The increasing use and integration of technology to exploit new business ideas to meet the dynamically changing market needs, underlies the use of e-wallet, an idea which has come at the right time.
However, the practicability of applying the e-wallet idea in the Australian market is based on results that are generated based on an organizational feasibility study conducted on DayMark, which is the company projecting to translate the e-wallet business idea into the proposed business plan which could gradually be rolled out into the market for the purpose of creating a market share and gradually generate profits for the company (Phene, Fladmoe-Lindquist & Marsh, 2006, p.5).
While feasibility analysis requires intensive investigations into the workability of the e-wallet idea in Australian market for the purpose of authentication and payments, the organizational feasibility requires an investigation into DayMark’s ability to implement the business idea.
The underlying issues related to the feasibility of the idea include management prowess and resource sufficiency to implement the e-wallet idea. The critical components here are to determine whether DayMark has enough and well trained personnel, organizational competence, and sufficient resources to start the business (Liberman & Montgomery, 1988, p.4).
Management Prowess
For the case of investigating the management feasibility of launching the e-wallet into the market, Van, Stevenson and Roberts (1992, p. 127) assert that DayMark has to candidly evaluate the management capability in the context of the passion for the e-wallet business idea.
When an analysis was conducted on the position of the management’s thirst for the business idea, the research showed highly ranked score with a strong potential for the e-wallet business idea. In context of the e-wallet, the management showed interest in the idea and demonstrated the ability to optimize the benefits of investing in the idea.
According to (Dixon 2006, p.441), the Management showed the core analytical competencies of investing in the idea, has the capacity to build trust, able to make commitments in implementing the idea, demonstrates support for innovation, and the ability to adopt new ideas and change with changing business environment. It was established in the study that employees and the management of the organization took ownership of the idea, by demonstrating teamwork.
Each employee had expressed strong interest in the success of the e-wallet idea because they have a unified approach to the successful implementation of the idea without the need to factor self-interest (Pawlina & Kort, 2006, p. 9). The core interest of the management, according to the study was innovation, acceptance of new ideas, and the desire to find better ways of bringing new ideas and innovations into the market.
The study showed the strong regard management has for customers and understand well the core reason for staying in the market is the customer. In that context, the management conducted self-assessment to determine the ability of the management to comprehend the current market needs (Coutler 2002, p.45).
Findings show that the e-wallet is a relatively new concept that has widely been accepted as a method of authentication and for making online payments. That is because of the sheer size of the market and the exponential rise in the use of electronic currency. That is in part because of the comparative advantage the electronic currency has over conventional cash.
It has been established that a strong customer demand for the e-wallet is possible because of the relative advantages the technology has to other forms of making payments. In addition, clear benefits have already been demonstrated for the use of the e-wallet in conducting business.
The management, having evaluated the accruing benefits from investing in the e-wallet, other factors considered to determine the suitability of implementing the business idea was the professional competence of the managers. At DayMark, the management team have professional qualifications and experience in implementing new ideas.
The extensive nature of social networking of the management team, the well experienced new venture team of the company and the well skilled marketers provide the basis for satisfactory argument of a strong management prowess.
Resource Sufficiency
Investigation into DayMark’s resource sufficiency has shown enough space to launch the e-wallet. The resource requirements include space, product procurement, reliable supply chain systems, and market penetration and analysis capabilities.
It has been established at DayMark that the company has well trained marketing staff to conduct marketing campaigns in addition to an online presence for reaching customers in real time. Dixon (2006, p.441) argues that one of the modern approaches to reaching different market segments is the use of the internet.
In this case, DayMark has website and uses social networking sites to reach different market segments. The company has integrated its site with well-known and highly ranked e-commerce sites such as Amazon.com and uses current web browsing technologies to enable its site to be given higher ranking positions when a customer browses for companies that offer e-wallet products.
Typically, the business will be located at a strategic central town in Australia that provides fast communication and has a communication network which is well served with rail and road networks. It has been established that the company location is at a strategic position with other technology firms which could provide low cost products for the production of the e-wallet, to enable a cost effective storage and distribution of the product (Dixon 2006, p.445).
It has been established that the quality of the labour pool at the strategic location is sufficient to provide the organization with required personnel to work in the organization. Skilled manpower is critical for implementing the e-wallet business idea because the employees understand how the product works and can provide the customers with sufficient explanations and demonstrate on how the e-wallet works.
It is important to note that the organization has sufficient non-financial resources which include computers, well trained and skilled personnel, computer networks, availability of merchant payment points throughout the country, availability of a till environment, availability of mPOS devices throughout the country, and the ease of accessing the resources which enable the use of the e-wallet (Dixon 2006, p.447).
The e-wallet business idea when evaluated against management prowess and resource sufficiency shows a significant viability of implementing the idea.
Assessment tools
Assessment tools used to conduct the feasibility of the e-wallet business idea included the management prowess assessment and the resource sufficiency assessment tools. Each of the tools yielded valuable information on the specialised area of investigation as discussed below.
Management Prowess Assessment
The management prowess assessment tool’s ranking is divided into three sections, which include low potential, moderate, to high potential. Each element has specific implications on the performance of the management in context of the e-wallet business idea. The ranking provides a comprehensive assessment of the management capability in implementing the e-wallet business idea, reveals leadership practices in human resources, strategic planning, and the areas of management that need improvements.
Each item in the ranking comprehensively evaluates the feasibility of the management and provides the foundation upon which the e-wallet business idea is implemented in the market. The low potential ranking provides an assessment element which provides a definition of the management’s capability to implement the e-wallet business idea in the context of management willingness, skills, leadership, support, and feasibility of investing in the idea.
There is need to ensure synergetic contribution of the elements toward implementing the idea. Typical examples include prior entrepreneurial experience which ranked low. Prior entrepreneurial experience might not, however, be critical in implementing the new e-wallet idea because there is an already available. On the other hand, moderate ranking implies that the organization is in need of the crucial managerial component to start and run the business.
In this case, industry experience, depth of professional and social work, and Experience and expertise in cash flow management are critical elements. The ranking shows that the organization has to build the business about the elements, without which the new idea cannot work.
The final ranking, which is rated as high potential shows the need for management to have highly academically qualified professionals, creativity among the management staff, and a strong passion for the business idea. In this case, the ranking shows that the e-wallet idea can only become feasible if the management elements are evaluated and meet the evaluation criteria that falls under the high potential category.
Resource Sufficiency Evaluation
The resource sufficiency ranking assessment tool has a scale which is assigned numerical values ranging between one and five. The overall rating is between strong, neutral and weak. 1 in the ranking implies that the element has strong implication on the organizational feasibility context. In the ranking scheme, 1 implies that the rating is neutral and the implication on management regarding the non-financial resources is that implementing the e-wallet business idea does not require space for storage purposes.
That is because the e-wallet business idea is an electronic item that does not require space. 2 in the ranking imply that the organization requires the item and it has neutral implications on the implementation of the idea.
So the organization does not require contract manufacturing, but needs key management employees to facilitate and sustain the development of the e-wallet idea, but needs intellectual property support to optimize earnings from the idea. The need to form business partnership is assigned a rating of 2, which implies that the organization needs to from partnerships with different organizations to access customers and sell the idea to a wide audience.
Conclusion
The motivation for the new business plan was to implement an idea that had its time ready. The e-wallet idea is a lucrative business opportunity.
Because the e-wallet is an idea that could be used across different cultural platforms, it is important for management to undertake education and training in cultural awareness learn about different legal environments and study to understand international standards that govern e transactions. A detailed organizational SWOT analysis of the management prowess and resource sufficiency needs to be conducted.
References
Coutler, M 2002, Strategic Management in Action, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Dixon, S 2006, “Multinational Corporations, Stackelberg Leadership, and Tariff-Jumping,” Review of International Economics vol. 14, no.1, pp. 414–26.
Liberman, M B & Montgomery, D B 1988, “First-Mover Advantages,” Strategic Management Journal, Summer Special Issue, vol. 9, no. 2 pp. 41–58.
Pawlina, G & Kort,P M 2006, “Real Options in an Asymmetric Duopoly: Who Benefits from Your Competitive Disadvantage?” Journal of Economics and Management Strategy vo. 15, no. 2, pp.1–35.
Phene, K. Fladmoe-Lindquist & Marsh, L 2006,“Breakthrough Innovations in the U.S.
Biotechnology Industry: The Effects of Technological Space and Geographic Origin,” Strategic Management Journal, vol. 27, no.1, pp. 27 369–88.
Van, S J R, Stevenson, H H & Roberts, M J, 1992, “How to Write a Winning Business Plan,” in The Entrepreneurial Venture, ed. W.A. Sahlman and H. H. Stevenson (Boston: Harvard Business School Press, vol.1, no.1, pp. 127–37.