Blackbook Project On IT Professional Perception On Online-Offline Shopping

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The project titled IT Professionals Perception on Online Shopping with respect to


Offline Shopping is conducted at R2 International Pvt. Ltd, Bangalore which is a
London based IT consulting and software company.
R2 International Pvt. Ltd was founded in the year 1998. It is a privately held company
with investments from global venture capital companies. R2 International is
headquartered in London, United Kingdom with regional offices in Domlur, Bangalore.
This company is owned by two brothers Mr. Tareiq Sheik and Mr. Umer Sheik.
The study on R2 International Pvt. Ltd involves has two sections:
The first section covers the working of the organization and the study of various
departments of R2 International where the financial status of the organization is studied.
The second section is pertaining to the study of IT professionals perception of online
shopping with respect to offline shopping
The study conducted is to evaluate the perception of IT professionals towards online
shopping and offline shopping

Objectives of the study


Primary objectives
To find out the most convenient way of shopping.
To find out the overall experience of IT professionals in online shopping.
Secondary objectives
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To find out the factors that decides the choice of online/offline shopping.
To find out the desired mode of payment.
To find out the offers provided by online shopping.
The perception of IT professionals is analyzed by implementation of survey
methodology for which questionnaire if used as the tool and the IT professionals are
allowed to express suggestions, complaints etc. This would help the company to take
improved promotional activities.
The present study is based on collection of Primary data and Secondary data. The
data is collected by conducting a survey using questionnaires and information is also
obtained from the company and through surveys where individual opinions are
obtained.
The project study covers the IT Professionals Perception on Online Shopping with
respect to Offline shopping and the location chosen to conduct this study is Bangalore
in specifically in the IT consulting company R2 International Pvt. Ltd.
The study has following findings
IT professionals basically preferred online shopping. Most of them were general
users of online shopping.
The majority of the respondents were satisfied with the quality of goods delivered to
them against on-line order.

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Most of the respondent preferred internet as the mode for shopping.


Majority of the respondents have good opinion about the online shopping compared
to offline shopping.
The study has following suggestions
To improvise advertising and additional service levels in the changing environment
and also more sales promotion for respondents who shop online.
Customer complaints and suggestions should be taken seriously and they should be
worked upon to improve efficiency and services provided by the shop owners.
To assure that damaged goods be replaced instantly combined with special offers
which would make the respondents satisfied.
The portals should be updated on a regular basis and more products with pictures,
expiry date or manufacturing date should be mentioned.

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INTRODUCTION
The Software History has preserved and proved to be one of the largest and most
influential industries in the world today.

The industry originated with the

entrepreneurial computer software and services companies in 1950s and 1960s, and
then grew dramatically through the 1970s and 1980s to become a market force rivaling
that of the computer hardware companies, and by the 1990s had become the supplier of
technical know-how that transformed the way people worked, played and
communicated every day of their lives. The Software History Centre is working to
preserve for the future generations information about the companies, people, products,
and events that shaped the evolution of this vital industry.

Software Generations
First Generation
During the 1950's the first computers were programmed by changing the wires and set
tens of dials and switches. One for every bit sometimes these settings could be stored
on paper tapes that looked like a ticker tape from the telegraph - a punch tape - or
punched card. With these tapes and or cards the machine was told what, how and when
to do something.
To have a flawless program a programmer needed to have a very detailed knowledge of
the computer where he or she worked on. A small mistake caused the computer to
crash.
Second Generation
Because the first generation "languages" were regarded as very user unfriendly people
set out to look for something else, faster and easier to understand.
The result was the birth of the second generation languages (2GL) at the mid of the
1950's

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These generation made use of symbols and are called assemblers. An assembler is a
program that translates symbolic instructions to processor instructions. But in the 1950's
there was still not a single processor but a whole assembly rack with umpteen tubes and
or relays.
A programmer did no longer have to work with one's and zero's when using an
assembly language. He or she can use symbols instead. These symbols are called
mnemonics because of the mnemonic character these symbols had (STO = store). Each
mnemonic stands for one single machine instruction.
But an assembler still works on a very low level with the machine. For each processor a
different assembler was written.
Third Generation
At the end of the 1950's the 'natural language' interpreters and compilers were made.
But it took some time before the new languages were accepted by enterprises.
About the oldest 3GL is FORTRAN (Formula Translation) which was developed
around 1953 by IBM. This is a language primarily intended for technical and scientific
purposes. Standardization of FORTRAN started 10 years later, and a recommendation
was finally published by the International Standardization Organization (ISO) in 1968.
FORTRAN 77 is now standardized
COBOL (= Common Business Oriented Language) was developed around 1959 and is
like its name says primarily used, up till now, in the business world.
With a 3GL there was no longer a need to work in symbolics. Instead a programmer
could use a programming language what resembled more to natural language. Be it a
stripped version with some two or three hundred 'reserved' words. This is the period
(1970's) were the now well known so called 'high level' languages like BASIC,
PASCAL, ALGOL, FORTRAN, PL/I, and C have been born.
Fourth Generation
A 4GL is an aid which the end user or programmer can use to build an application
without using a third generation programming language. Therefore knowledge of a
programming language is strictly spoken not needed.

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The primary feature is that you do not indicate HOW a computer must perform a task
but WHAT it must do. In other words the assignments can be given on a higher
functional level.
A few instructions in a 4GL will do the same as hundreds of instructions in a lower
generation language like COBOL or BASIC. Applications of 4GL's are concentrating
on the daily performed tasks such like screen forms, requests for data, change data, and
making hard copies. In most of these cases one deals with Data Base Management
Systems (DBMS).
The main advantage of this kind of languages is that a trained user can create an
application in a much shorter time for development and debugging than would be
possible with older generation programming language. Also a customer can be involved
earlier in the project and can actively take part in the development of a system, by
means of simulation runs, long before the application is actually finished.
Today the disadvantage of a 4GL lays more in the technological capacities of hardware.
Since programs written in a 4GL are quite a bit larger they require more disk space and
demanding a larger part of the computer's memory capacity than 3GL's. But the
hardware of technologically high standard is made more available every day, not
necessarily cheaper, so in the long run restrictions will disappear.
Considering the arguments one can say that the costs saved in development could now
be invested in hardware of higher performance and stimulate the development of the
4GL's.
In the 1990's the expectations of a 4GL language are too high. And the use of it only
will be picked up by Oracle and SUN that have enough power to pull it through.
However in most cases the 4GL environment is often misused as a documentation tool
and a version control implement. In very few cases the use of such programs are
increasing productivity. In most cases they only are used to lay the basis for information
systems. And programmers use all kinds of libraries and toolkits to give the product its
final form.
Fifth Generation
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This term is often misused by software companies that build programming


environments. Till today one can only see vague contours. When one sees a nice
graphical interface it is attempting to call that a fifth generation. But alas changing the
makeup does not make a butterfly into an eagle.
Yes some impressions are communicated from professional circles that are making
these environments and sound promising.
But again the Fifth generation only exists in the brains of those trying to design this
generation, YET!
Many attempts are made but are stranding on the limitations of hardware, and strangely
enough on the views and insight of the use of natural language. We need a different
speak for this!
But it is a direction that will be taken by these languages: no longer prohibiting for the
use of natural language and intuitive approach towards the program (language) to be
developed
The basis of this is laid in the 1990's by using sound, moving images and agents - a
kind of advanced macro's of the 1980's.
And it is only natural that neural networks will play an important role.
Software for the end user will be (may be) based on principles of knowbot-agents. An
autonomous self changing piece of software that creates new agents based on the
interaction of the end user and interface. A living piece of software, as you may say.
And were human alike DNA / RNA (intelligent?) algorithms can play a big role.

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INDUSTRY PROFILE
Software Industry is rightly the pride of India in the market. The Indian Software
Industry has been doing consistently well during last few years recording an annual
average growth rate of above 50%. India is on track to emerge as one of the worlds
leading centers for IT enabled services both sizable global opportunities of US$ 110
billion respectively.
However, a significant opportunity area still eludes India Inc. products. India
has only been able to capture a merger 0.2% of this US$ 180 billion market.
While the Indian IT service have been trying to penetrate deep into the US
markets, global players which have development centers in India have started targeting
the domestic IT services market.
The global software services market is expected to grow by around 9% in
2012(as per Gartner) Also, NASSCOM projects the IT services (including ITES) to
grow by 30%-32% in FY11 to reach revenues of US$ 11.2 billion, while ITES segment
is expected to grow by 40% to reach revenues of US$ 5.1 billion.
Gartner group vice-president and chief of research Craig Baty has been on
record saying that at a growth rate of 17.3%, India is expected to be the fastest growing
IT services market in the Asia-Pacific region as compared to the global average of six
percent, making it faster than its Asian counterparts, including Singapore, China and
Australia.
By 2014 Indian domestic market will be almost 1.5 times the size of the Singapore
market. The growth will primarily be driven by government contracts, banking and
financial service industry (BFSI) and manufacturing sector. He said in the report.

The Indian software industry has been growing at a fast clip over the last few years.
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Major reasons for the same include the outsourcing boom, greater competition
worldwide, resulting in companies having to cut costs and spend more on technology to
become efficient.
The other reasons are high quality of services provided by Indian firms, constant
diversification into new markets, and movement up the software value chain, resulting
in IT companies getting better billing rates for their services

OPPURTUNITIES BY THE YEAR 2014


Table 1: Software sector
IT Services
Software Products
IT Enabled Services
E-business
Total

Year - 2014
$38.5 billion
$19.5 billion
$19.0 billion
$ 10.0 billion
$ 87.0 billion

Year - 2011
$23 billion
$8 billion
$15 billion
$4 billion
$50 billion

Success stories of offshore product development

Microsoft with two development centers on each in Bangalore and Hyderabad


had announced plans to make Bangalore its largest non-US based center.

SAP which has a significant Indian operation, with around 700 people had
announced plans to increase the strength of this operation by around 50%.

Novell with its center in Hyderabad plans to have over 20% of its R&D done out
of India in the next 2-3 years.

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Oracle with two centers- one each in Hyderabad and Bangalore has announced
plans to ramp up the strength of the center to around 2000 in a few years.

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COMPANY PROFILE
In a business environment increasingly averse to risk, selecting the right staffing
provider to develop and implement viable people resourcing solutions is critical. Failure
to make the right decision, as many have experienced to their cost, can have dramatic
consequences. It was on this basis that R2 International was formed, because R2
understands that the best run businesses are always on the lookout for difficult to find
talent and our ultimate aim is to become Europes premier supplier of skilled IT staff.
R2 appreciates the key to our business is customer satisfaction, whether you are a
candidate looking for a new position or a client looking to fill a position. It strives
towards all round customer satisfaction and a testament to our success is the amount of
repeat business we get. With R2 International as your staffing partner you have a
flexible, cost-effective supplier that can deliver the people, or the position you are
looking for.
Since its formation, R2 International has experienced solid growth and gained
invaluable exposure across a broad range of industry sectors. Already in such a short
space of time, organizations throughout Europe are increasingly turning to R2
International for reliable advice and assistance with the deployment of IT Professionals
for their business critical projects.
Time and time again, the reason for selecting R2 International is due to its ability to
quickly asses our clients' needs, to embrace these needs and to deliver on time and
within budget whilst always managing expectations. All R2 Internationals customers
benefit as a result of our ability to take responsibility - whilst allowing our clients to
always retain control. Irrespective of whether R2 International is working alongside
your own business and technical teams, or whether you prefer us to work as part of a
larger external team, you can be confident that the level of service and commitment
provided by R2 will remain the same.

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R2 International Limited is a London based IT Consulting and Software Services


Company with an Offshore Development Centre in the IT hub of Asia Bangalore,
India (which is as well the Silicon Valley of India). All their efforts are directed
towards creating maximum value for their customer and maintain long term business
relations.
Depending on the geography and the business domain, R2 International offers tailor
made services to its clients. R2 is committed to the worlds best practices and
methodologies. Companys matured processes allow it to handle very complex projects
and provide lowered cost to its customers. They mainly focus on the European Market
to provide the Remote Access Delivery services.

They follow a methodological approach of identifying their customer's business, vision,


prioritize business needs, identify the right technology and then go ahead with
implementing the solution. Their mature process allows it to handle very complex
projects and provide lowered cost to their customers. They are very flexible in the
Remote Access Delivery model (RAD) and all their endeavors are directed towards
achieving 100% Customer Delight.
Founded in 1999, R2 International is a privately held company with investments from
global venture capital companies. R2 has its subsidiary branch in the IT hub of Asia Bangalore, India.

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CAREER GROWTH
The career path for R2 International that it provides is unique to itself. They consider
each position level carefully and award appropriate responsibilities as you achieve new
career goals. At every stage in your career, you gain new credentials that will prepare
for your next position.

Their 180-degree system provides feedback from your peers, subordinates, career
manager and superiors that will help in your personal growth and overall development.
Their skip-level feedback system encourages feedback at all levels. The open minded
approach in their entire endeavor will bring out the best in you.
The kind of flexibility and opportunity to pursue multiple careers (projects) and
unhindered growth, while continuing in the same organization is not quite common.

DEVELOPMENT
At R2 International, they believe in offering much more than just a job. They strive to
give you a full-fledged career. Towards this end, they provide you opportunities to
work with global leaders, multiple Tech domain and Full Product Design cycle. A value
added career that would provide experience of the worlds, services and products.

Buddy Concept
At R2 International, they have a warm and informal culture. The Buddy concept is one
such way to help the new joiners adjust and get settled to the work place. The focus of
this program is to build relationships and break the ice faster. Here they allot a buddy to
the joiner who assists in his operational functioning as well as socializing.

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Career Manager
The R2 International Career Manager Program helps new employees integrate
themselves with the organization in an effective, comfortable and accelerated manner.
This program ensures that new employees are guided, nurtured, encouraged and
motivated by seniors in the organization. The focus of this program is to build
relationships and add to learning which is quite specific and unique to R2 International.

Career Manager is a one-to-one professional relationship between people with different


levels of experience and expertise. A Career Manager helps employees in personal
growth as well as expectation management. It facilitates the less experienced people to
learn the skills (Functional & Behavioral), attitudes and values required to be successful
in the workplace. It aligns organizational goals with individual aspirations. It caters to
succession planning and individual learning curves. The manager would also smooth
the progress of development of high flyers as well as low flyers.

Training
R2 International has a comprehensive new employee orientation program for all the
joiners that aim at assimilating them into R2 Internationals vision, values, beliefs and
our focus areas. They call this the 'Boot Camp', where an insight in the important areas
of operation is imparted. This ensures we function as one integrated team rather than as
islands of individual excellence.
R2 International equips its people with the right skills to stay on top with the latest
technology and business trends. Their strategy is to ensure that they develop highly
competent professionals through out the organization, while nurturing the ambitions
and growth of the individual. They have continuous proficiency level assessments and
identification of training needs. They aim to provide 40 hours of training per employee
per annum.

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SERVICES
The ranges of services rendered by R2 International vary from Onsite Development,
Off-shore Development and Professional Services to providing Custom Application
Development Services and Application Maintenance Services.
ONSITE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT
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R2 International Limited, with offices in London & Bangalore, is a diversified IT


staffing business with a track record of delivering results throughout Europe. The
Economic climate is constantly changing and for organizations to remain competitive in
today's evolving business landscape, time and cost are ultimately the biggest factors
time to market, time to launch new products, time to respond to customers, the costs
involved how profitable it will be, etc. Organizations are faced with a growing number
of challenges and business risks due to rapid advances in technology and increasing
pressures on margins. To assist our clients and give them the competitive advantage, R2
International has been in the market for over a decade now in assisting all its clients
with onsite placements of developers for all their software development.
R2 International offers product co-development services to help businesses accelerate
their product development cycles and reduce time to market. Their services are
designed to handle every stage of the product development process right from design to
testing.
Several leading software product companies have partnered with R2 International to
fulfill their engineering and maintenance needs across domains and technologies.
They help their clients engineer top quality applications and develop effective strategies
to cope with technological change during product life cycles while ensuring them to get
more out of your engineering dollar and improving time to market with precise quality.
R2 International is a leading provider of enterprise-class software solutions for the
clients. They offer services that allow companies to interact naturally with their
customers, and provide real time information and all its services are rendered real time
(Central European Time).
R2 International endeavors to provide complete solution to customers. Many times, this
means providing services along with software products and applications.

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Every R2 International solution starts with a partnership. Their commitment to their


customers business is incomparable. They place an emphasis on collaboration with
their clients throughout the lifecycle of their relationship, from the initial requirements
gathering phase to ongoing support and maintenance.
Since R2 International operates in different geographies across the European and UK
market, their services are tuned to meet the customer requirements in individual
markets and tailored to specific customers need.
OFF-SHORE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT
R2 International has developed a unique dedicated Offshore Delivery Model that retains
all the benefits of traditional offshore development whilst removing any of the
downsides. Our Technology Delivery Centre based in Bangalore allows our clients the
option of augmenting their existing software development team with our highly skilled
developers from our large pool of talented professionals. Our Delivery Centre works as
a virtual extension of the client's project team while still allowing the client to retain
complete control of the project and its deliverables, a situation that is sometimes lost
with traditional offshore development. By having the offshore developers access the
client's system through a Virtual Private Network the work can be done in real time and
in the same development environment which in turn maintains consistency and control
for the client.
An Offshore Development Center or Remote Access Delivery (RAD) Centre is a
dedicated development center, located outside the customers' premises, solely engaged
in developing, testing and deploying software solutions and applications. The purpose
behind an RAD is to take advantages of the technological know-how, cost advantages
or the reduced time to market.
R2 International assists in establishing dedicated Offshore Development Center for its
customers. The complete office space, infrastructure and resources will be dedicated to
the client projects. The dedicated offshore development center can be either a separate
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location or may be housed within the premises of R2 International's development center


based on client requirements. Clients can have their own Project Managers / Technical
Managers managing the projects, if required. The dedicated RAD Centre is particularly
advantageous to customers requiring a dedicated team in India because of the various
advantages that India offers without the necessity to establish its own facility.
R2 International works on a global services model that is built on two fundamental
premises - delivering on the SLA (Service Level Agreement) and leveraging cost
benefits of offshore service delivery. This model leverages R2 International's strong
transition process to rapidly take ownership of the application, demonstrate and prove
offshore supportability and then transfer support to the offshore location in a controlled
and predictable manner. Feedback and review mechanisms built into the model help
manage size without compromising service delivery.
The kinds of services provided R2 Internationals RAD Centre are Product
Development services, Custom Application Development, Testing services, Remote
Maintenance and Support services.

R2 International manages it offshore development at its state of the art facility in


Bangalore, India. The Offshore development center is strategically located having
definite advantages in terms of cost and availability of technical manpower.
Top five reasons why customers choose R2 Internationals RAD services are:

Improve Business Focus.

Access to World Class Capabilities.

Accelerate Re-engineering Benefits.

Share Risks.

Re-direct their Resources to more Strategic Activities.

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Benefits
The R2 Offshore Delivery Model offers a number of business advantages, including

Significantly reduced costs

Opportunity to concentrate on core competences

No need to recruit and train new employees

No Administration and HR management costs

Reduce investment in hardware and premises

Fast and easy access to professionals in a specific field

Ability to undertake projects that require specialist skills

Availability of diversified technology resources not available in-house

Fixed Price / Fixed Time Model You only pay for the work that has been done

Get more man-month output in less pay

Work is completed in real time during your office hours

24/7 operation allowing extra work to be completed during busy periods or


deadlines.

You retain complete control of the project

Strong communication on Email / Messenger (MSN, Yahoo, Skype) and Phone

Consistent Quality

Expertise in sourcing niche skill sets

Part of an International staffing organization so the understanding of Client


requirements is high

Their services include

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Project Based Approach of Offshore Development


R2 International delivers complete project management solutions as an extension of
their core R&D organization. By helping clients define innovative project features and
functionally that satisfy evolving market demand, their solutions enable clients to
launch compelling products ahead of their competition.
R2 International engages with software companies through all project development
phases, from requirement gathering to general availability.
Requirement Gathering: Development product requirement definition, use cases and
technical architecture.
Release/Feature Planning: Creating detailed product release plan/project plan and
determining release schedule.
Feature Design: Development detailed design, identifying development tools and
standard, design reviews, configuration management planning, test planning and
quality assurance planning.

Consultative Approach of offshore Development


The outsourcing of Software Development projects has been around for several years
and three distinct models have developed: Pure Offshore Model; Onsite Model; and
Onsite Offshore Model.
Pure Offshore Model - Under this model, the entire project is executed offshore by an
outsourcing company. They are responsible for timely deliveries of all work during the
different stages of the project lifecycle and often a dedicated offshore project manager
is appointed to interact between the client and the development team ensuring that all
work is carried out as per the requirements laid out in the project plan. Although this
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model provides an excellent cost advantage, clients often lose control of the project and
misinterpretations of the client's requirements are not uncommon.
Onsite Model To gain more control of the project some firms adopted the model
where developers were brought over from cheaper countries to work onsite at the
client's premises. This certainly gave the clients more control of the development
process, however, the costs in comparison to the pure offshore model were much higher
and there was the added issue of organizing work visas for the developers brought over
from overseas.
Onsite Offshore Model This model was created to find a compromise. Under this
model one (or more) of the offshore team members is deployed at the client site and
works as a liaison between the client and the offshore team. A typical onsite offshore
team ratio varies anywhere from 10-90 to 30- 70, depending on the specific set of
services involved and the scale of the project. The appropriate team ratio for a project is
arrived by jointly taking into account the cost, services, project needs and effort. This
model still has a number of downsides, namely that of too much control being taken
away and the need still for organizing visa and work permits.

The R2 Offshore Delivery Model is the natural choice for any organization looking to
try the offshore route. This model not only is cost effective but also allows the Client to
retain control of the software development process. There is no hassle of work permits
and visa and because of the fixed price model the clients know exactly what they are
paying for.
Development
Their experience in development and maintaining software products has enabled us to
setup very sophisticated process of product development to ensure quick and quality
delivery. They understand that product development needs very special people behind it
and their teams reflect this special aptitude and attitude.
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Their team also works with the clients development teams to manage the various major
and minor releases.

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QUALITY
R2 International follows quality standards in line with SEI CMM and ISO 9001-2000
methodologies. The quality assurance (QA) department at R2 International provides the
framework and ensures that the entire software development process follows an
established standard. It is their responsibility to ensure that all deliveries conform to the
quality requirements according to the customer specifications. R2 International has
software development, verifications and validation experience on a wide range of
platforms.
Their Software development process is guided by Industry leading Enterprise Unified
Process (EUP). They have customized EUP to suit the SEI CMM methodologies. They
give proper emphasis on understanding customer business requirements, detailed
planning around these requirements and defect prevention activities in the overall
software development plan. The customers can always view the status of their projects
using an online Project Status Tracking Tool (PSTT).
R2 International follows standard frameworks and has developed some of its own
sophisticated frameworks to reduce the project implementation time and cost. Their
frameworks evolve to incorporate the latest of technologies, to perform better and to
make systems robust. With the help of these frameworks they are rest assured of
spending more time on testing and performance of the application rather than taking
time in building an application from scratch.
Their project team consists of development and system testing team. Both these team,
reports to the project manger. In addition to that they have an independent software
quality assurance (SQA) engineer, who is a neutral member of the project and
objectively reports the project related issues to the company senior management as well
as to the customer.

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The SQA and testing team at R2 International performs the following activities
independently

Test planning

Writing system test cases based on business needs of customer

Manual functional testing

Regression testing

Performance testing

Audit of the project to check conformity with agreed company processes

Process
Their software development process is guided by industry leading enterprise unified
process (EUP). They have customized EUP to suit the SEI CMM methodologies that
they practice in our day-to-day project execution. They give proper emphasis to
understanding customer business requirements, detailed planning around these
requirements and defect prevention activities in the overall software development plan.
Project related metrics is collected from time to time to ensure that project is on the
right track. The typical information that they measure about the project is schedule
variance, effort variance, requirement stability index and the cost of quality. Immediate
action is taken if these parameters go beyond their prescribed tolerance zone. They also
make a point to discuss these with their customers in a transparent manner and jointly
take initiative to bring it under control

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McKinseys 7s Model
Any business organization will have the main objective is the wealth maximization to
accomplish its objective. It will have certain principles and self-imposed rules in
addition with the expectation on its employees. The responsibilities of an employee and
expectation of the organization goes hand in hand, each are complimentary.
For an organization to perform better and accomplish its goals and
objectives, the culture prevailing in the organization is very important. Designing and
implementing the well-accomplished operational standards can create the best
organizational climate that supports peak performance through integrated activity.
According to McKinsey, the culture of the organization has 7 basic
dimensions, which represent the core managerial activities. These 7 dimensions are
mutually related. They are inseparable and they are the main part of the organization.
These seven basic dimensions that decide the fate of organization are:

Structure
Skills
Systems
Style
Staff
Shared Values
Strategy

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The seven factors are shown in the diagram below:


Fig 1: McKinseys 7s

Structure

Strategy

Systems
Shared
Values

Skills

Style

Staff

The 3Ss across the top of the model are described as Hard Ss:
Strategy: The direction and scope of the company over the long term.
Structure: The basic organization of the company, its departments, reporting lines,
areas of expertise and responsibility (and how they inter-relate).
Systems: Formal and informal procedures that governs everyday activity, covering
everything from management information systems, through to the systems at the point
of contact with the customer (retail systems, call centre systems, online
Systems, etc).

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The 4Ss across the bottom of the model are less tangible, more cultural in nature, and
were termed Soft Ss by McKinsey:
Skills: The capabilities and competencies that exist within the company. What it does
best.
Shared Values: The values and beliefs of the company. Ultimately they guide
employees towards valued behaviour.
Staff: The Companys people resources and how they are developed, trained and
motivated.
Style: The leadership approach of top management and the companys overall
operating approach.
In combination they provide another effective framework for analyzing the organization
and its activities. In a marketing-led company they can be used to explore the extent to
which the company is working coherently towards a distinctive and motivating place in
the mind of consumer.

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Structure
The basic requirement for any organization is to achieve its goals and objectives
require proper management and management is based on the flow of organizational
structure.
TechUnified organizational chart:

Director

Finance Manager

HR Manager

Finance
Executives

Finance
Executives

HR
Executives

HR
Executives

Project Manager
(Software Manager)

Marketing Manager
Marketing
Executives

HR
Executives

Marketing
Executives

HR
Executives
Team
Leader 1

Team
Member 1
Team
Member 1

Team
Member 2

Team
Leader 2
Team
Member 3

Team
Member 2

Team
Member 3

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Skills

Techunified resources have good mix of domain technology skills.

Techunifieds QA resources are skilled and have knowledge of various testing


tools.

Techunified enables us to be abreast of emerging technologies, avail of research


support and consultancy as well as facilitate ready access to a pool of the brightest
engineers in India.

Systems
Project Planning and Tracking System
Intelligent project planning ensures that detailed project estimation is developed with
respect to baseline requirements. A project management including deliverables,
schedule, staffing, project communication, quality, configuration management, change
management plans are developed as additional project planning documents.
Knowledge Management System
The Knowledge management system enables collection, storage and sharing of critical
reusable knowledge and experiences.
Techbase is an electronic knowledge management system and corporate repository for
technical knowledge and information sharing. Interface is through any standard
browser. It enables collecting, storing and sharing of critical reusable knowledge and
experiences among all employees in the organization. Techbase facilitates structured
organization of knowledge so that retrieval is simpler. It offers a sophisticated and
efficient search mechanism for knowledge artifacts, which can be accessed by
individuals or teams of an organization. Appropriate access control and security for
various sections of information is provided based on the user profiles. The system is
expandable for new streams of knowledge as well.

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Style
Techunified is an organization that runs in a participative style. The day-to-day
activities are planned and carried out by effective communication between the superiors
and their subordinates. When a problem arises concerned departments come together
and take decisions to solve the problems. Everyones duties are well defined and there
is no interference.

Staff
Techunified is 200 + strong employee company. Techunified has a non-discriminatory,
equal opportunity selection process reflected by the fact that we have employees from
outside India. The focus of our recruitment and selection is on learning ability and
attitude in addition to skills and aptitude.
Ability to attract and retain the best talent
a. Their reputation is established as a stable employer, working on cutting-edge
technologies.
b. A continuous training methodology, focused on technology and behavioural
skills upgradation
c. Knowledge Portal that is oriented towards the systematic acquisition,
creation, and retrieval and sharing of knowledge.

Shared values
CULTURES
TechUnified strives to provide an environment that is stimulating, with high levels of
motivation, empowerment and recognition, removing obstacles that hinder creativity. In
this energized atmosphere, they share success while setting new standards of
excellence.

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They would like to describe our people and our work place in simple terms. But it isn't
easy when what they are trying to describe is a certain feeling of energy and vitality, of
freshness, of a place where people are unafraid to voice new ideas, of a place where
there is minimal hierarchy.
They offer challenging and exciting client engagements with adequate mentorship,
world class working environment, ample opportunities to learn, with the freedom to
initiate and help people in realizing their career goals.
While they have high end work days, 'fun' is very much part of our work life. They
enjoy frequent get-togethers, whether at office or out with families. Our nonhierarchical structure and enabling work environment promotes free flow of
information and expertise.
Career at TechUnified means learn and grow continuously. This is the energizing and
exciting world of TechUnified :
Open environment
Flexi work schedules
Encourages 'Out of Box Thinking'
Performance driven organization
Foster a creative work environment
Constant learning and personal enrichment
VALUES
TechUnified's mission is to provide quality Information Technology Solutions for
overseas and the domestic markets. Our endeavor is to provide innovative solutions at
competitive prices and world-class quality.
Success

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Satisfied customers are essential to our success. They achieve total customer
satisfaction by understanding precisely what the customer wants and delivering it
flawlessly time after time.
Integrity
They hold themselves to the highest ethical standards, always honoring our
commitments. They take personal responsibility for their actions and treat everyone
fairly with trust and respect.
Communication
They are committed to transparency and the free flow of information regardless of rank
and power so that every one has access to the most complete data resulting in superior
decision making at all levels. They strive for open and honest communication between
customers and employees.
Teamwork
They recognize their competitive advantage is and always will be people. They
continually learn, share ideas and knowledge. They believe influence should be based
on technical competence and knowledge. They encourage cooperative efforts at every
level and across all activities in their company.

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Quality
They strive for continuous quality improvement in everything that we do, so that they
will rank among the world's premier firms in customer and employee satisfaction.

Strategy
Mission - World Class Information Technology Solutions
TechUnified's mission is to provide quality Information Technology Solutions for
overseas and the domestic markets. Their endeavor is to provide innovative solutions at
competitive prices and world-class quality.
Vision
To emerge as a preferred Global Quality Information Technology Solutions provider to
companies thriving to have an edge in technology.
Policy
To deliver quality solutions and work towards achieving 100% Customer Delight. To
maintain integrity and confidentiality of customer details, and continual improvement
of quality standards, processes and methods.

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STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM


The study on IT professionals perception of online shopping versus offline
shopping has undertaken to analyze the opinion of the IT professionals towards the
online shopping comparing with the offline shopping.
The research was conducted to study the perception of IT professionals towards
online shopping and to know the preferences of IT professionals, opinion about the
quality and price of online shopping. The research was also concentrated on other
factors like satisfaction level of IT professionals and additional features of online
shopping compared to the offline shopping.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
Primary objectives

To find out the most convenient way of shopping.

To find out the overall experience of IT professionals in online shopping.

Secondary objectives

To find out the factors that decides the choice of online/offline shopping.

To find out the desired mode of payment.

To find out the offers provided by online shopping.

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SCOPE OF THE STUDY


The study was conducted in Bangalore city only. It covers 200 respondents in
Bangalore city. The study is very much qualitative rather than quantitative.
The study helps the company to take right direction towards implementing
online shopping. The research is performed on the IT professionals and the analyzed
through various research techniques.
LIMITATIONS

Most of the respondents unwilling to fill the questionnaire.

Lack of time.

Sample size is 200.

Due to shortage of time the survey had to be restricted only in certain area.

Difficult to collect the information from the respondents completely at the time

of the study.

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OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF THE CONCEPT


Market:It is a place where individuals and organization with purchasing power desire
and have the authority to buy the products.
Marketing:It is a social managerial process by which individuals and groups obtain what
they need and want through creating, offering and exchange products and services.
Consumer Perception:Consumer perceives various services and assesses whether they have
experienced quality service and whether they received great value for the price paid.
Customer & Consumer:A customer can be defined as all the individuals and households who buy goods
and services for personal consumption.
Consumers can be defined as the end users of the product and services.
Customer Satisfaction:Customer satisfaction is a broader concept. It means the level of satisfaction
from any products. The ultimate consumption in the cause of customer satisfaction.
Customer

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satisfaction is nothing but the measure between the desired and actual outcome from a
service.
Online Shopping:Online shopping is the process consumers go through to purchase products or
services over the internet. Popular websites that allow online purchasing include
Amazon, eBay, and Buy.com. Online shopping is popular mainly because of its speed
and ease of use.
It is also a process in which images or listings of goods and services are viewed
remotely via electronic means, e.g., a vendor's Web site, items are selected for
purchase, and the transaction is completed electronically with a credit card or an
established credit account.

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The study on hand is primarily an exploratory research which seeks to examine the IT
professionals perception of online shopping versus offline shopping in the Bangalore
city. It has been developed under the framework of both primary and secondary data.
With a view to assimilating first hand information, an questionnaire was tailored
both with qualitative and quantitative data. The questionnaire was administered to as
many as 200 respondents from all part of Bangalore city.
DATA COLLECTION
The project study is based on collection of
Primary data and
Secondary data
Primary data:The primary data was collected using a structured questionnaire which consist
of both open-end and closed-end questions of multiple choice and dichotomous.
Secondary data:Secondary data was obtained mainly from internet and company broaches and
manuals obtained from the company.
Sample size:The sample size of study is 200.
Sample unit:Sample unit of the study is software companies across Bangalore city.
Sample design:The sampling method used in this study is convenience sample random in
nature.

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Techniques used for data collection:The technique or tools used for the data were:
Questionnaire
Dichotomous questions
Multiple choice questions
Questionnaire:
A questionnaire is one of the forms of data collection, which consists of a
number of questions printed in a definite order on a set of forms. It directs the
questioning process.
Dichotomous questions:
It is a type of question where respondent has two possible answers i.e. yes or
no. This type of questions is used to get the answer quickly and faster and also helps to
make easy tabulation.
Multiple choice questions:
In this multiple choice questions more than 3 or 4 options will be given where
the respondents will choose one of the options, which they like.

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ANALYSIS & DATA INTERPRETATION


TABLE-1
TABLE SHOWING HOW OFTEN THE RESPONDENTS USUALLY GO FOR
SHOPPING IN A MONTH
Frequency Per Month
Less than once
1 or 2 times
3 or 4 times
More than 4 times
Total

No. of Respondents
36
80
38
46
200

Percentage
18
40
19
23
100

Analysis
The above table shows that a majority of the respondents i.e., 40% usually go
once or twice for shopping every month. 23% of them usually go for more than 4 times,
19% of them usually go for 3 or 4 times and the remaining 18% of them usually go less
than once in a month for shopping in malls.
Inference
From the above table and analysis, it can be inferred that a majority of the
respondents usually shop once or twice in a month. Conventional buyers choose to shop
less as more time is taken whereas buyers who also purchase on the internet, will
probably shop more based on impulse. Hence the opportunity to capture a higher
percentage of buyers is higher when they shop on the internet.

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GRAPH-1
GRAPH SHOWING HOW OFTEN THE RESPONDENTS USUALLY GO FOR SHOPPING

40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Less
than
once

1 or 2
times

3 or 4
times

More
than 4
times

% of respondents

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TABLE-2
TABLE SHOWING HOW MANY HOURS THE RESPONDENTS USUALLY
SPEND ON SHOPPING

Hours
Less than one hour
1 hour
2 hours
More than 2 hours
Total

No. of Respondents
36
48
56
60
200

Percentage
18
24
28
30
100

Analysis
The above table shows that a majority of the respondents i.e., 30% spend more
than two hours for shopping. 28% of them spend two hours, 24% of them spend one
hour and the remaining 18% of them usually spend less than one hour for shopping.
Inference
From the above table and analysis, it can be inferred that a majority of the
respondents usually spend more than two hours for shopping in malls. Offline buyers
spend more time because physically shopping for objects take more time whereas on
the internet, shopping is generally done in the case of impulse and time taken to shop is
much less.

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GRAPH-2
GRAPH SHOWING HOW MANY HOURS THE RESPONDENTS USUALLY
SPEND ON SHOPPING

30
25
20
15
10
5
0

Less than 1 hour


1 hour

2 hours

More
than 2
hours

% of respondents

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TABLE-3
TABLE SHOWING WHETHER THE RESPONDENTS ACCESS INTERNET
FOR SHOPPING

Opinion
Yes
No
Total

No. of Respondents
132
68
200

Percentage
66
34
100

Analysis
The above table shows that a majority of the respondents i.e., 66% used to
access internet for shopping and the remaining 34% of them do not access internet for
shopping.
Inference
From the above table and analysis, it can be concluded that a majority
(Approximately 2/3rd) of the respondents usually access internet for shopping. This
proves that a high percentage of shoppers are influenced by the internet purchasing and
thus a high correlation can be struck wherein shoppers shop from the internet, use less
time and shop more times in a month than their offline counterparts.

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GRAPH-3
GRAPH SHOWING WHETHER THE RESPONDENTS ACCESS INTERNET
FOR SHOPPING

No
34%

Yes
66%

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TABLE-4
TABLE SHOWING WHETHER THE RESPONDENTS PREFER ONLINE
SHOPPING

Opinion
Yes
No
Total

No. of Respondents
124
76
200

Percentage
62
38
100

Analysis
The above table shows that a majority of the respondents i.e., 62% prefer online
shopping and the remaining 38% of them do not prefer online shopping.
Inference
From the above table and analysis, it can be concluded that a majority (62%) of
the respondents prefer online shopping. As per the results of the earlier question, about
66% of the respondents used internet to shop. When 62% of total respondents said that
they were happy with their experience of internet shopping the relationship is very
clear. About 92% of the internet shoppers are happy with their purchase decisions
online and are generally content with the quality of the goods offered. This is a direct
correlation and the correlation coefficient is 0.9.

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GRAPH-4
GRAPH SHOWING WHETHER THE RESPONDENTS PREFER ONLINE
SHOPPING

No
38%

Yes
62%

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TABLE-5
TABLE SHOWING THE AVERAGE TIME REQUIRED FOR THE GOODS TO
BE DELIVERED AGAINST ON-LINE ORDER

Time Taken
More than 24 Hrs
12 Hrs
6-12 Hrs
3-6 Hrs
Less than 3 Hrs
Total

No. of Respondents
130
36
14
20
NIL
200

Percentage
65
18
7
10
NIL
100

Analysis
The above table shows that a majority of the respondents i.e., 65% received the
goods more than 24 hrs later. About 18% of the respondents received the goods within
12 hrs, about 10% of them received the goods within 6 hrs and the remaining 7% of
them received the goods within 3 hrs.
Inference
From the above table and analysis, it can be concluded that a majority of the
respondents usually receive their goods more than 24 hours later. This serves as a major
hindrance to online shoppers. They cannot order goods with the need for immediate
consumption or usage. The goods ordered on the internet are thus articles objects with a
long shelf life, entertainment purchases, articles of clothing etc.

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GRAPH-5
GRAPH SHOWING THE AVERAGE TIME REQUIRED FOR THE GOODS
TO BE DELIVERED AGAINST ON-LINE ORDER

70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
More 12 hrs
than 24
hrs

6 hrs

3hrs

Less
than 3
hrs

% of respondents

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TABLE-6
TABLE SHOWING WHETHER THE RESPONDENTS ARE SATISFIED WITH
THE QUALITY OF GOODS DELIVERED AGAINST ON-LINE ORDER

Opinion
Yes
No
Total

No. of Respondents
122
78
200

Percentage
61
39
100

Analysis
The above table clearly shows that a majority of the respondents i.e., 61% of
them are satisfied with the quality of goods delivered against on-line order, while the
remaining 39% of them are not satisfied.
Inference
From the above table and analysis, it can be concluded that a majority of the
respondents are satisfied with the quality of goods delivered against on-line order. This
is a clear indication that online shoppers have a decent understanding of what to expect
from the goods offered online. The realizations are thus highly realistic and
contentment is high.

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GRAPH-6
GRAPH SHOWING WHETHER THE RESPONDENTS ARE SATISFIED
WITH THE QUALITY OF GOODS DELIVERED AGAINST ON-LINE ORDER

No
39%

Yes
61%

TABLE-7

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TABLE SHOWING THE OFFERS PROVIDED TO THE RESPONDENTS


THROUGH ONLINE SHOPPING

Offers Provided by
Online Shopping
Discounts
Gifts
Loyality points
Others
Total

No. of Respondents

Percentage

116
40
28
16
200

58
20
14
8
100

Analysis
The above table shows that a majority of the respondents i.e., 58% of them
usually get discounts through online shopping, 20% of them get gifts, 14% of them get
Loyality points and the remaining 8% of them get other offers through online shopping.
Inference
From the above table and analysis, it can be concluded that a majority of the
respondents get discounts through online shopping. Discount stores are a booming
business and are doing really well in the online business scenario. Gifts account for
about 20% of the

GRAPH-7

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GRAPH SHOWING THE OFFERS PROVIDED TO THE RESPONDENTS


THROUGH ONLINE SHOPPING

60
50
40
30
20
10
0

Discounts

Gifts

Loyality points

Others

% of respondents

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TABLE-8
TABLE SHOWING THE RESPONDENTS DESIRED MODE OF PAYMENT

Mode of Payment
Credit Card
Cash
Cheque
Demand Draft
Others
Total

No. of Respondents
130
46
10
NIL
14
200

Percentage
65
23
5
NIL
7
100

Analysis
The above table shows that a majority of the respondents i.e., 65% of them used
to pay through credit cards. About 23% of them used to pay by cash, 7% of them used
to pay by other modes and the remaining 5% of them used to pay by cheque.
Inference
From the above table and analysis, it can be concluded that a majority of the
respondents used to pay through credit cards.

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GRAPH-8
GRAPH SHOWING THE RESPONDENTS DESIRED MODE OF PAYMENT

70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

Credit
Card

Cash

Cheque

Demand
Draft

Others

% of respondents

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TABLE-9
TABLE SHOWING THE RESPONDENTS OPINION OF ONLINE SHOPPING
COMPARED WITH OFFLINE SHOPPING

Opinion
Very Good
Good
Average
Poor
Total

No. of Respondents
20
84
68
28
200

Percentage
10
42
34
14
100

Analysis
The above table shows that a majority of the respondents i.e., 42% of them have
a good opinion about the online shopping compared with offline shopping. 34% of
them have an average opinion, 14% of them have poor opinion and the remaining 10%
of them have very good opinion about online shopping.
Inference
From the above table and analysis, it can be concluded that a majority of the
respondents have a good opinion about the online shopping.

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GRAPH-9
GRAPH SHOWING THE RESPONDENTS OPINION OF ONLINE SHOPPING
COMPARED WITH OFFLINE SHOPPING

50
40
30
20
10
0

Very good

Good

Average

Poor

% of respondents

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OBSERVATION DURING THE SURVEY


During the interaction with the respondents the following observation were made: The respondents were very much satisfied with the quality of the goods delivered to
them.
The security features provided to the respondent were very poor as most of them
feared if their personal information would be misused.
The products portrayed on the portals were easy to read and had a detailed
description.
The delivery of the goods as per promised were not up to standards and can be
improved.

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FINDINGS
IT professionals basically preferred online shopping. Around 62% of them were
general users of online shopping.
61% of the respondents were satisfied with the quality of goods delivered to them
against on-line order.
About 30% of respondents usually spend more than two hours for shopping in malls,
28% of the respondents spend two hours for shopping. 24% respondents spend one
hour and remaining 18% of the respondents used to spend less than one hour for
shopping in malls.
The majority of respondents, i.e. 40% usually go once or twice for shopping. 23% of
the respondents usually go more than 4 times, 19% of the respondents usually go 3
or 4 times and 18% of the respondents usually go less than once for shopping in
malls.
About 66% of the respondent preferred internet as the mode for shopping.
About 58% of the respondents usually get discounts through online shopping.
About 65% of the respondents usually pay through credit cards.
A majority of the respondents, i.e. 44% of them have good opinion about the online
shopping compared to offline shopping.

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SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS


To improve advertising and additional service levels in the changing environment
and more sales promotion for respondents who shop online is highly recommended.
Customer complaints and suggestions should be taken seriously and they should be
worked upon to improve efficiency and services provided by the shop owners.
The respondents would like to enhance the security for payments through credit
cards.
To provide quicker delivery of the goods free of cost to the customers.
The respondents would like to have the quality of goods to be the best at par with the
price.
To provide special discounts, rewards and Loyality points for regular customers
would attract more respondents to shop online.
To assure that damaged goods will replaced instantly combined with special offers
would make the respondents satisfied.
The portals should be updated on a regular basis and more products with pictures,
expiry date or manufacturing date should be mentioned.

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CONCLUSION
From the research it has been concluded that the company can launch new portals so as
to increase the inflow of customers who shop on-line. The concern raised by the IT
professionals should be taken into consideration; especially with the security being
offered to them for payments through credit cards. The establishment should deliver the
goods on time as promised to the customers at the same time ensuring quality. All these
steps will ensure that most of the customers will be happier to do the online shopping
more frequently.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
The following references were taken for the secondary data, which is included in the
research work:
Philip Kotler, Marketing Management, Prentice hall India, 11th edition 2003
C.R.Kothari, Research Methodology, 2nd edition 2001.
G.C.Beri, Marketing Research and Research management, 3rd edition, Tata Mc
Graw-hill publishing company.
Company Journals.
WEBSITES:www.techunified.com
www.techunifiedconsulting.com
www.google.com

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