Technology and Innovation Management
Chapter one
Abstract
Many organizations have integrated different types of technologies. For example, the organizations have integrated web portals and CRM in their activities. Cake Entertainment Limited has integrated a web portal technology in its operations. The web portal technology is aimed at improving the customer satisfaction in the organization. The web portal technology will improve the customer satisfaction in different ways. First, the technology helps improve the delivery of services and products. It also enables the company achieve competitive advantage and also improve efficiency in the organization. This is according to the findings from the study. Most of the participants used in the study appreciated the technology because it had more advantages than disadvantages. Proper management of technology in the organization helps make it effective. The management in cake entertainment limited have managed the technology well and hence realized the benefits of web portals.
Introduction
Technology and innovation management has become common in the organization. Most organizations have adopted various technology innovations to help them manage their organizations. For example, organizations have adopted technology to help in customer satisfaction. Customer satifaction has become a major issue in the society. This is because many organizations are not able to satisfy their customers. This has in turn led to low profits in the organization as the organizations have not been able to retain customers in the organization. For example, Cake Entertainment Ltd has adopted various technologies to help in provision of entertainment services in various parts of the world. Cake Entertainment Ltd adopted a web portal in 2009 to help improve services in the organization.
The company integrated its operations with the technology so as to increase productivity and achieve a competitive advantage. Moreover, the integration of the technology in the organization helped improve the processing of sales in the company. The processing of sales in the organization was faster than before. This is because Cake Entertainment Company used the screener services provided by the portal. In addition, the company used the delivery system to broadcast its services. The delivery mechanism enabled the company to be fast and cost effective in delivering products into the market. Additionally, the technology enabled the company to venture into other market segments. Further, the technology adopted in the company helped improve the customer satisfaction in the organization.
Customers are important in any business as they determine the level of productivity in the organization. Hence, Cake Entertainment Company helped improve customer satisfaction in the organization by improving its services and products. The new technology also helped the company attract new customers and retain existing customers. The project will determine how effective has the development of a web portal been in helping improve customer satisfaction in Cake Entertainment limited. The project will employ both qualitative and quantitative research design to study the effectiveness of web portal in the organization. The participants will be employees and customers from Cake Entertainment limited.
Research hypothesis
The research will employ both alternative and null hypothesis. The researcher will determine if the development of web portal has been effective in helping the company improve customer satisfaction. On the other hand, the researcher will also determine if the development of the web portal has been ineffective in improving customer satisfaction in the organization. The researcher will be required to test both hypothesis and choose the correct one (Benbya, Passiante &Belbaly, 2004).
Null hypothesis: The web portal has not been effective in improving customer satisfaction?Alternative hypothesis: The web portal has been effective in improving customer satisfaction.
Research problem
Technology has played an important role in the entertainment industry. For example, technology has helped change entertainment by changing provision of entertainment in the industry. Most of the companies have been able to change their enttainment services by incorporating different technology in their activities. Apart from changing entertainment services, technology has changed the perception people have towards the service providers. Most researchers have carried out research to determine whether the technology used is effective or not. For example, researchers have carried out research to determine the effectiveness of web portals in entertainment. Researchers argue that the technologies are effective if they are used well.
Most of the technologies used in various organizations have a negative impact on the organization. For example, the technologies affect customers in different ways. Most of the technologies used in entertainment have had a negative impact on children as they access phonographic materials. Though the technologies have a negative impact on the society, they have a positive impact on the organizations as they improve productivity and efficiency. Hence, the research will determine the effectiveness of technology in the industry and Cake entertainment company (Tidd,Bessant,.& Pavitt, 2005).
Chapter two
Literature review
The number of companies that have integrated technologies in their operations has increased. This is because of the advances in technology and benefits associated with various technologies like web portal. For example, most of the entertainment companies have implemented web portal technologies in the organization. Researchers have different views about the implementation of different technologies in the organization. Some argue that the implementation of various technologies in the organization can affect the organization negatively if the technology is not well managed. However, others believe that implementation of technology in the organization has a lot of benefits and it is effective.
For example, a research carried out by Yankee group showed that different technologies used in the organization are effective. The researcher argues that the convergence of services, sales and marketing technologies used in the organization has led to the evolution of the entertainment organizations. Most studies have proved that most organizations including entertainment companies have changed from being non profit to profit organizations. The organizations are aimed at making profits.
The competition in various markets has also led to adoption of technologies so as to improve the services offered in the organizations. The competition in the market is mainly based on services provided. Firms that provide quality services and products find it easy to compete in the organization. On the other hand, companies that do not offer quality services and products perform poorly (Tidd,Bessant& Pavitt, 2005).
Most companies in different industries have worked hard to turn companies into customer advocates so as to improve customer loyalty and prevent loss of customers. Most researchers argue that providing superior customer services in the organization is vital. This is because the kind of services offered in the organization determines the customer reaction. Customers react differently to different products and services. For example, some of the customers appreciate the services offered by a company if they are of good quality. Companies that offer quality products find it easy to attract customers.
On the other hands, companies that offer poor quality services find it difficulty to retain customers as customers have poor attitude towards the company and services. Businesses are supposed to manage the customer relations and interactions well. This is because a poor service experience has a negative impact on customer satisfaction. First, poor service experience can lead to loss of customers as customers prefer to buy goods and services from other people. In addition, poor customer service can lead to low sales in the organization. This is evidenced in the research carried out by Yankee. The researcher carried out a research to determine the effectiveness of various technologies like web portals and CRM in improving customer satisfaction in the organization.
The researcher noted that most companies in different markets had invested in CRM and web portals for the last few years so as to be able to offer quality customer services. The participants had different views about investing in various technologies. Some of the participants thought that the technologies performed above expectation. For example, 47% of the participants argued that the technology performed above expectation.11% of the participants argued that the technology meet the expectation. In addition, 42% of the participants claimed that the technologies did not perform as expected (Tatnall, 2007).
The poor performance of the technologies is as a result of various factors. First, the poor performance of the technology is due to changing customer needs. Most of the organizations are not able to meet the needs of the customers as different customers have different needs. In addition, the technologies did not perform as expected because of poor management of innovations in the organization. Most organizations did not have the right strategies to manage innovations (Tatnall, 2007).
Additionally, Benbay, Passiante and Belbaly carried out a study to determine the importance of various technologies like web portals in the organization. The researchers argue that the success of any organization depends on the knowledge that is available in the organization. Organizations that have enough information about customers and the market are more successful than organizations that do not have. Moreover, the researchers argue that technologies like web portals help firms achieve competitive advantage. Most of the technologies like web portals help organizations get information from the customers and other stakeholders. In addition, they help organizations share information with consumers thus improving customer satisfaction in the organization. This is because organizations are able to gather information about customer needs and products and services offered by the organization. This in turn makes it easy for the organization to improve its services and products (Singer, Ross &Avery, 2001).
The researchers have identified various benefits that are linked with web portal. First, researchers argue that web portals provide data from different sources in different format. The data collected from different sources is organized into a single menu. For example, companies that use web portals are able to collect information from customers located in different market segments. For instance, the companies are able to get information from children, adults and elderly people. This in turn helps determine the needs of the customers and design products that meet their needs. Most organizations have used web portals as marketing strategies. This is because of the ability to reach many people at once. The Cake Entertainment limited will be able to benefit from the web portal as it will be able to reach customers in different market segmental. This will ensure the company offers the right services and products. Currently, the company targets adults and children in different market segments (Whie &BRuton, 2010).
Further, the web portal technology enables business to carry out different types of transactions (Cake entertainment ltd, 2010). Most organizations have implemented web portals so as to be able to improve the sales process and other processes in the organization. The web portals have been effective in improving the sales processes in the organization. The organizations have been able to increase sales and also retain customers. Moreover, the organizations have been able to improve delivery of services and products in the organization hence making it easy for the organizations to meet customer needs.
In addition, researchers have associated web portals with competitive advantage in the organization. The webs portals help make the businesses environment competitive. They also help organizations compete with other companies in this industry. This is because organizations are able to develop competitive strategies and monitor their competitors. Like other organizations, the Cake Entertainment Company is likely to benefit from the web portal as it will help the company develop competitive advantage by improving services and products (Andrew, 2008).
Other researchers argue that technologies like web portals are not effective in the organization because of the numerous disadvantages linked with them. First, web portals can affect the business transactions and sales. In some cases the web portals can make it hard for customers to complete transactions. This happens when customers find all the information they need about a product and move to competitor’s site and get the products. In other cases, the customers might get a direct seller who offers them good deals. Additionally, web portals can limit the amount of information about a service or product. This makes it hard for the customer to make the right decision as they are not able to access adequate information.
In addition, the web portals provide huge amount of information and this confuses the customers. Companies that provide large amount of product information and service information in their portals affect customers and this makes it hard to enhance customer satisfaction. It might also be difficulty for customers to get the latest information about products and services and hence affect customer satisfaction as firms are not able to improve their services and products. Hence, they are unable to meet the needs of their customers. Further, some researchers have claimed that using web portals in entertainment companies poses threat to the children. This is because children are able to access phonographic materials in the internet. This in turn affects the behavior of the children. The researchers have proved that using web portal in entertainment industries erodes social norms in the society as it affects the behaviors of different people in the society. Hence, access to the web portals should be limited so as to prevent young children from accessing dirty materials (Strauss, 2009).
The Cake Entertainment Company will be able to realize the benefits linked with various technologies like web portals if it manages its technology well. The company should have the right strategies to manage the technology so as to overcome factors that hinder the technology from being useful in the organization. For example, the company should monitor the technology regular so as to ensure information provided is up to date and customers access the right information. This will in turn help the company satisfy its customers as they will be able to access the right services and products (Andrew, 2008).
Chapter 3
Methodology
Research questions
The research questions are based on the literature review above. First, the researcher will determine whether web portals used in the Cake Entertainment Company have helped improve the satisfaction of customers in the organization or not. The effectiveness of the web portal will be determined by whether company has realized the benefits linked with web portal or not. For example, if the company has achieved competitive advantages, increased sales and retained customers in the organization. In addition, the effectiveness of the web portal will be determined by the efficiency the firm has achieved. The research questions include:
Are web portals effective in improving customer satisfaction in Cake Entertainment Limited?
What factors show the web portals in the organization are effective? (Andrew, 2008).
Research design
The research will employ different types of research design. For example, the research will use qualitative research design and quantitative research design. Qualitative research design and quantitative research design differ a lot. First, quantitative research design makes it easy for the researcher to use a large sample size. For example, the researcher can use more than 300 participants in a study. The research design also makes it easy for the researcher to compare the relationship between various variables. For example, the researcher will be able to compare dependent variable and independent variable.
The independent variable in the study is web portals and the dependent variable in the study is customer satisfaction. In this case, the researcher will be able to compare the relationship between web portals and customer satisfaction. He will be able to determine if web portals are effective in improving customer satisfaction or not. The study design is expensive and time consuming. Apart from using quantitative research design, the researcher will use qualitative research design. The research design can be used to answer questions liked how questions etc. Qualitative research design is not expensive and time consuming. However, one cannot use a large sample size in qualitative design. The qualitative research design will be used to collect non numerical data ( Creswell, 2003).
Participants
The researcher will use employees and customers from cake Entertainment Company. The participants will be selected using random technique. The researcher will use stratified random technique to select the participants. A total of 200 participants will be used in the study. The participants will be selected according to gender, age etc.Half of the participants will be employees from the company and the other half will be customers. The employees will consist of 50 males and 50 females. In addition, the customers will consist of 50 males and 50 females. Using employees and customers from the company will make it easy to understand the effectiveness of the technology in the organization. The employees and customers use the technology regular and are aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the technology. Hence, this ensures the results gotten from the study are reliable and valid. The participants will be selected using stratified random technique so as to ensure equal representation of the population ( Creswell, 2003).
Research procedure
The researcher will follow the following steps when carrying out the study. First, the researcher will get permission from the participants and the organization. The researcher will be required to inform the participants the benefits and disadvantages of the research. For example, the researcher should inform the participants how they will benefit from the study. In this case, the participants will benefit from the study as data collected will be used to improve services and products offered by the company. After getting permission from the management and participants, the researcher will issue the participants with questionnaires. The participants will answer the questionnaires accordingly. After answering the questionnaires the researcher will get them and analyze data collected (Creswell, 2003).
Data collection
Researchers can use a wide range of data collection tools to collect data. That is questionnaires; observation technique and interviews. Interviews have some advantages and disadvantages. First, interviews enable the researcher to get clarification from the participants incase he or she does not understand the responses provided. In addition, data collected from interviews is easy to analyze than data collected from questionnaires. Moreover, interviews produce a higher response rate than other data collection methods. This ensures data collected is reliable and valid. Also, interviews can be used to collect data from participants who do not have reading and writing skills. This makes it easy for the researcher to include different types of participants in his research.
However, interviews have some disadvantages. For example, the interviewer can affect data collected as he or she is capable of influencing the interviewee. It is also time consuming to collect data using interviews especially when using as large sample size. This is because the researcher has to interview all the participants. Data gotten from interviews is always biased as the researcher affects the participants in one way or another (Creswell, 2003).
Another method that can be used to collect data is observation. In observation, the researcher observes the behavior of the participants. Researchers are not able to influence data collected in observation and hence the results are up to date. This makes it easy for people to accept the results gotten. However, the observation technique does not allow the researcher to clarify responses from the participants. This makes it hard to understand the responses given. The observation technique can be time consuming as the researcher takes a lot of time studying the population. Also, data collected using observation technique is not standardized as the researcher does not rely on a particular format when collecting data. Hence, this affects the overall results and conclusion (Creswell, 2003).
The research will use questionnaires to collect data. Questionnaires have more advantages than other data collection tools. First, questionnaires are not subject and the results are not biased. This is because the researcher is not able to influence the data collection process. In case of interviews, the researcher can influence the responses provided by the participants. In addition, questionnaires can be used to collect large amounts of data. In addition, the responses collected using questionnaires are standardized as questionnaires are more objective than interviews. This makes the results of the study more accurate as data collected is reliable and valid. Collecting data using questionnaires is quick compared to interviews. However, they take a long time to design and analyze data (Creswell, 2003).
Also, questionnaires have some disadvantages. First, questionnaires give standardized responses as they are always standardized. In this case, the questionnaires will have both open ended questions and closed ended questions. This will give the participants an opportunity to express their views and feelings about the web portals used in the organization. Further, data collected from questionnaires night not be reliable. This is because questionnaires are used to collect data after events have happened. This affects the reliability of data collected as they participants forget important issues. When using standardized questionnaires participants find it hard to express their views and this affects the quality of data collected. Using open ended questionnaires in the study has also some disadvantages. Open ended questionnaires produce huge amounts of data and this affects the analysis of the data as the researcher spends a lot of time analyzing it. In other cases, the participants might not be willing to answer the questions especially if the questions are many and need a lot of time (Creswell, 2003).
Data analysis
Different methods will be used to analyze the quantitative data and qualitative data collected. The researcher will use tables, charts and graphs to analyze data collected. The data analysis methods have different advantages and disadvantages. First, graphs are more effective in representing data collected as they allow the researcher to show the relationship between different variables used in the study. For example, graphs allow the researcher to show the relationship between web portals in cake entertainment limited and customer satisfaction. Though graphs make it easy for the researcher to show the relation between different variables, it is not easy to prepare and interpret. The readers and researchers are required to have the right skills so as to be able to interpret the graphs.
For example, they should have statistical knowledge so as to be able to use graphs.Moreover; tables are effective in presenting research data. The tables allow the researcher to show the relationship between variables using rows and columns. They are easier to interpret and understand than graphs. Tables are more easy to use than graphs and charts. However, tables might not be good in showing relationship between variables. Charts are also good in showing the relationship between variables and are easy to comprehend. In this case, data collected will be shown using tables and charts.
The results from the study revealed that web portals are important if they are utilized well. 70% of the employees in the organization acknowledged that the web portal used in the organization was effective in improving customer satisfaction. On the other hand 30% of the employees felt that the web portal used in the organization was not effective in promoting customer satisfaction in the organization. Participants linked the effectiveness of the web portal with various factors. First, most participants claimed that the web portal was effective as it helped in developing competitive advantage in the organization. This is because the company was able to offer quality services and products unlike the competitors in the market. Additionally, the participants claimed that the web portal in the organization helped improve the efficiency in the organization. For example, 60% of the participants related the efficiency of the portal with efficiency.
On the other hand, 70% of the participants associated the effectiveness of the web portal with the competitive advantage. The company was able to deliver services to different customers within the shortest time possible. This in turn helps improve customer satisfaction and retention of customers. Others linked the success of the web portal with the increase in sales in the company and improved service and product quality. The web portal helped the organization gather information about products and services and enhance its produc6s.70% of the participants associated the effectiveness of the web portal with delivery of services and goods quickly. Lastly, 80% of the participants associated the success of the portal with the improvement of services and products.
The results of the study are shown in the table below (Meckl, 2008).
Effectiveness of the web portal
| participants | response |
| 70% | yes |
| 30% | no |
Factors that show the web portal is effective
|
factor |
response |
|
efficiency |
60% |
|
Competitive advantage |
70% |
|
delivery |
70% |
|
Improved services and goods |
80% |
Plan
The plan below will be used to carry out the research. The plan will show the events that will be carried out and the time needed to complete each activity. There are different activities that need to be carried out. First, the researcher needs to prepare the questionnaires that will be used in the study. Then after preparing the questionnaires the researcher will be required to get permission from managers in the organizations and participants. Then collect data. After collecting data, the researcher will analyze it and make the necessary conclusions (Meckl, 2008).
| Activities | Time(start-finishing) |
| Preparing questionnaires | 01/ 05/2011-15/05/2011 |
| Getting permission | 16/05/2011-17/05/2011 |
| Collecting data | 19/05/2011-19/06/2011 |
| Coding data | 20/06/2011-27/06/2011 |
| Analyzing data and making conclusion | 28/06/2011-28/07/2011 |
Chapter 5
Summary and conclusion
The increase in the level of competition in the industry has forced many companies to integrate different types of technologies in their operations. For example, many companies have incorporated web portals in their sites so as to improve services offered and products. The companies have been able to realize the benefits associated with web portals. For example, the companies have been able to achieve competitive advantage and customer satisfaction. The cake entertainment limited has also integrated web portal in its activities.
The integration of the technology in the organization has proved effective in improving customer satisfaction. This is evidenced by the analysis made above. The results from the study have shown that the web portal has helped improve efficiency in the organization. For example, it has helped improve deliver of services to customers. It has also helped the company achieve competitive advantage and improve its sales. The results have also shown that more than 70% of the participants including employees and customers are satisfied with the performance of the web portal. Hence, the results from the study support the hypothesis above.
Reference
Andrew,S.S(2008).Handbook of technology and innovation management. Wiley-Blackwell
Benbya,H.,Passiante,G.,&Belbaly,N.A.(2004).Corporate portal. A tool for knowledge management synchronization. International journal of information management,Vol24,p201-220
Creswell,J.W.(2003).Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method approaches. SAGE
Cake entertainment ltd.(2010). Cake entertainment limited. Retrieved from: http://www.cakeentertainment.com/ on 27/04/2011
Meckl,R.(2008).Technology and innovation management: theories, methods and practices from Germany and China. Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag
Singer,D.,Ross,D .,&Avery,A.(2001).Successful Web Portals in Retail Banking. John Wiley and Sons,
Strauss, W. (2009). JCA launches web portal for Cake Entertainment. Retrieved from http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/technology/jca-launches-web-portal-for-cake-entertainment/5008412.article. on 27/04/2011
Tidd,J.,Bessant,J.R.,& Pavitt,K.(2005).Managing innovation: integrating technological, market and organizational change. John Wiley and Sons
Tatnall,A.(2007).Encyclopedia of portal technologies and applications, Volume 1. Idea Group Inc (IGI).
Whie,M.A.,&Bruton,G.D.(2010).The Management of Technology and Innovation: A Strategic Approach. Cengage Learning
Yankee group.(2006).Customer centric strategies. Retrieved from http://www.jacada.com/whitepapers/pdfs/Yankee_Unified_Agent_Desktop_White_Paper.pdfon 27/04/2011
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