Self-Service Technology in Business: Operations and Management Report

This report provides a comprehensive overview of self-service technology in business, exploring its definition, importance, and evolution. It delves into the various technological platforms and software utilized, as well as the types of businesses and organizations that leverage this technology, including retail, banking, and hospitality. The report analyzes how self-service is employed as a business tool, its effectiveness in enhancing customer service and reducing costs, and its relationship with both traditional and contemporary business management theories. The discussion covers the benefits of self-service, such as minimizing overhead costs, satisfying customer demands, and reducing waiting times, while also examining the impact of digital technologies on business structures and practices. The report concludes by highlighting the transformative impact of self-service technologies on business operations and customer interactions.

Business Technology

Contents
INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY.............................................................................................................................................3
Importance of the Topic..........................................................................................................................3
Development of Topic.............................................................................................................................4
Description of technology and its use......................................................................................................4
Technological platforms and software used.............................................................................................5
Type of businesses and organizations that use the technology.................................................................5
How is it used as business tool and is this effective.................................................................................6
Relationship between digital technologies and both old and newly emerging theories on business and
management structures and practices.......................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION..........................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES..........................................................................................................................................9
Appendix..................................................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Business Technology can be defined as the applications of science, data, engineering as
well as information for different business purposes like achieving goals and objectives.
Advancements in technology have changed how companies carry out their business operations
and interact with their customers (Andersson and et. al., 2016). In simple words, business
technology comprises of all the technologies that help organizations carry out their functions in
an effective way. The report is based on the technology of self service that is usually used while
making buying a particular product or service. It explains the importance of self service, its
development as well as how is it used. Apart from this, the different technological platforms and
software that are used and the type of businesses that use this is also described.
MAIN BODY
Importance of the Topic
Self-service technology helps a customer to directly access to the answers they are
looking for. Through this a business unit able to meet need, requirement of expectations of
customers in perfect manner as well as it will also help in gaining competitive advantage at the
marketplace by lowering cost of customer support system. There are several benefits which can
be gain by a customer through self-service technology, from which some are mentioned below -
 Minimize overhead costs – It is one of the main benefits which are gain by companies
through implementing self-service at the workplace as they didn’t need to hire many
cashiers as customer can do self-checkout. In this firm only need someone who will
monitor the self-service activities in order to avoid mistakes and errors.
 Satisfy customer demand – By offering self-services system customer able to get
products and services according to their need, demand and preferences (Anzoategui and
et. al., 2019). By this customer get perfect product according to their requirement because
through self-service system they can customize their products accordingly.
 Reduce waiting time – For retail store waiting in line leave a negative impact as well as
it also reduces customers base. But through implementing self-service system, company
able to provide options for customers who are in hurry that they can do checkout without
waiting in line for long time.

These are the main benefits which are gain by a customer and companies through self-
services system due to which in many industries it is using such as retail, banking, airline and
many more.
Development of Topic
Self service technology was first introduced with an automated teller machine in the year
1967. In today’s time self-service technology are used in every sector from traveling to
hospitality (Aydalot and Keeble, 2018). The usage of self-services is increasing day by day
because every customer likes to customize their products according to their requirement and
need. The evolution of self-services technology started from past years, which are mentioned
below -
 1833- The vending machine- It is first coin operated vending machine which is invented
by Percival Everitt launched in London, United Kingdom (The evolution of self-service
technology, 2019). It provides self-service related to sold postcard before being rolled out
in the railway stations and post office over the nation.
 1964- The self-service gas station- It is invented by John Roscoe, it is self-serve gasoline
at Denver at his Big Top convenience store. Through this firm able to save time as well
as employees cost.
 1992- The supermarket self-checkout- It is first retail self-checkout system developed by
Dr Howard Schneider. Through this customer able to save their time because they do
self-checkout by installed system.
 1995- Amazon and eBay- In 1995 Amazon introduce e commerce site which sole books
only and at same year eBay launched. Through this customer can do self-service related
to shopping according to their preference, need and requirement.
 2000- The evolution of Kiosk- This self-service system is used everywhere from airport to
hospital which help in reducing congestion as well as drive down employees’ cost.
Description of technology and its use
Self-service technology is basically meant for offering tools and technologies to the
customers that are easy and can be used by customers. The technology allows companies to
provide online support to their customers through interaction (Bach, Čeljo and Zoroja, 2016).
Customers today expect every company to offer them self-service option in some or the other

way. It allows the customers to feel empowered by finding answers to their issues. Self-service
portals help the companies by reducing overall customer service costs because if customers ca
address their problems themselves, the amount of people needed to provide support/assistance
will also decrease. These portals also help the customers in teaching them new skills and also,
expand their overall knowledge relating to technology.
Customers can use easy ways as well as step-by-step guides in order to obtain
information. Self-service technology can also be used to increase traffic on websites in order to
enhance brand visibility. A self-service portal that is interactive as well as responsive makes sure
that the customers are able to access all of the information available at one place. Companies that
have such portals always have heavy traffic. Not only this, but self-service portals can also be
used to enhance engagement on various social media platforms. Lastly, self-service platforms
have enhanced the way in which businesses carry out their operations and provide customers an
interactive platform to connect with them as well as resolve their issues. Also, the chances of
errors can be reduced by using this technology.
Technological platforms and software used
There is a specific software for this technology which is named self-service software and
it contains a number of software that are individually specialized (Kandachar and Halme, 2017).
The software helps the customers in keeping control of their own service experience. Customers
can easily solve their problems with the help of this software. A technological platform can be
defined as a platform on which the technical design is laid and made to run. It majorly consists of
a combination of different hardware and software services. A self-service automated teller
machine is an example of a technology that is used by people on a regular basis. Many self-
service technologies have started to replace many interactions that were initially made face to
face. There are different software that are used in self-service that help in collecting information,
rules and processing them in an organized manner.
Type of businesses and organizations that use the technology
Self service is used across various businesses and organizations today as customers are
now becoming self-dependent. They often do not require any kind of assistance be it regarding
making payments or while purchasing a particular product or service (Laudon and Traver, 2016).
ATMs or Automatic Teller Machines are the most commonly seen examples of self-service

technology. Other examples of self-service technologies include self-service kiosks, online
banking services, barcode scanners that are used in supermarkets etc. Use of this technology is
not only limited to the banking industry, but extends to various organizations instead. Airports
also use this technology in the form of self-service bag drop, which is basically used to reduce
the amount of time used by passengers to check-in.
The technology also allows the passengers to print their own bag tags as well as boarding
passes (What airport self service means for the future, 2020). They can also check-in their
luggage into the baggage systems all by themselves by using simple interface that is user-
friendly. There are many advantages of self-service technology within an airport like, the number
of staff members required while assisting customers with check-in s reduced and also, the overall
time required during the process has also decreased. Apart from this the number of passengers
standing in a queue as well as their respective waiting times has also reduced. With this kind of
technology, people are increasingly become more accustomed to technology.
Organizations that operate in the hospitality and tourism industry also use self-service
technology in order to provide the guests with a lasting and memorable experience. It is among
the new trends in the industry that has helped organizations in improving their overall
performance. Passengers who travel for business purposes can view the different amenities and
services of a hotel. Guests can easily make bookings and also make payments in order to confirm
their reservations without any difficulty. Customers also prefer self-service technologies as they
are convenient to use and also save a lot of time (Luftman, Lyytinen and Zvi, 2017). Also, it has
been observed that hotel organizations that use this technology in their systems have seen a rise
in their overall revenues and profits through mobile ordering.
How is it used as business tool and is this effective?
A business tool can be defined as systems, applications, controls and methods that are
used by different companies to cope up with the different changes taking place in the market.
Self-service is used by many organizations across various industries in order to provide support
to the customers without any kind of interaction between the company’s representative and
customer. Businesses use it as a tool in order to reduce the amount of manual work or efforts in
their systems and also offer the customers an easy way to interact with them, solve their

problems. By making use of this technology as a tool, businesses can also enable a form of
customer support 24 hours to assist the customers.
Self-service technology has proved out to be one of the most effective tools as the
overall service costs in companies have gone down. Apart from this, customers can resolve their
own issues online without any requirement of assistance (Mian, Lamine and Fayolle, 2016).
Through this, they can get a quicker access to the answers as well as the information that they
need. The technology can be used in different departments in an organization like customer care,
marketing, personalizing the experience etc. The technology has also proved out to be effective
in the sense that it can help a company improve its overall performance as well as position within
the market. Therefore, it can be said that self-service is a technology that is immense
opportunities to grow even bigger in the coming years.
Relationship between digital technologies and both old and newly emerging theories on business
and management structures and practices
Advancements in technology have completely transformed the way business activities are
carried out. The bureaucratic management theory explains that a business should be structured in
a hierarchical manner. The theory is presented by Max Weber between the years 1864 and 1920.
According to this theory, there should be a clear division of labor and the personal as well as
organizational assets of the owner of the company should be separate and mixed together
(Mougayar, 2016). There should be different levels so that all the activities are carried out
effectively. In other words, there should be a hierarchical chain of command. By this, employees
working in the company have a clarity as to whom they have to report to.
Digital technologies have made it possible for the managers and team leaders in
organizations to monitor and evaluate the performance of their team members effectively.
Feedbacks can be provided from time to time so that they get an opportunity to identify their
strengths as well as weaknesses (Solomon, 2017). Digital technologies have also made it easier
for the management to provide effective training to the employees regularly so that they acquire
necessary skills and enhance the ones that they already possess. Employees of one department
can effectively interact with the members of another department with the use of different
technologies. Therefore, there is a strong relationship between digital technologies as well as
bureaucratic management model.

CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that business technology has become an
important part of all businesses. This is because it not only helps customers in finding solutions
to their problems/issues uta also enhance their overall knowledge about technology. Self-service
an example of business technology that is used across different industries like banking,
hospitality and tourism as well as aviation industries. Thus, this technology has proved out to be
the most effective and useful in the recent years and it can be said that companies are going to
use it in a much more efficient way in the coming years to enhance their performance.

REFERENCES
Books & Journals
Andersson, U. and et. al., 2016. Technology, innovation and knowledge: The importance of ideas
and international connectivity. Journal of World Business. 51(1). pp.153-162.
Anzoategui, D. and et. al., 2019. Endogenous technology adoption and R&D as sources of
business cycle persistence. American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics. 11(3). pp.67-
110.
Aydalot, P. and Keeble, D. eds., 2018. High technology industry and innovative environments:
the European experience (Vol. 3). Routledge.
Bach, M. P., Čeljo, A. and Zoroja, J., 2016. Technology acceptance model for business
intelligence systems: Preliminary research. Procedia Computer Science. 100. pp.995-
1001.
Kandachar, P. and Halme, M. eds., 2017. Sustainability challenges and solutions at the base of
the pyramid: Business, technology and the poor. Routledge.
Laudon, K. C. and Traver, C. G., 2016. E-commerce: business, technology, society.
Luftman, J., Lyytinen, K. and Zvi, T.B., 2017. Enhancing the measurement of information
technology (IT) business alignment and its influence on company performance. Journal
of Information Technology. 32(1). pp.26-46.
Mian, S., Lamine, W. and Fayolle, A., 2016. Technology Business Incubation: An overview of
the state of knowledge. Technovation, 50, pp.1-12.
Mougayar, W., 2016. The business blockchain: promise, practice, and application of the next
Internet technology. John Wiley & Sons.
Solomon, L. D., 2017. The privatization of space exploration: Business, technology, law and
policy. Routledge.
Online
The evolution of self-service technology. 2019. [Online]. Available through:<
https://www.qikserve.com/self-service-tech-a-history/>.
What airport self service means for the future. 2020. [Online]. Available through:<
https://www.internationalairportreview.com/article/105098/what-self-service-means-for-
the-future/ >.

Appendix