Description Scenario: Brick and Mortar, and e-businesses each hold their own significance in today ...
Description Scenario: Brick and Mortar, and e-businesses each hold their own significance in today’s tech savvy marketplace. With the invention of various e-commerce platforms or marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay, Alibaba, shopify, etc., businesses worldwide have witnessed a boom in economic activities. E-businesses go beyond the geographical boundaries and offer unparalleled ease and opportunities to browse a range of products at anytime from anywhere while brick and mortar businesses foster customers’ trust and loyalty as they get a chance to touch and feel the product before making any purchase decisions. Where both the types of businesses have pros and cons, a young entrepreneur gets confused about which one is a better option for him/her to start an entrepreneurial venture. Hence, there is a need to investigate which business option is more sustainable in today’s technically advanced marketplace. Task: You are working in Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Development Authority Oman and have been assigned a task to draw a comparative SWOT analysis of one E-business and one brick and mortar business in Oman. You are required to produce a 2000-word business report on “E-Business Vs Brick and Mortar Business: A Comparative SWOT Analysis”. You should select ONE E-Business and ONE Brick and Mortar business of the same category in Oman (e.g., an online Abaya store vs a local abaya shop) and draw a comparative SWOT analysis based on the categories given in the table below. The purpose of the report is to evaluate strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of each type of business you select and give recommendations to young Omani entrepreneurs to help them take more informed decision about their future entrepreneurial ventures A business report writing structure should be used to present this report and recommendations will be expected to be produced for different categories you select to draw comparative analysis to help the local business. 1.Select ANY ONE E-business and ONE brick and mortar business of your choice preferably related to your pathways (e.g., businesses in the IT, finance, oil, and gas, etc., sectors) and provide brief background information in the introduction section of your report. You MUST FOLLOW the checklist attached to this assessment brief to produce your report. 2.Organize your report based on the structure taught in the class. 3.Give recommendations (at least 10) to the young Omani Entrepreneurs assisting them to decide which business option is better for them. 4.Consider the following prompts to structure your thoughts. You may want to add more points to the following list ONLY in consultation with your class lecturer. You should use the following table to collect data and attach it as an appendix at the end of the report. Serial No Category E-Business Brick and Mortar (Face-to-Face) Business Example Time 24/7, throughout the year Convenient for customers to buy at any time, difficult for business to respond immediately – waiting time may increase to upset the customer Limited hours Customers to follow business schedule, face-to-face response, no waiting time 1 Convenience to Set Up 2 Setting up Cost 3 Scalability - Target Customers 4 Operations Management 5 Legalization Process 6 Space Limitation 7 Sale 8 Security 9 Technical Issues 10 Technical Literacy of Customers 11 Trust – Product Quality 12 Payment Methods 13 Customers’ Experience/Feedback 14 Product Delivery 15 Growth Opportunities 16 Currency Exchange 17 Innovation 18 Competition 2: Specific Instructions: As a future entrepreneur (you): Collect data by browsing websites. Do not have to prepare a questionnaire to collect data. Must select at least 15 points out of the total presented above in your analysis. Present the analysis following the structure of a business report you have been taught in class. Use categories/sub-categories as headings and present the analysis in the form of paragraphs. You MUST have your own contribution/analysis to secure good marks. Give references, in case you obtain some data from websites, newspapers, etc., using Harvard Style of Referencing. You MUST summarise or paraphrase the text you obtain from different sources. more detail will be given
