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MIDTERM EXAM: ELECTRONIC COMMERCE – INS3066

Opened book exam, Time allowed: 100min
1. Student name: ……Phạm Hải Đăng…………
2. Student ID No: ………20070701…………3. Class: ………ISN3066.02………
Answer all the following questions.
Part 1: Short answer questions (5 points)
1. What are two key benefits of ICT (Ecommerce, MIS) applications in business and
management?
Answer:
Key:
- Minimize Cost

- Maximize Profit

Ecommerce:
 Global Reach: Ecommerce allows businesses to break down geographical barriers and
reach customers in every corner of the globe. This can significantly increase a business’s
customer base and potential market.
 Cost Efficiency: Ecommerce stores are far more cost-effective than physical stores.
Running a physical store requires payment of rent, maintenance, sales staff, supply
chains, and more. Many of these costs are not present in an online store, which can lead
to greater profit margins.

Management Information Systems (MIS):

 Improved Decision Making: MIS provides real-time data and insights that enable
managers to make informed decisions quickly. This can lead to increased efficiency and
better strategic planning.
 Increased Efficiency and Productivity: A management information system provides the
data to identify non-performing areas and leads to better business productivity and
efficiency. It also helps in managing crucial business data, making it quickly accessible
whenever required.

2. Why ICT applications now are more possible for most of organizations and Businesses?
Answer:
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 Key reasons:
- Computers become smaller and faster
- Hardware prices have dropped
- More people are computer-literate
Several reasons:
- The rapid development and innovation of ICT tools and technologies, offer more
features, functions, and capabilities to support various business processes and strategies.

- The increased accessibility and affordability of ICT devices, networks, and services,
enable more people and organizations to connect and communicate across the world.

- The growing demand and expectation of customers and stakeholders, who seek more
convenience, quality, and value from the products and services they use.

3. What are the 4 levels of ICT applications in business and organizations? For each level,
give 1 company or organization as example.
Answer:
 Communication and collaboration: This level involves using ICT to facilitate
communication and collaboration among employees, customers, suppliers, and other
stakeholders. Examples of ICT tools at this level are email, instant messaging, video
conferencing, social media, and cloud computing. A company that uses ICT for
communication and collaboration is Microsoft, which offers various products and
services such as Outlook, Teams, Skype, SharePoint, and OneDrive.
 Transaction and processing: This level involves using ICT to automate and streamline
business processes, such as order processing, inventory management, accounting, payroll,
and customer service. Examples of ICT tools at this level are enterprise resource planning
(ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), electronic data interchange (EDI), and
online payment systems. A company that uses ICT for transaction and processing
is Amazon, which operates an e-commerce platform that handles millions of orders,
deliveries, payments, and customer inquiries every day.
 Decision support and management: This level involves using ICT to support decision
making and management activities, such as planning, forecasting, budgeting, analysis,
and reporting. Examples of ICT tools at this level are business intelligence (BI), data
warehousing, data mining, artificial intelligence (AI), and simulation. A company that
uses ICT for decision support and management is Netflix, which uses data and algorithms
to personalize recommendations, optimize content production, and improve customer
retention.

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  Strategic and innovation: This level involves using ICT to create new products,
services, markets, or business models, or to gain a competitive advantage over rivals.
Examples of ICT tools at this level are the Internet, mobile devices, the Internet of things
(IoT), blockchain, and virtual reality (VR). A company that uses ICT for strategic
innovation is Tesla, which leverages ICT to design, manufacture, and sell electric
vehicles, battery products, and solar energy solutions.

4. List 6 top Cs (leaders, managers) in organizations?

Answer:
 Critical thinking: This skill is defined by an ability to look past the first tidbit of
information you receive, verify assumptions and use triangulated research and reasoning
to find the best possible solution to a problem.
 Communication: This skill is defined by an ability to convey your vision, goals,
expectations, and feedback clearly and respectfully to your team and other stakeholders.
 Collaboration: This skill is defined by an ability to delegate tasks appropriately, foster
teamwork, and leverage the strengths and diversity of your team members.
 Creativity: This skill is defined by an ability to generate new and innovative ideas,
solutions, products, or services that meet the needs and expectations of your customers
and the market.
 Commitment: This skill is defined by an ability to demonstrate passion, dedication, and
loyalty to your organization, team, and vision, and to inspire the same in others.
 Compassion: This skill is defined by an ability to show empathy, care, and respect for
your team members, customers, and other stakeholders, and to address their concerns and
needs.

5. What are the 3 top and most popular Software Solutions or Applications for businesses
and organizations?
Answer:
 QuickBooks: This is a leading accounting software that can help businesses of any size
manage their finances, track income and expenses, generate reports, and prepare for tax
season. QuickBooks offers various products and services, such as QuickBooks Online,
QuickBooks Desktop, QuickBooks Payroll, QuickBooks Payments, and QuickBooks
Self-Employed.
 Salesforce: This is a powerful customer relationship management (CRM) software that
can help businesses and organizations connect with their customers, prospects, partners,
and employees. Salesforce provides various solutions, such as Sales Cloud, Service
Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Commerce Cloud, and Platform.
 Microsoft Office Suite: This is a collection of productivity software that can help
businesses and organizations create, edit, and share documents, spreadsheets,

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 presentations, and more. Microsoft Office Suite includes popular applications, such as
Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote.

Part 2: For Top Smart Ideas in E-Commerce (1994 to now) (2 points)

What is their company now (or website) or products?

1.We build a website to sell millions of books online around the world

Amazon: This is the biggest online bookseller in the world, offering new and used books, e-
books, audiobooks, and more. Amazon also operates an e-commerce platform that sells various
consumer goods and services. Amazon has a global reach and a loyal customer base.

2. We build a marketplace, where all individuals can build their shop to sell online

Shopee: an online shopping platform that operates in Southeast Asia and Taiwan. It offers a
variety of products, such as electronics, fashion, beauty, home, and more.

3. We build a marketplace, where all individuals can just put their products to sell to get the
highest bidding price

eBay: one of the largest and most popular online auction and shopping platforms in the world,
where you can buy and sell almost anything, from electronics, fashion, collectibles, to cars, real
estate, and more. eBay allows sellers to list their products for a fixed price or as an auction,
where buyers can bid on the items until the listing ends.

4.We build the website where people and companies can tell or select their preferred computers,
then we build the PC for them
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iBuyPower: a custom PC builder website that offers a comprehensive range of options for
anyone looking to build their gaming rig.

5. We build the marketplace, where all business around the world can set up their site to sell their
products around the world (to business customers)

Shopify: This is a platform that allows you to create your own online store, customize your
design, and sell your products across multiple channels. Shopify also offers a Marketplace Kit,
which is a tool that helps you build engaging commerce experiences into new and existing
marketplaces.

6. We set up the website that people send and receive their money instantly just through their
email

Zelle: A service that partners with major U.S. banks to allow customers to send and receive
funds between verified accounts within minutes. All you need is an email address or a
U.S. mobile phone number to use Zelle. You can access Zelle through your online banking app
or the Zelle app. Zelle is free for U.S. Bank customers and does not charge any fees for sending
or receiving money

7. We set up the app that people can make video call through PC and smart phones

Microsoft Teams: a software application that allows you to communicate and collaborate with
your team members, colleagues, and other stakeholders.

8. People can share their valuable moments of picture through our website

Facebook: a social networking website that allows you to connect and communicate with your
friends, family, and people who share your interests. You can create a personal profile, upload
photos and videos, post status updates, join groups, play games, and use various apps on
Facebook.

9. People can share their series of valuable moments (we call video) through our website

Messenger: Messenger is a product of Meta, formerly known as Facebook. You can make audio
and video calls, and join or host online meetings with anyone inside or outside your network.
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10. Just want to put my parties’ videos online to share with friends

Youtube: The world’s largest video sharing platform. You can upload your videos to YouTube
and share them publicly or privately with your friends.

Part 3: Case study (3 points)

Analyze the case study: “CRM helps Adidas to know Its Customers One shoe buyer at a
time”, and complete the following tasks:

• Identify the management, organization, and technology factors affecting the adoption of
the enterprise business solutions, mapping your idea in IS framework by using Lucidchart
(1 point)

- Management: The management of Adidas recognized the need to invest in customer

relationship management (CRM) tools to improve their customer experience, loyalty, and
retention. They also supported the implementation of Salesforce CRM tools across their
global sales and marketing teams, and aligned their business processes and strategies with
the CRM capabilities.
- Organization: The organization of Adidas had to change its culture and structure to
become more customer-centric and data-driven. They also had to train their employees to
use the CRM tools effectively and efficiently, and to collaborate and communicate across
different channels and regions.
- Technology: The technology of Adidas had to upgrade its online shopping software and
integrate it with the CRM tools. They also had to ensure the security, reliability, and
scalability of their IT infrastructure and systems, and to leverage the cloud computing and
artificial intelligence features of the CRM tools.

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• How does the company use enterprise business solutions to achieve its strategic goals?
(1 point)

- CRM helps Adidas to know its customers one shoe buyer at a time, by providing a single
view of each customer across all touchpoints, and by collecting and analyzing customer
data and feedback.
- CRM helps Adidas to segment its customers based on their preferences, behavior, and
value, and to target them with personalized and relevant offers, promotions, and content.
- CRM helps Adidas to engage its customers through various channels, such as email,
social media, mobile app, and website, and to provide them with consistent and seamless
experiences.
- CRM helps Adidas to retain its customers by building trust and loyalty, by offering them
rewards and incentives, and by resolving their issues and complaints quickly and
effectively.
- CRM helps Adidas to innovate its products and services, by using customer insights and
data to create new and improved designs, features, and solutions.

• What are the lessons learned from the case study? (1 point)

Adidas initially launched a simple e-commerce website, but the management did not invest in
knowing the most profitable customers or understanding customers’ preferences. This resulted in
ineffective marketing campaigns that did not target the right customers or understand their needs
and preferences. The case underscores the importance of understanding customer preferences for
effective marketing. Next, The sales staff at Adidas did not have a single view of the customers’
database; if a customer shopped online and wanted to come to a shop to exchange his/her items,
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the sales staff could not retrieve the order number as it was not sold in their shop but was held in
a separate database for the online webstore1. This highlights the need for a unified customer view
across all sales channels for seamless customer service. Also we know about “Role of CRM”
Salesforce CRM tools made it possible for Adidas to have a single view of each customer across
all the various channels through which that person interacts with the company2. This
demonstrates the critical role of CRM in providing a unified and comprehensive view of
customers.

- CRM is a strategic tool that can help businesses and organizations improve their
customer satisfaction, loyalty, and profitability, by understanding and meeting their
customer needs and expectations.
- CRM requires a holistic and integrated approach that involves the alignment of
management, organization, and technology factors, and the coordination of business
processes and functions.
- CRM is an ongoing and dynamic process that requires constant monitoring, evaluation,
and improvement, and adaptation to changing customer and market conditions.

The transition from physical to digital as the preferred shopping medium has shaped the way the
company keeps up with changing customer preferences1. This emphasizes the importance of
digital transformation in today’s business landscape. In conclusion, the case study illustrates the
transformative power of CRM in enhancing customer understanding, improving marketing
effectiveness, delivering personalized customer experiences, and driving profitability.

*********End of Examination*********