CS 238  –  E-commerce critique– Assignment #1 Due 3/6/2008

 

(Professor Arnold Toffler Office: 4250, (973) 618-3459, Atoffler@caldwell.edu)

 

Paper #1:

 

  1. After reading the textbook (Chapters 1-3) and the reviewing the cited web site examples, tell me which web site presented in the Webby Awards do you think combines innovative design to achieve the objectives of the site? Select a B2B site and a B2B2C or B2C site. (I know, the Webby Awards are categorized by advertising industry categories, not market categories. You will have to select these B2B and B2B2C/B2C sites yourself.) First, tell me whether they are “pure play” sites or a “click and mortar” sites and if there are any advantages gained by the “click and mortar” model. What is their e-commerce business model? What is their value proposition (from using e-commerce)? Are any of the site’s design innovations Web 2.0 innovations? Does this provide any advantage?
  2. Second, tell me to what market and/or market segment they are selling. Also, tell me what industry they are selling to and how big e-commerce sales are for that industry. (See the US Department of Census Report on E-commerce. See the link on my web site (Student Projects page CS238) or find it on census.gov. What type of e-marketplace is this organization participating in (see textbook section 2.2)? What are their objectives? Do you think the design of their site is effective in relation to their objectives?  What do you think the key design components for an effective site participating in this marketplace are? Based upon Porter’s Competitive Forces Model, do you think that this site provides a competitive advantage? Do you have any suggestions for improvement of the site to achieve the firm’s objectives?
  3.  Select an e-government site whose design you really like? What is its objective (e.g. government agency business process, provide information, entertainment)?
  4. Look at this web site, http://antiquedelft.com. Do you think that this is a very good site (i.e. achieve its objectives) or one that just uses some good javascript tools (e.g. magnifying glass)?

 

I am expecting about 10 pages (or more) discussing these issues and your critiques. Your discussion should be based upon the textbook reading materials and cited examples.