Please read the Barlow & Li's (2010) chapter, Disruptive Technologies and Applications (available on Blackboard). Think about an example of a technology or system that has impacted on you, or on a situation/setting that you know about. Please describe what it was and what happened. In what ways (if at all) was this disruptive? (Please link your answer with 1-2 themes from the reading.)
An example of a technology or system that has impacted on me is the introduction of new electronic mailing services. This situation follows the Low End and Top Down approach to disruptions.
ReplyDeleteThrough the Low End Approach people can develop systems at a low price and with fewer features that attract the lower end of the market. This has resulted in a large number of electronic mailing systems for people to use. The problem and disruption this presents is that everyone will use a different electronic mailing system to someone else. This means that you have to send mail to different email accounts and you have to make sure you are sending the email to the correct service.
Through the Top Down approach people can create systems that have more features that other electronic mailing systems. This creates the disruption of people constantly changing their mailing accounts to a service that can offer them the most and changing their email addresses.
The disruption that new electronic mail services have caused is:
Have to constantly check multiple mail accounts for messages.
Have to send to multiple systems that dont interact with each other. Unsure of whether messages sent.
Have problems with losing people's addresses or messages because of the vast number of accounts.
An example of a technology or system situation is services such as iTunes that distributes digital media.
ReplyDeleteiTunes is a disruptive process that improves the way consumers can purchase music. This will outperform the traditional way which was by purchasing albums from stores.
By using iTunes it is simple, convenient and cheap. Consumers will be able to purchase a single track that they like instead of buying a whole album and may only like 2 or 3 tracks in it which could cost them up to $30.
Consumers will be able to listen to snippets of tracks before purchasing a song for under $3 and download it and easily transfer it to a media player such as an iPod and consumers can do this at home.
iTunes also provides consumers with the ability to not only purchase songs but movies and podcasts. This will disrupt the cinemas and DVD market.
A system that has impacted on me is New Worlds self-service checkouts. The self-service checkouts are not a new technology in the world but are new in New Zealand. The self-service are only used by one competitor in New Zealand who is foodstuffs. Food stuffs use the checkouts in both their low-end and high-end stores Pack n’Save and New World.
ReplyDeleteThe purpose of the self-service checkouts is to dramatically reduce the need for checkout operators while increasing the number of customers processed. The customer scans and bags their own items (usually 15 items or less) and then pays without any operator assistance. However to process alcohol purchases and to avoid fraud a checkout operator monitors the self-service checkouts. As a customer I really like the self-service checkouts because I don’t have to wait for one to open. Also it means I don’t have to talk to the yuck checkout operators.
The self-service checkouts are considered as disruptive innovation because Foodstuffs has not attempted to bring a better product to their stores. Instead the checkouts are simpler, convenient for the customer and less expensive to run with only one employee for up to 8 checkouts.
The key mechanisms Foodstuffs uses for innovation are reconfiguring the process of checkouts and re-writing the rules of the industry by taking away a checkout operator. Until now this had never happened in a supermarket. Almost four years since the introduction of self-service checkouts, the competition is still lagging behind. Foodstuffs took a new approach to how checkouts were run and changed the rules of the game. Although the article mentions how disruptive technologies once introduced do not hold a competitive edge for long, Foodstuffs has managed to achieve one.
As a consumer I would rather use a self-service checkout than wait in a queue for an overworked checkout operator when I can do it myself. Although Foodstuffs maintains a competitive advantage with their self-service checkouts it surely cannot last. There is much more room for improvement when it comes to self-service checkouts. Progressive could introduce their own self-service checkouts with superior features which would then disrupt Foodstuffs strategy. For example Progressive could introduce conveyer belts to hold more items and include a unidirectional barcode scanner (as opposed to bidirectional) which could scan items as they pass through the conveyer belt.
An example of a system that has impacted me is the online search engine (www.pricespy.co.nz). This web site affects the process of how I purchase certain technology, by allowing me to compare products and prices online, usually in order to find the best deal from electronics retailers online. For example, when I wanted to purchase an external hard drive, I was able to save up to $40NZ by searching on PriceSpy first, instead of purchasing from an electronics retailer store such as Noel Leeming.
ReplyDeletePriceSpy is an example of a disruptive innovation (search engine) that has been facilitated by the commercialisation of the Internet and introduction of the World Wide Web (WWW). This is a form of e-commerce that has enabled organisations to increase the efficiency of their supply chains, in order to provide superior value to its customers. This typically means lower prices for customers. This puts pressure on established retailers such as Noel Leeming and Harvey Norman. This can also put pressure on any potentially new entrants that are looking to enter the market.
Another example of a disruptive situation that has impacted me is a direct sales model of when I purchased my laptop online. I was able to customise and configure my laptop that met my requirements. For example, I could upgrade the RAM or the capacity/speed of the hard drive with a few clicks. I wouldn’t have the convenient option of doing this in a retail store. Although, in a retail store you can physically test out the products. The Internet acts as a sustaining innovation which allowed for a more direct sales model. The direct sales model allows for better delivery of unique customer value for which customers can receive by better matching their perceptions of what they actually want.
Amazon is a disruptive technology, by allowing users to purchase almost anything they want at an online store, at any time without the need to leave the comfort of their own homes, combined with the promise of fast delivery to your door Amazon provides a shoppers a unique paradise.
ReplyDeleteA paradise where there are no cues, or waiting times or judgment, Amazon has created a society that is disrupting the way consumers interact and spend, society is now becoming increasing dependent on online shopping with the rapid development of sites like Amazon.
This is leading to a anti-social society where there need be no social interaction or communication with a retailer, no awkward moments where you are judged on what merchandise you like or where you are buying from, everything comes from one location anonymously, no one needs know what you brought or see your shopping bags as it all comes from the privacy of your own home computer.
It is society demand to have the latest that is driving consumerism for if there were no consumerism there would be no demand for these products and service site like Amazon.
Consumerism is fuelled and driven by individuals or corporations who are driven to amass wealth. Sites like Amazon employ the media advertising and indeed any method they can to persuade individuals to buy based on a consumers suppose wants rather then their needs.
For a person who can’t be bothered going out or is bored they can just shop and spend money online, buying crap they don’t necessary need or want, simply because its just so easy to buy off the web.
Amazon is mechanism for innovation, where if something looks cool or you must have the latest tech etc, you can just buy it and if you don’t like it you can give it one heck of a poor review on the site.
An example of a technology or system that has affected me is social networking sites, mainly Facebook.
ReplyDeleteFacebook has two sets of users; the individuals who use the site to communicate to one another, and also the organisation who use the site as a medium to advertise through
Facebook as a disruptive process that provides a way for firms to advertise in the unique way. This is better than having to advertise, for example on a billboard, where you are hoping your targeted market sees the advert.
Using special algorithms and equations, Facebook shows adverts to those individuals that may be more likely to relate to the advert and/or be interested in them. This means firms are more likely to be using their marketing budget effectively.
I agree with Mitish's blog post as users have and have some similar ideas:
ReplyDeleteReal time access - users are able to update information almost anywhere, anytime where there is internet conection. This has affected the IT industry by having information that was once not avaliable,as often.
Advertisng- Has been disruptive to the marketing organisations as it stop them from being able to advertise. Rather social networking sites offer free advertising as there are large amounts of users in the industry.
Online collaboration - This allows people to collaborate more easily but disrupts the idea of having formal meeting to discuss ideas
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ReplyDeleteAn example of a technology or system that has impacted me is e-commerce sites such as trademe.
ReplyDeleteThere are two sets of users who are buyers and sellers.
Trademe has disrupted other physical and online stores as consumers are now seeking various goods which can be found for cheap on trademe, rather than visiting a physical store. Consumers can now order products off the internet which is quicker and more efficient that going into the store.
Trademe has also disrupted the use of garage sales and auction houses such as turners to sell their second hand products and as it is much easier to do everything online. This lead to a decrease in competition for trademe as they are slowly dominating the market.
An example of a technology or system that has impacted on me is the introduction of electronic books (e-books).
ReplyDeleteE-books is an electronic version of a printed book that can be read on a personal computer or hand-held device designed specifically for this purpose. Users can be anyone who takes an interest in reading books.
This serves as a disruption for the market for buying actual books at any participating book shop or retail store. Although this is beneficial for those in the industry, it disrupts consumers from going into a physical store and reading a paper-based book. This is slowly dominating the market and sooner or later everything will be read electronically.
The down-side is that not everyone would prefer reading on an electronic device or sit at a personal computer to read, it may be inconvenient for users and not everyone will have access to an electronic device as such and may prefer reading a paper-based book. Also, problems will arise because power will be required to use the device and if someone is reading and the battery dies, this can become a problem.
A disruptive technology which has impaced me is Trade Me. It is an New Zealand auction site, founded by Sam Morgan, and its like other online auction sites such as Ebay. By Sam morgan introducing Trade Me, it has had a big impact on auctions around New Zealand. It was the 1st New Zealand online auction site, so this really changed on how people buy and sell items. In the 21st century, a lot of individuals use technology to buy and sell items. However before the use of techology, people use to by and sell through auctions held at private places or through leaflets. Now days Trade Me, has disrupted and had an impact on how people buy and sell there goods and services. This includes a lot of users purchasing items or even seeking jobs. This has made it a lot easier for people to purchase all sorts of items, and also can make available many jobs, and so a lot of people are viewing the positions and results in many applicants applying for jobs.
ReplyDeleteA disruptive technology that has affected me is the use of touch screen technology. Arguably the simplest of any emerging technology for a user to learn, it has changed the way people interact with their electronic devices.
ReplyDeleteGoing from buying a device such as an MP3 player that encompassed a manual the size of a small novel to a much more complex touch screen MP3, such as the 4th Generation iPod, which has a small fold out leaflet on how to use it, has shown how the use of touch screen technology has transformed an industry.
This technology bridges the gap that deterred different age groups from learning about new devices. It is cognitive learning that enables a human to pick up these instructions so rapidly. There is no longer a long, monotonous learning period before the user can enjoy the product, they can simply use their own hands to teach themselves.
This technology is positive disruptive for the electronics industry as the industry changes so fast that most of the software is obsolete within a few years. This used to be a large issue for both customer and manufacturer; however, with the decreased learning time the user can quickly update their own learning with little inconvenience to their life. Learning has become an enjoyable part of technology.