TASKS FOR "WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A B2B AND B2C E-BUSINESS"

Task 1: Activities and the Knowledge Management Framework

Look at the activities in the Knowledge Management Framework.

• Identify these components or activities within the University by making a two-column table with the activity from the framework and real-world name it is given in the University?
• What activities do you think are missing from the University?

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Task 2: The Models of e-Business and the Impact on Communication

Look at the table of e-Business models.

• Is the University a B2B or a B2C business? Why?
• What makes you think it fits in either?

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Task 3: Using the Communication of Knowledge to gain Competitive Advantage

Have a think about competitiveness in an organisation and answer these questions.

• How could the University survive without knowledge management?
• What opportunities and threats exist in the University's business environment?
• What knowledge management technologies do you imagine the University should use?
• How does the University get a competitive advantage from managing knowledge?
• How can you tell if there is an obvious relationship between the rise of e-Business and the development of knowledge management technology?

Task 4: Looking at Success elsewhere

You need to find interviews with entrepreneurs and people who have started e-Business ventures. You will find these kinds of interview in the business pages of the quality press, and in magazines such as Red Herring, Hot Company or other business-oriented magazines.

• You need to try and understand the structure of the organisations.
• Are they affected by concepts that come from the age of virtual organisations?
• Does being an e-Business affect things like their company ethos and company culture?
• Do their organisations cherish concepts such as egalitarianism, freedom, democracy, flexibility and creativity? If so, how could these concepts actually make people feel uncomfortable?

Now take a look at Information in e-Business tutorial