Chapter 9: Technology and Business

Technology refers to the tools and machines that people have invented to make life easier.
Perhaps the most common technology staple in businesses today is the computer.
Even the simplest invention can have a huge impact on business.
Telephones were so useful that making them became a big business. * Companies specialized in making them. * Machinists were needed to make parts.
There was a constant demand to produce new and more efficient tools.
In time, cordless phones, cell phones, and radio telephones became useful tools for business and consumers.
Since the invention of the telephone, countless new inventions have changed the way we live, work, and do business.
Business and consumers constantly demand smaller, faster, cheaper, and more powerful electronic devices.

The $e-workforce$ consists of people who work with computers while doing business.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 77 million workers use computers daily.
Electronic commerce, or $e-commerce$ , which uses the Internet to do business, means businesses can reach customers directly anywhere in the world.
Innovation means more jobs and more people learning new skills.
Technology allows people to work easier and faster.
A $digital workflow$ links all the steps in a process digitally. * Paper workflow, sending information in paper form, requires workers to exchange many pages of paper. * By switching to a digital format, less paper is involved.

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The ease of doing business via the Internet has created a boom in new online businesses.
A $start-up$ is a newly formed business that is usually small.
Everyone hooked up to the Internet is a potential customer.
$E-tail$ is electronic retail. * E-tailers sell products over the Internet through e-commerce.
This type of company is called a $multi-channel retailer$ . * It uses several methods to sell products.
Businesses often call their stores and warehouses $brick-and-mortar$ , referring to the actual buildings.
Businesses that also use the Internet are called $clicks-and-mortar$ operations. * Bookstore chain Barnes & Noble is a clicks-and-mortar company.
E-tail benefits include convenience and choices
E-tail disadvantages include buying power, additional charges, immediacy, and relying on observation
Businesses find that customers want to buy more goods and services online.
Using their computers, people can now purchase an $e-ticket$ , or electronic ticket. * Approximately 70 percent of travelers in the United States now shop for airline tickets online.