a project the risk of budget always remains. i.e. the
expenditure of the project will exceed the estimated budget
● Roles and responsibilities: Sometimes the stakeholders are not clear regarding their roles
and duties in completing the project.
● Customers’ feedback: After completing the project the feedback of the customers plays a
very crucial role in determining the success of the project.
P3 Time frame to complete the work
Completion Stages of project
Gantt chart
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P4 Qualitative and Quantitative methods of project analysis
Quantitative methods:
Quantitative methods of analysis use numerical data for analysing growth and development
while conducting projects. According to Sikdar and Payyazhi (2014, p.971), if there is no use of
digits or numbers in an analysis then it is not said to be a quantitative analysis. Some methods of
quantitative analysis are:
Surveys: Surveys are conducted on the organisation’s performance in respect to revenue,
financial status, upgradation in method of working and profit margins from time to time. The
changes in figures help to understand whether there has been a growth or decline. As per Smith
et.al (2013, p.407), this method is useful and preferred by developing companies due to its
accuracy. Surveys may be of two types:
Online Surveys: Surveys may be conducted online using online survey tools.
Offline Surveys: Surveys may also be conducted offline by collecting data through
questionnaire or interviews.
Observations: This involves greater time than surveys since data collected over a large period of
time is processed into numerical figures to obtain the desired information
Merits
Quantitative methods were very helpful in their application on this project. Some advantages of
these methods are:
 They have greater level of accuracy
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 Martini (2013, p.60), states they are useful in comparing data and thus understanding
growth or decline over a period of time
 These methods are significant for developing companies
Demerits
These methods also have some major drawbacks which are:
 These methods are costly and require more resources which makes it difficult to use them
 As per Achtenhagen, et.al. (2013,p.127), sometimes data accuracy is hampered due to
personal opinions in case offline procedures are followed
In this project a survey has been conducted in the company to find out the improvement in use of
technology and technical resources and how it has helped in improvising the work performance.
In this respect data has been collected on amount of new digital resources being used,
improvement in work performance, client acquisition and service improvisation. This has helped
to compare data with previous surveys to find out the rate of growth or decline.
Qualitative methods:
One of the two specific research methods in terms of collected data is qualitative method.
Gustafson (2012, p.276), states qualitative method in aimed at driving data revealing the quality
of the variables and thus revealing some or the particular quality of the topic variable. In this
particular report, the focus through conducting a qualitative project is to surface the qualitative
aspects of digital technology in respect of innovative growth and supporting small and medium
industries. In this particular project the case of Talon has been considered.
Interviews: Employees are interviewed on different aspects to obtain information which helps in
researching about the project. Different types of interviews used in project analysis are:
Personal interviews: Personal interviews are face to face interviews conducted on a single
person and are confidential in nature.
Group interviews: These interviews are not conducted on a single person. It is in the form of
discussions and hence confidentiality are not maintained
Structured interviews: Structured interviews follow a particular pattern. Questions to be asked
and the sequence to be maintained are decided beforehand. In these kinds of interviews the
interviewer does not have to be skilled in order to maintain accuracy of data. It requires less
time.
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Unstructured interviews: These interviews do not follow any particular pattern or sequence of
questions. The interviewer has to be skilled to maintain accuracy of data. It requires more time.
Questionnaire: Questions are asked to employees in order to collect data which are useful in
conducting the project. Methods of questionnaire used in project analysis are:
Schedule method: In this method particular structure is followed and can be conducted on large
number of people. However it is costly and requires more resources.
Non-scheduled method: In this method no particular structure is followed but it cannot be
conducted on large number of people. However it is cost effective and does not require many
resources.
Merits
There are some specific advantages of applying this particular method in this present project.
The specific merits of a qualitative approach have been detailed below
 It allows a chance to evaluate the topics in depth and elaborately.
 Crane and Matten, D (2016, p.89), states through this method the data collection
is not confined to some specific questions as in an interview the interviewer can
devise new question to further broaden the analysis.
 Being a outcome of human competence, this method is more likely to be
emotionally competent to the topic and the audience.
 This is the method to be discussing the complexities and the subtleties of a
particular topic.
Demerits
This qualitative method has some overwhelming drawbacks that are potential impact the
outcomes of a project utilising this particular method. The demerits are as below
 As per Trevino and Nelson (2016, p.62), the findings of this method is heavily depended
on the particular personality of the person conducting it, thus it has high chance of being
biased to one or the other side.
 The issue related to the anonymity and confidentiality of the respondents can pose threats
to the efficiency of the data presented. Matos and Silvestre (2013, p.61) states some time
some information’s are better to be concealed that are gathered through this research and
hence do not contribute the findings.
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 Qualitative research gathers a lot number of data which is difficult to analyse and reach to
a conclusion.
A face to face interview has been conducted with the marketing manager in order to conduct this
project. In this regard information was obtained as to how employing digital resources has
helped in developing or deteriorating the working of the company. Also information was
gathered on whether the staffs are having any problem with new digital resources being used and
if any employee has any idea regarding further improvisation. The manager also enlightened us
on areas such as client and customer satisfaction. Thus information was obtained on utilisation of
new digital resources by employees and further scope of improvement.
P5 Using proper techniques to complete the project
In order to accomplish the project, both the primary research method and secondary research
methods have been approached. In terms of primary research a questionnaire set 4 questions
have been framed to the 50 employees of Talon Outdoors. On the other hand, two managers of
Talon Outdoors have been interviewed, in order to gain more concrete concept of using digital
technology in business. In addition to that, secondary research on the basis of thematic analysis
has been approached, in order to gain accuracy and reliability on the project study.
Primary research
Question 1: How effectively digital technology is influencing business procedures?
Answers Number of
respondents
Percentage Sample Size
Much Effective 25 50 50
Moderate effect 15 30 50
Not effective 10 20 50
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Figure 1: Graph on digital technology influence in business procedures
Question 2: Do you think using digital technology in business can help organisation to
grow?
Answers Number of
respondents
Percentage Sample Size
Yes 20 40 50
No 10 20 50
Maybe 20 40 50
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Figure 2: Graph on digital technology use in organisational growth
Question 3: Do you think approach of digital technology will help the business to gain
competitive advantage?
Answers Number of
respondents
Percentage Sample Size
Yes 20 40 50
No 10 20 50
Maybe 25 50 50
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