Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Testing the Waters through a Pilot Run
To test the system's effectiveness, some strategies were pilot-run in the engineering
college of the Philippine university involved in benchmarking. Some strategies could not be
tested because of time and resource constraints. The strategies that were pilot run, their
manners of implementation, and the results are discussed below.
Strategy: 1. Evoke Exigency (a) and (b) (Please Refer to the Previous
Section for Details).
Manner
: In the third trimester of SY 2000-2001, posters and newspaper articles on the
benefits of knowing e-commerce to the careers of noncomputer or nonbusiness
students were posted on bulletin boards in the college. A one-page article on e-
commerce and its benefits to one's career and day-to-day life was published on the
student newspaper. Two announcements for job openings that stipulated “knowledge
of e-commerce preferred” were also posted for two consecutive weeks.
The college offered “Introduction to E-Commerce” for the first time in the first trimester
of SY 2001-2002 as an elective, along with two other new electives.
Thirty students enrolled were surveyed as to whether the “media blitz” of the previous
trimester influenced them to enroll in the course.
Results
: The two e-commerce sections were filled, with 75 enrollees on the first day of
enrollment, while the two other electives had only a total of 10 students enrolling. This
validated the study's finding that nonbusiness/computer students would enroll in e-
commerce provided they would earn units.
Among the students surveyed as to the effectiveness of media blitz, only one-third saw
at least one of the media announcements, and all of these admitted they were greatly
influenced to enroll in e-business by the announcements. Of the remaining two-thirds,
75% had learned from other media sources the importance of knowing e-commerce. The
other 25% were convinced by their classmates that the course would be useful to them
in the future.
Strategy: 2. Develop Desire (a)
Manner
: The e-commerce subject offered to the engineering students contained the
following topics, enumerated with percent of time devoted to them: Web site develop-
ment (50%), introduction to e-commerce (15%), e-marketing (10%), e-commerce stra-
tegic management (10%), e-hardware/security (5%), and e-legal/personnel/finance
(10%).
At the end of the trimester, 30 students were surveyed as to how much they liked the
subject and the different topics offered.
Results:
The students liked the contents of the topics and the manner in which they were
taught (4.90 and 4.75, respectively, on a scale of 5). The topic that a significant number
wanted to put more time on was e-hardware and security. Although the survey did not
ask why, it might be because, being engineering students, they were interested in
hardware and machine aspects.
