Government Support of E-Business Essay

In this assignment I am going to explain how the government supports the development of e-business and I will use example to support my answers. Also I am going to produce a personal development plan to aid an individual to prepare for increased use of business online. Government e-commerce regulations about online business The E-commerce Regulations apply to businesses which sell goods or services to businesses or consumers through a number of different ways. These can include though the internet, by email or Short Message Service. Also the e-commerce regulation also includes advertisement through the internet, emails or SMS. The e-commerce regulations do not cover businesses who advertise through direct marketing by phone or fax. The regulations specify the vital information which businesses must give to customers when you sell online. The regulation provides several guidelines on advertising and promotions. â€Å"Commercial communications† must: * Be clearly recognisable as such * Say on whose behalf they are sent * Clearly identify promotional offers and any qualifying conditions. Government support for online businesses The government currently offers free training and helpful advice to businesses who are adapting to online business. Business Link is the government’s online resource for businesses. Business links website is very helpful which provides individuals and businesses with advice for setting up, funding and many other things. Government support for staff in an online business The government supports staff through providing employees with essential training such IT, maths and English qualifications. Learn direct provides individuals with these qualifications helping them to run their online business. Also there is a regulation such as the consumer protection distance selling regulations which is a type of protection applied to goods sold to a consumer by an individual through phone, mail order, the internet and digital TV. This regulation gives the right to receive clear information about the goods and a service being given before the 7 day cooling period is over. Security and data protection issues to be considered Several issues needs to be considered, the data protection act 1988, this is a type of law that protects the processing of personal information which is held on identifiable individuals. Many businesses need to comply with this act if they need to process and handle their customers personal data, this means that the business must be very open and not secretive about the use of the valuable data and make sure that they follow the certain rules for processing the information. Businesses can get support for security and data protection from the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform which both offers online help and support. How the Government has helped to prepare customers for an online operation of a business The government has helped significantly to prepare customers for the online operation of a business by providing them with guidance from many different government funded businesses such as business link which is a very useful website to use for businesses which are just starting out online. Their website provides each business with nearly everything which will support them with their first few months of trade as an online business. Task 2- P7 Personal development plan- Unfamiliar issues when trading online What training is needed? IT training such as Microsoft office for programmes such as excel so that invoices and sales can be recorded on to a database. Microsoft word for any administrative letters can be created to send out to consumers and other businesses. Emails can be improved by showing the correct way of how to address emails in a formal manner, this well help to increase the standard of communication between online customer relations.   Microsoft outlook for keeping up-to-date with customer orders and the day to day running of the company, any important notes and messages can be left securely on Microsoft outlook.   The companies own software- employees must be shown how to use any company software so that they can source for product information about any orders which comes through any employee can deal with it and get it shipped out as quickly as possible. Searching for information on the internet, this is basically searching for the correct information which can help a business carry out their work. For example a home delivery company will need to search for customers addresses so that they know where they are going. What will the employee do after they have completed the training? Once the employee has completed the training courses they will become more multi skilled, this means that they will be able to carry out other activities within the business and become more confident when carrying out each job as they will know what to do. What do I have to do to help me meet this training need? The most important reason is to support each employee who is gaining extra training; this will make them more committed to carry out their job to the highest standard. To meet this training need all the courses need to be arranged so that they don’t clash with any important meetings or arrangements. A certain number of employees must attend each class. How long will it take to complete the training? I think that the training will take a few months to complete, as the training could be spread out so that each topic is covered in detail. How important is it this for the business and its development? This is important to the business and for its development because their level of customer service will increase due to employees knowing what to do and customer’s orders can be dealt with accordingly. Searching for product information for enquiries can easily be done as they will know how to use the company software to search the database. Whose support maybe needed to ensure that I am successful in my training? Business link will be a good support which will be needed if the training courses are successful as they provide you with extra information and advice on what you can do next. Also employees will be good supports as I am provide training courses for their benefits and for them to become more successful in their workplace. They need to know why I am providing the training courses and how it will affect their work. What difficulties might I have to overcome to be able to carry out this training? Employees may not want to attend the training courses so they won’t be able to carry out any extra work. To overcome this I may have to advertise the training courses and people who want to learn extra skills can attend the courses. In able to carry out the training it may have to be in employee’s spare time as the company may not be able to accommodate these courses during the working day as there won’t be enough staff there to carry out the day to day activities. Conclusion Overall in this assignment I have explained how the government supports the development of e-business, I have given some examples to support each point. Also I have produced a personal development plan to help an individual prepare for the increase use of e-business. Bibliography http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?itemId=1075385095&type=RESOURCES http://www.learndirect.co.uk/about/about-who/what-we-do/ Power points on Moodle Richards, Catherine; Dransfield, Rob; Goymer, John. BTEC Level 3 National Business, Book 1. Harlow, Essex, GBR: Pearson Education Limited, 2010. p 421. http://site.ebrary.com/lib/yeovil/Doc?id=10386311&ppg=431 Copyright  © 2010. Pearson Education Limited. All rights reserved.