E-Business: Technology, Audit, and Strategic Decision-Making Essay (Article Review)

A critical appraisal is a procedure of cautiously and methodically probing a study to review its trustworthiness and its value and importance in a specified context. It is an indispensable proficiency for interested parties as it allows people to acquire and use research proof dependably and competently.

The first paper description

The first article (Agent-Oriented Technology in support of E-business enabling the development of “intelligent Business agents for adaptive, Re-usable software), talks about the growth and implications of the internet, networking systems, infiltration of ISDN-based applications and their stimulation of an ever-increasing number of businesses to participate in E-commerce globally.

The main ideas in this work are that networking systems such as electronic data exchange systems and the penetration of ISDN-based applications are inspiring many businesses to participate in e-commerce globally. Intelligent software agents can carry out tasks on behalf of human knowledge workers both on the supplier’s and customer’s behalf. Agent technology can also help bridge this gap. The article shows that an E-business agent should have its own abilities, which include delegation abilities and self-representation abilities.

There are four basic forms of agents: application, personal, general business activity, and system-level agents. Each of these classes of agents draws on a host of agents with specific functionality to execute a range of e-business application related tasks.

The main contributions stem from the idea that in business, there is a need to reduce the number of people handling transactions and save on the cash that would have been used, this led to innovativeness, and majorly it was geared to reduce the number of middlemen though agents of E-commerce, this again led to the creation of software’s that could handle this tasks.

The most compelling reasons why I like this work

The most compelling reason as to why I like this work is the possibility to ease the incorporation of analysis capabilities within the business application logic. They also permit the inclusion of learning and self-advancement capabilities at both infrastructure and application levels.

The agent technology can help address serious technical challenges such as concerns about efficient searching, safety and confidentiality, and valuable use of interoperability between varied business processes and diverse information required to attain tele-cooperation and universal e-commerce. They can also be used for real-time pricing and auctioning,

The most compelling reason why I dislike this work is basically in the ability of the software to adapt to the ever changing market forces. When the forces change, they also require that they be upgraded so that they are at par. Lack of this may lead to massive losses by the business.

This article also makes the assumption that the software can be used for real time pricing, where suppliers can present their products on the web and collect real-time price bids from multiple customers. In the system, though, we are not well-informed on how the organization can change in relation to the prevailing market forces.

Detailed comments on the paper

On reading the paper, I learned that business agents could take part in high-level task-oriented dialogues through the use of interface protocols in combination with integral organizational knowledge. In numerous cases, the need for communication is significantly reduced. Also, protected transactions should guarantee that a message has not been tailored while in transit. Communication should also guarantee privacy, and again scheme keeps Non-repudiation in check.

The technical points that I appreciated

The technical points that I appreciated are that agents provide the semantic support infrastructure for complex fundamentals such as business objects, business processes, and workflows. That to accomplish a complex undertaking, an intelligent business agent uses an incremental dispensation style, which might include recruiting additional agents in the process of task implementation in an active and opportunistic means. That in each field tackled by a network-centric business ecosystem, there is the circulation of data, control, expertise and resources in order to achieve the desired purpose.

Comments on references & related work

This article relates to other projects in terms of its objectivity, the fusion of business and technology, and the myriad ways in which technology exposes the business to the global village, acting as a growth catalyst in the business. Although it has not been indicated, this article must have been cited. This is because this type of practice is on the rise in the world today.

Presentation style

The paper describes its goals clearly. This is because it highlights the business ecosystem with an in-depth analysis of the types of E-business agents and their characteristics.

The paper delivery

On paper delivery, I believe much of the information relayed is practical and to the point.

Motivations

The motivation behind this work is the ability to engage technology in business and create systems that handle bigger workloads in the shortest time possible.

Reference format/list of keywords

The list of keywords is complete because it highlights the major terms of the research paper.

Figures

The figures are readable in that they have been demonstrated by combining appropriately intelligent agents working cooperatively over space and time to solve a variety of complex problems. This has been done in several spheres of the business’ existence. Again in the article, there are no corrections. The reference has come after the work, which allows us to refer when we need more clarity.

Suggestions on how to improve the paper

The paper should as well state the “do’s and don’ts” to anybody engaging in E-commerce, and it should also outline the security protocols that are in place to ensure that the transactions are safe.

Unanswered questions on the paper

Apart from the lack of assertion that transactions can be safe, the article was in-depth and analytical therefore proving justifiability.

The second paper description

This paper (Strategic Decision-Making in the Emerging Field of E-commerce) basically talks about how the renaissance in information technology has revolutionized the efficacy under which contemporary business is being operated. With the introduction of computers and the internet, the world has turned into a ‘global village,’ making access to information just a click of a mouse away. This has, in turn, increased competition among service providers and manufacturers, thereby benefiting customers with improved services.

The main contributions

E-commerce has been a big plus to the way businesses operate in the world today. With the advances in information technology, with reference to the major facets of E-commerce, Business to Business (B2B), E-commerce has significantly enabled companies to transact businesses through the internet, thereby reducing transactional and service costs hence reducing the costs of their products.

Business to Consumer (B2C) E-commerce has tremendously allowed companies easy access to their remotest customers, thereby expanding its sales at a reduced cost. This has, in turn, increased organizations profitability. Consumer to Consumer (C2C) E-commerce has enabled consumers to purchase and sell second-hand commodities through auctions just at the click of a button around the globe.

Consumer to Business (C2B) E-commerce, on the other hand, has given companies a chance to incorporate customers’ ideas into their own so as to come up with quality goods and services. With this, they thereby increase their sales.

The most compelling reasons why I like this work

The main compelling reason why I like this work is that the world is turning electronic, and in order for any given company to remain steadfast with the changing trends in the global economy, knowledge in E-commerce is vital.

The most compelling reasons why I dislike this work

The main compelling reason why I actually dislike this work is because of the technical mistakes encompassed in it. E-commerce is highly prone to insecurity problems since one can access an organization’s credit information and fleece off cash.

Novelty

The paper isn’t novel. This is because it doesn’t provide for successful packet reception and upper and lower bounds for the broadcast capacity for arbitrarily connected networks.

Demonstrations of points by proofs, simulations, experiments

This paper doesn’t demonstrate all its proof, simulations, experiments because it limits its findings which are shallow in a way and doesn’t explicitly talk about dynamics of broadcast flooding in random wireless ad hoc networks.

Assumptions

The unreasonable assumption this paper is making is that it is supercilious in the sense that every client is comfortable and convinced the internet is a major way of conducting business. An example is that TV has been there for so long, but only small percentages of companies advertise on TV.

What I learned reading the paper

What I did learn from this paper is that as much as the world is turning into digital commerce, traditional strategic tools cannot be sidelined, and thus, one needs to incorporate the ideas with the generic competitive strategies. This will, in turn, enable the business to remain competitive.

The technical points that I appreciated

The technical point that I appreciate is that e-commerce has increased the efficacy of businesses performance in terms of transactions and accessibility to information. This has, in turn, translated to reduced costs and quality services and goods.

Comments on the references & related work

How the paper relates to other works/projects/papers

This paper relates to other works/projects/papers in that it talks about one and the same thing. This paper talks of the need for an organization to adopt the new method of conducting commerce which is similar to other works. It emphasizes the strategies that go hand in hand with the changing technology.

Citation and references

Emin M. Dinlersoz ‘On the Diffusion of Electronic Commerce’ has been cited in regard to this application.

Comments on the presentation style

The paper describes its goals clearly. This is because it undoubtedly talks about the changing trends in global commerce with the changing strategies that it accompanies.

Paper delivery (what was originally promised)

The paper delivers what was originally promised. It does talk about the paradigm shift in the current market whereby the world is adopting e-market, and therefore, a change in management strategies is vital. The staff of organizations ought to be conversant with information technology in order to compete favourably with the rest of the world.

Motivations (what issues/problems inspired this research), assumptions (of the setting, requirements), and contributions

This research was motivated by the fact that in order for a company to remain competitive in the global market today, knowledge in information and technology is inevitable. A company has to lay down strategies in line with the changing nature of technology to expand its market and increase its profitability.

The paper again assumes that everyone is computer literate. Therefore, it is overlooking the insecurity issues that follows e-commerce. The insecurity issue should be dealt with expansively to make e-commerce effective.

The contributions of this paper to e-commerce are that in order for a company to adopt this changing nature of commerce, it is important for its staff to learn management strategies. These strategies are laid under Porters ‘Five Forces Analysis.’

Reference format/list of keywords

The reference list and keywords of this paper, ‘Strategic Decision-Making in The emergency Field in E-commerce’, is complete because it highlights the major terms of this research paper. It also highlights words like ‘strategic decision making’ and ‘e-commerce’.

Figures and trends

The trends are seen, and they explain an abnormal behaviour whereby we can see a remarkable change in the market in terms of businesses embracing an e-market.

Writing style remarks/corrections (English grammar/syntax, spelling)

I believe that the format used in the write up should be in such a way that the literature review comes after the introduction so that one understands the background information first. Otherwise, I contend with the rest of the work.

Suggestions for how to improve the paper

This article can be improved by vividly laying down the merits and the demerits of e-commerce and also by discussing how the insecurity issue can be overcome. It is again necessary to discuss the insecurity issue so that any party wanting to venture into this technology is aware of the risks.

Unanswered questions on the paper

There is an unanswered question. I really need to know how the insecurity issue of e-commerce is currently dealt with and the future prospects of e-commerce.

The third paper description

The summary and list of key (most essential) ideas/points

This article (an E-business audit service model in the business to business context) focuses on the need for a systems approach in analyzing and improvement of services/operations. Here technology systems and people are the three major components in the delivery of consumer services.

The essential ideas are highlighting and implementing the specialized competencies needed by auditors to conduct audits in E-business. This is whereby audit context traditional internal accounting controls have been rendered useless, and those auditors should be versed in E-business technologies as well as accounting audit procedures.

The main contributions

The main contributions of this study include past studies on audit expertise, audit planning or audit Management and archival data. Again, there is a latent modelling approach to E-business audit services, which contributes to the. On the other hand, the existing antecedent-consequence-performance theory of audit knowledge-ability-experience suggested by Libby and Luft (1993) shows that this particular application has been well developed in terms of the audit judgment capabilities of an accountant in a non-technological context.

The most compelling reasons why I like this work

The most compelling reason as to why I like this work is because consumers can install the security architecture of their preference and that it eases parsing, taking out and reporting of required information for appraisal and administration. It also keeps the technological and operational costs lower

The most compelling reasons why I dislike this work

My reasons for retaining my reservations arise from the fact that higher levels of IT training and experience are required and that the staff should therefore have strong backgrounds in general information systems and financial auditing. With limited advanced IT training and experience, the personnel won’t be making good use of much of the system. This would make it costly and insignificant.

Technical mistakes

There is the unavailability of data for the actual audit performance of the B2B E-business engagements; this has rendered these findings purely descriptive and not prescriptive.

Novelty

The application is novel in the sense that it helps organizations cut costs while enhancing efficiency.

Unreasonable assumptions

Assumptions are made regarding this technique, but they are not educated on how sturdily the system has within itself the strong security with which to guard against viruses, hackers, hard disk crashes, data corruption, disgruntled employees and other issues that the business will have to contend with daily while it’s operational. The system security should always be at par with technological progression, in which case more costs shall be incurred by the company.

What I learned reading the paper

On reading the paper, I learned the interrelationship of audit finding, audit systems and information technology comprehension and the need for audit firms to present enhanced professional judgment resources in E-business. This is majorly for work with the interior and exterior constituencies of the E-business transactions.

The technical points that I appreciated

The technical point I appreciated about this concept is that in E-business auditing and the technical areas to render effective audit decisions requires knowledge in computing technology. This concept again knowledge is acquired through training and experience, which enhances and validates the efficiency of this application.

Comments on their references & related work

How the paper relates to other works/projects/papers

This paper relates to other projects and papers in that it tries to show the correlation between today’s business world, information technologies, and their impacts on business.

Related cited work with no authors

On the web, there is a lot of information cited with no authors related to this kind of application. This is because more and more companies are picking up these efficient, cost-effective applications; thus, research on the same is being done by a lot of people.

Comments on its presentation style

The paper description and goals achieved

This paper achieved its goals. This is because whether it is for specific projects or under a more wide-ranging arrangement, information and technological solutions can support your internal audit function so that your staff and your organization’s information systems are operational to their full potential.

The paper delivery

The paper does deliver because it has tried to explain how the study integrates the theoretical perspectives with the experiential conclusion of the knowledge needed in usual information systems and financial auditing expertise. Another thing the paper delivers is proficiency in information technology, on the capability to deliver audit judgments.

The motivations (what issues/problems inspired this research), assumptions (of the setting, requirements), and contributions

The motivation behind this research is the need for a systems approach to analyze and improve service operations and create a situation where technology, systems, and people are the three major components of service delivery.

The reference format/list of keywords completion

The keywords given in this article, ‘audit services; E-business audit; information technology expertise; E-business audit judgment; partial least squares; interaction effects; information technology auditing’ are complete and do provide sufficient information about the objective and roles of the study.

Figures readability, trends and figures in the table

The figures are readable. They again do make sense; the concepts of the diagrams are executable and show a clear outline of the important conditional relationship that exists between the different variables.

List of writing style remarks/corrections (English grammar/syntax, spelling)

The above remarks are minimal in the sense that they are generally insignificant.

Suggestions on how to improve the paper

On the improvement of the paper, I would say it needs to be more visible in the sense that when more research is done, more experiments done and published, it will possibly shade more light, be concise and clearly put on display the viability of this application. Studies should also be done on a larger scale to come up with more concrete justifiable results.

Unanswered questions on the paper

Generally, I agree with the authors of these three articles. Therefore, I don’t have unanswered questions on this paper. On the other hand, more studies are needed in order to make these applications easier to use by business stakeholders.

Therefore as shown in this appraisal, these applications are needed in businesses today as the world has gone digital. Again these applications make it easier for business to handle their affairs, the source for customers and advertise their goods and services in an efficient, cost-effective way. On the other hand, companies need to train their employees in handling and running these applications as they require highly skilled workers to run them.

Works Cited

Papazoglou, Mike P. “Agent-Oriented Technology in Support of e-Business.” Communications of the ACM, vol. 44, no. 4, 2001, pp. 71–77. Crossref, Web.

Pathak, Jagdish, and Mary Robinson Lind. “An E-Business Audit Service Model in the B2B Context.” Information Systems Management, vol. 27, no. 2, 2010, pp. 146–55. Crossref, Web.

Oudan, Rodney. “Strategic Decision-Making In the Emerging Field Of E-Commerce.” International Journal of Management & Information Systems (IJMIS), vol. 14, no. 2, 2011. Crossref, Web.