13 Jan Access/Participation

Unit 1 discussion

First, take a few minutes to introduce yourself to the class.

Second, Chapter 1 includes the types of e-commerce beginning on page 17. Suppose you were interested in establishing an e-commerce site. What type of e-commerce would you choose, and why? What about that type of e-commerce seems to embrace what you envision as a great business?

The purpose of this discussion board is for you to think critically about the types of e-commerce and to begin thinking about the type that suits your interests—your ideal e-commerce opportunity.

Unit 2 discussion

This discussion board involves thinking critically about an e-commerce business model by considering the following question: Would you say that Amazon and eBay are direct or indirect competitors? Explain. Feel free to visit each website before drafting your response.

Unit 3 discussion

As e-commerce entrepreneurs, it is important to think about how the future will impact our businesses. Since technology is always changing and advancing, it is important to identify the advancements as early as possible in order to plan and implement adjustments to the business. With this in mind, let’s discuss the major technological advancements on the horizon. What are the major technological advancements that are anticipated to accompany the Internet of the future? Discuss at least one advancement and the impact it will have on the Internet and e-commerce.

Unit 4 discussion

Today, designing websites to support mobile devices is very popular. However, it can and often does require additional time and expenses. For this discussion, address some of the unique features that must be taken into account when designing a mobile Web presence. Also, share your thoughts about designing a site to support mobile devices and the expected return from this type of investment.

Unit 5 discussion

If you had to choose to be an expert for one of the topics within this unit, which one would you choose, and why?

Unit 6 discussion

Businesses, as well as advertising agencies, love to know what types of advertisements actually produce results, so let’s talk about that. Suppose that you were invited to a meeting with the most prestigious marketing firm in the world, and they would like you to tell them what makes you want to purchase something from an e-commerce site. What would you tell them?

Unit 7 discussion

Typically, a business offers products, services, or both. After reading the trends in Chapter 9, what type of e-commerce would you want to establish: (a) one that sells products, (b) one that sells services, or (c) one that sells products and services? Explain your choice.

There are no right or wrong responses to this question. The purpose is for you to begin thinking about these details and to learn as a group.

Unit 8 discussion

Take into consideration each unit’s lesson. Choose one topic covered, and discuss what you learned from the lesson and unit readings and how you will use the knowledge gained to increase your professional skills. Be specific, and discuss how the lesson will enhance your career and workplace success.

Unit Assignments

Unit I Assignment

Building a Timeline for the History of the Internet

This assignment provides you with an opportunity to build a timeline that illustrates the significant milestones of the

Internet. Remember that all history is selective, and no two scholars can agree to the time when the Internet (or ecommerce)

actually began or what constitutes a significant milestone. You are encouraged to use your course textbook,

reliable sources from the Internet, and the university’s online library to support the information within your own timeline.

Also, this assignment involves using Microsoft PowerPoint to create a timeline. Feel free to design your own timeline, or

click here to access a template.

Be sure to include at least the following as part of your timeline:

? Include at least 12 milestones on the timeline.

? On separate slides, very briefly summarize each milestone—what occurred?

? Include dates on both the timeline and the summarizing slides.

? Include a references slide where you can cite your research for each milestone.

? (Optional) Include a few images to visually represent milestones on the timeline.

Save all of your work within the PowerPoint file, proofread all of your work, and submit it in Blackboard for grading.

BBA 3331, Introduction to E-commerce 3

Information about accessing the Blackboard Grading Rubric for this assignment is provided below.

Unit II Assignment

Instructions: This assignment provides you with an opportunity to discuss components of the online business model by relating the eight components to an existing type of e-commerce. Complete this assignment by answering each of the questions within this document. Then, save all of your work before submitting the document in Blackboard for grading. This assignment allows you to demonstrate competency toward the following course learning outcomes:

2. Discuss components of the online business model.

4. Develop strategies for running an e-commerce company.

The first step is to select an existing e-commerce out there on the Internet. Then, answer the following questions based on what you can research about the e-commerce.

1. What is the name of the e-commerce, and what type of service or product does the company offer?

2. Has the e-commerce been designed as a business-to-consumer (B2C) business, a business-to-business (B2B) business, or both?

3. Which specific business model best suits the e-commerce (see pages 75 and 83 in the textbook)?

4. What is the value proposition for the e-commerce?

5. How would you describe the revenue model for the e-commerce?

6. What is the market opportunity for the e-commerce?

7. How would you describe the competitive environment for the e-commerce

8. What is the competitive advantage for the e-commerce?

9. How would you describe the market strategy for the e-commerce?

10. How would you describe the organization development for the e-commerce?

11. How would you describe the management team for the e-commerce?

Unit III Essay

This assignment provides you with an opportunity to explain the four infrastructures influencing e-commerce strategy.

Begin by selecting an e-commerce out on the Internet, excluding the examples in the textbook. Then, draft a two-page essay that explains how the e-commerce’s strategy has been influenced by the four infrastructures:

? Layer 1: network technology substrates,

? Layer 2: transport services and representation standards,

? Layer 3: middleware services, and

? Layer 4: applications.

If you are not sure about the strategy that the e-commerce actually used, then you can make logical estimations or recommendations for how your strategy, for the selected company, would be influenced by the four infrastructures. As part of your explanation, be sure to include how each layer is dependent upon other layers.

There is no need to prepare a title page nor a references page; however, be sure to use Times New Roman, 12-point font, double-spacing, and one-inch margins.

Information about accessing the Blackboard Grading Rubric for this assignment is provided below.

Unit IV PowerPoint Presentation

This assignment provides you with an opportunity to define tools of the customer interface and to distinguish the different

stages of developing a website by preparing a presentation. Treat this presentation as if you were bidding on a job, and

this presentation is your opportunity to sell the tools you would include along with the process (the development stages)

that you would follow. Include at least the following within the presentation

? seven tools of the customer interface (i.e., context, commerce, connection, communication, customization,

community, and content);

? examples for each of the seven tools of the customer interface (images or screenshots);

? explanation of how your team would progress through each of the stages for developing a website (i.e., systems

analysis/planning, systems design, building the system, testing, and implementation service delivery);

? examples of the tasks that would occur in each development stage; and

? at least 12 slides.

Use your creativity to format the presentation; however, be sure it is professional and legible. For some guidance toward

preparing presentations in PowerPoint, click here to access a video with helpful tips. Be sure to save all of your work in

your presentation file before submitting it in Blackboard for grading.

Information about accessing the Blackboard Grading Rubric for this assignment is provided below.

Unit V Article Review

This assignment provides you with an opportunity to read an article about a current security threat (or attack) while also examining how security measures impact the customer experience. Within the online library, locate an article that describes a recent security threat (or attack) on an e-commerce site. Choose a threat or attack that occurred within the last 10 years. Read the article, and then draft a two-page paper to address each of the following:

? Briefly describe the threat (or attack).

? Briefly describe the type of e-commerce.

BBA 3331, Introduction to E-commerce 4

? Could the threat have been prevented by utilizing the steps of the security life cycle model? Why, or why not?

? Does the e-commerce sacrifice any form of customer service by implementing security measures? Explain.

? Visit the e-commerce site for a brief moment. As a consumer, did you feel that your information and/or any exchange of funds would be secure? Explain your initial impression.

Use APA style to format the paper. All source material must be referenced (paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations). For some guidance toward preparing your article review, click here to access a video with helpful tips.

Information about accessing the Blackboard Grading Rubric for this assignment is provided below.

Unit VI Reflection Paper

Unit VI includes several marketing and advertising strategies that many companies have used to strengthen their brands.

This assignment provides you with an opportunity to make recommendations for strengthening an e-commerce’s brand.

Write a two-page reflection paper by recommending at least six marketing and advertising strategies (concepts) and explaining how each strategy would strengthen the brand for an e-commerce site.

Use Times New Roman, 12 point font, and double-spacing to format the reflection paper. There is no need to include a title page nor a references page.

Information about accessing the Blackboard Grading Rubric for this assignment is provided below.

Unit VII Case Study

This assignment provides you with an opportunity to analyze the impact of e-commerce on a business. First, choose ONE of the following case studies that can be located in the Business Source Complete database of the online library:

MarketLine. (2012, July). Ideeli: The growth of the flash sale website.

MarketLine. (2012). Play.com: The rapid rise of an online retailer.

After reading and examining the case, write at least a one-page analysis by addressing each of the following:

1. Briefly introduce the company and its history

2. Briefly describe the products and/or services available—what are consumers purchasing online?

3. Describe the basic elements of the company business model:

? Core value proposition of the company—what is it offering, and how does it satisfy customer needs?

? Target market/audience—who uses this service?

? Revenue model—where does the money come from?

? Competitive environment—who else is competing in this market, or who might enter the market and threaten

this company’s position?

? Competitive advantage analysis—how is the company attempting to gain an advantage? Competing on cost?

Differentiation?

? How are they promoting their products in the marketplace?

? How would you rate the company’s success (financial results if available)?

4. Be sure to answer at least ONE of the following questions:

? How has e-commerce impacted this business?

? How has an “e-commerce presence” provided this business with opportunities that otherwise would not haveexisted?

Format your analysis paper by using Times New Roman, 12-point font, double-spacing, and one-inch margins. There is no need to include a title page nor a references page. Be sure to proofread your work before submitting it in Blackboard for grading.

Information about accessing the Blackboard Grading Rubric for this assignment is provided below.

Unit 1 quiz

Question 1 Which of the following is NOT a unique feature of e-commerce technology?

Question 2 Which of the following statements about e-commerce in the United States in 2014 is NOT true?

Question 3 All of the following are major social trends in e-commerce in 2014-2015 EXCEPT for:

Question 4 E-commerce can be defined as:

Question 5 Which of the following features of e-commerce technology enables merchants to market and sell “complex” goods and services to consumers via marketing messages that can integrate video, audio, and text?

Unit 2 quiz

Question 1 All of the following are using a subscription revenue model for e-books EXCEPT:

Question 2 Your company has just implemented a new, more efficient set of business processes that other firms cannot yet obtain. This will enable your firm to adopt a strategy of:

Question 3 A firm’s __________ describes how a firm will produce a superior return on invested capital.

Question 4 Which element of the business model addresses the question of why a customer should buy from the firm?

Question 5 The ability to retain user attention and engagement is an important attribute for which revenue model?

Unit 3 quiz

Question 1 Which of the following statements about cloud computing is NOT true?

Question 2 __________ is one of the original Internet services and is used to transfer files from a server computer to a client computer and vice versa.

Question 3 Which of the following organizations coordinates the Internet’s systems of unique identifiers, such as IP addresses and top-level domain systems?

Question 4 Which of the following is NOT an advantage of client/server computing over centralized mainframe computing?

Question 5 Which of the following protocols is used to send mail to a server?

Unit 4 quiz

Question 1 Which of the following typically includes a data flow diagram to describe the flow of information for an e-commerce site?

Question 2 __________ involves testing a site’s program modules one at a time.

Question 3 Which of the following helps you understand the marketing effectiveness of your e-commerce site?

Question 4 A system design has two main components:

Question 5 Most of the time required to maintain an e-commerce site is spent on:

Unit 5 quiz

Question 1 What is the first step in developing an e-commerce security plan?

Question 2 Software that is used to obtain private user information such as a user’s keystrokes or copies of e-mail is referred to as:

Question 3 Which of the following dimensions of e-commerce security is NOT provided for by encryption?

Question 4 What is the most frequent cause of stolen credit cards and card information today?

Question 5 All of the following are used for authentication EXCEPT:

Unit 6 quiz

Question 1 Which of the following is NOT a practice that degrades the results and usefulness of search engines?

Question 2 Which of the following is NOT true about search engine advertising?

Question 3 Which of the following search engine algorithm updates enables Google’s search engine to evaluate an entire sentence rather than just a key?

Question 4 All of the following are online communications that are used to support the evaluation of alternatives stage of the consumer decision process EXCEPT:

Question 5 “Shoppers” constitute approximately __________ % of the online Internet audience.

Unit 7 quiz

Question 1 The lower the cost of sales compared to __________, the higher the gross profit.

Question 2 Operating margin is defined as:

Question 3 What is another name for pro forma earnings?

Question 4 Virtual merchants face potentially large costs for all of the following EXCEPT:

Question 5 Current liabilities are debts of the firm that will be due within:

Final Exam

Question 1 Which pricing plan charges fees to e-commerce firms based on the amount of traffic they generate?

Highway pricing

Cap pricing

Usage-based billing

Congestion pricing

Question 2 Which of the following protects original forms of expression in a tangible medium?

Trade secret law

Copyright law

Patent law

Trademark law

Question 3 How long does copyright protection extend for corporate-owned works?

25 years

50 years

75 years

95 years

Question 4 Which of the following technologies allows you to send e-mail without a trace?

Anonymous surfing

P3P

Anonymous remailers

Public key encryption

Question 5 Which of the following is a core Fair Information Practices (FIP) principle?

Choice/Consent

Access/Participation

Security

Enforcement

Question 6 Describe the five-step process that can be used to analyze an ethical dilemma. What other guidelines are there to help in understanding a complicated ethical or moral situation?

Your response should be at least 200 words in length.