BUS101: Integrated Professional Skills in the Digital Age Report

This report delves into the realm of digital skills and professional practices, encompassing three key areas: a comparative analysis of online versus offline sales, an evaluation of password management tools, and a review of track and trace applications developed by various governments. The first s...Read More

Integrated Professional Skills
in the Digital Age

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1 Comparison and contrast of positive and negative aspects of services and products being
sold online and offline.....................................................................................................................1
Introduction.................................................................................................................................1
Main Body...................................................................................................................................1
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................3
TASK 2 Tools which accessible to keep the passwords and manage them effectively..................3
Introduction.................................................................................................................................3
Main Body...................................................................................................................................3
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................5
TASK 3 Track and Trace Apps developed by governments of two different countries and their
comparison and contrast on the bases of features, application and suitability................................5
Introduction.................................................................................................................................5
Main Body...................................................................................................................................5
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
The current era is termed as the digital era because every sphere life of life at present has
been dominated by the emergence of technologies. The current report is divided into 3 tasks. The
following report covers 3 topics, namely, online v/s offline sales, tools to manage individual and
business passwords separately, and track and trace apps developed by governments across the
globe. The first task uncovers the positives as well as negatives of offerings being sold via
offline and online modes. The second task discovers 2 important tools to manage the online
accounts with username and passwords along with recommendation regarding the best one out of
the two. The last task explores 2 important Track and Trace Apps developed by governments of
two nations together with their contrast and comparison on the basis of their features.
TASK 1 Comparison and contrast of positive and negative aspects of services
and products being sold online and offline
Introduction
With the passage of time, it is analysed that the quantum of brick and mortar style stores
and businesses are constantly decreasing. Further, online businesses have emerged with the
evolution of technology in the modern era. The current task is focussed upon the exploration of
positives and negatives of online and offline sales of products as well as services.
Main Body
The implementation of technologies has led to the emergence of online businesses over
the course of time. It has become important to take into account the positives and negatives
linked to online and offline businesses in order to ascertain which model of business operations
is better. A comparative and contrasting discussion upon the same is given beneath:-
Offerings being sold online
Advantages:
Easier market access to market- The operations of an organisation being online allows
the users to get an easy access to the platform and thereby efficiently carry out the purchase and
returns as per their convenience and comfort. Thus, the online businesses such as eBay, Amazon,
and so on are able to derive benefits by providing people with remote access to their websites
and mobile applications.
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Reduced overheads- The execution of online purchase and sales (inclusive of returns) of
an entity allows a company to save a significant sum of money which would otherwise have been
invested upon rent, lighting and other such kinds of overheads. The reduction in expenses imply
an overall decline in cost, thereby increasing the profit margins.
Potential to facilitate expansion at a rapid rate- The current era is referred to as the era
of digitalisation. This illustrates the ease at which technologies allow the online businesses in the
present time to carry out expansion within the new markets in order to increase the reach within
the bounds of global market place. Especially, in the wake of outspread of corona virus across
the globe at the present time, the online market has received extensive recognition and
acknowledgement.
Disadvantages:
Website and infrastructural costs- It is well know that online businesses can not run
without a website and infrastructure. Both of these together are regarded to be the essence
without which no online business can operate in market place to serve the customers across the
globe. Thus, even when the cost of overheads get reduced in this business model, infrastructure
and website costs are two of the most substantial expenses that need to be incurred.
Legal issues- It is identified that legal complications are highly apparent within
businesses operating via leveraging online business model. The most common legal issues are
related to safety and security and include hacking, data theft, virus attacks and many more. These
affect the reputation of online businesses negatively and have a severe impact upon its revenue
generation.
Lack of trust- As the operations are conducted online and there is no face to face interface
between the customers and the company, it is often seen that a large majority of population is
concerned. The personnel are apprehensive of the quality of products and security of the
financial transactions. This negatively influences the revenues as well as profits of businesses
carrying out online sale of products and services in the long run.
Offerings being sold offline
Advantages:
Easily gain public attention- As the operations of offline businesses are carried out in the
form of brick and mortar style stores, it is quite easy to gain the attention of public in the rapid
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course of time. It becomes easier to satisfy the users by providing them with high quality
offerings which can meet their needs.
Personal Touch- One of the most important advantages of businesses that conducts its
sales of products and services in the offline mode is the direct touch that it can maintain with its
customer base. This allows the organisation to acknowledge the customer queries and issues
related to products face to face so that they can derive maximum satisfaction.
Disadvantages:
High Overhead cost- Offline businesses are acknowledged to consume electricity, rent
and other expenses. This accounts to increase in the overall cost of operations for the businesses
that leverage offline business model leading to decline in profit margins of the company in the
long run.
Limited Accessibility- It becomes difficult for an offline business to reach out to large
number of individuals as compared to online businesses. The marketing of offline businesses
needs to be strong enough in a bid to make sure that it is able to capture the attention of target
audience in an effective manner.
Conclusion
On the basis of above discussion, it can be stated that the emergence of new technologies
has led to shift from brick and mortal style business model to online business models. Both the
kinds of businesses have their own pros and cons which need to be taken into consideration.
TASK 2 Tools which accessible to keep the passwords and manage them
effectively
Introduction
With the passage of time, it has become common for a person and business to use online
services with separate login credentials for the company and the individual. It becomes tough to
manage multiple online accounts with several user credentials. There are several tools that are
now used for managing the multiple online accounts in an effective manner.
Main Body
In the present time, e-commerce businesses need to make use of security tools for
management of login credentials in order to make sure effective and efficient management of
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multiple online accounts. Passwords are important to properly set and preserved in a bid to make
sure that there is no illegal access to the data at any point of time. In case the passwords are easy
to crack, then it would account to cybercrimes such as hacking, trespassing and so on. A third
party will be able to easily access the information of a company such as the email, bank details,
social media platforms and much more data in case it is able to retrieve the password. This will
have a negative impact upon the maintenance as well as safety of the sensitive and important
data of the company. This has made it important for an organisation to have robust passwords in
the systems so that the confidential information pertinent to the company can be effectively
preserved. This also enables the company to save the information of their potential leads and
other client data so that their personal details are not exposed to third party or wrong hands.
Thus, strong passwords ensures non likelihood of occurrence of cyber crimes. There are several
types of tools and techniques that are utilised through e-commerce business ventures to protect
their businesses from password leaks, hacking and many others. These tools are utilised to
protect their consumer’s private and financial data. The explanation of some tools is explained
under:-
Trustwave- It is an efficient safety instrument with a collective threshold that provides the
venture an established examination of their assets and also allows them to conduct self service or
inhabited safety tests, because it contacts conventional data. It develops complete presentations
on the company danger contact, administrates and effective safety program that includes
amalgamation of avoidance, appropriate protection and data confirmation. Along with this, it
also liberty to venture so that it can expand more time on the analysis making and fewer time on
the repairmen of safety trying.
ProtonMail- It is an email app that concentrates majorly in security and privacy. It has a
incredible characteristic of end to end encryption that safe the enterprise data that has been
previously encrypted when it appears at ProtonMail servers. Further, the venture can convey and
acquire mail from different customers because just after sorting into a ProtonMail account
individual needs two passwords (Liu and Burns, 2018). One password will be needed to login the
application and other is mostly utilised to decrypt data on venture device, as this application
never has contract to the decrypted content or the decryption exceed.
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As per the above analysis, ProtonMail is validated as a suitable tool that can be used for the
purpose of managing safety and security of data while ensuring maintenance of multiple online
accounts.
Conclusion
On the basis of above discussion, it can be comprehensively stated that there are several
tools which can be leveraged for keeping the security and safety of information. These tools
allow the usage of several online accounts in an efficient way. ProtonMail is identified as an
important tool that can be utilised by the businesses for this cause.
TASK 3 Track and Trace Apps developed by governments of two different
countries and their comparison and contrast on the bases of features,
application and suitability
Introduction
Track and Trace Apps have been developed by the governments for multiple mobile
platforms across the globe post sound planning in the wake of corona virus outspread in the
present time. These apps are distinct in terms of their functions, features, application and
suitability. Below two of the apps prepared by governments of two different nations have been
discussed to demonstrate the discussion over the subject matter.
Main Body
The current situation across the whole world has been strongly affected by COVID-19
pandemic. The national governments, over the course of time, have been constantly taking
effective measures to control the impact of this virus outspread. The governments have also used
technology to gain an upper hand over the pandemic situation. Through execution of sound
planning, the national governments have developed Track and Trace Apps which can provide
due assistance in the time of pandemic. These apps will provide information about the corona
virus patients. This assists the government in separating public from these persons and ensuring
that the patients are isolated so that more people do not get infected by them. These apps provide
information regarding the persons who have been in proximity to the users and the ones who
may be infected. Some of the apps also have the feature of warning the users in case a COVID
patient is nearby. Yet the biggest limitation of these apps is that these are non beneficial in case
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everyone does not download the application and use it on a regular basis. Given beneath is a
discussion on two of the Track and Trace Apps along with their functions:-
TraceTogether- Developed by the government of Singapore, this is an app which can be
installed and used by a person through a Singaporean mobile number and a Bluetooth-assisted
Smartphone. This app works on a system which uses Bluetooth for tracking infected people and
providing information about the same to people who were in proximity to them in a time span of
last 15 days. This application is developed by the Government Technology Agency in
collaborative working with the Ministry of Health.
NHS Smartphone App- This app would be used by national authorities for the purpose of
tracking and tracing information related to the pandemic. It is a contact tracing app which is
being designed by NHS at NHSX. Hannock has asked the residents of Britain to download the
app and use it once it is accessible. The app will provide information about the individuals who
seem safe and the ones who appear to be infected.
Basis TraceTogether NHS Smartphone App
Feature The application is easy to use. It uses
Bluetooth for determination of
information about people who come
into contact with the users.
If an individual reports in this app
of encountering COVID symptoms,
an alert would be sent to all the
users nearby.
Application This app is applied for determining
information about individuals infected
by COVID-19.
This app would be used once
available to offer a facility to users
such that personnel can carry out
their self assessment COVID test at
their respective homes.
Suitability This app is suitable as it provides data
related to people having COVID 19.
It is suitable as it offers information
regarding people who are
experiencing corona symptoms and
give them an opportunity to carry
out self assessments at home.
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Conclusion
As per the above discussion, it is summarised that Track and Trace Apps are developed
by governments to deal with the situation of corona virus prevailing across the globe. There are
several apps which have been developed and some are in development stage. These apps are
extremely useful and hold different functions through which people can save themselves from
being infected. Some apps provide information about the infected patients who have been in
proximity with the users. On the other hand, some apps give the option to users to carry out self
assessment test for COVID-19 at their homes only without having to visit healthcare centres or
labs.
CONCLUSION
In accordance with the three tasks done above, it can be stated that digital businesses
have emerged as a result of adoption of latest and emergent technologies by companies. The first
task has led to the inference that online and offline businesses have their own merits as well as
demerits. These need to be considered to make sure that the business goals can be achieved by an
organisation, irrespective of the type of business model. Besides this, the second task reaches to
the conclusion that there are many tools which can be utilised by corporations for preserving the
client and business data along with managing several online accounts in an effective manner.
ProtonMail is the most effective tool which can be utilised by companies for this purpose. Lastly,
the third task implies that governments across the globe have developed Track and Trace Apps.
These have been most useful in the wake of corona virus outspread at the present time. The
examples of apps used in context of COVID-19 scenario are Trace Together, NHS Smartphone
app and many more.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Ansong, E. and Boateng, R., 2019. Surviving in the digital era–business models of digital
enterprises in a developing economy. Digital Policy, Regulation and Governance.Kane,
G.C., Palmer, D., Phillips, A.N. and Kiron, D., 2015. Is your business ready for a digital
future?. MIT Sloan management review, 56(4), p.37.
Bican, P.M. and Brem, A., 2020. Digital Business Model, Digital Transformation, Digital
Entrepreneurship: Is There A Sustainable “Digital”?. Sustainability, 12(13), p.5239.
Chaffey, D., Hemphill, T. and Edmundson-Bird, D., 2019. Digital business and e-commerce
management. Pearson UK.
Kane, G.C., Palmer, D., Phillips, A.N., Kiron, D. and Buckley, N., 2015. Strategy, not
technology, drives digital transformation. MIT Sloan Management Review and Deloitte
University Press, 14(1-25).
Kreutzer, R.T., Neugebauer, T. and Pattloch, A., 2017. Digital business leadership. Digital
Transformation–Geschäftsmodell-Innovation–agile Organisation–Change-
Management.
Libert, B., Beck, M. and Wind, J., 2016. The network imperative: How to survive and grow in the
age of digital business models. Harvard Business Review Press.
Liu, K., 2020, May. Digital Innovation and Transformation to Business Ecosystems.
In FEMIB (p. 7).
Urbach, N. and Röglinger, M., 2019. Introduction to digitalization cases: how organizations
rethink their business for the digital age. In Digitalization Cases (pp. 1-12). Springer,
Cham.
Urbach, N., Drews, P. and Ross, J., 2017. Digital business transformation and the changing role
of the IT function. MIS Quarterly Executive, 16(2), pp.1-4.
Weill, P. and Woerner, S., 2018. What's Your Digital Business Model?: Six Questions to Help
You Build the Next-Generation Enterprise. Harvard Business Press.
Xu, Y. and Koivumäki, T., 2019. Digital business model effectuation: An agile
approach. Computers in Human Behavior, 95, pp.307-314.
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