Writing Homework Help

Objectives

• Evaluate the use of different telecommunications technologies for performing a specific business purpose.
• Using a spreadsheet, compare similar telecommunications technologies.
• Use decision-making strategies to select the most appropriate telecommunications technology for a specific business need.

Natalie is an avid baseball fan. She also has a small business in which she buys, sells, and trades baseball cards. Because business has been a bit slow lately, she is seeking new avenues to attract customers. She thinks that increasing her online exposure might do the trick. She has decided to have some fun with this idea and is going to start a blog in which she critiques the performance of the players.

From her business classes, Natalie knows that when making technology decisions, she needs to consider:

• her goals
• the available options
• the costs, including purchase price, training requirements, and operational expenses
• convenience
• availability

Natalie wants her blog to:

• have attractive, easy-to-use templates
• allow users to add comments
• provide the ability to blacklist spammers
• be inexpensive
• be available right away

Natalie begins to research the different types of blogging software out there, finding that there were quite a few choices, each with different features. In order to determine which blogging software to use, Natalie has constructed a table into which she can put the information she has learned about various products.

Regardless of the blogging software she choses, Natalie’s goals will not change, so these are not included in the table. She is also pretty confident that she can learn how to use the program herself without paying for additional training. Finally, she has made sure that all of her choices allow her to download the software from the Internet.

To get started, Natalie creates the table below:

	Option 1	Option 2	Option 3
Templates	none	15	35
Comments	no	yes	yes
Blacklist	no	limited to 50/day	unlimited
Cost	Free	4.95 to download 12.95/month	7.95 to download 14.95/month

After she has entered the information in the table, it is easy for Natalie to compare products. She can see right away that Option 1 would not work for her. Option 2 is a possibility. She likes the fact that Option 2 is a bit cheaper than Option 3, and she thinks that fifteen different templates would provide her with enough choices. However, the ability to blacklist only fifty addresses a day has her a bit concerned. For this reason, she decides to purchase Option 3.

Directions

You have learned that choosing the best telecommunications technology for a specific business need is a complex decision. There are a number of points that must be taken into consideration—goals, available options, cost, convenience, and availability. You have also learned that creating a comparison chart will help you compare similar technologies, rendering the decision-making process simpler. Now it’s your turn to apply what you’ve learned.

Morgan is the operations manager for a national appliance distributor. The company has offices throughout the United States. Communication between offices is vital to the efficient operation of the company. Phone sales are an important source of revenue.

Managers and department heads across the nation strategize on a weekly, if not daily, basis. For the past three quarters, telephone charges have increased and sales have decreased. Morgan needs to cut expenses while keeping the lines of communication open.

Analyze the telecommunications technologies you’ve studied in this unit—fax, broadcasting, VoIP, e-mail, blogs, and wikis—to determine which technology will best meet the needs of Morgan’s company.

Once you have determined the best technology solution, use the Internet to compare the features and pricing offered by different providers of that technology. Select four or five criteria you think would be most important to Morgan. Create a comparison chart to help compare the products and services offered by providers of the technology you selected.

• Write down the technology you selected for Morgan’s company and the reason for your choice.
• Then select a provider for Morgan to use. Indicate the reason(s) for your choices.