Quatre E-Commerce World

Electronic Government, almost everyone in this modern era heard of it. But, how many of us has take advantage of it in our daily hassle life? From what i know, not much people uses it even though they are really busy with their daily work chores. They would rather take their time to go for the offline alternative.

How is it implementing in Malaysia? Before discussing the implementation, here is a little short and brief introduction. E-Government, in short, was initiated with the introduction of Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) in 1996. It was then launched in 1997 to bring the country into the informative age with the revolution of technology.

Implementation

The service started with the intention to transform its operations, modernizing and enhancing its service delivery. E-Government seeks to enhance the convenience, accessibility and quality of interaction with the public and businesses at large. Its vision is working together for the benefit of Malaysia and all citizens. It also strive to be effective and efficient in delivering services and be responsive to citizens’ needs.

E-Government is categorized as one of the Flagship Applications introduced in MSC. 7 pilot projects of the E-Government Flagship Application are as follows:

• - Project Monitoring System (SPP II)
• - HRM Information System (HRMIS)
• - Generic Office Environment (GOE)
• - E-Procurement (http://www.eperolehan.gov.my/)
• - E-Services
• - E-Labor Exchanges (ELX) (http://www.elx.gov.my/)
• - E-Syariah (http://www.esyariah.gov.my/)

The Objective of these flagship applications is to jump start and accelerate the growth of the newly developed plan.

According to a study, it said that the first trend of the e-Government advances has made an impact in the early stage of the implementation. Second trend showed in the emergence of the E-Government services are the effort in making operations more cost effective. Thirdly, promoting the e-Government services had become a main priority. They strive to increase the usage by the citizens after some studies found out that citizens rarely take advantage of the e-Government services. Fourth trend appears to be the challenges in integrating the e-Government services as they grow. Lastly, the trend also showed a personalization in the services provided, such as providing citizens with relevant services information quicker and more cost effectively.

Adoption Strategies

Studies addressed that the citizen adoption of e-government services suggest that trust and security (Otto, 2003) and transparency (Marche and McNiven, 2003) are the major issues for e-government adoption. Citizens’ trust towards the service for being effective and efficient will encourage the citizen to take the initiative to use the online services. Privacy policies and security should be guaranteed to ease the insecure feeling of the users.

Given that e-Government website is both an IT and a channel through which citizens and government interacts, technology-based knowledge is crucial. Having citizens who are not knowledgeable with computer, it will be impossible for them to take advantage of the services. Besides that, technical is also an issue (Cottam et al, 2004; George, 2004). User friendly is important. Websites provided must be easy to be used for easy understanding on the procedures needed.

It is believed that trust, social influence, and website ease-of-use impact perceived usefulness of the interface, combined with social influence, predict the intended use of e-Government. Therefore, attention should be given to the demand or citizen’s perspective for good feedback and adoption of the e-Government services.

Related useful link:

> MyEG Services Berhad

This is a review on legal post from My E-Commerce blog, which focus on the new rules for cyber cafes. There will be some new guidelines will be implemented by government soon in order to regulate the businesses of internet and cyber cafes. The new rules are:

1. Have to close by midnight daily.
2. Banned from using tinted glasses in their premises (must be able to see through from the outside) .
3. Only allowed to operate from the ground floor.
4. Those under 12 years old must be accompanied by parents or guardian and only allowed to stay up to 10.00pm.
5. Prohibited from providing gaming activities, gambling, pornography, music and publications with negative element.
6. Cigarettes and alcohol to be prohibited from being sold.
7. A book log to record the entry and departure time of the patrons.

These new rules provide advantages for society and also disadvantage to the cyber cafes businesses. One of the new rules stated that those who under 12 years old must be accompanied by parents or guardian. This rule is beneficial to the society because parents no need to worry that their children will go internet café without their knowledge. Besides that, it also will enhance society trust and confidence on internet café because internet cafes are not allowed to provide games and also activities with negative element to customers. This means that they only can offer useful activities to customers.

In addition, the new guidelines such as internet cafes have to close at midnight are a treat to the cyber cafes businesses because most of the cyber cafes’ customers are likely to go there at midnight. However, through the enforcement of this new rule, they no longer can do so. This will significantly reduce the earnings of their businesses.

Furthermore, gaming activities are the major source of activities to attract customers. By implementing this new rule, gaming activities are no longer available in internet cafes. This will leads to a cut down of their businesses income and perhaps will cause them closing down soon.

I think that these new guidelines need to do some amendment due to the benefits of the cyber cafes businesses. Otherwise, cyber cafes businesses will not sustain for a long time or the owners will not follow these new guidelines due to their own advantages.


Useful Links:
ecommerze.blogspot.com

Advantages of Learning Online

1. Convenient
The biggest advantage of e-learning is that everything is available for students, including classroom and instructor are accessible every time when students getting online. Students can get announcements, obtain notes, take practice quizzes, discuss questions and chat with fellow students. Except the due dates stated by instructor, students can manage their own schedule for fulfilling the requirements of the course.

2. Offer flexibility
Students can study any time they want and also with whomever they want. E-learning provides students the flexibility to spend times with work, family, friends or any other activity they like. For those people with keep on changing work schedules or people who make regular business trips, parents with small children or whose health stops them from attending classes on a recurrent basis, this manner of course delivery is most suitable.

3. Offer more individual attention
Students can communicate with their instructor via e-mail, and get their questions answered directly. Many students aren't comfortable asking questions in class. By accessing internet, students can eliminate that fear and ask their instructor questions freely. This means that E-learning enhanced the opportunity to learn.

4. Promote life-long learning
Having that spark of interest and knowing how to obtain information online ensures that what students learning are always existing to them. If students become interested in a particular topic, they can find online and look it up. Students will have developed the skills to get information, digest it, synthesize it, and formulate an answer to questions that comes their way.

5. Connect students to the global village
The Internet has linked the people of the world in ways we haven't known before. Many times the web sites students visit in a course will be based in another country. They may even meet and make friends with someone in another country because they all are a student in the same course.

Disadvantages of Learning Online

1. Require more time than on-campus classes
Students will spend more time studying and accomplishing assignments in the online environment than they will in an on-campus course. The online environment is text-based. To communicate with their instructor and other students, students must type messages, post responses, and otherwise communicate through typing. Typing is slower than speaking. Students will likely learn more in an online environment, but they will have to make a greater effort to achieve that learning.

2. Require good time-management skills
An Internet-based course requires that students build up personal time-management skills. As with most things, if students don't organize their time appropriately, they will find themselves buried beneath a seeming insurmountable mountain of coursework. Online courses require the self-discipline to set aside chunks of time to complete their studies. This means that students have to make online coursework in priority and not let other activities intervene.

3. May create a sense of isolation
In an online course, students may feel like they are alone with only their computer. This makes some students quite uncomfortable. A quick e-mail to a classmate or their instructor can help they feel better connected if the sense of community they seek is missing.


4. Allow student to be more independent and an active learner
Online courses require student to be responsible for their learning. Their instructor shares knowledge and experience with them. Although students will spend a lot of time offline formulating ideas and developing their knowledge and skills, they will also need to be a presence in an online course environment by involving to frequently posting quality ideas. As in face-to-face classes, just being a face is not enough. Students must share their ideas and knowledge and respond to their fellow students to be an active participant in the virtual classroom.

5. Give students more freedom, perhaps, more than they can handle
This freedom can be dangerous if students don't learn how to control it, especially when it comes to meeting deadlines for assignments or exams. Each online course has a schedule for them to follow that offers information about what content is included and due dates for assignments or exams. Use this to help them plan their time.

Useful Links:

e-learning/NAIT

Tracinge-Learning

Money used in physical marketplace is in physical substance, such as coins, bank notes, cheques and other trading form of currencies; however, electronic currency is also a newly introduced form of payment method.

Electronic Currency

Electronic Currency, also known as several names such as e-money, electronic cash, digital money, digital cash and many other names, are money that is exchanged electronically only. It is a complete computerized monetary system that is proposing to replace the present paper currency system. It is believed that the initial plan of the launching of the system is to use as a substitute for credit or debit card system.

Usage of Electronic Currency

Example of electronic currency system could be seen in many developing countries.

For example would be the most successful Octopus Card in Hong Kong. It could be used in transits payment and also convenience shops. The store value card has grown into a widely used electronic cash system.

Another example would be from our neighbor country, Singapore. EZ-Link card is the contactless stored value card in the country which currently used by public transport commuters in the country. Recently, bank had upgrades their ATM machines to allow store valued card top up procedure to be done more conveniently.

While in Malaysia, Touch ‘n’ Go is a very good example of electronic currency. It could be used for some public transport, convenience shops like the 7-11. Some parking facilities used this system to eased users parking payment method too.

Impact

Economic impact when Electronic Currency system is exclusively implemented as a replacement to paper currency system would be noticeable. Some of it would be, saving cost in most of the procedure of producing paper currency. Printing and minting costs of paper currency would be saved. Moreover, it will be eco-friendly too as less papers are used for printing of paper currency. Thus, it helps saving high quality of wood and vast jungle areas.

Real wealth could be created as standard of living of the people will be increased. Transactions could also be done at any decimals of currency and the processing period would be faster and effectively done. But, of course, banks would have to play an important role in this system implementation if electronic currency is to replace paper currency.

However, in my opinion, although this system is an effective control over cyber crimes, theft relating to money transfer systems, stricter security and pre-cautions method would have to be implemented together with this system. This is a result of human knowledge changed as things around them evolved. Thieves will maybe think of another way to succeed in their fraud and theft activity.

Credit card the solution of shopping, it makes anyone who holds the card ease of purchasing any items in an instant. All customer have to do is take out the card, let the cashier slash it on the machine, sign, done. You can also use its serial number to shop on any of e-commerce sites on internet. But beware, there is never free of charge on having all the comfort on your side, moreover, if you’re using someone else money for that comfort.

So what is the danger of using credit card carelessly? First, we will briefly review of how credit card works. Credit card is a cash advance tool which let consumers to revolve their balance, at the cost of having interest charged. When a purchase is made, the cardholder will have to sign a receipt or entering personal identification number (PIN) to confirm the purchase. Once verified, purchase will be made and you’ll be put on debt to the bank or financial institution which issued the card, with interest. From year 2005 to May 2009, 1774 out of 3548 people declared bankrupt for credit card debt are under 30 years old, which is roughly 50%.

So, here are several causes of credit card debts:

1. Feeling of shopping for free

Unlike shopping with stack of cash in hand, which will make you feel guilty to hand those out at cashier, with credit card, all you need to know is how to slash the card and enjoy

2. Poor money management

Many of cards holder, doesn’t really realize the process behind paying with credit card. They don’t know where the money comes from and where their money is going, how much taxes and interest behind the payment, if there’s any administration fee for the credit card, and other things that might put them on debt. Slowly, but stacking high to turn customer’s business to bankruptcy.

3. Pay it forward

It is one of the most dangerous risks of using credit card. While you don’t have enough cash in saving, but you pay for something, the interest will keep increasing once you fail to pay back the debt in time, more and more as time goes by.

4. Urgent need of money

There’s no think twice of using credit card or getting any money you could use to pay for emergency issues such as medical expenses. In condition where a beloved family member in danger of life, you might used up big amount of credit card money without second consideration which leads cardholder to credit card debts.

5. Gambling

Another popular use of credit card which leads to debt is gambling. There is a smart method of buying gambling money using credit card. As addicting as the game is, without sufficient capital for it, credit card debt will haunt you severely more than the feeling of losing from it.

Even though it is listed of many scary causes of using credit card which leads to debt and bankruptcy; it is actually a very convenient and useful tool of having business transaction when the cardholder is being more careful and smart. There are ways to hold your credit card and step up the ladder of success.

1. Money management

The most essential of problem solving is started from one own self. There’s no blame to credit card issuer or credit card merchant when a credit card holder is the one to lead himself to debts. Plan your saving ahead, calculate your income and taxes, create budget of monthly expenses and extra expenses, and always save for emergency money.

2. Knowledge on credit card system

Study at least on what you have to spend for the credit card service. If there’s an annual fee, how high is the administration fee, cash advance fee, late payment fee, and any other finance charge. Keep them in mind before choosing a suitable credit card issuer and every time you use the credit card service.

3. Contacting and dealing with creditor

Communication is the way of peace and understanding. Address any credit card problems and wonders to creditor and ask for help whenever needed. There’s sometime a special finance solution for customer to pay off another debts or other needs. You might consult about fair debt collection practice act and propose modified payment plan.

4. Set a proper credit limit

Most of credit card can be put on usage limit to prevent cardholder from spending too much in a short time. Put credit card outcome limit as already stated on budget you planned.

5. Consider of using any alternative money solution

For example emergency and medical expenses might be better to be put on insurance for financial safety.

Take your time, be wise and think twice. By applying smart credit card solutions, your lifestyle and business may improve significantly. Spend to gain, not spend to lose.

As technology are being more advance, there is definitely market opportunity for mobile payment system (MPS) in Malaysia as statistic shows that more than 21 millions of Malaysian own a mobile device.

Mobile payment is a new alternative payment system that provides opportune way for consumers to make payment via mobile device. This payment system enables consumers to receive and send money via their mobile device which totally overcome the limitations and bottlenecks created by cash, cheque and credit cards. By just registering yourself at a specific website, consumer are allowed to make payment to goods and services at anywhere and anytime without being physically present at the store by just entering a few digits of security PIN (Personal Identification Number) via SMS (Short Messaging Service).

MPS in Malaysia started since February 2005 by Mobile Money International Sdn Bhd of Kuok group and Mr. Lee Eng Sia. Mobile Money (MM) has provided a convenient and secure Mobile Payment and Mobile Commerce platform for Malaysian since then. As year passed by, there are more options of mobile payment system in Malaysia such as Digi, Maxis, Hotlink, Celcom, Visa Wave Payment and Maybank. For instant, Maxis M-Money allows consumer to top-up their prepaid credit, purchase cinema tickets and recently, Maxis had a joint-venture project with Lelong.com where all successful bidding payment must be paid by M-Money only. In addition, Maxis also began international remittance services but this only with Globe subscriber in Philippines. By using this Maxis remittance service, consumer can save at least 35% of the charges which other bank usually would charge.

By using MPS, it would save time and cost as consumer does not need to spend hours of queuing to settle their bills and this would definitely benefits our hectic daily routine. Furthermore, MPS assures safety of consumers’ data as this payment system is strongly secured by PIN to provide greater security. Through all this benefits, it leads to higher customer’s satisfaction and these causes an increasing trend of using MPS in Malaysia.

However, not many Malaysian are adopting this convenient payment method as they are not familiar with the system therefore, government should work hand-in-hand with private sector to educate Malaysian about MPS, its functions and benefits. Besides that, should provide more security collaborate solution of mobile payment for the consumers so that mobile users will more confident and satisfaction when using mobile payment as merchants take online order without the need for online shoppers to disclose their credit card information. Last but not least, maintaining existing customer loyalty is very important as it can help the company to build up a good reputation by providing good customer service.

Related useful link:

• Neowave
• Wikipedia-Mobile Payment
• Search Mobile Computing
• KPMG