Critically evaluate the strengths and limitations of using customer Essay

Critically evaluate the strengths and limitations of using customer focused interactions as a basis to standardise and improve business operations - Essay Example Focusing on precision and customer service accelerates the transformation process. British Telecom chose not to rely on such systems to solve its immediate problem. British Telecom saw a dramatic expansion in the number of services offered to its customers. Additional revenues from these services and related ventures have been sufficient to justify further investments of more than five billion dollars in second-generation packet switching, terminal technology, and support systems. (Johnson and Clark, 2001, 115-120) While new business units may become the principal vehicles for growth, the existing core business can also be redefined from within. New capabilities cannot only alter how the original business is conducted, but can alter the nature of the business itself. British Telecoms business focus a decade ago was voice transmission (Fraser, Shobrys & Kruse, 2003, 10-13); today it has a much broader scope of activities and services. Not all companies choose to spawn new businesses (Johnson and Clark, 2001, 115-120). New information processing capabilities can be viewed as central to the success of a traditional business and treated as a proprietary asset to be kept closely guarded in the inner sanctum of the enterprise. Yet even in such cases, those new core competencies will drive redefinition and transformation of the traditional business from within. In this way, successful customer interaction efforts ultimately lead to business transformation. (Slack, 2001, 1100-1121) â€Å"Quality management approaches can be categorized broadly into three stages according to the evolution of management control. Management can implement control before an activity commences, while the activity occurs, or after the activity has been completed.† (Hsieh, Chang & Lu, 2000, 191–201) For example, British Telecom might have chosen to address its directory services crisis with a limited solution that automated operator database access and audio response--the type

Handwriting a letter versus sending an e-mail message Essay

Handwriting a letter versus sending an e-mail message - Essay Example By studying the handwriting one can judge the mood of the person. E-mails are cold and do not convey the warmth-they just convey the messages as a matter of duty! Handwritten letters on important occasions like marriage, birthday, success-events like passing examinations, can be preserved for ever in a file and they are good collection items. No so with the e-mail. One can read the handwritten letters again and again, without having to open the computer often. One practical problem as well! For sending e-mails, one needs to be computer-literate. For handwritten letters, one needs to be just literate! For mails, one has to own a computer or specially reach the cafe for making the mail. As for quickness and convenience, e-mail, the product of internet revolution, has no match. The message reaches any corner of the world, within seconds. Competitive business, the share quotations etc. can never think of sending the communications by handwritten letters , where decisions on rates are taken in split seconds! For official dealings, e-mail communications are the best and one can not think of applying the handwritten letter procedure in this area. Voluminous files and documents can be uploaded/downloaded through e-mail procedure, whereas to copy a document of say, of 100 pages will take some days. This procedure is neither practical nor feasible. One can forward a message, documents, story or news items, to thousands of individuals merely by clicking the forward button and the message is instantly received by that vast majority. Sending handwritten letters to them involves lots of expenditure on stationary, postage, apart from the time and labor devolved. Here is a wonde rful observation on the handwritten letter vs. the e-mail, the essence of which is worth noting. â€Å"The "art" of letter writing was only art in the hands of a few who wrote well. The rest of the worlds written correspondence is barely worth the paper it is written on. E-mail has