Implementing a New Media Solution for a Social Enterprise

If properly utilised, the introduction of new media solutions into an organisation can have numerous benefits. Economically, launching new systems and measures can increase a company’s long term return on investment (ROI). Launching new technology can also have other financial benefits – from an e-commerce system that has a higher reach, to new innovations that may increase consumer demand. From an internal perspective, systems such as intranets can be implemented to great effect. Measures such as these not only increase efficiency within an organisation, but they can decrease workload and in turn benefit the motivation and enthusiasm levels of staff or volunteers within a company.

This report will convey proposal ideas for implementing new media solutions within the Selwood Trust. The Selwood Trust is a Community Development Trust, which employs three hundred staff that operate from thirty eight different locations. The scale of the organisation makes it imperative to discuss the resource implications that will affect the Trust from both an internal and external perspective. The issues of security and legislation that may affect the implementation of these new systems will also be considered thoroughly. Lastly, a SWOT analysis will be developed, as well as a supportive argument for a proposal in the academic context section.

2.1. Internal Communications Development

It is imperative that the Trust convert all their existing paper-based records into electronic records. This will bring about numerous benefits. It will streamline the process of obtaining contact information on staff within the Trust, therefore increasing worker efficiency, as the records will be stored categorically and indexed so they can searched for on the Trust’s Intranet. A second benefit of converting to an electronic based system is that data can be easily backed up or transferred via devices. In the current system, there is a risk of information being lost, misused or even permanently destroyed by hazards such as fire. Therefore it is proposed that the current Intranet system must be upgraded to allow for an improved data retrieval and storage system. As well as being user centric, the intranet should also be a base for knowledge.

As the Trust has a medium-sized workforce, some of which are temporary volunteers, it is likely that new staff will be joining the Trust frequently. A vast Intranet can make use of new media by implementing a ‘Wiki’ section. A wiki is an effective way of communicating asynchronously across a network, and allows users to contribute and dynamically share their ideas (Colby et al., 2003 p.185). This collaborative Web 2.0 functionality means a FAQ section could be implemented. This would aid new staff in familiarising themselves with the practices and information regarding the Trust, as well as formal policies, and even assistive online training.

It is acknowledged that the current phone directory system is being used to a high extent. This leads us to believe that the majority of contact between different sections of the Trust takes place over the phone. However, other methods of communication are better suited to the formal exchange of new ideas and developments within the Trust. If staff were given their own e-mail client, and a company based e-mail address, then there would be an increase in staff utilising this feature. E-mail communication has the associated benefits of archiving a formal record of conversation. Previously received and sent e-mails can be stored onto a database or web space, which means earlier communication can be referenced. An e-mail system also facilitates the sending of communicative messages to a vast amount of receivers, utilising the ‘send to many (carbon copy)’ functionality of the e-mail software.

2.2. City Centre Ambassador Scheme

As the ambassadors will be promoting the city in person, it is vital that they know a vast amount of information regarding events and public amenities available to the community. It is unfeasible to expect them to remember the wide range of dates and events happening in the city – therefore it is crucial that ambassadors have access to the internet. It is proposed that the Trust offers a company owned PDA or mobile phone equivalent that can access the internet via GPRS, or ideally 3G. This enables online stored data to be delivered to the device, when it is needed at a quick transfer rate. The portability of these proposed devices are also beneficial. As the ambassadors will not be present in a static location - the use of a laptop is unfeasible and also reliant on a wi-fi connection. However, because these devices can access the internet, there are company policies that need to be developed and connection restrictions in regard to a remote workforce.

It is an objective for the ambassadors to reduce anti-social behaviour, which is usually the result of youths within a community acting out of boredom as they are unaware of the amenities that the city offers. It is proposed that the utilisation of Web 2.0 technologies could attempt to solve this problem. The city could have its own micro-blogging system, a service such as this allows for local citizens to find out about events in the area. Local people would be encouraged by ambassadors to receive this channel via their mobile phones. A micro-blogging service such as Twitter could be utilised effectively as it can be updated instantaneously and is usually written in an informal tone of voice which will appeal more to a youth based audience. The channel could be updated by an events organiser employed by the Trust.

If a web presence was launched for the ambassadors’ campaign, local companies may be interested in advertising their business on this website. The website would act as a directory, showcasing local businesses to both visitors and locals. By monetising this service, revenue can be created for the Trust, which enables them to improve the budget given to ambassadors for the regeneration of other areas the scheme is attempting to target such as the reduction of crime and vandalism.

2.3. Doula Project

The two main objectives that the Trust has is the recruitment and training of doulas, and the promotion of the services they offer to the local community. Because doulas deal with a sensitive area, it is important that the right candidates are chosen, even if it is a volunteer role. Although unknown, because this is a voluntary scheme it is expected that the budget in regard to promotion is not that large. Therefore the advertising of recruitment opportunities will rely on strategic, localised marketing. These should include poster advertisements and print ads for local magazines and newspapers.

Advertisements should emphasise the ethical nature and social responsibility that volunteers have. They should be representative of the role required, whilst promoting the moral benefits that the job entails. A strong use of visual stimulus and effective copy should therefore be utilised. The Trust also has physical outlets that could have advertising placed at zero expenditure. For example, adverts could be placed within the two Sure Start nurseries, as these are likely to be seen by mothers who may know someone who is pregnant and could benefit from doula assistance.

It is proposed that the premise of blogging, an online version of a diary could be used by mothers. The Trust would be responsible in creating a blog for a mother if she agreed. By publishing their experiences, anxieties and other questions online, other mothers and the doulas themselves could offer advice and support. The creation of networking between expectant mums is also beneficial as it is an effective support system and can foster new friendships. Blogs also act as an online archive, effectively creating a detailed information resource for doulas to learn from and for the training of new doulas.

Utilising video conferencing would also allow for an increased reach and participation – as well as overcoming logistical issues. For example, it saves on the transport costs of home doula visits, as support can be given online. Skype is a widely available free service that could be used in this instance. Activities such as breathing exercises can be given just as effectively via telecommunication as they can be in person. It would also create a strong mother-doula relationship, a necessity when discussing important issues such as birth plans and other advice.

2.4. Food Store

Over the past few years, there has been an increased media promotion via celebrity cooks and various television programmes that campaign and relay the benefits of buying food from a local supplier. As the store stocks a wide range of local and organic produce, this can be implemented as the unique selling point of the store that can be effectively marketed. It is also noted that the store sells specialised food for those with dietary requirements. Customers who are celiac could benefit from gluten-free products. 15 percent of Britain suffers from lactose intolerance so dairy-free produce could also be an expanding market that could be targeted effectively. These features give the store a unique market space, and allows for effective branding opportunities.

Market Research

graze.com · Founded in 2008

Graze is a company that sells nutritious local food to consumers online via an intuitive e-commerce system. Its key selling feature is that it combines its produce into ‘lunch packs’ and targets workers across the country who want to enjoy a healthy yet relatively inexpensive meal. The Trust’s food store could mirror the effectiveness of this strategy with its own local produce, targeting workers within the city, as well as Trust staff who work within office environments.

An online store facilitates repeated business, as customer’s purchasing details can be stored onto a database. Customers could therefore be contacted via electronic marketing. After purchase, they could be added to a mailing list. E-marketing could be utilised effectively to generate increased sales by promoting sales and new product lines to consumers. Other benefits of an e-commerce store are numerous. As it is online, it is effectively open to anyone on a 24/7 basis. Products that there may not be room for in the physical store due to size restraints can be sold online – this principle of having a vast stock catalogue utilises the theory of ‘the long tail’ .

Successful food retailer’s online websites utilise databases to remember the previous purchases of shoppers. This is a useful feature that could be implemented onto the site, as customers can complete their weekly transactions almost instantaneously. Ever important in a society that is purchasing more online as they cannot travel to or have the time to visit physical retail outlets. Contextual based product marketing can also be facilitated within the site. E-commerce stores such as Amazon.co.uk have successfully increased their ROI by utilising data gathered from customer purchases. This data can be relayed back to the consumer as it helps identify similar products that they may be interested in purchasing. Another feature the website could implement would be suggesting to customers recipes they could create that use the store’s product range. This is a creative way in promoting product lines within the store without it being intrusive to the customer.

3.1. Internal Communications Development

The upgraded intranet must allow for staff that do not possess technical knowledge to use it effectively. Therefore it must contain a WYSIWYG text-editor, which means staff could update pages without knowledge of coding languages. The intranet would facilitate a symmetrical interaction model. This means that every member of the Trust would be able to express their views and discuss topics within a multi-directional communication system. To support this, new media again can be utilised in the creation of a discussion forum where users have an account they can log into to add or modify their own comments about the Trust. As it would be a long-term and expensive strategy to create and implement a newly designed intranet that may suffer from security holes or other bugs, the Trust could make use of free open-source intranet alternatives.

The intranet is a high involvement activity, and therefore has associated risks. Resistance to it must be measured and adequate support given in basic training of how to use it. A small training manual can be inbuilt into the intranet so staff could learn at their desks. This is more efficient as it saves having to train staff on a one-to-many impersonal basis.

An implication is that Trust staff will a) not be aware of the intranet or b) have no desire to use it. The benefits of the improved intranet should be encouraged and promoted to staff. Intranet activities such as the storing of employee contact details should be integrated effectively into ongoing employee-communication forms of current practice.

3.2. City Centre Ambassador Scheme

The ambassadors’ campaign website could be integrated into the existing Trust website. However, a domain name would need to be purchased, and a new site design would be effective in creating a fresh brand identity. Twitter is a free service so there are no investment costs in that respect. As the ambassadors would be using a company owned device, it is crucial that a fair usage policy is put into place. This would be devised and updated when necessary .

The ambassadors need to be dedicated to their job. The division of labour must be spread over the ambassadors equally, and they must collaborate in sharing useful, local knowledge. As time progresses they would be responsible for further idea generation in helping the community, and their impact would be assessed via feedback from people who had come into contact with the ambassadors.

An implication is that local businesses may not be interested in paying for advertising on the ambassador’s website. This is because they could advertise for free on other online directory sites. Therefore ambassadors would offer the promotion of partnered local amenities and businesses using offline promotional strategy such as word-to-mouth recommendations.

3.3. Doula Project

Doulas who may not be experienced with online technologies may fail to see the benefits or be able to properly utilise blogging and video conferencing technologies. However, this could be a requirement set out as part of the job selection process. As both Skype, and blog services such as Blogger are free, then this would mean no added expenditure for the Trust. Implications of privacy can also be prevented as blogs can be made private and only viewable by selected people.

3.4. Food Store

An implication the store faces is that local produce are usually considered luxury items that are purchased by affluent members of society. An effective marketing strategy therefore, would be to target other markets, such as students who have relatively high personal disposable incomes, encouraging them to eat healthy alternatives. This would take the form of offline advertising. Awareness of the store would be promoted in local colleges and schools via advertisements.

The main challenge the store faces is in regard to economies of scale. The Trust want to deliver goods within a five mile radius, yet distribution deals with couriers would allow for the full potential of online store to be unleashed. The internet facilitates the selling of goods on a global basis. If the store were to sell to customers on a national level, this would increase its ROI. £100,000 is a sizeable investment and if the service is limited to a small population, then the store will likely not establish a profit. As the store has the potential to be monetised effectively, it would be beneficial for the Trust to utilise its full potential. Profit arising from the store could then be spent on the regeneration and social schemes within the Trust. This creates a 360 degree benefit – the store acts as a useful service to the community, whilst money from the store contributes to the growth and development of other projects which benefit both locals and visitors to the city.

The store’s web presence would begin as a facilitator of interaction transactions. As the store grew in size and was effective economically – a fully interactive system could be employed. Currently, the proposed small reach means that the Trust would not benefit from producing a unique online e-commerce system. This is because to create, maintain and obtain the various legalese and licenses needed to trade online, is a sizeable investment – without considering bandwidth, running costs, and the employment of numerous trained web staff.

Therefore, the Trust may benefit from integrating their online store into an already existing commerce system. This has worked effectively for smaller shops, which sell products under a branded area that is part of a larger e-commerce infrastructure, such as the Ebay.co.uk website. Another alternative is to create a branded website but have the online transactions carried out by an external operator such as PayPal. The Trust would have to pay associated fees, yet this would produce an increased ROI, as expenditure and staff training costs would be decreased.

For maximum effectiveness, the store must utilise the three c’s strategy: content, community and commerce. Aside from commerce, the site could enable a community by allowing customers to review product items and discuss with others. Content wise, the site must engage users and remain ‘sticky’ (re-visited by customers) by providing fresh content in the form of new products (McDonald & Wilson, 2007 p. 118). This relates to economies of scope. The range of products that are sold can be increased as the store begins to monetise. However, it is important that this scope doesn’t just correlate with turnover. Strategies for expansion must include personnel and the changing roles of staff within the organisational structure of the Trust.

Successful e-commerce strategy involves receiving customer opinion via feedback. Kalakota (2001 p.392-3) argues that the absence of accurate feedback from customers, suppliers and employees leads to disaster. This is because strategies and new organisational requirements are an ever evolving process and continually need to be re-assessed and optimised.

It is crucial that the Trust understands the importance of security systems to prevent risks associated with staff using Trust owned laptops and other telecommunications devices. A Laptop Liabilities research report concluded that ninety-three percent of employees did not understand the threat of spyware (Reavin, p.67). This is an important statistic as it highlights that Trust staff are very unlikely to know the dangers of malicious programs that can be accidentally downloaded from the internet. Viruses and other similar threats can record keystrokes submitted through the device, and therefore have the potential to obtain sensitive information such as passwords to the intranet and e-mail accounts.

It is almost impossible for the IT department of the Trust to prevent users from going on certain websites that aren’t within the new policy. Therefore it is vital that automation, as well as education is deployed. It is the Trust’s responsibility to create and refine over time, an internet access policy. The high security liability of wireless devices can have remote filtering applications installed on them. This is a measure used to prevent staff from accessing websites that are deemed to be insecure, or a negligent use of resources (Reuvid, 2006 p.67).

After initial expenditure on installation costs, remote filtering has numerous benefits that will increase the Trust’s overall ROI. Productivity will be increased as staff will spend less time visiting inappropriate websites. This is a serious factor as workers who spend time online on non-work related websites such as Facebook could be costing firms over £130m a day (BBC, 2007). This wasted resource time can also be spent on high-bandwidth consuming websites such as video-steaming websites.

Filtering can also block websites that offer the downloading of illegal and copyrighted material. Therefore by having these filters in place, there is a decreased likelihood that the Trust would have legal action taken against it. It also reduces the possibility that devices will be damaged by malicious programs. Damage to devices from malfunctions caused by viruses can cost organisations extortionate sums of money in repair and replacement costs. The Trust’s IT Department can roll out this system to both desktop and mobile devices and be safe in the knowledge that the automated system will prevent most threats. They can also track usage patterns of staff, and therefore can be reactive in preventing access to further sites that the automated filter may have missed.

The e-commerce food store would also be affected by the ISO/IEC 17799 clause. This is a clause that references three controls that the Trust should undertake. One implication arising from this is that the Trust would need to employ someone who had adequate knowledge of web server security. This is a very technical post that would rely on progressive training as the person must be kept up to date with new vulnerabilities and threats. They would be responsible for responding to security alerts as the threat of hackers means that a server can be infiltrated and remain vulnerable in merely a few hours.

If the Trust kept to the measures outlined in the 17799 clause, they would subvert to a large extent, risk and cost-based damages. The clause protects users of the website who store their details online from fraudulent activity. Their information must not in any way be altered, duplicated or disclosed to external organisations. It is vital that customer’s private details such as their address and credit card information is kept secure, and cannot be infiltrated. It is especially important in the case of a smaller organisation such as the Trust, as hackers are more likely to succeed in targeting a website that is less protected compared to larger firms (Reuvid, 2006 p.57).

Other security measures should include the installation of a firewall and anti-virus software on each computer within the Trust. There will be a hierarchical system of access within the intranet. Staff members will have basic privileges such as the ability to view information and add comments to the discussion forum. More senior members of the Trust will have the facility to edit contact details when necessary. This is important as sensitive information should only be seen by those who need to utilise it. There should also be a small group of Administrators who would be responsible for the technical aspects of running the intranet, as well as the task of making sure data was secure and backed up in case of power failure, or threats such as denial-of-service attacks .

As details of the workforce would be kept on the Trust’s upgraded Intranet, it is important to note that the issue of privacy would affect this – as the intranet would contain information on individuals who can be identified. This means that the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) has a legal obligation over the Trust. The DPA contains eight principles, which the Trust must be aware of. For example, the information must be adequate and not excessive. This rule would be kept to as only the e-mail address and contact number of a staff member would be on the intranet. The data must not be kept for longer than necessary. Therefore it would be the responsibility of someone to delete the details of a worker if they were to leave the Trust. As the food store would store customer’s private information such as their email address, in regard to marketing, the Trust must be aware of various legislative issues that could arise.

Most notably, the 2003 Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (ECR). The legislation was put into place to stop the intrusive and unwanted sending of marketing messages through telecommunications systems such as e-mail and mobile. As the e-commerce site only collects customer’s details ‘in the course of a sale’, the Trust would be applicable to come under the three exemption rule. However, there are two important points of reference. The Trust would only be allowed to send promotional marketing of similar products to what customers had previously purchased. Lastly, e-mails sent must include an ‘opt-out’ function which gives the recipient the option to stop receiving the promotional e-mails.

The food store would also be liable in conforming to the Distance Selling Regulations Act (2000). The act’s major guideline is that the store must give consumers information on the service. This includes detailed information on payment options, delivery arrangements and the ability for the customer to cancel an order. Lastly, the customer must be sent confirmation of their purchase. Therefore an automated e-mail account and address would have to be set up for the transmission of the confirmation message.

The website may also come under scrutiny by the Disability Discrimination Act. The action of being able to purchase produce online should be available to all users, no matter what disability they have. Therefore the website will need to be designed to the WCAG 2.0 Guidelines. This means the website must be designed by a team that has accessibility knowledge, and therefore can create a site that is operable across cross-platform operating systems, web browsers and for those who browse online with assistive technologies.

In determining a fair usage policy for internet access within the Trust, the Defamation Act (1996) can be referenced. This is an Act that benefits the Trust as it prevents the use of staff using telecommunications devices for their own personal use. Raising awareness to staff that they may be breaking this Act, as well as enforcing it with punishment (the Trust does have a right to constructive dismissal) will contribute to increased time and resource management.

Internal Factors

Strengths

· Husbanding of knowledge gives the Trust expertise in a variety of different sectors
· Resource sharing promotes collaboration between staff and can increase productivity
· New electronic services increase efficiency within the Trust
· New fair use policy will increase productivity and time resource management
· New online distribution channels
· Greater security and remote filtering to prevent unauthorised access to websites

Weaknesses

· Accountability on ambassadors to have relevant expertise and to share knowledge
· Potential misuse/violations of intranet and other communicative systems, such as the discussion forum and wiki within the Trust
· May be difficult to create awareness of the ambassador and doula schemes without a large budget
· If the store was to sell nationwide, then extra funding would need to be applied for to cover distribution and other set-up costs

External Factors

Opportunities

· Value added products within the store allow for different consumer markets and demographics to be targeted
· Promotional facilities to recruit doulas and new web 2.0 forms of communication create effective solutions
· Monetising of the store to fund other schemes within the Trust
· The Trust can utilise new web technologies to integrate the community and create new avenues of information and productivity

Threats

· Small geographical area for delivery of e-commerce sales. This needs to be expanded
· New distribution channels, video conferencing and other new media solutions – staff will require adequate training and a willingness to utilise these
· Selling food within a saturated market – high competition from supermarkets. Important to increase economies of scope but the product range may not be    large enough
· Upgraded intranet and e-commerce are not 100% secure from security threats

Within a social enterprise such as the Trust, the husbanding of knowledge is very important. In regard to company organisation, Wenger (2000) states that communities of practice are groups of people united by a similar passion. He argues that these communities are effective as they improve organisational performance. They can help to implement new strategies, as well as idea generation, problem solving and the promotion of best practices. He also argues that these communities can develop the skills of staff within an organisation, and help in the recruitment process. The introduction of an improved intranet for the Trust will streamline communication between staff. This will also create clusters of knowledge – known as networks of practice (Brown & Duguid, 2003 p.162), that can share understanding and organisational demands across different sections of the Trust.

Books:

BROWN, J. & DUGUID, P. 2002. The social life of information. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School; London: McGraw-Hill

COLBY, J. et al. 2003. Practical intranet development. Birmingham: glasshaus Ltd

KALAKOTA, R. & ROBINSON, M. 2001. E-business 2.0: roadmap for success. Boston, MA; London: Addison-Wesley

MCDONALD, M. & WILSON, H. 2002. The new marketing: transforming the corporate future. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann

REUVID, J. 2006. 4th ed. The secure online business handbook: a practical guide to risk management and business continuity. London: Kogan Page

Online Articles:

BBC. 2007. Facebook 'costs businesses dear' [online]. [Accessed: 10th April 2009]. Available from World Wide Web: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6989100.stm

WENGER, E. Communities of practice a brief introduction [online]. [Accessed: 14th April 2009] Available from World Wide Web: http://www.ewenger.com/theory