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Technological Influences in Business

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Technological Influences in Business

Read the case study and use the information in the visual and table to answer the questions. Consider how technological change affects the business and its stakeholders: owners, employees, customers and the wider community. Explain your reasoning where asked.

Case study

Harbour Harvest has two owners and six employees. The owners are considering three changes: an online shop with digital payments, inventory software that predicts which products need replenishing, and a chatbot that answers common customer questions. The business hopes to reach customers beyond its local area and reduce time spent on routine tasks. However, the changes cost money, require staff training and involve collecting customer data. Some market customers prefer talking to a person, and a system outage could interrupt orders. The owners must decide how to introduce technology without losing the personal service that helps the business stand out.

Measure

Current process

Estimated with technology

Weekly time spent checking stock

8 hours

3 hours

Customers who can place orders

Mostly local, during opening hours

Online, at any time

Estimated set-up and first-year costs

$0 for these systems

$12,000

1.Which proposed change is most directly an example of automation, and what routine task could it reduce at Harbour Harvest?

2.Harbour Harvest wants customers to order beyond local market hours. Which technology most directly makes this possible?

An online shop with digital payments
Inventory software used only by employees
A staff training session
A larger sign at the market stall

3.According to the table, how many hours per week could be saved on stock checking, and what percentage decrease is that from the current 8 hours?

4.True or false: Because the online shop can accept orders at any time, every Harbour Harvest customer will find the new system easier to use. Explain your answer.

5.Match each technology with the business influence it best represents: (1) online shop, (2) stock-prediction software, (3) chatbot.

Online shop
Stock-prediction software
Chatbot

Data analytics
E-commerce
Artificial intelligence

6.Give one likely benefit and one possible drawback of the proposed technology for Harbour Harvest employees. Explain each briefly.

7.The new systems are estimated to cost $12,000 in the first year. Identify one financial risk for the owners and one way they could reduce that risk before committing.

8.Customer data may be collected when people place online orders. Name one ethical or privacy concern and one responsible action Harbour Harvest could take.

9.A system outage prevents online orders and inventory updates for one afternoon. Explain one effect on customers and one effect on the business, then suggest one practical precaution.

10.Recommend whether Harbour Harvest should introduce all three technologies at once or phase them in. Use at least two pieces of evidence from the case study or table, and consider at least two stakeholder groups.