Description
The intent of this final assignment is for you to integrate all of the various aspects of design thinking in one analysis.
Instructions
Choose a need or want that interests you from the list below or choose one of your own – a ‘function’ – and use design thinking to offer methods and insights into what might improve that function.
Keep in mind that design thinking is applied to both objects and processes. Objects and processes are created with the intention of fulfilling a human ‘function.’ So, for example, the object of a coffee cup has a ‘function’ of quenching thirst/providing nutrition, while the process of filling in of your income tax has a ‘function’ of transferring private property to the public (government) realm.
Here is a list of functions amenable to design thinking from which to choose.
- Homelessness in Canada’s major cities is increasing. Create a sustainable solution to reduce the number of individuals that identify as homeless and provide an effective shelter/housing solution.
- There are many people in developed and underdeveloped countries without electricity, particularly in rural Africa. Create a sustainable and accessible approach to provide electricity to millions of people worldwide.
- The lack of clean drinking water has been linked to many health problems in society. Create an approach to solve the problem of clean drinking water. Your analysis and solution can be global, regionally, or a country.
- Creating housing systems that allow for different groupings of people over time reflecting changing needs such as children-grown children, divorce, communal meals, cross-generational families, physical disability, and so on. You would be wise to choose only one or a few aspects to keep your assignment focused. (as an example a friend of mine wanted to create a modular home so that the bedrooms of his children would be moved another five meters from the main house on their birthdays!)
- Re-thinking government to crowd-source public policy, or to use wiki structures to create public policy. The issue of legitimacy, in terms of accountability and responsibility, is a particularly important aspect of this, as well as the actual process of creating the questions for the crowd-sourced or, as in the case of a wiki, moderating policy inputs.
- They are examining design thinking applications and solutions to creating home-grown hydroponic food systems. What are the barriers to people growing their food at home (or raising fish?), and what could design thinking do to create easy systems that could have widespread acceptance and use?
- Create a solution to loneliness. It has been said that one of the greatest mental health challenges in the 21st century is loneliness. Look at how design thinking might lead to methods and systems that could be used to remedy this society-wide problem. The selected approach to the chosen ‘function’ then becomes one of applying design thinking, seeking non-linear human-centric solutions to the problems of fulfilling the function.
The report can include many of the factors toolboxes of design thinking. A list of approaches might include the following:
- Observe/define the current situation and describe it.
- Suggest trends that might lead to this function is more important in the future, which can include environmental factors affecting the function. This section is akin to the trend analysis assignment. With this section, you can use the strategies for identifying trends discussed in class.
- Describe the stakeholders. This section is akin to the stakeholder assignment.
- Describe who the stakeholders are.
- Describe a scenario or horizon scanning where the function is being addressed.
：That means the Strategic Insight and Analysis will include the following sections: 1) Introduction 2) Framing (and reframing) of the design challenge, 3) Stakeholder analysis, 4) Trend analysis 5) Scenarios 6) Conclusion.
You are free to address the question and organize your response in any way you wish, but do try to create a systematic approach, which will require an introduction (stating the issue/thesis), a conclusion, and clearly-defined sections.
It can be illustrated with images, diagrams, or in any way that conveys the information effectively. While there is no minimum word requirement, keep in mind the assignment is worth 35% of your overall grade and should reflect a one-third effort of the entire course.
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HUMN450_StakeholderAnalysis_yourlastname_yourfirstname1.pdf -
TREND.docx
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Running Head: ONLINE SHOPPING STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS
Online Shopping Stakeholder Analysis
Course name
Student name
Course code
Student ID number
Institution Affiliation
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ONLINE SHOPPING STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS
Online Shopping Stakeholder Analysis
Introduction
From the recent past, a boom in online shopping activities has been recorded worldwide. Such
metrics are supported by the steadily growing number of online stores and websites offering
similar services. The process of buying and selling goods online has taken over various physical
stores, where one can literally acquire goods they required with a tap of a button (Izogo, &
Jayawardhena 2018). This implies that the implementation and the existence of online shopping
possesses great advantage and convenience to its respective participants. About every nation
worldwide has a taste and involvement in online shopping, ranging from household and basic
needs to the financial sector. This article focuses on the various stakeholders and participants in
online shopping as realized worldwide. During the execution and implementation of online
shopping, various stakeholders are involved, whose work is to ensure seamless and successful
trades. The buyer, seller and the transport medium, which is usually a logistics company are the
main stakeholders involved in the process of online buying and selling. These stakeholders can
be further analyzed and grouped differently according to the various effects and contributions to
the online shopping.
Primary stakeholders
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ONLINE SHOPPING STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS
Figure 1 stakeholders mapping( illustration of the important stakeholders in online shopping)
Online trading and shopping is connects together various stakeholders, who may be realized at
the secondary and primary level. There are different types and groups of people who may
contribute to the particular operations in online shopping, while other might be impacted by the
respective operations. These groups are realized in different stages and levels, depending on their
activity and how they are affected by the online shopping procedure.
Vendors / sellers
As realized in the online shopping and sales activities, there must be a group of stakeholders
included, whose job is to avail the respective goods and service required by customers. The
vendors may often be producers and other companies that directly involved in the generation and
the production of the respective goods and services required by customers. The main mandates
and obligations tasked to the vendors include the provision of high quality and trusted goods,
which consumers can use and consume reliably (Izogo, & Jayawardhena 2018). Besides, they
vendors/ sellers
important stakeholders
online shopping
consumers / buyers
shopping platforms
/ marketpl
aces
important
stakeholders
logistics providers
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ONLINE SHOPPING STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS
should also provide a steady flow of goods and services required, which can quench and serve
the entire market. This is possible when a group or a number of vendors and producers engage in
the production of particular goods and services, thus availing enough goods to serve the market.
Practically, the vendors are the most essential stakeholders who keep the flow of goods and
services in the online trading endeavor. The vendors or service providers often look onto various
parameters to ensure that goods are of the right and permitted design before shipping to a
particular region.
Consumers/ buyers
The consumers represent another primary group of stakeholders tasked with the work of
purchasing and obtaining goods and services produced by the vendors. There are various
consumer of online products worldwide, who depend on online shopping on their daily
expenditures. For the most part, purchases are made by consumers/buyers, who are responsible
for signing off on the transfer of payment to the vendor or approved middleman and receiving
the goods via an express carrier or postal operator (Izogo, & Jayawardhena 2018). Direct sale,
sale via an E-commerce platform/marketplace, shipping by express or postal channel, or any
other type of business, the buyer is always a party to the transaction. E-commerce platforms and
marketplaces provide consumers with access to crucial information about the transaction and the
items, including the selling price and delivery conditions, as well as other vital information.
Online customers are usually responsible for paying any customs and taxes associated with their
purchases, however this might vary depending on the purchase agreement (Rześny-Cieplińska,
J., & Szmelter-Jarosz 2019). Customers and purchasers may be ignorant of their responsibilities
when it comes to proper usage and disposal of things acquired due to import taxes and charges
Customers who do not obey local restrictions may be charged an unexpected fee at the time of
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ONLINE SHOPPING STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS
purchase, be subjected to import customs or taxes upon delivery, or have their items trashed.
Tariffs and taxes on acquired goods should be paid by customers according to local rules. Using
many Incoterms may have a major impact on each party’s duties. After learning about the items
and transaction from the vendor and online shopping platform or marketplace, consumers can
finalize a purchase.
Online shopping platforms / marketplaces
There are various platforms that execute their work of propelling and availing online shopping to
their respective customers worldwide. They are the ones who make the best out of the
implementation of online shopping, where they act as intermediaries who pick goods and
services form the vendors and producers, and deliver them at a profit to the consumers. Their
solemn function is to link the consumers to the sellers or venders (Izogo, & Jayawardhena 2018).
Apart from the linking process, they also have to lias with legal bodies in various environments
where they plan to erect their business endeavors. This implies that they are bound to follow and
adhere to all legal stipulations for the different regions and countries hosting their customers.
Most e-commerce platforms/marketplaces are constructed on the foundation of an online store,
where things are displayed and customers may make purchases. In order to sell products on the
site, retailers can upload their product catalogs via their software solutions and build shop pages.
A check-out module completes the transaction, offers a variety of payment and delivery choices,
and conducts the necessary security checks to avoid fraud on the website. Following vendor
approval of the order, a credit card is charged to the customer/buyer, and the E-Commerce
platform/marketplace sends revenues to the merchant while also recording a record of the
transaction on their account page. Vendors and customers/buyers may also receive additional
services from the platform/marketplace, such as information on consumer security, privacy in
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ONLINE SHOPPING STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS
terms of data secrecy and the respective customs and tax laws. Online platforms doing electronic
commerce may sometimes give vendor bills and answer customer queries according to their own
rules. The online platforms may also play a great role in terms of providing and catering for
items that have been returned and rejected, depending on the conditions of the contract
Logistic service providers and financial intermediaries
Logistics service providers have various activities and mandates, which include the compliance
to legal and customs departments in different regions, ensuring that the goods and services meet
the minimal official requirements and are insured (Rześny-Cieplińska, J., & Szmelter-Jarosz
2019). Some of the Freight and forwarding activities and services may include logistics
provisions that use advanced and modern technology to transport, handle, or store items, and in
effect manage the whole supply chain. This type of service may be tailored to meet the
requirements of clients that need services that can be used in different ways.
The freight forwarder, as part of the E-Commerce ecosystem, is tasked the activity of reporting
goods and services, and cater for clearance at country borders which may comprise of duty,
quarantine, and security laws placed. Moreover, they also organize the delivery of the shipment
(see Figure 2). Generally, the role of a cargo handling and logistic company is multifaceted and
also contingent depending on the contract signed between the company and customer. A freight
forwarder can also function as a declarant, which implies that it is in charge of the declaring and
catering for customs and assures the settlement of all necessary levies and taxes, in addition to its
responsibility for shipment reporting and the safe transit of products over international borders.
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ONLINE SHOPPING STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS
Figure 2
The fundamental mandate of fiscal mediators includes activities such as transferring finances and
funds from the buyer/consumer to the seller. Bank account information is especially vulnerable
in an e-commerce setting since the buyer has little understanding of or confidence in the vendor
and is wary of being a victim of fraud or identity theft. Financial mediators have thus invented
various ways and methods for payment, which are indirectly linked to the clients’ banking
accounts or the purchasers to avoid this risk (Rześny-Cieplińska, J., & Szmelter-Jarosz 2019).
Online transaction solutions availed by specialist and online transactions service providers, such
as secure debit cards, lessen the risk of a merchant holding credit card information.
Vendor and consumer/buyer account details (such as names, addresses, and bank details) are
collected by the financial intermediary throughout the payment process, and financial data
relevant to the payment transaction is also collected and retained. A financial intermediary
normally does not obtain information about the commodities being sold or the place where they
F re
ig h
t co
m a
n y
border clearance, delivery
reporting goods and services
in charge of customs
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ONLINE SHOPPING STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS
are to be delivered when they facilitate the sale of products. Customs and other government
entities may have access to financial information if the information is available from financial
intermediaries and the applicable data privacy regulations allow it.
Secondary stakeholders
Apart from the primary and prolific stakeholders and groups involved in the process of bettering
the inline shopping experience. These stakeholders are not featured as primary stakeholders but
their involvement possesses effect on the respective results of online shopping.
Customs brokers
To meet the laws and regulations set by the government regarding importation and exportation,
parties use customs brokers. Customs brokers in regulated nations are frequently bound by legal
stipulations that often control and monitor their competence in their activities, their monetary
solidity, and adherence to ethics provided. It is possible for customs brokers to operate as
authorized agents for their customers in order to comply with the regulations, including filing
needed paperwork and making payments for customs duties and taxes as well. In order to be
compliant, customs brokers must follow the rules that have been set for them.
Integration to societal and individual context
The various types and groups of stakeholders related to online shopping experience and
endeavors possess their respective impacts and effects on both the social and the individual
aspect, where quite some integration and correlation between their implementations and the
stated contexts are achieved (Izogo, & Jayawardhena 2018). Foremost, the current society has a
growing intend and association with online shopping, and thus a unified and massive society of
online traders, who are realized in different groups per activities as per their respective activities.
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ONLINE SHOPPING STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS
Such a circumstance implies that majority of the people in the society prefer to do their shopping
in online platforms instead of physical trade. The stakeholders involved prove the integration to a
societal context, where each specific group view themselves as a society that engages and
contributes to the success of online shopping. Besides, the private context, where personal
preference and involvement takes place is where one chooses to improve online shopping by
either involving themselves in activities such as selling, buying or distributing goods in the
online shopping arena. Individuals may possess choices and preferences on who and where to do
their online trading, thus escalating the online shopping experience to a personal context.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the massive eruption of business transactions and other related endeavors in the
online arena hosts different groups of people, who possess specific activities that impact and
build the endurance and the general operation of the online shopping activity (Izogo, &
Jayawardhena 2018). These groups often get involved in some of the main activities of online
shopping, which may include mandates and activities such as channeling goods and services
from the production to the consumption level, with the consideration of various aspects and
circumstances, which may translate to either a societal or personal level.
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ONLINE SHOPPING STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS
Reference
Rześny-Cieplińska, J., & Szmelter-Jarosz, A. (2019). Assessment of the crowd logistics
solutions—The stakeholders’ analysis approach. Sustainability, 11(19), 5361.
Rześny-Cieplińska, J., & Szmelter-Jarosz, A. (2021). Stakeholders’ analysis of environmental
sustainability in urban logistics: a case study of Tricity, Poland. Energies, 14(5), 1274.
Mangifera, L. (2019). Stakeholders analysis for creative industry development. Jurnal Ekonomi
Pembangunan: Kajian Masalah Ekonomi dan Pembangunan, 19(2), 156-162.
Rita, P., Oliveira, T., & Farisa, A. (2019). The impact of e-service quality and customer
satisfaction on customer behavior in online shopping. Heliyon, 5(10), e02690.
Izogo, E. E., & Jayawardhena, C. (2018). Online shopping experience in an emerging e-retailing
market. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing.
Anon, E-commerce stakeholders: Roles and Responsibilities. Available at:
http://www.wcoomd.org/-/media/wco/public/global/pdf/topics/facilitation/activities-and-
programmes/ecommerce/e-commerce-stakeholders_en.pdf [Accessed February 2, 2022].
,
Trend analysis Student’s Name：Han Jia
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Introduction
In the stakeholder analysis the selected topic is online shopping. Online shopping has been a practice for the last few years and continues to grow because of the need for convenience by customers and the change of the business model by most retail stores and businesses. The online shopping practice is affected by various trends that are discussed below. The trends include favorable laws and political environment, increased online buying habits, use of electronic and online transactions that make online shopping favorable for the customers. Without some of these trends online shopping would not be possible, for instance through electronic payments clients are able to pay for their goods and services remotely. Also, without favorable laws it would have been hard to sell goods across borders. This report will look at the trend analysis by looking at political, economic, social, and technological factors (PEST analysis).
Trend analysis of online shopping
The following is a trend analysis of the enabling trends of online shopping.
Political
There are various political factors that have a bearing on the online shopping habits. One of the factors affecting the habits is the European Union which has been targeting most of the tech giants such as Amazon affecting their performance across the globe. Political stability is important when it comes to online shopping and the performance of e commerce businesses. When a country has political stability more people will shop and when the stability is threatened then more people will hold funds instead of spending them because of the uncertainty of the future. Issues that might bring up instability include general elections. During general elections there are a lot of conflicts which take place among people and sometimes things might escalate and even result into huge fights and cause deaths. This could disrupt the economy and the online shopping trend and habits among people.
Unfavorable international trade laws have the potential to negatively affect the performance of the e commerce business and affect online shopping as well. International trade laws which ban the US from trading with a country like Canada for instance it will mean that customers in Canada that want to buy products which are sold in the US will have a challenge. The presence of trade barriers will reduce online shopping. The government is responsible for imposing some laws which affect commerce. One of the laws is taxation which influences how the amount of tax paid by businesses (Rita et al., 2019). The tax rates are increasing and this is affecting performance of online businesses and even resulting into the closure of some of them.
Another political factor that could affect the online shopping habits is unfavorable laws governing the use of social media. One of the laws which affect the performance of the online businesses is strict privacy laws. The strict privacy laws urge sellers to be very cautious of how they use the data which they obtain from their customers. This could be a threat because dealing with customers online brings up a lot of information security issues which could discourage more buyers from purchasing products online. Most of the online businesses lack documentation because of scale and if taxation laws become strict then some of the vendors will end up being closed down.
Economic factors
When the economy is doing well, the people shop more because of the increased revenue and income level. In the last two years there has been a decline in the economy because of the measures which have been put in place to contain the spread of the corona virus and deal with the losses most companies made during the period. Some of the negative effects included some people losing their jobs and others having their salaries reduced. Things are now getting better in most parts of the world and the economy is opening up
(Izogo & Jayawardhena, 2018). For this reason, the rate of employment is set to increase because of companies becoming more profitable and new companies being opened up. This will enhance the buying habits of the customers. When customers have more than enough income, they will buy what they wish to have as opposed to only purchasing what they need. This means that impulse buying will increase and the online shopping habits will increase.
Trade liberalization is one of the factors that supports online shopping greatly. Through trade liberalization, there are minimal or no barriers to countries trading with each other which means that e commerce businesses are able to ship their products beyond their countries. For instance, Alibaba ships products all over the world due to the lack of trade barriers. If the trend continues it means that people will be encouraged to shop online because they will be able to order products from businesses all over the world. The increasing interest rates poses as a threat to online shopping habits (Rita et al., 2018). Interest rates refer to the cost which lenders charge on the loans. Most banks and online lending platforms have been increasing the interest rates and this means that customers will not have a backup plan to get loans when they run of money and hence will not have enough to spend on online shopping.
Social factors
The increased consumer online buying habits facilitate online shopping. Online shopping is increasing because of the trend of more customers being able to access smartphones. The customers who have access to phones use it for social media where the people create connections and interact with friends online. Social media has been a trend for many years now and the trend is increasing because of the many new social media platforms which are easy to use and accessible for free. The current number of people that are using social media in the United states is 225 million and the number is forecasted to increase to 243 million by the end of 2025. The use ofsocial media increases online shopping because more businesses through marketing research understand that the best way to increase sales is to sell on social media. Also, when using social media, there are various ads which will pop up of different products and this is mostly based on the search history of the users online (Rita et al., 2018). Another factor that increases the online shopping is the trend of people taking multiple jobs. In an attempt to increase their earnings, most people are taking multiple jobs so that they can earn more.
In the US, there are many people working extra shifts and working for more than one employer. This focus on United States is due to the increased costs of living in the US and the need to pay off student loans and mortgages more people will be opting to work several shifts. Most people in the United States have so much bills to pay off which means that when they are not making enough funds then they will not be able to reach as many people. The specific focus on the United States is because the costs of living are high and are expected to continue rising calling for people to take extra shifts and jobs to afford what they need. This will mean that people do not have adequate time to go around shopping making online shopping a good choice for them (Izogo & Jayawardhena, 2018). Looking at the health of customers, the healthy lifestyle trend could be a threat to the online shopping behaviors. Most people are becoming healthy conscious and are preferring physical activities to help keep them fit. If the trend continues more people might reduce their consumption of the internet and be more active lowering the rates of online shopping.
Technological factors
One of the things that has supported the trend and continues to support online shopping is the advancement in technology. One of the technological factors that increases the trend is the use of smartphones and digitalization which has led to most people spending so much of their time online on their phones (Zhao et al., 2019). According to a recent survey around 85% of the US population have an access to smartphones and this is expected to increase even further in the coming years because of the pricing of smartphones which makes them affordable to more individuals.
With increased use of smartphones, the rate of online shopping is set to increase because more people have access to websites and social media pages where the companies sell their products. Another factor which is enabling the online shopping trend is electronic and online transactions. Before the introduction of these transactions it would have been harder for the online businesses to sell online (Tarhini et al., 2018). Online and electronic transactions enable the shoppers to pay their bills and orders online, this increases convenience for the buyer. 80% of the US population says that the use of online transactions is their preferred payment method and this is because of the convenience.
Although the online transactions are slightly expensive compared to transacting physically, the benefits outweigh the cost. One of the technological trends that is a potential threat to online shopping is the increase in cyber-crimes and hacking. During online shopping the buyers and sellers exchange information including locations and sometimes the home address of the buyer needs to be shared to facilitate deliveries (Chetioui et al., 2020). The increased rate of hackers and cybercrime could lead to the information shared during transactions being used for a purpose other than the intended one.
Counter trends and implications
There are various counter trends that are not in support of the online shopping that could result into more people moving away from online buying to other alternatives. One of the counter trends is cyber-crimes and fraud. If the trend continues into the future, then more people will be discouraged from purchasing online because of the fear that their personal information can be used for malicious reasons and fraudulent activities that could get them into trouble (Rita et al., 2019). As discussed, trade liberation is the cause of increased online shopping and trade barriers and disagreements could result into a decreased online shopping. Trade barriers can come up when countries end up disagreeing and cut trade ties preventing the members of the countries from purchasing items from each other.
Healthy lifestyle changes and choices are a potential threat to online shopping in various ways. Online shopping is supported so much through the trend of remote working and working from home where most people spend almost the entire day working on their computers around their homes. If more people become health conscious then it means that more people will focus on finding activities that make them more active and these activities could entail shopping (Chetioui et al., 2020). Additionally, any future adverse laws on taxation and operation of online businesses could affect how much people shop online. If the government increases taxes on online retail stores the implication could be closure of some of the online businesses and hence decreased online shopping.
Conclusion
Online shopping is becoming a trend with more people developing the habit of shopping online because it is more convenient and they are able to access a variety of products from different platforms and companies. Online shopping is affected by political, economic, social and technological factors differently. The technological advancement is one of the factors that will enable the transactions done online to be easier. The use of online and electronic transactions makes it easier for the users to be able to pay for the products they consume. Due to the advanced technology more people are able to connect to sellers through the use of mobile devices and internet connections. Consumer spending habits are controlled by their income and a potential increase in the income of the customers because of the opening up of the economy could increase online shopping.
As much as there are various trends that support the online shopping there are also other trends that are counter. Cyber crimes and internet fraud are on the rise and when online businesses do not take the needed precautions, their customers will fall victim of the fraud. If the trend continues there is bound to be negative perceptions of the customers towards online shopping and purchasing products online. The operations of the online business and activities of the online shoppers are subject to state laws and federal laws which means that if the laws change against the shoppers or the sellers then the online selling and shopping practice could be adversely affected.
References
Chetioui, Y., Lebdaoui, H., & Chetioui, H. (2020). Factors influencing consumer attitudes toward online shopping: the mediating effect of trust. EuroMed Journal of Business.
Izogo, E. E., & Jayawardhena, C. (2018). Online shopping experience in an emerging e- retailing market. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing.
Rita, P., Oliveira, T., & Farisa, A. (2019). The impact of e-service quality and customer satisfaction on customer behavior in online shopping. Heliyon, 5(10), e02690.
Tarhini, A., Alalwan, A. A., Al-Qirim, N., & Algharabat, R. (2018). An analysis of the
factors influencing the adoption of online shopping. International Journal of Technology Diffusion (IJTD), 9(3), 68-87.
Zhao, J., Liu, H., & Xue, W. (2019). Pest embedded swot analysis on china’s e-commerce
industry development strategy. Journal of Electronic Commerce in Organizations (JECO), 17(2), 55-68.
Online shopping
Technological.
Online and electronic transactions.
Smartphones and other devices.
Political.
Favorable laws and government restrictions.
Political stability.
Economic.
High income of buyers
Trade liberization.
Social
Increased consumer buying habits.
Increased consumption of social media.
Busy schedules for employees
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